Marley Twists? Havana Twists?

  Havana Twists as well as many other African Hair Braiding styles have become very popular as of late and here's a post to clear up what styles you're getting/doing and what makes them different.


   OKAY, Here’s a little breakdown. This photo is of the Marley Twist hairstyle. Marley Twists are similar to Senegalese Twists, braided at the root, except using Marley Braid Hair(which is coarse synthetic/kanekalon hair, more coarse than afro-kinky hair.)




















   Now this photo is of the Havana Twist hairstyle. Havana Twists are large shoulder length twists which are twisted at the root for a natural look. There is a specific blend of hair for this style which is less kinky than Marley Braid hair and Afro Kinky hair but thicker/fluffier than 100% kanekalon jumbo braid(the hair used for box braids).

 

   The last photo is of Havana Twists done with the Marley Braid hair. Which is why a lot of people get the styles mixed up. They are basically chunky Marley Twists, mostly because the type of hair for Havana Twists is not very easy to find. This style can also be done with the method of twisting at the root for a more natural look.












   Of course there are many other twists like Senegalese Twists, Kinky, Yarn, Nubian, and more. Check them all out as well as various styles of braids, plenty of hairspiration and on http://iloveboxbraids.tumblr.com/ Feel free to ask any question :)

Photo Shootin'

   A good friend of mine, Nicholas Nichols, shot me not too long ago at Brooklyn' Botanical gardens. The young artist bring together the art of capturing moments and poetry with Poetic Life Photography. Here are the photos:

These photos look great and so does my outfit =].

For booking email: PoeticLifePhotography@gmail.com
& for more photos visit: http://poeticlifephoto.tumblr.com/

Chance The Rapper

   Hailing from Chicago, the 20 year old rapper debuted as an artist last summer with the release of his mixtape "10 Day".

    Following the release of 10 Day, Chance continued to release new music, and has been featured on songs with Childish Gambino, Hoodie Allen and Joey Bada$$ and in the Summer of 2012, Chance was featured on Childish Gambino's 'Camp' tour. Gaining popularity, he was also nominated for XXL Magazine's 2013 Freshman Class, was highlighted as one of Complex Magazine's '10 New Chicago Rappers to Watch Out For' and has been featured on several popular Chicago radio stations.(wikipedia)

   Over the past week, I've noticed a lot of buzz about him on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter; after he dropped his second mixtape "Acid Rap". I've only been listening to "Acid Rap" for the past 3 days and I don't even have the words to describe it. I can say that this project is refreshing. Chance pours his heart out on every track in a way we're not used to. His voice, his flow, & the use of various instruments like horns and guitar throughout the tape. His overall sound is different from what we're hearing come out of the rap world now-a-days and it's great.

   The whole mixtape is very good, I enjoy every song. However, a few stand out tracks are Lost, Favorite Song, and Chain Smoker. Favorite Song samples Betty Wright's Clean Up Woman and features one of my favorite rappers Childish Gambino. Listen:


   "Acid Rap" gives a truthful account to Chance's life and it is also fun, if a mixtape can be fun. He has a few funny adlibs/sounds he makes on every track and a lot of great featured artists such as Gambino, Twista, and Ab-Soul.

You can download Acid Rap as well as check out tour dates here: http://chanceraps.com/
I hope to see him in concert soon.

Quote

If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.
                                                                                                  -Audre Lorde

Ashley August' Book Release Event !

    Ashley August is a 20 year old Brooklyn Native, Writer, Actress, FemCee and New York City's current Youth Poet Laureate. She began her poetic journey during the summer of 2009 at Urban Word NYC where she has taken part in various slams, competitions, and productions. Now August has released her first chapbook through Bronx-born publishing company Evolution NYC.

    The event was held at the funky bar/restaurant Drom NYC, in Manhattan's East Village. It is a very spacious, modern, stylish venue, and the lights were dim for a classy nighttime feel. The evening began with founder of Evol NYC, Ashley "Ajay" Johnson greeting and thanking all of the guests and then introducing out our hosts.

    The beautiful hosts were good friends of Ashley's and fellow artists, Mojo Disco and Jessica McGrath. Both were lively and very charismatic, entertaining the crowd with funny stories and clever remarks the whole night.
    The first poet to grace the stage was Jay Davis who introduced herself and stated that she hadn't performed in about six months, but would gladly be there for Madam August. The pieces she shared were some old, some new, all lovely. Her performance was followed by another good friend and FemCee Nossis. Nossis kept the energy in the room at an all time high while she performed 3 songs that she wrote and produced herself. Our final performer was Spoken Word artist Reynold Martin, who shared three of his most popular poems(I know because I've heard them before and he is amazing) just before the lady of the hour, Ahsley August, hit the stage reading straight from her book "Love Handles"

     "Love Handles" is a journey of the breaking, healing and discovery of Love's in's, out's and between's. It's a Brooklyn soul figuring out how exactly to handle Love. August performed a select few poems from "Love Handles, a few of which most of us were familiar with and impressed the crowd more than she already has before.

