Diamond Magazine June 2020 issue

DIAMOND

C E C E P E N I S T O N

S T I L L

G O I N G S T R O N G

June 2020

M U S I C + A U T H O R S + F R E E L A N C E R S + E N T R E P R E N E U R S

Editor's Note

The big come back of humanity and covid - 19

Here we are half way through 2020 and I want a do over! My

condolences to all who lost a loved one this year to this

horrible virus covid-19.

As we get back to work there are so many rules and

precautions we need to take like face coverings, excessive

hand washing, no sneezing in public, no hugs, no kisses, no

hand shakes, isolation, quarentines, no toilet paper, no paper

towels, no hand sanitizer, no disinfectant liquids, no meat,

and so much more.

How can we get back to normal life? Life as we've known it has

changed and the new normal is something out of the twilight

zone. We have to be germaphobes or we stand the chance of

getting the virus.

Be safe and take the necessary percautions for not only you

but for your family and those around you.

Y A Y A D I A M O N D

Editor-in-Chief

Diamond Magazine is a division of

Red Hot Reality Ent. LLC

A Yaya Diamond Productio ® 2020

Contributors

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Radio

NewsUSA

DIAMOND MAGAZINE | 2

Diamond

Editor-in-chief Yaya Diamond

E D I T O R I A L O F F I C E

P.O. Box 380021 Murdock, FL, United States 33938

tv@yayadiamond.com

Diamond Magazine is a division of Red Hot Reality Ent. LLC.

www.DiamondMag.net

D I A M O N D M A G A Z I N E | 3

R E V E R B N A T I O N A R T I S T S

Up and

Coming

We are so excited to feature some up and coming

Reverbnation.com recording artists.

DIAMOND MAGAZINE| 4

SOCIAL MEDIA

IG@YANIZA_MUSIC

REVERBNATION.COM/YANIZA

New York City native, Yaniza, is a bilingual singer-songwriter whose music can be

described as pop with acoustic undertones. She sings in English and Spanish and is

celebrating her first Spanglish release, “Contigo” (2019). Her tunes bring joy and sunshine

to its listeners through catchy lyrics meshed with acoustic guitar, ukulele, or piano base.

Much like her home city, Yaniza's music is diverse, with a mix of calm, upbeat, and

everything in between.Since her debut EP, “Sticks & Stones” (2014), Yaniza has released a

number of music projects. Her album, “Secrets” (2016) featured her most popular original

music video on YouTube, “N.Y.C.” Yaniza soon switched to putting out singles, starting

with "Fly Away (Free Bird)" in 2018. This sweet, uplifting tune premiered exclusively on

SheBOPS, and was featured in other music blogs such as Indie Witches, Wonky Sensitive

and more. The song even crossed over to the children’s music realm with a feature in

Listen & Learn Music. Yaniza continued promoting one song at a time with “Contigo” in

June 2019, which premiered on Indie Witches. All of Yaniza’s original music was released

independently and brought to life in part by Grammy nominated producer, Gian

Stone.Yaniza’s fanbase grew mainly because of her covers on YouTube and SIGN Spotify. UP Her

YouTube channel has gained thousands of subscribers and over 600,000 cumulative views.

Her Spotify numbers are also climbing, with her cover of Becky G’s “Mayores” reaching

over 50,000 streams and appearing on the site’s official “Hits Acusticos” playlist.Yaniza

has played festivals, corporate events, and weddings. She has also played many venues

around NYC, including Rockwood Music Hall, Pianos, Mercury Lounge and more, with

guest appearances at B.B. King and Irving Plaza. She was named Artist of the Month twice

at The Bitter End, and was a semi-finalist in the NY Coffee Music Project competition in

2017.After playing in all 5 boroughs in NYC, Yaniza ventured out this past summer with

her first headlining tour. She performed at Musikfest, Ladybug Festival, and Shawnee

Riverfest, as well as solo gigs in various cities, including Los Angeles, CA. Yaniza is

booking more gigs as she writes new bops and shoots her shot at numerous auditions

along the way. ***Content provided by Artist.


SOCIAL MEDIA

WWW.REVERBNATION.COM/ACTIONADVENTURE

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ACTADVBAND/

Goddess Cre is an upcoming singer/songwriter, who has been inspired by great

artists like Aaliyah, Lauryn Hill, and Rihanna and describes herself as the “Lady of Hip-Pop

Blues.” This Full Sail graduate is originally from Biloxi, Mississippi began her music journey

in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 2010. It wasn’t until after her sudden cancer diagnosis that

put a certified stamp on her destiny. In 2016, she was diagnosed with DLB Non-Hodgkin’s

Lymphoma and underwent invasive chemo and radiation treatments to restore her health.

