Monthly Archives: February 2011

Do Better Thursday: Servathon 2011

Posted on by dre' of onustees.com
It’s time to really Move with The Movement & Do Better!

This Spring, the Do Better Movement is taking it to the streets… Joining the wonderful volunteer efforts of Greater DC Cares, we will be out in force contributing to various service projects in Washington, DC… If you’d like to join the Do Better Movement team this Spring… Check out pictures from previous volunteer events and details below…. Sign up and Move with The Movement!
Thanks,
– dre’ of onustees.com

The Queen & Volunteer…
You never know… The Baddest Man on the Planet might show up!
Do(ing) Better in action…
What: Greater DC Cares Servathon – the largest day of service in the region!
When: Saturday, April 16
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 pm.
Cost: $25 Volunteering is NOT free. Registration fee helps cover the cost of supplies for the day (trash bags, paint, ladders etc).
Why should I volunteer?
I shouldn’t have to answer this question, but…Volunteering helps build the capacity of the nonprofits, schools, and community based organizations in our community. Plus it feels good as hell to help others, try it on for size!
Who’s Involved?
Over 8,000 volunteers, but we’re trying to get a Do Better Movement Team together. If we get 25 or more people on our team by March 9, we’ll get our team name on the t-shirt. So let’s go folks!
What will we be doing?
The fine folks over at Greater DC Cares are still developing service projects. But past projects include – playground enhancements at area schools (painting basketball courts, four square, us maps on blacktops), landscaping projects, interacting with seniors, improving the look at feel at recreation center and nonprofits and more.
I’m not sold yet. Tell me again why I should volunteer.
In celebration of National Volunteer Week (April 10 – 16) and the great accomplishments from the day Greater DC Cares is organizing the annual Servathon After-Party. So come out to volunteer and celebrate.
I’m in! How do I join the Team?

  1. Click here to register
  2. Select the Register Here button
  3. Accept the Waiver
  4. Select Join a Team
  5. Search for Do Better Movement
  6. You got it from there!

Black Music History "Giving Them Roses" – Day 22: Leroy Hutson

Posted on by dre' of onustees.com
A brother who truly deserves an Unsung special…

Here’s the reasons why you should know Leroy Hutson…
  • He was roommates with Donny Hathaway at Howard… (I didn’t discover Hutson until I went to the Capstone…)
  • Co-wrote Hathaway’s “The Ghetto”
  • Handpicked by Curtis Mayfield to replace him for The Impressions
  • Released a strong catalog of solo albums on Mayfield’s record label, Curtom
  • He made… “I’ll Be There, I Still Care”… if you don’t immediately dig this song… you might want to check your pulse…
Check that pulse…

Used by Kidz In The Hall for “Mr. Alladatshit”…

Hutson in action…

What you know about that Gentlemen music…

Black Music History "Giving Them Roses" – Day 17: Gene Chandler

Posted on by dre' of onustees.com
“The Duke of Earl”

Today we give roses to the Eugene Dixon… better known as Gene Chandler… He is primarily recognized for his hit “Duke of Earl”… However, my favorite work is his 1978 album Get Down… highlights on the album are “I’m The Traveling Kind”, “Please Sunrise” and the popularly sampled “Tomorrow I May Not Feel Same”…

“Duke of Earl”

“Nothing Can Stop Me”

“Tomorrow I May Not Feel The Same”

“I’m The Traveling Kind”

Black Music History "Giving Them Roses" – Day 16: Leon Ware, Happy Birthday!

Posted on by dre' of onustees.com
Helped populate a sizable portion of the Black community…

This may be unfair… but it’s easiest to explain the legacy of Leon Ware by stating he’s a modern-day Cyrano de Bergerac… Extremely talented and gifted… However, in the eyes of his label, Motown… He lacked that certain look when compared to his counterparts… Namely, Marvin Gaye… Evident when Berry Gordy instructed him to give his demo “I Want You” to Marvin Gaye as a lead single… Later his entire I Want You album would be tailored for Gaye; after Marvin heard some of the tracks Ware played for him at his home… Ware would reconstruct the elements of those tracks and produce Musical Massage… A classic album in it’s own right featuring Minnie Riperton, Bobby Womack and Marvin Gaye… However, it is regarded as a missed opportunity as a follow-up album to Marvin’s I Want You… Ware continued the success of those projects with Inside Is Love, a funkier sound than the soul ballads he had developed earlier… It would be a couple of decades before he found similar success… With Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, where he co-wrote “Sumthin’ Sumthin'”…
Marvin & Leon…

“Comfort (Come Live With Me Angel)” featuring Minnie Riperton

“Instant Love” featuring Minnie Riperton

“What’s Your Name”

Minnie Riperton’s “Inside My Love”… co-written by Leon Ware (plays 2x for some reason…)

Bonus: Electric Wire Hustle’s “Perception” using “Inside My Love” sample…

To the brother responsible for the births of many… 
We celebrate you on your birthday…
…Leon Ware.

