By the way... I love Jay-z and England and documentaries.

One of my British cousins put me up on a BBC special on BBC. I managed to track it down. Peep game. Watch all 6 parts.

Fresh obsessed... Can you tell I'm feeling Drake?

I've had heads turning in the city with my outlandish comments about the "heir to the throne", last having this kind of feeling about an artist as when I heard "Eminem on Dead Wrong" or "Jay and Big on Brooklyn's Finest" or Drake simply evoking the feeling of a rapper/singer with the excitement of a "young Lauryn Hill to me".

So Far Gone has been in rotation since it's download, and I've copied it for 19 people thus far. Just now I got an inbox message about my sign in... "Ian Got the key to happiness & all the copies, remember this day like you bought a poppy. Drake= illmatic09 - I can't decide my favorite track".

What more can I say?

And for everyone that hasn't downloaded it, and has asked for an unbroken link...

Here ya go:
http://www.octobersveryown.net/mixtapes/drake_sofargone.zip

And while you're at it, check out this interview.

Hustler Watch: Drake from Eighty81 on Vimeo.

Drake Complex Article...

Drake Talks Young Money, Kanye Comparisons & Ghostwriting

It may sound heavily clichéd by now, but all Aubrey “Drake” Graham wants to do is keep it real. The Toronto-bred rapper who gained fame by playing basketball star Jimmy Brooks on the teen TV show Degrassi: The Next Generation has no intentions of fabricating his past or lying about the number of women he’s smashed off. He even has no problem talking about how he leased a Rolls Royce Phantom with his TV money just so he could stunt.

On his latest mixtape, So Far Gone, he does just that. The tape has him rapping and singing—along with Bun B, Lloyd, Lil Wayne, Trey Songz and Omarion—about any and everything going on in his life, from drama with ex-girls to family problems most would keep under wraps. Complex caught up with Drake right before he left to celebrate the release of his tape with LeBron James, and we spoke to him him about So Far Gone, ghostwriting for Weezy and his place amongst the new generation of rappers…

Interview By Damien Scott

Complex: Many people don’t know too much about your outside of your role in Degrassi. Were you always into music?

Drake: As far as music goes, it’s always been a major part of my life. My uncle is Larry Graham played bass for Prince, my father, Dennis Graham, wrote for Al Green. [He helped] write “Let’s Stay Together” and “Love & Happiness.” My dad drummed for Jerry Lee Lewis. I’ve always been around great music. My family being from Memphis, Tenn, growing up around all the hip hop—Thee Six Mafia, Kingpin Skimmy Pimp, early Yo Gotti, shit like that was kinda what really influenced me.

How I got into rapping was, my dad was in jail for two years and he shared a cell wit this dude who didn’t really have anyone to speak to. So, he used to share his phone time with this dude and at the time I was probably 16 or 17, this dude was like 20-22, and he would always rap to me over the phone—it was Poverty, that was his rap name. After while I started to get into it and I started to write my own shit down. And after a while, he would call me and we would just rap to each other. And after my dad got out I kept in touch with dude and kept writing my shit down and eventually I learned from meeting people who were into music, too, the art of making a song and I accepted the fact that I wanted to be in music.

Complex: Not too many people know about the rap scene out in Canada. How’s the atmosphere out there? Is everyone cool and supportive of each other?

Drake: I’m cool with everyone out here. One thing I’ll say is, as of late, with everything that’s been happening, we’ve really started to support each other, which is just great. A lot of people have reached out to me and said they’re proud of what I’m doing, and I’m proud of what a lot of these guys are doing. I think we do have talent up here. Someone that I idolize and someone who I think is one of the greatest artists period is K-OS—that’s someone I really look up.

Complex: So you really feel like you have the entire city behind you?

Drake: There’s been a certain surge of excitement around my city, it’s just crazy man, everything is just overwhelming. One thing I will say is that with a guy like Kardinal or a guy like Socrates, [who’ve] been around for 10 years, maybe more…a lot of people will tell me, “I’ve never seen a city really support anyone like this before.” And Toronto, they say, is the Screwface capital. They say it’s the city of hate, we’ve never really had that icon, someone where we can say, That’s our hometown hero. I’m not saying that I am that guy yet, but I think that I’m well on my way.

Complex: You mention K-OS as someone you look up to, but a lot of people who listen to you say you sound like a mash up of Lil’ Wayne and Kanye…

Drake: You know, those are two guys that I definitely look up to and to be regarded as a mesh between those two guys is definitely a good thing ’cause I love both of their music. When it comes to influencing my music, I’m also influenced by just great writers, all the music that’s outside of the rap or R&B genres. People that paint vivid pictures. I like all different kinds of music. I never heavily molded myself after rappers. Sometimes they say when you think something and you go to say it, you lose a lot of color about what you’re trying to say, so to me the best rappers are the people that don’t lose that color. Like, Andre 3000, ‘Ye, Wayne. So yeah, it’s definitely an honor.

