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For Bookings Call La’ Entertainment at 704-226-8900 or Email Latif@La-Entertainment.com

For Bookings Call La’ Entertainment at 704-226-8900 or Email Latif@La-Entertainment.com

Freestyle's # 1 Booking Agent

FREESTYLE ARTISTS AVAILABLE FOR BOOKINGS CALL 704-226-8900

ANGEL (Original CoverGirl), LIL’ SUZY, LISETTE MELENDEZ, S.A.L. (Suzy, Angel, Lisette), ALISHA, ANGELINA, APRIL (Seduction), CAROL DOUGLAS, CLUB NOUVEAU, CONNIE, CORO, CYNTHIA, DEBBIE DEBB, DJ MICKEY (MIC MAC) GARCIA, DOUG E. FRESH, EYGPTIAN LOVE, FRANCE JOLI, FREEDOM WILLIAMS (C&C), FREESTYLE EVOLUTION, SKEE-LO, BABY BASH, SLIM THUG, GEORGE LAMOND, EXPOSE, GQ, GRANDMASTER FLASH, GRANDMASTER MELE MEL & SCORPIO, JOHNNY O, JOYCE SIMMS, JUDY TORRES, K7, KOOL MOE D, KURTIS BLOW, LISA LISA, MARTHA WASH, MC LYTE, NAUGHTY BY NATURE, NAYOBE, NEWCLEUS, NINA SKY, NOEL, PLANET PATROL, PRETTY POISON, REINA, ROB BASE, REAL ROXANNE, ROBIN S, ROCHELL, ROCK PROJECT, SHANNON, SLICK RICK, SPECIAL ED, SWEET SENSATION, STEVIE B, STYLIN’ FREAKS, SUGARHILL GANG, TAVARES, TAYLOR DAYNE, THE JETS, THE LEGENDS OF FREESTYLE, THE LEGENDS OF HIP HOP, TIM “SPINNIN’ SHOMER, TIMMY T, TITO PUENTE Jr, TKA, TRINERE, VANILLA ICE, YOUNG MC, & MORE, CNR (TRILOGY), JOEY KIDD, FASCINATION, COMPANY B, BRENDA K. STARR, DMC (RUN DMC), JONELLE, PETER FONTAINE, WILLIE VALENTINE, STEFANIE BENNET, PAIN, NOCERA

I took Yolanda from around the waist and kissed her on her cheek, then I positioned her to face the crowd, and she waved some more as girls from the crowd called out her name, and guys whistled. I asked for the audience’s attention, and they quieted down. Then I turned to my beautiful manager. I looked her in the eyes as she tilted her head slightly trying to figure out what I was up to. Then her eyes widened and her head straightened. She got the idea when I suddenly stuck my hand into my jacket pocket.

An unexpected emotion began overcoming me, I couldn’t believe what I was feeling, as if I was about to cry. I was choked up and thought that if I said something, I would crack. But it was too late now, I had to push through it. I sucked in the tears, Yolanda stared at me, her eyes too began to water and the muscles in her face pulled it into a smile. Her gorgeous whites illuminated her face like an angel.

For the first time ever, life seemed perfect. I looked at this incredible person standing in front of me, in disbelief that I was about to propose to her. My eyes quickly glanced to the side toward the audience, and there was Santos standing below at the foot of the stage.

He was smiling, and because he knew what was going to happen before it did, he seemed to feel a part of it. This would be a story he would tell for the rest of his life. I looked back at my soon to be, and said, “Yolanda Fuentes?” Her smile widened. “You have been an Angel to me. Not only in my career, but more importantly, my life.”

I pulled out the small black ring box and held it in front of me. Yolanda’s jaw dropped as I opened it. Her eyes went from the ring back up to me, she stared me in the eyes in a way that told me it would be a yes, and then suddenly her eyes shifted from my eyes to over my shoulder.

She screamed and before I could turn all the way around I felt a tremendous push from behind me. The ring box flew from my hand, I managed to keep my balance remaining on my feet when a second hit knocked me down. My arms were held behind me making it impossible to shield my face from the oncoming floor. All went black! … Read More

  … Suzy has performed in Texas so many times, we use to joke about her buying a house there. When ever I speak to fans, especially those from the East Coast who swear Freestyle’s dead (probably because the so-called Freestyle leaders of the East Coast don’t know what the F#%K they’re doing.). When I tell these people how many shows we do there, not just with Lil’ Suzy but also S.A.L. who for the past few years have been widely excepted by the Texans.

Not only are the Freestyle fans alive and kickin in TX, but the respect and admiration our artist receive from the fans is how it was back in the 80′s. When I was still at Metropolitan Records and we use to try and break ne Lil’ Suzy records in her own hometown of New York, and we got absolutely no play. But every record we release was picked up by Texa radio and played on heavy rotation.

As far as the New York fans are concerned, Lil’ Suzy has only release 2, maybe 3 records… Of course Take Me In Your Arms… A few know Promise Me, and a few more know When I Fall In Love… But as a Texas fan to name a favorite Lil’ Suzy record and you might get a list like this… Take Me In Your Arms, Real Love, Can’t Get You Out Of My Mind, Promise Me, Till The End Of Time, Now and Forever, Love Can’t Wait and so on and so forth. if you are not familair with those songs, go to YouTube and check them out.

Anyhow, I just wanted to take a second and on behalf of myself, Lil’ Suzy and the rest of our Family… Thank you Texas and we’ll see you again soon, I’m sure.

