“Chicago, Illinois – Music industry hopefuls lined the halls of the West Tower to ensure a premium seat in the workshop of their choice. The fastest selling workshop, Hip-Hop, included long-time Hip-Hop veteran and actor LL Cool J, dynamic DJ Kid Capri and other industry moguls. R. Kelly graced adoring fans with a sneak peek into The Chocolate Factory. Hundreds turned out to hear a word from the R&B genius, with special appearances by Tyrese and Charlie Wilson from the Gap Band.
MTV’s daBand, a group created by Sean “Puffy” Combs, turned out for the Listen & Critique workshop. They performed one of their new releases and gave attentive potential stars advice on entering the music industry. The Teen workshop was filled with young aspiring talent eager to learn more about the ins and outs of stardom at a young age. Panelists included Nick Cannon from Nickelodeon, American Idol Ruben Studdard and a host of other industry insiders.
A new workshop entitled, “How to Get into the Movies” was added this year in order to reach aspiring actors and actresses. Sharon King, casting director for Barbershop I & II and Soul Food, led the workshop, which included a presentation and question/answer sesion. Due to the overwhelming popularity of this workshop, it is sure to be added to next year’s seminar.”
