Tanya Morgan @ Silk City 07.14.09

Tanya Morgan & Che Grand came thru Silk City and performed. Phonte hosted the show and it was a night to remember.

Tayyib and two.one.five Magazine did the damn thing @ Silk (again!), Dice Raw was in the building, Phonte chatted w/ RJD2... Mikey McFly did me a huge favor by interviewing TM for Blast4MeTV b/c Brian couldn't make it, shout-out, Mikey ;) Phonte danced w/ all the ladies after the performance and showed off his dancing skills. He was impressive, but I think Rita could've danced him out the bulding though, truth be told. My girl, DJ Aura, was on the wheels during Che's set...it was dope to see everyone out having fun.

I had a blast and it was great to finally meet Phonte. Somehow I left Silk w/ Von Pea's jacket, which became a Twitter hot topic the following day. It was a drunken mistake and I returned it to him last night @ Haj's studio. Such a gentleman to lend me his jacket in the 1st place, thanks Von! Funny thing is - the dress I wore that night? Zarinah and DJ Ultraviolet both have the same one! We may form an all-girl group and wear them out one night.

Lesson learned: Red Bull + Henny = #notagoodlook in these Red Bull streets, fam.

introducing: BLASTFOR METV.NET ft. Writtenhouse

Tuesday 06.30.09

I mentioned this upcoming project in previous blog posts. I was privileged to accompany my homies @BlastOffBe and @aamin1 of A2 Productions to the lab to interview Philly's own, Writtenhouse...

B4MTv is Music - Fashion - Life ... Where Entertainment Meets Real Life.

Check out my boy, @BlastOffBe - his show/blog/website is dope. I co-sign. I am honored to have been a part of this special project. THANK YOU A & B...I saw my blog link on the page, that's D.O.P.E. I hope to be a part of future B4MeTv episodes & when I do, y'all will know. It will all be here.

I don't blog about strictly hip hop, this is not a music blog...this is my everyday thoughts, happenings, what's on my mind space. I blog about artists & groups I dig, talented musicians and emcees who don't get the shine & recognition I feel they deserve. It might not be your style or your scene, but it's mine. "And I like it..." (c) Grand Puba

Special thanks to DAME and @Muhammadas for making this possible and to the fellas ~ Kush, Chris*, CK & Sleeves ~ for taking their time out to reflect and share their thoughts and ideas w/ us. These are genuine, talented, humble dudes who earned their 'shine' - you can get their latest release Sunshine Philadelphia Vol. 2 HERE - for FREE! It's on my iPod in heavy rotation... before anyone asks - my fave song is "Give Em What They Want", it's #12. I'd pay for this. So would you.

*Chris does talk in the 3rd B4MTv episode, I promise. He doesn't say much, but when he does...pay attention. He doesn't have Twitter, otherwise I'd have it linked on blog :( The 3rd episode is also my personal favorite - they talk dream collabos/world tours & shout-outs...holla (7:33 mark, yeah that's us...)

Some flics I took before, during & after the interview: not sure why the slideshow looks cropped on blog, but if you click on actual slideshow/images, it will show them as they should appear. (work w/ the kid ;)

p.s. I forgot my umbrella ella ella eh eh eh in the studio...good thing I have SUNSHINE PHILADELPHIA!

RaNdOm ramblings...

~ I just finished a Scrabble game w/ my sis and two brother-in-laws. I lost, last place. Amatuers. None of them are college educated...goes to show you that: "Going to a college doesn't make you smart any more than going to a bank makes you rich." (c) Anonymous

