Mission 004// Hip-Hop Is Dead @ Sluggo's

Indeed. It totally went down at Sluggo's last friday, and definitely learned a lot from the other MCs in attendance.  I loved every second of it that i wasn't onstage lol and Chris and I got lots of tips on better showman ship. So thanks everyone who attended, much luv indeed. 

Thanks to the following people, for kicking some of the dopest shit i've heard in a long time:

Big Lo (The Ringleader)

Kice Of Course (The Dauntless Romantic lol)

Troublesome (The expression of a pain you  never knew you felt)

Inferno (The Pittsburgh Punisher grrr)

Game Plan (The Freakin' 'Rican Grand Masta!)

Saga The MC ( just plain pwnage.)

DJ Acrojam (the turntables upon which i place my trust)

I didn't get too many shots of the venue, and none of em too decent either. But i'm uploading some snapshots for you all anyway. (all three of you lol) (thats not an lol matter, either. tsk tsk.) 

Ahh, this is truly God's work. G'nite folks.

~N 

Nike SB Blazer - Black/Bright Cactus

I love SBs. Oh man. 

...Oh my damn goodness i can't get enough of these kicks with this day job of mine. 

But whilst i do what must with my funds, check out the dopeness that is my taste in shoes. Featured here are SB Blazers, shown in a black swede upper (i'm still convinced its a dark blue) with a bright cactus swoosh (cuz it can't just be called yellow right? wtf..)

History lesson! yay! 

 The Nike Blazer was first released by Nike in 1973. (The Nike Blazer was in fact the first basketball shoe that Nike ever sold and has been a favorite among many since its release more than 30 years ago.

The Nike Blazer SB has been a very popular shoe among non skateboarders too. The original  Nike Blazers had NO air cushioning and were very flat, but when Nike SB took on the shoe, they dropped in a Zoom Air insole and extra padding all around the shoe. [nicekicks.com]

Mmmmhmmm. Dee, lish.

~N

Weekly Remedy - Dimitri Martin

Ahh, here it is folks. (all two of you...)

Been busy busy indeed lately, but here's this week's dose of haha. It's nothing new by any means, but it made me laugh during a depressing winter/spring of 08. So here, suck in this insightful little bit of humor from a very optimistic individual, Dimitri Martin.



Enjoy!

~N

Weekly Remedy- Will E Robo

This video touched me personally because I remember being in high school during sniper week. Awesome way to reminisce about something we once feared. hmmm. Enjoy!

~N

Weekly Remedy - Bruce Bruce

Yeah times are hard, but lighten your spirits people.

Take this dose of HarHar from the world-renowned Bruce Bruce. 

~N

Lia! Dancing & Singing her way to your heart.

Today, I present yet another new face to a world that seeks new ways to feel R&B.

I am indeed honored to be good friends with the freshness that are tomorrow's pioneers in music. This freshness is named Lia, and her voice could fill the room with enough electricity to power 1000s of hearts. ( homes! ...i meant homes.)

Her unique style, insightful lyrics, and incredible optimism have only proven the worth of her determination as she continues to find her place in today's entertainment industry. I mean she's still unsigned to this day, and the artist in me isn't quite sure why. But she's still young so i say give it a few years and soon, you too will experience the magic of the golden-haired diva, Lia.

Good luck out there in Cali, Lia. We miss you.

~N

Ok, Wonka. That's enough.

Ha, i didn't think i'd ever actually see one of these. It's just so simple, why hadn't I thought of it yet? 

I came across this at Fecklesss. I don't know who made it or where it comes from, but i think it's a pretty interesting concept. 

White Chocolate (..or is it cococa butter?) Who cares. It represents one of the most useful inventions of our modern society, and yet it's so fragile and edible. Wow.

But would I eat it? Or save it to show all my pals while it melts? Well...

That's what blogs are for. *Chomp chomp chomp*

~N

Mission 003// Open Mic @ Cash's

Wow. This is getting easier everytime, and yet every show is a new chapter...

Last night, Chris and I headed out to Okaloosa Island to check out the Open Mic Session, held every first Tuesday of the month at Cash's Faux Pas. (Lemme just say that whether it's a crowd of five people, or fifty people, the number of butterflies in your tummy is the same.)

I still did soundcheck and got up on stage around 1230 to the house. (yup. all thirteen lucky ppl in the audience!)

