Gilded Mind as shot by Suzanne Ayesha

      One of my best friends, Briannah, and I are Poetic/Hip-Hop duo Gilded Mind. Recently we were photographed by upcoming photographer and friend Suzanne Ayesha. 

Photos:

For more information please visit: https://www.facebook.com/GildedMind

#PaintAndPoetry March 2014!

     This month's paint and poetry was also a birthday celebration for the creator of P&P, Mojo Disco. A mix of Paint and Poetry regulars and a few new faces from all over filled the gallery promptly. With music by DJ Blackout and walls covered in beautiful artwork the atmosphere was nothing less than dope. Painters and Performers were no strangers to P&P, good friends of Mojo's and artists who have been there since day one(or at least day 2) like Malcolm Wicks, Audible Chocolate, and Theo Mighty. The party feeling was strong with intermissions that called for mingling and dancing and overall the room was filled with love, as usual.

Here's a look at the "paint" aspect:

Marley Twists over starter Locs !

As you know, I started my locs 2 months ago. Now I've put them in Marley twists. Using two strands of Marley braid hair for each twist. Here's my tutorial:

PLEASE visit http://iloveboxbraids.tumblr.com/

[HOW-TO] Yarn Twists !

       Last weekend I did a friends hair in Yarn twists she needed a protective style because she's going on vacation soon. The style took 9 hours to do and I used 3 bundles of yarn. Now, just like any other twists I've done these are pretty simple.




Materials:

• 3+ bundles of acrylic yarn
• A comb
• Hair oil/grease/lotion/etc.
• Scissors
• A lighter
• A four legged-chair or step stool 

Prep:

Make sure the hair is washed, conditioned, and moisturize before braiding. Cut the yarn by wrapping it around the legs of the chair(tying around one leg first to secure it) and keep wrapping, then cut when you feel/noticed you've wrapped too much, cut near to the leg where you tied the yarn. You will have to wrap/cut yarn several times. Moisturize the yarn before braiding with it.

Procedure:

• Part hair the way you normally do as braiding
• Take yarn and braid a section of hair as if you're doing a box braid
• Braid down about 5 times(or to the end of hair depending on how long the person's hair is)
• Begin twisting and twist to desired lenght
• Tie 3-4 knots at the end of the twists
• Cut excess yarn
• Burn the ends.
• Also: moisturize the person's scalp as you go along

End result:

You HAVE to use Acrylic yarn and Red Heart is the most recommended brand.

KiD CuDi presents SATELLITE FLIGHT: The Journey to Mother Moon

     KiD CuDi pulled a Beyonce on us and released an album at midnight, no promo, no warning! CuDi announced that he would be dropping an ep soon as a pre-cursor to the highly anticipated Man on the Moon part 3, via twitter. But he did  not announce release dates or the fact that this would be an official album, until the day of. The album is now available on iTunes as of midnight Feb. 25th.

     Satellite Flight is an intensely gloomy intergalactic journey into the man on the moon's current mind state. Of Course he is not the same man who brought us Man on The Moon: The End of Day or Man on The Moon Part II: The Legend of Mr. Rager but the feeling is still what is to be expected. Personally as a CuDi fan I often do not consider his album WZRD, a partnership with longtime friend and producer Dot Da Genius with more a rock-sound, while thinking about this man's body of work. But He, some-how combined the alternative sound of WZRD with the message of the man on the moon series with Satellite Flight. He did exactly what he said he was going to, created that bridge and left fans' mouths watering for Man on the Moon part 3. I have been anticipating Part three since Part 2 dropped, but this new album will just have to keep me warm until late 2015(when MOTM3 is set to release). There should never be a "I miss the old CuDi" at this point. This is the artist we all feel in love with, this is the Man on The Moon.

     Now I haven't done this in a while but I have to get into a track by track breakdown, with my breif opinion and rating on a scale of 1-5.

Destination: Mother Moon- The first track, the instrumental introduction. Just under 2 minutes this track basically prepares the listener for the entire album. I can assume CuDi produced this track himself based on  work on his previous album, Indicud. 4.5

Going to the Ceremony- This track was released on CuDi's official soudcloud account[HERE] last summer. When I first listened, I was not impressed. To me it sounded like a track that didn't make it onto the WZRD album. It is very reminiscent of High off Life, the 2nd track on WZRD. 2

Satellite Flight- Yes, Yes, YES. This song reminds me so much of MOTM2. It sounds as if CuDI sampled/looped Don't Play This Song, the 3rd track on MOTM2 featuring Mary J. Blige. This song is perfect for the title track. The instrumental is infectious and overall this is very CuDi. If you don't like this album, you'll probably still like this song. My personal favorite. 5

Copernicus Landing- Another incredible instrumental from Wizard Cud. I have no idea what is happening. Instrumentals seem to be a hobby of his. With WZRD's "The Arrival", Indicud's "New York City Rage Fest" and of course the first track on this album, listeners are taken over by a vibe that needs no words. 4

