Weekly Wrap-Up 6.26.15

June 26, 2015Leave a comment

I’m going to keep this Weekly Wrap-Up short and sweet…

#LoveWins !!

There are currently 5.59 million Tweets about this hashtag (trend) right now – and that number continues to grow. THAT is breaking the Internet.

And since I love all things celebrities, it only makes sense I include a link to celeb reactions to nationwide marriage equality. 🙂 You can check out a long list on Buzzfeed here.

As much as I still don’t understand why same-sex marriage was never legal in the first place, I’m truly happy that it is official, especially in the wake of all the negative issues and scenarios happening in the world right now. This is definitely a much-needed breath of fresh air.

Earlier this morning President Obama was quoted saying, “Americans should be very proud,” because small acts of courage “slowly made an entire country realize that love is love.”

So, congratulations to all same-sex couples who can now partake in marriage nationwide. This is definitely a step, no, a leap in the right direction for our country.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Obey Your Thirst (Thursday)

June 25, 2015Leave a comment

This is for all of the Drake fans, those who aren’t fans of Drake, or for those who wonder why I’m so ‘obsessed’ with him. Aside from his good looks and songs he puts out, the passion behind his work and love he has for his hometown of Toronto is admirable and a big part of why I have taken such a strong liking to him.

“I’m not worried about those other rappers. I’m not competing with those guys. I’m worried about the kid that’s sitting in his house that wants to be better than me and all those guys (current rappers). That’s who I’m competing with.” -Drake

In conjunction with the Sprite campaign he is currently part of, Drake opens up in a rare interview about his motivation for success. This is Episode 1, so I’m definitely looking forward to more, assuming there will be. I encourage all of you to watch it. It may inspire you to ‘obey your thirst’ for your passion.

NEW: The Game ft. Drake – ‘100’

June 25, 2015June 25, 2015Leave a comment

Out of nowhere The Game dropped his song ‘100’ featuring Drake – the one they recently filmed the music video for in Compton.

Listen to The Game and Drake ‘keep it 8 more than 92’ below.

REMIX: Jidenna ft. Kendrick Lamar – ‘Classic Man (Remix)’

June 22, 2015Leave a comment

I’m sure most of you have heard the original version of ‘Classic Man’ quite frequently on the radio. At first, I wasn’t a fan, but it did grow on me. Now with the addition of K.Dot for the remix, I am definitely digging it.

Check it below!

NEW: Janet Jackson – ‘No Sleeep’

June 22, 2015Leave a comment

She’s back! This morning Janet Jackson kicked off her comeback with the release of a new and first single, ‘No Sleeep.’ Produced by longtime producers and friends Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the single features Janet singing longingly waiting for one-on-one time with her lover.

The track will be featured on her upcoming album, expected to drop this fall.

Listen below!

Weekly Wrap-Up 6.19.15

June 19, 2015Leave a comment

DRAKE VENTURES TO THE CPT
On Monday, June 15, rapper The Game was seen in Compton with Drizzy Drake on set of a music video. The Drake-assisted single ‘100’ is set to appear on Game’s upcoming album The Documentary 2, the sequel to his 2005 debut. Do know that I almost drove down there, but The Bachelorette and glass of champagne I was casually sipping on wouldn’t let me go.

Check out a behind-the-scenes video below.

DRAKE & NAS IN SPRITE ‘OBEY YOUR VERSE’ COMMERCIAL
I’m about to stalk up on some Sprite. As part of the pop’s (soda, whatever) inaugural ‘Obey Your Verse’ Lyrical Collection, lyrics from Drake, Nas, Notorious B.I.G., and Rakim will be inscribed on 16 cans that will feature positive and inspirational words from the rappers.

According to Rap-Up.com, ‘the rappers were selected based on their reputation for being true to themselves through their music and advancing the culture.’

I’m just really in it for the Drake cans, pictured left.

No, but I think is a great way to spread the positivity of rap (it’s not all negative, people) and in a very creative way.

