Now the excitement of the recent M.A.M.A. Earth fundraiser in Hollywood is officially over, CLM’s Stuart Brazell went in search of two of the event’s top stars: its creator Kailani Bayot and The Q Side’s Quddus who put his star power behind the high profile gathering. In this two-part interview, the pair chat about M.A.M.A. Earth and the Q Side, Haiti and what we can all do to make a difference.

Kailani Bayot

How did M.A.M.A. Earth start?

Well M.A.M.A. Earth all started with a bead. I work with crystals and precious stones as a hobby making jewelry and I came across this bead called Malachite-Azurite its such a beautiful stone. It looked so much like the like the earth. Blue and green. I looked it up in my crystal dictionary and it is a stone that promotes healing and aids in transformation. Hence the M.A.M.A. E a r t h wish bracelet. You tie it on make a wish and when it falls off your wish is put into the universe. I thought kids selling these as their school fundraiser would be better than selling chocolate and the best thing is that they get to learn about a different charities and the proceeds are donated to a charity of their choice.

How did you get together with the Q side?

I met Quddus from the Q side at my little brothers first music video shoot. We chatted a bit and realized that were doing a lot of the same kind of work so we partnered up for our Haiti event raising money for Yayasan Bumi Sehat in Haiti. This organization of midwives and teachers started in Indonesia after the Tsunamis and now they are they are in Haiti They just open the doors to their clinic in this past Friday its so cool you should check out their website to see some pictures: bumisehatbali.org.

How important is it to have an event like the recent one to raise the organization’s profile?

I have realized that everyone wants to help and give. It feels good to know you can make a difference. I think why not facilitate these fun events where everyone benefits. Good fun, entertainment for a good cause while raising an awareness of the issues going on in our community and the world.

What are your goals for the next 12 months?

We have a mother’s day charity event coming up in Hawaii. That’s where I’m from. We are in the talks of bringing El Debarge there for a mother’s day concert. Proceeds will benefit a local charity for mothers. You know that M.A.M.A. Earth stands for Mothers about Making Amends right? I’m a mama of two boys (above). Oh yah we also have a follow up event at the VS-65 Skid Row to plant a spring vegetable garden. We planted a fall one in October.

What was M.A.M.A. Earth able to achieve in the past 12 months?

Well in June we hosted a event for a organization called “ Shine on Sierra Leone” to help build their school based in South Africa. Then in August we hosted a red carpet charity event in honor of Michael Jackson for the Volunteers of America VS-65 a organization for homeless veterans. In October we planted a fall vegetable garden with the help of a local high school poetry class at VS-65 skid row, that was a special day. Then we had our last event this past Saturday for Yayasan Bumi Sehat and the mamas in Haiti. We are mamas ourselves so we kinda have to pace ourselves.

How do you choose what causes to support?

It sort of just comes to us in different ways.

M.A.M.A. Earth obviously began because someone put an idea into action. What would you say to those who want to help change the world, but do little to nothing because they think one person couldn’t possibly make a difference?

I say every little bit counts.  You can start by smiling at a stranger once you do a little you will see how good it makes you feel and you’ll do more. It’s like working out. You can get addicted to it and its so good for you.

How can people do their bit to contribute to M.A.M.A. Earth’s mission?

Keep coming to our events, donate on the site and buy a wish bracelet for yourself or a friend, check in to our website periodically for updates 4mamaearth.org and stay conscious and aware of the things you can do to help.

Any celebrity goss from the recent event? How important is celeb backing?

Well…El DeBarge blessed us with his first performance in a very long time. It was magical I think for both him and the audience there was a definite exchange of love. We were competing with Oscar parties so there were just a bunch of celebs who came out this past Saturday. I think celebs have a big influence on the world so when they do good things it inspires us to do the same. Having them at our events helps to draw the media which also helps to raise a awareness on the issues we are all facing.

Your top tips for living a more eco-responsible life?

It’s hard being completely eco these days but you can start by…

• Stop buying plastic and Styrofoam

• Recycle EVERYTHING be creative. You can recreate something old and make it new again.

• Buy local produce.

• Stop listening to the commercials and cut down on the consumption.

I could go on and on. But I think that’s a good start.

Quddus

What is the Q Side?

The Q Side is a movement for independent, positive, progressive minded people. I serve up the culture and music that’s in tune with that on theQside.com. The title has my initial but it’s more of a reference to how record companies used to put out music with the A and B sides, a status quo which is unlike The Q Side.

What inspired you to put on this event and how did you get together with M.a.m.a. Earth?

Well now that the situation in Haiti isn’t being featured in the news anymore it’s imperative for us to keep helping the relief effort through grassroot events like the one we put on. I met Kailani Bayot on the music video set of B.o.B’s hit “Nothin on You”. I was dropping by on my friend Ethan Lader who was directing it and Bruno Mars who’s also featured on the song. Kailani asked me if I’d like to host it and after hearing what she had in mind I was happy to jump on board.

As someone who is extremely familiar with and part of the celebrity world, why is it so important to have celebrity backing?

At the moment most people are fascinated with celebrities so getting celebrities involved in something definitely increases your chances of people taking interest.

You had some amazingly talented performers involved, how did they come on board?

Jojo, Res and Mateo are friends of mine so it was just a matter of calling them. Bruno Mars happens to be Kailani’s brother so it was pretty easy to get him involved too. El Debarge was brought into the mix by a publicist named Kayo Anderson who helps m.a.m.a. earth and knew El’s team. El confirmed that’d he’d perform just the day before the event and he ended up giving one of the best vocal performances I’ve ever seen live.

You are extremely active and socially conscious, how do you choose what causes to support?

It’s actually been more of a case of causes choosing me. I get approached by different philanthropic organizations and then I do my research about them. If they’re addressing an issue I feel strongly about I’ll go ahead and support them however I can.

How was the event?

The event was amazing. Despite the rain and all the Oscar parties happening that night we managed to raise over $3000 for Haiti. It was a great turnout. My friend Victor Rasuk from HBO’s new show “How To Make It In America” came out and legends like Mario Van Peebles joined us too. Here’s the highlight video.

How can people join in to support the cause?

They can go to www.bumisehatbali.org to check out the organization we donated to with that event and I’ll be doing a lot more fun fundraisers for other causes so a good way to stay in the loop about those is to follow me on at twitter.com/iamQuddus

What’s next for you?

I’m in development with a few projects including a feature film and The Q Side TV. I’m also getting back to my roots as a DJ and spinning again.

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