I went to a Sunday Matinee today to watch “Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest” …it’s a documentary of the legendary hip hop group formed by Q-Tip, Phife Dog, Ali Shaheed and Jarobi. The film was directed by Michael Rapaport. First off, I really enjoyed watching this movie for the simple fact of it was like a hip hop journey, telling the tale of how Tribe came to be and touching up on the foundation of hip hop…especially during the era of my teenage years. I’ve always been drawn to east coast rap and their hip hop beats..I can still recall the first time I saw the video for “I Left My Wallet in El Segundo,” thinking wow…these guys are cool…so this doc brought me waaaay back!
I thought it was well done, documenting Tribe’s rise to fame and the new dimension they brought to the hip hop game, and as my boy GG said, the first half was “like a musicology.” More than anything, I loved to see the behind the scenes inner workings of the music game and how the group members interacted and dealt with everything that comes with being a rap star. The ending fell a little flat as I wish it had a little more insight to the fallout of the group, but maybe that’s just it, maybe there wasn’t more to show? Gosh, I remember going to Rock the Bells in 2008 in a steamy hot, HUMID Miami and other than it just being such an amazing event where the music touches your soul…it was a privilege to see Tribe on the stage together. Of course I had to cover it for Deco… Anytime I can push my agenda..I will!
If you’re a hip hop head, “Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest” is a must see…brings you back to the “feel good” days of party rap. If you’re an aspiring artist, do yourself a favor and watch this… I’ve spent some time in and around the music industry and I think it’s SO IMPORTANT, especially for emerging (hip hop) artists to KNOW hip hop history. In the movie, Q-Tip said something like Hip Hop is the last American (musical) art form…and if you sit back and think about it, it’s true…it came from the Bronx to the mainstream. So all I’m saying is if you’re trying to make a come up in the industry, know the history, the musicians who laid the foundation and give respect. This documentary is one example of the power of the hip hop culture and its music.
I spent a nice day at the beach yesterday with some good friends! Now, although I live just a few miles away, I don’t take advantage of it enough…so I made the conscious effort to hit South Beach for some fun in the sun!
Cat trekked down from Jax to hang and Dara and Alexis joined too…
…then we escorted the bros from Chicago into the ocean – I told them not to worry about sharks! lol
Rene showed up with an umbrella later in the day…and Jevon tried again and again and again to get it to stay in the sand…the thing tried to fly away a good 3-4 times. There must be some special trick to making it stay!
Yet another wedding…LOL I spent the past weekend back in the Bay Area for my good friend Carol’s wedding! I’ve known Carol since college and she even traveled with me to Australia years ago to visit my sister when she was studying abroad. Anyhow, she married her longtime boyfriend Ken in Gilroy and we went to a fabulous resort called Cordevalle for the reception…great setting and good food!
You may recall a few posts back when I detailed our Vegas adventure for her bachelorette party…well the fun continued at the wedding!
From the church to the reception…
I LUV these ladies…
…always posing for the camera…
BTW…this is my favorite photo from the wedding…taken by yours truly…
If you’re curious to see these e-commerce videos I’ve been hosting for Toys R Us, no longer do you have to search their site to “hunt” for them…they’re also on youtube! I’ve embedded a few below, but you can also visit http://youtube.com/ToysRUsonline and you’ll find a bunch – uh, I’ve done at least 200 so far! The youtube versions are shorter than what you’ll find at http://toyrus.com but you get the idea… I just want to know, where were these toys when I was a kid!?!? Anyway, I’m shooting more products for them this week, so they’ll be more to come…
Another stop on my recent travels was back home to the BAY AREA! I had to make this special trip and spend time with my Dad before he headed out to the Philippines for a while. It’s one thing to be on opposite coasts, but different continents is a tough one, so spending some QT with my favorite dude was a MUST! My Dad proved to me he can easily beat me in Wii Golf… BUT the best part of this weekend with my Dad was listening to Drake’s CD in the car and somehow he picked up on the hook for “Fancy” (Drake/Swizz track), and for the rest of the night it was “So, you fancy, huh?” lol …and he kept adding “think” to it and would say it with different inflections, tones, accents and implications…FUNNY! Maybe you had to be there… Ha!
Lucky for my Dad he has 3 Angels – me, Ade and Bologna
And I’m happy to report that prior to his send off we got his laptop set up with Skype and G-Chat, and taught him how to use them, so we can see him and speak to him…cuz sometimes the Magic Jack just isn’t enough.
I can’t forget my brother Adam either, who hooked it up (as always), with the Korean BBQ short ribs! YUMMY!
I made an Arizona desert stop last week to shoot a couple story segments for a new Health & Lifestyle program I am working on ..and of course had to squeeze in a little time to catch up with a few Phoenix friends and this time it included meeting a couple of new additions.
Here I am with (l-r) Reina, Christy, me and Marette at Geisha
And..Marette brought along her newest “best man” Alijah – he’s such a smiley baby!!
Jaseon is an old school Phoenix homie who’s since moved back to the Bay, but he just happened to be in town to hang…it was like a reunion!!
I also caught up with a fellow TV newser, Caribe and her sweetie Neveah…
Oprah is having a competition…asking who wants to have their OWN show on her Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)! Well, of course I’d love to have my OWN show…and after several friends, family and others approached me…it motivated me to put together my own audition! Well, I DID IT, so I’m sharing it here with you! We’ll see what happens..wish me luck!
Happy Easter! As I sit here watching the Cavaliers take on the Celtics in a Sunday matinee, I started thinking about my favorite Easter memories with my family and began perusing though old photos…
These photos are from 2005, I think that’s the last Easter I spent with my entire family!
Long gone are the days of boiling and coloring eggs and eating countless chocolate bunnies and marshmallow peeps…now I just focus on how blessed am I to have a great family and even though we’re separated by distance, they’re never far from my heart!
