I took a HEAVY scolding from Ms. Muldoon for not posting this event earlier, and it was well deserved.

For the record, this is an AMAZING initiative Tara and I really appreciate you taking the hip-hop discourse past the obvious strands to a new level of openness and maturity. This is arguably an unprecedented undertaking and hopefully gets the awareness and recognition it deserves.

Here are the particulars:

HIPHOP INDUSTRY HEAVYWEIGHT WAYNE BARROW ADDED TO THE F-YOU PROJECT LINE-UP

Event takes place June 5th, 2011, 3pm at Toronto’s City Hall. FREE EVENT.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

It is with great excitement that the F-YOU: Forgiveness Project team announces music industry powerhouse Wayne Barrow as the newest speaker added to the panel-based event.

Barrow is recognized as being the management force behind the careers of the Notorious B.I.G, Shyne and Nas, and most recently acclaimed hip-hop artist J. Cole. He also produced B.I.G’s biopic “Notorious”  which grossed over 75 million dollars. Hip-hop fans across the world consider Barrow, who works in partnership with his cousin Mark Pitts (R Kelly, Chris Brown, Usher), to easily be one of the core business men driving hip-hop culture today. He is currently the president of By-Storm Entertainment which includes a roster of #1 R&B artist Miguel, J.Cole and Toronto’s own Kardinal Offishall, among others.

Barrow is just as passionate about giving back as he is about his business – he is the Vice Chairman of The Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation which is a charitable organization established by Ms Voletta Wallace to provide educational tools; books, computers and tutorship to inner city youth. Joining the F-You panel in support of the message, he will be speaking on his experiences in both the industry and his personal life.

It is highly suggested that those wishing to attend this F-YOU event arrive early as this event will reach capacity. This is a completely free event.

About F-YOU:

A panel of six people, a mix of race, age and gender, speaking about a time in their lives they had to forgive either themselves or another. The Forgiveness Project is an inviting, tell-all event that aligns personal growth with self-improvement. This event has the potential to impact our community and young adults by way of real-life portrayals of hardships, and overcoming barriers that at one point seemed insurmountable. Hearing first-hand trials and tribulations from people just like us can open the door to inspiration and the motivation to do better and most importantly, feel better. Included themes on the panel are murder, sexual assault, depression, drug-use and self-forgiveness.

The panel includes:

Wayne Barrow – manager (J.Cole, the late Notorious B.I.G) – keynote speaker

Katrina Lopes – manager (Shawn Desman) – Exploring our notions of forgiveness

J “Bizz” Brown – Creator, “Hip Hop’s Not Dead, It Lives In The North” – speaking on attempted suicide

Kamplex – speaking on the murder of her two brothers

Priscilla – speaking on the aftermath of an abusive relationship