Complex: Listening to your earlier mixtapes, as well as So Far Gone, a constant theme seems to be the notion that “All That Glitters Ain’t Gold.” It seems like you try to be honest and downplay the rapper lifestyle, like when you talk about buying a Phantom but regretting it.

Drake: Yeah, well, to be even more honest, I leased a Phantom instead of buying one, ’cause I didn‘t have enough money to buy a Phantom, I leased a Phantom because that’s what I thought I needed to do. And I’ve done a lot of things to just enjoy my nights a little more and to feed my ego. And that’s kinda why I rap about it, because a lot of people are like, “If he ever steps out of line, I’m gonna say Drake’s wack.” So the only choice I have is to be honest with my listeners. And that’s not to say it’s not a glamorous life and it’s not fun, but the reality is it’s great for the average person to hear a musician’s reality because we all seem so unattainable and so out of reach that when you bring yourself back to eye level with a fan and do it in the right way…

Complex: What’s the right way?

Drake: You don’t make stupid internet videos or show people you have too much free time, you just say the right things and they’ll be like, Damn this dude’s a real person and I can relate to that. That can make somebody’s life, that can make somebody’s day, that can be a line that they never forget. So I try to have as many of those lines as possible so that fans feel like Drake isn’t only one of my favorite artists, I feel like he’s one of my friends, he talks to me. That’s one of the benefits of being honest with your music. But some people are scared to do that, too, you know. Because some of their images are built off facade and that’s OK, as long as you can keep it up. But we’ve all seen what happens when you slip up, and that’s a stressful life, I don’t want to live like that. Letting people find out shit about, printing out my documents and putting them up on Thisis50.com.

Complex: Yes, we’ve all seen how ugly that can get.

Drake: Don’t take my ex-girlfriend shopping for fur coats, please!

Complex: Talk to us about So Far Gone. What was the idea behind it?

Drake: It’s basically a story. It starts in January 2008 when I was kinda confused like, What am I really doing? I gave up acting all together to really do this music thing, and I was really truly confused. It’s way different than acting, there aren’t people to depend on, you really have to build your own thing basically from the ground up, you know, so in January not only was I confused about my career, I was also in a very destructive sort of us exhausting relationship with a female and it was just a bad headspace for me to be in. So that’s where the tape starts.

It starts with this monologue, “Lust For Life”, of me crying out, in my head the things that I never say. The things that I was just thinking, that was my mindset. Then it goes to “Houstatlantavegas” which is about what I felt about the girl I was with. I just felt that nothing was ever good enough, and she was always searching for more excitement and then we move into “Successful.” I say at the end of the song, “There are so many things I want to say but I just don’t know how to say it to you.” I know exactly what I want to say, you know, I just want to be successful, but I don’t know if I can do it with you and then it goes into “Let’s Call It Off,” which is the breakup. And then coincidentally when I broke up with that girl a week later I went to Houston and met Lil Wayne and that’s where “November 18″ comes from.

Complex: How’d exactly did you wind up meeting Weezy?

Drake: My friend Jazz Prince—J Prince of Rap-a-Lot’s son—he played Wayne a couple of my songs and Wayne called me when I was in the barber chair getting a haircut, and he was like, “Dude, I just heard two songs from you and you got a whole CD of shit here, I don’t even need to hear anymore, I just need you here right now, can you get to Houston?” So I came out the next night. That was my first time in Houston and the culture and the city was so overwhelming. I felt like I hit Houston and got my swag back. I was single, I was with Wayne and it was Houston, I was going nuts, sipping drank, smoking, it was fun to me. And then you get “Ignorant Shit,” which is what came out of my meeting with Wayne.

Complex: Where did the title come from?

Drake: The whole tape extends from one of my closest friends Oliver—One night we were having a discussion about women and they way we were talking about them, it was so brazen and so disrespectful. He texted me right after we got off the phone and he was like, “Are we becoming the men that our mothers divorced?” That’s really where the cover comes from, too. It’ just this kid in pursuit of love and money. We’re good guys, I’m friends with some real good people and for him to even text me after we got off the phone it just showed we have a conscience. But sometimes you just get so far gone, you get wrapped up in this shit. The title has a lot of meanings—as the way we carry ourselves, the way we dress, the way people view us, not to sound cocky, it’s just that feeling that we’re just distanced in a good way. You’re just elevating past the bullshit and past all the shit that you used to be a part of and you’re not that proud of, you’re just so far gone.

Complex: You have three of the best young R&B artists in the game on this tape, but fewer up and coming MCs. Are you as cool with the new generation of rappers? Were you upset that you weren’t on the XXL Freshman 10 cover?

Drake: I’m actually very grateful I wasn’t on that cover, to be honest. I feel like everybody that was on there deserved to be on there; I’m a fan of a lot of those guys. I just think I have a different path, a different story to tell. To be put in that group is a like a gift and a curse. So to be the one guy that wasn’t on there that everyone talks about or should have been in there is kind of a good thing. It kind of creates a little bit of fun tension. I like getting my own thoughts out right now, I have fans to solidify, so that’s why I don’t do tracks with too many younger rappers or newer artists. People may consider me to be a music snob or whatever, but I like to preserve what’s mine and I also don’t just do tracks to do tracks, I make every song with a purpose. But… me and Wale are real close friends, we talk a lot, man. I listen to Kid Cudi’s shit all the time. Chuck Inglish from the Cool Kids hit me up and was giving me all the compliments in the world—we’re real cool.

