Tatiana Honesty Abney: Harlem’s Rising Voice of Truth, Talent, and Tenacity

Tatiana “Honesty” Abney is an artist shaped by the soul of Harlem and driven by an unshakeable commitment to authenticity. With a natural gift for blending rap, melody, and harmonies, Honesty has carved out her own lane as a truth-teller who refuses to chase clout. Her sound is rooted in real life experiences, sharp storytelling, and a voice that feels both soulful and street-wise. As a mother, creator, and trendsetter, she carries herself with the fashion-forward confidence Harlem is known for, all while building a platform grounded in integrity.

Honesty has been making her presence known throughout New York’s entertainment scene. She has performed at Hip Hop Fraternity events, graced stages curated by Ace General from Money & Violence, and been spotted connecting with respected figures such as members of Lost Boyz. Her consistency is evident—movie screenings, premieres, networking mixers, artist showcases—she is everywhere she needs to be, putting in the work and earning respect step by step.

Her artistry extends beyond music. Honesty is now stepping into acting, joining the cast of a new reality series spearheaded by Karine Sho-Time Thornton. Her versatility and on-camera presence reflect the same confidence she brings to music, proving she is ready to expand her reach across multiple lanes in entertainment.

Musically, Honesty is locked in. Her singles are streaming across all major platforms, and her music videos are available on YouTube, each one capturing her raw energy and vibrant style. She has been collaborating with a range of producers, including Tony Murk, with whom she has been crafting impactful records that highlight her signature blend of rap and melody. Her catalog continues to grow, and each release shows her evolution as both an artist and a woman with something meaningful to say.

Focused, determined, and full of natural star power, Honesty is a name to watch. Her beauty, talent, and work ethic speak for themselves. Harlem raised her, but the world is beginning to recognize her. This is just the beginning of her rise.

Karine Sho-Time Thornton Announces Production of New Cultural Conversation Series Highlighting Women’s Voices

New York, NY — (2025) — Media figure, cultural curator, and battle rap contributor Karine Sho-Time Thornton has officially begun development on a new conversation-based reality series centered on women’s voices, perspective, and presence in today’s culture. The project is currently using the working title SHO Talk, with the final title set to be revealed later.

The series is being developed in New York and will feature a diverse cast of women selected for their intelligence, lived experience, confidence, and ability to engage in thoughtful dialogue. The goal of the show is to create a space where discussions can be honest, direct, and even intense at times, without resorting to disrespect or chaos. The tone is focused, grown, and grounded in real conversation.

Thornton credits his mother, Bernadine Coleman, as the core inspiration behind the project. Her strength and guidance shaped his understanding of how important women are in shaping leadership, community, and direction. The series honors that influence by highlighting women who have something meaningful to say and the ability to stand on their perspective.

To guide the development and overall structure of the project, Thornton has brought together a professional support team that includes Andre Johnson, Jacqueline Scott, Jame CB Gray, Andrew Jackson, Kendria Norman, and Stephen Smith. Each member contributes industry background, strategic insight, and cultural awareness to ensure the show remains sincere and impactful.

Auditions have already taken place, with additional candidates currently under consideration. Casting is based on depth, articulation, and authenticity rather than shock value or staged drama. The show welcomes debate and difference in opinion, but prioritizes respect, self-awareness, and the ability to engage thoughtfully.

The series is confirmed to stream on Connect with COD, a platform dedicated to pushing culture forward. Conversations are also underway with additional networks for broader distribution. Production is scheduled to begin at the start of January.

Thornton remains committed to moving forward despite the challenges facing the entertainment industry.

“Where there is purpose, there is movement. If there is a will, there is a way.”

— Karine Sho-Time Thornton

This series continues Thornton’s mission of documenting culture with intention and providing platforms for voices that deserve to be heard.


About Karine Sho-Time Thornton

Karine Sho-Time Thornton is a Bronx-born media entrepreneur, battle rap league owner, producer, and cultural archivist. He has been involved in documenting and elevating independent talent and artistic movements throughout New York for over a decade. His work continues to focus on authenticity, legacy building, and storytelling that reflects real people and real culture.

