I really really love this kind of stuff – when artists give you a behind-the-scenes look. It’s one of the closest ways they can interact and connect with us as fans. I think it would be so freaking cool to be in a recording studio, too, with one of my favorite artists. To see a song go from an idea to a top-charting single. One day!
So watch below to see the creative process behind Rihanna’s first ANTI single ‘Work’ featuring Drake. He’s not in the vid, but you will see him soon when the real music video is released. Can’t wait! And the chick in the video with RiRi is her assistant, Jenn Rosales who is always by her side and is quite hilarious.
I think this song will grow on me, but I must admit it’s not my favorite. It sounds a bit generic, and I really think Drake saved the track. No, I’m not just saying that because he’s my favorite. But without his verse, the song would be RiRi repeating ‘work work work work’ with a sound similar to her debut single ‘Pon de Replay.’ Serious. I think once I see the visuals, I’ll like it a lot more too! But regardless, I love that we’re finally getting new music from the Barbadian babe. And rumors state that ANTI will be dropping on Friday.
So listen to that new new featuring my boy Drizzy Drake here.
Could it be? The supposed YOLO mixtape we thought Drizzy and Rozay were working on is coming to life? Well, maybe not but Rick Ross has rounded up Drake for this new track ‘Empire’, which is featured on J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League’s new LP titled For All.
The heavy-hitter album is stacked full with tracks featuring Chris Brown, R. Kelly, Future, Kevin Gates, and way more. Check out the tracklisting below. And more importantly, listen to the new Drake track. And I know the image below isn’t the clearest – it was all I could find.
Finally! My birthday recap is here. I really think that this year, my 27th birthday, was my favorite by far. I’ve had a lot of epic birthdays from surprise trips on Miss Mandy to droppin’ it low at Greystone Manor. But something about this year was extra special. And seriously none of my birthday celebrations would have happened without the help of my friends.
Let’s do this via a timeline:
WEDNESDAY 1/13 My best from the west arrived in LA! I haven’t seen Bre since last May when she moved back home to Philly, so you know I was too excited to see her.
THURSDAY 1/14 My girlfriend Sydney arrived at Agatay for what would be the start of a pretty raucous evening and weekend. I bought tickets for Syd, Bre, and I to attend YesJulz‘ first-ever LA party. Who is YesJulz? She’s a 25-year-old bo$$ chick who lives in Miami and is #NeverNotWorking. Seriously, that’s her motto, and if you follow her on Snapchat (#YesJulz – you should really follow her if you don’t), you would see she is always making moves and empowering those around her. Definitely one of my inspirations. The party was downtown LA in a warehouse. The three of us were definitely the only sober people in the whole venue. We proceeded to make our way to the very front. I’m talking basically on the stage. I had to see YesJulz up close. Cut to epic DJs, a Hit Boy performance (he’s produced songs for Kanye), followed by a complete surprise guest… Wiz freaking Khalifa. A true #californyinz moment. Please just watch the video below. Words won’t do it justice. And he premiered his new track, ‘Bake Sale,’ with Travi$ Scott, which dropped today!
We made it back home around 2:30am, showered off the smell of sweaty people and booze and went to bed around 3am.
FRIDAY 1/15 My alarm goes off at 6:00am, and I was nearly in tears due to lack of sleep. I think that’s a worse feeling than being hungover. If you’re hungover, you can go grab a spicy chicken sandwich (#6) from Wendy’s and you’re good to go. But if you got just a few hours of sleep and have to be somewhere like WORK… well then you’re sort of screwed. Anyways, I made it to work and was actually quite productive. Plus I took a half day, so I guess I’m just being a little dramatic. Syd, Bre, and I hung out and napped for the remainder of the day into the night. Mac and Wally came over to chill. And then I got the best surprise I could have EVER asked for. Megan came home from dinner, walked into the house, and KYLIE APPEARED.
I started crying! Videos to come. It was truly the best. We popped some champagne and called it a night.
SATURDAY 1/16 Saturday was the big day! What started as a silly thought in my head came to life. I threw myself a Drake themed birthday. A BIG MAJOR HUGE thank you to Bre, Kylie, Sydney, Mac, Megan, and Wally for all of their help in setting up and cleaning! Having all of my favorite people helping me throw a party in honor of my favorite artist was the best feeling. Love yinz! ❤
After I told people I was hosting a Drake themed party and they rolled their eyes and chuckled at me, everyone would ask, well what does a Drake party entail? My answer: Etsy. From cupcake toppers to banners to balloons and even my outfit, they have everything Drake. See to the left.
Shout out to all of the wonderful stores and sellers on Etsy who supplied my Drake party with all of the props and goodies. And my outfit! I would highly recommend these stores for the goods listed below. Quick to deliver and respond should you have any questions or special instructions. Thanks again!
SUNDAY 1/17 Shout out to Bre for hooking it up once again with four tickets to the Laker game on Sunday against the Houston Rockets! She doesn’t even work there anymore and is still getting us tickets and good seats. Bre, Kylie, Joe, and I ventured to the game – thanks for driving, Joe (and happy half birthday today). Although the Lakers lost, my Snapchat was winning because I witnessed magic between two G.O.A.T.S. See below.
MONDAY 1/18 OMG. If you’re in LA or if you ever visit LA, you must try and secure reservations at Bestia. Located downtown, this was some seriously amazing Italian food. It was pricey but worth every penny. Thank you Parker for hooking it up! We went to celebrate Nick’s birthday. Squaaaaa.
TUESDAY 1/19 My real birthday! I did go to work – womp womp. But Chad made my day extra special and had decorated my entire cube on Friday after I left. It was so very sweet of him – thank you, Chaddy! Now after this whole weekend of partying, I truly wasn’t in the mood to do anything crazy or even leave my couch that night. So Megan, Mac, Joe, and I ordered sushi takeout and did exactly that… didn’t leave the couch. Anne and Freddie also came over with some Prosecco – thank you! My favorite. Check out more pics below from the weekend.