Balmain Jeans- Excuse me

I need a minute


Okay

Okay, I'm good. Now. WHAT? This is the most freaky CuDi has gotten since "Whenever" on A KiD Named CuDi. This song is hypnotizing, sensual, and well.. very good. I was surprised yet impressed upon listening. The best part is our featured artist Raphael Saadiq. YES. Raphael Saadiq of Tony! Toni! Tone`! and all those car commercials is in the background of this track harmonizing and just perfecting this entire song. I LOVE it so much. So. Much. 5 (I really don't know if I like this more than Satellite flight though)

Too Bad I have to Destroy You Now- CuDi's mantra, his proof to all those haters that he will never stop doing what he's doing. This is another "King Wizard" another "Dennis, Hook me up with some more of that whiskey" even another "Ashin' Kusher". The first line and hook is "People talk shit bout me, deep down they knowing they ain't right. When I walk in the room, they can't look in my eyes". Basically ALL CuDi has BEEN saying. He isn't going anywhere! Of Course as a fan I support this message BUT I'm not a fan of this track. 3

Internal Bleeding- This song truly touched me. Of course CuDi has been categorized a sad rapper. His 'depression' is no secret. But goddamn. I can't really explain the beauty of this track. With a title that may be too gruesome to tell your mom while asked what music you're blasting so loud, this song is GREAT. This is definitely fighting it's way onto to my top 10 CuDi songs list but that's a tough list. 4

In My Dreams 2015- Stop, Stop, STOP. Is CuDi the first artist to perfect sampling his damn self?? This is another instrumental. It's starts with a warped sound bit of "You're in my dreams now...Welcome" from "In My Dreams(Cudder Anthem)" on MOTM: The End of Day. He did something similar to this on the first track MOTM2 "Scott Mescudi vs. The World". This is my least favorite instrumental of his but I can say, this man knows exactly what he's doing. 3.5

Return of The Moon Man- Exactly. Exactly. This title is Exactly what this is. With extreme instrumentation, it's a wonder why this wasn't this track does not appear earlier on the album. It sounds as if he is preparing to enter an arena. And makes me imagine what his upcoming show at the Barclay's center is going to be like. I feel I'm about to conquer the world, or the moon , or whatever. 4.5

Troubled Boy- This song makes me want to give CuDi a big hug, well so do all of his songs, but the entire mood isn't necessarily sad(although it is... sad) but very melancholy, very slow. I feel like it would be used in an indie film. Again he samples himself. Using a sound bite of him saying "No One" from "My world" off of his first album "Man on The Moon: The End of Day". This was clever and pretty much makes sense. He is literally saying that he still has no one just as he did 5 years ago when his first album came out. This track is an effective closing to this entire album. YET, it does not "WOW" listeners, or me anyway. 3


aaaaand There you have it!

     So, Like I said " KiD CuDi presents SATELLITE FLIGHT: The Journey to Mother Moon" is an impressive project. I liked it, as a whole, more than I'd liked Indicud and more than I liked WZRD. I like that CuDi is getting more and more into his own production. It seems as if he has perfected the concept of good background music with all these instrumentals, but they work. I'm obviously still excited about MOTM3, but yes Satellite Flight is great. I suggest you give it a listen if you haven't already.

PS. CuDi is playing Coachella this year and now I'm even more excited to hear what his set will be.

[HOW TO] Nefertiti inspired headwrap!

A lot of friends have asked me and I'm sure many more people are wondering how I did my Erykah Badu/Nefertiti headwrap that I've been rockin recently.

    Well I made a tutorial here:

Beauty of the Black Woman

Beauty of the Black Woman(BOTBW) is a photoblog which shares beautiful images of Black woman.
Every photo is taken by photographer Damion Reid.
I had a very successful shoot on Friday, here are the photos:

     My outfit is funky yet sophisticated. I bought the acid wash skinny jeans from a boutique in my neighborhood and the high-heeled sneaker boots are my all time fave. This whole is just my style 100%.

     More photos can be seen on the Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beauty-of-the-Black-Woman/1400572206821692 as well as Reid's tumblr page. http://damionkare.tumblr.com/

Happy New Year! New Video

     I haven't updated very often in the past few months but I had to make an end of year video. In this video I'm talking about how I wore my hair in 2013 and my goals for 2014.

Fall Fashion show at FIT

   Just a few weeks ago I walked in a fashion show for the very first time! Modeling has always been a dream of mine but the opportunity has not easily presented itself. Until this one. I was on the train talking to my best friend about being approached by a model scout when a young woman sitting across from us over heard our conversation and asked me to walk for her. She gave me all of her information, I emailed her with my information and then I was ready to go.
   The big day, I arrived around at FIT around 3pm, met with the designer(Eva Mohrman)and the other models and headed backstage. Backstage was pretty hectic with models running around, lining up, running through, practicing fitting, hair & makeup. It was so fun. I chatted with a few other girls but before I knew it, it was time for eva's design's. My outfit was a long sleeved houndstooth crop-top and a red fur jacket which were both created beautifully. Here's Eva's video:

I didn't do my best but hey, now I have modeling experience.

