Fashion, Art, Music, Entertainment, and Culture..

Allen Forrest Performing Live At The 3rd Annual Demand Media "Selling With Swagger National Sales Conference"

2012-01-28T03:54:00.000-08:00

Allen Forrest performs "Supa Rich and "Written N Da Starz ft Lou Lou Malibu" inside the Malibu Bongaloo for the 2012 Demand Media 3rd annual "Selling With Swagger Sales Conference" at The Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica, CA http://Swagnoisseur.com

Allen Forrest attends The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!!

2011-12-02T12:25:00.001-08:00

Allen Forrest attends The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! after party held at Club Nokia on November 30, 2011 in... Click here to the event photos with LL Cool J and others.

Hello World: Meet Singer/Songwriter Guernica Mancini

2011-11-30T14:58:00.001-08:00

I had the pleasure of discovering a new singer by the name of Guernica Mancini she is Singer/Songwriter from Sweden... She has beautiful soulful raspy almost Adele style of singing... Her song "Bridges Burn" is my favorite. I love the guitar playing in this very addictive song. The world will be very pleased with her new tune which she wrote by herself. If you are a music snob like I am then check out her song below and you'll be very pleased. To hear more of this amazing artist please check out http://www.bravewords.com

The Great Awakening 11.11.11

2011-11-30T14:45:00.001-08:00

Allen Forrest

2011-09-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

Oprah's Executive Producer And President Of Harpo Studios Tweets Out "That's What I Say ft. Jennifer Akerman"

2011-07-03T11:38:00.000-07:00

5 years ago I had a dream when I was leaving the Navy that I was hanging out with Oprah Winfrey... when I told people this they thought I was crazy. Now I think I'm just one step away. :) "They say dreams don't come true until you believe it in your soul/ and That's What I Say."

Check out That's What I Say ft. Jennifer Akerman on Itunes.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-allen-forrest-project-ep/id445671022

Keep Believing!!!

-Match

And Since Oprah only follows 33 people in the world I'm sure there is a strong chance she saw the tweet from her President of her company.

Matchstick attends Melanie Segal's Red Cross Prepare LA Trend Lounge In Celebration Of The MTV Movie Awards Day 2 at Luxe Hotel on June 4, 2011 in Los

2011-06-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

Matchstick attends Melanie Segal's Red Cross Prepare LA Trend Lounge

http://www.wireimage.com/SearchResults.aspx?igi=503869&s=Matchstick&sfld=C&vwmd=e

The Allen Forrest Project.

2011-06-04T10:09:00.000-07:00

Allen Forrest - That's What I Say ft Jennifer Akerman

2011-05-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

Click here purchase That's What I Say ft Jennifer Akerman on iTunes.

The Allen Forrest Project

2011-05-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

Maria Kanellis Perfume Launch Party, Hollywood CA

2011-04-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

New Artist Cletus's Came To Dance. ft Matchstik

2011-03-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

Match On The Red Carpet And Back Stage At The NAACP 42 Annual Image Awards

2011-03-10T09:23:00.000-08:00

Matchstik And Halle Berry Back Stage At The NAACP Awards Flirting.

2011-03-06T15:46:00.000-08:00

Look at the way Halle is looking at me.... Pictures are worth a thousand words.

AlongCameMatchstik.com

Matchstik kicking it with Malin and Jennifer Akerman At Viper

2011-02-23T20:49:00.000-08:00

2011-02-23T10:49:00.000-08:00

The Wanderer Sample

Matchstik at the Post Grammy Nivea For Men After Party Hosted By Steve Ripken

2011-02-22T09:17:00.000-08:00

Click here to all the photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52831553@N04/sets/72157625953565149/

All Star weekend kicking it with Jay Z and all the stars.

2011-02-21T12:26:00.000-08:00

Matchstik at The LeBron James and Jay-Z's 5th Annual 2 Kings Party

2011-02-20T10:25:00.000-08:00

Matchstik and Tila Tequila On The Red Carpet At The Grammy Friends "N" Family party at Paramount Studios.

2011-02-15T11:30:00.000-08:00

"Matchstik On The Red Carpet At The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards."

2011-02-14T17:44:00.000-08:00

Me And My Crazy Life! "My BIG 30th. I'm at the Super Bowl XLV Trick"

2011-02-14T17:40:00.000-08:00

Recording at Circle House Studios, Partying at Soho House and Fountain Blue in Miami

2011-01-29T14:27:00.000-08:00

Matchstik recording in the legendary Circle House Studios and kicking at the Soho House, Miami, FL.

Shout out to Real MGMT

http://AlongCameMatchstik.com

Matchstik kicking it with the legendary "Jackie Chan" at Sammy's Cameras

2011-01-24T20:17:00.000-08:00

Matchstik and the artist Cletus was shopping at Sammy's Cameras located in West Hollywood, CA for the Cannon 5D cameras and randomly bump into the homie Jackie Chan so we had to say what up.

Me And My Crazy Life. (Kicking it at the 2011 Golden Globes NBC party)

2011-01-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

Matchstik kicking it with Quinton Aaron from the blockbuster smash "The Blindside with Sandra Bullock" and the Legendary MC Lyte at the Universal NBC Golden Globes roof top Party at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.

Me And My Crazy Life. (Hitting Vegas Up For C.E.S.) Kicking it with Tony Yayo from G-Unit.

2011-01-09T22:19:00.000-08:00

Allen Forrest on the set of "Nicki Minaj's NEW music video directed by Chris Robinson"

2010-12-21T16:11:00.000-08:00

The Allen Forrest Project Presents: Coming Soon

2010-12-14T13:26:00.000-08:00

The Allen Forrest Project Presents "That's What I Say ft. Jennifer Akerman."

