Ready or Not..

So Epic its not even a joke..

Ohhhh Janelle

No words..

The Coolest Kids

soooooo I love hip hop..actually saying LOVE is an understatement..in any case, I love listening to new artists and discovering mixtapes and just listening to music all day long. this is pretty much what my summer is looking like its going to be...with a heavy dose of going to work and days of doing absolute nothingness included..ok..i'm ranting. This post was supposed to be about the Cool Kids..who are in fact very cool. They are a hip hop duo consisting of Chuck Inglish and my future husband Mikey Rocks. I've been following their work for a few years now and just had share my love for them with the world. They have snappy beats, witty lyrics and fly style..hands down They are the coolest kids.


The Cool Kids - "Mikey Rocks"

Artist...B.o.B

I Don't even know how to properly describe how much I love this dude. He's ILL to the max. One of my favorite rappers to emerge in these past few years by far. He's got so much skill, and the creativity and sound that he brings to the hip hop world, is anything but cliche. He's a breath of fresh air, he's tall glass of water, he is music to my ear drums..

In one of his most recent doings, he has teamed up with Janelle Monae (whom I love with my whole heart) and covered one of Vampire Weekend's songs "the kids don't stand a chance"...the result..golden...i mean, could it be any other way??



BTW- His debut album drops this week...I'm buying it twice..

Please Don't stop the Music

Good Music can always put you in the right frame of mind I find. To put it simply, its perfect. It's not just the thing that I turn on when I need uplifting, its the actual soundtrack to my life. I swear at any given moment a full on philharmonic is playing Beethoven's 9th over my everyday movements. This is how I view music, as very integral part of my world, its like breathing to me. So in saying all of that I always LOVE when I can 'breathe' new music. All types will suffice non are excluded, here is some music that i recently started to add to my 'soundtrack'..




Danami is a dude that goes to my college. He's Not one of those run of the mill hip hop artist who's a carbon copy of every other rapper that came before him. No, he's poetic, he's lyrical, he's deep, he has meaning to everything he says, even his beats speak to you. This mixtape is one of the best I've heard. It sounds like it should be a professional release. To call this a mixtape is a definite understatement...in that case I'm just gonna go ahead and say that this is just his pre-album..So download it!




Donwill from the amazing hip hop group Tanya Morgan released his solo mixtape. To put it bluntly and simply, its the best. Warm beats, concise lyrics, perfectly put together songs. Its very aesthetically pleasing piece of music.





anything that I say in reference to this album will be an understatement. So I will just simply say words that I hope will provoke some sort of response that will even dignify the recognition this collection of music deserves. Amazing, pure, passionate, driven, heart infused, love, classic. Nneka is that artist the world has been crying for. This album was a need, it surpassed that of want.

Always Love

In spite of hurt, pain, travesty I find that there's always some for of love floating around. The presence of disaster with its quality to suck the life and happiness out of things always seems to make extra room for love in lives. And in recent weeks, we've seen that in abundance with many Haiti relief efforts. This song, video, performance is one of those things that remind me of the power of love. It surpasses all, and of course above all God's love is never far and is always present. Love this song.

The Wheels of Steel...

The art of turntablism, the union of two vinyl playing turns and a mixer combined made hip hops first instrument. Scratching in between breaks of soul records was hip hop's symphony. And years later after its conception, this art form still exists today. Whether its seasoned vets still hopping on the 1's and 2's or eager new young bucks eager to make their mark on vinyl, this art persists, and will always be in a class on its own..

DMC Technics DJ Championships 2009, Birmingham Heat from Chris Bates on Vimeo.

Artist... Taylor Rankin

With the Violin Being my principle instrument a great violinist inspires me beyond understanding. Bermuda born Taylor Rankin has found a way to blend genres with this amazing small wooden fiddle. He is simply amazing, flawlessly wielding insane pitches from the instrument in a way that seems effortless to him. Skill, amazing...talent, amazing.

Change Clothes

Ok So I spent this Saturday very lazily. It was well deserved trust me. After almost 8 straight days of work, i needed this. Today was my Saturday where i flipped endlessly through magazines, caught up on the latest Archie comics, and spent half the day composing a promo single for Shayla Woods. In the midst of this I skimmed though the September Issue of Vogue. Vogue has to be THE ultimate fashion publication, and although I favor jordans and sweatpants over jimmy choos and liquid leggings, i like to think i know a thing or two about fashion. And Vogue definitely IS the epitome of fashion. One thing i like to do is to investigate other ppl's art, and their journey with it, Fashion is really an art form the intrigues me and inspires me. Director R.J. Cutler just released a documentary called "the September Issue" which shows the intensity of crafting Vogue's most important issue of the year.