Complex: One of the main criticisms of this mixtape is that it sounds like 808’s & Heartbreak lite.

Drake: Right, well, I think any time a rapper sings now, they’re going to say that. Just like whenever a rapper uses Auto-Tune, they say that’s Pain. I’ll put it this way: Kanye West has an amazing mind, but he always has the means that when he thinks something, he can make it happen right away. But I’ve been singing way before 808s and Heartbreak. I wrote all the hooks on every song I’ve done since I did “Replacement Girl” with Trey Songz in 2006. I’ve been in the R&B world for a long time, writing for artists, writing for myself, playing with different sounds and stuff.

So as far as 808s goes, that was a great album, I tip my hat Kanye for making that major release instead of making it a mixtape. But at the same time… people always need something to compare it to. The other thing is, [So Far Gone] is a lot different—it’s real R&B music, that’s why I put Omarion and Lloyd and Trey Songz on there. I’m doing duets with these guys. These are real R&B singers, [and] that’s what I was going for. Kanye was doing something different… I don’t even know how to classify it, I guess he calls it pop art. I love R&B music, man, that’s what you gotta understand, I listen to R&B music more than I listen to rap. That’s kinda my thing. I just want to make genuinely sexy music for women to listen to and for men to play for women.

Complex: Is your major label debut going to sound similar to So Far Gone?

Drake: My album is not going to sound like So Far Gone. It’s a well-rounded body of work that—again people will relate to what I’m saying, but the songs are made obviously to be sold to the public, so this was just my chance to think and write freely. It’s a solid hip hop album. I went left before—most go left after—my album comes out, so people will be like, Thank God, I thought he was about to do some weird shit. Some people go left after, when they feel more comfortable, but I feel comfortable with my talent.

Complex: Speaking of you debut, what’s going on with your label situation? There’s been rumors that you’re on Young Money and there are some saying you’re inked to Interscope. What’s good?

Drake: I’m not with either of those. I’m finishing up the deal tonight or tomorrow. It’s a great situation. My biggest thing that I’m excited about regardless of what label I end up on is my management team: Cortez Bryant that manged Lil Wayne and G Roberson that managed Kanye. To be managed by Hip Hop Since 1978, it’s a great family to be a part of.

Complex: There was video on YouTube with the Young Money crew backstage at a show, and Nicki Minaj said something to effect of “Drake gets the most stage time with Wayne.” Are you the front runner in the crew?

Drake: I came to Young Money genuinely, meeting Wayne, forming a friendship and making great music. I didn’t come into this as a Young Money recruit. I would say Young Money is a great thing to be associated with, it’s beneficial to everybody, with Wayne being the number one artist in the world. But Young Money, right now, until Wayne finds the time—because he’s very busy and he has a lot of projects in the works—to really get a home for that label and develop that label into a real entity, until then I think it’s something to just be associated with. I know Wayne wants to executive produce my album, so the affiliation is there and I rep Young Money. It’s the same way I rep Octobers Own, I rep it because it’s people that I care about.

Complex: There was also a rumor going around that you ghost write for Wayne.

Drake: [Laughs] You know, we’re all great artists, great minds, and we all just contribute to each other, there’s been times when Wayne has helped me out, and I’m sure, I hope, I’ve influenced him to do or say things on tracks. We help each other out, that’s part of being two artists who respect each others creativity.

Complex: We all saw him spit one of your verses at the MTV awards.

Drake: Yeah, at the VMA’s. That was just a spontaneous decision on his part. He used to always tell me, “I love that verse,” and just came out on stage and rapped that verse. [Laughs] And the wildest part was I was stuck outside of the Awards. I couldn’t even get into the award show ‘cause they didn’t give me the right pass, so I was stuck outside listening to my verse. It was my Hilary Swank moment.

Complex: You brag a lot about different clothing brands. Which brands are you currently into?

Drake: One day to day that I always represent is Ransom. Matt George owns a clothing line along with Oliver, I represent them to the fullest. I love Comme des Garçons I wear that a lot. Helmut Lang, Nom de Guerre. Public School’s dope. I wear a lot of Marc Jacobs stuff. I really just wear whatever—I’m not really a hipster fashion dude, I wear wild shit like Jordan sweats and socks and sandals. I don’t get dressed up to get my license renewed, but when I step out I like to look presentable and I like to dress up, I like to wear nice Armani suits. But those are some brands I definitely like.

Complex: Where do you like to shop?

