Earlier this evening, My good friend Melanie Fiona was on BET’s 106 & Park where she co-hosted and then premièred the official music video for her single “Gone And Never Coming Back”. Her forthcoming sophomore album The MF Life is slated for Spring 2011.
The MF LIFE is an 8 min glimpse into the life of Canadian sweetheart Melanie Fiona. The short documentary reveals a bit of what she has been up to, as well as some intimate thoughts. Her new single “Gone and Never Coming Back” is now available on iTunes and her sophomore release, The MF Life is set for release this Spring.
The #1 song in the city gets the official video treatment courtesy of director extraordinaire Cazhmere.
Cameos from Famous, Trish, Trixxx, Harvey Stripes, Jeni and more!
J. Cole x Jester @ Sound Academy Pt.1 from ThisIsJester on Vimeo.
Big shouts go out to PPEG Entertainment & D’Bandit Entertainment for putting on a phenomenal event and having me host and hype up this event.
J. Cole Concert in Toronto from T-Square Media on Vimeo.
Highlight reel of J. Cole performing in Toronto at the Sound Academy to a sold out crowd. All shots & cuts by boy @ T-Square Media.
Leave it to me to bring you the epitome of style in docking stations for your iPod, iPhone, iPads. This BeoSound 8 docking station by Bang and Olufsen is sexy and sleek beyond words. With exceptional sound quality and of course design, this is one to add to the Christmas wish list.
Can you believe there is absolutely no music. Awesome!!!
Rap artists expanding their brand to record labels, clothing, alcohol, jewelry and soft drinks is not a new concept, it has come to be a natural progression. On November 16th we will witness another expansion of the Rap game with the launch of Jay Z’ s highly anticipated novel “Decoded”. This novel sets out to decode the meaning behind a selection of his song lyrics, 36 of them to be exact. As a Jay Z fan, I am intrigued to learn the meaning behind some of the song lyrics, but I’m not sure how I will feel once I have said knowledge. Will the songs hold the same excitement and curiosity or will they now be watered downed? In a sense, I equate it to the experience with a new girlfriend, do I want to know all of her secrets or should some things be left unsaid? Sometimes the unknown is what keeps us intrigued and wanting more, will this book give us too much? Only time will tell I suppose; nevertheless, anything that inspires young people to read is a good thing.
As a genius marketer he has built sufficient hype surrounding the release including: collaborating with Bing to produce a worldwide interactive scavenger hunt game with pages of the book; planting codes and excerpts of the book around New York City, and even Gucci’s flagship store has produced a window display with printed parts of the booked displayed in the lining of a leather jacket. In addition to the hardcover release, Random House will publish “Decoded” as an eBook, as well as an interactive iPhone/iPad application that will include exclusive video and customizable content.
Here’s an excerpt from “Decoded:”
“When I first started working on this book, I told my editor that I wanted it to do three important things. The first was to make the case that hip-hop lyrics-not just my lyrics, but those of every great MC-are poetry if you look at them closely enough. The second was I wanted the book to tell a little bit of the story of my generation, to show the context for the choices we made at a violent and chaotic crossroads in recent history. And the third piece was that I wanted the book to show how hip-hop created a way to take a very specific and powerful experience and turn it into a story that everyone in the world could feel and relate to.”
I sort of gave up on Kanye’s directorial abilities after he directed one of Drizzy Drake’s first videos, but Runaway isn’t “Bad”. It is a little strange but the imagery and symbolism is interesting. The 35 odd minute movie/video is reminiscent of the late King of Pop’s movie/video style (ei. Thriller, Remember the Time) and I’m sure the oversize bust of MJ himself is Kanye’s way of paying homage (or possibly trying to fill void). It was noted that the concept behind the video was a mash-up between the classic tales the Phoenix Rising and Pygmalion (dust off the high-school coles notes) with sufficient imagery at every turn and twist of this tale. I was particularly drawn to the contrast of imagery (whether implied or not) of the dinner party scene. The black dinner guest dressed all in white (served by all white wait staff no less); the all white cast of ballerinas wearing black to-to’s; as well as, an art form as pure and graceful as ballet taking place in a dirty warehouse….brillant! All in all, there are parts that I really liked and other parts that thought were a tad bit strange. Nevertheless pop some pop corn and watch it yourself and let me know what you think. Don’t forget to give a toast to the douche bag!