Black Music History "Giving Them Roses" – Day 15: Lonnie Liston Smith

Posted on by dre' of onustees.com
“Believe me… You know my style…”

It’s, admittedly, wrong to roll up an artist’s entire body of work into one piece of art… Especially, with such a decorated journeyman as Lonnie Liston Smith, Jr… But bottom line… he’s the brother that gave you this…
…where it all began…

…due to this…

HOV!

Black Music History "Giving Them Roses" – Day 11: Bobby Womack

Posted on by dre' of onustees.com
Your talented crazy uncle… Robert Dwayne Womack.

I’m not sure why he feels like family but Bobby Womack does… Maybe it’s his handling of “Harry Hippie”… He approaches the song like story-time chat at the card table after Thanksgiving dinner… Both sharing the tale and resolving the issue of dealing with Harry, all the while counting the number of books he has in Spades… Concluding “I’d like to help a man when he’s down, but I can’t help him much if he’s sleeping on the ground…” It could be that… or the fact, like most uncles, he’s pretty much done it all in his 66 years… 
  • He’s been mentored by a legend… Sam Cooke.
  • Wrote the first # 1 hit song for legendary rock band… The Rolling Stones.
  • Rose to stardom and with a hit record… Harry Hippie; a song about his brother.
  • Married his dead mentor’s widow… Barbara Campbell.
  • His brother married the daughter of the dead mentor and his… ex-wife.
  • Had his career derailed due to personal issues… see last two points. 
  • Rebounded his career with hit… “If You Think You’re Lonely Now.”
  • Remained relevant in today’s pop culture by collaborating with a virtual band… Gorillaz.
Surely, a worthy list for any uncle… 
I’m positive somewhere on stage is a bottle of Hennessy…

Top Womack song in my iTunes…

Tell ’em…

That’s YO’ uncle…

More woman tales…

Top 5 Soundtrack Theme Songs of All-Time

Uncle Bobby, we thank you.

Do Better Thursday: Wonderful World of Sports

Posted on by dre' of onustees.com
It’s Do Better time… *does Championship Belt Move*

On the heels of the Green Bay Packers victory in the Super Bowl… It’s time for a Do Better Thursday post with a sports slant…
Clock’s running out… Let’s get to it…
DOING IT RIGHT!!!
  • Wake Forest baseball coach donates kidney to freshman player and becomes MVP… No one in Kevin Jordan’s family were a match… His coach, Tom Walter,  was and stepped up to the plate… Truly, a feel-good story about a coach dedicated to the well-being of his players… This isn’t the 1st time he’s shown his compassion… Walter was a coach for the University of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina… Despite his house being completely destroyed… He was willing to aid any players looking to transfer… Definitely… Do Better Approved.
“Let’s do this…”

GO E-A-G-L-E-S!!!

  • Eagles continue to make my “hop on the bandwagon” decision a prudent one… DeSean Jackson of the Eagles met 13 year old bully victim, Nadin Khoury, on The View with teammates… There to discuss the incident, which was captured on video, and speaking out so others wouldn’t meet the same fate, Nadin was surprised by his favorite player… Check out the video…
One Brave Kid…

25 Million plus hits!?! Wish he was rocking an on.us.tee…

Do Better Approved.
  • I haven’t touched on the uprising in Egypt… but it should be known… anyone fighting for freedom and/or a better way of life… is Do Better Approved. Here is a clip mashing up protest footage with Kanye West’s “Power”…
No one man…

GOING TO HELL!!!
  • Been awhile since something has surpassed “Doing It Wrong”… Sure, the mother who shot and killed her children for being “mouthy” is worthy… But that is uber-depressing… So instead… I’ll leave you with this image that came across my Tumblr dashboard… Your Welcome.
CHARLES WOODSON DIDN’T BREAK HIS COLLARBONE IN THE SUPER BOWL FOR THIS!!!

Thanks for reading…
…and doing better…
– dre of onustees.com