Remember that game 5 Minutes in Heaven, where you were trapped in closet with a boy/girl....or both, if you were really ahead of the learning curve. Not Judging. Just saying. ANYWAY this mixtape is like 20 minutes of that minus the guilt and everybody asking what y'all did in there. No while I rarely (ie: never) big up mixtapes and shit like that.....This is different. I mean who puts Paul Simon, El Debarge, Sting and Jodeci on a mixtape?
NinaSky must be out to increase the population ....cuz this ones a BABY MAKER!! HOTT DAMN!!!
Today's Lesson: Get you some chocolate and download this mixtape. That's all....
We've all seen this image plastered on any and everything that they can stick a price tag on. In Peru it sells air fresheners, in Switzerland snowboards and vino (wine for you uncultured few) in Italy. And let's not forget when Jay Z donned a Che T Shirt for his MTV Unplugged, how it sparked a mainstream hip hop fad; had all the hood dudes running to SOHO to cop one.
Michael Casey's book Che's Afterlife tracks down the origins of the photo and its reincarnation into today's iconic logo.
Che's Afterlife
In this bracing and keenly observed book, Mr. Casey traces how Korda’s photograph became one of the most widely disseminated images in the world, how Che went from being a symbol of resistance to the capitalist system to one of the most marketable and marketed brands around the globe, how the guerrilla fighter became a logo as recognizable as the Nike swoosh or McDonald’s golden arches. -Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
Korda holding the 3 Cuban Peso.
Crazy lil Fact: the photographer Alberto Diaz Gutierrez, also known as Korda, originally took the photo at a funeral in 1960. In some early predecessor of PhotoShop, Korda crops the pic, erases the trees nearby and removes another man in the background. Only in 1997 was Korda able to collect the royalties of his work. Korda dies in 2001!! He only got 4 years of profits on his work from 40 years earlier. Damn Son....Charge it to tha game!!
The New Pop covers Writer's Block with special guest Thophilus London. Spoken Word. Live Performances. After parties where people actually dance..... You betta get with the get-right!! Join the Movement We Are Writer's Block
oh yeah....i know it was like 3 weeks ago but let me sum up my SS09 Fashion week
Yes, this pic was plastered all over Style.com for a few days. Damn, they caught a BK girl out there looking all crazy at the Alexander Wang After Party.
Yess People I said it!! And Common confirms it in the July issue of Elle Magazine.
Common aka "Sensitive Thug"
ELLE: What’s the worst thing a woman ever said to you? COMMON: “I don’t want to be with you anymore and I’m really liking this other dude.”
Thats effing cold man... I wish a dude would tell me that...I'd stab his ass, no questions asked! But wait it gets better, Elle mag quickly narrows it down and uncovers Ms. Badu as the culprit.
ELLE: That pretty much covers the biggies. How long had you been with this particular woman?
COMMON: It started in 2001 and ended in 2003.
ELLE: Oh, so this must have been Erykah Badu. I didn’t know she left you for another guy.
COMMON: It wasn’t all at once. She left me, then eventually she said she liked another guy. It was tough, man. I was heartbroke for months. That was one of the biggest love lessons I ever had.
ELLE: What exactly was the lesson?
COMMON: That no matter how much you love somebody, you’ve got to love yourself first. If you’re truly loving yourself, you won’t allow some things to go down, and you’ll have boundaries. I was so in love that I gave up certain things about me, and that showed a lack of love for myself. It turned out to be such a big blessing that we broke up, because I got that lesson. I actually wrote a children’s book about it called I like You But I Love Me.
Now don't get me wrong ... I LUV me some Common. But Homegirl breaks your heart and you write a children's book?!?! WTF?!?!
But wait theres more......
ELLE: Were there things you did in the relationship you now regret? COMMON: Planting flowers with her one time. I look back now and go, Man, I really didn’t want to do that.
Its all in the hair man....
Clearly I'm hustling backwards, cuz my "Goodies" don't be having nobody writing Chil'rens books, planting flowers, dressing weird and what not. Obviosuly I need to enroll the Badu School of Pussy Whippin' where the Sky is the Limit to what you punanny can do for you.
Now you know you didn't pick out your outfit...
Here is the link to the entire article on ELLE's Website. And incase you wanted to secure your copy of Common's Chil'rens Book, Cop that on Amazon where gift wrapping is available.
But I totally loved The Wackness!! The film was super funny and the soundtrack if effing amazing!!
All joints from 94-95 that totally took me back to my elementary school days in BK
(Biggie, Craig Mack, Total, Wu Tang, Nas and mixtapes when they were actual homemade mixes on real tapes!! Not this digital nonsense we have now. Do you remember making mix tapes off of the radio?!?! ......AAHH the good old Dayz!) Nostalgia always Culture Approved!
PS: Look our for a cameo by Method Man sporting the worst Jamaican Accent ever in movie history.
If you take a moment to scroll down you'll notice that I've placed mad labels on this post. I guess I'm having a hard time categorizing this foolishness.
(In)Famous jeweler of the Hip Hop Glitterati, Jacob Arabov aka Jacob the Jeweler, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and was slapped with a 2 million dollar fine this week.
"I got that work!!"
The crime?? Laundering Money, to the tune of over $270 million in narcotics earnings for a Detroit-based drug ring. No, that wasn't a typo...I said Detroit Drug Ring Fool!!!
My 2 cents: if hes working with over 270 million, you're only gonna fine him 2 million??? I can't get over the whole drug ring thing (unintentional rhyming, my bad). I knew his ass was a little to interested in rap music. Shit, I'm been Black since I was born and truthfully, I'm over rap music.
Culture Snobette is ecstatic for all the love, all the press, and most importantly all the booked tour dates (Act like ya know. Tour dates = $$$$) that our girl Santi has been getting.
Any one who even remotely knows me, knows that SS08 for me is all about the Gays. I've been talking and dancing like a gay, specifically the Banjee ones, so profusely that on numerous occaisons my boyfriend has threatened to drop my flaming ass!! So when one of my bestest G buddies put me on to Hercules and Love Affair, I ate it up like a 2 piece and a biscuit
Hercules is this amazing ensemble group of singers, musicians and voguers, (yes bitch I said voguers!!)
Their song "Blind" was on my MySpace for the like, forever and sparked many compliments on my "in the know"-ness; which is always a good thing.
While I have very mixed feelings about Kanye West... My sentiments about his new video are sure....
I appreciate the whole "everyday day life as a photoshoot motif", it says so much about pop culture and most importantly the mentality of many females today. The storyline is unfortunate yet so true to life. Living in NYC, for a while that seemed to be the main topic of news of for so long. The City Business bureau even clamped down on the issuing of liquor licenses to new venues in response to young women going missing after a night of wild partying.
there is so much i can say on this topic, but check out the video and tell me what you think.
Next Week Saturday.. no, you don't have work the next day no, you don't have anything better to do
Yeah, the Flier is hot Yeah, it's gonna be packed with cool people (but not too cool to bust a move) Yeah, The DJ is official (Sure Shot .....IE: not somebody's cousin)
Is it just me or do kids not look like kids anymore...
As i turn another year older (well, it was a week ago), take my word for it: Trying to grow up quickly is like putting on your fliest dress ( or Freakum Dress to all my Hootchie-Phi Sisters ), getting your weave re-did, a fresh set of tips and rushing your ass out of the house to a party at like 9:15pm........ and the shit is wack!! And of course its wack darling, cuz u ain't supposed to be there that early. So take ur time and you'll get to the jumpie just in time to rush the floor for "All About the Benjamins", (super random, but i'm sure you get the point)
So I'm just finished watching my Tivo-ed Grammy awards...
Rhianna and the Time:
A lesson in irrelevance, I say. While I fully appreciate her new haircut (ie: taking out her tracks), and I think her style has improved immensely, Her performance left me wanting more. The Time was a little lackluster as well, ( what?!? No "Quack Hallelujah" ?!?!) and they should have let Jerome do the intro.
Beyonce and Tina Turner:
B, Say hello to your future. I found it so hilarious that Beyonce stepped on Tina's foot; and that Tina couldn't quite complete her karate kick and the end of "Proud Mary". Beyonce Enjoy your youth, cuz next thing you know, some Pretty Young Thang will be singing "To the Left, To the Left..." with you and most importantly TO YOU!!
Kanye and Daft Punk:
'Ye was good, nothing amazing though. Personally, I think he could learn a lesson or two from Puff on the Art of performing. Daft Punk...My Question to you: is that how you perform at your shows?? Granted you are a duo of robots, but i mean you're the functional equivalent of a Dj and someone flicking the lights. Whatevs
Alicia Keys and John Mayer:
To be honest during this performance I Turned to Channel 25 WNYC to catch up on Full Frontal Fashion. And that's all i got to say... Ps: Love the DoorKnockas though
The piece de Resistance (jouz no parlay France, obviously) Amy Winehouse
The performance was good by most standards, but Great based on her performances of the last year or so. She looks healthier, which i am definitely thankful for; and shes putting back on some weight. I loved all the shout outs to her incarcerated Husband Blake... so ghetto so great.
