My CURLFEST 2018 Look!

This year I wanted my look to be just as chic as my hairstyle. My outfit, summertime - appropriate of course and ideal this year, a two piece fit! From Forever 21 this linen skirt and crop-top set is perfect. I completed the look with huaraches sandals and a vintage coach duffle bag.

CURLFEST 2018 hairstyle!

As far as my complete look for curlfest, photos coming soon! But for now heres what I did with my hair:

Another swoop bang with something a little new, a petal loc bun inspired by my petal loc mohawk look from last month!

Brand new music from Chance The Rapper!

    This Morning I woke up to 4 new tracks from Chicago's superstar Chance The Rapper. Having been a huge fan in 2013 when he took the world by storm with his mixtape "Acid Rap", I was definitely eager to hear what new-new Chance could hit us with here in 2018.  Listen:




    Recently Chance has caught the public eye once again after proposing to his daughters mother(finally) and of course she said yes. Chance continue to make his city and fans everywhere proud, just ny being true to himself. However there will always be naysayers and Chance agrees them on stand-out single(amongst the four) "I Might Need Security". The perfect title named after a very popular Jamie Foxx standup routine, with an even more perfect sample of a joke from I Might Need Security(watch HERE). He addresses rumors and negative things that have been said about him, politics, family, his city- everything! He's the people's champ and this braggadocios diss track to everyone and they momma reminds fans why they fell in love with him in the first place- very "H to the izzo"

"I'm not no boss nigga, I'm a soldier

Kingdom builder, 

man somebody shoulda told ya"

   Two of the other tracks, "Work Out" and "65th and Ingleside" are coming to age stories regarding his relationship with his now Fiancé, with silly bars directed at past lovers. and then there is a new dance track/juke jam "Wala Cam" which will definitely have listeners dancing. All I can say is these four singles have the mouths of Chance the Rapper fans everywhere watering in anticipation of a possible upcoming album.

My look for Everyday People

    Everyday People is an org which throws huge day parties, and have garnered a large audience over the years. I've been hesitant in going being that I know they bring in large crowds and I haven't been sure if that would be an uncomfortable experience. However, there was enough space at the venue and being that it is a day party that goes from 3pm to 10pm the were groups of people who came early and left midway, or arrived midway and left when it ended - as if we were taking shifts. It worked out perfectly and my fear quickly went away as all I did was dance.









  As for my outfit, I kept it simple yet funky with an aqua-green colored t-shirt dress from Asos and studded slip-on sneakers from a boutique called Purdy girl. It was very hot so I didn't need a jacket at all, I carried my vintage coach shoulder bag, and that was it!

Party on a rooftop

This weekend in 90+ degree weather I went to a rooftop get together presented by local vegan chef @gemeatsvegan. Here's my outfit brought to you by UO, F21, and Payless. The Urban outfitter crop top and Forever 21 high waisted plaid shorts make the perfect pair for a chic look that still agrees with the high temperatures and the Christian Siriano twisted mules seal the deal.

Scorpio season (although it's Cancer season)

     All thanks to Drake, whose latest album fittingly entitled "Scorpion" has been inspiring and exciting listeners since the second it released at midnight. The 2 part deluxe album gives us everything you would expect from Drake and more. Volume 1 presents a bit of a braggadocios, "told you so" narrative which dispels all rumors/slander/and hate, featuring singles "Gods Plan" and "I'm Upset", whereas Volume 2 is the softer side of Drizzy, what he is most known for, and seems to be for the ladies featuring chart topping femme anthem "Nice For What". The choice to make 2 sides to one album was one of best decisions at this point in his career, he is not switching up on us just adding more; more honesty, more bars, and more vibes- covered with sampling, sounds bites, beats inspired by various music genres; as well as a surprise feature from Michael Jackson. We get "Yolo" Drake and we also get "Take Care" Drake in an expansive, ever-growing, ever-changing way, like some afro-futuristic shit.

    Volume 1 is what you would expect from this album based on two of his latest singles and recent rap beef Drake was caught up in with Pusha T. Rumors of the two being rivals have been swarming for years, and were reignited late 2016 with the release of Drake's diss track "Two Birds, One Stone", throwing shots at both Pusha and KiD CuDi. Two months ago with the release of his latest album, "Daytona", Pusha decided to take shots at Drizzy and expose some secrets the rapper may have been keeping from the public. Always anticipating his music, the public was also dying to know "What is he going to say???", especially considering past diss tracks from the Toronto superstar. Well, he said just enough. On "Emotionless" Drizzy addresses the rumors Pusha sparked up that Drake has a child whose life he probably does not have much of a presence in, by saying: "I wasn't hiding my kid from the world, I was hiding the world from my kid". Addressing the issue from both ends by clearing his name and shining light on the fact that conflicts like this one are the very reason the public did not know about Drake's baby. Drake comes back to describing the situation throughout volumes 1 and 2, as he clears his mind and pours out his heart.

