She is the 1 and Only: NunAfterHours!

 

She is the 1 and only NunAfterHours

Born and raised in Henderson, NC.

She had a religious upbringing. Her father was a pastor for most of her life.

She is the middle child and has 2 sisters whom she loves very much!

She considers herself to be an entertainer. She’s a multifaceted and versatile Artist. She raps, along with writing her own music and she also loves to dance. She hasn’t had any collaborations with any artists on her most recent projects yet, but she’s looking to do a few very soon! 

The best Advice Received

You only have 1 life

 Live for you and no one else

Her latest project is her EP, entitled “Fallen Angel”. In creating this EP, she wanted to show versatility and to show people that they can’t really put her in a box. There is a compilation of genres on that project, including hip-hop, pop, and rock. 

She came up with the title for the project “Fallen Angel”, because it relates to her spreading her wings to follow her passion of music, rather than succumbing to what other people believe she should do or be. 

In High School and College she wrote poetry. She didn’t start writing music until maybe about 3 years ago. There wasn’t anyone in particular that inspired her to start making music. It was just an idea and passion that she decided take a leap of faith with! 

One of her favorite songs that she has written is called: “Fallen Angel/ Abyss.” It’s one of the few songs where she gets a little personal. On top of that she loves the switch-up in that song. 

She’s had many performances but the one that she remembers the most is the Gemynii’s “HERstory” event (11/27/2019) at Pinhook in Durham. The energy and love from the audience was amazing! She didn’t know that so many people knew the words to her songs, so she was like wow! She also met a lot of cool people that night, and of course she had a great time!

When asked what makes her stand out from other Artists she responds with grace: "I’m humble and true to myself. I don’t try to follow trends or do shit for “clout”. I don’t care about fame. What I care about is building a brand by unapologetically being myself." 

She continues to explain, "It’s easy for people to stray away from their authentic selves. Some people die without ever really living, as paradoxical as that sounds. I admit that I was on that path, until I did some soul-searching. Since I grew up sheltered in a religious household it caused me to lose my identity, and I spent many years being and feeling trapped. I was mentally and emotionally exhausted." 

She dropped out of grad school to pursue music (What a bold leap of faith; inspiring!) She wanted to step out of the shadows and do something for herself, for a change. She was fed up with trying to live up to a standard of what other people wanted her to be. She just wanted to be her! 

She continues to share with, "There is only one me. There’s no one else like me. Hate me or love me. You choose. I don’t want my fans to love me just because they think my music is dope. I want my fans to love me for who I am, because I’M dope. I’m bold, unfiltered, and strong. I’m taking my power back through music. I’m ready to share more of myself with the world!" 

There are multiple opportunities around the corner even with the the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the music endeavors have been put on hold until further notice. Though she had a few shows cancelled/ postponed, she had a virtual live show streamed via Facebook and Instagram back in March. I plan on having another virtual show, hopefully by August. I’m also going to stream the video release for my song “Abyss”, sometime in July. So, y’all be on the lookout for that! 

She is currently working on her next EP. She haven’t decided on a name for it just yet. Her music video for “Abyss” is coming to you guys really soon! She's super excited to drop this one!

Contact Her @The Following Links

Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat: @nunafterhours 

Artist page on Facebook: NunAfterHours 

YouTube: NunAfterHours 

 Stream NunAfterHours’ music on 

Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Amazon, and Tidal. 

 

Vision of Me Photography

Megan Hernandez-Tillmon is from Milwaukee Wisconsin. She and her family decided to relocate to North Carolina in June of 2016.

When she first started photography she had a business called Amelia's Illuminating Shots and Creations. She started that business in 2013. At the beginning of 2017, she decided to re-brand her business and with that she changed the name to Vision of ME Photography.

She received a dslr camera as a gift and started taking pictures in 2011. Her first pictures were of her four kids. She wanted her photos to look better so she started watching YouTube videos and reading books on photography. A year later she had family members asking her to take pictures of their children. They began posting the pictures online, and from there her friends started asking her to take pictures for them. The demand for her photography skills became popular and increased from there. 

Her first real photo shoot experience was actually with another photographer. She was asked to tag along with the other photographer to her shoot. Megan was super nervous because she had never met the model that she was doing the shoot for and she wasn't sure of they would be okay with her taking pictures of them. She remembers laughing about some of the poses that didn't come out quite like they envisioned. She had never worked with another photographer before so she recalls having to adjust to working around another person so that she didn't mess up her shots nor the other photographers'.

