Black Girls RUN! founders Toni Carey and Ashley Hicks. Photo by Yuri Guanilo

Running has always been a love and hate relationship with me. As much as I hated running, I always found myself up early in the morning with thousands of other runners eager to cross the finish-line. I first heard of Black Girls Run when I ran a women’s 10k race in Central Park. In a sea of thousands of female runners, a young African-American woman stood out from all the rest with a shirt that simply said  “Preserve the Sexy/Black Girls Run”. I couldn’t wait to finish the race to find out what Black Girls RUN! was all about.

Black Girls RUN! was started by Toni Carey and Ashley Hicks initially as a blog to chronicle their experiences of getting fit through running, but quickly became a movement to encourage African-American women to make fitness and healthy living a priority. To date, there are 60 running groups across the nation offering encouragement and resources to new and veteran runners.

Members of Black Girls RUN! NYC at the 2012 MORE/Fitness Magazine Women's Half Marathon. Photo By Brian Augustine

Since hearing about Black Girls RUN! nearly a year ago, my relationship with running has come full circle with the camaraderie of the Black Girls RUN! NYC group. Through group runs, regular discussions on the group’s Facebook page, and even pre-race pasta parties, running has become more exciting for me.  So exciting that I will be running my first half marathon along the side of nearly 100 group members proving that Black Girls Run!

JohnSimonDaily caught up with Toni Carey and Ashley Hicks as they celebrated the third anniversary Black Girls RUN! at Phyto Universe. To find out more about Black Girls Run or find a running group near you, please visit www.blackgirlsrun.com.

Such is the case for J. Dash and his high energy dance track WOP (With Out Prejudice).  WOP (With Out Prejudice) has reached the Billboard charts and is fast becoming a dance craze in the southeast with everyone young and old posting their rendition of the dance on YouTube.  J. Dash isn’t just your typical rapper/producer/song writer; the Florida native, who holds a Computer Science degree from the University of Florida, is also an accomplished piano prodigy.  At 5 years old he was performing with the Jacksonville Symphony and at 8 years old he was performing Mozart. Now the twenty-something has released his album Tabloid Truth with an exclusive distribution deal with Wal-Mart.

J. Dash took time out of his busy tour schedule to give JohnSimonDaily the Tabloid Truth on the Real J Dash.

As you kick off your new year getting rid of the old to make way for the new, don’t forget to add new music to your iPod. Looking for a 2012 anthem, start with I Just Wanna Dance the new single from Funk/Soul AVJ Recording artist, Space Capone. Space Capone is the perfect blend of 70s funk with a new school twist. The Nashville native who has performed at the CMJ Music Marathon in 2009 and Bonnaroo in 2010 is now releasing his self-titled album on January 24, 2012. His horn heavy sound mixed with his falsetto voice and spunky lyrics, will have you dancing in the streets.

Space Capone took time out during his busy tour schedule to chat with JohnSimonDaily.com.

To release 8 albums on your own independent record label is a huge accomplishment.  Such is the case for two-time Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Eric Roberson, who will release Mister Nice Guy on November 8th. Inspired by his role as husband and new father, Mister Nice Guy is a 15 track collection of masterful storytelling that will not disappoint current fans and will impress new fans. Eric Roberson has and endless track record of great collaborations such at Jill Scott, Vivian Green, and Marsha Ambrosius and doesn’t fall short on his current project collaborating with artists such as Chubb Rock, Phonte, and Jean Baylor, to name a few.

Eric Roberson took time between hosting SoBs Sol Village during CMJ Music Marathon to talk to JohnSimonDaily about the creative process for Mister Nice Guy.

Check out Eric Roberson in action…
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Flipping through the CMJ guide, it’s often hard to decide who to see perform. Sometimes you have to rely on recommendations from fellow CMJ attendees and sometimes you just have to go on a gut feeling that the show is going to be awesome. There are also times when a name jumps out at you that you can’t resist! For me that name was Nikki Jean.

I had seen Nikki Jean perform several times in 2008 as Lupe Fiasco promoted his second album The Cool. Nikki Jean created a buzz around her sultry voice featured on Lupe’s single Hip Hop Saved My Life. After the success of that song, I assumed Nikki Jean would soon follow-up with a solo project. As quickly as Lupe Fiasco moved on to other things, I almost forgot Nikki Jean’s name, until I came across The Nikki Jean Project video blog. Fans witnessed how much of a rollercoaster ride the music business can be from seeing Nikki perform, sign her first record contract, to finally releasing her debut album Pennies in a Jar on July 12, 2011. Although it was three year creation, Pennies in a Jar, proves how truly talented of a singer/songwriter Nikki Jean is.

Prior to Nikki Jean’s CMJ performance at SOBs Sol Village, the Minnesota native, talked exclusively with JohnSimonDaily about her album and  her social media experience.

Check out Nikki jean in action at SOBs

In the revolving door of hip hop, the door has been slow moving for female MCs. Nikci Minaj is currently dominating the female MC genre and Kreayshawn is making a buzz. Audra the Rapper, signed to Rick Ross’ Maybach Music, is ready for everyone to know her name.  At a very young age, Audra knew music was her calling and has been working on her craft ever since. With several mixtapes including  The Mis Education of Audra in her arsenal, Audra the Rapper is excitedly awaiting to drop a full length album.

Audra the Rapper took time out of her hectic CMJ schedule to sit down with JohnSimonDaily.com and give us the 411.