My NinJa!
Learn How To Be DOPE!
- Courtesy of Sigourney Saley
Renaissance 2.0: Curtis Santiago
Curtis Santiago is a breath of fresh air - the kind of creative visionary who steps onto the scene and revolutionizes the game rather effortlessly. You’ve probably heard his name bouncing off the lips of those kids who are always two-steps ahead when it comes to music, fashion, film and art. That’s because Canadian born-and-raised Santiago has made a name for himself in every field – he was a member of the Hi-Phoniqs soul band in the late 90s, has co-hosted CTV’s Fashion Television, has exhibited his colorful, “wild-style” paintings in galleries across the country, made his acting debut in a John Cusak film that recently wrapped in Toronto, and is now set to host the highly-anticipated RedBull 3Style DJ Tour. His music is as post-genre as he is, fusing slick rhymes with soulful rock. Santiago released his latest mixtape with Mick Boogie, “HAVE MERCY!” last April, featuring a collaboration with TRACE favorite Mickey Factz on a remix of The Killers hit track “Human”. TRACE sat down with Santiago to gain a little more insight into his eclectic music, personal style and future projects. Read more
Dungeon Dragons: Little Dragon Performs at Le Poisson Rouge.
Since releasing their self-titled debut album,
For additional show and ticket info visit: http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/633
- Courtesy of Devin “Pan” Barrett
A Star Is Born.
A3C Hip Hop Festival + Mixtape
ATLANTA is rapidly becoming a CULTURAL TRIALBLAZER–I’m beginning to feel like I’m missing out on the all the fun being here in NEW YORK!
To add to my discontentment FADIA KADER and the good folks at SMKA have organized the monumental A3C “Perfect Attendance,” a 3-day Hip Hop Festival which includes artists from the North, South, East, West, and the Midwest and begins tonight, OCTOBER 1st thru October 3rd at “The 5 Spot” in Atlanta, GA and includes artists: Rakim, Black Sheep, J.Cole, Melo-X, Nikki Ntu, Jasmine Solano, Tanya Morgan, U-N-I and a host of other dynamic acts.
Global Celebration.
As I made my rounds on one of the most anticipated nights of Fashion Week — Fashion’s Night Out (those on twitter #FNO09) — I knew the night was going to overflow with excitement when I reached Broadway/Lafayette and saw a slew of women changing from there everyday flats to their Louboutins and Chanels. Socialites, magazine press, bloggers and photographers seemed to travel in packs to see and be seen. As I tweeted (@sigourney) my where abouts throughout the city– myself and blog writers J. Dwayne (www.werqout.com) and Sade Jane (www.the7sense.com) — eased to some of the most sought out events of the night! While some boutiques were packed (A Bathing Ape) and others were particularly empty (Brooklyn Industries) the energy levels remained constant. Read more
The GOOD Music Family.
- Courtesy of Sigourney Salley
Jazz and the city, looking back at Montreal’s 2009 Jazz Festival
The rain didn’t stop hundreds and thousands of Montrealers and tourists flocked to the newly established Quartier des spetacles, for the opening of the International Jazz Festival.To mark the 30th anniversary of an event, that has become the landmark of the city, the organizers of the FIJM gave the city an a unmatchable thank-you gift with an opening show by none other than Stevie Wonder. The Motown legend performed
many of his hits for a mesmerized audience of over 100,000 people, which had arrived on the site, as early 1pm. The two hour set also included jazz standards and even a Beatles cover, however an emotional Wonder had made it clear from the beginning that the show was entirely dedicated to the memory of his friend the late King of Pop.
This opening event set the tone for the Festival, a joyous and grandiose celebration of 30 year of entertainment and excellence.
13 days, more than 600 shows, hundreds of artists, a brand new festival site, La Maison du Jazz, a brand space entirely dedicated to Jazz, this is what the organizers had to offer the public.
And after all these years what keeps fueling the creativity and success of the event,? Its winning formula.
An indoor line-up of Jazz virtuosos with the likes of the Marsalis brothers, Oscar Petersson, Chucho Valdes, and other big headliners, such as Tony Bennett Al Jarreau, Kool and the Gang, The Harlem Gospel Choir ….The star-studded l line-up also included a wide variety of acts from Estelle, to electro-duo Thunderheist, Melanie Fiona, The Chin Chin, and Robert Glasper (whose tag-team effort with Mos Def got canceled only a few days before the event).
The outdoor shows presented an even greater variety of musical genre; an interesting selection of up-and-coming artists but also especially, this year, 5 mega-shows that punctuated the festival. The audience traveled to Jamaica with a masterclass on Rock Steady, with none other than Marcia Griffith (…); Toots and the Maytals and Burning Spears shared the stage for another memorable reggae evening.
A plethora of west African stars also graced the festival. From Femi Kuti to the Juju master himself King Sunny Ade to Alpha Blondy’s and the ever so graceful Oumou Sangare, the continent was widely represented.
Finally, it’s Ben Harper and his new band closed the festival on high note. Harper and his Relentless7 their brand new White Lies for Dark Times with over 100000 people in attendance.
With this year’s edition, the 30th the organizers of the Festival International Jazz Festival had the ambition to offer the most exciting edition to date… and they did. With performers that could satisfy audience of , activities for the whole family, including a school of Jazz for the little one, as well as 3 day guitar fair, there is no doubt that the FIJM is the most important event of its kind.
Thunderstorm: Electro-Pop at the Jazz Fest
DJ Grahm Zilla and MC Isis aka Thunderheist, took Montreal’s Club Soda by storm this Saturday. The Toronto duo gave an electrifying performance that kept the crowd jerking for more than an hour. For this special Jazz Fest appearance Thunderheist was accompanied by a drummer that brought their live performance to another level.
PS: Watch out for Isis’ solo project coming out next year.