Drake: My favorite place to go shopping would probably be Barney’s. I shop at Nomad here in Toronto. I don’t want to start talking to crazy about clothes ’cause I know there are some guys who are super into it and they’re going to read this like, “Aw man what the fuck?” I know I rap about that shit, but it’s just cause at the moment I really might be about to put on a Margiela tux. I like YSL, too, I like YSL a lot. But yeah, I just don’t want ’Ye to read this and be like, “What the fuck is this dude talking about?” I like clothes, it’s just something to spend your money on like champagne. I have a passion for champagne. I love champagne.

Complex: That’s what you drink on the regular? What are some favorites?

Drake: Krug Rose, Dom Rose if I had a good week. If I spent too much money at Barney’s, we’re drinking Veuve. I want to really start a genuine champagne company. Or be a silent partner in one.

Complex: What gadgets can’t you live without?

Drake: Blackberry is one that I can not be without. Anything that has to do with Mac, I’m a Mac head. That’s it, my Blackberry and my computer. Navigation in a car is a big one. I’m not really a gadget person.

Complex: Which websites do you always check out?

Drake: I read Nah Right all the time; Kanye’s blog. Really one I can credit that I check everyday is Nah Right.

Complex: Before we go, who has the better groupies, rappers or actors?

Drake: [Laughs] I don’t know, I don’t talk to the groupies. I talk to nice, upstanding women. The groupies don’t get my attention. It’s the women that I like.

i HEART u. Soul Kitchen Singles this Sunday w/ Tevin Campbell [at Blvd Room] + My P.S. Things I Don't Get About Women...

What's up?

Happy Family Day Long Weekend. And Happy Valentine's Day.

I'm really, really tired, but in a really good mood. You know when you're looking for something, but can't find it? That's where I am. I've looked EVERYWHERE. And the joke is, I think I hid it from myself. And with my luck it's hidden in plain sight *(like when my dad is looking for his keys that are in his hand... or my mom with the glasses that are on her face...).

Anyway, I just talked to TEVIN, and he's ready..... Over the last couple of days, since Diddy made the DJ comment (I still have to finish my thoughts on that), and I wrote my email, there's been tons of discourse on whether records can be "broken", meaning made known to the masses, in the environment of the club. So, just now, when my phone rang, and the phone was handed to none other than Tevin Campbell (with whom I've never spoken), I told him that I've been looking everywhere for and instrumental for "Alone" - one of my favorite Tevin songs. He said that "funny enough, I never really perform that song - it wasn't a single or anything".

"Alone", is... as Jon B's "Keep it Real", Terry Ellis' "Where Ever You Are", and BlackStreet's "I Can't Get You Out of My Mind" - TORONTO songs. When Jon B. came for the Soul Kitchen 3.5 (2 years ago May), he said that he didn't ever perform that song... "That soundtrack song? Nah... I never perform it". Toronto is a TRUE musical city...

This weekend, I hope that my vision of bringing TRUE talent - new and emerging, and classic to the city is embraced...

We start with the first vocalist from the "BMU - You Will Know"... Remember that one?

You know you're not really doing any work on Long Weekend Friday anyway...Let's take a trip down memory lane with a few videos to get you in the mood...

*********************************************

2 Gold Albums. 1 Platinum Album. 1 Double Platinum album.

TEVIN CAMPBELL.

Tell Me What You Want Me To Do... Tevin.

Alone With You... Tevin.

Confused... Tevin.

Can We Talk... Tevin.

Strawberry Letter 23... Tevin.

Look What We'd Have... Tevin.

I'm Ready... Tevin

Always in My Heart... Tevin.

8 time Grammy Award Nominee. Soul Train Music Award Winner. 2 time American Music. Tevin.

Tevin Campbell is coming to the Soul Kitchen. In the tradition of those before him such as Jon B, Dwele, Glenn Lewis and Ray Robinson. And trust me, he won't be the last leading up to Soul Kitchen 5 Year Anniversary in May which I've aptly entitled A Dream Deferred...

Stay tuned.

And look out for next weeks email with details on Dr. Jay's Return Fete (March 7th), Amnesia (March 14th) and more.

Just a note: There are no advanced tickets... It's $20 - just come to the door, smelling nice, looking great and with your attitude open and ready to entertained.

Tell a friend.

Real music lives. F what you heard.

Plus all the usual Soul Kitchen goodness - Aaliyah to Zhane and all points between including but not limited to...

