Arts and Culture

DJ Zernell Gillie Gives Hip Hop a New Scent

Zernell Gillie has been in and around the Hip Hop and House music scene in Chicago for over 30 years. The world-renowned DJ has spun records all over the world and headlined parties in London, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, France to name a few.

Published

6 months ago

November 7, 2023

Oakland Post

Zernell Gillie at the Ministry of Scent debuting his new parfum, Hip Hop. Photo by Lee Hubbard.

By Lee Hubbard

His love for music started at 14 during the early years of House music as he would listen to the Hot Mix on WBMX in Chicago. Listening to the early pioneers of House music such as Ron Hardy, Gillie generated his own style, which is called grimy. The grimy style of Rouse music mixes the rarest disco and house music together.

Gillie now heads the record label Grimy Edits and its sister label Grimy Trax and the clothing brand Grimy Gear. Now a Los Angeles resident, he saw his worldwide DJing opportunities come to a stop during the COVID-19 pandemic when he was housebound.

“I was sitting around the house kind of depressed as there was nothing to do,” said Gillie.

It was during this time Gillie came up with the idea to start his own fragrance line.

“I was and have been wearing fragrances since I was a boy, so I was always drawn to them,” said Gillie. “I had been thinking about this for a while, but [worldwide slowdown] just helped to jump start it.”

In contact with a perfumery via ZOOM about starting a brand, Gillie began sampling scents weekly at home and discussing the different notes he wanted in a fragrance.

“I had been thinking about this for a while, but this just helped to jump start it,” continued Gillie.”

The pandemic was the perfect time for Gillie to launch his line. His first fragrance to hit the market was ‘Disco’ in the spring of 2022 and his second fragrance was ‘Techno’ which was released in fall of 2022.

These two were met with moderate success and they were featured at various musical festivals where Gillie performed as the pandemic wound down in 2022.

“Fragrance kept me from going dark during the pandemic,” continued Gillie. “Just like music. It uplifted me.”

But Gillie’s newest fragrance, “Hip Hop,’ changed the game, dropping during the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop.

Gillie was on hand recently to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Hip Hop and to reveal his new scent at the independent fragrance retailer, Ministry of Scent at 973 Valencia St. in San Francisco’s Mission district.

“This event is to help celebrate Hip Hop, Gillie’s third fragrance in his line of fragrances,” said Antonia Kohl, a co-owner of Ministry of Scent, which specializes in independent and niche fragrances.

Hip Hop is a boozy scent with notes of black currant, saffron, spice leather, white musk and amber with a sweet twist. It has a 50% concentration with 10 hours of longevity.

“I started the fragrance line for myself,” continued Gillie. “If I liked the smells, I felt like others would as well and if the brand didn’t work, I would just smell good for the rest of my life.”

He joins other Black perfumers who have made a mark on the fragrance scene. This includes Chris Collins, Chris Crenshaw and Pink Mahogany to name a few who have entered the multi-billion dollar industry.

“A lot of people are getting into the independent lane and making fragrances,” said Gillie. “It’s about providing a good product and taking it to the marketplace.”

Gillie’s fourth scent, ‘House,” will be coming out soon.

After ‘House,’ he said he will launch another quartet of fragrances which will be called Soul, Jazz. Blues and R&B.

“Fragrances are subjective, and they are not for everyone,” added Gillie. “But I want people to be happy and feel good and to be uplifted.”

Hip Hop can be purchases at the Ministry of Scent in San Francisco and at retailers online.

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Arts and Culture

Kedrick Armstrong: New Music Director for the Oakland Symphony

The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director. In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.

Published

6 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Kedrick Armstrong is the new music director for the Oakland Symphony. Photo credit Scott Chernis.

By Post Staff

The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director.
In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.

Armstrong is the successor to previous music director and Conductor Michael Morgan, who passed away in 2021 after a 30-year tenure at the Symphony.

