SuperVision
Brandon I. Brooks for Sentinel
Playing the Chords of Life
Blind artist Supervision lands new reality series and talks about music career
Webster’s dictionary defines the word music as the combining of sounds and tones as a form of artistic expression. It also defines music as any pleasing combination of sounds, as of the wind.
When I first met artist and entrepreneur Damin Bordenave aka Supervision, he was everything the word music embodied. Supervision’s spirit flowed with the wind. His personality owned the moment as though he knew he would never be forgotten. In just minutes of our introduction he made me realize we as people are all instruments playing on the chords of life. It’s up to us as individuals to make our own music.
Supervision was born June 24, 1977 in the 7th Ward of the St. Bernard Projects in New Orleans Louisiana. At age 3 he moved to South Central L.A. with his mother and two older brothers Nijel and Albon. During an unfortunate childhood altercation, Supervision lost his sight when he was struck in the eye with a glass bottle. He and his brothers were fighting with neighboring boys when the horrific incident took place. Supervision’s life was instantly changed forever. He was only five years old.
Now at 30 years old, Supervision recalled the days after his was struck with the bottle and was living in and out of hospital care. At one point soon after the incident, Supervision did still have sight out of one eye but due to a terrible infection he eventually would lose site in both eyes. Supervision retold the horrific event of losing his sight and how he wouldn’t wish his incident upon anyone especially a child of his age. Supervision has a daughter by the name of Symphonie (five years old) so it’s hard for him to imagine her enduring any type of similar pain.
Supervision shared with the Sentinel that he got his moniker as tribute to his tenacity, determination and resilience for being in his position even though he is sightless. He is quick to say that he has a lot of sight in foresight and after sight. He says that he can “see many things coming from miles away”. His awareness is very sharp especially when it comes to his financial future. Supervision says his hustle for business is what separates him from everyone else. He says that’s how the name Supervision grew on him. “It claimed me I didn’t claim it.”
Supervision runs a successful business with his two Nijel and Albon. The company is called IVison Marketing / Peko Systems and consists of supplying local businesses with flat panel high definition televisions for unique advertising opportunities. Supervision says the key to the business is sales and he prides himself as being the best. His focus is to work with businesses that consistently have high levels of traffic and wait time. His company supplies over 20 locations throughout the greater Los Angeles area. If you would like to see one of Supervisions flat panel models in person I would suggest checking out Earl’s Grille located at 3630 Crenshaw Blvd. Los Angeles, Ca 90008. The food is out of this world!
Supervision being the super individual he is, he is not only running and innovative sales and marketing business but he has also recently landed a reality series with VH1. It’s to no surprise because Supervision’s life is one unique story that has to be told.
By age 14, Supervision had compiled and released a four-song EP, Blind Styles, and he started battling anywhere he could–participating in the Sprite MC Battle, Source Unsigned Hype MC Battle, and the Rap Sheet Rap Olympics, where he performed with a then-unknown Eminem. All this attention led to his opening for West Side Connection, Too $hort, Mystikal, and Xzibit. “When I said I wanted to be a performer, people tried to put me behind a piano,” recalls the rapper. But soon he formed his first hip-hop group, B-Force, whose members were fellow students at the Braille Institute. “I was already writing letters to record companies. I remember sending one to Capitol Records with a demo,” says the determined Supervision. “I felt like I was going to be a superstar even before losing my sight.” Capitol later signed him to the deal he had been dreaming of but after a couple of regime changes prior to the release of his CD, Vision was once again doing his own thing.
His company, Vision Intertainment, and Noisi V Music has four mix tapes (Rappin 4 Cheese Vol 1 – 4) and includes more then just music. In addition, Supervision has already ventured into the acting arena. He has a cameo in Denzel Washington’s Training Day, he appeared on the Showtime series Soul Food and he is scheduled to appear in a new feature film staring new skate-board sensation Paul Rodriguez Jr. Vision has also had song placements on successful projects such as Desperate Housewives, Soul Food (the television series), Johnny Zero, The Shield, The District, 13 the movie, Bad Company the movie, and many more through his ASCAP publishing company “I Vision Publishing.”
Supervision and his band have won 3 installments of the international band competition called Emergenza international band competition, and have played legendary LA clubs like the Gig, and The Whiskey a GoGo. According to Supervision, he’s ready for just about anything: “After 18 years of rocking mix-tapes, parks, beaches, and get-togethers, banging on these doors of the industry and being knocked in the ass so many times, I’m ready to show what I got.” Soon he’ll have everyone seeing the light.
Supervision has been making a lot of noise in the industry working on a mix tape with Kobe Bryant that is due out later this year. Supervision and Bryant have a song out titled “L.A.’s Finest”. The record was leaked over the Internet as it was originally suppose to be used for promotion with Kobe’s Nike shoe.
Most recently, he wrote the theme song for an upcoming film project titled “Hurricane Season” starring Lil Wayne, Lil Bow Wow and Forrest Whittaker.
Supervision’s hustle and grind have landed him with many promising opportunities. As he likes to say he is the “real mayor of L.A.”. He even has a close relationship with Danny Bakewell, Sr. executive publisher of the Sentinel.
Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s Bakewell asked Supervision to become the childhood spokesperson for the Brotherhood Crusade in which Supervision would speak at different events helping raise money for inner city youth. Supervision recalls how thankful he was to have worked with Bakewell and the Brotherhood Crusade, as they were a key ingredient to his success.
One Christmas back in the 80’s, Supervision recalls Bakewell and the Brotherhood Crusade purchasing him his first musical instruments. He was given a guitar and piano. They even bought him a bike, which Supervision said was the best bike in the neighborhood. He said he rode the bike and crashed into just about any and everything you could imagine.
With all that goes on in Supervision’s day-to-day life you would think he would be satisfied with his mark on life but you got another thing coming. He’s just getting started so register the name. To show how determined Supervision is to make a name for him self-Supervision actually put diamonds in his eyes prostatic eyes. This is why in certain circles he is known as “Diamond Eyes”. At one point in life he said he was embarrassed for people to know he had prostatic eyes but now if you get him angry enough he say’s “he might take them out and smack you with them”. Fortunately, he didn’t smack me but he did take them out and show me. It was an experience I will never forget but that’s Supervision for you. He is an experience you will never forget.
For more information visit: myspace.com/ivisionpublishing
