Lianne La Havas LIVE at summerstage !

Lianne La Havas headlined at Summerstage this past weekend and she was wonderful. This video is just her performing Lost & Found.



   The other performers were the bands Quadron and LP, they were both lead by women and were both very impressive. I had not heard of either band prior to seeing them and now I recommend them both.

   Lianne started her set with "No room, for doubt" and continued to perform each song off of her album "Is you love big enough" and then ended with the album's title track which is an ode to New York City. The whole event was completely enjoyable. Beautiful music, beautiful, great weather, great music, and of course it was free. Lianne La Havas did an amazing job.

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The public needs art- and it is the responsibility of a self proclaimed artist to realize that the publicneeds art, not to make bourgeois art for a few and ignore the masses
                                                                                                                                   -Keith Haring

Chest length Loc Extensions ! (HOW-TO)

I haven't made a video but here's a how-to step by step, including photos

Materials Needed:

• 4 packs of Marley Braid hair
• 2 Packs of Kanekalon hair
• A pair of scissors
• A Lighter

Pre-Procedure(I asked my friend to do this before she came to my house)

• Wash, Blow-dry, condition hair
• Put hair in small/medium two strand twists 

Procedure

• Open pack of Kanekalon and cut the hair in half
• Take piece of the Kanekalon hair(large enough to do one braid)
• & Braid it to the end of one of the twists
• Open pack of marley braid, take one strand
• Wrap a tip of the hair around the top of the two-strand twist you just braided the bottom off
• then continue to wrap it around
• Keep wrapping until you get to the bottom of your braid then cut and burn
• Burn the very tip(left over kanekalon hair) 
• Do this with every single two-strand twist
• When you're finished run you finger through the locs and check to see if any had unraveled, if so burn again.

And there you have it! 

The whole process took me about 9 hours! Check out more styles, tips, and how-to's on http://iloveboxbraids.tumblr.com/

A little rant about Feminism and Disco Shorts

   Well, The other day I tried to leave my house wearing those Disco Shorts from American Apparel but my mother had a problem with that. We got into an argument and here are my feelings afterwards.

 

 What really made me angry was how strongly my mother felt about how others would perceive me. I feel that I was in no way sexualized aside the fact that I am a woman. Also she made me feel that I would have to censor myself or compromise who I am/What I like for other people. I don't do what I do specifically for anyone else I do it for me.

New track from NoName Gypsy !

    The name of the song is Baby and it is lovely. NoName is a young rapstress hailing from Chicago who first got a taste of fame just a few months ago when she featured on fellow Chi-town MC Chance the Rapper's mixtape AcidRap.
    Tons of fans have been checking for her ever since, so this record was already highly anticipated. Have a listen:


    Baby samples Inoj's "My Boo" the same track Ciara sampled for her latest hit "Body Party". As a hip-hop head I will always and forever appreciated clever samples and interpolations. I like how this is so different from Body Party although their born of the same song. Baby is about Noname being in the beginning stages of a relationship but knowing that he is the one. The sample of "My Boo" is slowed down and has a chopped and screwed effect, I enjoy that very much as well.
    One thing I can say about Noname Gypsy and her music is that she is very poetic, her wordplay, her flow, and that fact that she doesn't try too hard. I honestly cannot wait for a mixtape form her.

Shoot Somethin'

Today I took some photos with my best friend, Ali Esteem, and I look so great I had to share a few

I've switched up my Facebook page with a couple of these pics https://www.facebook.com/KearahArmonie

The Valid-Dictorians

    I'd hate to sound like I'm gloating, but yet again I bring you good music from a friend of mine.
 Tyrek Greene along with Cliff Notez, two poets/Emcees, are The Valid-Dictorians. Creating music from the heart all apart their own movement "Hip-Story". Which is also the title of their very first project. A 13 track mixtape which was released early last year. Since then, the two have performed more, released several singles as well as two EP's this year, and have even formed a band (like an actual band with real instruments) The Honor's Society.







   Now, Let's get into their first project Hip-Story seeing as it is the perfect introduction of who The Valid-Dictorians are.