Once out of the darkness, the beauty of her very first project “In Remission” was delivered.

You can find it across streaming services such as TikTok, Spotify, and AmazonMusic.

Since releasing “In Remission,” she has released two visuals to her singles Better Days and

Black Lace. “Better Days is the first single released from R&B Soul singer Cre’ EP ‘In

Remission’, and it may very well be the most perfect balance of soul and groove I’ve ever

slipped into.” writes Amelia Vandergast, a music reviewer for AnRFactory.com. She has also

landed airplay on internet radio station SugarwaterRadio.com and WNIR-Radio.com and is

one of the Women to Look for in 2020 for WNIR-Radio special. Her performances include

various open mics, conferences, and events alike in the NC area and she is set to release a

string of singles all throughout this year of 2020. Her single “I Am Woman” featuring Genesis

Be was released February 14th and has already hit the air waves with its extremely powerful,

bold, and empowering message.

***CONTENT PROVIDED BY ARTIST


SOCIAL MEDIA

REVERBNATION.COM/TIMOTHYJWILSON4

Timothy J. Wilson

Singer, Songwriter, Producer, Multi-Instrumentalist, these are just a few words that can be

used to describe Timothy J. Wilson. He’s performed at Café Wah, the Village Underground,

Justin’s, Club Groove, The Soul Café, Wilson’s, The Sugar Bar, etc. In late March of 2011,

Timothy relocated from NY State to Atlanta, Ga. to promote his “Kiss Me” LP, which was

released on his very own Tim’elody Records label. Not even in Atlanta for five months,

Timothy had already sold 1,000 copies of the Album hand to hand by the end of July. In

Atlanta, Timothy has performed at the Apache Café, Urban Grind, Kat’s Café, Centennial

Olympic Park, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, The Sweet Auburn

Spring Fest, The Dogwood Festival, and has also put in time “Street Performing” at Lil’ Five

Points, and Atlantic Station. In February of 2012, Timothy was chosen by casting director

Alpha Tyler as a featured singer, on a Season 2 episode of the BET show, “Let’s Stay

Together”. In March of that same year, Timothy launched his very own show, “Timothy J.

Wilson Live!” at Food for life supreme where his fans/supporters could come and see him

perform an hour long show for free. In April of 2012, Timothy was chosen by music

industry veteran Shanti Das (Laface, Arista, Universal Motown) to perform as the “Artist of

the month” at her popular event, “ATL Live on the Park”, which always brings out a host of

music industry movers and shakers, professional athletes and celebrities. About that

performance, Rollingout.com wrote: “ATL Live on the Park Artist of the month, Timothy J.

Wilson, executed a jaw-dropping performance, pleasing the entire audience with his

musical talents.” Timothy was also a featured performer at the inaugural, Atlanta Street

Food Festival held at Piedmont Park in July of 2012; where he performed for a crowd of

over 8,000 people. As 2013 came in, it found Timothy in the studio recording what would

become his second EP, “Born to Love” which was released in the fall of that year. Not long

after, he released the “Born to Love” music video. In November of 2014, Timothy landed his

first major film, playing the role of Verdine White, the legendary bassist of the band,

Earth, Wind, & Fire in the Warner Brothers film, “The Nice Guys”, starring Russell Crowe

and Ryan Gosling. The movie was released on May 20, 2016. In May 2015, Timothy released

his third EP “LOVESONGWRITER”, which landed him a feature post on the well-known

Afropunk blog. More info on artist website. ***CONTENT PROVIDED BY ARTIST


SOCIAL MEDIA

REVERBNATION.COM/SHAWNBILTON

WEBSITE: SHAWNBILTONMUSIC.COM/

Based out of South Carolina, Shawn Bilton

is known for his gritty, acoustic country

rock blend with a unique edge and

undeniable passion in every song. Being

blessed with the opportunities to open for

amazing artists including Kenny Chesney,

Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Zac Brown

Band, Toby Keith, Florida Georgia Line,

Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Alabama,

Old Dominion, Thomas Rhett, Randy

Houser, Cole Swindell, Lee Brice, Craig

Morgan, Parmalee, Chris Lane, Big & Rich

and more, some exciting things are in the

works. Come take a ride...Shawn is an

artist on the rise representing a new voice

for country music.

***CONTENT PROVIDED BY ARTIST


C

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Diamond

CELEBRITY


R

Was there A moment that you recall the change

the trajectory of your whole life?

That's almost like a fairy tale that you fell into.

