Shawn White

Air Smooth - (Producer/ Artist/ writer/ D.J.) Air Smooth (A.S.) was born January 10, 1972 at his home in South Philadelphia, where his grandmother still resides today. An avid music fan, A.S. became familiar with the likes of Roy Ayers, Gil Scott Herrin, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, and almost the entire Motown Family at a very young age. His love for hip hop began when he first heard The Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight. It was then that A.S. knew that he had what it took to prosper in the art of hip hop. In 1989 while playing football for Ohio's Central State University, A.S. met a teammate by the name of E.X. Chill, who would become one of his greatest influences in hip hop. E.X. was the school's party D.J. and took A.S. under his wing and taught him the art form he has grown to love, D.J.'ing. It was not a hard transition for him at all since hip hop lived within him. After his freshman year at CSU, A.S. decided he wanted to expand his creativity and took on rap for sport. Now a talented D.J./ Rapper, A.S. easily won D.J. battle after D.J. battle, and would eventially win the school's Rap crown as well. Since 1991, A.S. has been recognized as one of the area's most respected figures in hip hop. A former member of the group, Divine Beings, (once signed to Warner Brothers, Reprise Records) A.S. is one of the area's premier producers/artist/Writer/D.J.. To his credit he has performed with artists such as, KRS One, The Roots, Ice Cube, The Pharcyde, De La Sol, Wu-Tang Clan, Brian McKnight, The Fugees, Beanie Sigel, Onyx, and many more nationally recognized talent. A..S., as a member of Divine Beings has toured Europe with jazz sensation, Steve Coleman, and performed with artists such as, Roy Ayers, Herbie Hancock, The Isely Brothers, Al Green, Oleta Adams, Branford Marsales, Greg Osby, Ralph Peterson, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and several Other Jazz greats. To his production credit, A.S. has produced tracks for Beanie Sigel (Roc-A-Fella Records), Black Thought (The Roots), Malik B (The Roots), Baby Blak (Ill Advised) INI-MLD, Radji Mateen, DJ Woody Wood (Three Times Dope), and on his first single on Reprise records, A.S. Co-Produced the track with Kwame'. Other production collaborations include Kenny Whitehead of the Whitehead Brothers, Daish Raw (Formerly with LOUD RCA), Amir "Bro.Question" Thompson and Scott Storch of (The Roots). Shawn L. White, Ph.D. passed away suddenly on April 6, 2013, from hypertension. Dr. White was born and raised in South Philadelphia and stayed true to his neighborhood roots, becoming a fixture in the Point Breeze section of the area. Sports and music were his early callings, earning him both a collegiate football scholarship and a record deal as an MC and producer with the hip hop group, Divine Beings in 1994. Throughout his musical career, he worked with artists such as Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter of The Roots, super producer and musician Larry Gold, Kenny Whitehead, Beanie Sigel (helping to launch his career), and more. In 2004, Dr. White earned a Master of Human Services (MHS) from Lincoln University and in 2011, his Ph.D. from Cappella University where his studies focused on analyzing and evaluating HIV and sexually-transmitted diseases risk among young African American men. Concurrent with his studies, he worked in social service with the Youth Outreach Community Awareness Program (YOACAP) as a cast member, peer educator, and youth trainer for HIV/AIDS awareness. His sixteen-year affiliation with the organization kept him face-to-face with at-risk communities who were fighting the battle against HIV and AIDS. In 2009, Dr. White began his work with the University of Pennsylvania as co-chair of the HIV prevention research division’s community advisory board and the HIV vaccine study-working group. Shawn led SHAPE UP: Barbers Building Better Brothers. This health promotions program targeted young African-American men who socialized in barbershop settings, often a community gathering and safe space in urban communities. While juggling full-time commitments to health awareness programs, Shawn continued to work on his love of music, partnering with friend and musician JaRon Burnett, to form the PHREMEN Music Group. PHREMEN produces music for various uses in the music industry and is also home to the PHREMEN Audio Studio Academy, which gives young people access to state-of-the-art facilities, instruction, field trips, mentorship, and more. Intertwined with the fun-learning model is the promotion of HIV/STI awareness and conflict resolution. In his mid-thirties, Shawn was diagnosed with hypertension. His friends and family knew of his condition but no one, not even Shawn, knew how severe it was. On April 6, 2013, despite his healthy appearance, Shawn L. White passed away. From Man to Man: The Legacy of Air Smooth – Reflections on the Life of Dr. Shawn L. White Screened at the 2013 Black Star Film Festival, From Man to Man highlights Dr. White’s broad array of professional achievements, spanning his lifetime. This short film was created for his sons, Asa Salim White and Quadry Shawn White, as a vision board of their father’s sound moral grounding and expansive life motivations. The film is told through Dr. White’s closest friends, and offers a vivid glimpse into his personal character, unwavering resilience, and tenacious commitment to achieving his goals.