October 16, 2014

 

Shonassee Shaver

Contributing Writer

 

The 9th Annual Taste of Soul 2014 Family Festival arrives this upcoming Saturday October 18 from 10 am to 7pm on Crenshaw Blvd. between Stocker Street and Rodeo Road. The StarQuest stage will bring the community and promising talent together for a fun and musical filled day. StarQuest auditions took place 2 weeks ago (October 3 and 4).  Bakewell Media and the Los Angeles Sentinel have chosen the StarQuest finalists and host to rock the StarQuest stage on the big day. From adults, kids to music veterans, the SQ stage and Taste of Soul will be nothing short of amazing.

 

StarQuest Adult Finalists:

 

Saudia Yasmein Mills, professionally known as Saudia Yasmein begun her singing career 20 years ago in a blues band called Fester Presley in her hometown of Warren, Ohio.  Yasmein is a triple threat, she is not only a singer, but is a songwriter and actress. She credits Tina Turner and Gladys Knight for helping her to create her own tone and sound.

 

Chicago native Rick Parma is excited to perform on the StarQuest stage at Taste of Soul.  The singer and songwriter who has been pursuing a music career for a long time will get his chance to shine at this year’s StarQuest. He is influenced by Dave Koz, Luther Vandross, David Sanborn, Lionel Richie and Justin Timberlake. 

 

Robert Coleman, known for his stage name P.A. Rob has been performing his tribute to Barry White in various clubs around the city.  He is excited to be a StarQuest finalist.

 

Otha Beatrice Blair’s will be performing at this year’s StarQuest under her stage name Mothership.  She is influenced by Sarah Vaughan and hopes that her appearance on StarQuest helps to further her music career.

 

Leander Tyiska a.k.a Mr. Lee has been performing for over 3 decades.  He attended Los Angeles City College (L.A.C.C.) completing courses in harmony, musicianship and voice.  He is a songwriter and arranger and is influenced by Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke and Stevie Wonder.   Mr. Lee loves singing and entertaining as often as possible.

 

Ms. Drama Ganza (Shahnan Tubbs) is a Music Business Entrepreneur graduate of the Musicians Institute.  Ganza started at 9 years old writing and arranging songs and has received an honorary mention award from Billboard’s International Song Competition. Her influences range from Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, YoYo, Mary J Blige, Erykah Badu, Miguel, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Smokey Robinson.  She loves to write songs and entertain. Other StarQuest Adult finalist are Stacii Jayy, Lariland Jordan, Chrystal & Chyna Johnson and Traxx (Christian Williams)

 

Newcomers ChrystalChyna, TraXX, Staciijayy round out the adult line-up.

 

Darrin Dewitt Henson will host the StarQuest Adult performances. Henson is a choreographer, dancer, actor, director and producer. The mulit-talent is best remembered for his role as ex-convict and family man Lem Van Adams on the hit Showtime series Soul Food. In 2015 Henson will be feature in film Chocolate City, an African American version of Magic Mike. He will also star beside Denise Boutte in Carl Weber's The Choir Director.

 

StarQuest4Kids Finalists:

 

Tim Johnson Jr, a.k.a Tim Jr, is a 14 year-old student at the Gorman Learning Center. An accomplished guitarist and songwriter, he and his family moved from Philadelphia to Las Vegas to Los Angeles so he could pursue a career in entertainment.  Tim’s favorite artist is Michael Jackson and performing in front of thousands of people at Taste Of Soul is a dream come true.

 

Sanaa Joy Gray is a 9 year-old 5th grader at Tulita Elementary School in Redondo Beach.  Performing under the name Nana, she auditioned for StarQuest because she loves to sing and motivate people through her music.  Her aspirations are to be a famous singer one day and loves Whitney Houston, Etta James, Stevie Wonder, Beyonce and Ariana Grande.

 

Tai Jones, a.k.a 2Tai is 15 years old and in the 10th grade at Hollywood High School.   She loves old school rappers who have a message, like Ice Cube and plans to continue rapping while pursuing her other love of dance.  She has been writing raps for 2 years and wants to continue to grow and be a positive voice for the youth.  With the help of Venice Boys & Girls Club and Hollywood High, Tai is developing her voice in what she calls PG Rap.

 

Ke’Andre Lee is a 14 year-old 9th grader at Westchester High School.  His favorite artist is Bruno Mars and he aims to be a recording artist one day.  He auditioned for StarQuest to build his confidence and to share his talent with others.

 

Tory Fernandez is 15 years old and attends Reseda High School.  Her goal is to be a famous singer and songwriter.  She was motivated to audition for StarQuest because some of her favorite artists also got their start in singing competitions. Her favorite artist is Lana Del Rey.

 

Tia Fernandez is 13 years old and attends Reseda High School with her sister, Tory.  She desires a career in the entertainment business and admires Beyonce because she is fierce!  She auditioned for StarQuest so she could get more experience singing in front of people.

 

Shaniah Johns is a 13 year old 8th grader at St. Paul School in Los Angeles.  She takes advantage of all opportunities to share her voice because she loves to sing.  She wants to pursue a music career like her favorite artists, Alicia Keys and Beyoncé.

 

Jy’Aun Johns is 11 years old and a 6th grader at St. Paul School with his sister, Shaniah.  He’s a singer and dancer and counts Michael Jackson and Chris Brown as his influences. Other StarQuest4Kids finalists include Jordyn Simone Warren and Ikea Butler.

 

Yolanda “YoYo” Whitaker will host the StarQuest4Kids stage.  “Yo Yo” is a Grammy nominated legendary female hip hop artist, actress and philanthropist. She exploded on the scene over 20 years ago under the mentor and hip hop icon, Ice Cube. Her debut album, “Make Way for the Motherlode,” released in 1992, set an unbreakable tone that set ripples throughout the industry. The L.A. native has created empowering anthems from Stompin to the 90’s to her debut song You Can’t Play with My Yo Yo. In 2014, Yo Yo re-launched The IBWC, Inc. which included the STOP campaign and the IBWC Girls Mentoring program with the intention of preventing abusive behavior as well as enriching the lives of troubled young girls in the urban communities. She performed alongside MC Lyte, Queen Latifah and Brandy for “I Wanna Be Down” remix at the 2014 BET Hip Hop Honor Awards. This special live performance took place to commemorate the 20 year anniversary of the song’s debut and will air October 14, 2014.

Category: Arts & Culture