Tune into a conversation over oysters at The John Dory Oyster Bar, with my good friend & fashion photographer Joshua Woods. This Harlem native has captured photographs during fashion week, domestically and internationally for The Guardian, the New York Times, Document Journal, just to name a few. His client list includes Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Kenneth Cole.
xo.
https://soundcloud.com/kittysayword/kittysayword-radio-nyc-myconnect-joshua-woods
A few days ago, I attended the screening of Noisey’s documentary-series, Atlanta at Webster Hall. The episodes shown, shed light on the Atlanta rap scene and illustrated the reality of what it is to live in the trap and the violence & drugs that surrounds it. At the end of the viewing there was an after party where Makonnen & Father performed in The Studio.
Makonnen perform live, changed my whole perception of him. He’s a weird kid and I say that in the most empowering way. He is not a fabricated figure whose appearance must match the music he creates. He’s a talented individual, who is comfortable in his creativity as an artist. Experiencing his performance makes you put your superficial opinions to the side and dive deeper into his music.
Like Makonnen, Father is a weird cat too –but in the best way. He performed “Look at wrist”, his most popular song right now that’s like inharmonious rhyme with an addictive chorus. Then Makonnen came through on stage with his popular track “Tuesday” and performed my current favorite, “Swerve.”
It was great to witness the chemistry among these two artist, since they both fall in such a peculiar sector in hip hop. The amalgamation of their creative aesthetic and distinct sound gives them such a great advantage in hip hop today. By standing out & being true to who they are, they have a definitely created a new lane. I am excited to see more of their work in full fruition.
Below are vines I captured from that night:
After a Monday night yoga class, I decided to yolo it and check out Yung Lean at Webster Hall. My decision was very impromptu as I was quite exhausted. However, my curiosity did not allow me to pass off the opportunity to watch Yung Lean perform live. I arrived at the venue and then BOOM –after an extensive search by security and $25 later, I was finally inside. I entered the massive smokey stage area on the second floor. The smoke was so thick one could only see the multifarious silhouettes in attendance. The audience was quite an eclectic crowd. Perhaps because it was a Monday night, that i did not see much the ‘youth’ in attendance.The majority seemed to be in their twenties which I thought was pretty cool.
Watching Yung Lean live was an intriguing experience. You have kid from across the ocean, hailing from Sweden interpreting hip hop through his own perspective and point of references. The dope thing about it all is that NYC is with it. I believe this is so because he has an authentic raw appeal. Watching him perform I was able to witness his passion and dedication to the craft. –But of course, most of his performance was pretty inaudible and difficult to comprehend. Still, there were moments where Yung Lean rap an a capella transitioning to the next song and the audience would finish the verse which amazed me.
Below are vine videos I captured from that night:
At the end of his performance I was really happy to have made a detour and attend.
Overall t’was a solid night.
Last night, I had the great pleasure of watching a dope R&B performance by Jon B & J. Holiday. I was pleasantly surprised to hear other songs from Jon B. other than his most popular hit, “They Don’t Know”. In reality, I was floored! Who knew he had a song with 2pac? Who knew he worked with ODB and NAS? I knew that Jon B continued to work musically behind the scenes but I was so bewildered by the performances that I couldn’t help but laugh of joy for learning something new.
Then it was J. Holiday up next to the stage. I remember I heard his album after transferring my friend’s music into my Ipod mini, in my freshman year of college. I always felt that he was so talented and could have gone further than where his career took him. His album, Back of my Lac was a solid package. The content, his lyrics & the beats used on this album, were composed in a perfect arrangement for a successful career.
Unfortunately, I believe J. Holiday was one of the last R&B thugs. Timing is everything and R&B was losing popularity then in 2007. Trey Songz then dominated it by keeping fresh with more dynamic beats and collaborating with rappers. Perhaps that was the difference and why he fell off. Alas, I’m still a J. Holiday fan at heart, still rooting for him to succeed. Peep my adventure to Queensbridge Park through my vines below.
However, Nas followed his act which was amazing and I was able to totally capture it. It has been 20 years since the release of his classic album, Illmatic. Nas brought forth many nostalgic memories throughout his performances with songs like, “One Love”, “New York State of mind” & more music that dropped at the brink of the new millennium such as, “You Can Hate Me Now” & “One Mic”. Still, many of the topics he raps about are quite relevant today. Peep my vines from that special night at Radio City Music Hall.
The entrance of the room, held strips of Sellotape suspended from the ceiling above a powdered sheet of white and light pink stripes on the floor. 
In the back section there were sheets of paper and plastic also suspended from the ceiling, with shapeless tombstone-like structures standing over they sky blue powdered sheet on the floor. The work was divided into two by color with a precise line.
The materials she used were quite alluring because at a quick glance one wouldn’t have guessed what they were made of. The work consisted of powder, soap, gels, pastes and typical tools chalk, paint, and plaster.
Overall, the exhibit was an interesting because of it was a physical experience. Peep my vine to get a better feel.
I can’t believe I had the opportunity to experience Sisqo for free last night in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Sincerely it was one of the funnest times I had in a while. People from the Brownsville community came out, the djs from the radio station WBLS rocked the audience & Sisqo reminded everyone that he will always be a dynamic entertainer.
