French graffiti artist Fafi doesn’t need any introduction. She first started painting on the walls of her hometown Toulouse, back in the early 90’s and now her ultra-sexy fafinettes can be seen all over the world. From Montreal to Paris, Mexico to Amsterdam, Tokyo to Bali, the provocative pin-ups have caught the attention of graffiti lovers the world over. With time Fafi’s style has evolved, and she’s created her own imaginary world, the Carmine Vault, where the Fafinettes live alongside Hmilo, the Hillminis and Birtak. After a series of successful collaborations with Adidas, Coca Cola, Le Sportsac, and MOB, this graffiti queen is now teaming up with MAC Cosmetics. For their Spring collection, the cosmetic giant approached Fafi to create three Fafinettes that would appear on compact powders, lip-glosses, mascara, bags and much more. The limited-edition line featuring Ermine, Monoka and Eriko - the three fafinettes- is out next month so watch out for the launch party scheduled for February 13th at New York’s Bendel’s. The colors are amazing, the illustrations are cute! Ladies, this a must-have for Spring!

Crate diggers, vinyl aficionados, and anyone with a passion for quality music with soul, should check out the Wax Poetics & PowerHouse Book Launch Party hosted by jazz-funk fusion legends Larry & Fonce Mizell. Celebrated as true revolutionaries of the 1970s era jazz, funk, and R&B scene, the Mizell Brothers are also well known figures in the Hip Hop community, and their records remain some of the most widely sampled in contemporary music circles. The brothers started their careers as members of Motown’s production and writing crew, The Corporation, where they produced a number of classic 70’s hits, including Jackson Five’s ‘I Want You Back’ and ‘ABC’. After founding their company, Sky High Production, they went on to produce albums for Blue Note with Donald Byrd, Bobbi Humphrey (Blacks & Blues, 1973) and Johnny Hammond Smith.

The event on Wednesday will feature the launch of two collaborative book projects, Wax Poetics Anthology Vol.1 and Wax Poetics Cover Story: Album Cover Art, which will surely become a must-have resource for all true Hip Hop, jazz, funk, soul, reggae, disco, and Latin music lovers. The book launch will be accompanied by the record release of the Mizell Brothers’ 1966 gem, “Baby I Want You”, now digitally remastered and available on WaxPoetics Records. Not to be missed!

RSVP Kiera Peppers kiera@waxpoetics.com

Wax Poetics & PowerHouse Book Launch Party w/ DJ Moni Wednesday, Feb 13th 6-9 p.m. @ The powerHouse Arena. 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY.

If there’s one reading to check out this week, it’s this one.

Tuesday, February 12 at 7:00 PM
Three Lives & Company Bookstore (154 West 10^th Street, in Greenwich Village)
Beautiful Children by Charles Bock

Charles Bock has received a lot of hype thus far for his first novel, which revolves around the detritus of Las Vegas away from the glitz of the Strip, and a pair of parents after their 12-year old son disappears into the desert. He’ll be doing a reading tonight, so go see what the buzz is all about. He’ll be introduced by his editor, David Ebershoff. Three Lives is a cozy space though, so I recommend getting there early.