People ask if I was scared because I didn't

know anybody in New York. At the time, and

it was a different time then, I said to people

when I did a tour of Pippin three years ago,

doing the Andrea Martin role where I'm

hanging upside down from a trapeze without a

net and singing the song... I realize that I don't

have a lot of imagination so I never think

about what could happen. I think that's what

enabled me to go to New York when I was 19

and didn't know anybody. I just thought well

this is what I'm supposed to do. When my boys

went back to college and they both went back

East now I think "oh my god what my mother

must've been going through." In those days

you didn't just pick up the phone or use

FaceTime. You placed a long-distance person

to person call and ask for yourself so that your

family would know that you were safe.

Nobody could afford to call people. But we all

got through it.

It may have been being cast in "Grease" because

I was nominated for a Tony and Norman Lear

eventually found me because of that and

brought me to LA and started me on a television

career. That would be one turn around I would

say. There was another one a little later on that

probably changed the trajectory of my career.

I'll never know but I made a decision to leave a

very large and a very successful agency and go

to a different one. Had I stayed where I was my

career might've been very different. But I'll

never know and I had my reasons for leaving

and I would do it all again I think. It's like the

universe. What's meant to happen happens. If

you could help me ask you any question on the

planet what would that be?

Probably what's the most important thing in

your life?

The most important thing in my life are my

children and my family and my friends. The

career comes second....or third or fourth...or

someplace down there. I am very proud of the

fact that I've been able to support myself my

entire life doing something I love to do. I don't

know if proud is the right word, but I am very

aware that that is a gift. I was able to do what I

set out to do, be an actress. I wanted to earn a

living as an actress. I've been able to do that,

but what’s most important are my kids.

Watch the “For

The Love Of Jessee” Trailer here:

https://youtu.be/_JSYDn582Tk

“For The Love Of Jessee” is now available on the

following platforms: Amazon, iTunes,

Google Play, Vudi, Comcast On Demand,

CBD.com, ChristianCinema.com, Walmart,

Target, and Best Buy.


TV station on Roku

S T A Y T U N E D F O R O U R N E W


CeCe

Peniston

CeCe Peniston Still Going Strong by Jimmy Star

CeCe Peniston rose to fame in 1991 when her hit

single “Finally” peaked at #1 on the Billboard Top

100, going on to becoming one of the most seminal

dance music songs in history. Winning numerous

awards by the end of 1993, and scoring five major

number one hits within three years, Peniston

was named the Number #1 Billboard Hot Dance

Music/Club Play artist in the world.

In addition to her amazing career in music,

Peniston is also branching out into speaking and

acting, and is sure to be a force to be reckoned with

as she is a superstar in all she pursues. I had a

chance to sit down with CeCe and talk about her

illustrious career:

Looking back to the beginning of your singing

career, what inspired you to become part of the

entertainment industry?

It was the fact that I felt at home on stage whenever

I sang. FYI, my singing debut took place when I was

eleven years old. I did my first show, “H.M.S.

Pinafore,” where I played the part of Buttercup….I

knew this is where I was supposed to be, and this

was the beginning of my singing career.

“Finally” is one of the most famous, anthemic songs

in the history of music, how did you come to record

it?

I

came to record it after doing background vocals for

A&M artist Overweight Pooch, and that is where on

a song called “I Like it” that the signature

CeCe Peniston adlib came to life. I also worked on a

song called “Give It All You Got” by Marvelous JC, and

doing those two songs are what led to me doing the

song that we all now know as the global anthem

“Finally.”

What have been your biggest challenges in the music

world?

The biggest challenges have come from me originally

releasing music in 1991, where we had a publicist,

record company, record deals and artists really got

signed to labels. MTV and VH1 were actually video

channels and it was more impressionable and

considered really cool to have an air of mystique,

where people did not know who you were personally.

Now it is more in fashion and impressionable to have

people want to know who you are, or they don’t want

to know who you are, which means being vulnerable

in social media and your private life. Instead of

record deals there is streaming and reality shows….10

million downloads used to mean 10 million dollars,

there is not a lot of money to be made from streaming.

Royalties are almost null and void for many artists,

which make them have to work that much harder.

What have been your finest hours in the music world?

My finest hours have and still are traveling the world.