AALIYAH AARON HALL ADRIANA EVANS AL B. SURE ALISHA KEYS ALLURE AMEL LARRIEUX ANGIE STONE ARETHA FRANKLIN ASHFORD AND SIMPSON BABYFACE BEVERLEY KNIGHT BILAL BILL WITHERS BLACKGIRL BLACK MEN UNITED BLACKSTREET BOBBY BROWN BOYZ II MEN BRANDY BRIAN MCKNIGHT BROWNSTONE CAMBELL BROTHERS CAMEO CARON WHEELER CARL THOMAS CASE CASSERINE CHAKA KHAN CHANTE MOORE CHAUNCEY HANNIBAL CHUCKIE BOOKER CLYMAXXX CODY CHESNUT COLOR ME BADD D'ANGELO DAMIEN HALL DAVE HOLLISTER DAVINA DEBORAH COX DES'REE DEVOX DONELL JONES DIONNE FARRIS DONNIE DRU HILL DWELE EARTH, WIND & FIRE ELLIS HALL 3 EN TOUCH EN VOGUE ERIC BENET FAITH EVANS FLOETRY FORCE M.D.'S FOUR TOPS GABRIELLE GEORGE BENSON GEORGE MICHAEL GINUWINE GLENN LEWIS GRENIQUE GROOVE THEORY GUY HEATHER HEDLEY H-TOWN INDIA.ARIE INTRO JADE JAGGED EDGE JAGUAR WRIGHT JAHEIM JAMES BROWN JANET JACKSON JAZZYFATNASTEES JESSE POWELL JILL SCOTT JODECI JOE JOHNNY GILL JOI JULLY BLACK KEITH CROUCH KEITH SWEAT KELIS KELLY PRICE KENNY LATTIMORE KOFFEE BROWN LAURYN HILL LEVERT LIONEL RICHIE LISA STANSFIELD LUCY PEARL LUTHER VANDROSS MARVIN GAYE MARY J. BLIGE MAXWELL MICHAEL JACKSON MINT CONDITION MISTA MONA LISA MONICA MONIFAH MUSIQ SOULCHILD NEXT NICOLE RAY OMAR ORAN JUICE JONES PRINCE PROFYLE R. KELLY RAHSAAN PATTERSON RAPHAEL SAADIQ RIFF ROBERT PALMER RODNEY JERKINS RUFF ENDZ SADE SAMUELLE SAUKRATES SHAI SILK SIMPLY RED SOUL 4 REAL SOUL II SOUL SOUNDS OF BLACKNESS STEPHANIE MILLS STEVIE WONDER SUNSHINE ANDERSON SWEET SABLE SWEETBACK SWV SYBIL TANYA BLOUNT TANYA VAUGHN TAMIA TAMMY LUCAS TEDDY RILEY TEMPTATIONS TERRENCE TRENT D'ARBY TEVIN CAMPBELL THE DEELE TIMEX SOCIAL CLUB TODAY TONI BRAXTON TONY RICH TONY TERRY TONY TONI TONE TRIBE CALLED QUEST TROOP TYRESE UNCLE SAM UNV USHER VIVIAN GREEN WHISTLE WHITEHEAD BROTHERS XSCAPE ZHANE

Yours sincerely,

IAN ANDRE ESPINET


ian andre espinet
ian andre espinet entertainment +
black star graphic design & communications
canada's leading urban graphic design studio. period.
ian andre espinet 2007


RE:VISION
In September 1999, we revolutionized the way you viewed events with Amnesia. Since then, we have listened to you, our patrons and friends, and changed to suit your lifestyle. In the orchestration of our flagship event, Amnesia, we have stayed true to our goals. In the creation of other signature events such as Soul Kitchen, Big People Fete, B-Boy Document, X-Factor, ICON, re:connect, Socaholics, The ONE, Music Cafe etc, we have continued the mission.

With more than 2/3 of the urban nightlife scene attending Amnesia and/or one of the our signature events in the past 6 years, we continue to prove that success takes more than VISION. It takes RE:VISION. Stay tuned as we hone our online presence - www.amnesia.ca coming soon...

p.s. Since it's Valentine's day... I've always had a few questions about women...

- how come you guys like to sleep with our shirts?

- why you can't just order some fries at the drive thru? why you have to be all up in mine when you said you didn't want any...

- and why do you ask questions you don't want the answer to like "do these pants make me look fat"?

- and why do you think that "down" is the natural position of the toilet seat, when "both down" is?

- is it true that you know whether you'd ___________ a man in the first fifteen seconds?

- and if no one would know, and there was no double standard, would you sleep with nuff people?

- and how come "indecent proposal" doesn't bother you? It should...

- and why do you have to nag... and don't look at the screen that way... you know you do... or will...

- and why when we "give it a label, does it become unstable"?

- and what are you talking about for so long on the phone with your girls?

- and really... after I meet you - why is it not possible for me to have another female friend again?

- why can't any woman get along with a mother in law? or an ex for that matter?

- and why do I have to remind you 10 times to check your tires, or your oil or pay that bill, but you remember to harass me about some irrelevant thing?

- and why do you over analyse my words? I mean what I said..

- and how come you can make a joke about us getting fat or flopping in bed... but if we do it........

- and why do you stay with someone that treats you badly then complain?

- and why do we have to plan everything... ever hear of spontaneous?

- and why must you hold on to things that happened ages ago & spring them today when I don't know what you're talking about?

- and why do you want to talk to me about your monthly visitor or auntie flow? You see me here squeeming right?

- and why do you want your man off facebook...

- why if you've been sick for 2 weeks, don't you just go to the doctor instead of complaining? You're getting on my nerves...

- why can't you drive? (just kidding... but why do you have to be so aggressive Napoleon...)

- why don't you tell your friend if her face and neck don't match?