2010-12-13T09:09:00.000-08:00

Allen Forrest and Jennifer Akerman behind the scenes of the recoding secession of The Allen Forrest Project Presents, " That's What I Say. ft Jennifer Akerman "

Written by Allen D. Forrest (c)
Vocals by Allen D. Forrest and Jennifer Akerman
additional guitars by Matt "Foreword" Nelson.

http://AlongCameMatchstik.com

A M.Republik Music Group Productions.

Me and my crazy life...

2010-12-04T10:19:00.000-08:00

Gangland: Rise & Fall Of BMF [40 Min Episode]

2010-09-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

Matchstik - Give Back ft Whitney featured on the Stomp The Yard 2 Homecoming

2010-09-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

My single Give Back ft Whitney is now featured on the cult following new movie "Stomp The Yard 2 Homecoming" sound track my song plays in the backgroud right after Chance just had a dance off with his ex's new boyfriend and he is looking for his cell phone. It comes on around 38:00 into the move.. Click on the link below to watch the movie online for free.

Matchstik appears courtesy of M. Republik Music Group, llc

Click here to watch Stomp The Yard 2 Homecoming.

Woman wakes up to find intruder in her bed

2010-08-01T23:24:00.000-07:00

WAFF Report - HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - Huntsville police are searching for a man who broke into a home and got into bed with a woman.

The Future..

2010-08-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

Turning Ghetto In 3 Seconds - VideoBash.com

2010-07-31T23:05:00.000-07:00

Turning Ghetto in 3 seconds brought to you by VideoBash.com

Along Came Matchstik featured in Swagga Magazine.

2010-07-31T17:32:00.000-07:00

Click here read the interview.

Matchstik - "Nothing Is Free ft. Beta" (FREE DOWNLOAD)

2010-07-04T14:21:00.001-07:00

http://usershare.net/4713684/o3oxqzwbob0v

Along Came Matchstik

2010-06-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

http://AlongCameMatchstik.com

Against The Wall. ft C. Bradley

2010-05-03T17:35:00.000-07:00

From the upcoming anticipated album "Then Along Came Matchstik.

Against The Wall. ft Cletus (Song Intro) by Matchstik

More Matchstik music on iLike

Matchstik on the set of Total Access.

2010-03-30T17:07:00.000-07:00

Matchstik and Cletus LaMarc on set of Total Access of the NFL.

Matchstik on stage with Will.I.Am after the The E.N.D world tour..

2010-03-30T16:59:00.000-07:00

Kayne "Says he sold his sold to the devil"

2009-12-24T16:30:00.000-08:00

peep it out..

Rhi Rhi breaking her silence for the first time.

2009-11-05T13:35:00.000-08:00

For Hip Hop News & Entertainment at DimeWars.Com

Jay - Z's Empire State of Mind… New York’s Anthem

2009-10-31T13:43:00.000-07:00

Rhianna breaks her slience..

2009-10-31T13:23:00.001-07:00

I wonder how she will bury Chris Brown.

Beanie Sigel – I Ain

2009-10-30T10:11:00.001-07:00

Beanie Sigel – I Ain't Ya Average (Jay-Z Diss)

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BEANIE CALL IN FULL INTERVIEW.mp3

2009-10-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

This morning, Sigel spoke to Charlamagne Tha God on 100.3 The Beat about his diss song, “What You Talkin Bout” and his relationship with Jay-Z. This shit sounds crazy..

The Concept by Matchstik

2009-10-13T15:09:00.000-07:00

Interesting about the Rothschild.

2009-10-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

Surina's Song performance Live At The District

2009-09-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

In Time ft Whitney (Behind the scenes Ch. 8 I'm famous"

2009-09-03T18:57:00.001-07:00

Dj Am OVERDOSED "Rip Dj AM!"

2009-08-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

Howtohustlehard.net HAS LEARNED THAT DJ AM, NEE ADAM GOLDSTEIN, IS DEAD.

HIS BODY WAS FOUND IN HIS LAFAYETTE STREET APARTMENT TODAY IN NEW YORK, AND SOURCES TELL "HHH" HIS DEATH MAY HAVE BEEN DUE TO A DRUG OVERDOSE.

You will be missed brother.. thank you for you contribution to pop culture.

Miss Malbu 2010 at Cher old mansion sponsord by the Ludacirs Foundation

2009-08-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

Calspirt.org American Cancer Society event at Pacific Design Center.

2009-08-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

Honoring David Murdoch..

V.I.P room

Emerging Hip Hop Star Matchstik Tells It All To Billboard Magazine

2009-08-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

Hip Hop Star "Matchstik" Interviews with Mariel Concepcion Associate Editor,
Billboard.com

Read the interview here..

Silence For Peace Campaign by Allen Forrest

2009-08-13T18:59:00.000-07:00

Naked For Peace.

Sophistication For World Peace.

Silence For Peace.

Good Music And A Good Cause Movement.

Surina's Song ft Foreword by Matchstik

More Matchstik music on iLike

Shot by Brad Christopher.

The Story Of My Life..

2009-08-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

couldn't have said it any better..

Mentioned on the worlds first Urban Fashion and Street Wear Online Magazine

2009-08-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

http://www.sojones.com/streetwear/cross-colours/

Apl.de.Ap Launches Jeepney Music Record Label

2009-08-12T10:41:00.001-07:00

photo courtesy of http://www.zimbio.com

It was a good party.. I had a lot fun and met some great people.

