'On A Journey' Mixtape Available On Soundcloud 🌩️ & Youtube ▶️

‘On A Journey🐫: is my second mixtape I’ve been working since 2019. It has a total of 11 tracks. 📀Produced by T-Mase, SolRay, and Trey Eaton. 🎼 It sounds like your perfect self care Sunday playlist from start to finish. The alternative R&B movement in the early 2010’s (Nostalgia Ultra🗡️, Sailing Souls⛵️, and Thank Me Later) has heavily inspired the project. Tame Impala’s psychedelic🍄, hypno-groove melodic rock 🎸sound is also a huge influence. I wanted to pay homage to the current artist that have inspired me, and my sound🎵 by covering songs by them that tell the story of my journey, as well as some original poetry, interludes, and original song writing as well on several tracks. So far I’ve released its lead cover single ‘Strawberry Swing’ (Frank Ocean 🌊 Cover) on my Soundcloud🌩️, and Youtube ▶️ channel.

The mixtape release date 8/26/23 is the anniversary date of my first mixtape ‘Days In The Midwest.’ 6 years ago, on Soundcloud, Youtube, and Datpiff.com as well as across various mixtape websites.

What are your favorite tracks so far?

1. Rising Sun (Poem) 🌞

2. On A Journey (Original) 🐫

3. Karaoke 🎤

4. The Juice Radio Show (Interlude)📻

5. Strawberry Swing 🍓

6. Same Ole Mistakes 🪕

7. The Healing Place Interlude 🌱

8. The Healing Place (Poem) Rising Sun Reprise 🎹

9. James Joint 🍃

10. HBCU Pep Rally/North Tulsa Love Letter (Interlude) 🥁

11. Rising Sun Reprise II (Outro Spoken Word) 🌴

‘On A Journey’ 🐫 Mixtape Release Party & Networking Mixer

A Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. 👣Follow me on my journey, come with me to the healing place.”✨

The #OnAJourney mixtape is dropping at MIDNIGHT August 26th on Soundcloud 🌩️, YouTube , Datpiff.com, my blog Queology.net✨, & various other mixtape websites. I’m having a release party, and networking mixer 8/25/23 at FourSevenThree.

(2224 E Admiral Blvd, Tulsa, OK 74110)

Tickets 🎫 are 5$ in advance online at Eventbrite.com, and 10$ at the door.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/on-a-journey-mixtape-release-party-networking-mixer-tickets-698550723017?aff=oddtdtcreator

I’ll be performing my mixtape from track 1- 11! In partnership with ‘The Underground Collective’ 🎶and ‘Lakeside Dispensary’ 🍃 8:30 pm - 12:00 with dynamic opening acts 🎤 from ‘Savvy Kray’, ‘Nathan Scott’ , ‘Makellah’ and a conversation with Reverend ‘Carmen White Janak’ about the Journey!

Also try my new signature cocktail 🥃 ‘Ororo Munroe’ 🌪️ aka #Storm 🌩️from X-men who is my favorite super hero, and who’s mythological Journey as a hero inspires me as an artist!

Introducing 'Carefree 🕊️ Queer Fest 🌵'

Introducing ‘Carefree Queer Fest’ a festival celebration of Carefree LGBTQ+ arts, culture, wellness, and advocacy based in Tulsa, and the Midwest. Multicultural celebrating the diversity of Queerness. ‘Carefree Queer Fest’ is a spin off event series from my new organization ‘Carefree Queer.’ ‘Carefree Queer’ is an organization intended to be a safe space for the LGBTQ+ Community, and allies in the Midwest that focuses on creative arts.

Our first official festival was Saturday July 29th 6:30 pm - 11:30 pm at ‘Queen Rose Art House’ (843 N Birmingham Pl, Tulsa, OK 74110), a venue known for hosting some of the most popular events in Tulsa and have been featured in Tulsa People, and have worked with renowned organizations which I have had the privilege to be apart of such as ‘Tulsa Creative Engine.' Our sponsorship’s included ‘The Underground Collective’, ‘You Got The Juice’, Elote: Cafe & Catering, ‘Oklahoman’s For Equality Center’, and ‘Lakeside Dispensary’ which I am now the brand Ambassador. The festival was a success, and featured networking, meditation, yoga, a panel discussion with LGBTQ+ leaders in the community, and performances from local Queer music acts.

Although the Summer heat was at an all time high, the event truly captured the music festival Summer vibes we wanted to bring to Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Midwest, and we had an amazing turn out of people that came to the festival, and we created a unique artistic space that did not exist for the LGBTQ+ community until now. Let’s recap this amazing event!

Get to know the organizers, event planners, and the Admin team behind the first ‘Carefree Queer Fest

Savvy Kray @imarapperr (he/him) 🎤- Rapper, entrepreneur, ally, and founder of The Underground Collective.

Unity Love Joy @666theandroggod999 (she/her)🪬- Creator, Artist, Event Planner, Serial Entrepreneur, Juice Empress, Lover, Founder of You Got The Juice & Juice Apparel

Kara Dawn @kara_dawn_music (she/her)🎶 -Artist, Advocate, Director, Producer, Actor, Entrepreneur, Event Planner, Intuitive and Healer. Founder and Executive Director of Kara Dawn Music.

