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.

All I Need is....One Mic

I've always believed that the most beautiful instrument on God's earth is the human voice. Some have the ability to wield it to an extraordinary level, being able to belt out melodies and hit pitches only thought destined for birds...In all its tonal quality the human voice is artistic greatness. Being able to dedicate one night to all those that find art in their vocal chords, is the aim of the One Mic Series. Dedicated only to Vocal Performance Art, including all that fall under that umbrella; poetry, song, rap, spoken word; and Taking the most talented Bermudian singers, rappers and poets and having them share the stage with the likes of Aja Monet, Rafael Casal, Jason Reynolds, Shanelle Gabriel and Mayda del Valle. That was the aim of the very first One Mic Showcase, which took place October 10th, 2009 at the Berkeley Auditorium in Bermuda. This was the very first event for the Promotion Company that I own with my two best friends. We're called 'Allied Sounds', our company's aim: To Promote, Produce and Support the fine and Performing Arts, and I surely do believe we've done so with this year's One Mic Show..Words are not enough to describe the immense wonder that was that night. Being able to watch Professional Poets, whom I am a fan of, perform heart stopping, metaphor laced, passion driven poems was amazing to say the least. The Night was surreal, it was a night that could make art proud.



Joy Barnum


The Entire Cast of One Mic, Season 1



Shanelle Gabriel



Candace Furbert



Aja Monet



K.A.S.E



Jason Reynolds


Mayda del Valle



Rafael Casal




amazing..

One Mic...Season 1

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

iPod Artists

I haven't posted anything really "artistic" in a while...soo lemme revisit that real quick. I love that artists use any medium to create, i think that even more than it being inventive, its inspiring, because it shows you how unconventional art is, even though we've known that for years, but still, its always nice to be reminded of that. Sooo here are some artists that use an ipod as their artistic medium, using the ipod app brushes, they are able to create gallery ready art from using their own fingers. Finger painting on a more artistic scale. lol. i love it. (sidenote...seriously technology is amazing.)

First Artist.. Jorge Columbo.
His art was featured on a cover of the New Yorker.





Matthew Watkins




Mike Miller

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