Exclusive: Rubie Evans - "It's Okay"

I've been listening to a lot of down tempo music in recent weeks so this track is right on time. I had no idea what to expect going into this track. Rubie Evans is entirely new to my radar, but that is the greatest joy in doing what I do. I get all sorts of surprises that can change a moment, a day, maybe even a life.

Rubie Evans is a New York City based singer and songwriter looking to take Uptown upstage. Her single, "It's Okay" really stopped me. I was taken aback by the calm and quiet of it all. Without all of the excess, I was really able to get into the truth of the song. That is not an easy thing to do. To be this private in public is always beautiful...

...and beautiful best describes this song. Rubie does a fantastic job with this track. Though there were some technical issues for me, it didn't matter. This girl can sing and this song is dope! The melody and sentiment trump any other issues.

The track is pulled from her forthcoming 'MISSunderstood' album due this summer. No date has been set as of yet. You already know to stay tuned to RoxFontaine.com for updates. Hold on to this in the meantime...

Baiyu - "This Feeling"

New month, new music from Baiyu. The streak continues with "This Feeling" and oh, what a feeling it is! The Chinese-American soul singer absolutely crushes this one with a breathy performance that puts me in the mind of Phil Collins' classic "Take Me Home" with it's rhythmic lead line. The big kick of the bass drum is driven by the sweeping pads and just takes off with the chorus.

"This Feeling" is the much more pleasant upside to the previous release, "Mourning Hangover." After the pain of heartbreak, we get to experience the joy of new love. Another fantastic lyric from Baiyu and soaring production.

Get the stream and download below and mark your calendars for June 1st...

Loud Music Tour NYC - Photo Recap

Check out this brief photo recap of the NYC stop of the Loud Music Tour. Far and away one of the best independent artists showcases I've ever been to. The roster was jam packed with quality talent (signed and unsigned) and each artist brought their own brand of energy and music to the Santos Party House stage.

Big up to VIII for the invite. Make sure you look out for the Loud Music Tour in one of 4 cities; NYC, Philly, Atlanta and DC.

Click images to enlarge.

Bones HR brought his Philly flavor up north.

Daniel Van Gogh turned up with his band! 

Dom O. Briggs hanging out backstage. 

K-Prime coolin' out before his set. 

Smoove came through supporting Bones HR and repping Regular Living. 

Tiago Magro is the livest DJ of all time. 

Trippz Michaud gave us ratchet and romantic all in the same set. 

Anesha shut the entire room up when she started to sing "Broke." 

Tess showing us how Hip Rock n' B is done.

Zoo Beeze put together a high energy set with his band.

Exclusive: Fev - "Bad Man's World" Music Video

The industry doesn't want you to hear Fev. It's too dangerous. If ever y'all stop diddy boppin' and twerkin', you might actually have a thought. You might have a thought that turns into action. That action might be rebellion. The "powers that be" can't have that so they keep the content focused on telling you that you're a minority in every sense of the word.

Fev has made it his personal mission to give you thoughts. He has his own brand of propaganda delivered as beats and rhymes instead of cleverly designed posters and quotes. His latest propaganda is the music video for "Bad Man's World" which he co-directs with Porter Vision. The thought here is, "What is good in a bad man's world?"

The Eastside Harlem MC's aggressive and staccato flow is perfect for dishing out the raw lyricism he has mastered over the last 4 years. "Bad Man's World" is a fantastic concept that plays beautifully in rhyme and in video form. The High Enterprise representative Red Inf sets the tone in the opening scene and his brief commentary throughout does a great job of carrying the narrative forward.

I love what Fev is up to and I'm super excited for y'all to see this joint! So hop to it....

Mike Classic - "Pandora's Box" Music Video

Queens MC Mike Classic drops off the latest music video from last year's 'Where Amazing Happens' which reached Bronze status on DatPiff. For the uninitiated, that means he cracked 25,000 downloads! Very impressive for any independent artist. Now men lie, women lie and numbers do too in this digital age but Mike Classic is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Set to a Baron Boys reinterpretation of The Fugees' classic "Ready or Not," Mike puts on a lyrical showcase that grabs you and locks you down from the first bar to the last. He bounces topics about loyalty, deceit, love, and of course, being a superior MC. Very well done and steeped in distinct NY sound, look and feel.

Give it a listen and get ready for 'Where Amazing Happens II' in the near future.

Random Pics Pt. 21: Best of Comic Con 2012

I've never been to Comic Con before but I was basically forced to go this year. I actually enjoyed the event and ended up going back for a second day. There were TONS of costumes and while I got sick of seeing Fin/Fiona, Wonder Woman, Bane, and Robin, there were some very original and or creative people there that truly stood out in the crowd. Here are my favorites for Random Pics 21...

Weeping Angel from Doctor Who 

Garrus Vakarian 

Sabretooth 

Gaara 

Nightingales from Skyrim 

 Freija from Final Fantasy IX

Princess Tiana

Kiah Victoria - "Rooftop" Music Video

This talent moves me ... to tears even. I'm just in awe at how "free of..." Kiah Victoria is. She's the proof that the world is far more beautiful when you open yourself up to receive it and it's truly amazing and inspiring what she can do. Less than 24 hours away from the release of her debut EP 'Look Up,' Kiah Victoria releases this stunning audio/visual experience titled "Rooftop." It's unlike anything I've heard in a long time. When I tell you this girl is GONE, I mean she is moving at the speed of light.

The songwriting and composition on this song are borderline Classical. For me, it's very rare in popular music to hear work this complex on a technical level but so easily accessible on an emotional level. "Rooftop" whispers sweet nothings to the soul.

This is the lover's song of summer. Hearing is believing so click the play button and let Kiah Victoria take you away.

Stixx - "New York Love" Music Video

New York City is a madhouse. It's an ideal place for the rich and the single. You can rip and run and get into something at any hour of the day because it truly is the city that never sleeps. Like Stixx, I have been around the world and I still find no place like home - New York City.

I am neither rich nor single but I wouldn't trade the music, art, fashion, museums, Brooklyn rooftops, world cuisine, Times Square and so ... much ... more ... for anything. That's "New York Love" and Stixx just added another dope piece to our home soundtrack.

"New York Love" is the latest track to get a video treatment from his "Road to Success" LP. Wild fresh song and visual. Check it out...

Congratulations to AVision Magazine!

RoxFontaine.com extends a most sincere congratulations to Amanda Villacis on the successful launch of AVision Magazine!

I had the pleasure of attending the launch party at La Pomme last week and, trust me, it was a blast! This startup magazine was established to give up and coming talent in NYC a new and exciting platform to gain exposure. I can relate entirely to Amanda's vision as that's a large part of the mission of this blog.

Best wishes to Ms. Villacis and the entire AVision Magazine staff.

Editor-In-Chief of AVision Magazine Amanda Villacis

OSD - In a class of their own.

The team at Obsessive Sneaker Disorder just released information on their upcoming 8-week class focused on the footwear industry. Titled “The Class: Sneakers, their impact on lifestyles, culture and people in the 21^st Century”, the course aims to take attendees to a new level of understanding within the footwear industry. Classes will be held at an as yet undisclosed location in Times Square, NY.


Registration for the class is currently open and space is very limited. You can register NOW at www.OSDLive.com.


It is extremely important that those enraptured with sneaker culture understand that we don't all have to be hapless consumers. There is opportunity to participate within the business of footwear. Props to the OSD crew for continually pushing the limits and exceeding the expectations of the sneaker community.

OSD: "TheClass" Press Release 4/20/2011

N*E*R*D at Webster Hall

The main event last night was N*E*R*D.  The place was packed pretty much wall to wall.  They came out and stirred the crowd into a frenzy so quickly that from 8 bars into the first song on, it was all euphoria. 

The set list was just incredible.  Then again, when you're N*E*R*D, you have so much crazy material to choose from that it almost doesn't matter what you perform.  We heard a little something from each album, including the yet unreleased 'Nothing'.  The new album's release date was recently moved to July 6th. 

The energy in the building when these guys were performing was crazy!  If the crowd was called on to jump, they did.  So much so that it shook the entire building.  Literally.  I could feel the floor moving under my feet every time we came down.  At one point, a most pit broke out and people began crowd surfing.  People were entirely lost in the music.

Band front man Pharrell handled most of the load for the evening but band member Shay Haley performed along side him for most of the early songs.  The chemistry was beautiful to watch.  The way they moved and complimented each other on stage was poetic.  They were never just standing and staring at each other.  It was organized chaos and I loved every second of it.

N*E*R*D is definitely one of the best shows I've ever been to.  This was my first time catching them live even though I've been a fan since Kelis' Kaleidescope album.  Now I know to make it a priority to see them whenever they are in town.  Thanks for the memory, N*E*R*D!

21 Mercer - Mr. Cartoon x Nike x USA Soccer

It was on and crackin' at 21 Mercer again tonight.  The legendary graffiti/tattoo artist Mr. Cartoon was in town to promote the release of his new collaborative effort with Nike sportswear.  Mr. Cartoon was commissioned by Nike to create a set of images and logos for USA soccer as they prepare for World Cup play in South Africa.

 Mr. Cartoon signs for a fan.

Dubbed the True Colors series, Nike sportswear also commissioned 5 other artists from Brazil, England, France, South Africa and the Netherlands.  Each artist brought his own flair to his home country's gear.  World Cup play kicks off in 43 days.

Mr. Cartoon put together this video with Nike talking about his work on the project, how it came about and his creative process.



The sports wear is available for purchase here.

As usual, it was a very nice time at the store.  I did my usual networking and shot the breeze with friends.  Fans of Mr. Cartoons work had the opportunity to customize t-shirts and the upcoming Nike Blazer x Mr. Cartoon release at the store.  Nike employees assisted customers on a special Nike iD site to create their very own products.  Those that customized t-shirts had their creations printed immediately in the store.

Here are a few pics from the event:

video via: www.nike.com

Kaori in the City

My friend Kaori made the long journey from Japan to vacation in NY on the 14th.  For two weeks I intend to rip and run through the city with her.  I will document as much as is relevant here so be sure to come back regularly and look for KITC posts.

I first met Kaori 10 or 11 years ago.  She worked as a bar hop for my wife and me in Japan.  She was a "country bumpkin" by Japan's standards then.  We used to laugh at how innocent and naive she was at the time.  Now she's all grown up but still has a heart of gold.  She loves to laugh and joke and spending 5 minutes with her would light up your week.

Last night we hit 123 Burger.  After downing a few sliders and some fries, I introduced her to game of Beer Pong.  She took an L at my hands and then got put on her ass by some shots of "Panty Droppers" while waiting for her next turn.  My boy Riddle Fontaine and I defended our Beer Pong crown 4 times before calling it quits on the night.