The talented Nick, whose birthday we celebrated on Monday, is going to edit a video of me from the whole weekend. So stay tuned for that. Thanks again, Neek!
Truly from the bottom of my heart, I cannot thank all of my friends and family for making this birthday so special. From Chad decorating my cube to my girls making my silly little Drake party come to life to my mom having ordered from the East Coast two dozen cupcakes for my party and so much more, THANK YOU. And thank you for the gifts (Pelke – that OVO owl card was too thoughtful), messages, letting me play Drake music all day, and accepting my obsession. I am so grateful to have each and every one of you in my life.
Now Drake does have a lyric about being 28, so until next year!
Until my Drake birthday party! I don’t really have any important content for today, but I’m just really excited! The Drake GIF above is pretty much how I feel and am looking today.
EXCITED BECAUSE:
I picked up Bre from the airport last night and haven’t seen her since last May;
Us Purps (where Bre used to live) are all getting dinner tonight. They are the first group of friends I met out here;
I’m going to a YesJulz event late night tonight – her FIRST West Coast event. She’s from Miami. I’ll write a post about her too. Basically she’s the Snapchat queen and is #NeverNotWorking;
More Drake supplies and goodies are arriving for my party;
And yes, my Drake party is on Saturday and all my friends and girlfransssss will be in attendance! ❤
And other exciting things!
Congrats to The Weeknd for being nominated for an Oscar. He really ‘Earned It.’
Straight Outta Compton was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay
Usher announced he’s working on a NEW album called Flawed
And BIG congrats to Kendrick Lamar as he will be receiving the key to his hometown of Compton next month!
Lots of fun and exciting tings (no I’m not spelling it wrong – Drake reference) ahead!
Although we’re a few days into the week, I’ve declared this week #DrakeWeek. Yes, I know it may seem like EVERY week on californyinz is #DrakeWeek, but there are a few reasons why this week is extra special:
I’m hosting a Drake themed birthday party for myself on Saturday. Pretty sure I’ve ordered all Drake paper supplies that Etsy could offer;
I have this theory Views from the 6 is going to drop on Saturday;
I just reached 6,000 VIEWS on this blog (thank YINZ);
And I’m just really pumped about life and Drake;
AND Bre is flying in for my birthday weekend TOMORROW night! ❤
Thanks to Revolt TV, take a look below at the casting call for the very possible new music video of Rihanna featuring Drizzy Drake. Like whaaaaaat. I absolutely loved ‘Take Care’ and ‘What’s My Name?’ featuring those two, so I can only imagine great tings for this.
The song is supposedly called ‘Work,’ and let me tell you, I am ready to see these two WORQUE in this video. We aren’t sure if this track will be featured on Rihanna’s upcoming album ANTI or Drake’s highly-anticipated album Views From the 6. Who knows! It may not even be on either of the projects. Regardless, I’m looking forward to it.
You can read and see more details about the shoot here!
I know this is overdue, but now my post won’t be lost in the mix of everyone else’s New Year posts. 🙂
So on New Year’s Eve during the day, my roommate Megan and I ventured to the beach to reflect on 2015. We talked about our peaks and pits of the year, as well as our funniest moments. That last one was actually a bit difficult because I’m convinced our group of friends have funnier moments than most. Also, the peaks and pits are something that the Kardashians do. Judge me. The peak is your highest moment and the pit would then be your worst. Try it sometime.
I scribbled down my top moments of 2016 in this notebook I was gifted on my 25th birthday (thanks, Jamie!). It has loads of information ranging from blog topics and ideas to things I’ve learned in social media classes and workshops. Rather than me re-typing what I wrote, here are two screenshots of what I wrote down. Don’t mind the chicken scratch. And I know there’s highlights I’m forgetting…
Add to that list seeing The Weeknd with Parker and Syd, Jamie getting married and being in her wedding, winning a Twitter contest to attend Social Media Week LA fo FREE, visiting Drake’s permanent LA flagship store, and closing out my trip home for Christmas by going to a Steelers tailgate with my bro Michael – #af. Again, I know there’s more but this will do.
Last year was filled with seriously SO many activities, concerts, and networking opportunities with the most epic friends (new and old!) and family. I have no idea what’s in store for this year. Well, I do know Drake is going to drop his album – hopefully this month for my birthday – but other than that I’ll just ‘do what I want when I’m poppin” this year (Future lyric).
Now to get started on my 2016 Blessings Jar and Vision Board, courtesy of Karen Civil. Blog post to come on who she is and why I admire her work ethic and positivity.
Today’s favorite moments feature none other than Drake. From performances to magazine covers to opening an OVO flagship store in Los Angeles and more, take a look below to see what my favorite Drake moments were in 2015!
Cans of Sprite will be emblazoned with inspirational quotes from hip-hop stars Drake, Nas, Rakim and Notorious BIG in a new campaign from the soda maker. The quotes include “Know yourself, know your worth,” from Drake’s 2015 album and “Cool ’cause I don’t get upset,” from Rakim’s “Microphone Fiend.”
Looking forward to two thousand 6IXteen!
PS – Happy birthday to my roommate and one of my dearest friends, Megan! Can’t wait to celebrate tonight
Saturday was the big day! What started as a silly thought in my head came to life. I threw myself a Drake themed birthday. A BIG MAJOR HUGE thank you to Bre, Kylie, Sydney, Mac, Megan, and Wally for all of their help in setting up and cleaning! Having all of my favorite people helping me throw a party in honor of my favorite artist was the best feeling. Love yinz! ❤
Californyinz 