Sisqo came through with his platinum blonde hair and silver chain ready to rock it! He performed his popular songs, as well as a few Dru Hill songs leaving the audience was happily pleased. His choreography was very animated which remains true to Sisqo’s form. Oh yea– he also flipped on one hand on stage a few times…like it was nothing.
He thank everyone for supporting him and said that the album, ‘Unleash the Dragon” sold 11 million copies worldwide! Just to put things in perspective, according to Billboard, last year’s top-selling album was Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience” which only sold 2.43 million.
There were no problems and no beef in Brownsville, just a good time rocking with the community, singing along to great jams and classic hip hop from the 80s & 90s. Overall, I had a phenomenal time thanks to summerstage!
Peep some vines capturing this free concert:
The space was cozy and adequate for the intimate performance. I attended with my crew to see Retchy P perform after hearing his Polo Sporting Goods mixtape. Great energy radiated from Retch’s performance on to the audience who also rapped lyrics with him in a capella. He had a strong stage presence and even performed his songs among the audience. Overall is was real dope event.
Retchy P is a storyteller whose lyrics always paint a vivid picture. His flow stands out in the trap’d out moment that we are currently engulfed by, which is refreshing. He reminds me of the Ruff Ryders; The Lox, D-Block era where these rappers captured the gritty essence of the New York underground sound that is barely heard now; however, Retch hails from New Jersey. His mixtape, Polo Sporting Goods is entirely produced by Thelonius Martin who did a phenomenal job. The beats on this mixtape have a great jazz/MF Doom feel, that is exhilarating to hear as the backdrop of Retch’s voice.
Below is a video I made capturing the night. I capture my friend, @PhilVnyc taking Polaroids of Retch for his Polaroid Project. He has an extensive portfolio of various artist that he has captured ALL with his Polaroid camera. Check his work out HERE!
Retchy P is a talented artist that one should definitely keep eye on.
Is in between Burgundy Windbreaker and Short $ermons feat. Ab-Soul
A while back, I read the article, Not Like the Old Boss: Hip-Hop’s Spirit Guide about A$AP Yams in The New York Times and learned about his ingenious use of Tumblr as an effective marketing tool that consequently led to the success of the artist, A$AP Rocky.
A$AP Yams is a stand up guy, who rocks vintage Coogi garments and expresses himself with sophisticated slang, hip-hop references and urban colloquialisms. He is frequently seen with the ASAP MOB, but many do not know how instrumental he is to the entire crew.
In April 2010, Yams started a blog on Tumblr by the name of realni**as.tumblr.com, where he would gather, scan & upload images onto his site. By providing original content on his tumblr, he became the hub of all that encompassed hip-hop –posts ranged from magazine features of hip-hop artist to basic hood images and built a reputation as an online taste maker. The blog eventually became very successful and gained a strong following. Yams also started to post and introduce music of obscure artists, and expose their music to his audience. In April 2011, a year layer after his blog’s launched, Yams posted A$AP Rocky’s “Purple Swag” video on his site and presented it to the public with no affiliation to Rocky. Yams’ audience was very receptive and the video became viral on YouTube. A few months later, A$AP Rocky got signed to RCA/Polo Grounds for $3 million, which would also fund projects for the rest of the A$AP MOB.
Although one may think Rocky’s success happened overnight, it didn’t. Prior to Rocky being signed to RCA, he was finessing his skills with his spirit guide, Yams. For 2 years they worked together testing and exploring different sounds, trying to see what flow could function and stick. When they were ready and felt that timing was right, it was then that they posted their music out to the public, almost anonymously.
Before meeting Rocky, Yams was dude with experience in the music industry. At 16, he acquired an internship with Diplomat Records and also managed producers, helping them sell their songs to rappers. I don’t think his blog was created with the sole purpose to launch Rocky. However, I do believe that he foresaw the opportunity and power of Tumblr’s potential and ability to share beyond measure. Essentially, Yams’ blog created an audience interested in what he curated and the public followed and enjoyed what he posted.
A$AP Yams is the man with a plan. He keeps his ears to the streets and is in tune with what the youth is listening to. He has gained wisdom in the music industry and knows what works, always keeping in mind that timing is essential for a breakout artist. He has gathered an impressive roster of talented and distinguished artists under his YAMBORGHINI record label outside the A$AP umbrella. Artist such as Retch, DA$H, Vince Staples, Ashton Mathews, Joey Fatt$ to name a few. All of these rappers have their own story, sound & distinct personality. This stands out to me, as I often see managers/A&R fail to give proper direction to various artist under the same label. Although these artist have not reached the success of his first artist ASAP Rocky, this the early beginning of a fresh new wave of artist who I sincerely believe have great potential. Each artist offers something different to the plate. I am excited to hear what is to come.
Much respect to you, Yams. You are young, focused & successful & that is something to celebrate. Your story is one of one.
With only 25 years of age, it is only the beginning bruh…
Plus, “beach days” aren’t entirely limited the immediate shores. For me, it’s absolutely magical when I hop in a boat with friends, sail to one of the nearby cays (or to a totally different island if everyone’s feeling good) and spend time hanging out on the seas with good company. You could do all this a hundred times and for each time still feel the love of the ocean.
What is your city’s staple style?
What inspires you? 
A lip colour I get from mixing a drug store brand lip liner and lipstick.Follow Piaget on IG: _Piaget
KITTYSAYWORD. 