Leslie D. Rose

Industry savvy and community-minded media professional with more than a decade of experience in print journalism, celebrity interviewing, and arts-based/non-profit/higher education public relations and marketing. Areas of expertise are writing, editing, photography, pagination, social media management, public speaking, youth development, community relations, course creation, instruction, and mentoring.

Baton Rouge-based journalist, poet and photographer whose poetry – mostly done in narrative form – addresses culture, ancestry, journalism, and womanhood. Past member of two National Poetry Slam teams (2011 and 2014) and Baton Rouge representative at the 2014 Women of the World Poetry Slam, ranking in the upper quadrant (Poetry Slam, Inc.). Select works have been published and featured on various outlets, including Passages North, and archived on IndieFeed: Performance Poetry. Author of full-length book of journalism-inspired poetry titled, The Newsroom (2015, Next Left Press).

Rap and hip hop music became major tools for advertising, marketing, and branding in the mid-1980s. It is likely the perception of cool that works well for advertisers, coupled with the ever-growing popularity of the genre among younger audiences. Over the years rap has been used as a means of drawing in consumers not familiar with it but fascinated with its elements, as well as rap fans seeking to emulate popular artists. Since the mid-1980s, rap has been used to sell everything from clothing to cars, cell phone providers, computers, beverages, food, lint rollers, and dolls.

Alfred Banks aptly named his recently wrapped solo tour #TheTherapyTour. The up-and-coming New Orleans emcee has been building success over the last few years while his musical focus has shifted: He's openly addressing mental health and promoting a more well-rounded depiction of the human inside of the rapper persona.

For Cornelius Roy, owning a vegan restaurant is a form of activism.

Inspired by his own woes of not being able to dine out freely as a vegan, the New Orleans native started Vegan Friendly Foods. The restaurant opened on Nov. 21 at 4608 Bennington Ave. in Baton Rouge.

Four summers ago, Maria A. Finley, a Louisiana attorney, packed her things and was prepared to move to Washington, D.C. Her children had all grown up, and she was ready for a fresh start.

After touring Georgetown University with her son and his friend, the trio visited a Rita’s Italian Ice. For Finley, it was love at first bite.

Horatio Isadore poured his first cup of coffee eighteen years ago at House of Java—a shop he opened in his hometown of Alexandria, La. Even though his first-day sales totaled just $7.48, he said he knew he was in the right business. In years to follow, House of Java moved into the Southern University Law Center where it was quite successful. But Isadore noticed the need for an off-campus shop in north Baton Rouge—a shop that he would one day open. On March 5, he did just that with Southern Gr...

Bootsy Collins has made a career out of fun music and exciting costumes. He was a pivotal member of the funk culture in the 1970s with the band Parliament-Funkadelic, a collective known for characters, costumes and outer space themes, which gave way for Collins’ childhood sketch-inspired star costume and bass guitar design.

Throughout the years, he has continued to be a representative of the funk, taking just three years away from the stage during his entire career. This week, he returns to the road, embarking on the yearlong #iGiveaFunk Tour. And he’s completely sober.

The birthplace of rap music and hip hop culture is undoubtedly the Northeast of the United States. Although hip hop originated in New York, nearby states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, have also been major contributors. Whether coining hip hop slang, creating mini movements, founding subgenres, or writing rap anthems, the Northeast has been pivotal in moving hip hop to its elevated place in popular culture.

Today, officials from Baton Rouge Community College, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, Baton Rouge Area Foundation, East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority, and other distinguished guests and community leaders gathered to cut the ribbon on The Automotive Collision Training Center at the BRCC Ardendale Site. This ceremony will officially begin the second phase of automotive training programming available at BRCC since the ribbon cutting of the McKay Automotive Training Cen...

Dr. Rani Whitfield has so far lived out a fair share of his dreams. Affectionately known as The Hip Hop Doc — a title he's also trademarked — the Baton Rouge native and general practice physician has played a little college basketball, created a comic book series, "The Legion of Health," learned the bass and co-founded the band U4ria with his friend, Merrel Porché Jr.

Students in McKinley’s Humanities Amped program do hands-on research on local social issues

Former Baton Rouge Community College student, Floyd Anthony Johns Jr., will appear in the upcoming film, Avengers: Infinity War, in a reprisal of his stunt role as a member of the Jabari Tribe from the Marvel Studios film, Black Panther. The Jabari Tribe served as members of Black Panther character, M’Baku’s (Winston Duke) army and were featured in the prominent fight scene that took place during the downfall of the film’s villain, E...

In summer 2012, 24-year-old Teach for America corps member Lucas Spielfogel was tapped as Executive Director of then-three-year-old Baton Rouge Youth Coalition (BRYC) to continue its budding legacy. Charged with growing the program in participants, supporters, and results, Spielfogel immediately got to work advancing BRYC’s mission of preparing high-achieving, under-resourced high school students to enter, excel in, and graduate from college.
Now, nine years in, BRYC has served hundreds of st...

Abdullah Muflahi reflects on the loss of his friend and how his convenience store became a local protest landmark