First Saturdays!

  The music festival is not where loving Brooklyn's culture ended for us. Ali and I headed to the Brooklyn Museum for their First Saturdays event, sponsored by Target.

    At the Brooklyn Museum's Target First Saturdays, thousands of visitors enjoy free programs of art and entertainment each month from 5 to 11 p.m. All evening long, the Museum Café serves a wide selection of sandwiches, salads, and beverages, and a cash bar offers wine and beer. Parking is a flat rate of $5 starting at 5 p.m. All other Saturdays, the Museum closes at 6 p.m.

   This month's theme was the 1970's. There were several shows, arts and crafts, and 70's music playing throughout the museum. We arrived around 8pm, walked around the museum, took photos, and did some arts and crafts. At 9pm was the 1970's fashion show. The show included soulful dancers, beautiful women dressed in their funkiest threads and largest afros. The host and star of the shows was the beautiful Raye 6(http://raye6.com/). Raye 6 hosted the restoration Rocks festival last year and is an extraordinary talent. She sang a few Soul classics, and has an amazing voice. They also allowed audience members, who were dressed accordingly, to walk the runway and dance a bit. It was very fun. Here are some photos we took:

Our Host, Raye 6

Soul Dancer

DJ Hi Maintenance

Soul Dancer

Soul Dancer

Trae Harris

Audience Member

Raye 6 with a young audience member

Soul dancers

Soul Dancers

A talk-back wall which allowed visitors to explore their representations of beauty

    Overall, this night was amazing. There were beautiful Black people everywhere. It was my first time at First Saturdays and a wonderful experience.

The 6th annual Restoration Rocks Music Festival

   This past Saturday was the music festival hosted by Restoration Plaza in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn. You can see my coverage of last year's festival here.

    This years headliners were Brand Nubian and MC Lyte. They both did a great job. As well as the other performers. Just like last year's event, the streets were lined with vendors selling food, jewelry, clothes, and more. The best part about the street fair aspect is that everyone was from Brooklyn. Everyone's shop/store/organization was located within blocks of the festival. Of course, the artists were all Brooklynites and it was a great day to be proud of who we are and where we come from. 

    I spent the whole day with my best friend, who lives in Bed-Stuy, and we took a lot of photos:

Me, street fair

one of the tables

Brand Nubian

Brand Nubian

MC Lyte!!

MC Lyte

My Best Friend Ali Esteem and I

    Like I said the music was good. There was more of a variety this year, whereas last year was 100% Hip-Hop. Brand Nubian performed their biggest hits(only two of which I recognized) and the whole crowed of 30+ year old black folk was jammin'. MC Lyte's set was relatively short but she also did her best songs and best verses, which included "Rough Neck", "I wanna be down", and "Self-Destruction".

What does HE have to do with ME?

    Naturally, we compare ourselves to each other. Like the term "Keeping up with the Jones'". Because the people around us are basically all we see, that's what we set our standard of living to. Which is understandable, but now-a-days it has gotten out of hand. The fight for fame, popularity, and out-doing each other is what it's all about. This can easily be blamed on social networking sites.
     Regular routine: You log onto Facebook, you scroll down and see pleasant status updates and beautiful pictures, in your mind these people are living a wonderful life. But their life only looks great to you because of what they chose to show you. Your perception is now skewed. Facebook set a standard of what we think our lives are supposed to be based on what we choose to reveal to each other.We spend so much time on these social networking sites, comparing ourselves to each other.
      If you've suffered from this, just stop thinking of what your life is supposed to be like and focus on how it is. Work on who you are, progress, and grow.

Solange is BACK!

    On the music scene that is. The soulful songstress, hipster queen, and my biggest inspiration(you can see my post about her here) has released a brand new song and video. The name of the song is "Losing you", an upbeat ballad about being confused in a relationship. The video showcases Solange and her funky group of friends fashionably having fun in South Africa. There are also scenes of her dancing in various beautiful outfits. Her group of friends are her real life friends, artists living in New York City who are basically tumblr royalty. One of which being Lizzy Okpo co-designer of clothing line William Okpo.

Here's the video:

     I love this video for various reasons. Prior to watching I hadn't heard the song so I had no idea what to expect. I soon fell in love. The songs melody, message  and just the words are simple yet beautiful. The video doesn't necessarily match up with the story being told but when it comes to cinematography it is great. I enjoyed watching her and her beautiful friends have fun in the motherland. What more could you need?