Karine “Sho-Time” Thornton: American Media Producer and Cultural Curator

Karine “Sho-Time” Thornton is an American media figure, content producer, casting director, actor, and cultural curator based in New York City. He first gained recognition during the DVD era of the early to mid-2000s, a period when independent filmers and documentarians became central to capturing the street-level development of hip-hop culture. Thornton built his reputation by documenting emerging artists, neighborhood cypher’s, local events, and behind-the-scenes moments that rarely appeared in mainstream music media. His early footage circulated throughout New York’s hip-hop communities and contributed to a visual record of talent and subculture that preceded the rise of social media platforms.

Thornton later expanded his work into the digital landscape with the creation of Sho-TimeTV, a media platform dedicated to sharing independent music, battle rap performances, artist interviews, cultural commentary, and community-based creative expression. Sho-TimeTV became known for its focus on authenticity and raw documentation rather than heavily commercialized or industry-polished presentation. The platform supported artists who were developing outside of label infrastructure and helped preserve elements of New York’s evolving underground music identity.

Thornton’s work has been closely connected to the growth and visibility of battle rap as both a performance art and an industry sector. His consistent presence at live events, recording sessions, rap leagues, and rehearsal spaces allowed him to capture emerging talent at pivotal stages of their careers. This positioned him as both an archivist of cultural activity and an active participant within the creative networks he documented. His approach emphasized the idea that cultural preservation includes the everyday and informal spaces in which artistic identity is formed.

In the 2020s, Thornton transitioned from documenting culture to taking a more direct role in the shaping and production of media. He appears in the independent comedy-horror film The Legend of Johnnie Shepard, written and directed by Vera Edwards and produced by StreetLineVideo Films. Alongside his on-screen role, Thornton served as Casting Director for the project. In that capacity, he helped identify, evaluate, and align talent that matched the film’s tone, character needs, and cultural voice. His casting work focused on ensuring that the film’s portrayal of personality, environment, and dialogue reflected real community dynamics rather than stylized interpretations.

Thornton also contributed to the film’s press planning, promotional coordination, and festival rollout strategy, representing a broadening of his involvement in media infrastructure. His responsibilities included coordinating public messaging, introducing the project to press and digital audiences, and managing cultural placement opportunities. These tasks indicate a shift in Thornton’s career from on-camera presence to behind-the-scenes leadership within creative production ecosystems.

In addition to film work, Thornton is developing a reality-based women’s talk show casting series. The series centers interpersonal dialogue, emotional expression, and lived perspective, emphasizing personality and authenticity over influencer branding or staged dramatization. The project aims to provide a platform for women who engage culture through experience and presence rather than through curated performative identity. Thornton’s involvement includes concept structure, casting guidance, production planning, and tone direction.

Thornton is also developing a personal narrative film titled Without Saying a Word. The project examines themes such as professional growth, loyalty, creative independence, emotional restraint, and the strategic decisions required to navigate entertainment environments. The film draws from Thornton’s professional experiences, focusing on how relationships, reputations, and choices influence long-term creative sustainability. Its tone is introspective and situates Thornton’s public work within a broader personal context.

Thornton’s current areas of focus include casting, film and digital media production, cultural narrative development, talent support, strategic partnerships, and live media event coordination. He continues to expand into collaborations with filmmakers, independent streaming platforms, artists, and cultural event organizers. His career direction emphasizes ownership of creative output, long-form storytelling, and the establishment of platforms that document, develop, and shape emerging cultural voices.

The current phase of Thornton’s work reflects an effort to move from being a recorder of cultural history to a guiding participant in determining how that history is produced, interpreted, and remembered. His ongoing projects align with the goal of building sustainable cultural media infrastructure rooted in authenticity and long-term community representation.


Director Vera Edwards honored with Citation

Vera Edwards (March 4, 1966) is an American director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. Born and raised in the South Bronx, New York City, Edwards began her career as an author and then graduated to write, direct, and produce television shows on a cable channel called Bronxnet. The show was titled “Street Line.” It was an entertainment show that not only showed what was happening in the streets, but showed celebrities as well as up-and-coming artists, dance, hip-hop, businesses, current events, and politics. The show revolutionized the urban community. In 2009, Edwards and her son Ricardo Cordero (director of photography) received several Beta Awards for their contributions to television.

In 2011 Edwards published her first book titled “BAND OF GOLD,” which was written by Vera Edwards herself. This was the start of her writing career which jumped started her in the direction of making movies.

