Kertia Marley and Brimstone127 are Break'n Bred Together
Brimstone127 & Kertia Marley
Effective youth related community service is a difficult thing to accomplish in our modern times, especially with the economic hardship we are facing globally and locally. Both parents and children are heavily distracted causing moral principles and family values to be left by the wayside.
Most parents are busy trying to stay employed or find work while their children are exposed to bad influences through the super media machine and their peers. Educating the youth and instilling positive support has become an uphill battle.
Two locals in our community are beating the odds by educating and supporting our youth, Kertia Marley and Brimstone127.
Kertia Marley, Stephen Marley’s better half, and her mother Ingrid DaCosta began a non-profit organization called Float in 1995, which offers HIV/AIDS education and aid to rural parts of Jamaica. One of Float’s initial projects included educating HIV positive pregnant mothers from spreading the disease to their unborn children. Realizing that Miami has the highest rate of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses nationwide, Marley expanded the focal scope of Float from Jamaica to include Miami.
Brimstone127 has been a part of the local hip hop community since 1984 and through the years he has collaborated with some of the most talented individuals in the industry. Utilizing his skills and knowledge he began a movement called PATH (Preserving Archiving and Teaching Hip Hop History).
The purpose of PATH is to help local youth harness their natural artistic potential and express themselves through various components of hip hop such as graffiti, emceeing, and break dancing. Through PATH, Brimstone has established apprenticeships, summer programs, after-school programs, panel discussions, workshops, lectures, and co-ordinates special events.
Kertia and Brimstone have joined forces with Youth Expressions to host a block party called Break’n Bred on Saturday March 21, 2009. Break’n Bred is a family oriented day long event that will feature performances and interactions with local entertainers such as Kymani Marley, DJ Epps, Grand Master Dee, and La Guardia to name a few.
In addition to the musical performances there will be free testing provided by the Department of Health, information booths, and vendors for the second annual event. Scheduled to close out the night is a B-boy battle which will award a $500 cash prize to the winning crew.
I was able to have a phone conversation with Kertia and Brimstone127 regarding the event and their organizations:
Steve: This is an important cause, how did you get started with “Float”?
Kertia: I started Float in 1995 with my mother, our focus began in the Jamaican Blue Mountain Region. We were working with people in rural areas, working together with “Jamaica Aids Support” and with small clinics. We had testing available for people that never had an opportunity to be tested. We introduced status cards, they are like little business cards, indicating whether someone is HIV positive or not. The status cards helped people change their attitude toward their own status.
There is a stigma towards HIV and we want to help change peoples negative attitude and promote awareness. There is funding for medicines but there is no information to help people make responsible decisions.
You asked me before how I got started and I want to say that because I’m a mother, I have four girls and two boys. I think of them and that one day they will have to face these issues.
S: Can you tell me about your involvement in the “Break’n Bred” event?
K: We are fusing entertainment and information. We feel you have to speak to the younger generation in an environment to make them comfortable. We have some great local talent coming out to support the cause, fun for the whole family. We will have vendors and information booths and we will be giving out goody bags filled with information and other things. The event is taking place at Youth Expressions and we are teaming up with The Department of Health, the DFYIT (Drug Free Youth In Town), and PATH. I’d like to get Brimstone on the phone to talk about PATH.
S: What’s up Brimstone? Can you tell me about your involvement with the event and PATH?
Brimstone127: I’ve been involved in hip hop since 1984 when I started break dancing. In the beginning Hip hop would get me into trouble but eventually I learned to draw the good from my experiences and I straightened out.
PATH is a movement that we started last year with the Miami Light Project and now we’re running it from Youth Expressions. I take the positive aspects from the Hip Hop culture and teach kids these lessons that they can make a business if they choose and give them an opportunity to express themselves artistically as well.
S: This sounds like a great benefit for the youth in exploring their talents. How will you be involved in the upcoming event?
B: We encourage people of all ages to come, parents and children. In past events we have seen three generations of families gathering together to dance a little and enjoy our events. We are going to have some local celebrities performing and interacting with those in attendance and at the end of the event we will host a B-boy competition with a $500 cash prize to the winning crew. Miami Lashes is a woman owned local business that is putting up the prize. This is interesting because we’ve worked with some big corporations in past events and no one has matched the contribution that Miami Lashes has kindly donated to the Break’n Bred event so we really appreciate their support.
S: Sounds good have you got anything else coming up?
B: We have an event from 3/25-3/27/09 that will be headed by Crazy Legs from the Rock Steady Crew that includes a B-boy workshop, lectures, and a battle. This other event next week will be great because Crazy Legs is the best break dancer ever. I want to thank you all for covering the Break’n Bred event because Miami lacks the proper press for grassroots efforts like this we need more coverage like this for events that benefit the community!
S: Thank you both! Its been a pleasure talking to you and learning about the good your doing for our community, keep it up!
Please check out Brinstone127's Website.
If You Enjoyed This Post, You May Also Like:
- Break'n Bred (March 21, 2009)
- Hip-Hop for Human Rights Press-Release
- More Info on Langerado 2009
- Steve's Photo Journal at Future Classic Festival
- State of the Art - Friday, February 27, 2009
NOTE FOR COMMENTS: Do not flame or leave obnoxious comments, THEY WILL NOT BE APPROVED. Constructive criticism should always be welcomed by any artist, but don't be a d-bag, show some class. Thanks. - REVMiami Staff
[...] Float, an organization which offers HIV/AIDS education and aid to rural parts of Jamaica and Miami (read Steven Imas’ interview with Kertia and Brimstone127 for more information) is one that stands out. Float is a local organizations to their approach towards gaining youth [...]