  HipStory is a quality collection of truth, Bars, beats, poetry, samples, and overall dope-ness. The first thing you may notice is the artwork, the cover and their whole bandcamp page is adorned in photos of Jean-Michel Basquiat paintings, which indicate that you don't know what you're going to hear but chances are you'll like it.
    Hip-Hop is now an adjective because that's exactly what this is. It all flows very well from start to finish. Neither Mc outshines the other, they are both talented and both have something say, and you should listen. The first track is "Death of a Poet" and here is the video:

   Despite the old school influence as well as use of spoken word, this shows innovation. These two are somehow, beyond what they seem or, I guess, beyond expectation. Tracks that grab attention include Running '12, Midnight, Electric Relaxation '12, and Nonchalant Love. Each of these songs are remakes, remixes, or heavily use a certain sample yet all stand apart from the original recordings. Keep listening, you may learn something.

    My personal favorite is track #11 "Everbody".
"When I say Fck the world, everbody except you". Not only is this hook soooooo cuuuute but the instrumental is sick. I could not stop listening to it. I appreciate the honesty, the flows, the tempo, the use of the track in a way where these two aren't simply spitting over it and I especially favor Tyrek's verse at the end of the song. I don't think you can ever go wrong with a Hip-hop love song tbh.
  Another stand-out iss "Beanz n Bomberz" on which the two both give account on where they're from and how it made them who they are .

   You can listen to Hip-Story in its entirety here:

 

  Also visit their bandcamp page for more music http://validdictorians.bandcamp.com/, including their latest live EP "FYS (First Year Seminar)" with their band The Honor's Society.

  If you're in the New York City area you can see The Valid-Dictorians and The Honor Society at The Bitter End on July 19th. Click HERE for Info.

NINE Hairstyles/buns to do with BOX BRAIDS/Senegalese Twists

It's been a while since I've done a hair tutorial and this one is pretty lengthy. Please visit  http://iloveboxbraids.tumblr.com/, I hope this helps ! =]

New Look!

    Last night I went to probably the biggest party I’ve ever been to. Putting together this outfit was pretty simple.
    Since it was so hot, there were people walking around spraying water. So I eventually took my top off revealing and ideal summer look: bikini top+high-waisted shorts. Of course I was wearing my fave shorts which, I’ve worn so many times before, and since they covered my belly button, I wasn’t necessarily naked Lol. The coach wristlet was essential because I knew that I would be dancing and that I would not want to be carrying a purse/bag, it clipped right onto my belt.

New track from T'nah Apex and Chelsea Reject

     Not only are T'nah and Chelsea upcoming hip-hop artists, writers, poets, Brooklynites, they're also friends of mine. I met them both over year ago on separate occasions and I know that when it comes to this music, they do the damn thing. If you haven't heard anything from either young lady please check out their soundcloud pages. T'nah: https://soundcloud.com/tnah . Chelsea: https://soundcloud.com/chelsea-reject

   Now lets get into this new song. I knew about their growing bond and I knew they were working together but I had no idea what to expect from these two and I still don't. Lets say I am surprised. xyxx is the name of the song. It is sultry, dark, and something great to vibe to. It is so different that it is exciting. Although they have both put out music before xyxx shows that you don't even know the half.


   The instrumental is almost perfect. Obviously both these women are soulful, they both have great voices, and talent. There is no mimicking however, there is no competing, and this track knows no time period. Though we may all sense the soulful 90's vibes you still feel the now in it all. I was reminded of one of my favorite artists KiD CuDi. As I said I don't know what to expect from T'nah or Chelsea, or any collabs they may do in the future. They can go far beyond what this track brings to us.

   With all that said I recommend xyxx and I also reccomend you listen to Chelsea Rejects recent mixtape "Radi-8" if you haven't already. http://www.datpiff.com/Chelsea-Reject-Radi-8-mixtape.478049.html

Where the Hipsters at?!

    Apparently all over my city! Yelp.com, your internet source for pretty much everything providing reviews done by consumers has created a word map. You can search any word in any major city and Yelp will create a "heat map" indicating where you can find most of what you searched, right before your eyes.

   I'm having fun typing randoms, although I should know where everything is, Use the Yelp word map here! 

  Yelp.com is certainly a lifesaver when you're looking for anything from top of the line Hair salons to family fun to good food.

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That is the saddest thing about our relationships: we claim to know them outright, we claim to be the only ones finally capable of analyzing the quirks of friends and lovers newly found. And yet there are pockets of solitude, great gaps in their lives that we can never fathom because of the simple fact that we were not there when they happened.
                                                                                  -Eric Gamalinda, Planet Waves