Hole-y Mole-y

I’m feeling her sweater. That is all :)

The store that carries this sweater is called Opening Ceremony. Click here to check it out!

The Most 'Slept On' Musicians (In My Humble Opinion)

These are just some of the many artists I feel do not get the recognition they deserve for the music they make. It seems that all the artists that stimulate my mind through their music are the ones who no one has really heard of or the ones that people have heard of but they just don’t really listen to. These artists don’t get paid like those on the top 20 charts, but I feel that is just the cost of producing true art. It’s like how I feel about my clothes; my favorite pieces in my wardrobe are all things I bought from thrift store or vintage shops. Even though they aren’t where most people go to shop, some of the best things can be found in them. The things I find while thrifting are one of a kind, soulful, and express my personality more than anything else. That is the same way I feel about these underrated musicians.

Here they are & my favorite song from each of them in no particular order
---------------------------------------------------------------

The Foreign Exchange

Come Around by The Foreign Exchange


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pharoahe Monch

Hold On by Pharoahe Monch feat. Erykah Badu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

K-Os

I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman by K-Os

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noisettes

Every Now And Then by Noisettes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rhymefest

Sister by Rhymefest

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bilal

Sometimes by Bilal

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ledisi

Alright by Ledisi

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This list doesn’t even skim the surface of the numerous artists who don’t get enough attention. Don’t even get me started about how I feel about genius hip-hop musicians who have been around for so long but who still have not been given the attention that they fully deserve such as The Roots, Talib Kweli & Slum Village. And those R&B/Soul singers whose voices are ten times stronger and more dynamic than half the media puppets they play on the radio…I’m talking about people like Donell Jones, Jaheim, Amel Larrieux, Raheem DeVaughn, Dwele, Vikter Duplaix, Avant, Donnie…the list just goes on & on. And it’s a dang shame. Crap is so easily accessible in the music world, if you want to be enlightened through music you have to actively search for that good good. It shouldn’t be that way, but unfortunately it is.

My Summer Haul

So I must say, I was pretty lucky this summer when it came to thrifting. I found a lot of good deals on things that I really needed. Here are a few of my favorite purchases...

Both about $4.oo each

$3.oo

 (This is actually a bag my sister bought but I think it was such great find, I had to post a picture of it.)

 My new book bag for school :) $4o.oo

$4.oo

This is a scarf in case you couldn’t tell lol. $3.oo

Both $4.oo each

$3.oo

$7.oo

I will be posting a couple more pictures later. Also I wanted to let everyone know that I will be starting classes tomorrow (I'm entering my 2nd year of college!). I don’t think they will affect the amount I will be posting since I don’t do posts everyday anyways, but I definitely plan on providing ya’ll with some more GOOD GOOD throughout the school year!

The Fantastic 4

What do you get when you put an amazing basketball player, 2 dope rappers & a banging producer in the same room? I think the bottom of the picture says it all.

My Latest Obsession

Vintage earrings have been gracing my earlobes for the past year. My obsession started one day in one of my favorite vintage shops near where I live called The Attic. This store always sold earrings; however I was so preoccupied by the clothes that I never paid attention. Then one day, I looked at them and it was love at first sight. I’ve been buying them whenever I see a good pair since. Here is my collection thus far.

What I love most about these earrings is that each one is unique…I have never ever seen any duplicates. And since I love being unique, that works out just fine for me. Some people may not like the idea of buying earrings from thrift stores/vintage stores, but all I have to say is as long as you clean them very well prior to wearing them you will be fine. I have not experienced any problems yet (knocking on wood).

6th Sense by Common feat. Bilal

Soulful Art by Steven Lopez

Today marks the 1 month birthday of my blog! I must thank all of you for supporting me, it has been a very fun month indeed! I have absolutely loved sharing my mind with you all and hopefully you all have loved what I have had to say. Anywho, let me get back to this post! 

The sheer talent that some people are blessed with never ceases to amaze me. I wish I had the ability to turn a canvas & streaks of paint into a pure masterpiece…but unfortunately, I was not born with that ability. However, a man by the name of Steven Lopez was. Steven Lopez is an amazing artist from Pasadena, California whose artwork is as soulful as the people portrayed in it. His project entitled the After Midnight series features soulful songstresses such as Jill Scott, Sade, Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, & India.Arie. When one looks at these paintings, one can easily see that music is deeply seeded in Steven Lopez’s soul and that seed grows & flourishes into these dynamic and inspired pieces of art.

