Sun - Music

 

  (C) 2014 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may be reprinted, re-posted or duplicated without written permission from Rych McCain Media/Syndication. Violation is subject to applicable laws.

 

Sun - Music

By Rych McCain Internationally/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

By Rych McCain, www.twitter.com/rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)

Meet SUN

Houston’s Latest Rapper

    

    

SUN

When it comes to turning out high quality MC’s in the rap game Houston does not have a problem. The city is world famous for its “Screw” sound and has spawned the likes of Chamillionaire, Z-Ro, the late Pimp C, Scarface, Slim Thug, Trae, Keke The Don and others. Joining that illustrious list of master wordsmiths is Houstonian rapper “SUN.” He is the latest on the scene and promises to come out scoring big. SUN’s debut project “The Cause and The Cure” is scheduled for a 2015 first quarter release and comes off the heels of a very successful mix CD that made a lot of noise on the underground rap circuit that put SUN on the map. SUN has had the opportunity to work with some of the top rap producers in the game including Havoc of Mobb Deep, Alchemist, Richie Branson and Apex which has opened the doors of collaboration with major star rappers. SUN’s single from the new project includes “Bad Girl” featuring Lil Scrappy which had been previously released with a video shot by award winning director Michael Artis that saw airlplaly on MTV Jamz and VH1. Another single “Drop Banz” will suit the clubs and offers a steamy, sensuous video. SUN is also set to appear in the upcoming movie “Candy.”

    

     His name sun is the result of a local DJ who used to call him son and because he is dark friends used to joke about him being burnt by the sun so he changed the “U” to an “O” and carries his blessed dark skin as a badge of honor. After all, the darker the skin the more active the pineal gland (third eye) and the more spiritual one is. Houston is well known for her hip hop “Screw” sound. Is that sound still happening? SUN explains “Oh yeah, screw music is real prevalent now still. With social media and a whole lot of blurred lines music doesn’t really have a specific sound. That’s why Atlanta artist sound like Houston and Houston, Atlanta, New York artists sound like down south. Everybody has a west coast sound so I think its blurred lines with it but we (Houston) still have our screw foundations and definitely our slow pace music tempo.

          What is the concept behind his new project which is the term he prefers rather than CD for “The Cause and The Cure?”  SUN runs it down, “It is a compete project of all original music that covers every emotional, every characteristic you feel throughout your life, throughout the day whether its sexual, anger, love, whatever it may be and every song has the problem and the solution to it.” Sounds like SUN is drawing from personal experience? He laughs, “Yeah definitely a lot of relationship issues, hustle issues both legal like doing a 9-5 everyday to illegal and the continuous struggle so you don’t have to struggle anymore .” He stresses that every song not only has a solution to the problem but offers a positive outlook and thinks everybody should be able to relate to that.

     This is a different concept from the usual violence and inner race name calling so how does SUN address the negative rap that promotes destruction in Black hoods? He says flatly, “It starts with parenting.  I’m a parent myself but as entertainers and being public figures including politicians or whatever, if you have some kind of weight with kids I think it is our responsibility to keep that in mind. And at the same time you have a responsibility to do your job to teach your kids at your house to understand what a lot of these artists are doing. I know a lot of them and they are just presenting their lifestyle be it ignorant or not. Entertainers get a bad name for not being better role models but the role model starts at home.

© 2014 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM 

(You DID Hear It From Me!) 

Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)!

Cynthia Kaye McWilliams - TV

 

  (C) 2014 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may be reprinted, re-posted or duplicated without written permission from Rych McCain Media/Syndication. Violation is subject to applicable laws.

Cynthia Kaye McWilliams _ TV

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

www.twitter.com/rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)!

Cynthia Kaye McWilliams

Holding Her Own With The Real Husbands

    

Cynthia Kaye McWilliams

Being the only female cast member of a male dominated show is a daunting enough task but when the males are all comedians you really have a handful. Actress Cynthia Kaye McWilliams is not only handling her role as Trina Shaw, entertainment attorney to the stars, but she has firmly established herself on BET’s “Real Husbands of Hollywood.” The show has entered its second season full steam ahead. The Berlin, Germany born McWilliams was basically reared in Kansas City, Kansas and is a graduate from the prestigious Theater School of DePaul University in Chicago. According to McWilliams, the school was so tough that you not only had to audition to get in but you had to audition every year to stay in. After graduation McWilliams perfected her acting chops on the theater scene in Chicago and developed a vibrant voiceover career as well. Like anyone else who desires to act professionally on the big or little screens, McWilliams packed it up and moved to LA when the finished preparation and timing was right.

   

 McWilliams didn’t exactly get the best start out of the blocks. The first two pilots that she landed both were not picked up and cancelled. How did that experience help shape her resolve and determination? She laughs, “Oh wow you’re going to start off with that huh. Start off with all of the disappointments thank you.” But getting back to the question she says “Yeah, it was a little character building and a little skin thickening but I mean honestly that was not the beginning of anything for me. I’ve been doing this since I was eleven. I started writing plays and working in theater then I went to college.  We had a cut system and it was very cut throat so I’m no stranger to both competition and disappointment. Sometimes when you are competing you are not going to win but I don’t think that means that in the end you can’t win. I always have the long sight as opposed to the short sight. If anything that is definitely behooving in LA. There are a lot of short sighted people here and I think in order to really run the race you’ve got to realize that it is a marathon not a sprint.”

