MyAyiti.Com

By Katrina-Kasey Wheeler

Haitian-American Marvin Bernard, the famous rapper better known as Tony Yayo, is 1/3 of G-Unit, and a lifelong friend of 50 Cent. In 2005, Yayo dropped his debut album, Thoughts of a Predicate Felon, and he has been on the top of the charts ever since. G-Unit continues to dominate the charts and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

On Saturday, October 4 MTV will offer viewers a cell block Saturday with the series premiere of “MTV Ranked” and a live “BUSTED” special. Beginning at 5:30pm ET/6pm C, viewers can tune-in for “Celebrity Busts: Ranked,” the first installment of “MTV Ranked” and a one-hour special devoted many unforgettable moments when celebrities were busted. Later at 6:30 pm ET/6pm C, “BUSTED” fans everywhere for a half-hour “BUSTED” yearbook special followed by “BUSTED: LIVE,” a real time event hosted by G-Unit member, Tony Yayo, in which the “BUSTED” cameras will patrol with law enforcement across the country from 7:00-10:00pm ET as they catch the misdemeanors in real time. Yayo will host from the MTV Times Square studio as comedian Ryan Belleville and Sarah Karges broadcast live from Calvert County, Maryland and the city of Akron, OH.

Katrina-Kasey Wheeler caught up with Tony Yayo to discuss his hosting gig, future projects, how his experiences have shaped his artistry, and the looming presidential election.

Katrina-Kasey Wheeler: Are you excited to host MTV’s “Busted: Live”?

Tony Yayo: I was definitely excited. I think any artist should be excited with anything that MTV brings to the table. As an artist, it is great to be able to market yourself to people who don’t know you, and people who do. It is a good opportunity for me to be on MTV, and I’m happy about it.

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HT News, Interview, Music, US News

Q&A: “Haiti Is Going From Catastrophe to Catastrophe”

By Michael Deibert - ISP

Chavannes Jean-Baptiste

NEW YORK, Sep 23 (IPS) - Peasant leader Chavannes Jean-Baptiste has been at the forefront of the struggles of Haiti’s peasants for over 35 years. Born in the village of Papay in Haiti’s Plateau Central, Jean-Baptiste helped found the Mouvman Peyizan Papay (MPP) peasant union as well as the Mouvman Peyizan Nasyonal Kongre Papay (MPNKP), the latter a 200,000-member national congress of peasant farmers and activists.

Jean-Baptiste’s role is an important one in a nation where, over the past 50 years, 90 percent of the tree cover has been destroyed for charcoal and to make room for farming, with resulting erosion destroying two-thirds of the country’s arable farmland.

For his work on behalf of Haiti’s peasantry, Chavannes Jean-Baptiste was awarded the 2005 Goldman Environmental Prize, sponsored by the Goldman Environmental Foundation, the world’s largest prize for grassroots environmentalists.

In recent weeks, a series of hurricanes have struck Haiti, killing what is thought to be hundreds of people and devastating the country’s already-decrepit infrastructure. The United Nations now estimates that 800,000 people are in need of emergency food aid. Haiti is currently the location of a U.N. peacekeeping force numbering over 9,000 uniformed personnel.

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HT News, Interview

Mecca aka Grimo has been publicized as the phenomenon of The Spoken Word / Hip-Hop Creole Movement. He has been serving as a catalyst on the entertainment scene for international artists throughout the world; who vision success in this industry. He regularly visits schools and community centers and inspires young people to achieve in their academics and in life. Mecca aka Grimo tours with the Haitian Heritage Museum in a fulsome presentation called “Ayiti Expose.” This presentation is exhibited in schools to educate other nationalities and Haitians alike on how rich the Haitian culture is and its contributions to the world. He earned a degree in Acoustical Engineering and has applied his studies towards projects that surround him including his own work.

Pwa: Who is Mecca aka Grimo and what are his goals for 09?

Mecca aka Grimo: Mecca aka Grimo stands for the cultural upliftment and the education of the
masses. Im for the promotion of the Hip Hop Kreyol movement and would
like to see it penetrate mainstream media. Through the music Im using
it as a platform to promote literacy and historical awareness.
In the ‘09 I want to be involved in a Big Movie. Playing another principle role that will let the world know of my hidden talents. I also want to do more with the non-profit organization:” FePouLi ~ Children’s Hope Chest of Dreams”. Helping to send aid wherever needed through tough times. Especially Haiti
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HT News, Interview, Music

INTERVIEW:Daniel “Haitian Sensation” Edouard

The Haitian Sensation, born Daniel Edouard, 23 November 1980, Jersey City, New Jersey. Daniel possesses a pugilistic mindset that is best equated to a throwback boxer of the early 20th century. Though not yet a 20 bout fighter, through the tutelage of former trainer Pete Brodsky. Daniel has taken on some of the nation’s top veteran and prospective middleweights. Many of whom he has toppled with devastating body shots and clean over the top straight right hands. He has proven inside the ring that he has the ability and necessary tools to take over the middleweight division.

Accomplishments:
•Current WBA Caribbean Jr. Middle-Weight Champion
•Former U.S.B.A. Middleweight Championship, won in 2004
•FormerWBA Fedcentro Middleweight Champion, won in 2003 and still current
•Several National bouts on Showtime, ESPN2, and HBO

Note: Pwa - English Translation “Bean“

Pwa: Hear you’ve been training really hard for this match, how does the body feel?

Haitian Sensation: Body feels great, I’ve been training for 3 months preparing and it’s time to fight.
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HT News, Interview, Sports

Interview by Tony Martins
Photography by Aaron McKenzie Fraser

To begin, some interesting facts about Oni the Haitian Sensation: She reveals her legal name only when filing an income tax return. She speaks four languages: English, French, Creole, and Spanish. She is a single mother who takes her three young sons—aged 8, 9, and 12—to parent-child yoga classes. Her first published collection of spoken word poetry, Ghettostocracy, was named a Globe and Mail book of the year in 2006. Her parents are Haitian, but she was born in Montreal and has never been to Haiti. She won a badminton scholarship to Seneca College in Toronto. She recently performed in a local production of The Vagina Monologues. She will be the subject of an upcoming National Film Board documentary. She almost certainly knows more about Canadian history than you do.

And this little factoid barrage is really only the beginning. Oni is never at a loss for biographical items of interest.

For instance, when Guerilla asked her if she would reveal her age, Oni offered much more in typical bombastic fashion: “I am a good-looking 34-year-old foxy mommah, born November 7th, 1972—a Scorpio—in the Year of the Rat and the last wonder year in the Nixon reign.”

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