Freestyle fans are pretty much the same age as the Freestyle artist. And if that’s the case, then many of them grew up watching or at least remembering this show. It was  called “To Tell The Truth”

Unfortunately, this is a game show that needs to come back, and it’s contestants need to be those involved in the Freestyle market. We need to sit down those who claim to be or be a part of a questionable artist or group and ask them a slew of questions that only the original’s would know.

Like, what were TKA wearing the day they came up with their name?
What was the hardest part of recording the Cover Girl’s “Show Me?”
Where were the members of Will To Power when they Met?
I have spoken time and time again about deceptive practices within the Freestyle genre, and I can’t stress it enough, just how damaging it is to our market. When I speak of this, I am not just speaking to the Promoters and Agents. I am also speaking to Managers, Artists and more importantly, to the fans who are indeed, the end sufferers! Please, all who read this, leave a comment at the end and feel free to express yourselves. Please no curse words, this blog is set with a filter that detects them and blocks the comment. So many artists themselves claim they don’t support this deceptive practice, yet they are quick to jump on stage with any Freestyle wanna-be. “It’s business Latif!” Is what they say. “Exactly!” I reply. It is business, your business Mr. Artist, manager, promoter and agent, and until you protect it, it’s spiraling qucikly to the ground.” Oh is this about the Phony Girls again?“   Click image below to see how Freestyle is being represented by these imposters.    
 

The Phony Girls
Proof  That Fans are Being  Robbed  

Well, not anymore, the Phonies are going to do their thing, and the idiots are still going to book them. Fans however need to realize that every time they purchase a ticket, they are telling the Phonies that this is okay, it’s acceptable.  Because of this, the illness is spreading like wildfire. Managers who haven’t been in the market for years, are coming out of the woodwork. Why? Because eventhough their relationship with their former client has been over for years, they discovered that the show can still go on, with a chance to still cash in.  All they have to do, is find someone that might (or might not) resemble the act. Teach them the songs and dance steps, print some pictures and Wala! Instant Freestyle artist. If  they were to package this idea, the instructions would simply say, “Just Add Lies” What’s sad is the majority of the Freestyle fans don’t realize this is happening until they either they see the show, or they read something like this blog. So even though I might have a personal thing when it comes to The Phony Girls, my main beef is the overall impact it’s having on ”MY” market.  The Phony Girls do shows for the crooks of the market, people who don’t care enough for their audience to atleast find them the real deal, so these are not people I would work with anyway.  I’ve dedicated many pages such as this to the exposure of The Phonies, and right now,  Angel “The Original CoverGirl”  stays busy, turning it out from Miami to Maui.      
 

Angel “The Original CoverGirl”  

You see, what I need to point a finger at, are some of the other deceiver’s in the market. Those hiding backstage before showtime.  But before I begin. To the so-called artist and managers, this isn’t meant to be an attack against you, but rather a rescue for the Freestyle market in itself! You see, I make a living with this Freestyle thing, so I have a clear incentive as to why I need to protect it, an attitude that should be common among other industry professionals, unfortunately, it isn’t. Believe me, there are many more imposters out there, but I need to focus on a few that are actually affecting the Freestyle market. You see these acts are looked up to and resepected. people watch them and figure, well if they’re doing it, then it must be okay! So I would truly appreciate any help from knowledgeable readers.  Fans, fellow artist, deleted group members etc. But keep in mind, it isn’t going to take just knowledge, it is going to take balls too! I might make a few enemies with this post, but at the same time, I might gain some integrity for the market.  Besides, those who might be offended, are those involved in the deception, so do I really care what they think?  Let me go back a bit, and begin with one company that I had experience with, and that was the old High Powered Records, led by Mr. Tony Garcia.      
 Tony Dr. Edit Garcia   This was an important company at one time, but when you participate in deception, I’m sorry, you are just bound to fall, and that’s what happened here. High Powered had a few credible acts on their label, and were contributors to Freestyle’s  spread throughout the US.  But I can sympathise with them a bit, like I can with many of the other Freestyle labels back in the day. Whereas these compaines were created by some really talented producers, who created some really great music, they had no real business skills. Keep in mind, running a label consist of two skills, creating the music, and managing the business.  Major labels allocate staff for these different jobs, Freestyle label heads tried to do it all themselves.  The label heads wanted to be stars themselves and instead of staying in the office crunching numbers and planning their next move, they went on the road with their acts. They were so caught up in the success of their current act that they neglected the business of keeping that act working, let alone developing new acts. label heads started relying heavily on that current act, putting more and more preasure on them, so much that they got fed up, tired of the abuse and skipped. So there’s Mr. Label head, standing there with nothing but a name that he claims to own. He’s come to truly rely on that income producing artist so much, that in a sort of spiteful attempt to hurt that artist and hopefully help himself, he totally disregards the audience that has actually placed that money in his pocket and now feeds them what I call  ‘Phonies” By re-issuing the “NAME” to a new and niave artist, Shoot some new photos then put them back on the road, confident that the fans won’t know the difference.  This had fans scratching their heads wondering what was going on. I’m only familiar with a few, such as Wicked, NV and Renaldo. There were  others, I’m sure, and if you know who they are, please comment here. Then there was another artist who was part of that camp. An artist that I am extremely close to and have been around since she was just a little girl. That artist is Lil’ Suzy.  