~ My 13 year old niece is now obsessed w/ Michael Jackson (MJ). Her desktop background is of MJ, the wallpaper on her blackberry is MJ, my sis said she had been watching MJ videos on-demand, non-stop, back-to-back...I mean, it's deeper than MJ. The first thing she said when she saw me today was, "What was Michael Jackson like when you were 'little'?" I told her about my Thriller coat, watching MTV non-stop for the Thriller video and the Thriller cassette tape I begged my mom for. I asked her why she was feeling like this? What was the connection? She says: "Well what was it about MJ that you loved, TiTi?" Good point. Kids are smarter than we give them credit for. They have insight and forethought. I was not prepared for that coming from her. Next thing I know, I hear "PYT" blasting from the living room and she along w/ her 7 year old sister are singing along and dancing around...just wow. MJ crossed from my mom's generation through the Jackson 5 every Saturday AM while cleaning our rooms and doing chores, to Thriller tapes and zipper jackets, to my now 13 year old niece watching MJ videos on-demand. The more things change, the more they stay the same. MJ is a legend. His legacy doesn't end w/ us. Now that's dope.

~ I'm seriously considering getting my hair chopped tomorrow, AGAIN. I have an appt. @ my little sis' salon before we leave for vacation. Only 3 ppl in this world I trust to cut my hair...she is one of them. It has been in the phunky phase for what seems like forever now - not long enough for a true ponytail and not short enough to say it's 'short'. So I'm gonna change all that. Something that is easy to maintain, something that fits me, something different. I never got so many compliments on my hairstyle like I did when I first cut it short a year or so ago. I have had long hair my entire life, no bangs, one length, just LONG hair. It's not growing fast enough for me and I'm feeling like I need and want a big change. I will keep y'all updated on this one...

~ My baby bro (he's 10 years younger than me) is having his 1st child. I have mixed feelings about the situation, I'm excited, I'm anxious...his girl (I call her "Foxanne") text me yesterday and said they find out the sex of the baby on July 10th. I am soooooo hype. My bro told me on mother's day he loves the name "Oliva" for a girl...he said he remembers it from all of us watching "The Color Purple" and he loves the way is sounds. Of course we're all in agreement, except for Foxanne. There will be more on this situation, I'm sure, as the pregnancy progresses.

~ I'm watching "Intervention" on A&E in HD on-demand on my sis' huge, big-screen plasma TV. I don't even want to think about what something like this co$t - I dont' even have true furniture in my apt! - but hey, if you got it, do you. This episode is about twin girls w/ anorexia. I know this is a real issue and a real problem for some people, I'm not trying to make light of the disease...but how the HELL do you starve yourself when there is food in front of you and available to you? How the HELL do you exercise and play Wii fit dancing games burning calories you're not taking in? How the HELL do you see your ribs and say out loud, "I am fat."?! There are areas of the world and right here in our own backyards where people are starving every day and not by fucking choice! This is madness.

~ The Philly hip hop scene is so dope, so deep, overlooked and underrated. Networking & giggin' has opened my eyes and ears to a lot of people, sounds and scenarios...my senses are stunned. Writtenhouse - I co-sign.

~ New BlastForMe TV intro blog coming soon...I will be posting photos from the studio interview w/ Writtenhouse. *Follow* my homies on Twitter behind this project: @BlastOffBe (the host) and @aamin1, the genius behind A2 (A Squared) Productions. In the meantime, you can check out @zeekbutla interview...and *follow him* on Twitter as well.

~ I'm out of town right now, on my niece's laptop I gifted her for her birthday last year. It's a pink Dell, nothing fancy or crazy expensive, but this mofo is broken already - kids don't have jobs yet don't take care of shit! Ungrateful and disrespecting the dolla...mine gets stolen out of my suite in Jamaica...I work and I can't afford to replace my Mac yet...and she asks for an iPod Nano for her birthday this year. Yeah, exactly. I'm thinking the same thing. This little heffa is sassy...she might get it this weekend. Real talk. We'll see what she'll be receiving @ her birthday cookout/pool party next weekend. It won't be an iPod Nano, that's for GD certain. FOH

~ Aiight, I've been real seriously sarcastic & super sassy myself this week, PMS'in and stressin' about shit I have no control over...I needed this weekend away from the City, some family time, reflection...hope I'm over this hump when I get back to Philly on Sunday. So much to do, so little time.

!Ciao