Here are a few photos from the night, courtesy of Kash Photography:

Nossis

Ashley August

Reynold Martin

The Audience

August performing alongside her friend Mariah

Mojo and Jessica

Jay Davis

     The hosts kept the party going, as well as the DJ, DJ Flip Bundlez. Somewhere during the night there was a Twerk/New Orleans Bounce battle between Mojo and a friend of Ashley's, I don't know who one but it was the icing on the cake of the unforgettable night.

Get your own copy of Love Handles HERE!
Also, connect with the artists!
Ashley August

EvolNYC

Kash Photography

FoxGold ?!

    Now I know her as Cristal Joshua, but she is now debuting as rapstress: FoxGold. Her first track "Deep Down Inside" hit the interweb just yesterday and it is quite promising. The song is very house, very upbeat and the Azealia Banks comparisons are certainly soon to come. But with this track FoxGold represents and declares who she is.






Listen:

   As a fan of Hip-Hop music I appreciate samples and as a young woman I appreciate other women speaking their mind and not being afraid to tell it like it is. Fox exudes confidence throughout the whole track and though we are all tryna bring house back, "Deep Down Inside" is effective and stands alone. This first single is exactly what a first single is supposed to be. It grabs attention, introduces who the artist is, and leaves the listener wanting more.

I have no idea what to expect from Foxgold but I am excited !

Check her out:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BadFoxGold
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/BadFoxGold
Tumblr: http://badfoxgold.tumblr.com/

Spring Break in Boston

   Last week a few friends and I went on a short trip to Boston, during Spring Break. We stayed at the Hampton Inn. We were there for 3 days and 2 nights. Most of our time was spent roaming the streets of Downtown and having fun in the hotel. Boston is very different from NY. Their subway system is so much smaller and less intricate than ours and although it is a city it had more of a town/suburban feel to me. What I liked most about Boston was Faneuil Hall, which is their main shopping area and  I learned from this trip that I certainly should travel more, I only went to Boston!

Here are a few photos:

Our Hotel room

a note from the hotel

Breakfast

Breakfast

Our view

The Pool

AppleBees

Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall

Us :)

Bk Stories cast at The Nets game!

   Aside from performing at The Barclays center, a prize for the 7 finalist apart of Brooklyn Stories was to attend a Nets game, at the Barclays Center in a VIP suite. We arrived and walked around the VIP floor "OOh"ed and "Aah"ed a little and then got to our suite. There was food and drinks. We all took photos and enjoyed the game. The Nets won! Here are a few photos I took.

Briannah, me, and London

Darren, Briannah, London, & Nykemah

Doing Havana/Marley Twists for the first time!

   The other day while talking to my friend Briannah, she mentioned that she wanted to do something new with her hair and I told her that I've been wanted to experiment with doing twists for a while. She suggested I use Marley hair and do the style like Havana Twists.

   She bought the hair(4 packs of Marley Braid hair), I parted her hair into four sections and got started. I used two strands of the Marley braid hair per twist and combed through them for thickness. The whole style took about four hours. Here's my step-by-step video:

Brooklyn Stories !

   I performed alongside 6 of my friends/fellow #Udub poets. The Bk Stories event was a staged reading of stories the 7 of us wrote revolving around the borough and performed at the Barclays Center. This whole program was created by Lemon Andersen and Urban Word, and included a month of intensive workshops all leading up to the show.

More about Brooklyn Stories:
     Tony Award-winning writer Lemon Andersen and literary outreach program Urban Word NYC are cultivating the next generation of Brooklyn's storytellers with the inaugural presentation of BROOKLYN STORIES. In partnership with the Brooklyn Nets and MetroPCS, seven talented, young writers showcased their finely crafted narratives inspired by the eighty-one square miles of Brooklyn USA.

   The program began in October 2012. Young people under 21 were asked to submit their personal Brooklyn Story, by simply dropping it off at designated MetroPCS stores across Brooklyn. Several workshops with teaching artist were set up across the borough, over the next month, to help the entrants develop their stories for the next level.

   Twenty-five young writers earned their way to performing at the Brooklyn Public Library in a memorable semi-final showcase in December. Out of those twenty-five, seven were selected for an intensive workshop series to prepare for the Finale at Barclays Center. The finalists had the opportunity to work with award winning writer and native Brooklynite Lemon Andersen and Urban Word NYC's talented teaching staff to craft their Brooklyn Stories for a once in a lifetime performance.