2011 USA 107 MIN HD

SCR: Cheryl L. West

DIR: Robert Townsend

PROD: Messiah Jacobs

EXEC PROD: Rey Ramsey, David Saunier, Robert Townsend

ORIG. MUSIC: Dontae Winslow

CAST: Michael Clarke Duncan, Loretta Devine, and Vivica A. Fox.

American Black Film Festival (ABFF) kicks off its 15th annual event in Miami with a film from Founder/Chairman, Robert Townsend. In The Hive, a gritty film, based on the real experiences of the people who attend and teach at a special school in North Carolina called “The Hive.” It’s based on a true story about this woman in North Carolina named Vivian Saunders, who basically without any formal education, started an alternative school for at risk boys, who were expelled or Discarded from regular schools. Not only were these boys gang bangers and drug dealers, they’re all teenagers, fathers at 14 and 15 years old as well.

Saunders created The Hive to provide a safe place for troubled teenaged boys to get a second chance at an education, learn about technology and also about breaking the cycle of At Risk Behavior, living life on the streets, in gangs, and in jail.

At the heart of the story is sixteen year old Xtra Keyes played by Jonathan ‘Lil J’ McDaniel (That’s So Raven), a young father who’s tougher than nails yet discovers through the nurturing at the HIVE that his toughness can also lead to new found hope and perhaps even a future. Original music by Music Producer, Songwriter, Hollywood Composer, Dontae Winslow.

Feature Video

Don’t miss this Video feature about the Real Vivian Saunders and her Hive, the inspiration for the film.

Proud Being A Parent?

I love my life. Aside from being a loving wife,  I am so proud of being a mother to a beautiful, healthy and happy little boy. I consider him to be our greatest achievement in life.  Good parenting is never an easy task. It is a payment deferred  profession with a lifetime responsibility of building a faithful, firm foundation for a child’s creativity, spirituality and moral growth. Watching children grow from infancy to childhood, to adolescence, is a fascinating experience for a parent. Despite the challenges and the different roles parents have to play, parenting is a challenging yet rewarding journey. I’m so proud to be a mom. Our son Jedi is creative and so full of life and personality it’s sickening. I am.. We are .. So thankful for him..

Check out his latest… A Disney commercial running on the Disney channel all summer long. It’s a small part and if you blink you’re sure to miss it but the experience for Jedi has been PRICELESS. The point is, as parents, we will always be proud of our children’s accomplishments no matter how big or how small. It is so important for them to not only know but believe that. It make such a difference in a child’s life.

MW

How about you? What Makes You Proud Being A Parent?

Winslowdynasty’s, Dontae Winslow will be rocking the stage this summer with Jill Scott and her Summer Block Party Tour. This is sure to be a summer blockbuster event. Check out the seek peak-in from rehersal with Dontae on Korg Vocoder. Dontae has toured with Jill Scott before and the event was nothing short of amazing, this will be no different.

Jill Scott will bring her forthcoming fourth album, “The Light of the Sun,” on the road this summer with the Jill Scott’s Summer Block Party, which kicks off July 28th in New York.

The Budweiser Superfest-sponsored event will also feature soul singer Anthony Hamilton and R&B veterans Mint Condition as openers, while DJ Jazzy Jeff has signed on to provide beats and Doug E. Fresh will serve as the tour’s official host.

“The Light of the Sun,” (Click to Listen) Scott’s follow-up to 2007′s “The Real Thing – Words & Sounds, Vol. 3″,will be released June 21 on Blues Babe/Warner Bros. The album’s first single, “So In Love” featuring Hamilton, climbed to No. 16 on last week’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Here are the dates(Click for tickets) for the Jill Scott’s Summer Block Party:

July 26: Boston, Mass – Bank of America Pavilion
July 28: New York, N.Y. – Nikon @ Jones Beach Theater
July 30: Detroit, Mich. – DTE Energy Music Theater
July 31: Chicago, Ill. – Charter One Pavilion @ Northerly Island
Aug. 3: Cleveland, Ohio – Jacobs Pavilion @ Nautical
Aug. 4: St. Louis, Mo. – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Aug. 6: Philadelphia, Pa. – Susquehanna Bank Center
Aug. 7: Washington, D.C. – Verizon Center
Aug. 10: Los Angeles, Calif.
Aug. 14: Oakland, Calif.
Aug. 17: Memphis, Tenn.
Aug. 19: Atlanta, Ga. – Chastain Park Amphitheater
Aug. 21: Virginia Beach, Va.
Aug. 23: Raleigh, N.C.
Aug. 24: Charlotte, N.C.
Aug. 27: Dallas, Tex.
Aug. 28: Houston, Tex.