- and why do you insist on hugging me if I'm wearing white and you know you're wearing makeup?

- and why do you lie about your shoe size by a half size?

- when I call ahead and LIE that I'm downstairs, why does it still take you another 15 minutes to get down?

- does size really matter? I don't have the problem... I'm just asking...

- why do you want someone to "take care of you", but then when we get in a fight, you want to tell me "this is why I don't like anyone doing anything for me"... Pick one - you can't want to be romanced, but then when I pick up the cheque you're insulted because you've been listening to Beyonce talking about independent ladies...

- speaking of B... why do you guys sing stupid songs that make no sense "if you like it then you should have put a ring on it"... I would have, but you gave it up. Kidding. Sort of. LOL.

- why do you have a menu for what you want in a man... let me give you a piece of advice - look for someone that makes you laugh, is nice, and kind and forget all this good looking, must have good credit, nice job and hot car - cause that's why he's not nice.

- and why are your washrooms in the club nasty? What the heck are you guys doing in there?

- why do you think I can read your mind. If you have to ask me if I don't know why you're mad, then I don't.

Out...

I achieved...

something great today.

It may not be a big deal for anyone else, but one of my life mantra's is to get up everyday and do something significant. In the last 24 hours, I did something that I've promised myself that I'd do for just over 3 years.

I'm no where near the end of my journey - but I took the first - second step towards a goal.

So - say 5 years ago, I decided that I would learn flash, the stuff that makes websites, ummm, for lack of a better description, move. And those evites that I like to send too. Finally, about 2 years ago, I spend an absurd amount of money for a 2 day course and learned, well - a little. After getting the software, and losing it on my desk (blank discs go missing on graphic designer's desks daily), and getting it again, I finally - finally installed it. And I actually did something with it.

Over 48 hours later - with the majority of the work done within the first 8, with the remainder going to tweeking etc, I created my first EVER flash evite.

Tell me what you think... You can be brutally honest - I realize that I have 97 in a 100 metre race left to go.

Here's the product...

CLICK THE IMAGE TO VIEW...



See the original post at >> ianandreespinet.blogspot.com

Cam'ron - I Hate My Job...

Thank goodness I love mine. This is some FUNNY ish.

I

Real Talk. Please read, discuss, forward & reply. Soul Kitchen +

What's up?

I'm going in. How'd Drake say it? Like a life sentence. Right off the top of the email.

For the last few months, I've been going through it. Of my own admission, I'm dope (despite not having used that word in years). I'm the living, breathing definition of fresh (another throwback). And all for one simple reason. I dance to my own drum, like what I like, don't like what I don't like and LOVE people for loving what they love even if I don't like it - like most people wish they could. And because I don't care if you think I'm dope, cause I'm still dope. Dope.

I LOVE music. As you know. As my girl Amanda says, it's my other religion. I love old school. But I'm an R&B dude. I'm a B-Boy. I love soca. Old, new, all music. I love Phil Collins, Wonderwall and Jack Johnson. I love Cyndi Lauper, LSG, The Roots and Nadia Batson.

I quote Jay-z and Biggie lyrics in everyday conversation, and talk about the "musicality" of Tamia singing "the way that you make me sweat... make me want a cigarette and I ain't no smoking chick, but you got me wantin' it...". I wait for the drum to come in on Monica's "Before you Walk out my Life" and pound down with my fist while making a face - like its nasty and I've never heard it before. Despite hearing it 10,000 times. Approximately.

I float through crowds at my own parties and break into the Roger Rabbit at Amnesia, or the A-Town stomp to Usher, or better yet run my outstretched hand up my 45 degree angled leg like Usher at the end of Burn. I do a mean chain spin from the Yeah video and argued that the choreography where he danced out of his shoes was stupid. But the choreography from "If It Isn't Love" was genius. As was the Cab Calloway inspired Janet Jackson, Alright.

I'm a music purist. But I argue the importance of Will Smith to hip hop and on behalf of Soldja Boy - or however you spell it - in barbershop conversations. I get Kid Cudi, all day and all night, but didn't think Lupe Fiasco was the second coming. I'm currently in love with a Canadian artist by the name of Melanie Fiona and constantly walk around singing that I'm not afraid of Lions and Tigers and Bears... or "How It Was Supposed to Be" by Ryan Leslie.

But lately, in all things, including music, I've started to feel like the girl in the Massenfril... massengil, commercial. Not so... fresh. I hear records, and I'm not sure if I'm loosing my ear or if everyone else is crazy, or if they're all liars. For instance. I liked a few of the Kanye records, but really, didn't see what all the fuss was about. Everyone around me was loosing their minds. LOOOSING THEIR MINDS. It's revolutionary. It's incredible. It's amazing. I was like... ahhh... not so much.

