Andrew Zaleski>Junior>English>Loyola University Maryland
Hip-hop goes a little greener this April when Trey Songz and Fabolous hit the stage April 16 at the Miami’s James L. Knight Center. The show will be the culmination to the April 15 kick-off of the Be Seen Being Green (BSBG) College Music Tour, an effort launched by DreamSharee Edu-tainment to bring the green message to the youth in urban cities and colleges.
“We wanted to come up with a movement that everyone could get involved with from an education aspect, but at the same time [is] fashionable, because going green is a lifestyle now,” said Marcus King, vice president and co-founder of DreamSharee.
The kick-off of BSBG at the University of Miami—picked because of their strong focus on sustainability and environmental awareness—is just one component of a two-day series of events that will involve a “green seminar” April 15 with filmmaker Dale Bell, during which he’ll preview his new documentary Growing Greener Schools; a press conference that same day with Matti Bower, mayor of Miami Beach; and an after-party at Club Mansion in South Beach, Miami, following the Trey Songz/Fabolous show April 16.
“These people [Bell, Bower, Trey Songz and Fabolous] . . . in interviewing them and speaking with them, feel very passionate about this movement,” said TSharee Butler, president and founder of DreamSharee. “They jumped on it, saying they have to be part of this.”
Butler’s background is in raising educational funds for students. Combining those talents with King’s background in the entertainment industry, both Butler and King sought a way to bring attention to an issue they both feel passionately about: green awareness.“We picked music, [because] it’s something that students could be involved in, could grasp onto,” said Butler.
To enhance that involvement, Butler and King plan to bring on student interns to assist with the show at the Knight Center; production interns will assist the concert’s production manager, and student stylists will work backstage under the wings of professional stylists.
Additionally, several contests leading up to the concert will challenge students to not only become involved in the show, but also involved in engaging fellow peers to practice green living. These contests in Miami-Dade and Broward counties will call for student essay and photography submissions illustrating how one can live a more eco-friendly life. The one national contest DreamSharee is sponsoring will be a competition for the opening act slot at the Trey Songz/Fabolous show on the 16th. At the show itself, DreamSharee will raffle off eco-friendly prizes, as well as LCD televisions, flip cameras and USB drives.
“It makes sense to combine entertainment and education with this movement,” said Butler, who thinks the format is an ideal way to bring a critical issue to a younger audience. “It also gives students a sense of responsibility. It’s everyone’s responsibility to reduce [our] environmental impact.”
Butler and King hope that this BSBG kick-off event will serve as the springboard to other BSBG events at various cities and campuses, culminating eventually in a full-blown, national BSBG concert tour.
The after-party following the BSBG kick-off show April 16 will also feature a “Green Carpet” event, where musicians, activists, politicians and students can publicly acknowledge their commitment to a more eco-friendly lifestyle.
“Those who walk on that green carpet, they will be considered as crossing over to being green,” said Butler. “It represents them crossing over to a greener life. I think that’s a wonderful thing.”