Armstrong will open the Oakland Symphony 2024-2025 season on October 18.

Armstrong, who is 29 and hails from Georgetown, South Carolina, is currently the creative partner and principal conductor of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony.

The Chicago Tribune has praised Armstrong for his ability to “simply let the score speak for itself.” He enjoys a wide range of repertoire, spanning early music to premiering new works, using his joy and curiosity for all music to cultivate understanding and collaboration within diverse communities.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the new music director of the Oakland Symphony,” Armstrong said. “As a Black conductor, I find it humbling to stand on the shoulders of both Michael Morgan and Calvin Simmons,” the most recent and the first African American music directors of the Symphony, respectively.

Armstrong led three programs at the Symphony between 2022 and early 2024, which showcased his broad knowledge of the classical repertoire and enthusiasm for spotlighting diverse voices.
On his Oakland Symphony subscription debut on Feb. 16, Armstrong led the world premiere of “Here I Stand: Paul Robeson,” an oratorio by Carlos Simon on a libretto by Dan Harder, commissioned by the Oakland Symphony.

Armstrong was selected unanimously by the Oakland Symphony’s board of directors and musicians after an extensive two-year search. “The search committee was overwhelmed by Kedrick’s scholarship and curiosity about all kinds of music, from classical and jazz to gospel and hip-hop,” said. Dr. Mieko Hatano, executive director of the Oakland Symphony. “We are thrilled to have him join us at the Oakland Symphony.”

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Arts and Culture

Faces Around the Bay Dr. Carl Blake, Pianist

Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999. One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Dr. Carl Blake

By Barbara Fluhrer

Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999.

One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.

Blake obtained a Bachelor of Music from Boston University and continued post-baccalaureate studies in Jamaica before earning a Master of Arts in Music at San Jose State University. He was the recipient of two Fulbright residencies in Honduras and completed a third residency at the University of St. Petersburg in Russia. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts from Cornell University.

At age 19, Blake, then an undergraduate piano major at Boston University, was “discovered” by Impresario Dr. W. Hazaiah Williams, who is the Founder and Director of Today’s Artists/Four Seasons Arts.

Williams honored Blake by awarding him the first Marian Anderson Young Artist Award. Anderson personally presented the award at the Masonic Auditorium in S.F. Subsequently, Blake was presented by Dr. Williams in his San Francisco debut at The Herbst Theatre. Williams subsidized a year of study abroad for Blake at the Paris Conservatory of Music. Additionally, Williams sponsored Blake’s New York Weill Hall debut, where he has performed twice since. Blake performed several times at the Yachats Music Festival in Oregon.

Blake continues to perform nationally and abroad. His hobbies are reading, baking and travel. He says, “I’m still pumping ivories, as Belgian pianist Jeanne Stark described the disciplined practice of concert piano.”

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Arts and Culture

Oakland Jazz Great Offers Master Class as City Declares “John Handy Day”

World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city. Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

(L-R) Del Handy, John Handy, Roger Glenn, and Joe Warner celebrate John Handy Day at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, Oakland. Photo by Lady Bianca.

By Conway Jones

World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city.

Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).

“John Handy is a jazz icon and an inspiration to musicians everywhere,” said Ayo Brame, a 16-year-old Oakland tenor saxophone player who is enrolled at the Oakland School for the Arts.

In celebration of this day, the reception in downtown Oakland at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle was a gathering of artists, young and old, coming together in his honor and celebrating his 91st birthday.

Handy presented a Saxophone Colossus free masterclass for musicians. This class afforded a rare opportunity to learn about the saxophone from an aficionado. The class was free and open to all – saxophonists, vocalists, aficionados, students, and casual listeners.

“As a longtime friend for over 60 years, and fellow musician who has had numerous opportunities to share the stage with John, it has always been a pleasure performing with him and hearing his creative interpretations of the music and his gift of ease inspiring the next generation of jazz musicians,” said Roger Glenn, a multi-instrumentalist.