Check out the new commercial below! You should also check out another one of my favorite commercials by Sprite and yes, featuring Drake. Check that one here.

SPEAKING OF POSITIVITY…
Big Sean released the visuals for his third single ‘One Man Can Change the World,’ off of his chart-topping Dark Sky Paradise album. The song, featuring Kanye West and John Legend, is dedicated to his late grandmother who was one of the first female black captains in World War II. She later became one of the first black female police officers in Detroit (where Big Sean is from) and served 30 years with the Detroit Public School System as a teacher and counselor.

Sean credits and thanks his grandmother for showing him the importance of hard work, perseverance, commitment, and faith, and with all of that, anything is possible. In her honor, he also recently launched #ItTakesOne campaign, which promotes random acts of kindness.

I first heard the track when Dark Sky Paradise dropped, and it gave me all the feels. I think we need a song like this, especially in the hip-hop community, at a time like this.

Watch the video below.

Now off to San Diego for the weekend!

Sorry for the wait…

June 16, 2015June 17, 2015Leave a comment

Okay, so so many things to talk to yinz about! I’m going to (try and) make it quick though since I know most of our attention spans are quite small these days.

#6615
The graduation party of the year was a great success due to my mom’s very hard party planning work (starting over a year ago) and the help of her wonderful friends! From the fancy foods to the delicious donuts to my fun-loving family and friends, it was the perfect way to celebrate Anth’s accomplishments and wish him well on his next journey… college! #wishicouldgoback There was LOTS of dancing, shots of Limoncello, and laughter. It was also great seeing so many people who I haven’t seen in forever and probably won’t know the next time I’ll see them – lots of fun! Proud of ya, Anth!

#SMWLA (Social Media Week Los Angeles)
On June 4, I entered a Twitter contest (go figure) for the chance to win a free pass to attend SMWLA – you should really check it out to see if they’ll be stopping in your city if you’re passionate or want to learn more about social media trends and technologies. Passes normally range from $250-$350 for the whole week, allowing you to attend a multitude of panels featuring many different social media topics. After a simple retweet and positive vibes, I was notified by the PRSA-LA (Public Relations Society of America – LA Chapter) that I, among others, won – thank you, PRSA-LA! I want to say this was my first Twitter contest I won that wasn’t tickets for a rap/hip-hop concert. Being very fortunate in my current job position, I was allowed to attend as many panels as I wanted that would be of interest to me and also benefit my current role. I met some great people, learned a lot, and could envision myself being in a true social media work environment. Hope to attend next year!

MUSIC NEWS – Too many tours!
In honor of the fifth year anniversary of his Friday Night Lights mixtape, J.Cole announced his third annual ‘Dollar & A Dream Tour.’ The concert actually costs ONE DOLLAR to attend but is on a first-come, first-served basis. I can only imagine the line! He will perform the mixtape in its entirety, which is dope. Cole is only stopping in four cities, one being Los Angeles. Unfortunately, I cannot attend since I already have tickets to see Nicki Minaj perform at the BET Experience that evening – #concertgoerprobz.

Earlier this week, Miguel announced his North American summer tour. THIS I plan on going to. Stopping at over 25 cities, he will be wrapping up the tour in LA on Friday, September 4 at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Yes, it is an actual cemetery. I saw The Weeknd perform at this venue in May 2011, and it was epic! Not to mention he brought out Drake as a surprise guest for ‘Crew Love,’ and I nearly fell over. Tickets are general admission, and you are free to pillows, blankets, and picnics. It’s a really cool venue, so I recommend you check it out if you ever get the chance! They also host movie nights there, I want to say in the fall around Halloween time. Get it…. spooky setting for spooky movies.