To Binge or not to Binge ?!

Over the past few months I realized that NetFlix has it’s own original “TV” shows. There is no waiting for next week to see a new episode, no pilot, no fear of the show being canceled; everything is right there. These raise the question “To binge or not to binge”. NetFlix users can watch an entire season/series in one day.

House of Cards is one of those shows.

House of Cards is a suspense/filled political drama. We get the entire inside information and all of these lies and scandal that can easily be happening in the White House right now. This show has a great plotline, each episode draws attention, and all of the characters are well developed. The entire concept and the storylines that come along with it are perfect. “Perfect” is a strong word but this series almost seems flawless.

Our star Frank Underwood is indeed the protagonist but is also the bad guy, and he does not have one true nemesis, it seems that everyone is Frank’s enemy. He has lied, cheated, denied, manipulated, and even killed this season. Keep in mind, this is only season one. All of the intensity is built up and then hits the viewers hard, in every single episode. No one is to be trusted, and it does not seem that any of these characters should be idolized by viewers either.

The series kicks off with Congressman Francis Underwood being cheated out of the position of Secretary of State. This affects Frank greatly and he immediately kicks off this intricate plot to influence, control, and basically exploit everyone around him to get what he wants. That is, besides his wife. We soon meet the character Claire. She is Frank’s wife and partner; as a couple and separately they are very well known political figures. Claire and Frank tell each other everything; besides being married they are also business partners and will do anything for each other.

Then, there is Zoe Barnes. She is introduced to us from the very beginning as a smart-mouthed, spunky, low-down dirty reporter. Well “low-down” and “dirty” is subjective but she does not shy away from that. She corners Frank with a proposition, and he obliges but it seems as if he was using her; then the question comes up “For what?” So many questions come up and even go unanswered throughout this season but I think a few important ones are about Zoe. Why is Frank working with Zoe? Why is Zoe sleeping with Frank? Why does she love Lucas? What does she want in life? What does she want from Frank?

What makes a character a good one is when there is conflict, when we viewers see what they want and the fact that they are having a hard time getting that want. This was not too clear when it comes to Zoe Barnes, as in her overall goals and reasoning for why she does what she does; but it is quite clear with the other characters.

As I said, the character development in this series is impeccable. Each character has a story, a want, risks, and small things about them that viewers can notice. I guess the man whom we can dub the “Antagonist”, being that his importance was almost at the same levels as Franks at one point, is Peter Russo. Peter is another character we meet in episode 1. He is sleeping with his assistant; he drinks, smokes, and solicits prostitutes. He is the bad boy. In attempts to clean up his image for his campaign for governor, he is set up; he relapses, and then dies; all because of Mr. Underwood. Frank was the Puppet Master throughout this ENTIRE series. It was incredible. One element which was crucial to Frank’s characters and a lot of the sticky situations was “Breaking the fourth wall”. Frank turned and literally spoke to us the viewers. When he lied he told us the truth, when he denied something he told us why, when he was suspicious or untrusting of someone he told us that, it was great; especially since Frank is not necessarily and “Good” person, it kind of allows or forces us viewers to be on Frank’s side. We can not hate his sneakiness because he lets us in on the secret. We’re sneaky too!

House of cards is an amazing show. Knowing that it was a political I thought it would be similar to a cop show my grandmother would watch, like Columbo. But House of Cards is not Columbo, nor is it Law and Order.

Although I watched each episode weekly, this show has proved to me that binge watching is the way to go, well if the viewer has time of course. I do not encourage drop out of school or miss work to watch House of Cards! But I certainly suggest that Netflix users watch as much episodes in a row as they can. This show is almost like a long movie, a saga. It keeps you at the edge of your seat and builds so much suspense there is no way one can resist watching the next episode, especially when it is right in front of you. There is nothing wrong with Binge Watching, you just have to strategize.

The CNN article Binge-watching makes TV better written by Aaron Riccio explains this clearly:

“Instead of watching live each week by “appointment,” viewers are taking a full day (or weekend or even week) to watch a show’s entire season or a series from beginning to end. This may sound gluttonous and monotonous, but bingers see it differently — a richer and more contemplative form of TV watching in which every nuance is savored and analyzed.”

The article is plainly saying that this “appointment” form of watching television is dying out. I fully agree with this notion. I am not a Netflix user but I do have DVR. I rarely have time during the week to watch news episodes of my favorite shows, so I record them. Usually by the time I have time the season is either half-way finished or completely finished and it feels like a treat being able to watch most to all of the season in one day or weekend.

Another article House of Cards: Netflix’s experiment in binging pays off written by Christopher Williams. Describes how the original drama’s success is almost revolutionizing the way people watch television shows. A significant number of viewers “binged” while watching this series and will continue to.

House of Cards and their other original series along with the privilege of Binge-Watching, NetFlix has struck gold. House of Cards is a great show and I am highly anticipating clearing a whole weekend to watch it all.