I was born and raised in NEW YORK CITY

     We as native New York(city)ers tend to take this for granted. Which is natural, for something that has been routine for your whole life to be that normal. But others seen New York City as something so amazing.

     I had this realization a few days ago. I was reading an article on complex.com titled "Soundtrack To My Life: Kid Cudi's 25 Favorite Albums". KiD CuDi, one of my favorite artists, is from Cleveland, Ohio. In this articles he lists his top 25 favorite albums and gives a brief back story as to why he loves each one.
Number 12 on his list was The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready To Die(1994). CuDi said:

I would literally sit back and listen to those guys with my sister and be like, 'Man, this shit is wild.' These are the go-to guys I went to when I wanted to learn about New York. I was growing up in Ohio. It's a whole other ball game where I'm from.

    I was literally in shock when I read that quote. Mostly because I've never felt that way, I've never looked to a group of artists for that reason, and I've never considered anyone feeling that way about New York. I've passed all the neighborhoods these artist have grown up in and to me they are just concrete blocks and brick buildings. But I often have to take a minute and realize how iconic my city is, all 5 boroughs and Long Island. There so much history in the arts, There is a museum everywhere, The Harlem Renaissance, The Bronx is where Hip-Hop culture began HELLOOOOO. This also reminds me of Ice T's recent documentary "The art of Rap: Something from Nothing." A great deal of this film is filmed in NYC. Ice T captured amazing scenery of the project buildings, trains/train stations, and graffiti across the whole city. These are things I see everyday. People from all over the world come to my city, basically, to take photos of my life.

   This is all that motivates me. To push myself as an artist and to represent where I come from to the fullest. I don't if I am ever going to influence and inspire a child form Cleveland, Ohio.

Joey Bada$$

   Ok. I know I'm late, but I just gave the young Brooklyn rapper a listen and he's just as great as all the hype insinuates. Those who do not live NYC area may not understand how popular he is, but all my peers love him. Not only is he in our age group but he's very talented. He sticks to true Hip-Hop which is what we all love. His flow is still very unique and he's not trying to sound like anyone else.
    Joey was featured in complex magazine earlier this year where he shared the kind of a rapper he once wanted to be and who he truly is now. http://www.complex.com/music/2012/05/who-is-joey-badass/

But here's my favorite track on his mixtape: 1999, Snakes featuring (my friend) T'nah Apex

"I don't believe in the Illuminati but G.O.O.D. Music is devilish!"

Of course I said this jokingly but I do have my cocerns.

Each artist, Excluding KanYe, CuDi, Tip, and Mos make all these Press Conferences and Signings and Appearances. Sometimes they wear all black, Sometimes they wear all white. Like KanYe tells them what to wear.

 Mr. West has a bit of a puppet Master vibe to him. He’s more powerful than we realize.

 I just imagine him in a cave with tons of equipment, planning out his life and the G.O.O.D. Music legacy for the next 100 years. He controls the minds of his artists and fans with an 808 machine.

 At Afro-Punk Fest the DJ was hyping up the crowd, the second “I Don’t Like” started playing the whole crowd went CRAZY. Everyone singing along, jumping up and down, dancing. You would’ve though Pusha-T was there him damn self. No one song should have that much power.

 and The music. The G.O.O.D. Music album didn't match up to expectations. Simply saying. Doesn’t that sound like selling your soul to the devil? You get all of the fame, the recognition, the riches. But not quality music. The truth and the driving force behind doing what you’re doing suffers. It could be a metaphor. A lot of popular music artists have metaphorically “sold their Souls to the devil”.

Outfit of the week

My FNO Look!

   September 6th was FNO here in NYC, so I had to do something flashy yet true to my style. This look is casual, cute, and classy. I pair the sexy corset top with funky/sophisticated high waisted pants, which tone down the sexy look. I then added it with a pair of designer sneakers for a more casual look, which is still acceptable for anything fashion-related. I also wore a cropped black blazer which finished the look and gave the 80’s feel. Overall every aspect of this look is extremely affordable. I loved this outfit and looked great.

Fashion's Night Out

   Fashion's Night Out is an event taken place in various fashionable cities. This is where there a several fashion-related events and the "movers and shakers" roam the streets in their best looks. September 6th was FNO here in NYC and started off our Fashion Week. My best friend, Ali Esteem, and I ventured out all over lower Manhattan to take part in fun giveaways, events, and of course to take photos.

My bestfriend and I

Quote

It is Art, and Art only, that reveals us to ourselves.
                                                                              -Oscar Wilde