I've found myself at a cross roads - and like many times before, I feel like I must go straight at the fork in the road. I've found lately that there's a trend - healthy or unhealthy is not for me to decide - where everyone discusses and disects and pontificates about music, but doesn't FEEL it like - like how a child knows right away if they like it or not... It's broken down - for why it's different... why it sounds the same... why it's fresh, but the raw - KRS ONE explanation of "50 cent is MORE hip hop.. boom bap... than Kanye to me" is lost. When I hear a record like "The Sweetest Thing" playing in the background, I know IMMEDIATELY. I knew when I heard Ryan Leslie's "How It Was Supposed to Be - Version 2"

"Fresh like the kiss of morning dew... that's how it felt that day when we met and I first laid eyes on you... "

And so I find myself in a precarious place with my baby - Soul Kitchen...

A place I've never felt myself in before. One where I want to do MORE, but am afraid that I'm the only one who feels as I do. I want to find a place for artists like Melanie Fiona, and Jazmine Sullivan... for Ryan Leslie... but also for the Sunshine Anderson's, the Tevin Campbell's, The Chante Moore's and Rashaan Paterson's. I want to be able to bring an Erro, a Monifa, an Amel Larrieux or an Eric Benet. You get my drift.

BUT. Something's changed. I sat on the phone with Jem the other day - let me interject: friends are a mirror and sometimes show you right from wrong when you can't see clearly (thanks Jemmi) - reminiscing about when Jonathan Ramos brought unknown acts to the Bamboo on Queen Street. Long ago... and ooooh not so far away, when you were in a room and an artist performed and you LOVED music, if they were good, you ENJOYED the music. You didn't stand up with your arms crossed until a song came on that you KNEW. This is the legacy of the Bump and Hustle's and the Amnesia's.

So when I read Puff say that the DJ killed hip hop the other day, I felt relieved that in some way, despite the fact that he was shooting the messenger who had limited choices, that he was also shedding some light on the truth. VERY FEW play album cuts anymore... VERY FEW are brave enough to BREAK records, and although we live in Toronto, a city now plagued by ONE TOO MANY old school parties, VERY FEWremember anything about an artist that doesn't have a current hit. In the process too, we no longer appreciate the merits of seeing an artist that either WE DON'T KNOW or HAVEN'T HEARD IN A LONG TIME...

To me, there is no such thing as seeing an artist you love too many times. So if House of Blues brings Brian McKnight (my favorite male vocalist whom I've seen EVERY time minus once) now and I have money to see him again next year, I'M GOING. Jonathan Ramos shouldn't feel that there's no market to bring BACK Brian cause the audience will say "ahhh... saw him". Other markets - other audiences see the Rolling Stones a cabillion times... Tight pants there still rocks the half-time show and knee slides his crutches (yes... on purpose to not set off filters) into the camera. And they support and love it.

Bruce can still put out music without anyone saying "but he hasn't had a hit in years" and not listening. The absence of this mindset is the reason that amazing albums like Tamia's and new music by artists who haven't been out for a while like Chante Moore go unheard - without being given a chance.

I first started hearing a phrase in the soca market a couple years back "I don't need to see Machel... I already saw him". I used to screw my face. Too much Machel?

Let me explain. I saw Prince on the Wednesday when the concert came here last year. If I had HAPPENED to see Prince on Tuesday, I would have seen him AGAIN on Wednesday. When Scratch toured with Usher, I went to the Toronto show. In all honesty, I went to see Scratch, (and money was tiiiight like a metro's shirt), but when I got there, I was like I FORGOT HE'S FRIGGIN USHER. One bad decision (making love in the club) doesn't a flop show make. He was INCREDIBLE. I went to see Floetry and came out a fan of Goapele. I went to see Kelis and came out a Floetry fan. This is what this city is BUILT on... A music knowledge and love unparalled ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

Now - back to the DJ's... the one's who get blamed when it's not their collective fault. Completely. The audience often times has the attention span of a 4 year old, and the tolerance for things that are new akin to getting some of my friends to eat "raw fish" or try different things off the menus at Winterlicious. Let's just leave it at - they audience is often inelastic and don't like to try new things. Consequently, you HAVE to play the same records. This is frustrating to the djs, and to a small portion of the audience that WANTS more. I want to bring India.Arie, Maxwell, d'Angelo, Music Soulchild, Jill Scott. And in time maybe I'll grow there. BUT I also want to bring Rahsaan, Donnie, Anthony Hamilton, (he hasn't had a hit right?), Vivian Green, Joe etc. - and it's frustrating when its John Legend or Robin Thicke or nothing.

So.

THIS FAMILY DAY LONG WEEKEND SUNDAY... (Monday is the holiday)...

In celebration of Valentine's weekend, I proudly present the first in a series of SURPRISE GUEST APPEARANCES at Soul Kitchen. It won't be every month... maybe not even every couple of months - BUT once in a while, when the mood catches me, I will put on someone that in the spirit of Soul Kitchen represents the PURITY AND PASSION of the artists that built the genre. I refresh the Soul Kitchen mantra of Aaliyah to Zhane and all points in between including but not limited to...

