Our good friend and writer Jada G. just wrote a good piece remembering 9/11 from the perspective of an NYU student. Check it out at The Smoking Section.
Their beats were be judged against 10 select up and coming NYC producers by a panel of industry heavyweights, competing for a Roland prize package and possibly the opportunity to land some serious record placements.
The panel of judges included Lenny S., (Senior VP of A&R for Roc-A-Fella / Def Jam), Devo Springsteen (Grammy Award Winning Producer for Kanye West "Diamonds", John Legend, Cassidy, etc.), Omar Grant (Creative Director of A&R for EMI Publishing), and Illmind (Producer for G-Unit, SkyZoo, etc.)
Straight up, them boys shut it down. The emcee of the show thought that they had cheated and put in extra beats because Fresh Pro is on some next level shit. The DJ had to come over the loud speaker with That Was Only 5 Beats to put dood in his place. While most the competition relied on samples and borrowed sounds, Christian and his boy are legit musicians, and doods actually play their own riffs and drum lines. Chopping up enough vocal samples to keep the crowd happy, their banging bass lines and musical style ran from synthed out futuristic bangers, to head nodding club beats to raw, Dirty-South style bass with a more musical inflection, all while retaining a signature, Fresh Pro sound.
For all their industry weight, the judges were moved. First words that came out were, "Can I get that CD?!?" while shouts of TO! came from some females in the crowd, since Brandon resembles the Dallas wide-out.
Keep your eyes on these boys, talent like theirs doesn't stay unnoticed for too long.
Just off of Canal on Walker Street I always see my favorite bum. Some guys are homeless because of a tough turn and things starting spiraling.
This guy is just totally fucking bonkers. Like completely nuts, screaming at people for change, and muttering some incomprehensible jibberish that sounds like Taz from the Looney Tunes. I feel kinda bad for the dood, because he probably needs clinical treatment, but it's the best watching people bug the fuck out because they have no clue how to brush this guy off. It's virtually impossible to say, "no, I'm sorry," to someone who only makes noises and spits, shaking his cup at you.
If I was a bum, I would totally be like this dood, and just be completely insane. Crazy always wins.
I've been in Dumbo for the New York Photo Festival since Wednesday. Powerhouse and the VII Photo agency have done a great job in putting this together. I'm just surprised that it took so long for there to be a Photo Festival in NY.
I didn't go to every event but heard they were all great and of course there was a party at the Powerhouse Arena almost every night. Good times, make sure you are there next year!
Tuesday night I had the fortune (thank you Diana) of going to Kanye's Glow in the Dark Tour at MSG. Let me just say, the hype I built for myself over this show was immeasurable. Basically two of my favorite producers ever, two of the hottest rappers out right now, one of the best pop acts of the year, my favorite cross-over band (i'll let you make the connections) on one stage.... nuff said!
My boy Eddie managed to find possibly the hottest promotional concert tee I've ever seen.
Reflective print with a mirror image of the text on the back. Fire!
Lupe Fiasco's performance was strong, rhyming heavy on the mic without letting up. I thought to myself at one point "this dude's vein on the side of his head is going to pop any moment". Regardless, Lupe definitely did his thing, bringing flawless album-mates Nikki Jean and Matthew Santos along for more than a few songs.
N.E.R.D. was up next. No one likes NERD! WHY? Is it cause nobody understands they are Pharrell's experimental-side-project-gone-amazing?! They basically killed it, getting the crowd riled up and jumping for Rockstar and closing out with a performance of their latest track Everyone Nose.
BONUS: Here is the just-released video for Everyone Nose featuring a few familiar faces:
(just wait for the remix featuring Clipse, Kanye & Lupe!)
Rihanna. Need i say more? She's hot and she has some of the catchiest songs on the radio today. Needless to say I went nuts when she sang M.I.A.'s Paper Planes, seemingly out of nowhere. Oh and I'm sure those of you who care have already heard Chris Brown came out during her performance of Umbrella.
Rihanna & Chris Brown:
Enter Kanye West. I'll spare you the details since you probably imagine he comes on to blow everyone out of the water... and he does just that with a theatrical, futuristic, ego-laden storyline. Haters, fall back.
Here is a clip I took of Kanye finishing up Flashing Lights with a healthy dose of floor action:
The show was LONG. Lupe came on at 7:30 and we got out by midnight. I think im taking a break from MSG for a while!
A few friends from grad school and I have started a not-for-profit organization called A Chance for Every Child and we are hosting our first fundraiser today. It's short notice but drop by if you can, you'll be helping a great cause.
Our first project is in Sierra Leone, where there are only 3 pediatricians in the whole nation and a child has the lowest chance in the world of surviving until the age of 5. Sometimes a kid has other things on his mind than what's poppin in the fashion world, ya dig?
I apologize for the hiatus, but I have been sans internet since I moved. I recently got my ass out of Manhattan, across the great divide and landed in the home of Biggie, Jay, Spike, and a whole bunch of other people who are known by their first and last names too. Oh yeah, and the hipsters, punks, thugs, art fucks and blue collar grinders. They out here too.
Straight up, Brooklyn is a pretty dope place. I have spent the majority of my time in New York living in Manhattan, thinking I would never live off the island. But after my boy convinced me to make the move, I have been pretty content out here. I realized that there's this crazy, illogical fear that Manhattanites have of the other Boroughs. But for a downtown kid like myself, it's literally the equivalent of living in Midtown, but with way more space and neighbors rocking tattoos and skinny jeans instead of button downs and polos.
So all in all, I'm pretty excited to be out in BK. The vibe is much chiller, standard of living is cheaper, and the creative community is alive and vibrant. And the ridiculous rooftop don't hurt either.
Fuck tequila, I'll take a Brooklyn Sunrise for my happy hour....
