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Saturday, August 21, 2010

R. Notes feat. Brook Penning - "Leave It All Behind 2"


R. Notes is an up and coming singer/songwriter from Brooklyn, NY.  He teamed up with songstress Brook Penning on this newly released single and it is sure to please R&B fans.  With great production from Dot Silly, both young artists prove they have genuine chops and are serious about their craft. 

Add this to your playlists immediately!  This is feel good music for those who know what it's like to have trouble letting go of someone.

Roosevelt Island BBQ at Lighthouse Park


Last night I was reminded about something very special about Hip-Hop.  At it's core, it inspires people to create something out of nothing.  It gives many, who otherwise would not have one, a voice.  It is raw energy.

The BBQ was going extremely well.  The burgers and dogs were on and off the grill like clockwork.  It's a good thing they were too.  Sustenance was necessary to soak up the copious amounts of alcohol.  My friend "Violet" whipped up a drink for me with Stolichnaya Vanilla, Ciroc Coconut and orange soda that probably knocked 4 years off of my liver with one cup.  After a dog and two burgers, I was back on easy street.



The music was blasting from the lone PA speaker and everyone was having a great time.  Apparently, it was too loud for tiny Roosevelt Island's Public Safety and they barged in to tell the hosts to turn it down.  The squad of about 6 officers hovered around for about 10 minutes and then walked off into the night.  Of course, the music made it's way back up shortly thereafter and Public Safety was back again.  This time in two vehicles.  They made it clear that if the music didn't stay off, the party would be shut down.

People huffed and puffed for a short while about the lack of music and then something special happened.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*...NO MUSIC!

It started with two or three people and within seconds it grew to about 30 people.  The chant continued and a group gathered.  The "cypher" was officially opened and the MCs began to take control of the party.  This is Hip-Hop!  They tossed rhymes back and forth between each other and even worked in a 3 round battle.  It gave the party an entirely new energy.  A visceral energy.

 





Eventually the "cypher" subsided and the music went back to full blast.  I hadn't experienced such natural energy in a long time and it was a great feeling to have.  At around 12:15 am I said my goodbyes and hit the road headed for home.  I made the 30 minute drive with *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*...NO MUSIC!  Perfect.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Olivia "Show the World" with VH1


Olivia is back and making her own way.  Regardless of what detractors may say about her fallout with her previous label, Olivia is determined to prove them wrong.  She signed a new deal with a new label (Universal) and she wants to show the world that she is a bonafide R&B singer.

The invite only event was covered by VH1 as part of her reality TV series forthcoming on the network.  Details of the show have not been revealed yet but it's not hard to imagine what the premise is.  Olivia performed several songs from the new album and I was overall very impressed with the music.  She performed a great mix of uptempo songs and ballads.


The New York native was moved to tears by the end of the evening.  She was overwhelmed at the support she was shown from friends, family, industry personnel and sponsors.  Sponsor Nano Tech 210 even capped the performance by presenting Olivia a custom diamond encrusted watch from their sport collection.



Here are some notable faces from the red carpet and crowd that came out to support Olivia....

Shaun Ross

Toccara Jones

James A. Smith

Rick Steel

Amanda Diva

Free and Toccara

DJ Webstar and Kyah

Delynx Watson (l.)

Keep up to date with more news on Olivia at her official website: 
http://www.oliviaworldwide.com/

Download Olivia's Mixtape "Under the Radar" below:
Click to Download


Thursday, August 19, 2010

Producer Series: Mr. Devine Interview

Mr. Devine is a Queens based producer who's produced for Ruff Ryders/D-Block almost since the labels inception.  Producing for all 3 members of The Lox to this very day, he is now looking to take his sound to a new level.

1/4th of the Cafe Society production team, Mr. Devine sat down to talk with www.roxfontaine.com to speak about his career up to this point and where he plans to take it in the immediate future.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The Trouble with BBM

I love my "Crackberry".  I will argue with any iPhone or Android user about my devices superiority to theirs anywhere, anytime, anyplace.  While I am enamored with my device, I could slap the taste out of the mouth of many of it's users.

Blackberry Messenger is a great communication tool.  The best as far as mobile phones go in my book.  I use it often to network, send and receive files and of course to communicate with friends and groups.  I even use it from time to time as an advertising tool.

Many BBM users abuse the technology, however.  There are so many levels to the problem.  The biggest problem is when you have a fairly significant number of contacts and you start falling victim to the broadcast messages.  They come in all flavors but here are some of the worst offenders:

Mr. Lover Lover

This is the guy that uses BBM to fish for dates.  He's usually broadcasting his PIN 3 or 4 times a day urging "sexy ladies only" to add him.  He's a spectacular douche bag.  He honestly believes that he is just that damn special.  The most egregious of the Mr. Lover Lover club UNDOUBTEDLY have a picture of their 'roided out abdomen as their avatar.  He also insists that he is entirely heterosexual even though he loves to point out how other males who happen to sneak their way onto his sexy ladies only contact list don't meet his standard for what a good looking male is.  What the hell?

Ms. Provacative Yet Hypersensitive

This is the girl that Mr. Lover Lover is fishing for.  She has a picture of herself in her avatar in something skimpy.  Bent over, bust out, over glossed lips and a status message that reads something like, "model/actress/singer/songwriter.  im bout my bizness and nuttin else"  Her typos; not mine.  She hates when Mr. Lover Lover tries to work his cell phone mackin' magic on her.  She then returns fire with a broadcast of her own letting EVERYONE know that she hates Mr. Lover Lover and suggests to him to #killyoself.  Deleting Mr. Lover Lover is far too difficult for her because she needs those numbers so she can feel important.

The C.E.O. of a Company You Never Heard Of

This character can be male of female but most frequently is male.  He is the "Boss of All Bosses" according to his status message and he's been in the business for 10 years minimum.....doing absolutely nothing.  Well, I can't say nothing.  He's been promoting wack rappers' mixtapes for those 10 years on his go-nowhere "record label".  He will blast you 5 or more times a day about some lame rapper and how they are constantly working on the greatest song you'll never hear.

The Moron

This is the person that keeps sending you the blast from Ana L. Retentive and other very important people at RIM who are so confident in their product that they use it to tell you important things instead of their website.  Usually it's that if you don't blast their message to all of your contacts, you will lose all of them within 24 hours.  The Moron often apologizes as they send you this message saying, "Better safe than sorry."  They should apologize for being so stupid.


The last 2 days have been especially bad days and I deleted several of each of these characters from my contact list.  They almost make me want to crossover to an Android phone.  Almost is not quite good enough though.  I still LOVE my Blackberry!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Camp Lo and Stalley at Santos



Hot 97's Peter Rosenberg and legendary producer Ski Beatz of DD172 have teamed up to launch a new Monday night event called "Bridging the Gap".  Last night was the first run of the event, headlined by Camp Lo (The Lo) and Stalley.

Though the show didn't kick off until much later than expected, it was a great time and both acts brought the noise.  Stalley even brought out Curren$y to perform "Address".



I was personally most excited to see The Lo.  I've never seen them perform live before so it was surreal to hear them perform Uptown Saturday Night classics "Krystal Karrington", "Black Connection", "Black Nostaljack", "Rockin' It" and, of course, "Luchini".  I was thrown back to '99 and the time in my life when I didn't know much about anything but I did know good music.  Even then I knew that Camp Lo was entirely singular and they still are now.