THE NOTORIOUS LIVE: A BIG LIVE CONNECTION TO CHRISTOPHER WALLACE

Today The Big Live is quite inspired by a fellow Brooklynite. On March 9th,1997, The Notorious BIG aka Christopher Wallace was gunned down. Things were never the same but tributes were paid for the man that moved many across the world. A great story I personally have of Biggie's influence is one that brought me Australia for a church retreat. On these retreats we were given the opportunity to meet people from across the world and then trade gifts. A friend of mine brought along his "Ready to Die" album (a personal favorite of mine), and wanted to trade it. After scoping the field of hundreds of thousands of people, we found a middle aged, student and asked him would be like to trade. It was not the best effort without telling him before hand what we had to trade. As soon as my friend said notorious BIG Ready to Die, the young man was taken aback. It was a huge gasp followed by, "I don't have anything worth that much." It was weird to us at first, but he followed by saying, "Biggie is popular in my country [Belgium]. It's actually very difficult to find a physical Biggie album there. Everyone I know has a digital copy." My friend insisted that the young man take the CD, and indeed he eventually took it from him. His face was glowing  as he read the credits on the back cover. As we parted ways my friend looked at his gift, he really did appreciate the small gesture returned. If Biggie knew how big he would be after his death, well maybe the album titled "Life After Death" wouldn't have been such a gem. The BIG LIVE appreciates Notorious BIG, as a huge figure in the urban culture, and in the Hip Hop World. Of course he was in fact a musical influence on CEO Mr. Pierry Benjamin. Benjamin is a huge hip hop fanatic, and last summer released his talents to the world as well. Releasing "Never College Dropoutz", Pierry indeed drew influences from of course personal favorite Jay-z, his fellow Queens Native Nas, and his very own hometown Brooklyn Mogul Biggie. The BIG LIVE would like to thank Notorious BIG for all that he did, and honor his life with our BIG LIVE Notorious BIG Logo. NOTORIOUS BIG's legacy will forever live on.

TURN UP!!! Wednesday February 12th RECAP. HS308

After a couple of weeks away due to snow, The Big Live is back, and it has been a BUSY week. Mr. CEO, Pierry Benjamin, was well at work. After finishing about two more sessions with MS 202 (which we enjoyed very much), there was more work to be done. On Wednesday, February 12th, Benjamin went toe to toe with their sister High School, HS 308 also known as Robert H. Goddard High School. As Benjamin was helped in our last blog post, by two guests, he had no visitors this time. This didn’t bother Benjamin one bit as he was able to go head-on in his interaction with the students. It was in fact time to, “TURN UP!” a phrase used by Benjamin and the students, referring to livening up a situation or to have the most fun.  Captivating the students with laughter Benjamin said from the start he knew it was going to be a great session. Benjamin began by asking the junior class, who has younger siblings. Immediately a significant amount of students raised their hand. Benjamin explained that although he has an older sister that helped him a lot, he was able to go to the SPARK counseling program, where he and many other classmates would speak about the issues they were facing. A wonderful KEY point that Benjamin pointed out was a concept that all the students understood, fashion. “The students that wore fashionable clothing, and were in with everyone sometimes had the most issues at home,” said Benjamin. The students all looked around and understood what Benjamin was alluding to. The fact that at times these garments are simply MASKS, used to cover up many difficulties students face. From that idea Benjamin continued that this was one reason he decided to begin The BIG LIVE. “I do this because we all have to play a game called ‘LIFE’, and I’m here to help you play. Not because I’m better than any of you, nor is anyone better than anyone else, but because I’ve been playing life longer. I’m here to guide you.” They were wise words and surely the students understood. Benjamin explained to the students, an issue that happened that caused two of his close friend who didn’t play the game of life well, which in turn landed them in jail. This was the main reason he started The BIG LIVE, and has never looked back since. Benjamin explained that there are many places that these students can go, which would allow them to achieve many great things. “You are entitled to be GREAT!,” shouted Benjamin. “In one session 50% of you may learn from what I say automatically, but as life begins to play, the rest of you may catch on later.” These words by Benjamin encouraged the students, as they asked him many questions one on one afterwards. HS 308 we at the BIG LIVE loved coming to your school, for not only was it a motivational speech to you, but a motivational experience for us. We look forward to seeing you in the future. Till then remain TURNED UP!!!! Till our next blog post.

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MS 202'S BIG LIVE: WEDNESDAY 1/29/2014 RECAP

This is our first post from The BIG LIVE, and surely it is an exciting one! 2014 has kicked off great for the The BIG LIVE and there is so much that will be shared on this blog page! On Wednesday January 29th, The Big Live returned to MS 202 after a 2 week hiatus due to the snow. "OOOOHHH!!!" shouted Pierry Benjamin, in the bright walled auditorium. Immediately the 400+ 7th grade students responded shouting back, "KILLEM!!!" A chant Pierry has used with the students after his Week 1 presentation, which featured young social media icon, Terio. It was evident from this response that the students missed The BIG LIVE just as much as the program missed them. Pierry had three special guests, and wasted no time introducing them to the students. The first guest was Jeff Lindor. Lindor, a community leader/political consultant, referred to himself as "Mr.Community." Rightfully so, he explained to the students how he grew up, and he is now the voice of the community just as they can be one day. "You can be anything you want" said Lindor. This phrase is constantly mentioned to the youth, but Lindor added his own special marketing touch. "If there is something you want to do and it's not out there, create it yourself." A special and different outlook to encourage the students. As Lindor left the stage, Pierry returned to introduced the next guest. What made this next guest suitable for the occasion is that he was evidence of what Lindor spoke about. Dwayne Bucknor, an anesthesiologist by day and event planner by night, was a great segway from Lindor. Bucknor explained to the students his hard work to become an anesthesiologist, and the excitement that comes along with a day's work, but that was only the precursor to his exciting second job. Bucknor works alongside with a group of promoters, that hosts many events. After naming a few celebrities the students were hooked, but Bucknor reminded them that he once sat in the same desks as the students. Eluding to the fact that they too one day can do as he. As the guests walked off stage it couldn't end without DJ Physics playing a tune to introduce the biggest guest of them all. The BIG LIVE's most important intern, THE BIG LIVE LION, graced the stage and the students went bananas. There was no better way to end the afternoon, and unfortunately The BIG LIVE had to depart. MS 202 The BIG LIVE is appreciative of the opportunity, and look forward to to returning soon. Until our next post The BIG LIVE says OOOOOHHHHH!!!

BELOW ARE PICTURES TAKEN BY THE TALENTED C.YARD, WHO CAN BE FOLLOWED ON INSTAGRAM @CEEYARD AND LIKED ON FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/officialcyardfilms

THE BIG LIVE LION TAKES CENTER STAGE!!!

DJ PHYSICS(LEFT) AND PIERRY BENJAMIN(RIGHT) TALK BIG!!!

PIERRY BENJAMIN(LEFT) DWAYNE BUCKNOR (RIGHT) PREP FOR THE STUDENTS