Toni Blackman is an artist and social entrepreneur devoted to serving through the music and culture of hip-hop. The first US Hip Hop Ambassador, she joined forces with Mantic Records founder Courtland Hankins, a producer/engineer whose first life included 18 years as a banking professional. Together, they teamed up to create an innovative audio product rooted in spiritual growth and emotional wellbeing. Believe is the first installment of the Meditation Mixtape Series, one of the first hip-hop meditation projects of its kind. The series is meant to enhance one’s daily spiritual practice, be a tool for motivation and serve as an invitation for self-inquiry, to practice relaxation techniques and heighten your focus. The project embraces the idea that words and sounds have an extremely powerful effect on our consciousness and daily actions. Welcome to the Meditation Mixtape Series, sit back, listen and BELIEVE. All songs and tracks were recorded and Mantic International’s SmartMonkii USA studio located in the South Bronx. Special thanks to the album contributors: Musical producers: Onaje Allan Gumbs aka "OG", Ngoma Hill, Courtland “Courty HO” Hankins, The Detroit Experiment, Christopher “Welth” Frias, Yahashua, Paul Heck, Charles Burchell, DJ Ayce, Keith Rogers, Tony “T Proper” Ojo. Featured artists: Navasha Daya, Jason Swan, AtLas. Additional contributors: Dr. Julius Bailey, Angela Mayo, Sammy Miranda, Keir Worthy, Watanyh Marks, & Justin Salusso. Cover Art & Photography: Keith Rogers More about Toni Blackman: Toni Blackman is an artist and social entrepreneur known for her work as a cultural ambassador using hip-hop to facilitate transformation and self-expression with audiences and institutions all over the world. She is the very first hip-hop ambassador, named so by the U.S. Department of State as she traveled to a host of countries sharing her insights and expertise through her speaking engagements, performances, workshops, and writing. A connector, Toni’s work has a unifying energy and transcends the arts allowing her to work everywhere from the corporate arena to the non-profit world and in educational settings. She is recognized as the world’s leading expert on Cyphers and has been featured on Forbes Magazine, on CENTRIC television and MSNBC’s Melissa Harris Perry Show, CBS morning news, FOX, MTV, VH1 and on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Toni is a graduate of Howard University, where she received her Master’s and Bachelor’s in Communications. A scholarship student, she put herself through college competing on the speech and drama team. Having spoken, performed and taught all over the world, she has been to 42 countries including Brazil, Senegal, Ghana, Taiwan,China, South Africa and various places in Europe. In 2012, she was recognized as a DOVE Real Woman in 2012 and became part of the campaign in the United States and Canada to help women and girls build self-confidence and self-love. She is also a recognized Echoing Green Fellow and an Open Society Institute Fellow. With a powerful voice and a positive message, she has shared the stage with the likes of Erykah Badu, The Roots, KRS One, Yasiin Bey, Sarah MacLaughlin and Vernon Reid and has coached hundreds of MCs to be stronger performers. As the world’s leading expert on Cyphers, she is the author of ‘The Wisdom of Cypher and co-produced BELIEVE, the first album in the Meditation Mixtape Series, a hip-hop meditation project. She also hosts the Cypher workshop, an live online web series that is held at Hi-Arts in East Harlem every 2nd and 4th Tuesday. A prolific teacher, Toni has led workshops and taught at a variety of institutions including the Kennedy Center, Harvard, NBC Universal, the World Social Forum, Spelman College, Julliard School and the Smithsonian. She is skilled in creating workshops that helps participants think confidently on their feet, identify their creative core and be fully self-expressed. Her workshops resonate with people from all walks of life – from elders to youth, corporate professionals to nonprofit executives to everyday students. Whatever your background may be Toni has a unique talent for helping you discover your true, authentic self! When she’s not working, Toni can be found in one of her favorite places - her kitchen, with her food processor and her Le Cruset pots and pans experimenting with healthy food recipes and serving plates to friends and loved ones in her own little food Cypher. She is a social entrepreneur who seeks to use her creative talents and business savvy to make this world a better place. An innovator, in 2016 Toni produced The Rap Recital, a Lyrical Meditation seminar and co-produced the Lyrical Debate in partnership with the City Lore Foundation in NYC right before the presidential election. Whether it is through performing or being on-air, creating programs that facilitate expression and confidence, speaking in front of an audience of a thousand about believing in creativity and letting go of the past, or helping workshop participants find freedom, Toni’s presence brilliantly shines a ray of light onto this world through hip-hop, her passion and very first love. Website www.toniblackmanpresents.com