       The Incredible Career Of Lil’ Suzy

Suzy without a doubt put High Powered Records on the map, and till this day she is one of the most requested Freestyle artist in the market. When the numbers weren’t working anymore and the drama was just too much for this very young artist, she was removed from the label. Now keep in mind, she didn’t leave to go with another label, she left simply to get off High Powered, and it was a great decision. It was an unhealthy company about to self-destruct. She was protected by her parents and myself, a relationship that many in the industry envied along with many attempts to throw in a wrench. But what they failed to realize is that my “Personal” relationship with Suzy and her family is more important to me than my “Professional” relationship with them. Her first album on that label was called “Love Can’t Wait” and housed the Freestyle hit “Take Me In Your Arms.” This song catapulted Lil’ Suzy and High Powered to another level. But when you give success to bad business, it creates a monster. Not only was “Take Me” an international hit, Lil’ Suzy was just 11 years old, and a novelty in herself, an even more reason to embrace this incredible little superstar. When Suzy was removed from the label, it was without doubt an end for High Powered. Not knowing what to do, having already created a horrible name for themselves without a loyal artist left, High Powered came up with a plan that they felt would not only recapture their crown, but possibly kick them up a notch, while poor Lil’ Suzy fades away. High Powered found another little girl, who they named ingeniously, Lil’ Johanna.    
  

Lil’ Johanna   

High Powered studied the Lil’ Suzy model which consisted of three main elements; youth, looks and of course talent. The makings of what could’ve been another High Powered star. But instead of giving her originality, her own songs etc. She was brought in, in an attempt to bump Suzy from her spotlight. But evil can not prevail and the one who got hurt during this was poor Johanna. High Powered sold her a dream of becoming a star, when in realty, she was a mere pawn in the labels own little war game.

But you see, Suzy wasn’t new to this, she had been doing this years before she even signed with High Powered. She had more experience as a little girl than the owner of the label himself, and today you can see them on opposite sides of the Freestyle fence. By the way, does anyone know what the hell happened to Lil’ Johanna? 

So there it was, a case of trying to bump one artist with another. It didn’t work! Now we step into another realm, this one was to do with multiple group members.  Now this is tricky ground here and every case has to be dealt with differently.  But before I get into that, I want people to try and remember this. “If all the members of a group are still alive and well, and they want to perform, I feel the group should make an effort. Hey, we don’t always like the people we work with, but we work with them regardless. When members of a group decide to pull out and don’t want to be a part of it anymore, then there I see a legitimate reason to find substitutes. In this case, it is about the fans.  But when you have members of a group that want to get together, but one or two of them are keeping the others out, that to me is unfair, and there will never be any real success in it.  Okay, you might get some shows here and there, but is that real success? Let steps back for a minute and take another look at this situation regarding The Cover Girls. Honestly, who in the Freestyle industry doesn’t know that Angel “OCG” is my wife? Yes I will protect her till the end of time, and with whatever it takes, and she’d do the same for me.  But this situation isn’t about a husband protecting his wife, but rather a manager protecting his artist, or better yet, an industry professional protecting his industry. Way before Angel and I were even dating, she’s had issues with her management, which we all know was at the time Sal Abbatiello, a great contributor in my opinion to the Freestyle Industry, but at the same time, a great destructor. Why do I say that? Because he personified the old cliché’ “He Cut His Nose To Spite His Face.” In other words, since he couldn’t have things his way, he decided to punish the entire Freestyle community. Because he no longer has a hold on Angel, who as we all know is The Original CoverGirl, he goes to great lengths to try and keep her from performing. Unfortunately for him, Angel is married to Freestyle’s Greatest Booking Agent. So she works more now than she did, even back during the old Cover Girl days. She without doubt makes much more money, and for all who have been around her these days, her personality glows with happiness, something she hasn’t experienced in this business for many many years. The handful of shows that Angel has been bumped from are the Freestyle concerts at Madison Square Garden, The Mohegan Sun, and all Fever events. These concerts feature in her place three girls who came from God knows where, to perform as The Cover Girls, (From here on they will be referred to by the industry term: The Phony Girls) another poor attempt to deceive the Freestyle audience. I have approached promoters involved with some of these events and asked why man, why? A few said that they were threatened to be Sued by Mr. Abbatiello. I believed this t be true because one of my trusty promoters faxed me a copy of this general letter Sal sent around. By the way, those letters made excellent toilet paper!  
   To the fans who have attended concerts featuring “THE PHONY GIRLS”. Please do not stand for this. You are giving up your hard-earned money to see a concert. It’s like filling up your tank at a gas station, then finding out that it was just water. You don’t stand for this, you speak up and demand a refund. As long as you accept it, it will not stop!If you thought that maybe Angel just wasn’t performing anymore, so you have to settle for the Phonies, then check out all the concerts she has performed at in just the last couple of years. From here on, when you are sitting or standing in the audience, awaiting The Cover Girls, and you see three unfamiliar faces walk on stage lip-syncing over what is properly Freestyle Most Distinctive Voices, please proceed with a Boooo!  If Phony acts are shown love and acceptance, then before you know it, you will be paying top dollar for what I would call a “Karaoke Concert.”Here’s another letter. This time Sal brought it up a notch and hired an attorney. This letter was sent to one of my promoters over at Cox Radio. Just so you know. None of these letter’s worked. 
     Let me make another point here really clear. When in the world was the last time Angel ever used “Formerly Of The Cover Girls?”  Angel has been billed as “The Original CoverGirl” since as far back as I could remember. Not because we were scared of these stupid threats, because as long as it is a FACT, Angel can use the Term Formerly Of.. This goes for ANY other acts experience a similar situation. But we chose NOT to use formerly. You see, in my opinion “Formerly Of  The Cover Girls,” indicates that the group is still around, but that Angel is no longer a part of it. I coined the name “The Original CoverGirl” because it states a hard fact! And the only other Cover Girls Angel ever performed with were Caroline, Sunshine and Margo and they are no longer in the business.    

