Cyrus Langhorne
With pop culture, sports, entertainment and hip-hop making up the majority of social media, SOHH talks to personalities from all fields to get random takes on anything and everything in “5 W’s With …” Hip-hop veteran, animator and co-creator of Netflix’s “Da Jammies” Aulsondro “Novelist” Hamilton a.k.a. Emcee N.I.C.E. joins the convo to talk about everything from Ma$e‘s rap game return to Mo’Nique‘s publicized Netflix boycott.
1. Who are you watching Super Bowl LII with?
For the Super Bowl I will be at home in front of the 80 inch and I am hoping for a great game – Philly Quarterback going against Tom Brady is definitely a David vs. Goliath type match up.
2. What do you think about Ma$e’s yet again return to hip-hop? As someone who has excelled with gospel music, do you feel a certain type of way about Mason Betha’s juggling between God-fearing rapper to his more explicit Murda Ma$e persona?
Mase’s return to the secular side of Hip-Hop is something that he would have to answer to God for, I’m sure he has his reasons and rationale behind it, but he knows the word Mathew 6:24 breaks it down for ya. However, I can’t judge another man’s walk with the Lord, but what I can do is help widen the lane so that those that follow behind me have better opportunities to be heard and successful.
3. Where do you stand in Mo’Nique’s publicized Netflix boycott stance? Most people have made fun of her but there seems to be some hard truth about unfair offers and gender biases? With your success with Da Jammies on Netflix and so many independent filmmakers having a platform there, does a real discussion need to happen?
Real discussions should happen in all industries, in some form or fashion nobody is ever getting what they deem they are worth and it’s hard to gage what other people’s perception of value means to them. What I can say though about “Da Jammies” being the first African-American animated 3D music series for kids on Netflix is that the opportunity given to me and my business partner opens the doors for other African-American creators and production houses to get an opportunity.
4. When did the concept of “I Got Angels” come together?
“I Got Angels” came together after my lead producer Sam Peezy produced it after he and his family went through an unfortunate situation and “Angels” was a record that he created to give him peace and it was a take on the Richard Smallwood classic “Angels”. As we were closing up my album “PRAISE”, we needed a signature record. When he played “Angels” for me, it took me back to my childhood and I felt it — I knew that was it. I recorded it and sent it to Mr. Smallwood. He not only loved it, but he applauded it and co-signed, stating that “It will go places that he never could envisioned, but that’s just how God is!”
Why should the Grammy Awards always be in New York City? Sorry – we’re bias – but New York has so much history!
New York is definitely a hot spot for music as well as fashion. Being from El Paso, Texas you don’t get to experience the Grammy environment, you only see it on TV and wish you could experience it. I do a lot of traveling back and forth between Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York, and I would suggest they alternate the cities every year and include Vegas, Miami and Houston. That would give people who just want to be in the environment and opportunity to do so although New York is Iconic!
Stay connected to Aulsondro “Novelist” Hamilton a.k.a. Emcee N.I.C.E. on social media:
