Monday, November 5, 2018

SHOP SEVEN 1 SEVEN BOUTIQUE

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These boots were made for walkin’, but the designer got them talkin’. Fashion is ART, and when you combine actual painted art on clothing it becomes a masterpiece. When worn, you become something like a walking canvas. I love abstract art. It something about undefined lines and shapes that draws you in. This past Sunday I was in the Grow Desoto Market for the first time and walked past this vendor space, and out of my peripheral vision these painted, black, knee high boots caught my attention that I had to enter.

White pen paint, against a tall leather boot with intricate detail and jewelry embellishment. Just amazing. I’m from Milwaukee and LOVE boots, and abstract art is my favorite and the two were combined so effortlessly. I picked the boots up to admire the details and could not stop smiling. I was able to meet the artist and her energy was amazing and so fluid. She showed me more of her art work and how she designs bags, clothing and more. On top of all pieces being 1 of 1. I could not take my eyes off her work. There were other things in her vendor space, however the things she created by had obtained all my attention. I cannot wait to do a collaboration and order from her. Her items are worth every penny and the time to create and build ideas is worth every wait.


SHOP SEVEN 1 SEVEN BOUTIQUE
324 E. Beltline Rd. Desoto, Tx 75115

NOTHING WAS LEFT ((CRAZII POTATOEZ))

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It’s Sunday, I’m hungry and also on an adventure to support a Black Owned Business. When I remembered one of my friends tagging me in a post about Crazii Potatoez because they know my love for a loaded baked potato. I left the house dressed super comfortable because I felt that I was in for a huge stomach stretching, belly full of satisfaction. The convenience of it being only 6 mins away from my house was perfect. I walked into Grow Desoto Market Center for the first time and for some reason just knew to immediately start walking to my right. My senses were correct because BOOM there it is, Crazii Potatoez straight ahead on the right side with a line.

Calm yet super excited I patently, impatiently waited for my time to order. While there was a group ahead of me was ordering 5 or 6 potatoes the lady soon informed the rest of us in line that it was about an hour wait. Was I mad? Nope not at all I was going to try this potato wait or no wait. I’ve been seeing so many post on Facebook, the pictures, the shares and the satisfaction I saw on other customer’s faces made me okay with the wait. It just built up my appetite. Not only that but because this was my first time in the Grow DeSoto Market Center it gave me the opportunity to look at other vendors and see what they had to offer.

It’s my turn to order. I already scoped out the menu online while waiting in line, I was ready. “May I get the number 9 with shrimp and chicken please.” The lady at the counter who took my order (I hate I forgot her name) asked was a sure about the wait, with a smile on my face and certainty I said “YES!” She kindly of talked me into the Seafood Potato which I was really eyeing and I gave it my own twist Seafood with chicken. Who does that? I DO!

At 5 o’clock I was given my Crazii Potato and at 5:13pm I WAS DONE!!!!!! It was as if God himself planted and baked the potato to perfection and had his Apostles server the toppings. When I tell you I devoured that potato like it was nothing. I even at the skin it was CRAZII (pun intended). The inside of the potato was so soft and fluffy, the seafood cream sauce was perfect and not overbearing like a lot of other places. What made it even  better you could still taste the individual flavors from how the different meats were cooked and everything just meshed together. I was upset it was so good, I literally inhaled that potato. This wasn’t no baby potato this was a black box, hungry man dinner, fully loaded, you are going to get the itis potato. When walking back to throw the box away the owner Mrs. Kayla Cooks asked what was wrong, I opened and empty box to show her NOTHING AT ALL IS WRONG. I’m a foodie, I have a palette for all types of food. I have traveled the world and fell in love with many other dishes. However, there is nothing like a good loaded potato to me. I would hate to work in there because they would get all my money. Like I would have to pray “Dear heavenly father I come to you as humbly as I know how, I know gluttony is a sin, but it is a sin for Crazii Potatoez to be so good please forgive me for over consumption.” Let the church say Amen. AMEN!

Seriously, I encourage anyone and everyone to try Crazii Potatoez. They also have Crazii Saladz. Their customer service is awesome, its family owned, its black owned, and most importantly their food is amazing. I will be going back for more, and maybe I’ll take my time and let the flavors savor in mouth. 



Facebook: Crazii Potatoez
InstaGram: @Crazii_Potatoez

Friday, November 2, 2018

Zhé Aqueen

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Zhé Aqueen 


I don't know where to start. When I first saw her she was free spirit with straight hair who loved motorcycles, then one day "BOOM"  she did a Facebook live and I found out she could sing. Now Zhé Aqueen has blossomed into a loc goddess whose voice has grown with her over the years. I learned about Zhé through a mutual friend and loved her spirit. She has done countless covers on Facebook, but my favorite is when she does acoustic songs, her voice and beauty pairs well with them. There is so much going on with her now because she is laying the foundations and getting her name out there.To follow and keep up with Zhé Aqueen, even download some of her music, click the links and view the information below!




KEEPING UP WITH ZHE AQUEEN


Twitter: @TheZheAqueen


 

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Illicit Ghost New Single "Drunk and Alone"

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Illicit Ghost


Meet Brooklyn, NY based producer, violinist and songwriter Illicit Ghost. Her debut single “Drunk and Alone" marries Fiona Apple’s lyrical strengths with Lana Del Rey’s somber but sultry pop, making for a sad-drunk millennial anthem that’s both painfully relate-able and stunningly raw.

Drunk and Alone, co-produced with Elliot Jacobson (Vérité, Allie X), was written “one morning in the middle of a blizzard," recalls Illicit Ghost. "The first random series of notes I played became the piano part you hear repeating throughout the song. I hit record with no idea of what I would sing about so I made the lyrics up as I went along. These are the words you hear in the song now.”

Contrary to the literal meaning of the words, “Drunk and Alone” is about the search for inner harmony.

"The phrase 'drunk and alone' is a metaphor for being able to sit alone with myself and process the pain that life will inevitably throw my way and to still find some sort of happiness and find the good in it.” Illicit Ghost explains her process: "I like to do things in one shot, let the sounds make me feel a certain way and see what words come out."

Illicit Ghost is currently finishing production on more singles to be released into 2019, distributed by AWAL.




KEEPING UP WITH ILLICI GHOST
Twitter: @illicitghost
InstaGram: @illicitghost
Facebook: @illicitghost

Monday, October 29, 2018

LOVE CORK SCREW

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Head Over Heels, Good Times Good Friends, Touch the Sky, doesn't that just scream "pass me a bottle of wine?" I am not a wine drinker but I have a nice pallet and know a good wine when I taste one. When I tell you it was an amazing experience to taste Love Cork Screw collection of wine! I simply fell in LOVE. I was attending Love Cork Screw Wine & Fashion Mixer at the Bronzeville Collectives MKE hosted by Tiffany Miller this past weekend, it was a vibe of love, support, locals and lots of connections. 

While at the Mixer I was able to meet the owner and CEO of Love Cork Screw Chrishon Lampley while she was doing wine tastings and on spot purchases. Chrishon is one of few African-American vintners in the industry. Her energy was amazing and her knowledge of pairing the wine and the background gave me more confident on making a purchase. What I loved about LCS wine is that after tasting each one, the name of them matched the taste. For example, I dislike with a passion Pinot Grigo because they are always dry. I would choose Chardonnay over it any time. However this Pinot Grigio had a crisp taste to it, a clean and refreshing feeling with a subtle after taste of the apple and pear. It literally made me smile and think of having a "Good Time with Good Friends." The 'Hard Knock Life" was nothing short in flavor. Upon first sip the blasting flavor of fresh concord grapes took me back to childhood. Almost like Smuckers, if I wasn't careful I would have done the Smuckers lip smack (lol). My favorite of the five (5) flavors was Niagara also known as "Touch The Sky."When sipping this an array of seafood dishes came rushing to my mind on how to prepare the two together.

When we are invited somewhere it is always hard to choose which "Thank You' wine you should bring, however you cannot go wrong with any of these choices. They are all literally perfect. I will be ordering some for myself and others as party favors. If you want to learn more about Love Cork Screw wine and where to purchase just click any of the links below!





KEEPING UP WITH LOVE CORK SCREW
InstaGram: @lovecorkscrew

S.I.N.S (Stories I Never Shared)

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S.I.N.S (Stories I Never Shared)

"I wrote S.I.N.S as a therapeutic way to express myself. I wanted to create an intimate project where I opened up on a specific aspect of my life, that aspect being my relationships and experiences with love and women. Each song is inspired by a different person/experience shared with someone." - Genesis Renji

Thursday October 26th, Genesis Renji dropped a 26 minute, 8 tracks of  nothing but big MOOD project called 'S.I.N.S' (Stories I Never Shared). Genesis Renji has put out a few other projects, songs and videos and is known to have a volt of songs, projects, and throwaways more than we can imagine. Oh but this, this is what was needed to grab the attention of his current fans and ones who have been skeptic. On a poetry tip the title alone would has you deep in thought. 'S.I.N.S' is like a open letter (more so a note in my opinion) that Genesis Renji has been contemplating on delivering to his fans but also finding comfort and understanding with life's relationships and being able to deliver in a way that is not saturated like today's false overly hyped love songs. I probably memorized word for word 'X's & O's' and 'Love Me Down' within 24 hours of it dropping. 'Redd Eye' is one of my favorite as well.
Thinking about 'S.I.N.S' title Stories I Never Shared makes your mind drift to your own what ifs, your own sinful yet fun indulgence. I can guarantee you after a listen or two, you unconsciously find yourself in a prophetic
 mood singing the songs line for line, bar for bar, metaphor for metaphor; recreating what you have gone through. The track-list order is perfect, no change is needed. The album itself is not perfect, there are two songs I would leave out but at the same time feel it interrupts the flow of what he is trying to deliver. There is growth in this project from his past catalogs and I am here for it. Who knew that vulnerability would channel the artist that we are growing more and more to love. 


                          STREAM S.I.N.S (Stories I Never Shared) On All Music Platforms 


KEEPING UP WITH GENESIS RENJI 
www.HouseOfRenji.com
Twitter: @GenesisRenji
InstaGram: @GenesisRenji
Facebook: @GenesisRenji


 

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Tokyo Jetz

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Tokyo Jetz

As my friend Apolleaux would say "Florida will Florida bruh," meaning they are going to produce some good quality stuff or they're not. In this case and Florida has been just doing that producing great things. Getting a huge spotlight more lately with all these female rappers coming to light and since Comedian/Rapper Lil Duval song 'Smile', here's Jacksonville, Florida's Top 5 female rapper Tokyo Jetz. 

Co-signed by T.I and now affiliated with his label Hustle Gang, I remember watching her on Facebook doing freestyles and seeing 1 or 2 videos last year and thinking she was dope. She didn't catch my attention musically that hard but it was enough to keep me as a fan to watch her grow. It wasn't until just recently when I was at the (my favorite rapper) Kevin Gates concert in Dallas that she opened up for him, making me more intrigued again. Tokyo Jetz rocked the hell out of that stage.  She most definitely has stage presences. I know it's not me personally that she is trying to convince but this showed me that she was ready and was developing into a true artist. 

I'm going to admit I downloaded her new album 'Bonafide' which is out now on all music media, but I did not listen to it right away. I have ton of music that I have to get to. This past weekend I finally sat down to listen to it all the way through. Production wise I give it a 6 out of 10 there are some flaws in the mastering of it, and personally feel she should work on her delivery or find beats that form to her. The are some SOLID features on this album including Florida's Bad B*tch, the beautiful Trina, Kash Doll, Trey Songz and T.I. To rate this album I would say a overall 7. Not to say this is not a good album but there's room for growth, content wise, production wise etc. My top songs from this 11 track project are 'No Problem', 'The One', and '1000 ft T.I. & Trey Songz'. In that order. I have some of Tokyo Jetz's singles and other projects and I know she can hold her own, however the majority of her songs in her catalog that I like have features and I don't want her to turn into just a feature type of artist. 

Patiently waiting for her growth and development I have high hopes for Tokyo. Check out her new project by streaming below or follow her pages by clicking the link in KEEPING UP WITH TOKYO JETZ






KEEPING UP WITH TOKYO JETZ

Ella Mai

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Ella Mai a beautiful British singer and songwriter has released her new self titled album Ella Mai. She caught my attention in the end of 2016 when I was searching for new music on Apple Music and her EP Change popped up and 10,000 Hours instantly became my favorite and I started searching for her everywhere. Ella received a lot of love and buzz from another single 'Boo'd Up' from her other EP Ready (2017). This is where it's like suddenly she blew up as I was hoping she would. Ella is signed to DJ Mustard's label 10 Summers Records, where she debuted her first album Ella Mai.   

Ella Mai being young, with great craftsmanship and having a foundation with music her growth in the industry will be amazing. The time that it took her to create a project seemed quite quick for a new artist, however she has put out a couple of EPs before doing so. I take it that this might be a great solid R&B project. On her 16 track self-titled album Ella Mai has some pretty nice features, Chris Brown on Whatchamacallit, John Legend on Everything, and H.E.R on Gut Feeling. The album is not a miss I wanted more sound diversity and it did not give me that. As a poet I most definitely enjoyed the spoken word/poetry Ella used throughout the album. I have some favorites on there, like 'Own it' a great rendition of Adina Howard's "T-Shirt and Panties" and it was, 'Everything' with John legend, 'Gut Feeling' featuring H.E.R and the bonus track 'Naked.' To keep her on the billboards and on the radio she will either let her album sit or use 'Sauce' , Gut Feeling, Whatchamacallit or 'Cheap Shot'
 as her next single. All three tracks are wavy, something we can vibe to during the winter and New Year. 

I can't wait to watch her develop more as an artist overall. Stream or download the new album Ella Mai and choose your favorites. Go download or stream now on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Music, TuneIt, and all other outlets. 


KEEPING UP WITH ELLA MAI
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