Sunshine, Angel, Caroline                      Caroline, Angel, Margo

Oh, and about the contreversy regarding The Cover Girl release of  “Wishing On A Star.”  Sorry folks, that was not The Phony Girls either, but rather the beautiful and talented Michelle Valentine.

 
Click here to check out the video

As long as I’ve been around Angel. She’s always gotten request by promoters as well as fans, to sing “Wishing On A Star.” and her reply. “I didn’t sing that song, that was Michelle Valentine.” Angel knew how she felt when The Phonies pretented to sing her songs, and she said she would never do the same. Besides, she had plenty of her own songs to sing including two incredible ballads, “Promise Me” and “We Can’t Go Wrong.”

Let’s face it folks, we’re all getting older, and there will be a time when we will have no choice but to experience so-called Tribute Concerts. As artist of this genre begin to die off, we will have to replace them in order to give alive their legacy. But to try and due so before their time, is a sad song, and a great misfortune to the Fans who grew up on Freestyle.  

I met this woman who’s name is Suzi Carr.
Suzi CarrMany people know her as the original member of WILL TO POWER. What a great group, what great songs, an incredible contributor to our genre.  
The Original Will To Power with Suzi CarrBut unfortunately, greed stepped into that group as well, and the lead singer was tossed from the group to be replaced by one much younger. I could understand this move if the group is still putting out hits and their want to maintain the youth. But if that was the case, then I would’ve suggested that even the male side of the group, Mr. Bob Rosen also be tossed.I finally got to see Suzi Carr perform at a show in LA, and I seen the current WILL TO POWER Perform without her, and I have to say, that the light of that group was in fact, Ms. Carr.
The New Will To Power without SuziWhen she got up on that stage, it was like she invited the audience into her living-room. The sincerity of the things she said to her audience were unquestionable. At that point I wanted to share my experience with my promoters and I immediately got on the phone and began selling. Booking the shows usually go undetected. But one of the things that we do at La’ Entertainment is assist our clients in promoting their events. Hey, if my promoters aren’t successful, then neither am I. One of the ways that we help is with a marketing machine I had created many years ago called FreestyleBlast. It’s an on-line marketing ad that reaches thousands of people every single week. It is a very important and effective tool. This is when all hell breaks out. This is when what I do is noticed, when Freestyle Blast is let lose. So I received a surprised phone call from Mr. Rosenberg, well it wasn’t really a surprise, I was expecting it. I have to admit, it’s so obvious why he can’t sell himself any shows, his phone skills suck!  He began with a slew of verbal insults that most people only dare to say to me over the phone and from another part of the country. I allowed him to speak, and when he was done, I couldn’t help but to laugh hysterically. He sounded like an old Jewish man cursing out a telemarketer.Of course I had to put him in his place. He threatened to meet me in Florida the following week. I would be there with Angel and Lil Suzy….. Well, he was a No Show!  Yes I received an attorney letter from him as well, though the texture of the paper was much softer than Sal’s.       Let’s  go back several years. Angel and I were just dating and we attended a party at a club in Queens, NY. We both knew practically everyone on our own terms. But there was one guy that I had no idea who he was. He walked around the club talking to everyone. Angel introduced him to me as David Torres, one of the guys from the group Nice & Wild.    
 David Torres   We shook hands and proceeded to talk.  He knew who I was, well most artists do. He was a nice guy, a little jumpy, but nice indeed.The next day, back at the office, Angel asked me. “Why don’t you put David on your Roster and try and get him some shows?” That day David just happened to call. We spoke for a while and I got all the specifics on booking him. Who fly’s? From where? How many rooms? and of course, how much are you asking?  David simply said, whatever you can get me. At that time his going rate, if he was lucky $300. to $500. Again, that’s if he was lucky, which wasn’t often. Most of the time he would settle for just a limo, fruit platter and a spotlight.  I of course can’t make a living on fruit platters, and 10% of $500. wouldn’t even cover all the calls I had to make to pitch him. But Angel stayed on me, and vouched persistently on his behalf. You see, there was a time when Angel was in that same boat, when making a living in this market was next to impossible. She wanted to share her blessings. This is Angel, always is, always will be! So I had booked a show for Angel, Lisa Lisa and Debbie Deb in Los Angeles, I got David on. I bought his fee up to a comfortable $1,000. More than he’d ever seen in his career, especially for the role he originally played as a background dancer. I got him a flight and a room, and I looked forward to seeing him perform. You see, I can only sell something that I believe in, and if I don’t see it for myself, then I can’t believe it, and therefore, I can’t sell it. I need something to pitch to my promoters. I need to be able to tell them, “I saw the show and it was on fire!”Angel had two shows that night. One with David, then we had to shoot over to the second club. I got to see David perform and was pleased with his performance. Though most acts work a bit harder when they know I’m watching, I knew if David kept this up, we could get his fee up a few dollars more. After Angel performed we headed to the second club. I was impressed and excited to get back to the office to start booking David Torres.The following morning as we were leaving the hotel, I saw David pacing the lobby. He looked upset. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “The promoter stiffed me, La!” Was his reply. Apparently David didn’t abide by Performance Rule Number one… DO NOT GET ON STAGE UNTIL YOU ARE PAID YOUR BALANCE! I felt bad, well, could I really blame him? he wasn’t use to making money. But none the less I felt a bit responsible. I stuck my hand in my pocket and pealed out 5 one hundred dollar bills and handed them over to David. “Yo La’ you don’t have to do that!” He said. “I’ll get it back, don’t worry.” It took me about a month, but eventually I got my $500. back from the promoter when he booked Daddy Yankee from me. From that day on, I began booking David at various venues throughout the country. From Chicago to New York, Miami to California and Texas. I placed him on the Freestyle Explosion concert when it first sprang on to the scene and got him $1500. to $2000. a show. he had an incredible season, and I was happy to help!Soon after he began working with Mickey Garcia of Mic Mac Records and I guess Mickey became his manager. (Yes, Mickey Garcia and Tony Garcia, whom I mentioned earlier are brothers. Hmm, go figure)
Mickey Garcia