Her favorite type of photography is portraiture, especially when it involves kids and pets. She thinks kids are fun and they really allow their personalities to shine through in their photos. She also loves doing head-shots and has developed a love for boudoir photography as well. She thinks that it is important for women to love themselves and appreciate the greatness that they are as women. She, personally feels every woman should do a boudoir shoot at least once in their life time.

She took an online class a couple of years ago at Shaw Academy. They had a beginners and advance photography course and she decided to take both.  Prior to that she just read books and watched videos and of course practiced, practiced, practiced.

She thinks the biggest challenge that comes up is getting models to change their facial expression. Some people are super serious and others want to smile and laugh in every photo. She found that it makes things a little easier if she gives them an emotion to think about because that automatically changes the expression on their face, which gives their images more variety.

If she could do a shoot for a celebrity it would have to be Alicia Keys. She just loves her attitude. She says she seems very down to earth whenever she sees her doing interviews. She is beautiful inside and out. She loves that she is comfortable with or without makeup and she encourages young women to love themselves and to follow their dreams. She is also an inspiration to her daughter who plays piano, so she thinks it would be an amazing opportunity to just see her face to face and take pictures of her.

There are many beautiful destinations all over the world to do a shoot. But, If she could do a shoot anywhere in the world, she would want to shoot at Komodo Island in Indonesia. The sand there is pink and she thinks she could get really creative with the right model and the right swimsuits.

Advice that she gives from the heart: 

She says if photography is something you love don't give up on it. Also don't make shooting just about the money; make sure you are having fun and know that its okay to just shoot for fun. It gives you extra practice time but it allows you to truly tap into your creative side. Lastly, don't be afraid to ask other photographers for advice; like any field ,there will be some photographers who won't want to share information with you but there are so many that will.  

Contact and Gallery Information

Instagram: @visionofmephotography

Facebook : Vision of ME Photography

Website: http://visionofmephoto.wix.com/mysite

Cell Phone: 919-295-2685 or 

Email: atvisionofmephoto@gmail.com

A Woman On A Mission: SoFree Wisdom

Three of her greatest strengths are: her control, her runs, and her ability to create songs that connect with people from many different walks of life.

Cooley High: Made For This

Cooley High is from Southern, MS

But, doesn't consider himself an MC nor a Lyricist, he's just a rapper telling his side of the story, but occasionally he does drop in a few punch-lines here and there just to let his audience know that he does this music thing for real!  

MADE FOR THIS is his latest release.

What really inspired him to compile this tape is the obstacles an Indie Artist goes through in the music business just to try to get their foot in the door. If you don't have thick skin and a whole lot of ambition it will be easy to give up on yourself so that's why he says that he was MADE FOR THIS.

He writes all of his music. He's collaborated with the Black Prince of the South "MYSTIKAL," who is featured on a song titled "Big Ol'." It came out really dope, he thinks it's a hit record. He also collaborated with a great R&B Artist by the name of Dani Douglass who did the hook on a song he has called "It'll Never Be The Same," and another great soulful R&B artist by the name of Breana Marin who laced the hook on a song he has called "Exhale," both which are really dope records.   

Some of the best advice somebody ever gave him came from one of his mentors. He told him a long time ago to never let his right hand know what his left hand is doing, of course he had to figure out what that meant but all he can  say is that he found out what it meant the hard way.

He has written so many songs that picking just one as his favorite is hard to do. But, one of his favorites is his song "Give Me Love," because it expressed the way that he was feeling about a certain situation that he was going through at that moment in time and plus he "killed" it as far as his delivery and wordplay. Another song he likes is of course "Big Ol' featuring Mystikal," it's a super dope song plus it's a little different from everything else that's going on right now. "Aint Going Back Broke" is stupid dope, "D.A.D" is dedicated to his kids just to let them know that their daddy does a lot of things just to make sure that they are comfortable. 

PERFORMANCES

He has performed at quite a few concerts since he started his music career. The places he has been start from Houston, then to Dallas, New Orleans, Atlanta, Wisconsin etc. He doesn't keep up with them, he just keeps up with the people that he meets because with each show that he does he's always leaves somebody with a memorable moment.

His most memorable stage performance was one he did in Tuscaloosa, AL. There was an older lady in the crowd, she had to have been feeling really good because she jumped on stage with him and started to back her booty up on him. Well, with him being him, and he loving to have fun he let her dance on him until she started to pull her pants down lol. He had to stop the music and stop her from going too far!

If he could perform with any popular Artist he would want to be on the same show as Kanye West because his crowds are full of people who like to come out, be entertained, have fun and just let loose. The energy is some kind of ridiculous. It's crazy and that's where he would fit right in!