In addition to that, this week has to be the absolute WORST week for me to NOT be living in New York. First off, we have "Fashion's Night Out" this Thursday, where stores all across the 5 boroughs will be open till 11pm, and there will be pretty much a city wide fashion extravaganza where customers can schmooze with celebs, musicians, designers and models. Things like this make me want to dip into the savings bin and buy an express ticket to NY!
Fashion's Night Out

And then, the most heartbreaking of all...Jay-Z is supposed to be having some killer concert @ Madison Square Garden on Sept. 11, which is coinciding with his Tuesday release of Blueprint 3...I just know that missing this show means I'm going to be missing out on something Epic!..BIGGER SIGHHHHHHH!!!!

In Any Case, its a GREAT week to live in New York!



"Change Clothes" (Grey Album Version)- Jay-Z

What More Can I say?

I'm too much of a Jay-Z fan to NOT appreciate this.



Like seriously who does this??? He visually recreates EVERY album cover..genius.. this is a criss promo, seriously what more can i say? lol. makes me remember earlier Jay-Z albums.. Cannot Wait till Blueprint 3 drops!...anyways Here's the actuals which inspired the promo commercial..

























"What More Can I Say (Grey Album Version)" - Jay-Z

Artist...Aaliyah

Aaliyah was like the pinnacle of my music knowledge when i was like 5. Aaliyah and Hammer. That was all the music I needed. She was one of those artists that you could not help but love, she had the 'sweet but street' quality down to a T, and paired up with Amazing musical minds like Timbaland & Missy, she was the perfect R&B songstress. 8yrs seems like a looong time, but I remember when Aaliyah died clearly, I was broken hearted for like a whole year straight after that, and still don't like getting on planes. In wake of her untimely death, she was something that music needed, she added balance and a touch of class.

Bay Area Slang

Rafael Casal is Ill.....seriously nuff said.

Artists...Metronomy

British Electronic Group Metronomy releases this new music video, very artistic/different/intriguing.

Music Painting by JUL & MAT from JUL & MAT on Vimeo.

Hometown Glory

i think my favorite song from Adele's debut album '19' is Hometown glory. which is steadily climbing up the hip hop charts as the most sampled song for this year by various artists. last year hip hop sampled santogold. this year adele. anyways, i love this song, the keys, the voice, the soul..its all the recipe for good music.


Adele - Hometown Glory (Official Music Video) - Funny video clips are a click away


here's just a taste of a couple of songs with this sample

"Tears of our City" - Charlie Hilton



"Hometown Glory" - Professor Green



"Hometown Glory" - Drekidd




"Intro-Spective" - Novel

Africa

This Acapella Group Perpetuum Jazzile covering Toto's song Africa...mann just the beggining alone is pure genius!

Perpetuum Jazzile - Africa (live, HQ) from rokelvisar on Vimeo.

"Africa" - Toto

Love of My Life...

Mannnnnnn I looooove this video..off the soundtrack from my favorite movie ever, Brown Sugar!!... I love how this video shows the evolution and growth and change of Hip Hop, shoot, it makes me wanna flatten out a cardboard box and breakdance on a brooklyn Subway platform! lol. Love me some Hip Hop




"so when did you first fall in Love with Hip Hop."...Classic

Artist... Paul Dateh

Paul Dateh is a Violinist & songwriter.. this hip hop medley is ILLLLLLLL!! it makes me want to practice my violin NOW! ha ha

Real Life August Rush...

New Artist Justin Bieber goes August Rush on his guitar...a-maz-ing.
The boy is crazy talented.

Music's Loss..

Unbelievable.....IF there was ever the loss of a musician that could halt every musician on the planet at least for a moment...it would be the loss of Michael Jackson...I'm sure everyone stopped dead in their tracks today...mann he was the first musician i ever loved..

One Time.

Usher's new artist Justin Bieber's first music video and single, "One time". its cute and the vid is directed by Vashtie, who is like the coolest. Anyways, nice lil beat, cute lil guy, i say give him 5yrs and he'll probly be the next justin timberlake, especially with Usher backing him.
One Time