Getty Images link
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/89755034/Getty-Images-Entertainment

Oprah Speaks On Jay-Z ( Interview, August 10th, 09)

2009-08-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

I once had a dream I was hanging out with Oprah... Now I know it's possible.

Chasing The Dream.

2009-08-10T22:57:00.000-07:00

When chasing a manifestation following your heart, creating your reality.. is a journey of truth.. you loose so much it seems along the way, but it is only the false things of life that was never truly ment, although it feel so real. You learn truths through pain, through a struggle, through error.. as I was once told "I rather die fighting then to be on my knees begging." Push your self to the limit for what you believe in. Every day is a new for new beginnings.. Don't let someone else s insecurities bring down your infrastructure of happiness.

You live long enough you'll see peasants turn into kings, and kings turn into peasants because that's power of god.. wake up today and claim your royalty status in this universe because anything is truly possible just dare to believe.

-Match

2009 Social Media Predictions

2009-08-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

F.A.M.E Monthly Mixer Hosted By London Moore at The W Hotel in Westwood, CA

2009-08-09T01:56:00.001-07:00

2009 New York International Film Festival.. Screening of my new music video "Never Can Say Goodbye" at the Regency Theaters.

2009-08-02T20:23:00.001-07:00

Matchstik ft on Billboard.com Enough said

2009-07-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.billboard.com/#/column/undergound/matchstik-1003997021.story

Never Can Say Goodbye video by Matchstik

2009-07-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

Comments from Facebook.com/AllenForrest

Comments from Myspace

This was beautiful Al Sharpton.. You won my respect. "Very Tripple H"

2009-07-07T14:26:00.001-07:00

Never Can Say Goodbye (Michael Jackson Tribute) by Matchstik

2009-07-07T14:18:00.000-07:00

Never Can Say Goodbye (Mj Tribute) by Matchstik

More Matchstik music on iLike

written by: Allen Forrest

Match at the 2009 B.E.T after party hosted by Ciara "Michael Jackson Tribute"

2009-07-05T09:32:00.000-07:00

Top 10 Laws Of Hustling Hard.

2009-07-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

Be prepared because preparation is king.
Once when I was on facebook and I was doing some self promo and I was hitting up the editor of Billboard Magazine for some potential exposure and after countless attempts he finally responded and was like, "Send me a link right now" and I did and which later it landed me an interview with them.
Patience.
It took me 3 in a half years to finally get air play, headlines in my hometown's news paper, and major write up on Yahoo.com "The New Now" music blog and Billboard.com
Grind Ethics.
Nothing says number one hustler getting money like a hustler more then someone who has undeniable work ethics.. Trust me I'm the king at short cuts and none of them work.
Confidence.
Take Barack Obama...when he walks in the room he may not know all the answers to every problem, but since he believes.. it radiates.. so everyone believes it.
Swager.
Nothing says "I'm the Boss" like having a million dollar swag when you walk in the building.
Leverage.
A famous tween pop singer mom once told me use your accomplishments to leverage your next accomplishment.
Determination.
Their will always be pinnacles and valleys it's going to be your perseverance that will get you through the rough times.. as Kanye West says, "I've had some win some losses it's the life of the goddamn Bosses"
Ethics.
Point blank no body wants to do business with a con-artist, or people you can't trust. Like the late great Scarface said, "My word is my bond".
Witts also known as wittiness.
Sometimes getting in to those hard to get into places is your ability to make that gate keeper smile.
Believe it.
If you don't believe you are the CEO then who will. I once got backstage to some highly influential people because I simply believed I was suppose to be there.

Chapter 8 "I'm Famous" photo shoot.

2009-07-01T00:40:00.001-07:00

Freedom

Eternity

Life.

Symbolic

Http://bradchristopher.com

Life Changes... so Keep The Faith.

2009-07-01T00:04:00.000-07:00

In my life I've been called everything from "He's never going to be anything", "A high school drop out", to "He went to college" to "He served in the United States Navy" To "A rising Hip Hop star" to "The CEO/Founder of M.Republik Music Group" which is my own company.

Dream BIG!

-Match
"Live Young"
Matchstik.net

I got qouted in The Dothan Eagle about Micheal Jackson

2009-06-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

I support world peace..

2009-06-28T20:24:00.000-07:00

Support

World

Peace

Free

Iran.

2009 National Conference on Volunteering & Service sponsord Points of light and Hands On Network.

2009-06-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

Showing love to the sponsors.

This is how I hustle baby!

Oh Gov. of California knows who Match is

This who I was back stage with.
"Very tripple H"

Rare pictures from Michael Jackson's family home.

2009-06-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

Long live the King Of Pop!

Allen "Matchstik" Forrest
http://matchstik.net

Brandy Maddox
http://myspace.com/brandymaddox

Pictures at UCLA where Michael Jackson took his final breathe.

2009-06-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

My real life Michael Jackson story.

With in 1 hour these shirts was printed up after the King Of Pop's death at UCLA

The place where Michael Jackson took his last breathes on the day he died.

Michael's power to unite.

Kid Michael photo which got picked up by The Dothan Eagle in Dothan, AL and ran this picture to a circlation of 38,000 daily readers.