And I must say, Steven Lopez has exceptional taste in music. Neo-soul is my favorite genre of music so I am very familiar with all of the women in these paintings. When I listen to music by Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, & India.Arie, I get goose bumps. The music that these women produce is nothing short of amazing, and I feel that Steven Lopez really captured the raw emotion of each singer beautifully. Please enjoy my 3 favorite pieces from the After Midnight series & the videos of the pieces actually being created. In case you are not familiar with these 3 ladies, the first painting is of India.Arie entitled Strength, Courage and Wisdom, the second is of Erykah Badu entitled Amerykahn Promise, and the third is of Jill Scott entitled Hate On Me.

Because of his artistic point of view, Steven Lopez has most definitely got that good good.

Here are my favorite songs from each of these singers. Just press the little play button by each song & please enjoy!

Get It Together by India.Arie

Soldier by Erykah Badu
Not Like Crazy by Jill Scott

Just a quick update: I had actually e-mailed Steven Lopez telling him that I did a post about him on my blog, but I wasn’t expecting any reply. HOWEVER, to my lovely surprise, he e-mailed me back saying he checked out the post and thanking me for doing it! I was so happy :)

To check out more of Steven Lopez’s amazing work, visit his website by clicking here.

African Influence in Fashion

For the past year or so, I have been noticing more and more designers who are using fabric similar to, if not the same as, a fabric called Ankara which is worn a lot by people in West Africa. I was born in Nigeria and there is nothing I enjoy more than designing a new traditional outfit to be made & getting to go to a fabric shop and choose a fabric I like from the rainbow of Ankara styles that seem to never end or repeat. This fabric is so colorful and as ya’ll know, I am an advocate for wearing bright colors.

Like I said, these colorful creations have made debuts on runways around the world & have even been the main inspiration behind whole clothing lines. For example, Boxing Kitten is a clothing line which consists of brightly colored looks completely composed of this vibrant fabric. This clothing line, designed by a woman named Maya A. Lake, is quite popular amongst some well-known celebrities: Alicia Keys & Beyonce rocked these vibrant frocks in their music video for Put It In A Love Song, Solange Knowles has been photoed wearing pieces from this designer on several occasions, and Fergie has been caught wearing a Boxing Kitten romper.

If you don’t think you can handle a full on Ankara outfit, definitely go for an accessory made out of the fabric. Even something as small as a bracelet will be enough to add something special to your outfit. Designers have been using this fabric to make earrings, bracelets, and best of all…SHOES! I absolutely love the way the Ankara shoes look, they are definitely on my ‘things I need to buy’ list.

So dare to add a cultural pop to your wardrobe! It may be hard for some of you to find this kind of clothing for cheap, unfortunately. However, if you happen to know a West African, they can most likely point you in the right direction. You see, most Africans have their outfits custom made by tailors who can produce a beautifully unique outfit for under $100 (that is including the price of the fabric as well). Personally, the Ankara outfits that I own were produced for an average of $60 per outfit. This pales in comparison to the prices charged by clothing lines such as Boxing Kitten. If you are really interested in this clothing, you just need to play around online for a while and you may find a website which sells this clothing for a decent price!

Places to shop for this look (link list):

Boxing Kitten

Oheme Ohene

Casa Di Culture

An Amazing Video

Hello my peoples! I hope you all have had the pleasure of watching Janelle Monae’s new video for her song Cold War. Of course, I have a few things to say about this video: I think it is absolutely beautiful. Not only is it beautiful because the obviously beautiful Janelle Monae’s face fills up the screen the entire time but it is beautiful because since we are staring right into her eyes as she sings her song, we are able to view & even partake in the emotions she is feeling. I don’t know about ya’ll, but when she started crying I wanted to cry with her. That was such a beautiful moment because it was a REAL moment, something that is so rare to come by these days because everybody swears they are a Hollywood actress and that life is one huge production and they feel that being a genuine person is not what is important. Also, most people have so much collagen in their faces that they can’t even convey the way they feel. Thank heavens there are still true artists like Janelle Monae who are just so unique, talented, and real.

Follow my blog with bloglovin

Somewhere I Wanna Go

Maryam Nassir Zadeh is the owner of a gorgeous boutique on the Lower East Side of NY which bears her name. I find this stylist/store owner to be utterly amazing because of all the wondrous items she fills her store with. From clothing made by unique designers to rocks & crystals found in foreign locations; from vintage leather oxfords to the most intriguing jewelry one has ever laid eyes on; and from colorful art pieces to textiles from Africa, all the things that possess simple beauty and much more can be found in this boutique. I've never been to this place but I would absolutely love to stop by some day soon.

A post featuring specific items from this boutique that I found possess those good good qualities will be following this post. To check out the this boutique's magnificent online store, click here. 

Good Good Stuff

Just a few items from Maryam Nassir Zadeh’s online store that caught my eye & hopefully they catch yours too. Enjoy.