AALIYAH AARON HALL ADRIANA EVANS AL B. SURE ALISHA KEYS ALLURE AMEL LARRIEUX ANGIE STONE ARETHA FRANKLIN ASHFORD AND SIMPSON BABYFACE BEVERLEY KNIGHT BILAL BILL WITHERS BLACKGIRL BLACK MEN UNITED BLACKSTREET BOBBY BROWN BOYZ II MEN BRANDY BRIAN MCKNIGHT BROWNSTONE CAMBELL BROTHERS CAMEO CARON WHEELER CARL THOMAS CASE CASSERINE CHAKA KHAN CHANTE MOORE CHAUNCEY HANNIBAL CHUCKIE BOOKER CLYMAXXX CODY CHESNUT COLOR ME BADD D'ANGELO DAMIEN HALL DAVE HOLLISTER DAVINA DEBORAH COX DES'REE DEVOX DONELL JONES DIONNE FARRIS DONNIE DRU HILL DWELE EARTH, WIND & FIRE ELLIS HALL 3 EN TOUCH EN VOGUE ERIC BENET FAITH EVANS FLOETRY FORCE M.D.'S FOUR TOPS GABRIELLE GEORGE BENSON GEORGE MICHAEL GINUWINE GLENN LEWIS GRENIQUE GROOVE THEORY GUY HEATHER HEDLEY H-TOWN INDIA.ARIE INTRO JADE JAGGED EDGE JAGUAR WRIGHT JAHEIM JAMES BROWN JANET JACKSON JAZZYFATNASTEES JESSE POWELL JILL SCOTT JODECI JOE JOHNNY GILL JOI JULLY BLACK KEITH CROUCH KEITH SWEAT KELIS KELLY PRICE KENNY LATTIMORE KOFFEE BROWN LAURYN HILL LEVERT LIONEL RICHIE LISA STANSFIELD LUCY PEARL LUTHER VANDROSS MARVIN GAYE MARY J. BLIGE MAXWELL MICHAEL JACKSON MINT CONDITION MISTA MONA LISA MONICA MONIFAH MUSIQ SOULCHILD NEXT NICOLE RAY OMAR ORAN JUICE JONES PRINCE PROFYLE R. KELLY RAHSAAN PATTERSON RAPHAEL SAADIQ RIFF ROBERT PALMER RODNEY JERKINS RUFF ENDZ SADE SAMUELLE SAUKRATES SHAI SILK SIMPLY RED SOUL 4 REAL SOUL II SOUL SOUNDS OF BLACKNESS STEPHANIE MILLS STEVIE WONDER SUNSHINE ANDERSON SWEET SABLE SWEETBACK SWV SYBIL TANYA BLOUNT TANYA VAUGHN TAMIA TAMMY LUCAS TEDDY RILEY TEMPTATIONS TERRENCE TRENT D'ARBY TEVIN CAMPBELL THE DEELE TIMEX SOCIAL CLUB TODAY TONI BRAXTON TONY RICH TONY TERRY TONY TONI TONE TRIBE CALLED QUEST TROOP TYRESE UNCLE SAM UNV USHER VIVIAN GREEN WHISTLE WHITEHEAD BROTHERS XSCAPE ZHANE

It doesn't matter if the artist has been here before or not. It doesn't matter if they're last studio album was 1998 or February 12th (like Ryan Leslie). It doesn't matter if they're 50 or 16. If they're TRUE musicians... vocalists like Johnny Gill or Deborah Cox... play the piano like Jon B. or the guitar like Babyface... sing ballads like Tyrese or David Hollister or are a group or duo.

Sometimes there will be an incremental increase in the price of the affair, but I hope that you will trust in my decision making and understand that together we can enjoy MORE than the obvious artists (that too are amazing...).

Back to Jemeni. Jem said... "I like Kid Cudi... but don't care if care if he's number one on the charts - cause Lions, and Tigers and Bears is number one on the JEM chart. Maybe you're evolving. Maybe your role isn't JUST to do big shows in front of 2500 people... but to do intimate Soul with wicked artists that either people don't KNOW are wicked or FORGOT are wicked".

{Make a} Family Day Long Weekend Sunday - Soul Kitchen Valentine's Edition :: BLVD Room

For family day long weekend Sunday, The Soul Kitchen Valentine's Edition shifts from it's usual Friday night slot for an event for single people and their friends with significant others. {Meaning if you have a girl/man, you can come still, but it's all about the single people lol}.

Valentine's day. Everybody knows that single people don't like Valentine's. Especially women. The fairer sex are some real haters. They don't want to go to the club to see all them lovey dovey couples when they don't have a man. But you know what? Couples don't go to clubs for Valentines. And if they do, they leave early to go get some bad Valentine's love making. You know Valentine's love making sucks. You expect too much and it never lives up to the chocolate, flowers and dinner. It's like New Years and birthday lovemaking. But that's another story.

Jester and Kid are ready and special guest Skimpy will be in the house WITH A VERY SPECIAL GUEST PERFORMANCE BY A PIVOTAL 90's VOCALIST.

Soul Kitchen Valentine's Edition: Family Long Wkd Sunday February 15th 2008 - Monday's A Holiday.