Yahoo.com labels fresh new Hip Hop artist Matchstik "The New Now" by Craig Rosen

2009-06-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

Written by Craig Rosen
http://new.music.yahoo.com/programs/the-new-now/980/picturessounds-of-matchstik-manfree-mp3#postcomment

The Top 5 Mistakes of Social Media Marketing

2009-06-04T12:24:00.000-07:00

The Top 5 Mistakes of Social Media Marketing

June 03, 2009
The Top 5 Mistakes of Social Media Marketing
By TMCnet Special Guest
Pam Lontos and Maurice Ramirez, Ph.D

As a business owner, you already know the importance of utilizing traditional PR – print, radio and TV exposure – to keep your name circulating in the marketplace. Now, however, there’s a new PR outlet you need to become familiar with. It’s called Social Media Marketing, and when combined with your traditional PR efforts, Social Media Marketing can help you penetrate the marketplace with your message quicker and easier than ever before.

What is Social Media Marketing? It’s utilizing the various social networking sites to enforce your brand and market your business. A social networking site is simply an online meeting place. Think of it like an eHarmony or Match.com for business people. On such sites, people can post a profile with the hopes of meeting other like-minded professionals for business reasons.

According to the Nielsen Research Group, social networks and blogs have moved ahead of personal e-mail among the most popular online activities people engage in.

Additionally, USA Today reports that the time spent on these sites is growing three times faster than the overall Internet rate. More than two-thirds of the world’s online population now visits social networking and blogging sites.

Knowing this, it’s clear that if you haven’t yet engaged in Social Media Marketing, the time to start is now. But before you do, you need to be aware of the top mistakes businesses make with this PR outlet so you can avoid them and get the biggest return for your marketing investment.

Mistake #1: Having more than one face on the Internet.
When you’re engaging in Social Media Marketing (called SMM from here on out) you’re really building your image from the ground up. The goal of SMM is to virally spread parts of your image across the Internet. The word “parts” is important. Basically, you’re starting with a holographic image of yourself in the virtual world. You then need to break that hologram apart and find the appropriate places on the Internet where you can frame certain pieces of that hologram.

When someone looks at all the pieces at the various sites, they should be able to put them together to see a single whole. They should not see multiple images of who you are, as that would ruin your credibility. Therefore, if you have multipleFacebook ( News - Alert) accounts, for example, your personal one has to be hidden and by invitation only. You don’t want that other image out there confusing people and possibly diminishing your reputation.

Mistake #2: Collecting friends.
SMM is how you create instant buzz on the Internet by getting the same message out over and over. It’s spreading your message and getting yourself branded so you can get more business. Social networking, on the other hand, is about making friends. For example, you’ve likely seen someone on LinkedIn who has 25,000+ contacts. That’s great, but what do you do with all those contacts? Remember, just because you have a phone book in your office doesn’t mean you can open the book at random, pick a name, and call them for business.

When you collect a contact, you’re supposed to be opening the door to exchange information and build a relationship. Think of it as relationship marketing in the 21st century, and the same rules apply. The only difference is that you’re building the relationship online rather than over coffee.

Mistake #3: Putting out the wrong messages.
You’ve likely seen people put posts on Twitter or Facebook that say something like, “John Smith is watching a great movie and eating popcorn.” Such messages may be fine for personal networks, but for business networks you need to put out messages that are useful to your readers. In other words, don’t talk about yourself. You want to give valuable tips and advice so that the people who read your posts want to repost them to their own sites. That’s how your message spreads virally.

The key is to keep your messages consistent. Remember that people are subscribing to various feeds in order to get your information. They are essentially saying that your message has value. That’s why you can’t do a series of sales tips and then post a couple of your favorite omelet recipes. You have to stay on message, and your message has to be for your readers.

With that said, it is okay to occasionally have a press release type message that says something like, “John Smith is speaking at ABC Convention on employee productivity today.” Such a message does two things: 1) It tells people they might not get a tip today or tomorrow because you’re busy, and 2) It shows that other big-wigs out there think your message is important. It’s a positive reinforcement that boosts your credibility, so long as you don’t do it too frequently.

Mistake #4: Posting inappropriate information.
Don’t allow yourself or anyone on your site to post anything online that you don’t want your most conservative client to see. You never know where something will end up, especially since the nature of the Internet is for things to spread virally. For example, a CEO of a corporation had a picture of himself and his girlfriend on a topless beach in Mexico. In the photo she’s riding on his shoulders with her breasts exposed. For some reason, he decided to post the photo on his personal invitation-only Facebook site.
The only problem is that he was married. His wife (or rather, his now ex-wife) saw the photo. How? Someone on his invitation-only Facebook account thought it was a great picture and decided to repost it on the public Internet. To top it all off, his board of directors got wind of the photo and fired him. Now he’s no longer employable in that field or that position again. The moral of this story: Never post anything on any site that you wouldn’t personally show your own grandmother.

Mistake #5: Assuming that it is better to have your message in only one place on the Internet.
In the “old days” of the Internet, people believed they had to keep all their content on their own Web site. The theory was that spreading it out ruined your credibility and diminished your reputation as being a unique speaker. Not so today. In fact, with SMM, the opposite is true. The more places you can get your message to appear simultaneously, the more effective your message will be.

Think of it as constructing a funnel. You want to lay several trails of information, all of which lead to your main site. Therefore, no matter how someone stumbles upon you, as long as they “follow the trail,” they’ll eventually find you. That’s essentially what you’re doing with your Twitters and other SMM messages. You’re putting out kernels of information. If someone wants the next kernel, they have to follow the trail. Eventually it funnels them to one Web site, which is where you wanted them to be anyway. You’re creating an environment where people see your message everywhere. As a result, you now have their attention and you have the opportunity to sell your product, your services, or whatever you’re selling at that point of distribution.