Holy heck, and how could I forget. The BET Awards! That is like the ultimate concert on steroids, next to the GRAMMYs, that is. On Sunday, June 28, I will be attending the award show in my usual spot – the mosh pit. Unfortunately, I cannot bring in my cell phone, so 1. I will make sure I’m getting some camera time and 2. You will just have to tune in to see if I made it on TV. Sorry mom and other family members that will be watching this – you’ll probably completely disapprove of the music I’m listening to on the reg.

I do have more music news to write about, but I will save that for the ‘Weekly Wrap-Up.’ Lots of things I love happening in the music world this week!

Stay tuned…

UPDATE EXCLUSIVE: Miguel – ‘Wildheart’

June 15, 2015June 16, 2015Leave a comment

So I entered another Twitter contest (typical) earlier this week. This one was to attend an exclusive event in LA for Miguel’s new ‘WILDHEART’ album set to release at the end of this month. Although I didn’t win, I did get an email with a link to five unreleased tracks from the upcoming album. And since I love sharing new music with my friends and followers, here ya go. ~~Link here.~~

Like I said, the link was taken down. BUT, Miguel did release three tracks via YouTube that you can still enjoy below!

NEW: The Weeknd – ‘Can’t Feel My Face’

June 8, 2015Leave a comment

What a great Monday! Today in San Francisco, Apple unveiled its new music streaming service at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a little help from an idol of mine…

…Drake! He will be using Apple Music to promote his own new album, so you better believe I will be supporting this new streaming service. And in the above picture, he is high-fiving (real word?) Eddy Cue, head of software and Internet services, after discussing the Connect feature of Apple Music. To learn more about the service, check out this New York Times article here. I haven’t done enough research to compare all of the streaming services out there, so I will write another post on that once the proper research is done! But I have a feeling this might be the cake taker. Or it could be just because Drake’s involved, but whatevs. From the few articles I’ve read thus far, Apple Music looks like it could have some real potential and truly engage fans, while still benefiting the artist (and not at $20/month for the fan). #praise

If that wasn’t exciting enough for me, The Weeknd also came out to world premiere his newest single ‘Can’t Feel My Face.’ Produced by Max Martin, who has also worked with Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift, Abel swoons over a love so strong that he can’t feel his face, metaphorically speaking of course.

I’m totally blowing it with embedding the actual song into this post, so you will just have to click here to listen. Sorry for the extra step, yinz, but I’m no coder and just want you to listen asap!

And at Drake’s most recent performance at the Governors Ball in NYC on Friday, he made mention during ‘Crew Love’ that an OVO + XO collab could be making a comeback. Maybe it will drop on Apple Music! Stay tuned, yinz…oh, and this post is my first post written in Pittsburgh 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up 6.5.15

June 5, 2015Leave a comment

Well, tomorrow is the day all of Robinson Township has been waiting for. 6.6.15 – Anthony’s high school graduation party. Tonight I’ll be taking a red-eye flight to head home to Pittsburgh to attend the extravaganza. #6615 is finally here, and I cannot wait to see all of my mom’s very hard work and party planning paid off. Considering she made all of the reservations, including venue and live band, for the party LAST February, yes February 2014, I’m sure it will be nothing short of amazing – much like my and Michael’s parties. But most importantly, we will be celebrating Anth! So very proud of him 🙂

For those who cannot make it and for those who will be attending but plan on having one too many shots of Fireball or Limoncello, expect a full blog post about the event next week. The selfie stick is packed. #frigginTaylorSwift

In other celebration news…

HAPPY #NATIONALDONUTDAY
This quite possibly may be my favorite day to celebrate other than my birthday. Who can really resist a piece of fried dough covered in literally whatever topping you want. My favorites are old-fashioned and cake donuts – covered in sprinkles, chocolate icing, coconut, bacon… I could keep going.

And if you’re fortunate enough to live in a massive city like Los Angeles, there is no shortage of donut shops. Check out this map, courtesy of Studio DIY (really cute website!), below to hit up all the famous and best donut shops in LA.

Map created by Studio DIY

And those not in LA, you can get your free donuts here. Happy celebrating!

Californyinz

Tag: californyinz