Since 1991 I have been in a whirlwind, and it has been

and is amazing. I am constantly gaining more wisdom


of who I am as an artist, and I love being this journey. I

have had the wonderful experience of performing for Pope

John Paul, at the inauguration of Bill Clinton, I was the first

artist in history to perform in Africa after Apartheid,

and I performed for the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. I

have been fortunate to sing on the biggest stages

Cece

with

Peniston

the

finest artists in the world. I performed at Woodstock with

Thelma Houston, Phoebe Snow, Lois Walden and Mavis

Staples. The Wendy Williams show used “Finally” for the

theme song of Season 9 for 9 weeks, and I was the first

performer of the new season. I have been really blessed in

my career, have the greatest fans on the planet and

continue to pursue my goals in entertainment.

What do you enjoy most about performing live?

I love to perform live. It is such a rush to look out in the

audience and see a whirlwind of people in the crowd

singing the songs that I helped create along with me. For

that instant in time the audience forgets everything and

just has a great time, and that is a blessing for me.

When you perform live it is in real time. You get to see how

the audience feels and reacts to what you are doing. You

can perform the same song different ways each time you

sing it. The energy in the audience dictates how the

moment will go, and many times the moment is incredible

and comes out in an unexpected way.

What is the greatest lesson you learned from your parents?

I learned so many things from my parents. I think one of

the most important lessons is to treat people like you want

to be treated. I am always aware of this and have always

kept to this notion. The world would be so wonderful if

everyone worked on being good folks. I am always

intentional with who I am. I understand you’re into fitness

as well, can you talk about that a little bit?

Yes I am…. I work hard at taking care of myself both

mentally and physically. Here is a fun little story. I went to

a naturopathic doctor and she told me that I have food

allergies to beans, crab and some other foods I love to eat. I

have to cut them out of my diet. I am also allergic to eggs,

but I can eat duck eggs. It was an eye-opening experience. I

work-out regularly, and when I am on stage performing in

high heels and kicking my leg up high in the air while

singing is the biggest work-out of all.


Cece Peniston

What can we look forward to from CeCe Peniston in

2020 and beyond?

There is so much coming…. acting, speaking

engagements, live concerts, new music and more.

Make sure to watch my social media accounts or go

to my website for keep up to date.

Tell us how you felt when you were asked to sing for

Aretha Franklin‘s birthday party?

It was a surreal moment in my career. Totally epic. I

have always love her music, and when Tito Puente

and I were performing my song “I’m Not Over You,”

Aretha Franklin got up and started dancing. It was

such an amazing experience. After that I was invited

back for several other events.

Aside from still touring the world are you working

on any new projects at the moment?

Yes I am ….I have many. I have been working in

the studio with the incredible artist Samira along

with D Jay Steel and Maurice Goodrich on a new

song called “Dance,” and I have a new song coming

out on Sony called “City Lights.” I worked with B.

Howard on a brand new song who in turn

introduced me to Vick Martin who is also known as

the Billboard Killer.

I am also working on a new reality show coming to

a city near you with live music and new songs. I

have completed two movies and am working

on a third one, and am participating in a women’s

empowerment event with Tory Burch as well as

doing more events as a public speaker.

Lots of great things coming shortly. Knowing what

you do now what advice would you give to baby

CeCe?

Make sure to be involved in your business. This is

very important. When I began my career, I let my

manager handle my business, and as an artist it is

necessary to be involved in all aspects of everything

you are doing.

It is also important to network with people

wherever you go. You will meet friends that last

forever.

Many want to say that writing songs are kind of

therapy for them. You write poetry about your life,

what inspired you to do that?

You know what, it just came out of me. I felt like I

needed a way for people to understand how I felt both

mentally and spiritually, and it

worked.

The official website for CeCe Peniston may be found at

https://www.cecepeniston.com

Follow CeCe Peniston on Instagram @cecepeniston

and on Twitter @CeCe_Peniston


Rumsey

Isolation has encapsulated the land in this surreal

climate we now call "the new norm." Forced to stay

home for the planet's safety the only thing left to do

is "watch, read, and listen." Podcasts have skyrocketed

into a new popularity and one of the most

Ray

entertaining shows has become, "The Leo Affects"

hosted by New York based Ray Rumsey.

"The Leo Affects"

What inspired you to start a Podcast?

The Leo Affects features interviews from celebrities

including: Pink Floyd's Scott Page, super model

Sherry Nelson, top music promoter SohoJohnny, TV

host/actor Ron Russell, Profiles TV Host Mickey

Burns, actor Jason Simpson, Jamison Price, director

David McAbee, and a slew of other interesting

people. I spoke with Ray regarding his show which

is up lifting, inspirational and FUN......Ray is also an

aspiring voice actor and a lover of "Dungeons and

Dragons.