"I'm the chosen one, 

flowers never pick themselves"

     Aside from the mention of his son and the lyric that widened the eyes of curious listeners everywhere, "Emotionless" is a stand out track for its choir-like sample of Mariah Carey's "Emotions" and its subject matter. Drake is reading society for filth on this one, placing a mirror up to all of our faces showing how deeply superficial people are when it comes to the parts of our lives we choose to share with others. Social Media has certainly consumed us all and Drake simply calls it out straight like that. The first single from this album "God's Plan" which dropped in January follows, and then comes latest single "I'm Upset". Other stand outs include "8 out of 10" and my personal Vol. 1 fave "Mob Ties". Simply put, Volume 1 bumps, it is a great listen start to finish. Another other stand out track is "Sandra's Rose" a look at Drake's spirituality as it encompasses everything, as his mother's name is Sandra and he is the rose. Spirituality is defined as "the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things" and this is what Drizzy digs deep into to give us this track. The last track on this side sums it all up with "Is there More?".

     And now for Volume 2, the album for the ladies, the emotional side of Drake. All of the femme anthems and pseudo love songs flow seamlessly into one another on this side. Starting with "Peak", "Summer Games", and "Jaded" all open letters to past lovers about situations they may not have worked out and the order of songs seem to be intentional. At this point as we ease into Volume 2 you can feel that Drake worked really hard, especially considering that he must have recorded most of these tracks within the last 2 months. Drake is often referred to as "Mediocre" as a music artist, because he does not seem to try hard or push the art form forward. But with "Scorpion" Drake has truly outdone himself, the entire album is impressive and impactful. Next up is "Nice For What", as I stated earlier, a femme anthem celebrating women covered in samples and a New Orleans Bounce-inspired beat. "Nice For What" is a banger to say the least, arguably the best track on the entire album- Yes, both volumes - and I have not grown tired of it yet, ever since its release in April. However, a similar song "In My Feelings" comes in a close 2nd place to "Nice For What" to me, personally. It is also heavy with sampling, and samples New Orleans Bounce music as well. A love letter to an ex as he sings:

"Kiki, Do you love me?
Are you riding?
Say you'll never ever leave from beside me
Cuz I want ya, and I need ya
and I'm down for you always",

as he replaces the names each time. It is upbeat, fun, cute and one of my faves.  It is hard to debate which Volume is best as they are both incredible, they are almost equal. One can say that Volume 1 has more potential hits, however, Volume 2 is probably best to listen to straight through and just vibe out to. Honestly just listen to all 25 tracks each time you give the album a listen, it is worth it. He ends off with a track entitled "March 14th" which is the day he found out that he had a son, and the song completely details his experience with that and what he was going through. Overall, this is an impressive body of work from Mr. Aubrey Graham. Personally I've been a Drake-hater for 3 sets of 3 years, so this means a lot coming from me.

Pride

  This year for Pride I went to the parade for the first time since the first time I went 7 years ago. My look is a repeat of a fave outfit of mine, my F21 Keith Haring top and white high waisted shorts from UO with my Blue Nike Air Max Theas. On such a hot day for roaming the crowded streets of lower Manhattan at the biggest pride parade in the US(maybe world), this fit was perfect, offering both an uncompromised amount of comfort and style.

When I arrived to 14th st and 5th ave I saw a ton of floats and people, I stuck around for hours, meeting up with friends and friends of friends and just roaming further downtown into the village, the parade seemed as if it would never end. 

Quick Style with my Locs while they're in 2-strand twists

While keeping my hair in 2-strand twists for about 4 days, here's a cute simple style I've decided to do.

This new Teyana Taylor is pretty G.O.O.D.

    KanYe West is hitting us off with all new music from his G.O.O.D. Music artists back to back, all produced by the man himself. New albums from Pusha T, KiD CuDi, Nas, KanYe, and Teyana of course.


    Each album has 7 songs with the exception of TT's release K.T.S.E. which has 8.

    The Harlem artist first caught public eye over a decade when she had her own episode of My Super Sweet 16, as a prospective artist on Pharrell's label. Now, she is married and she is a mother. Throughout her career she has faced a ton of ridicule for not releasing music and KanYe has also been under fire for seeming like he does not care about his artists. Well now he is shutting all of that up.



     K.T.S.E. is short sweet perfection. At an even more perfect time. Teyana's fame has been on a rise since her relationship with husband Iman Shumpert garnered some attention and her starring role in KanYe's "Fade" video grabbed a ton of attention. She now has a reality show with hr family and a new nail salon in her hometown Harlem. And now a dope new album. A tale of life through Teyana's eyes, her love for her husband, her experience as a mother, what she has learned in her adult years and more. Each song is so wonderful I can't even choose a stand out of possible single, it is all fun and all good. From start to finish, its a good listen. I recommend.

Twin Shadow x LG x AFROPUNK show

     Last night AFROPUNK treated those two rsvp'd for this year's festival to an intimate concert featuring Twin Shadow performing music from his latest album Caer, presented by LG. This show also promoted LG's newest bluetooth speaker which is the boombox of this generation.

Attendees were greeted with a large hun the shape of the helmet on the cover of Car, filled with the LG speakers all playing stripped down portions of Twin Shadow's break out single from the album "Brace". Folks were allowed to press button on the walls of the giant helmet in order to play the portions of the songs on multiple speakers, for an immersive experience. The concert was an incredibly lively experience in such a small space, the lights, the instrumentation, and of course vocals all came together beautifully for an unforgettable little gem.