Here’s an example of the power of funneling: Recently Aaron Chronester posted a message on Twitter. Someone saw his post and reposted it on their blog. CNN and the New York Times found the post interesting and reported on it. Because of that exposure, Chronester got a book deal from Simon and Schuster. So, what was his post about? Current events? Global warming? A tell-all celebrity biography? Nope. It was a Twitter post with a unique bacon recipe, as Chronester was trying to get publicity for a barbeque club he belonged to. That’s how powerful funneling your message can be.

Get Noticed with SMM
The marketplace is changing, and you have to change with it. Your name has to be everywhere – in print, on radio, on TV, and on the social networking sites. The more you can get your name and message circulating in the various mediums, the higher your chances of clients seeing your information and ultimately hiring you. Thanks to SMM you can get your message out to thousands of people in an instant. And the results are greater credibility, more exposure, and higher sales – all of which positively impact your bottom line.

Pam Lontos is president of PR/PR Public Relations and author of "I See Your Name Everywhere". Maurice Ramirez, Ph.D. is the chief strategist for Social Media at PR/PR. He is a renowned speaker on the importance of Social Media Marketing. PR/PR has placed clients in publications such as USA Today, Entrepreneur, Cosmopolitan and Time. PR/PR works with established businesses, as well as entrepreneurs who are just launching their company. For a free publicity consultation, e-mail Pam@prpr.net or call 407-299-6128. To receive free publicity tips, go to www. PRPR.net and register for the monthly e-newsletter, “PR/PRPulse ( News - Alert)!”

TMCnet publishes expert commentary on various telecommunications, IT, call center, CRM and other technology-related topics. Are you an expert in one of these fields, and interested in having your perspective published on a site that gets several million unique visitors each month? Get in touch.

Edited by Stefania Viscusi

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The Top 5 Mistakes of Social Media Marketing

2009-06-04T12:22:00.001-07:00

The Top 5 Mistakes of Social Media Marketing

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How to sneak in The Democratic National Convention $30,000 a dinner party

2009-05-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

Ok so as any up and coming artist will tell you.. unless you know the host, bouncers, the owner of the club or party you must posses amazing wit or GOD is on your side that night. Trust at this point I NEVER have to sneak into parties because I'm always invited to them because at this point my face/name/music is popping up every where.

Well, one this particular work day of sending out emails, writing songs, putting up wit standard industry bullshit.. I get a call from a friend and she tells me that OBAMA is riding down Santa Monica and for me to come check it the motorcade out.. I'm like cool only to find out he was headed to the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills for the Democratic National Convention and was hosting a dinner there where plates are going for up to $30,000.

Now I haven't sold a million records to front like I'm going to spend 30k on meal when shit I'm frugal as hell. So I had result back to street smart wits and find a way to met this man because this it's a part of my dream is to make it to these type of people and get busy with what I'm here for.

Mean while the protesters of the Prop 8 uphold ban were outside this hotel where it's heavily guarded with snipers on the roof, police dogs, barricades, secret servicemen, undercover cops, shit you name it to protect the nation's president was there.

One would think "AH HELL NAH you're not sneaking into this place....RIGHT??? When you are after a goal only focus on the end result. And if this what it takes to get me one step closer.. "Bitch I'm in!!"

Well I had to result to my street smart ways and get into this place because these are the people who need to be seeing my face.. so I said, "fuck it.." what's the worse they can tell me "I'm sorry sir you're not on the list to be here." which in my years of being in Hollywood I've heard that a couple times or two along this great journey of mine.

So I tell the cop who's guarding the entrance that I'm waiting to be escorted in by a hotel guest.. so he says cool just step to the side where the entire left side walk was barricaded off... after about 10 minutes of fronting to be making calls I slipped into the parking lot and sat down at these chairs where to Navy man were there watching the Los Angles Lakers Vs Denver Nuggets play off game.

so I sat there for a few minutes with them and we talked about the little about the Navy as I am a former sailor my self... so after about 15-20 minutes of that while scooping my next move.. I see fellow C.I.A agents scoping the place out, but they see me to talking to their plane clothed undercover co-workers so they automatically think I'm apart of the show..(Plus I got million dollar swag any way.)

So my two guys had to depart on a assignment and there it was.....my opening... It came to me and I knew I had to move fastly and calmly as possible... so I dashed and the same cop I told I was waiting to escorted in I walked right past him undetected and I ended up walking up right behind the Crenshaw Baptist Church Choir and walked right in with them.. So now I'm in now!!! But Unfortunately I missed the president by 10 minutes or so, but I did get to met Jamie Foxx and give him my business card plus other high officials.. :) and bumped into some of my fellow facebook friends while I was at it...

so to stake my claim as the "WORLD'S BEST HUSTLER".. I jump on stage and took a few photos of me in front of the same DNC logo that president of the United States was just at moments before.

And they say it can't be done... This is how you crash a party!!

-Matchstik
A Story About Following Your Heart!
http://matchstik.net

Surina's Song ft Foreword received nearly 10,000 downloads in less than 14 hours

2009-05-30T03:50:00.000-07:00

A successful day campaign with myxer.com my single "Surina's Song ft Foreword" received 8192 in less then 14 hours starting from 7am est till 9pm est converting 4% percent of the sites daily traffic.:)

After a year of pounding every social network available to a person.. and sending out countless emails to bloggers, magazine editors or who would ever just listen to what I had to offer and after over 80,000 promotional mobile downloads to get my name out to the music lovers in the U.S. Myxer.com put my first official single from my album "The Concept" on the their front page exposing my single's ring tone to over 200,000 daily music lovers from all genre's of music creating a successful day campaign with myxer.com and my HIT single "Surina's Song ft Foreword" received 8192 in less then 14 hours starting from 7am est till 9pm est converting 4% percent of the sites daily traffic.:) Making it the highest numbers of downloads in a day I've received up to this date and breaking the single into the market with out the help of a majorly known artist proven this timeless classic HIT single is ready for music lovers world wide.

