Hip
Hop's very own medicine man, Supa Nova Slom has
carved a unique niche into the infrastructure
of the hip hop nation. As an
artist / activist for the wholistic health and
wellness
of the global hip hop community and beyond; this
recording artist, producer, natural healer ("medicine
man") and public speaker, has communicated
his youth-centered message of health and wellness
through a multitude of mediums.
Most
notable, perhaps, is his feature-length DVD Documentary,
Wholistic Wellness for the Hip
Hop Generation, which
informs and introduces viewers to holistic methods
designed to combat mental, physical and emotional
health issues. The film features
revealing and inspiring in-depth interviews and
testimonies from notables in Hip Hop including
Common, Dead
Prez, Erykah
Badu and none other than the godfather of hiphop,
Kool
Herc
A
Brooklyn NYC native, Supa
Nova's mother raised him as a strict vegan vegetarian.
As a toddler, his
diet consisted primarily
of green leafy vegetables, spirulina, aloe vera,
sesame milk and organic fruits; his diet now consist
of 90% organic raw fruits and vegetables, 10% starch
and absolutely no animal products or dairy. He
refers to himself as chlorophyllion – one
who’s diet contains high levels of chlorophyll
-- the ingredient found in green plants which has
profound healing and rejuvenating effects. It was
through this strict dietary discipline that he
discovered the power of foods on his mental, physical
and emotional health.
As a child, time spent with his
mother consisted of traveling from Brooklyn to
Native American Sweat
Lodges and attending Holistic Health Workshops;
his stepfather taught him ancient Khemetic culture
as a way of life. Time spent with his biological
father in Brooklyn’s infamous Marcy Projects
highlighted another side of life for Supa Nova,
as he watched his father battle poverty and drug
addiction. Witnessing these disparities prompted
his own internal battle and Supa Nova began to
rebel from his cultural upbringing.
By age 14, Supa Nova began selling guns and boosted
clothing, drawn to the lure of the streets and
longing for acceptance from his peers; losing a
daily battle to maintain balance in his life, things
soon became so hot for Supa Nova on the streets
of Brooklyn that he was forced to relocate to North
Carolina to spare his life.
Time away from the city allowed
Supa Nova not only to re-connect with nature
and the fundamental
teachings he’d received as a child, but also
to discover new music and reconnect with his Hip
Hop artistry. Living in the south exposed him to
a broader range of music than in his hometown of
New York. The energy of west coast gangsta rap
appealed to the warrior spirit instilled in him
as a child; the mid-west pimp / playa raps reminded
him of his father’s gift of game, and the
southern crunk music provided a high-energy stress
release, resonating with the effect of chanting
during African and Native American rituals. Supa
Nova began to fully identify himself through this
music, and it strengthened his ability to re-embrace
his culture.
In 1996, Supa Nova returned to the streets of
Brooklyn, New York and implemented the Hip Hop
Meditation Cypher (HHMC), a youth-centered, positive
self-development workshop series fusing hip hop,
cultural awareness and yoga meditation to raise
health consciousness among youth; through HHMC,
Nova successfully guided over 1200 youth through
a rites of passage curriculum, providing positive
alternatives to alcohol, sugar, drugs and other
toxic substances targeted to youth. In 1998, through
the success of the HHMC, Supa Nova became the lead
spokesperson for the Association for the Study
of Classical African Civilizations (ASCAC), which
promotes the study of classical African civilization
through music. This afforded Supa Nova the opportunity
to spread the HHMC teachings to Chicago, Atlanta,
Compton, Los Angeles, Watts and other parts of
the West, Midwest and Southeast regions. His identification
with the Hip Hop sound in these regions was further
strengthened through his travels and is currently
reflected in his artistic cadence, flamboyant image
and high-energy sound.
In 1998, through the financial
support of his grandmother, Supa Nova built a
16-track digital
recording studio in the basement of his family’s
Brooklyn-Based health and Wellness Center, Smai
Tawi. Together with his creative partner and cousin,
Ntrfied Ka Ptah – a musical prodigy who studies
the effect of music and sound vibration on the
mind and body -- they established the Ra Ra Ntrtainment
sound, a fusion of Hip Hop, rock, soul and funk.
Supa
Nova Slom is currently promoting his above-mentioned
feature-length DVD Wholistic Wellness
for the Hip Hop Generation,
as well as the 14-track CD release, Lotus in the
Ghetto, which features music inspired by the film;
the book, Wholistic Wellness for the Hip Hop Generation,
featuring step-by-step, easy to read instructions
on holistic living, is scheduled for Spring 2006.
He is also the host of an upcoming TV show, “Urban
Wellness”, a cooking & wellness show
featuring a special advice segment with Erykah
Badu and co-hosted by Nova’s brother, vegan
culinary chef Ali Torain.