After Tiger spun my instrumentals I quickly briefed the crowd:

          "Look, I see you all bouncing to hood shit, and I get it. But I personally grew up in the suburbs up north. And so I hope you like my style."

                           --As if it concerns me what they think of my tracks!--      

                           -Giving five or ten hecklers something to laugh at won't beat the something I could give inspiration to five or ten million other people with.-

Yups. But I poured my heart out to a crowd, regardless of what they came to see. hehe. In turn we saw lots of talent and networking followed suit.

Thanks are extended to these brave young souls for their participation last night:

-DJ Tiger on the 1'zs and 2's (So talented, Las Vegas thought we should have him here in FWB.)

-Bubba & his crew (Very energetic, crunk feel.)

-Luv B., A.K.A Me (Incredible lyricism, sir.)

-O. Gee & his crew (Again, very energetic, and very crunk.)

-K. Cee (Reppin Pensacola, like none other.)

ummm.. who else? Rich, and the bouncers, of course. Bartenders, you did good as well. Thanks so much for the cup o' water to soak the butterflies in my tummy before the show lol.

And at last, but not in the slightest any less than significant to the cause for spreading fresh, new hip-hop:

C -Swirls.You were there to lend your support and I thank you, sir.

Ok. *yawn* I gotta go get some rest. But ladies and gents, I do this to entertain and inspire. If i give you anything less than my best, then something's horribly wrong. G'nite, world.

~N

Weekly Remedy - Bernie Mac

One of my favs of all time. Let this bring you the happiness I feel when i think of this genius doing what he does best. 

One good laugh could change your day, people. Enjoy!

"Kick It!.... Y'all don't understand."

~N

Deep Documentary

Wow. I seriously can't wait for this one to come out...

I Heart Synth... 'nuff said.

Wow. I am truly touched at the sight of this; a really cool thing indeed. These are handmade miniatures made of felt, by the very talented hands of the seamstress Pul{sew}idth. 

Now if there are two things I absolutely adore, they're synthesizers, and miniatures. Check out these innovative lil' pieces of art, based upon much bigger (and waaayyy more expensive) musical powerhouses. //$65 @ Etsy. //[gizmodo]

The Roland SH-101; comes in blue, grey, and red (shown below)

The Korg MS-20 model, shown here.

The Roland Juno-106, well replicated below. awwww....

...ahh... clean up in aisle 5... 

~N

Eye of The Beholder

I hate math, but this is pretty damn cool. 

A scientist at Drexel University figured out a way to create mirrors that dont distort or reverse the images reflected into them. You know how text appears backwards when you look at it in the mirror? Well, using carefully calc'd algorithims on his computer, R. Andrew Hicks has discovered all kinds of cool new ways to reflect images once thought impossible.

In this mirror, the text on the spine of the book, "GRAVITATION" appears normally. Cool, huh?

This one could be used for car doors; you may never have to adjust the rear views again!

I've actually never seen a curved mirror that doesn't curve the straight lines reflected into it. This is genius.

Oh, think of the possibilities. 

~N

Weekly Remedy - Mike Epps Stand Up.

I love to laugh, and I damn sure enjoy making others laugh, too. 

Whether it be with me, or at me, i seek pleasure in knowing that someone's day has just been made.

It happens, we all get a 'case of the mondays' every now and again. It's life...*sigh* And I've been bitten many-a-time by that familiar weekly depression lol. But it seems that i've figured out a way to pick myself up from that low, and I must share this with you all! (all two of you)

A bit late in the A.M. indeed i know, but i promise i'll post these things earlier in the future so you can laugh about it before you head to work or school and what not. I present to you, a somewhat old clip of Mike Epps from his ' Inappropriate Behavior' stand-up. Gets me every time.*chuckle* [youtube]

ahhh... enjoy.

~N

Mission: 002// MusicFest @ Univ. West Florida

awww, man!

We totally rocked the house at UWF Pensacola. The african folk dancers were a tough act to follow, though.

*...Fungah, Alafiyah, Ashe, Ashe...*

 

And props to D. Daza & the UnderGround Sound Academy. holy crap. 

a bit of hip-hop math: MC1(Beatbox)+MC2+MC3(vocalist)+MC4(guitarist)=awesomesauce. 

