Considered a Blues/Rock band, Kenny Wayne Shepperd had his band playing for two hours straight, no break. Masterful. The band consists of a horn section of three musicians, a drummer, a base player, a keyboardist, lead singer and guitarist, and of course Kenny Wayne Shepperd who provided lead vocals as well. However, Kenny's guitar playing was center stage of it all.

I brought my eldest daughter with me, and before the concert started, she asked me why there were so many difference guitars on stage. I told her because each has a different sound. To prove me right about the different guitar sounds Kenny while performing changed guitars, as I thought, for it seemed like every song performed. Masterful. The way Kenny plays his guitar was masterful. I have seen nothing like it, and I was a guitar player until my late 20s.

Shepperd did things with his guitars I have never heard done before. You must witness the guitar playing skills of Kenny Wayne Shepperd. Not only how he plays the guitar but how each of the musicians in his band masterfully plays their instruments. The Kenny Wayne Shepperd Band's lead vocalist was a master as well. His vocals delivered that traditional Rock-n-Roll sound, and his vocal delivery style and dance moves were all centered around Kenny Wayne. That, visually, was perfection. Later, you would see his lead vocalist strumming his guitar too in support of Kenny when he took the lead with his vocals. Kenny's vocals were the thing that had me reach out to them. He has a Blues influence on his Rock vocal sound, which makes his vocals quite different from the Rock superstar vocals of his lead singer.

The Kenny Wayne Shepperd Band played all the songs on his debut album "Ledbetter Heights" and ended the concert with songs from his lasted projects that are fan favorites. Speaking of fans, the Cerritos Performing Arts Center was packed with overly excited and very supportive fans of the band. The diehard kind. I felt very honored to have not only interviewed the Rock legend, but to witness his concert that was on the level of any top-notch legendary act that is raking millions of dollars in revenue per show.

The multi-platinum selling Kenny Wayne Shepperd Band has also garnered two Billboard Music Awards, two Blues Music Awards and multiple Billboard #1 chart-topping singles. Like I said, masterful!  www.CerritosCenter.com www.KennyWayneShepperd.net

The single "Fresh Out" with its music video showing families getting together at cook-outs and BBQs, also coincides with the upcoming July 4th holiday when me and my (west coast) family will be getting together to celebrate "America," and the celebration of America's 250.

I told Brandon that I just recently learned what Juneteenth was all about because my daughter is into the history of African-Americans pre-Civil War and she took the week off to celebrate. So, its recognition is to highlight the "actual" end of slavery in America (when a high-ranking military official openly declared all slaves are free in Texas), two years after Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. I can see Juneteenth as a deep and hard pill to swallow for some.

"That's what I do. I'm the greatest educator...I'm the Griot," he emphasized happily.

"That's how my students learn (music)," Griot B said when recalling how he went from history teacher to rapper. "It started with a student's challenge for me to make a song and I did. It was enjoyable to me. To reach them in a way that they understood...and I kept at it and got better."

After eight albums, one Black History Month album, one Latin History Month album, four major concerts, 2,000 school performances nationwide, and eight California tours Brandon's style of teaching is known in schools across the country. You know the name but may not have connected it to Brandon Brown aka Griot B. It's called the "School Yard Rap." It's as popular in our culture today as old main stream's "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" back in the day or the "Reading Rainbow" that just ended 20 years-ago. Only the music in School Yard Rao is Hip-Hop, and the kids are of all ages. Brown's School Yard Rap program is in 228 schools in 24 states and used by 50 colleges across the country. It combines Hip-Hop music and education by using live performances.

"It's been a massive success," he agreed, when I mentioned how well-known School Yard Rap is in academia. "I'm taking a step forward...with the EP ‘Good Trouble'. It's important...that people talk about how African-American's got the right to vote. I'm not political, they made it political. It's so kids and adults can learn."

Griot, aside from being an educator (Inglewood, California) and a BMI rapper, he is an entrepreneur and as I stated, the founder of the School Yard Rap movement. He released the "Fresh Out" single featuring Haillie in celebration of Juneteenth and Black Music Month, but the timing cannot be ignored that it is also around the time of the celebration of America and its 250 years. A reminder that our right to vote, women included, was granted to us not that long ago.

Griot B performed last month at the NPR 2026 Tiny Desk "On the Road Tour" when it stopped in San Fransico and he hosted the Juneteenth/Community Care event in Culver City at the Robert Froster Auditorium. The event provided free health screening and family support services. He helped give away 1,000 bags of groceries and diapers.

For these ventures Brandon Brown formed strategic partnerships, such as those with the enterprises as Warner Media and Essence. His educational entertainment company has generated over $5 million in revenue through live programs, educational programs, and curriculum designing.

So, listen out for rap artist Griot B (Brandon Brown) and his new single "Fresh Out" and his EP "Good Trouble," which explores voters' rights, and know that he was a legend before he was a rapper.  www.SchoolYardRap.com www.GriotB.com

SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Dr. Eunice Moseley has an estimated weekly readership of over one million for her column The Pulse of Entertainment. She is the publisher of the digital magazine www.ThePulseofEntertainment.com, which has an estimated 160,000 visitors a month. An entrepreneur, Dr. Moseley’s company, Freelance Associates, is a business management/public relations strategic planning and consulting firm that is celebrating 32 years in 2025. Dr. Eunice also serves as professor for the School of Business at Stanton University in Anaheim, California and serves as promotions director (at-large)/journalist and business consultant for The Baltimore Times. Dr. Moseley founded the Uplifting Minds II Foundation (www.UpliftingMinds.com) in 2023, a 501 C3 with a mission to empower the underserved through three major programs – One Stop Business Shop, the ULMII Professional Conference and the ULMII Academy (business management and public relations). EVENTS: "Uplifting Minds II" Entertainment Conference (ULMII), was launched by Dr. Eunice in 1999, to educate aspiring artists/musicians about the business of entertainment – www.UpliftingMinds2.com. Next ULMII Entertainment Conferences for Baltimore on Saturday April 18, 2026, presented by Security Square Mall and The Baltimore Times, and for Los Angeles on Saturday, November 7, 2026, presented by The Pulse of Entertainment and the ULMII Foundation. The ULMII conferences are free with virtual access via Zoom. ULMII entertainment conference offers a Professional Panel Q&A Session, a Professional Talent Showcase and International Talent Competition where the top three scored acts receive the ULMII Best Act Award and over $20,000 valued in prizes/product/services and cash!