Single availble on iTunes, Rhapsordy, Napster and other major digital retailers world wide.

Click the link below to purchase the single on iTunes.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=297016394&id=297016391&s=143441

Dream BIG!!

-Match
Ceo/Founder
http://matchstik.net

Matchstik featured on the FRONT page of iLike.com

2009-05-29T03:37:00.001-07:00

M.Republik Music Group, LLC is a power house and will be a leading music conglomerate in the future. iLike.com has over 45 million registered users and is the main music platform Facebook.com to it over 200 million users.

Got tweeted out to over 83,000

2009-05-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

Through the power of social net working. I've had my brand tweeted out to over 83,000 tweeters.

The Simple Truth!

2009-05-17T09:53:00.001-07:00

They say that "Good guy" never wins and it's the bad guy who prospers.

I say say the "Good guy" always win in the end and the bad guy wishes he had what the good guy ended up with.

Spectators will always speculate because of there lack of faith and fore vision.

And will only do the bare minimum just in case it actually turns into something they can reap a reward for there lack of efforts.

love someone just love them because it's the most motivating drive that will ever push someone to their most extreme limits.

Live with no expectation but to be happy.

Follow your passions and the places it will take will super exceed your expectations.

Hold no attachments because everything is only temporary even if forever seems so distant.

Only think about things you want to be drawn too and see and you shall.

Trust is knowing, knowing is trust, what will be will be, the classic one's action will always tell way more then words could every comfort. So choose to be expressive in your actions.

You can let pain dictate your future and keep you from seeing that delightful rose right in front of you because you only to chose to focus on the thorns and why you shouldn't pick the rose because of what might happen. Or choose to view that pain as a way that has gotten you to the truth to recognize the sweet nectar fragrance that rose posses.

If history repeats it self, then so will your actions... so change your actions and you'll change your history.

if you love they will love you back, if you destroy they will be destroyed , if you hate then you'll be hated.

Life is not a shortcut.

-Match

distributed on every major cell phone carrier in the U.S by the Number 1 mobile content site in the U.S

2009-05-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

Thumbplay is the #1 mobile content site in the U.S. with over a thousand integrated partners, including AOL, MSN, iLike/Facebook, Clear Channel, Comcast and CBS.

Independently Internationally debuted in London on Choice Fm by the award wining Dj Masterstepz

2009-05-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

Featured on the front page of Djbooth.net

2009-05-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

Allen "Matchstik" Forrest "One Night Only" Live at Crown Bar LA

2009-05-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

Matchstik, A story about following your heart.

Click To Play

Phone interview with Billboard Magazine.

2009-05-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

From having a crazy dream (Followed my heart), to sleeping in my car at one point journey, to being interviewed by Billboard Magazine. Check out the link. I'm video blogging while I'm being interviewed..

-Matchstik
A story about following your heart.
http://mrepublik.com

Click To Play

Hearing my hit single play on Yahoo.com

2009-04-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

Click To Play

How I got my music played on Yahoo launch cast.

2009-04-17T00:17:00.000-07:00

I'm independent artist always looking for new avenues to gain exposure. Like most independent artist trying to get your music played on major radio can sort of a pain because A. Who are you? B.You don't have label behind you. C. Who are you again??

Changing my focus since a across the board radio is dying to the internet I started asking my self how can I get the most exposure so I turned to the net where information is more accessible.

I started out by googling new music and yahoo pop up as one of the top places people look for new music. (I'm not talking about those dumpster diving music lovers I search the web for hours to find the perfect artist who rules my world) but the general public which is typically Mainstream America.

Once at the site... Is searched the blogs about my specific genre (Which is Hip Hop) to see who was contributing blog editor.. and once I found there name.. I use today's social networking to find them which I found him on Facebook added him as a friend and started dialogue.

Next step he then pointed me in the direction on where I should send the record to get encoded. Once I did the encoder he in return directed the lady whom I should contact about getting in rotation.

Ending result I saw my song on the tweeter play list for yahoo launch Hip Hop station and Yahoo launch cast has 20 million unique listeners. Now that's exspousre thanks to the power the internet and social networking.

-Match

The number one reason you should follow your heart.

2009-04-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

I started out in the music business about 4 years ago when I was living in San Diego, CA. I started with a broke down Dell, Fruity Loops, and midi controller.

I took my career into my own hand because I got tired a producers bullshitting and not giving me beats or flaking on studio time, or just plan out not believing in there ability to hustle so they didn't give it there all.

One night while out to sea while in the Navy. I had my wildest dream..which was I came to LA and actually made my dream come true. When I told people even my family that I was coming to LA to be a rapper 99% of all of them scoffed at the idea considering I was in the Navy plus I had a good job in the Navy.

Truthfully, my life was a piece a cake except for the idiots who continuously ask me dumb ass questions about my past that had happened at the time was 10 years ago. Shortly after that I left and came to LA only to live with a guy whom I met only once in Alabama and he was kind enough to let me sleep on the couch until I got my self situated which one of the roommates ending up leaving so I was able to get a room, so like the Jefferson's "I moved on up."