Anyway, Mickey stayed on me to get him shows, which I did. Then I received a strange from him early one morning. David wanted to know the name of a particular Texaspromoter I booked him with a few shows back. (I have an incredible memory, hu David?)  At the moment I thought nothing of it, and without hesitation, gave him the name. The next thing I know, a flyer pops up in my email about a show David Torres Formerly of Nice & Wild is doing in Texas, at one of my clubs. Yes, the one whom he asked of the promoter’s name.I called David, but to no avail, his caller ID kept me at bay. I started seeing more and more flyers popping up on the internet, with David Torres gracing it’s front side. Then it really happened. David did a show in Chicago (another one of my clubs) with The Phony Girls. All I could think of at that moment was how persistent Angel was at having me book him shows. As much as I hated to do it, I showed her the flyer.Well, in this business, you can’t let things like that affect you. So I did the obvious. I stopped booking David Torres, I even took him off my roster. Mickey Garcia and I continued working, and later on, against my better judgment, I even put David on a couple of more shows, a favor to Mickey. Not once had I ever told Mickey what David had done, it was between us and I didn’t need to involve others, even though I knew Mickey was behind it. Hey it’s business! At least that’s what I was always told by those who somehow someway dealt with The Phony Girls.Starting with The Freestyle Music Awards in which I placed Mickey on the red carpet to DJ along side of La’ Radio’s  Danski. from then on I started putting Mickey on many of my shows, highlighting his name and image in all my FreestyleBlast. I brought his asking up a few hundred dollars and was going. My intentions were to make him the most requested DJ in the Freestyle market. Thank God I didn’t, because I never really paid attention, and overhead someone say that he doesn’t spin live, instead plays Mix CDs during his sets. But that’s just hearsay, I’d have to see that for myself before I can confirm it. I kind of saw our relationship growing, and like always my wife rooted for him and always reminded me to pitch him to my promoters. Mickey somehow hooked up with a Promoter from new Jerseywho wanted to do concerts. Mickey told me about it and I was excited.  Well, I waited… and waited… and waited. But good ol’ Mic never called. Instead he called his ol’ buddy Sal Abbatiello, and lo and behold a new concert suddenly sprang up, and of course, it featured, The Phony Girls!When I approached Mickey about it, he told me that he has to book The Phony Girls because Sal books David. Okay, I saw where that was going and simply left it alone. I knew at that point that Angel wouldn’t be on that particular concert, but I didn’t expect him to keep her off the other half dozen he ended up booking not did Mickey put her on any of the other two that followed. For the second show he did call me for Lil’ Suzy, but she was already booked somewhere, then he called me again for her for the third show. She was about to step out of the market for a minute to become a Mommy, so  I was trying to get her as many shows as possible. But then, I never got a call back. I later on found out that The Phony Girls didn’t want Suzy there because of her relationship with us… Sorry Suzy!Suzy never wanted to do shows with The Phonies either, unlike many whom have proudly shared the stage with them, Suzy is and always has been a loyal friend to Angel and I. Angel even spoke to Suzy and told her to take the shows with the Phonies if they come, money’s tight these days, and you can’t be turning down shows. It didn’t matter, she wouldn’t do it!Though Mickey was booking the Phonies in Florida and Pennsylvania, Angel and I, being the professionals we are still greeted Mickey like a friend. He said it wasn’t personal, just business, and we were grown enough to understand.Then one day, I was put in touch with a guy out of Floridanamed John Minnis. I was told that John was the actual “Voice” of Nice & Wild. This was a fact and confirmed by numerous people in the industry. John and I got to know each other and I found him to be a really cool guy, and very humble. I asked him why he wasn’t out there singing Diamond Girl, the song he recorded many years ago. He told me he just wasn’t interested anymore. As we continued talking I began to up-date him on the Freestyle genre, and he was surprised at the huge turnaround it made the last few years, and even more surprised when I told him how much I use to get David Torres. Of course this was way before I knew the facts. I asked John about David and all he could say was. “I know he didn’t sing anything!” After a few long phone conversations, I somehow convinced John Minnis to step back into the market, no strings attached. Oh, speaking of strings. There isn’t an artist in the market who can ever say that I asked for exclusivity, so let’s put the rumor that I asked David for exclusivity. If I did that he’d be calling me up every week to help him pay his bills. No thank you!I would work solely as a Booking Agent, making my measly 10%, yet I would help as if I was his manager and get him out there. I explained to John what I did for Angel and the huge success she was now enjoying. John was excited and gave me a green light to help get him back out there.    
    