But the kicker for me was when she won the award for Record of the Year. The Camera was focused on her before the Simulcast delay got the news to her; So the viewer saw her entire honest reaction. She cried in utter, ran to her back up singers, people rushed the stage, a group hug ensued; and then she ran to hug her mum, whom she brought on stage with her. And by this time I was in tears.... Dennine too.
I love Amy. And I have for quite sometime. I appreciate that she writes her own songs and unbeknownst to many she used to play the guitar. Amy is a Real musician and Real Singer. and a real person as well, for the longest i feared that she would be found on some bathroom floor, overdosed like so many others, famous and non-famous (equally tragic in my opinion). When I said i hope she gets it together, in my heart of hearts I meant that. Looks like this cynical stony heart of mine still has some blood pumping in it.
Please Watch this clip of her singing "There is No Greater Love" Live, to witness what Amy used to sound like.
Held at the Hiro Ballroom (nice venue, but its on the West side...so sad so unfortunate). This production seemed to be sponsored, hosted and endorsed by everyone (see the long ass list of logos), but unfortunately no one was running the show. As my mother would say "too many cooks spoil the pot." This is an example of poor delegation: their was no master of ceremonies to direct the evening. Bands just showed up, jumped on stage and proceeded to abuse the audience. All of the Hip Hop artists sounded like UK Garage and Grime circa 2005. The acts that were booked were super random. Mixing Rock, hip hop and Reggae, good, i get it. Just make sure that you do it right.
On a positive note: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble came thru and salvaged the evening.
They only did 3 songs but it was totally worth the Metrocard Fare (who am I kidding...that was my Dad's Metrocard). If you've ever walked thru Union Square, then i'm sure you've heard them. This group of brothers learned their craft from their Father growing up in Chi Town and have truly made a name for themselves here on the NYC Streets.
Watch this backstage impromptu performance with Mos Def at Brooklyn Academy of Music
Now while I'm all about high culture, low culture, street culture, and whateva else people are calling themselves these days; I, Culture Snobbette, am a woman at the end of the day. So needless to say I have now become a fan of Game Rebellion!
Game Rebellion mixes Rap and Rock so effortlessly that they got thugs in their mosh pits.
Yeah, their music is good and their stage performance is amazing, but they've got something else going for them...
Front Man, Netic
I don't know I can't really put my finger on it...
Performing at the AfroPunk Fest in BK
Check out their Myspace for more porn..oops i mean music
The genre bending chanteuse was recently interviewed on NPR (National Public Radio, get into it!!). On the Tell Me More segment, Smith discusses her musical influences, the re-release of her album For Lovers, Dreamers, and Me on a major record label and the ignorance behind creating music genres.
While the Interview tends to lag from time to time (I think i could've done a better job), its semi informative and hey, its great press. Listen for yourselves and gimme some feedback...
PS: and how cute is it that she wanted to be a pediatrician and princess when she was a kid.
So here it is in a nutshell: Atrice, Sam and Culture Snobette journeyed to a far away land, Philly, to witness the sounds and sights of the MIA, Santogold & Cool Kids Tour.
Santi was up first. I had the privilege of bumping into her on the streets of the east village a couple of weeks prior to the concert, and i truly like her. Santi's music is soo different than what most artists are pushing right now. And though there are many comparisons to her and MIA, upon further listening they become apples and oranges. Not to mention that she was one of the geniuses behind Res's Album How I Do back in 2001.
Her live performance great, and towards the end of her set she brought on SpankRock and Amanda Blank to do Loose (aka She ain't nuthin but a hootchie mama).
SPANK RIZZLE
After Santi ripped, then came the Cool Kids. Who, unfortunately I just couldn't get with. They rapped about Bikes (black Mags or some nonsense like that), sneakers and other boy-stuff that just was not meant to be Snob-Approved....Simply not my cup of tea.
BOY #2 of The Cool Kids Boy#1 wouldn't stand still long enough for a proper shot.
Next we had the Main Event, the Meat & potatoes, the center piece of this 3 ring circus, MIA.
MIA came out looking like a cross between George Clinton and DanceHall Queen 2025!!
She stood behind this sparkly podium thing and queued up her visual art for each song.
MIA had crazy energy during her performance, which included the ubiquitous stage dive, followed by a full lap around the crowd.
She closed her encore with Paper Planes, a song that brags of her abilities to produce visas, "I make 'em all day, ... I'll get one down in a second if you wait" are her words to be exact. But much to the contrary MIA mentioned during her encore that this was her last performance in the states and that she probably wouldn't be back for a while; she garbled something about having to wait till bush was out of office(1/20/09 in case you're wondering).
Well. we're glad we got our piece of MIA while we could.....
Oh and by the way, those 3 obnoxious girls bullying their way to the front, stepping on your shoes and laughing at your foreign clothes...yeah that was us Great success!!!
