I had a pretty fun time last night, shooting some production stills for SoJones, during a Jim Jones and DJ Webstar music video shoot. The set was at the shoe store “Medici,” which is right around the corner from the Flatiron Building, on 23rd Street. Since they had to get the whole video done while the store was closed, they worked all night long. I only stuck around until about 2. Here is the Sojones write-up.

Last night Common played a show on Bower at Capitale. It was to promote a new Diesel fragrance. I’m sure that if you read magazines, you have seen the ads. Anyway, I was shooting the red carpet for SoJones. It worked out well, since Reagan had a girls night, tonight. It was the first time I have ever done something like that. It didn’t go as well as I had planned. First of all, it was raining on and off. So I’m sure that half of the people went in the back door. A few models came through before it really started coming down. I was there to photograph Common, but apparently he bypassed the carpet. Anyway, I ended up not even going to the show, because they were going to make me check my camera. I guess that they had already contracted with someone exclusively for the photos in the actual show. Anyway, here are a few of the shots that I got.

^—Olivia Palermo (from “The City”)

^—Michelle Trachtenberg (from “Gossip Girl”)

^—I forgot who this woman is, hahahaha. I’ll figure it out again by the time I publish these on Sojones. So you can check it out over there. (BTW, this is Sessilee Lopez [fashion model])

^—Olivia, again.

It was pretty fun. It would have been better if the weather wouldn’t have crapped out, and if Common would have come in the front door.

7L and Esoteric are a hip hop group out of Boston.  They rhyme about Jamie Lee Curtis and Wookies. I like them. Here is Feudal Lords (feat. Nejel Mongrel) (be forewarned, it has the “s” word).

The Grouch. This guy is frequently collaborating with Murs, Eligh, Zion I etc.. He has a good organic Hip-hop flow. Grouch doesn’t really have a traditional Hip hop dialect. He pronounces the letter “R” in his lyrics, for example. Grouch tends to get a bit political sometimes, with the lyrics. Some of his stuff, I absolutely love. Some of it, I can’t stand. I first heard his music playing over in the overhead speakers at an indoor skate park, that doesn’t exist anymore. After a couple of songs, I had to go ask the guys running the place who the artist was. Grouch has a new album out, it’s called “Show you the World.” I really like most of the stuff on it. I have been listening to it for about a week straight. The song I’m sharing is called “The Bay to LA,” featuring Murs. It isn’t my favorite song on the album. But, it is nice and clean. Plus, it is pretty good. Bend an ear.

I had a blast hanging out with the guys from Rich Yung, Triple 5 Soul, e.5.Charlie, and the Cargo guys, for the past two evenings at the Cargo show. SoJones got me hooked up with press credentials, and the Cargo guys really treated me right. The music was awesome, both yesterday with DJ Camilo, and today with DJ Panther (pictured above). The image below, is one that I shot from the DJ booth, looking down over the event.

The guys below are the ones behind e.5.Charlie. They are a couple of pretty cool characters who hooked me up with a bunch of swag.

You can check out my interviews with Rich Yung, and with Triple 5 Soul, over at SoJones. There are a couple of more interviews I did at the show that we be published on SoJones in the next few days. Here is the article about the history of the show.

I’m a sucker for piano and female vocals. So, of course I’m a fan of Alicia Keys. One of the first songs that I really was nuts about, was “If I ain’t got you.” Reagan, and I both actually love that song. Plus the video was nuts. Remember it? With Method Man, getting hauled off in cuffs? So intense. Plus I love those earrings with the dangly keys, that she is wearing in the vid.

I feel like in addition to being so great on the piano, and having such a hot voice, she has done a great job to retain a soul/funk sound in a lot of songs. Despite the fact that she definitely broke into the pop scene with a lot her popular singles, she did a great job of maintaining the integrity of her sound (in my opinion).

So, the song that I’m sharing today, is actually one that I feel falls into the group I just described. It has a grindy funk beat, complete with wah-wah guitar and funk organ backing up the flow. Although I don’t feel like this song really showcases her vocal ability, it oozes with style. I feel like AK knows that it is not necessary to belt her guts out and bust into fancy dramatic runs in every single song, the way that Beyonce does. In my opinion, she is all the better, for it. Here is “Rock wit you.” It is a little over 5 and 1/2 minutes. Bend your ear and give it a listen.

I was first introduced to Zion I by my good friend and skate/snowboarding partner from college, Jay Varini. Come to think of it, Jay introduced me to a lot of the less prominent hip-hop that I listened to in the early 2000′s. So, thanks, Jay. I know that a lot of the music that I post on here is of the throwback variety. So, I thought that I would serve up something with a little more freshness (age-wise), this week. It just so happens that Zion I recently released a new album, called “The Take Over.” It is a bit of a deviation from their previous stuff, but still hot. If you don’t already own it, check out their album “Mind over Matter.” It is one of those records that you can listen to without skipping a single track. Zion I is a 2 man outfit from the Bay Area, consisting of Zumbi (vocals) and AmpLive (beats). Zumbi has a pretty distinct vocal quality. It is kind of a mix between Wycleff and Q-tip. The song that I’m sharing is called “DJDJ,” and is track number 4 on the latest album.

I recently joined the SoJones team as a contributor. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, yet. Here is a link to an article that I wrote, over the weekend dealing with what to wear riding, this summer. The site deals generally with hip hop and urban fashion trends. It is a little bit of a departure from the hard hitting fashion journalism that I have produced in the past (hahaha), but worth checking out.  Don’t be dissuaded by the out-dated design. The page is undergoing transformation, and the new look is scheduled to go live in the coming weeks. I have had a sneak peak at it, and it’s going to be hot. Anyway, add the feed to your favorite RSS reader and feel free to give plenty of feedback. Keep an eye out for my up-coming post breaking down the influence of hip hop on modern street skating. Thanks for looking.

The other day, one of my friends accused me of not liking hip-hop. I was completely stunned, at first. The more that I thought about it, the more it made sense. Because, honestly, I haven’t really been a fan of a lot of the stuff that has come out recently, claiming to be hip-hop. I mean T-pain and the whole voice modulation thing have just about killed the genre, for the time being, in my opinion. But that doesn’t mean I’m not into hip-hop. I totally get down with the organic stuff, especially. I’m talking like, Souls of Mischief, Jurassic 5, Roots, Esoteric, 7L, and such. I even get into a lot of the mainstream stuff. The first time I ever heard in “In the (da) club” it changed my life. Although, I can’t really vouch for 50′s recent stuff. The song that I’m sharing today is a fun mix of an old Jay-Z staple, “Ain’t no ****a.” The reason I can share this one is because they used the radio edit acapella for the mix (which is the clean version). So, give it a listen and enjoy!