Kevin Hart and McWilliams

     What was her experience auditioning for the show with superstar Kevin Hart who is also one of the producers? McWilliams lights up, “I did an improvised session with Kevin and that was unbelievably surreal because at that time I had never met him and he was really just beginning to pop and be like this huge crossover performer and so I felt both humbled and excited to be in that room and by the end of it I knew it was going to work. I didn’t get the call until weeks later but I knew it a was going to happen because we had an incredible chemistry. I felt like I had known him forever and that doesn’t happen very often. He’s fantastic. I imagine anybody working with him would say the same thing but it doesn’t happen for me very often and so I knew it was something special. And he has continued to be equally as exciting and committed and giving 100% while keeping me on my toes raising me to another level every single time we work together. So take those lessons.”

    

   Being the only female on the cast will draw the attention of other actresses who will observe how she handles it thus providing a role model. She even may be considered a trailblazer for the same reason. McWilliams is humble at that notion and responds, “Thank you so much for saying I’m a trailblazer. I do not think of that at all. I’m always still in deference to many of the trailblazers before me and so many fantastic actresses that I hope to make proud one day and hope I’m making them proud now. The challenge comes from not being a comedian but being an actress and coming in saying you have a very specific job you’re playing the straight man on the show. You have a lot of funny people around you and I had to say to myself don’t go in there trying to be funny. Do what you do as an actress and you’ll be fine.”

© 2014 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM 

(You DID Hear It From Me!) 

Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)!

Billy Woodruff - Film

 

  (C) 2014 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may be reprinted, re-posted or duplicated without written permission from Rych McCain Media/Syndication. Violation is subject to applicable laws.

Billy Woodruff - Film

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

www.twitter.com./rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)

Billy Woodruff

Directs “Addicted!”

"Addicted" Director Billy Woodruff

     Film director Billy Woodruff has built a respected track record of directing music videos for slew of superstar recording artists such as Lil Wayne, Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, R. Kelly, Usher, Tray Songz etc., as well as hit TV shows such as “The Game" for CW/BET and others. His films have included “Honey”, “Beauty Shop” and a musical “Rags” for Nickelodeon and in all of them had subject matter was pretty safe. Woodruff’s latest project “Addicted” starring Sharon Leal, Boris Kodjoe, Tasha Smith, Tyson Beckford, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Kat Graham and William Levy for Lionsgate/Code Black Films, is a far departure from anything he’s done to date. It tackles the subject of sex addiction straight up with no punches pulled. Sex addiction is a subject that has remained swept under the rug but is a real life dilemma for a lot of people. It generally affects men and women who were sexually abused in early childhood and their teen years. Once a child’s innocence has been sexually violated they are never the same afterward because that can never be given back. On top of that they are too young to process what happened and they lose respect and value for their body. Than anything goes i.e., gender role confusion, hyper sexual activity, prostitution and the list goes on.

 

    

Sharon Leal as Zoe and her husband Jason (Boris Kodjoe)

The movie is based on the novel of the same title written by the queen of erotica Zane. The sex scenes in the movie get pretty steamy. How important were they to the movie as a whole? Woodruff explains, “The sex scenes and how they were done; obviously as a director everything is important to me but because that is like a character in this film. What’s she’s going through and the problems that she has are manifesting themselves through this sex addiction so the sex scenes are very important to the character. 

Zoe and extra-marital affair love Quninto (William Levy)

I storyboarded everything ahead of time and I had gone to sex addicts support group meetings to experience what that was like. Keep in mind that I wanted it to be tasteful so I met with the actors to see what they were comfortable doing.” Woodruff laughs, and added, “Then I pushed them further.” Woodruff is a perfect director for nude scenes because he says “I’m a sexual person. I don’t have hang-ups about sex and sexuality and also I have explored a lot of it with what I did in music videos. I had to always shoot people simulating having sex (but not in all videos). But I’ve spent a lot of time dealing with artists having to be naked and direct them. So it’s not foreign to me to do it in a directorial setting. I relate to my actors so I try to make everything as comfortable as possible.”

    

Cory (Tyson Beckford) was Zoe's 2nd back-up lover

     And if the sex issue was not enough, the film includes a parent abandonment issue as well. Cuban born actor William Levy’s character Quinton was a victim of his mother leaving him and his dad for another man. This all comes to a head as well. It is also interesting to note that Levy is a superstar hunk in the Latino entertainment world and “Addicted” is a rare film that has a Black and Latino lead. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out at the box office. If successful enough it could set off a new wave of Black/Latino (Blacktino) combination films.

© 2014 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM 

(You DID Hear It From Me!) 

Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)!