I really don't have a definitive answer other then I didn't start out doing interviews. I started out playing

"Dungeons and Dragons." The reason I started doing that aside from enjoying it, I was trying to build up a

demo reel for voice acting. With "Dungeons and Dragons" I could use a whole lot of different voices to

facilitate that. That's generally why I started podcasting in the first place.

How did you transition into interviews?

The group that I was playing "Dungeons and Dragons" with was approached by a publicist offering us clients

to interview in order to boost our numbers. At that point in time it was all about trying

to do the numbers thing. We explained that we really didn't have a show for that, however, the network that

we did the podcast with told us that we could create one. We went ahead and created a show and it

was called "Breaking the Fourth Wall" and because I had already had some experience in talking with

celebrities after going to a convention in North Carolina, they thought I would be best for this. There I was. I

started interviewing all of these celebrities. Let me tell you, those first interviews were terrible.

Were you nervous?

I was definitely very nervous. I went into it with the thought that I would write down these very specific

questions and that I would follow these questions. What ended up happening was I was so focused

on asking those questions that I wasn't even really listening to the answers.

When I first started doing interviews, I was guilty of that as well.

You get done and then you realize that you had no idea what that person said for the last half hour, so

hopefully it was good.


Well you seem very comfortable now. People want to know

how and when they can listen to your shows?

There is really no easy way to answer that because I don't have

a set schedule. I'm all pre-recorded so I try to have the

interview released the next day at the very latest. It goes out on

social media, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I do have a

business page for the Leo Affects on Facebook and my actual

Facebook itself is also the Leo Affects. It's sort of a double

whammy.

When you're not Podcasting what do you do?

My day job I am a food service worker at the Veterans hospital

here in my hometown. I got out of active duty, the Air Force

after 14 years and my wife and I and my three kids moved

back home to my hometown of Bath.

There is a Veterans hospital here so I applied. They also have an extensive rehabilitation program there, so I get to

see people of all ages and veterans of all different types, so I pay it forward.

If you could have me ask you any question on the planet, what would it be?

I guess I would want you to ask what my overall goal is in all of this? Where do I see myself going?

Ok what is your goal and where do you see yourself in five years?

Well with any luck this voice acting hobby right now will actually become a career and I can branch out into film

acting as well. I am trying to branch out beyond podcasting into the entertainment industry in general.

How did you come up with the "Leo Affects?"

It's ridiculously stupid. It's funny to me and I guess that's all that really matters in a podcast. That's what they say.

As long as you are enjoying yourself. So, the real idea behind it is I was sitting on the couch and watching one of my

favorite shows called "LetterKenny." The gist of the show is it is about a bunch of hicks from Canada and they run

around the town of 5000 people doing nonsensical things. I am a Leo. I was born in August and I really embrace

that. So, I was talking to my wife who is really my driving force. She is the one who actually sent me to the

convention in North Carolina. She was following Will Wheaton and heard he was going to be in North Carolina so

she decided I was going. I really wanted to meet him so badly because not only is he an actor, but he also played

Dungeons & Dragons on The Big Bang Theory and also for those who created content for Dungeons & Dragons. So,

my wife sent me there and while I was there I met all these other voice actors that I idolized and never realized

they did those voices. That really poured gas on the fire and motivated me to really wanna do this. I wanted to call

the podcast something easy and that could be abbreviated and that people would grasp. I really liked the idea of

having the Leo in there. The original idea I had was to have it called the Leo Effects with an "E" implying that I'm

effecting someone. In “LetterKenny” they do a skit about how everybody that goes to Los Angeles neve pronounces

it the same again. Every time they come back, they always pronounce it differently. So, they do this whole long skit

about LA.....and it makes me laugh every single time I watch it. I die of laughter. That's what sealed me. I decided to

do "Leo Affects" with the letter "A" and the abbreviation for it would be LA.

.....

The official website for The Leo Affects may be found at: https://theleoaffects.wixsite.com/podcast


Diamond

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Yaya Diamond

Dream chaser radio was birthed by

Singer/entertainer, and daughter of multi-platinum

recording artist Evelyn Thomas, Yaya Diamond in

2008. Since she has interviewed many Grammy

award winning artists, award winning producers,

authors, inventors, etc. She built the station on the

foundation of supporting others by giving them the

opportunity to showcase their talents on the show,

blog posts, video, reviews, press releases, the

stations Roku channel, and on social media . Yaya

Diamond has shown the "Special Talents" of all

who come on the show and not just celebrities, but

people like you and I who have goals and dreams.

If you are a dream chaser and want inspiration and

companionship on your journey then this is the

best place to get it. Become a part of Yaya

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Diamond Magazine June 2020 issue

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