These four talented young men had an incredible song set that made me reconsider exactly how much better i could be doing with this passion of mine. I wish C-Swirls was there to see it. I've been trying to compress and edit the video for the past two months and i still cant seem to get it right, so damn. But as soon as i do, i'll post visuals!

hmm.... stay tuned for more dopeness. We've been grinding hard lately, so just hang on.

~N

Diamonds are forever...?

Oo0oh, check this out.

So, i've known this for a couple of days now, but I wasn't sure if it was real. It's still being investigated, in fact.

It seems that scientists may have discovered new minerals, proven to be harder than diamonds. 

Diamonds. wtf.

Now maybe it sounds a bit geeky, but why does this excite me a little on the inside? Well, just think about what could happen in the decades to come. I mean this is history, right?

-Industrial cutting tools that already use diamonds to cut through minerals and rock and stuff, could be further developed and upgraded with stronger minerals.

-The companies that use diamonds as semi-conductors/insulators could use the new research too, perhaps to create faster and better tech (the better to make music with?)

-Higher taxes because public schools will need more money to replace outdated science books! *tsk tsk, lol*

Oh, and they're called Londsaleite (said to be 58% harder..?!), and Wurzite (estimated @ 18%). 

-Yeah, and then soon perhaps, every woman will want this new rock on her finger, and the commercial rappers with their bogus record deals and punchlines will want wurzite wrapped their wrists & necks lol. who knows... these new stones do look just as bright though...mmm..

... And check this, they're only formed when asteroids & meteorites hit the earth. Yup. Either that, or volcanic eruptions, like regular diamonds.

Still feel like waiting around for one?[gizmodo]

~N

Codename: "Idou"

Sony Ericsson = pwnage this year.

 If what they have in the works turns out to be everything its hyped for, their next touchscreen/multimedia phone codenamed, "Idou" is a red beam right between the eyes of the iPhone 3G . Scheduled for release in the "second half of 2009", its got this insomniac going, "OMFG." [gizmodo]

 A 12MP camera + "full media consumption?" WTF= all i can say. 

Sony Ericsson Idou's in landscape mode from Jesus Diaz on Vimeo.

mmmhmmm.. as a once famous Jermaine Dupri said in his prime, "...I gots ta haaave it."

~N

Karaoke Session @ Scoreboard!!

Man, this never gets old. I love Karaoke. *air guitar*

So I hopped on the CBR 600 and went out on the town last night.. saw a lil' Friday the 13th (y'know what? it was actually ok...), ran over to Jae Rich's pad, and then met up with some good pals at Scoreboards. Of course, they had the mics set up again this week, and i did my thing. 

Only one red Corona this time...

Sweetness by Jimmy Eat World, and Come Close to me, by Common. mmm... Loved every off-key second of it. JAe Rich got up and did what he does naturally well to Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie Amor" and Musiq's "Just Friends." (no fair, lol he's really a singer!)

People loved it as usual, heads turning to me actually singing instead of rapping, and then 45-cent wings and pitchers of imported beer all around. Good times. Wish you were here, Chris.

You too, ppl. G'night!

~N

Foreign English

...a language the likes of which you may have never heard... or have you?

Its the thing to do, isnt it? Taking a familiar tune, compressing and sampling it, then re-editing it the way you see fit over a drum loop, etc; But what is to be said about the few pioneers who really try to get innovative on one of hip-hop's oldest cliches? 

Listen for yourselves to the refreshing approach of Mr. Foreign English. A native of the DC Metro Area he brings to the genre a set of skills seen only by the enemies of Hattori Hanzo himself. 

Merciless chopping and murdering with the old school/new school funk & R&B. Gracefully applying the techniques he learned as a youth in the after school music programs, a young, enthusiastic lyricist/photographer would someday grow into the multi-talented producer/rapper/graphic designer known as Foreign English, none more distinguished. bless.

Indeed, sir. Can't wait to come kick it again in D.C. this summer.

~N

Jae Rich

Hey, folks. Check this out.

Meet Mr. Jae Rich. A talented young man with a bright future and a gift for crooning with his powerful voice. R&B has a new face, people. Visit his myspace here.

Gunfighting for Dummies...*whoa*

Wow. This is rather interesting...

So i totally found this post on Gizmodo, posted from a blog authored by hunting/game enthusiasts; and since laser pistols *pew-pew* and otherwise totally farfetched sci-fi/action recklessness make a bored Nate Space giggle inside, please check out this somewhat useful list of gunfight-survival tactics from a seasoned veteran of more than one hollywood script. 

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