     John Minnis    I immediately got a picture of him, wrote a little blurb about him and launched him with the infamous FreestyleBlast! In no time the calls began flowing in and I was beginning to secure dates around the country. Within one week I had bites from LA, FL, Chicago, San Antonio, Canada and Hawaii. This was great. The first show in Los Angeles was locked. Contract signed by the promoter and deposits were in. There was just one problem. John Minnis went Missing In Action.For some strange reason, I think he caught a case of the jitters and disappeared. I wasn’t upset, but I was disappointed. I felt bad for him. This guy never really wanted to do this. The great salesman I was sold him on the idea, but the fear he had was greater and didn’t allow me to close the deal. “John, please brother, if you’re reading this, give me a call. I’m not mad at you!” It was just a coincidence that my good friend Scott Haslett got hold of Reggie and Remy. The two guys that fronted the group  Nice & Wild when it first hit the scene. The timing couldn’t be better and after many attempts to contact John Minnis, I had to resort to plan B and sell my promoter over to Reggie & Remy.     

  Reggie & Remy (Nice & Wild) I wouldn’t lie to him, I explained to him the same thing that I explained on this blog, and without hesitation and watching the Nice & Wild Video with Reggie & Remy, I sold it and closed the deal.Remember earlier I told you, people don’t know anything about my bookings until they are placed on FreestyleBlast. Well, that’s what happened here! As soon as I placed these guys on my blast, all hell broke out. Do I get calls? Oh hell no! I have to hear things through the internet, via myspace, facebook etc. hey, I guess they feel safe doing it that way.Immediately, post and emails were distributed via Facebook, myspace, twitter, regular email etc. I would love to challenge each and every lying sentence, but honestly, I’m too busy booking shows. Besides, the people who really matter to me, know me well enough to know that I just don’t do things like that.before the first show, Remy decided to step away from Nice & Wild to pursue his own thing, so Reggie went out, got a couple of guys and once again, re-formed Nice & Wild. So, there were once three guys named Tony, Kayel and Aby, and they called themselves T.K.A.  
Aby, Kayel, TonyThey recorded many songs such as Scars Of Love, Come Get My Love, Maria and so on and so forth.  Well, I don’t really need to get too technical because what made the group break up isn’t the essence of this blog.  What is the essence is the fact that there were others involved in this group that are not involved now. In my opinion, if the three people who are involved, don’t have names that begin with a T, K or A, they red flags fly, and it is important to make sure the fans are aware of this. Whether they want to accept is of course on them, but the situation must be void of deception.As time passed, and for whatever reason their was, Aby was replaced with another “A” Angel Vasquez. You can see Angel in the video X-Ray Vision. Why Aby was replaced? I really don’t know, but he is welcome to comment to this blog and explain the situation.When I began booking the group in the early nineties, the group consisted of Tony, Kayel and Angel.  
     Tony, Kayel, AngelSometime around then, Kayel, whom is without doubt the “Key” member of the group and in my opinion very talented, became another group called K7 and The Swing Kids.

  
Prophet, Tre, Kayel, Los

This was probably my favorite group within the Freestyle genre (oh, but it wasn’t Freestyle!) Sorry folks, it was Freestyle, just a matured version of it.Anyhow, Kay rolled with the K7 concept for some time, but there was still a demand for T.K.A. I was probably the first agent to begin selling the combined package of K7/T.K.A. Then somewhere within this time George LaMond was added to the pack, I didn’t understand that at all.
Los, Kayel, TreThe K7/T.K.A. current performing around the country are no other than Kayel and the Swing Kids, minus Prophet, probably because a 4th member would pose too many questions.A talented and entertaining group, but of course, not T.K.A. Okay, before it is brought up by others, yes, at one time many many moons ago, TKA also consisted of a guy named Spider and La’ India… But there is neither an S nor an  I in the initials T.K.A… so they don’t count!Now I was cool with booking this group and there was no beef from Aby, Angel or Tony, till one day, Angel Vasquez called me and asked if I would get behind him and Aby. The first thing I did was call up Victor (13) T.K.A.’s acting Road Manager and let him know that the fellas had contacted me. We spoke for a while and he made it very clear to me that as long as they don’t use T.K.A. that all was cool. They would have to use Aby & Angel formerly T.K.A.  That sounds fair to me. I spoke with Angel and he had every intention to use the Formerly of.So I immediately go them a show and you know, one of the benefits of getting a booking through La’ is the infamous FreestyleBlast. So there it went, one show, two shows, three shows featuring Aby & Angel Formerly T.K.A.  
Angel and AbyNot only do they get the FreestyleBlast, once I book you a couple of paid shows, I automatically put you on my Roster Blast. Hmm, and the phones began to ring!!!Apparently Kayel wasn’t too happy about this and bellowed his trusty road manager to give me a call. It seemed now that the conversation we had a week or so earlier was forgotten and now I was given an ultimatum! Kayel or Aby & Angel?  Well, as much as I would’ve liked to keep them both on, I couldn’t have someone try and dictate to me how to run my business, and where most people would’ve dropped Aby & Angel immediately so as not to ruin a relationship with Kayel and his crew, I opted to roll with Aby & Angel. Whether the decision was right or wrong, I’m not one to allow anyone to Strong-Arm me. At that point I asked 13 (by the way, that’s his name for those who don’t know) does he want me to remove the group from my roster. After a bit hesitation and beating around the bush, I asked again. he said yes! Remove the group.  I knew that this would be a bigger mistake on their part than on mine. You see what happens at that point is we create question in the market. Now buyers have a choice, and people need to realize that as an Agent, I am a Salesperson, and as easy as it is for me to Sell something, it is just as easy for me to Un-Sell something.They have to realize, just as the others should. My intentions aren’t to HURT someone, but rather to HELP someone else, but I guess in this case, one has to be hurt in order for the other to be helped. But after all was said and done, I slept like a baby that night, my personal indicator that what I deed was right!Till this day I really don’t have an issue with the Kayel camp. I think their career choices are something to be considered and that they have a superior product that needs to be nurtured. But I guess the obvious perception people have about Freestyle are based on artists poor decision making abilities.BREAKING NEWS!!!!
during my days writing this blog, I received a certified letter from Mr. David Torres, you remember him right? The guy who’s been pretending to sing Diamond Girl for over “Twenty Years”. The texture of this paper seems a bit rough so I’ll just use this as a coaster to place my coffee mug. Listen, as far as I see it, if a judge would ever agree with yours or any of the other’s claim, then the justice system really sucks, and I try to give them at least some benefit of a doubt. Any way, here’s the letter.          For those who have never started a business. DBA stands for “Doing Business As” It is the lowest form of establishing a business and used mainly to open a bank account under that name. So Mr. Torres, or do I call you Mr. Nice & Wild, how about Mr. Trademark owner. When you start playing with the big boys, it might be a good idea to form a Legitimate Corporation and leave the DBA’s for the Lemonade Stand owners.Well people, there it is! Please try and understand that this is not an attempt of being an ass nor a trouble maker. But rather to shed light on an important issue regarding an industry that I care for and has cared for me and my family for many years. It’s a shame, because when you look at other markets such as Hip Hop. You don’t see things like this. There is and always will be One Rob Base, One Salt & Pepper, One Naughty by Nature. You will never go to an LL Cool J performance and be disappointed when a 17 year old kid walks out wearing a Kangol and rapping over LL’s recorded Vocals.This is why Hip Hop has stood the test of time. Why that genre has expanded into other areas such as fashion, film and sports. It’s created millionaires over and over again. Name me one millionaire in the Freestyle genre. Try and include an “Imposter” act in a Hip Hop concert. It would NEVER be tolerated! The other performers would be the first to step up and speak out, refuse to share the stage with a wanna-be phony who will do nothing but disgrace the stage and tarnish their night. And I wouldn’t put it pass them to physically toss those lying stealing thieves out on the curb where they belong.My wife had asked me a little while ago, why would I post these letters with all the contact information and names. Wouldn’t that make it easy for others to contact the Phony acts and their managers? In my opinion, if a promoter is that stupid, then I wouldn’t want to work with them anyway! Peace Out Ya’ll and don’t forget,   Speak Out Against Deceptive Freestyle Club and Concert Events   Freestyle 4 Life! La’ 