One of the first female independent multimedia film director and producer in the Bronx, Edwards has captured the essence of urban life by utilizing members of the community by taking real-life experience and turning it into art. She has become a true pioneer in hip-hop culture and urban day living.

Edwards wrote, produced, and directed with her son Ricardo Cordero her first underground independent feature film, Chicken (2013); The film was an urban drama. The entire cast was first-time actors. The film received worldwide praise from parents, children, teens, and several educational institutions ranging from different fields of study that implemented different story elements into their own syllabuses. It was a scripted reality show at its finest. Chicken showcased unfortunate realism that many individuals face in urban communities even to this day. The movie Chicken sold-out not only at the theaters but also sold out as DVDs in stores. It became one of the most sought out underground urban movies till this day.

Her second film was a romantic love story titled “Waiting for 4 Mr. Wright” (2015), which won a Bronxnet Beta Award. It too had first-time actors, Anabel Castillo, and Hip-Hop artist, Mighty Mike C (Michael Clee), from the legendary hip-hop group, The Fearless 4. The film received a standing ovation which was played at the iconic Mist Theater in Harlem, New York; It also was a DVD hit.

This was followed in 2015 by Edwards’s first novella “Perate,” a movie drama that starred Artie Cordel and hip-hop legend Wilfredo “Tito” Dones, of the legendary group The Fearless 4. It was a challenge for Edwards to write and produce the life of a Hispanic dysfunctional family. Her daughter Bobbi Cordero(writer) helped create the movie, which won Edwards another Beta Award. The movie Perate also played in the iconic Mist Theater in Harlem, New York City.

In 2015-2018, Edwards directed her first web series that started out as a small pitch that led to a bigger series of its own name and a powerful relationship drama, “Rodent,” starring Seven and Antoinette “Toni Styles” Vereen. This was a drama that identified with personal relationships amongst friends and family. The web series had twists and turns. Rodent was in high demand on the internet but ended abruptly because of ‘unsettling’ events created only amongst actors based off their newfound popularity that was developed from the success of the Rodent series.

In 2016, Edwards produced and directed “PPRESSED,” based on the everyday life of battle rappers. The movie starred Karine “Sho-Time” Thornton and Michael Deering (Mikey D) from the legendary group, “Main Source.” Since its success and debut, it has become the anthem and blueprint of videography used in today’s hip-hop rap culture within television and feature digital movie format.

Edwards wrote, produced, and directed “A Teenage Story” (2020) starring LA Sunshine (Lamar Hill), from the legendary group The Treacherous 3, DJ and creator of scratch, Grandwizard Theodore (Theodore Livingston), Stevie D (Stevie Lundy), from the legendary Force Mds and first-time actor Justin Hines. The movie was shot during the COVID pandemic and was set for the theaters, but due to the worldwide COVID restriction lock-downs, the 1:49-minute movie was released on YouTube and generated over 800,000 views.

When asked in a recent interview on the podcast “SHO-TIME TV PODCAST,” the interviewer asked Edwards “How were you able to create so many hit movies in such a short time,” Edwards replied” I couldn’t have done it without my son Ricardo Cordero. He is an excellent cameraman. He and I work great together, I know him, and he knows me. He knows my vision. I leave all the camera work to him, and he makes it happen. I think he is the best director of photography I know. To be able to create and share time as a mother and son is priceless. I enjoy those moments”.

On March 26, 2023, Edwards was honored with a Citation by Senator Cordell Cleare for her work with the community as a Film director.

The Hype Magazine, will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2022 (Jameelah Wilkerson)

The Hype Magazine, will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2022 

The world’s #1 digital magazine, The Hype Magazine, will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2022. The outlet will share its long and storied journey via a series of shorts published via its YouTube channel and streaming television platforms. Segments of the docuseries are in production now and will be released incrementally throughout 2022. 

The Hype Magazine was founded in 2002 as a one-page community newsletter to service the Indiana market by CEO/Publisher Dr. Jameelah “Just Jay” Wilkerson. Wilkerson’s newsletter rapidly took hold and evolved into a regional magazine that became the voice of the Midwest and enabled breaking acts from outside of the market to gain access to a much-coveted and untapped region of the United States. Serving a rapidly growing fanbase across the country, The Hype Magazine added its web portal “www.thehypemagazine.com,” a mere nine years behind the public release of the World Wide Web in 1993. 

