SMT Benefit Concert April 8, 2006 The Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center 85 West Newtown St., Boston, MA 02118 Tickets $12 advance, $15 at the door, $5 with conference registration featuring The Diaspora Funk Movement Soulfège, Iyeoka, The Foundation Movement and DJ Fabian Alsultany See also: Pan-African Youth Empowerment Conference at Harvard University

Soulfège fuses funk, reggae, hip-hop, pan and West African highlife. Soulfège is Afro-diasporic cool with a positive vibe and relentless groove. Born of hip hop, Soulfège sings clean lyrics while building sonic bridges from a foundation in rhythm and harmony. The founding group of Soulfège are Harvard Alumni with roots in Ghana, the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica. The extended group includes African Americans on guitars and vocals and a Mexican American on the saxophone.  Together they present Heavy Structured Plus with a guest performance by Dancehall star Bounty Killer in a tribute to Mother Africa. Self-described as Afro-Diasporic Groovalicious Funkadociousness, Heavy Structured Plus is joyful listening. [eCaroh/Ron - March 2006] Audio Clips (Order CD here) Yaa (Radio) Sweet Mother (Radio) Valentine  Sofi  Sweetheart  Baby  Sunshine   Lady Be Mine  Long Way Sweet3Remix Sweet Remix Yaa (Outro)

PRESS RELEASE
March 2006

"Pan-African Youth Empowerment Conference & Benefit Concert"

CAMBRIDGE, MA ­ This April 7-9 the Sweet Mother Tour (SMT), a global youth movement with a mission to use the tools of popular culture to present empowering images of Africa & the African Diaspora, will host its first annual Conference & Benefit Concert at Harvard University entitled Youth and the New Pan-African Renaissance: Rebuilding Africa for the 21st Century, in partnership with the Cultural Agents Initiative at Harvard and student leaders from Harvard, UMass, Simmons College and Boston University.

On Saturday April 8th the SMT will host a Benefit Concert featuring the Diaspora Funk Movement (DFM) a project spearheaded by critically-acclaimed Boston-based groups Soulfège (www.soulfege.com) and The Foundation Movement (www.foundationhiphop.net). The founders of DFM have collaborated with such renowned artists as Dead Prez, Bounty Killer and Bobby McFerrin and been featured in such major media outlets as the Boston Herald, Boston Globe, BBC Worldservice Radio, BBC 1Xtra, S. Africa's Channel O and more. The DFM aims to "reflect a positive vision of the world" and "to make music that moves heart, body and soul and uplifts the spirit of people who hear it" [November 29, 2005, Boston Herald].

Joining the DFM will be slam-poet Iyeoka (www.iyeoka.com), featured on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, and closing out the night from NY, DJs Fabian Alsultany and Derek Beres of Globesonic Sound System (www.globesonic.com) - a DJ triumvirate that has spun worldwide alongside such respected artists as Yerba Buena, Antibalas, The Gypsy Kings and Jamiroquai.

All proceeds from the SMT Benefit Concert will go to the Selula Sandla AME Village, a home for HIV orphans in Swaziland; and Liberty Hall, the former offices of Marcus Garvey, today a youth center teaching cultural literacy and computer skills to children in the toughest ghettoes of Kingston Jamaica.

The SMT Benefit Concert will be broadcast live to a global audience at www.sweetmother.org courtesy of Technology Sponsors: Heart In Action, AsitaInformatica Inc. and MidNet Inc. Concert details are below.

Please contact Kelley N. Johnson at kelley@sweetmother.org or 617-492-3673 if you are interested in doing a story on the SMT or covering the Conference & Benefit Concert taking place April 7-9. To learn more about the international impact of the SMT visit www.sweetmother.org.

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Saturday, April 8th - 9pm-1am
The Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center (@ The Villa Victoria)
85 West Newton St. Boston, MA 02118
$12 adv/ $15 door ($10 students/$5 w Conference Registration)
All ages (email fam@sweetmother.org for kids prices)

Proceeds benefit Selula Sandla Village for HIV Orphans (Swaziland) Liberty Hall Youth Cultural Center (Jamaica).