        R.I.P. Michael Jackson 1958 – 2009

Though I’ve never met Michael in person, his death effected me as if he was a close friend or family member. I still can’t believe it. I was taking a much needed nap, something I never do, when my phone rang and it was my sister Cindy. “Are you watching the news?” She asked. “Michael Jackson died!” Those words hit me like a bat to the chest as I turn on CNN and there it was. “I’ll call you back.” I told my sister, then sat at the edge of my bed in total disbelief.

I am no different than so many others in the music industry, because Michael was a tremendous influence to me too. I was about 4 or 5 years old when I first heard The Jackson Five. Mom bought me anything they put out, one of my favorite was the Christmas Album. How can you twist iconic songs, such as Christmas songs and pull them off better than the originals? At least that’s my opinion.

I use to love singing, it was what I wanted to do in life, and The Jackson Five songs were the first I ever memorized. There was one song in particular that stands out more than any of them…. Ben! Till this day, I can’t stand even the sight of rats, but Ben, the song about a Rat, was my very own personal theme.

Mom would have friends over and right before I went to bed, she would beg me to sing Ben for her company. I played like I didn’t really want to, but that was just a front to make everyone beg. “Okay!” I would say, and Mom would put the 45 (record) on the ”Record Player” thats what it was called back then, and the music would begin. I would sway side to side to the music, looking at each of Moms friends, a few smiled, a few seemed like they wanted me to hurry up so they could get back to their adult conversations, Mom smiled ear to ear, then I sang!

Till This day I am still not sure whether I sang it good or not, because even if I was terrible, my family would never say so, but Ben became a life long association to me growing up. From a young boy, to a teenager to a grown man with kids of my own, I still run a cross a family member here or there who would ask me.. “You still sing Ben?”

Wait! Don’t get too excited.
The park so far has nothing to do with Freestyle as we know it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t change that. A couple of weeks ago I got an unexpected call from Mike Cherney, a reporter for The Sun News, a paper out of South Carolina.
My family and I currently reside in North Carolina, just minutes away from where this park was being built, yet I had never even heard of it.
At first I thought, this was just another one of my friends playing a joke on me, then realized that this was indeed a legitimate call. Thank God, because I was about to hang up!
Without any sort of preparation, I found myself speaking on behalf of the entire Freestyle community, a position I would’ve preferred to have taken, had I been a bit more prepared. Mike, did a great job and asked some really important questions, considering he knew nothing about our genre of music, I appreciated his interest as well as his effort to understand.
Once we were done, I couldn’t wait to get to my computer. I started by typing in Freestyle Music Park, and was blown away by the amount of press it had already generated. I spent the rest of the day doing research and speaking with people connected to the park. They too, had no clue as to what Freestyle Music was.

They interpreted it as a word used to describe ”All” genres of  music. A market way too generalized and unfocused in my opinion. I began thinking about the positive effect an attraction such as this might create, and all the artist, producers and of course fans that would really benefit from it, or at least enjoy it.
Then I thought about the time when I began putting together the 2008 Freestyle Music Awards. The negative attacks it got from so-called fans and supporters of the genre. But I couldn’t stay quiet, if this is meant to be, then we all need to get involved. Below is a link that will take you to the actual interview I did for The Sun News.