On July, 04, 2006 my friend was like hey there is a party on Doheny but he didn't have the address.. My intuition was like, "Match, you need to get there." so I listen after 1 hour of driving I found a party which I walked up to and went in only to find out it's the wrong party. (actually became the right party.) Next thing I know I'm on top of the roof with owners on the house toasting to six firework shows.

4 weeks later I opened for Joe Buddins then 4 weeks after that I opened up for Sean Paul (The Reggae Artist.) in Winnipeg, CA and the rest was history. Now, I have changed my life 180 degrees. The same high school that I dropped out of I was able to go speak to the kids about why it's so important to stay in school. The same city I was arrested for drugs at when I was a teen no sees me as a hero and gave me front page headlines something that has never been done before in the cities history. I have a promising music career, I've shot and released a music video, over 55, 000 mobile content downloads, about 2000 new downloads a day, Internationally debuted, and I did it all with just a mac lap top and my faith in God and never a man.

People meet for a reason, but have a connection for a purpose. There are no such thing as good or bad circumstances only experiences that gets you to the truth in life.

Hi, My name is Matchstik and I hustle hard.

2009-04-10T23:55:00.000-07:00

Uniquely talented, Allen Forrest does not only write his own rhymes and produce his own beats, but he created the Matchstik brand solely himself.

Allen David Forrest, better known as Matchstik, was born in Fort Camble, Kentucky on February 4, 1981 and raised in Dothan, Alabama. At age nine, Matchstik’s parents separated and a few months later his father attempted suicide.

Matchstik’s father, who was formerly a soldier in the United States Army Reserves, abandoned Matchstik’s family, leaving his mother to raise him and his siblings on her own. Without a father figure in his life, Matchstik found a home in the streets.

It wasn’t long before Matchstik himself began selling drugs. Then, after his third arrest at age 16, Matchstik realized he had to turn his life around. Determined not to be a victim of his circumstances Matchstik left the street life behind, dropped out of high school and passed his G.E.D. He also went on to attend college, and sequentially joined the Navy at age 20. During his journey across the country, Matchstik had a near fatal car crash where his best friend tried to kill himself and Matchstik by grabbing the steering wheel and hitting a tractor-trailer while traveling at over speeds of 90 miles per hour.

After completing four years of service in the Navy and receiving an honorable discharge and several medals including a good conduct award, he decided to leave the Navy and follow his musical aspirations on the West Coast.

Matchstik's remarkable song writing abilities earn him 4 out of 5 stars on DjBooth.net for his infectiously catchy single, “Surina’ Song ft Foreword” aka “Made it 2 the top” which he wrote and recorded himself in his studio apartment while living in Los Angeles, CA which caught the ear of London's award winning and 2x MOBO award nominee Dj Masterstepz who was nominated best club and radio DJ in 2008 (Mobo Awards) broke the record in London during his famous radio show "Masterstepz" on Choice Fm, London's number one radio station.

Matchstik has been featured on Heydoyou.com (a hip Canadian fashion blog), Rapmusic.com which is the largest Hip Hop forum on the web, Myxer.com, a leading ring-tone website with over 22.2 million users, His songs "It's Ok" and "I'm So Fly ft Jas" was featured on two episodes of the Fox Reality show "Amazing Adventures Of A Nobody" and ultimately, he was featured on Canada’s number one celebrity blog Zacktaylor.ca .

Allen Forrest aka Matchstik is the founder of The Good Music And A Good Cause Movement which Matchstik successfully recruited 39 people and within two days had 182 members. It now has over 360 members and within three days a family received clean water for year in a developing nation and his Good Music And A Good Cause Movement was mentioned on Paul Nathan's show called "The Stew" on London's Sky Digital Network. Matchstik was the first hip hop artist from his city in Dothan, AL to make the front page headlines of his Hometown’s newspaper with a impactful story about following your heart and fulfilling dreams to a circulation of about 38 thousand daily readers he also spoke at the local high school to the entire 11th and 12th grade student body about importance of staying in school. In recent news Matchstik was interview by Mariel Concepcion, the Associate Editor for Billboard Magazine.com, on why the world should get to know Allen “Matchstik” Forrest. Match has also been featured on the front page of iLike.com to its 45 million registered users. iLike is main music provider for Facebook.com’s 200 million users, Yahoo.com which gets 38 million daily visitors “The New Now” music blog written by Craig Rosen, Also on the front page of Myxer.com which has over 22.2 million users with a daily average of 200,000 thousands unique visitors.

Being the maverick that Allen Forrest has always been. Matchstik is one to watch as he heads quickly to super stardom as one of music's biggest super stars. Matchstik has opened up for established artists such as Joe Buddins and Sean Paul (the Reggae Artist) in Winnipeg, Canada! Allen Forrest is a positive inspiration and real survivor despite all the triumphs he has endured over his short life and will inspire millions through his passion for music.

Good Music Good Cause movment.

2009-04-10T23:26:00.000-07:00

Ring Tones

2009-04-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

Why do I give my music away for free?

2009-04-10T22:18:00.000-07:00

People ask me all the time.. Matchstik why aren't you charging for your music???? I tell them that in today's new digital era my main demographic who are middle schoolers all the way to undergraduate students are use to free music. That's why Lime Wire and other torrent sites still survive.."If they want it they will get it point blank."

I was with a friend the other day and he saw a commercial for a movie that is about to come out on Blue Ray and to him that meant it was available for bootleg soon. So if people are thinking that then what are these high school/college kids think when they hear new release of a good artist.

