Following the recent “Dateline NBC” misleading report on Detroit, New York R&B and AfroJazz star Koleurz is lending her powerful voice in support of the city, asking the news media, businesses, nonprofits and policy makers to “show Detroit some love, more so now that it is slowly recovering from the pounding effects of the seismic shift in the global economy.”
Commending the Michigan Chronicle for “making it a point of duty to call out individuals and organizations that have been rendering variegated disservice to the Motor City,” Koleurz admonishes news organizations to “highlight the city’s many strengths like top colleges, rich architecture, remarkable contributions to America’s industrialization, rich museums and popular teams like Detroit Pistons, Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers, just to mention a few, while pointing out its weaknesses,” which every city, from New York and Paris to London and Sydney, has.
“If you point out my weaknesses without pointing out my strengths, you are either uncomfortable with my strengths or untruthful about my weaknesses,” says Koleurz, adding, “Great cities are not cities without weaknesses because such cities are only a mental construct. Great cities are those that creatively illuminate and reinforce their strengths while wisely managing their weaknesses.”
Known for her hit single “U Won’t Put Me Down,” Koleurz, who recently performed at the Brooklyn Caribbean Youth Festival (sponsored in part by the Jamaican Embassy), Apollo Theater during the SacAids Award, and as a guest at the American Friends of Jamaica Gala honoring former World Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis, wonders why a city that has been through the pains of auto industry hemorrhage and high level of unemployment should also be subjected to the pull-it-down blows of bad press.
“If there is a city that deserves every ounce of journalistic objectivity now, it is Detroit, the roots of many renowned music greats like Michael Jackson, Eminem, Kid Rock, Alice Cooper, Diana Ross, Berry Gordy (founder of Motown Record Corp.), Smokey Robinson, Dwele, Supremes, Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye,” explains award-winning Koleurz who released her first album in 2006 via Elegant Records.
At issue here, she further explains, is why many big stars that have come out of Detroit are not promoting the Motor City as vigorously and regularly as they should.
“They too should show Detroit some more love,” she stressed. “They should be passionate about setting the record straight about the city because they have large followings” and could easily draw a lot of attention, interest and positive action if they promote the city individually and/or collectively.
“So when I come to perform in Detroit, it is to show my brothers and sisters there some real love, to lift them up with my blend of R&B, AfroJazz and Afroton, to show them I am standing with them in their challenges, to remind them nobody can put them down,” said Koleurz, who is looking forward to performing in Detroit with her seven-member band.
Koleurz (www.koleurzmusic.com) can be reached through her manager Ms. Mecha at 1-571-295-2359.