Combining The Hype Magazine’s physical presence with its online portal, it began to popularize and transform the “ezine” or “webzine” into the now popular format of “digital magazine” in the early 2000s as well. 

Among The Hype Magazine’s accomplishments along its development has been seeking out and supporting breaking artists long before the mainstream caught hold. Often the outlet provided the very first magazine cover for artists like Ludacris (March/April issue 2005), Soulja Boy (Issue 24-08), Jazmine Sullivan (Issue 27-09), MGK, Snow Tha Product, GRAMMY winner Whitney Peyton, Ty Dolla $ign (2012) and more. Gracing its more current impact covers (print and digital), you’ll see the likes of K Michelle, Nick Cannon, Yo Gotti, Rick Ross, Florida State Senator Randolph Bracy, Charlamagne Tha God, Yella Beezy, Bobby FishScale…the list goes on. 

As a digital powerhouse, The Hype Magazine is home to 43,300 articles and posts. 

In 2013 The Hype Magazine took to the retail newsstands claiming space in significant book retailers Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, select military bases and, even catching the attention of collectors who would buy issues in bulk and resell them on EBay and Amazon! 

Currently, The Hype Magazine network has expanded to include multiple magazine titles with the addition of the LGBT magazine Raynbow Affair. Also, the network has acquired positions in streaming television and radio, with CEO Wilkerson positioning the brand in various other high-end ventures to be announced in early 2022.

www.thehypemagazine.com

Director Vera Edwards

 

Vera Edwards is an award-winning American independent film director/producer/and author. Born and raised in the South Bronx, Edwards took her life experience and applied it to film. She and her son Ricardo Cordero began their Journey as visual storytellers by gathering independent artist from the streets and giving them a platform to express their talent by allowing them to further their careers as actors.

Edwards and her son formed Street Line Video an underground media video production team for unsung talent. Edwards and her son Ricardo Cordero have recorded major celebrities on and off stage such as Babyface, Charlie Wilson, Nikki Minaj, New Edition, The Ojays, Millie Jackson, Kurtis Blow Rick Ross just to name a few. She states after filming so many celebrities and helping them retain themselves in the music industry it was time that her son an herself needed to embark on creating history for themselves. She then wrote her first novel Band of Gold, which was one of the urban communities best selling books, you can get it free on Amazon. Edwards stated it was the book that she wanted to turn into a movie drama. Readers requested more of her work that's when She learned  that our stories need to be told. So she then decided to shoot her own movies to generate her audience and followers, because of the high demand of her first novel Band of Gold Edwards wrote scripts for her son to shoot and edit and distribute across the world.

Edwards has had several Independent films that played in the theater such as Chick-en, Waiting 4 Mr. Wright starring Michael Clee from The Fearless 4, a their first novella titled Perate starring Tito from the 1980s group The fearless four.  All three of these movies won Beta awards and had sold out shows. Edwards also has a soap opera title "Rodent" the Urban Soap opera which was released as a web series which was a drama and a battle rap movie titled PPRESSED starring Karine Sho-time Thornton and Mikey D (Michael Deering) of the Legendary 90s hip hop rap group Main Source. These movies met all kinds of genre in all types of countries. Which made the two web series a download hit. 

Edwards latest work a pandemic movie titled a teenage story starring La Sunshine from the 1980s hip hop rap group The treacherous three, Grandwizard Theodore creator of DJ scratch and Stevie D from the 1980s r&b group The Force Mds was aired during the lock-down of the COVID 19 pandemic. The pandemic had the whole world staying in the house for a year and a half 2020 and a portion of 2021. The movie a teenage story was released on youtube for free and generated over 800,000 views. Not bad for and independent full featured movie. Since the pandemic has been lifted somewhat Edwards has started working on a new up-and-coming movie tv drama for the 2023 fall tv line up (now in production). She guarantees her audience will love this one. All movies can be viewed and seen all over the world. Edwards and her son Ricardo Cordero said they will continue to work as a directors and pride themselves by continuing to promote artist who couldn't receive a fair chance in the entertainment world. You can watch all of their movie on youtube @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-wMxedqsYlGlg2HezxvWmA