International emcee superheros: Catching up with New Fame's feleciacruz

Adrienne Mack-Davis and feleciacruz are a couple of badass lady MCs that make up the hip-hop duo New Fame. Not only do they slay the mic, they also travel the world as real life superheros, fighting human trafficking and making better living situations for those who have not. Currently based in Vietnam, they are touring the USA for thirty days and a stop in Binghamton is on the list… they’ll be performing on April 21st at Atomic Tom’s as part of our Carousel Presents: What’s Behind the Green Door? event. Carousel’s Ty Whitbeck caught up with feleciacruz recently after a boiler room set in Los Angeles, California:

TRIPLE CITIES CAROUSEL: As an interviewer, I'm supposed to remain unbiased, but you ladies have a very special piece of my heart. We go way back and I'm very happy to be able to catch up with you again! We met at Cyber Cafe West one Friday evening in 2013. But how about you two? How did feleciacruz and Adrienne Mack-Davis meet?

feleciacruz: Adrienne Mack-Davis and I met in May 2010. I had been living in Cambodia for six months and the day I stepped off the plane, back on American soil, my first stop was a friend's going away party in LES (Lower East Side, NYC). Adrienne was performing. She had just released her first musical project, Music In Me: The Process; she had just graduated from SUNY Purchase. Once I walked in that door and heard her performing, it was game on.

TCC: It's amazing that this bond has brought you two to where you are now. You’ve been perpetually on tour together for almost five years, both playing music and moving your message to all corners of the map. When did you know that you wanted to make music together and travel the world as New Fame?

FC: After we met and realized we both loved music and service work, we decided to push the idea of “Shows, Service and Self-Development.” New Fame started as a multi-faceted entertainment company and, since January 2017, has morphed into the collaboration of Adrienne and I traveling the world using our superpowers to entertain and inspire people. Currently it has been 4.5 years, 950+ shows in eight countries, 60 plus cities, and 29 states. At this time there are no intentions on slowing down.

TCC: Slowing down? Nobody does that anymore. It’s your compassion and positive drive that inspires me. Can you tell me about your organization, Fighting for Futures?

FC: In 2009, after four years of back and forth travel through Southeast Asia, I learned the ins and outs of the very disturbing issue of human trafficking. After selling most of my belongings, I invested it all into the first Fighting for Futures project, to take a young book seller off the streets and into school. You can read all about it at fightingforfutures.org.

TCC: There are times when I'm too invested in my own bubble, and other people are 'too busy' to comprehend that there is a world, living and breathing among us. Can you tell me some of the craziest shit you've witnessed in all of your superhero crime fighting days?

FC: Earthquakes in Nepal, Hurricane in Mexico, searching for a young woman in the red light district of Pattaya, Thailand, and touring out of a van for three years on the open USA road. TCC: You've since planted some roots in Vietnam. Living vicariously through your videos and photos of your gigs, I'm pumped to see such an amazing crowd of people at each of your shows. What's the dynamic like playing shows in the USA compared to Vietnam and other parts of the world?

FC: Well, I look at it like this: the places we are playing now in Asia expose us to a much larger demographic of people who are in the worldwide entertainment business. Travel and nightlife go together. We now live where people vacation - which means a large need for quality live music. In the USA, the markets are more about if the artists have a "following," which over time is annoying. Followings build naturally when you play out for people, time builds followings in this country. In Asia each show you are guaranteed to touch another part of the world with your performance because the crowd is 75% rotating at all times.

TCC: With the crowd and entertainers so diverse, you've joined forces with some pretty top notch players in your travels and have recently added a DJ to your lineup. How did you cross paths with SKULZ and what kind of stuff does he bring to the table? How has your sound evolved since his addition?

FC: SKULZ found us, and at first he was annoying but his persistence and thirst for knowledge and skill set were undeniable. He joined us in August and has since allowed our stage dynamic to flourish as well as adding his selections in between our sets which gives us exposure to new genres and artists in our local scene. Shout out to Kimmese and Suboi, who are two incredibly talented, fierce and beautiful Vietnamese artists we have the honor of working with.

TCC: Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to catch up! It's been amazing watching you continue to blaze paths and expand beyond the limits of what one is thought to be capable of. You are role models and real life superheros and your message will be heard long after the storm.

FC: Thank you for always having our back in Binghamton!

Adrienne Mack-Davis and feleciacruz will be performing as New Fame (with DJ SKULZ) at Atomic Tom's in Downtown Binghamton on Friday April 21st as part of the Carousel Presents: What’s Behind the Green Door? event. More info on New Fame at newfamellc.com. More info on the event, and tickets, at carouselrag.com/carousel-presents.