What:

Dontae Winslow jazz guest performing with Kevin Kanner Quintet at Angel’s in Santa Monica.

When:

May, 19th @8pm

Where:

Angle’s Piano Bar & Supper Club, 2460 Wilshire Blvd,  Santa Monica, CA 90403

What:

Dontae Winslow jazz guest performing with Kool Moe Dee at Washington Prep High School in Los Angles.

When:

May, 26th

Where:

Washington Prep High School, 10860 S. Denker Ave,  Los Angles, CA 90047

What:

Dontae Winslow jazz guest performing with Christopher Wray at Room 5 Lounge at 8pm

When:

May, 27th @8pm

Where:

Room 5 Lounge, 143 N. La Brea 2nd floor,  Los Angles, CA 90036

What:

Dontae Winslow jazz guest performing with Kevin Kanner Quintet at The Famous Lighthouse Cafe

When:

June, 25th

Where:

The Famous Lighthouse Cafe, 30 Pier Ave, Hermose Beach, CA 90254

Special American Idol Performance

Tonight’s American Idol performance  will be special. When Dontae hits the stage tonight, he will be doing so with his new flugelhorn from Adams.

Can’t wait to bring out my new Adams flugelhorn, I’m pleased with the horn’s flexibility, as well as the warm sound it produces.. I’m really excited about playing it on American Idol tonight…Dontae Winslow

This will be Dontae’s third trip to American Idol this month. A trip he hopes to make many more times in the future. Things are hush-hush on who Winslow will be performing with, to find out, tune in tonight at 8 pm  on Fox. For a peek at what it takes to be a professional musician and video of Dontae’s earlier Idol performances, check out Dontae on playing on American Idol

My Second performance on American Idol April 6th, 2011. What a Great Day!!!

This year has been crazy for me.. wow! My latest blessing has been the opportunity to return to American Idol. To play in front of millions of people once is a huge deal for me, getting the opportunity to do it twice.. unbelievable. The opportunity is only half the battle, find out what it takes to play on prime-time television on one of the highest rated television shows in history.

I woke up early and had a good breakfast, prayer, and a soft warm up on the trumpet. Traffic was terrible on the 101 to CBS Studios Hollywood but I was early. I arrived to be notified that Ron Fair (Music executive, producer, Arranger) wanted to rehearse newly written horn parts. Keep in mind, we had to memorize all the previous American Idol music the night before the show and sometimes the day of the show! Now more changes…talk about pressure. Especially since if you can’t get it, your replacement is only 10 numbers away and you will be banished for LIFE!!!

Ron had written our parts out by hand the night before. Lucky for us, his penmanship was excellent! Charts looked perfect so we were prepared for the changes. All seem to be going well until the dress rehearsal. The horn section got thrown another curve ball of adding an intro and an outro to the song. So now we’re back to memorizing it LOL! The bottom line, playing on the big stage takes much more than being able to play an instrument or singing a note. What I am finding out, is that you have to be as flexible as you are talented.

Despite the hectic paces going on behind the scenes, the show was fantastic! Pia Toscano, she was great. She gave an amazing performance and the horn section rocked! The judges were pleased as was the audience. Having a live horn section always makes any good show great!!! We had a great lunch, and after the 2 minute gig I was back on the stop and go 101 freeway and back to my loving wife and son.
Today was a great day!

-DMW

check out the performance in its’ entirety below, Pictures and video courtesy of Fox, American Idol, and YouTube. So what do you think? Any questions or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Tonight watch Dontae Winslow perform **Live** on American Idol, Fox 8pm.

This will be Dontae’s second time gracing the American Idol stage. His first appearance was 2 weeks ago, performing  “Dancing In The Street ” with Naima Adedapo. Her performance gave Jennifer goosebumps and Randy thought everything about it was brilliant. In case you missed watch the performance by clicking the picture.

I am really excited about playing Idol tonight. Everyone is so Talented!!! Its truly a blessing to have an opportunity to play with an for such talented artists.. – Dontae

Tonight, Dontae will be playing with Pia Toscano. Pia’s last performance, she slayed “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.” Randy Jackson heard, “Whitney, Mariah, and all of Pia” in her performance.