He says what makes him stand out or different from other Artists is that he is a people person. He tries to give all of his followers feedback. He doesn't think he is better than the next but his music speaks for itself. He is Cooley High and that's all that he can be. His flow is not the same as any other artist, his rap style is his own. He talks a little country, he laughs at dumb stuff and he loves his haters lol. The thing about him is that he loves a small venue just as much as he does a big venue. He doesn't discriminate.  

He has a bright future. He has bigger dreams that's for sure but he's just taking it one day at a time and reading all these contracts thoroughly. He's not going to let the cat out of the bag just yet but just to give ya'll a heads up keep your eyes and ears on Cooley High for a minute and watch him work.

Right now he and his team are working on getting these tour dates set up along with getting a new product on the market. But be on the look out for Cooley High and make sure that you pack these venues out whenever he comes to your neck of the woods. Also  make sure that ya'll get a copy of his latest tape "MADE FOR THIS."  

To Get in contact with him contact his manager: 

Terri Avery @ (601)678-7153 for any inquiries or bookings. 

FB/IG/Twitter @thecooleyhigh. 

His work can be found on iTunes, Spotify, Google, Amazon and all other media outlets just search for COOLEY HIGH.     

Creative Vision: "EP Parallel Dreams"

Keiontae Alexander aka Keysoul is a versatile Artist from Benton Harbor Michigan. He considers himself to be an MC and Lyricist because he pushes himself to raise the bar but he also makes sure he still maintains the "MC" role to entertain the audience because to him that's a true artist. 

Raise Your Hand If You Want to Eat!

When I graduated from a four year private college, I thought that I was well on my way to living the "American Dream." I spent much of my time during high school prepping for the ACTS, SATS, keeping my grades up and staying up countless hours writing competitive essays with the hope of winning scholarship money! Yet, when I finally got to college my eyes grew wide with anticipation for the future! I was thrilled. I MADE IT! I am in COLLEGE. I had my nose up to the world, as if to say "LOOK AT ME! I'm getting my four year degree and I'm going to be SOMEBODY!"

What I discovered during those four years was that I was really great at following rules, writing essays and meeting deadlines. I learned how to communicate in a variety of social situations from dating to depression. There was no topic off limits except how to think for myself. How to believe in myself that I could do and be anything. 

When I got out into the real world it took almost two years to find a solid job and even when I finally found one it was only a temp to hire position. (Oh, let's not forget the whack in the skull with the college debit lol) The system set me up to fail. I had that oh, so grand "piece of paper" but, then I lacked experience. Also, I graduated in a class when the economy was unstable and there weren't that many jobs. This didn't seem to bother many of my college friends because they graduated returning home to their childhood bedroom, with all their stuff still in tack and with at least one working parent/guardian who could help them in life when they needed it. 

I returned "home" to more of my stuff being pushed in storage and sleeping on a couch, because there was no room made for me. I guess they thought that I would graduate, immediately get a full time, great paying job and get my own place. Unfortunately that didn't happen and I instantly felt the weight of burden grip my shoulders; "how on earth am I suppose to make it out in the world? I spent four years getting a piece of paper that I can't even use because I don't have any experience..." So, in other words..having a "degree" looks great on paper but not in an interview when they ask you "How much experience do you have in this field?"

How can you gain experience in any field, if you are never given a chance?

Eh, I don't use the fact that I don't have any parents as a crutch not give my absolute best, but I do use it to remind people that having parental support should be seen as blessing, not an expectation. I will also say, bless my mothers' heart (may her soul rest in peace) for working so hard to put money aside to see her baby attend college. Maybe that was her dying wish, and maybe with receiving that "piece of paper" I was able to put a smile on her face as she watched me walk across the stage from Heaven. I don't really know but...

My advice to anyone currently in school is to get as much experience in your field as possible. If you have to volunteer, do an internship (etc) just do whatever it takes to gain that experience. I heavily stress that because we are entering into a time where pretty soon even the Bachelors degree will have lost it's luster, and jobs will require you to know more, have more experience, work harder and longer hours but still for the same or less pay. Most Colleges are created to teach you to follow directions, but not how be a BOSS, A LEADER, A SUPERVISOR, A MANAGER nor how to guide someone else in those directions.

I know people who never attended college, making six figures because they started their own businesses. They believed in themselves, had the support of family and friends long enough to help them bring their vision to life and guess what?

They are some of the most creative and talented individuals that I know. I'm not saying that college is bad. I love to learn, so of course those who are book smart would most likely be expected to do well in that realm. But what I am saying, is that there are other options. You can still be just as successful with or without that "piece of paper." 

Thank you for reading. 

Please check me out on IG:

LadyRemedy1 

Chat with you soon!