Jay Vela @cafeconjay (he/him)🇲🇽- Spanish Interpreter, Fundraiser Coordinator for Sin Fronteras x OkEq, Latinx LGBTQ Activist & Tulsa Raised Socialite.

Quentin Marcellis @quemarcellis (he/him/they/them)🌵- Model, actor, music artist, public speaker, writer, radio personality, and the man of many hats. Founder of #CarefreeQueer🕊️

The festival started at 6:30 pm, guest where arriving, D.J Tequila Sauve was playing music as well as mixing, and mingling from our attendees.

Next up 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm was Alternative R&B yoga, and meditation (Inside of Queen Rose Art House) with me Quentin Marcellis, and certified Yoga instructor Shayla P.

Next was our amazing panel discussion 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm featuring:

‘David Bridgeforth’ @bridgeforth producer, writer, activist ✊🏾, mogul, and editor and Chief of @dbqmag a black Queer magazine.

Amnoni Myers @moni_laren black Queer Author, and public speaker.

‘Daniel McHenry’ @danielmark101 founder of @blackqueertulsa a non profit that is normalizing the Black Queer experience in Oklahoma.

‘Savvy Kray’ @imarapperr ALLY and founder of #TheUndergroundCollective a social group that is creating a new movement in Tulsa of music, culture, and art.

‘Jay Vela’ @mrjaythegay (he/him)🇲🇽- Spanish Interpreter, Fundraiser Coordinator for Sin Fronteras x OkEq, Latinx LGBTQ Activist & Tulsa Raised Socialite.

‘Karl Jones’ @iamkarlmarks founder of @studio.66_ #Studio66 a Queer social group in #Tulsa that host innovative, and creative themed parties for the #LGBTQ+ community.

Followed up by Speakers, Comedy, and Drag Performers from 9:00 pm to 9:30 pm

Finally local LGBTQ+ artist from Tulsa, and some artist from Oklahoma City and surrounding areas took the stage from 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm. Local R&B and soul singer Kara Dawn headlines the festival and opened and performed at the beginning, I ‘Quentin Marcellis’ headlines the show for the final performance at the end.

For my festival look, I really wanted to capture all the Coachella vibes and I opted for a tank top that I decided to cut in a fringe matters, as well as some motor cycle pants which I’m currently obsessed with in my wardrobe. I purchased both from ‘The Racks Tulsa’ 2646 E 15th St suite b, Tulsa, OK 74104

The next ‘Carefree Queer Fest’ is panned for Fall! I can’t wait for what’s next with this new, and exciting brand I created! Next up is the #OnAJourney🐫 mixtape.

The Little Mermaid Live Action Review and The Importance Of Black Mythology

By now most of us have been under the sea already to witness the greatness that is the ‘Little Mermaid Live Action’ Disney remake of the animated classic released in 1989, from the Disney Renaissance Era. The movie stars the talented Halle Bailey as Ariel, a role that was predominately portrayed by a white actress which causes a lot of racist controversy online, and exposed how hidden racism still exist in our country, and the World. I could never understand why there was so much hate, for a talented black girl so beautiful like ‘Halle Bailey’ whose voice, and performance gave me chills in the theater. On my second visit to the ‘Fathoms Below’ where “the Seaweed is always greener,” I left feeling empowered to be black, and Queer, and was also reminded of the importance of black mythology in African American Culture. I got to hang out with a very talented local artist in Tulsa, and new friend named Branjae who is taking Tulsa by Storm and inspiring me. Let’s talk about it!

‘The Little Mermaid Live Action’ in my opinion is the best Disney remake thus far. Full of colorful vibrant visuals under the sea, and sea creatures galore, and a magical underwater Kingdom known as Atlantis where King Triton, and his daughters who rule the seven seas, are also multi racial giving the movie a brand new fresh diverse take from the original animated classic. The actors who play Sebastian the talking crab, flounder the fish, and Scuttle a Sea Gull, also give the characters a new breath of air, but Nostalgic familiarity to the original. Halle’s vocals for ‘Part Of World’ are chilling, and gave me goosebumps. I felt the Disney magic through the screen. Songs like ‘Fathoms Below’ really made me feel nostalgic, and where a surprising enjoyment. I also loved how diverse the cast was and it reminded me of the Cinderella live action movie in the 90’s that stared Brandy and Whitney Houston. I loved that Prince Eric’s parents were multiracial, and Mellisa McCarthy did an excellent job as Ursula, so much that I felt she was actually scary in some scenes.

The first time I went to see the movie I went to my favorite movie theater in Oklahoma which is the Regal Warren Broken Arrow that has a 21+ auditorium for alcoholic beverages, and food that feels almost like VIP. I went to the early premiere, where I also saw Black Panther for the first time in its early release in theaters. Both films remind me of the importance of Black Mythology in not only Hollywood, so that children, and even grown adults can see themselves in their favorite super hero, or fantasy character, but also I feel their is a lack of black mythology, and black lead actors in Hollywood which I am a fan of such as franchises like ‘Harry Potter’ or genres such as sci-fi, and horror. Jordan Peele is a filmmaker who I’m very inspired by who has been pushing the boundaries of these narratives with films like ‘Get Out,’ US, N.O.P.E, and casting black lead actors in Horror, Sci-Fi, and fantasy roles where we have been left out of the genre. ‘Lovecraft Country’ is also another one of my favorites which is a HBO TV series produced by Misha Green, inspired by the original novel by white author Matt Ruff. This is why I think that ‘The Little Mermaid’ live action was so captivating to watch, and I enjoyed every minute of it, and want to be Siren now!

The second time I went to see ‘The Little Mermaid’ I wanted to do some cosplay as a black Mermaid King, and I purchased a light up Triton toy that I brought to the movie which really made me feel all the Disney Nostalgia, and magic. I met up with a new friend named Branjae, a rising r&b/soul singer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With us both being local artist, and vocalist, we both left the theater inspired, and star struck at the stellar performances from the actors, and are jaws dropped from the CGI, and underwater animation. Some movie critics were not happy with flounders character design, and others Ariel’s skin complexion. But honestly Halle Bailey truly captured the perfect spirit of Ariel in my opinion. And the music was truly Disney classics such as ‘Under The Sea’ and some new songs that I enjoyed in the soundtrack like ‘The Scuttlebutt’ and ‘For The First Time.’ This live action is destined to go down a classic, and I have fallen in love with Disney again, since being a fan since a little kid in the 90’s. Which reminds me of my song ‘Life In The 90’s’ from my debut mixtape ‘Days In The Midwest.’

So let’s talk about the fashion in the movie. It was definitely giving a Caribbean, and Island theme vibe with lots of linen fabrics, and bright colors, as well as lots of fedora’s, and brim hats. I decided to channel the style of this movie with this look I purchased from Banana Republic which gives me Summer Prince Eric vibes.

Top: Short Sleeve Linen Button Up (Banana Republic)

Pants: Horse Riding Pants (Banana Republic)

Here are a couple of other deeper messages I pulled from the movie! First lets talk about the fact that Halle rocked her natural BLACK hair, dreads and all! Which I think sends a big message of representation to the Black Community. Her hair progressively started with less dreads, to fully dreaded hair in the very last scene when Ariel, and Prince Eric get married which I thought was very powerful. Even more powerful was the tool used to style Ariel’s hair which was a fork, although ‘Scuttle’ called it a ‘Dingle Hopper’ and said humans use it for their hair.

But even more deeper, the ‘Dingle Hopper’ looks almost identical to not only the three pronged ‘Triton’ but also to a ‘crochet needle’ for hair uses in the Black Community.

An Easter egg that a lot of people might have catched, or didn’t catch was the original actress ‘Jodie Benson’ who played animated original Ariel, giving the live action Ariel a fork, aka ‘Dingle Hopper’, aka a ‘crochet needle’ which she used throughout the film to dread her hair. I’ve been growing my hair out for about three years now, and I feel special that my hair is at the length it’s at just in time for the cultural impact, and reset of this movie. Notice how everyone is taking about the Ocean right now: Frank Ocean, Ocean Gate, USO’s, Avatar, Black Panther, sea creatures washing up, and now ‘The Little Mermaid’ live action but only conscious people will connect the dots. I’ll save that for another blog post.

The ‘On A Journey’🐫 mixtape will be officially released Saturday August 26th 2023 on Soundcloud, Youtube, Datpiff, LiveMixtapes and various other mixtape websites.

Announcing My Brand Ambassadorship With Lakeside Dispensary

I’m excited to announce that I am now a brand ambassador for Lakeside Dispensary I hosted my first event ‘Pride Night’ a meet and greet with me ‘Quentin Marcellis’ on June 21st 6/8 pm.

There was refreshments, giveaway, corn hole, music, and 15% off everything! Located at 715 Will Rogers BLVD, Skiatook, Oklahoma Call (918•578•5038) for more information on future events!

Congratulations to ‘Carmen White Janak’ for being a black business owner, Reverend, and leader in the cannabis community. She will be the next special guest on my podcast ‘Carefree Queer Podcast’ available exclusively on Spotify and YouTube. We will be discussing her dispensary shop being a dedication to her father who served in the Vietnam War, and address some taboo topics such as ways using THC can aid on your creative , and spiritual journey!

I also signed copies of the now limited edition ‘Blazing Tulsan’ newspaper with my articles ‘‘Exploring Tulsa’s LGBTQ+ Canna Scene with The CarefreeBlackBoy’ and the first event for my new non profit initiative ‘Gals, Gays, & They’s Galentines: Celebrating Love 💕 In All It’s Forms. I left some copies for you to pick up at the dispensary.

Happy Pride Month!

“Go where your celebrated, and not where your tolerated!” - David Bridgeforth

https://www.lakesidedispo.com