October 09, 2014

 

By Brian W. Carter

LAWT Contributing Writer

 

Talent showed up at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza (BHCP), at the Macy’s Bridge on Friday, Oct 3. People who strolled by were caught by the sounds of singing, rap and applause. The 3rd Annual StarQuest Singing Competition was in full swing by mid-afternoon. People young and old, of all races came out to flex their pipes and try to make it as finalists to perform at Taste of Soul (TOS) October 18.

 

StarQuest is the vision of Danny Bakewell, Sr., founder of Bakewell Media, to put a spotlight on talent within the community. These kinds of opportunities are rare and give people an amazing chance to participate in TOS.

 

In 2012, StarQuest winners, Beau Williams and Adrian Battle, were put on a course to stardom. In 2013, Nathan Davis, Jr. and Noah Jay won the adult and kid’s competition respectively and are both on their way to realizing dreams of stardom.

 

This year offers another chance for finalists to be seen and heard at the TOS StarQuest Stage, where they will perform in front of the TOS Nation. Two winners will be selected to perform a 3-5 minute set on the KJLH and Wave stages.

 

The community came out to both support and audition for the StarQuest competition. Those who stood in attendance were serenaded by a variety of talent ranging in genres of music. Some of the performers spoke to the Sentinel about StarQuest and their perfomances.

 

“I attend Taste of Soul all the time,” said Steviana. “I see the stages that are there and I’m like, ‘I’m going to get there.’

 

“I looked it up this year, there was an audition and here I am.”

 

A young female rapper, Steviana spoke about the female rapping community and how StarQuest is a good opportunity for up-and-coming talent.

 

“I want to bring unity, there is no unity within female rap,” said Steviana. “Everybody wants to have aggression towards each other. If we all come together as one, we could really take over.

 

“I love [StarQuest], I love how they give an opportunity for us talented in Los Angeles to come out and perform—to audition is a blessing.”

 

 Leimert Park resident, Michael Dewayne Norris II came out to audition at StarQuest and he too wants to spread a message of to the community. “I do multiple things; my real true gift is I’m trying to give everything to God.” He talked about how he found out about the audition

 

“I just happened to be passing by and I saw that they were doing Taste of Soul [StarQuest] so I thought, ‘Why not just give it a try’,” said Norris. “I think [StarQuest] is a great opportunity for people that are really doing a great thing.

 

“A lot of people out there just want to be stars [but] nobody’s really trying to help find stars. Especially in the roots of L.A.—Crenshaw area, Leimert Park. They have those big shows but this comes to the neighborhood.

 

Twins Chrystal and Chyna AKA ChrystalChyna heard about StarQuest through a publicist and came down to BHCP to audition.

 

“We really wanted to do this,” said Chrystal. “We were begging her [publicist] to please have the information for the audition.”

 

“I think we gave our all,” said Chyna about their performance. “We do what we do best.”

 

ChrystalChyna loves to perform r&b, pop, funk and old and nu school music.

 

“I think [StarQuest] is great,” said Chyna. “This community doesn’t really offer that many opportunities. So for [StarQuest] to offer this to us, that’s awesome.”

 

Legendary Rap icon, Yolanda “Yo-Yo” Whitaker, founder of the Yoyo School of Hip-Hop, will host the StarQuest for Kids competition at Taste of Soul. Choreographer, film and television personality, Darrin Henson (Soul Food) will return to StarQuest as host of the StarQuest adult competition.

 

For more information and updates, please visit tasteofsoul.org.

Category: Arts & Culture