I am asking everyone and anyone who proclaims to be a supporter of Freestyle, to read the interview, then comment on it. Please register under your name and let the readers know where you are from. This can be an incredible break through people. Put your pride aside and let’s see if we can make some noise. Plans to build other Freestyle Music Parks around the world are already in effect…
Wow! Can you imagine?
I will be looking out for your comments and appreciate all the support.
On behalf of the entire Freestyle community… Thank you
 
Latif Mercado
La’ Entertainment
    
Check It Out!!! 
 
Remember, No comment leaves room for negative comment… 

Yesterday October 30th 2008, I make a huge breakthrough in my life… I voted!
Now it might not seem as such a big deal to anyone else who has probably been voting for years, but for me it is, and I’ll tell you why.

As a young man, I was arrested and convicted of a Felony. Doing three years in the state penitentary. Though we are talking over twenty years ago, for some strange reason, I thought that I had lost that right and would never be able to vote.

My wife had heard different and took it upon herself to look into it.  She came into my office with some very important information.  Apparently, if you are not currently incarcerated and have done your time and successfully completed whatever parole or probation you might have had, your rights are automatically re-instated.

My hairs stood up and I was a bit overwhelmed by hearing this, and so was Angel.
She had already registered, but not yet voted. We drove down to the local library, I filled out the paperwork, with still some doubt as whether this was real or not. Was their something in that clause that I overlooked, where the person behind the counter is going to tell me, sorry sir, you cannot vote?

I filled out the paperwork and handed it in…. It was approved and he pointed to the line where I would stand to vote for the first time ever in my life.  I just recently turned 42 on Oct 25th 2008.

Angel and I stood on line and for the first time, I felt like a total adult!  Well, I cast my vote and so did Angel, we were able to share this historic moment together. For the Presidentiual race, I have been sitting on the bench rooting for my new soon to be President, but with no power to do anything about it, except watch.

I want to get the La’ Organization more involve in the American political system during the next election.

For all who have never voted or even registered, please do so.  For all who have had a past similiar to mine, take a chance and look into it.  Honestly, if it wasn’t for Angel I would still have been watching from the bench.  Thanks baby!

For more info log on to www.rockthevote.com

Okay, now that I have your attention. Let’s begin with a little math.  Freestyle began to sizzle around, let’s say, 1987. At that time, the “Average Age” of the artist were around 18 years old.. With exceptions of maybe Lil’ Suzy who was very young and a few of the acts that were already in their 20′s.   So here we go, a little math. 2008 – 1986 = 22 years ago.

22 Years + 18 Years = 40 Years Old!  There you go, the average age of today’s established Freestyle Artist. Again, these numbers are just my best estimate and don’t apply to everyone.

Now tell me, who are our record buying audience?
Well since this is my blog, let me initiate my opinion. “They Don’t Exist”!
To all the artist and producers, sorry, but we gotta be real here.
Yea, a few people will buy a download or CD here and there, but the number of sales will NEVER again be as significant as they were during said artist’s Sizzle.

This might seem crazy coming from me, maybe even a bit contrary to my actions in the market, but in order to try and find a solution, we must understand the problem, then admit it.

Many people within the last few years have released new material. Most, if not all of it we’ve supported within our organization, namely La’ Radio Live.

So what’s the problem?
First off, many of us don’t buy music anymore. One of the reasons is, it is so easy to get for free. Am I lying? No! Should we expect the Freestyle audience to go out and support us by buying our music? No we shouldn’t! Very few people will pay for something they could get for free, I wouldn’t! Would you? Don’t lie!

This is really not a bad thing. It is just evolution within the music industry.  Think of all the top Pop acts from back in the day. Do you think they could still sell records as they did during their sizzle? Sorry, they can’t either!

You see, the “Average” audience of an act is usually the same age as the acts themselves. Now note, I use the word average for all you analytical asses. When Freestyle artist in their teens grew into their 20′s, so did their audience. Many of the fans began college or entering the work force during this time or earlier. This was still a great time for the market.

When the acts got into their 30′s, again, so did their audience. At this time, most were either done with school and working or were married with children. At this point, the audience begins to conserve, and as much as they would have loved to support us with all they had, it just wasn’t feasible.

Record sales begin to slow down and the clubs weren’t packing like they use to. Radio at this point switches format to a more popular brand of music, why? Not because they don’t like the music anymore, but because they are always after the majority of the listeners.

So here we are, 2008. Can we ever see Freestyle peak again? yes, I think we can, but it will not be with any of the artist who’s sizzle has already passed. We will need new artist, young artist, young producers and then will come the new audience.  I have been saying this for years. Should our established act ever stop recording new music? Absolutely not, and whenever they do, be sure the La’ Org will support it.

But keep in mind and don’t be disappointed when the reaction to your new release is less than desired. Doesn’t mean it sucks, it’s probably better than some of your more classic stuff, it’s just the record buying audience is at a different level as to what they are looking for. Their ears are fresh, and sounds that we hear are not the same sounds they hear. Think about Grandpa when he wants to play you some old 33′s that he claims is the best music ever. You’ll be doing the same when you sit your grandchildren down to listen to your Classic Cover Girl records. They’ll look at you like you’ve lost it and try to sneak out the room when you are busy trying to demonstrate to them that times popular dance.

So what was the point of this blog? You see, even-though “our” record buying audience isn’t buying anymore, and the clubs are starting to attract our children and grandchildren. The Freestyle audience still wants to be entertained, but at a slower and more conservative setting. Say a nice outdoor concert, cruise ship or casino. Yes, eventhough it may seem a bit scary, that’s where we’re heading people!