Let's face it. I'm an independent artist going up against major artist such as Fifty, Lil Wayne, Kayne, T.I, and Jay-Z so I how do I compete?? Well first create an artist who doesn't look anything look and feel anything like them, make the music sound just as great or even better... then give it away for free.

Featured on the international fashion brand Cross Colours Official Blog

2009-04-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

Featured on ZackTaylor.ca

2009-04-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

Featured on swaggerfordummies.com

2009-04-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

Fashion, Art, Music, Entertainment, and Culture..

Allen Forrest Performing Live At The 3rd Annual Demand Media "Selling With Swagger National Sales Conference"

Allen Forrest attends The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!!

Hello World: Meet Singer/Songwriter Guernica Mancini

The Great Awakening 11.11.11

Allen Forrest

Oprah's Executive Producer And President Of Harpo Studios Tweets Out "That's What I Say ft. Jennifer Akerman"

Matchstick attends Melanie Segal's Red Cross Prepare LA Trend Lounge In Celebration Of The MTV Movie Awards Day 2 at Luxe Hotel on June 4, 2011 in Los

The Allen Forrest Project.

Allen Forrest - That's What I Say ft Jennifer Akerman

The Allen Forrest Project

Maria Kanellis Perfume Launch Party, Hollywood CA

New Artist Cletus's Came To Dance. ft Matchstik

Match On The Red Carpet And Back Stage At The NAACP 42 Annual Image Awards

Matchstik And Halle Berry Back Stage At The NAACP Awards Flirting.

Matchstik kicking it with Malin and Jennifer Akerman At Viper

Matchstik at the Post Grammy Nivea For Men After Party Hosted By Steve Ripken

All Star weekend kicking it with Jay Z and all the stars.

Matchstik at The LeBron James and Jay-Z's 5th Annual 2 Kings Party

Matchstik and Tila Tequila On The Red Carpet At The Grammy Friends "N" Family party at Paramount Studios.

"Matchstik On The Red Carpet At The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards."

Me And My Crazy Life! "My BIG 30th. I'm at the Super Bowl XLV Trick"

Recording at Circle House Studios, Partying at Soho House and Fountain Blue in Miami

Matchstik kicking it with the legendary "Jackie Chan" at Sammy's Cameras

Me And My Crazy Life. (Kicking it at the 2011 Golden Globes NBC party)

Me And My Crazy Life. (Hitting Vegas Up For C.E.S.) Kicking it with Tony Yayo from G-Unit.

Allen Forrest on the set of "Nicki Minaj's NEW music video directed by Chris Robinson"

The Allen Forrest Project Presents: Coming Soon

The Allen Forrest Project Presents "That's What I Say ft. Jennifer Akerman."

Me and my crazy life...

Gangland: Rise & Fall Of BMF [40 Min Episode]

Matchstik - Give Back ft Whitney featured on the Stomp The Yard 2 Homecoming

Woman wakes up to find intruder in her bed

The Future..

Turning Ghetto In 3 Seconds - VideoBash.com

Along Came Matchstik featured in Swagga Magazine.

Matchstik - "Nothing Is Free ft. Beta" (FREE DOWNLOAD)

Along Came Matchstik

Against The Wall. ft C. Bradley

Matchstik on the set of Total Access.

Matchstik on stage with Will.I.Am after the The E.N.D world tour..

Kayne "Says he sold his sold to the devil"

Rhi Rhi breaking her silence for the first time.

Jay - Z's Empire State of Mind… New York’s Anthem

Rhianna breaks her slience..

Beanie Sigel – I Ain

BEANIE CALL IN FULL INTERVIEW.mp3

The Concept by Matchstik

Interesting about the Rothschild.

Surina's Song performance Live At The District

In Time ft Whitney (Behind the scenes Ch. 8 I'm famous"

Dj Am OVERDOSED "Rip Dj AM!"

Miss Malbu 2010 at Cher old mansion sponsord by the Ludacirs Foundation

Calspirt.org American Cancer Society event at Pacific Design Center.

Emerging Hip Hop Star Matchstik Tells It All To Billboard Magazine

Silence For Peace Campaign by Allen Forrest

The Story Of My Life..

Mentioned on the worlds first Urban Fashion and Street Wear Online Magazine

Apl.de.Ap Launches Jeepney Music Record Label

Oprah Speaks On Jay-Z ( Interview, August 10th, 09)

Chasing The Dream.

2009 Social Media Predictions

F.A.M.E Monthly Mixer Hosted By London Moore at The W Hotel in Westwood, CA

2009 New York International Film Festival.. Screening of my new music video "Never Can Say Goodbye" at the Regency Theaters.

Matchstik ft on Billboard.com **Enough said**

Never Can Say Goodbye video by Matchstik

This was beautiful Al Sharpton.. You won my respect. "Very Tripple H"

Never Can Say Goodbye (Michael Jackson Tribute) by Matchstik

Match at the 2009 B.E.T after party hosted by Ciara "Michael Jackson Tribute"

Top 10 Laws Of Hustling Hard.

Chapter 8 "I'm Famous" photo shoot.

Life Changes... so Keep The Faith.

I got qouted in The Dothan Eagle about Micheal Jackson

I support world peace..

2009 National Conference on Volunteering & Service sponsord Points of light and Hands On Network.

Rare pictures from Michael Jackson's family home.

Pictures at UCLA where Michael Jackson took his final breathe.

Yahoo.com labels fresh new Hip Hop artist Matchstik "The New Now" by Craig Rosen

The Top 5 Mistakes of Social Media Marketing

The Top 5 Mistakes of Social Media Marketing

Matchstik ft on Billboard.com Enough said