It’s a holiday today, but I’m still working. What am I working on? Well, last night I came up with this brilliant plan. Actually, I had this idea a few months ago when I was in Brazil, but now I’ve actually decided to do it.

So what’s the idea?

Get Nas & Damian Marley to perform at Salvador Carnaval in March 2011 and film it.

Why?

While I was experiencing Carnaval last year, I thought to myself, man, hip hop and reggae would do well here. Now, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t my attempt to water down what Carnaval already provides. I think Brazilian music is great and it makes up an extensive part of my music rotation. However, more American artists are visiting Brazil, but often Salvador gets overlooked for Rio or Sao Paolo. There is a quite hip hop community brewing and reggae is already a mainstay in the city. (Actually, one of the best reggae parties I’ve ever been to was in Salvador).

Why Nas & Damian Marley?

This wasn’t a part of the original idea. When I thought of having a hip hop bloco, I actually couldn’t think of a good artist for this. Insert Nas & Damian. They have a newish CD out called Distant Relatives. I had a chance to see them in concert when they were in Atlanta a few weeks ago and they put on a great show. And this was at a time when I’d only listened to the CD twice so I didn’t even really know the songs (except for when they performed their individual stuff). I’d pay to see them a few more times. I love what they’ve done on this album and the overall message of unity and our shared cultural identity. You can read more about their mission here. I think they would be very open to spreading that message to a place like Salvador that is so culturally rich.

Why film it?

When I first had this outrageous idea in Salvador, a few of my Brazilian friends thought it was just that…outrageous. On my last trip, I realized that people there just don’t dare to have dreams. They’re not considered possible. It’s not just in Brazil, I’ve noticed the same thing here in the States, often. That’s why this will be filmed. It will be about having an idea and making it happen.

What’s the plan?

I’ll also need to assemble a team that consists of people in Salvador that understand the whole bloco thing, a few people that understand the logistics of putting together a show like this and a film crew. That will be the easy part. I’ll then need to get in contact with Nas & Damian Marley. I know neither of these people, but I’m banking on the whole six degrees of separation to get me an in somewhere. Then, I’ll focus on getting a sponsor to fund all of this. Sounds simple enough, right? This will be quite an adventure. In my head, I believe it’s beyond doable. I’m getting started today by writing down the pitch (it will be much clearer than what I’ve done here) and getting together the team.

Now that I’ve written this all down here, I have to do it. I’ll keep you guys posted on how this goes. Wish me luck! Oh…and does anyone know someone that might know someone that might know someone that knows someone…

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