Creative Juices Archives - Page 7 of 10

Music Highlight: Quinn Shabaz “Day One” ft. Jimmy Apoet & Leon Dominick

Ever met a rapper that seems to have a song for every moment in a person’s life? I call those people trendy rappers because they have music for everything, even songs for when you feel the urge to smack someone. This week’s music highlight is Quinn Shabaz.

Meet Quinn Shabaz:

Quinn began rapping in 2005. That may seem relatively recent being 9 years ago, but he’s musical experiences stretches back to his elementary school days, as he began playing the saxophone in the 3rd grade. By the time he graduated from middle school, Quinn was able to play the saxophone, the drums and the guitar. Like many of other great musicians, Quinn also was apart of his church’s choir. He spent 4 years singing for his church, while he focused on his writing skills until 2012 where he released his first musical project “Alternative Thanksgiving” with long time friend Leon Dominick. The following year, Quinn released his first solo project “Love&Hooligans” and not too far behind dropped his 2014 mixtape “Good Heart, Bad Habits.”

With only two solo projects under his belt, Quinn is showing us a job well done. When tuning to Soundcloud to find a song to share with my readers, I chose to share the most played. “Gator” is a song about pimp slappin a bitch. I can’t put it any simpler than that. Ha-ha! So if you’re in one of those moods full of pure frustration and can’t seem to let the tension go, I’m sure “Gator” can help with that.

But that’s not what I wanted to highlight in today’s post. I wanted to share Quinn’s music video “Day One,” which includes two previously featured artist on Doc’s Castle Media, Jimmy Apoet and Leon Dominick. It’s a song about true friendship and hanging out with people who’s been around since the beginning. I’m talking about those best friends you wouldn’t trade the world for.

Did You see my cameo? Ha-ha!

I really loved what Quinn did by taking it back to those celebratory cookout days in this video. It symbolizes a moment that everyone should experience when people spent time with their loved ones. I’m sure some of you had that experience this week, spending some time with your Day One’s during this Labor Day weekend.

Quinn Shabaz is definitely worthy of this week’s Music Highlight shoutout! I enjoyed every bit of his latest album. To hear more from him, follow his soundcloud at Quinn Shabaz.

The best moment to play Quinn Shabaz’s “Gator” is when…. Fill in the blank sending your comments, below!

Another favorite from “Good Heart, Bad Habits” is Cruise Control. I added the single in one of my fashion videos for Boulevard of Chic. Read Lights, Camera, Fashion! Recap of Boulevard of Chic’s Fashion Show on Doc’s Castle Media.

#SoIFlowLive Recap w/ Graffititech & Greenspan

So what did you miss last night? Well, if you didn’t notice me spamming your Instagram, I attended SoIFLowLive artist showcase held at the brand new Play Hookah Lounge.

The event was hosted by the lovely JanaeTru, blogger for the notorious TruDat Blog. She did an awesome job hosting last night’s festivities by keeping the crowd laughing and ready for the evening’s honored guests.

This Wednesday at SoIFlow, it was all about Baltimore’s own music producer Graffititech and Bmore hip-hop artist Greenspan. Each of them brought some oomph to the night.

The night began with Graffittech. Instead of having the event turn into a strictly a listening party for his set, he decided to be a little different, and brought an entourage of artists with him to perform over his beats.

In honor of one of hip-hop culture’s legendary artist, Graffititech also allowed the audience to take a listen to his 13 year anniversary tribute to the beloved Aaliyah. We rocked out for a minute for his tribute had Bmore written all over it. He remixed Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody?” by giving it a homey sound and we danced to a brand new “Baltimore Club” song in remembrance of her. (Take a listen to the track.)

Following Graffititech came DJ Blaqstarr. As one of the event sponsors, he blessed the stage with his musical graces. Years of his musical expertise showed him to be transparent because we could all tell this guy put in a lot of work to be where he is today. All we can do is respect this man for what he does.

Greenspan wrapped up the night for us. Along with him came Al Great and Ashley Alexander. All three of these great talents actually whipped me back into shape after being blown away by the hookah I was sharing with Janae. Janae was a little blown away up there hosting, too, as she mentioned the hookah gets her a little dizzy. It’s all good tho. Ha-ha!

There was also a buffet included with the ticket purchased for the event. It didn’t have much but after tweeting that I hadn’t eaten all day, that plate of chicken and salad saved my life. Then when I turned around and I saw some banging jewelry by New Vintage By Sam and wished I had some more money.

I’m steady shaking my head at myself because I was literally a starving artist last night.

Though the night was amazing, I can’t help to fathom why there wasn’t more people there to savor the experience with me. Once again it was artists supporting other artists. The artist-to-fan ratio was whack. I’m glad to see we got each others back out here in Baltimore. But we still need to bring out those crabs who only want to watch me post from my Instagram account. Haha! A change is coming Baltimore, indeed.

Never the less, I enjoyed my time at SoIFlowLive and I highly encourage others to support. SoIFlowLive is every Wednesday at the Play Hookah Lounge from 7-10 pm.

Based off what you see, did I convince you to come out to more local hip-hop events? Leave your comments below.

Did you see the other Aaliyah Tribute via another Baltimore artist? See Maryland Rivers Tribute to R&B Legend Aaliyah on Doc’s Castle Media.

#TheMixx 2014 Recap… If You Missed It

What an electrifying Monday yesterday turned out to be as I attended The 2014 Mixx Music Festival hosted and sponsored by The Keenan System and Downtown Locker Room.

Directly across the street from Morgan State University, artists from all over the DMV area came together in live performances to wake up MSU students from their summer slumbers in preparation for tackling another school year filled with all nighters, term papers, and dreaded finals. Who’s ever ready to leave their summer freedom for that?!

There were live performances from both familiar faces and some new. But I have to say the most sensational had to be from Malik Ferraud. The party began when he brought an entourage of other local artists with him onstage to put on the best performance of the night.

Don Trunk stole the show for a little sec., too.

Lor Scoota also put on an exceptional show performing his infamous hit “Bird Flu.”

Other performers who rocked the stage last night were as follows…

Maya Milan

Dee Dave

Visto

and Pop.

For it the be the first day of school, it definitely didn’t feel like it. The energy of both the performers and the crowd was phenomenal, and at the same time quite peaceful. That’s why it’s no telling exactly why festivities were cut short by the police. This crowd, full of mature young adults, quietly and respectfully cleared the field at the request of the officials. I guess, it was too live for a Monday. But it’s looking up with great possibilities for next years Mixx Fest.

Baltimore is on the rise! People are opening up their support for local talent, don’t you think? Would you attend next years The Mixx Fest 2015? Leave your comments below.

Did you know that the Beat Auction is today? Get the details about the beat tour on Doc’s Castle Media.

Maryland Rivers Tribute to R&B Legend Aaliyah

It’s been a long 13 years since the lost of the very talented R&B legend Aaliyah. But we continue to show our respects as we honor her in numerous ways. Often through artists current works, we send messages to close relatives and people who played huge parts in Aaliyah’s life by showing our appreciation for how much Aaliyah contributed to the hip-hop culture. We couldn’t get to where we are in hip-hop without her. We damn sure haven’t forgotten our beautiful angel.

Now we know Maryland Rivers hasn’t either. Sometime yesterday, published to James Jones YouTube was the release of Maryland Rivers and the TSU dance crew tribute to Aaliyah. Boy, did they shut it down!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dmQN4u8xJU]

R.I.P. to our hip-hop princess.

Lights, Camera, Fashion! Recap of the Boulevard of Chic’s Fashion Show

What a great feeling it is when I can say that I’ve completed another task from my Bucket List. Last weekend, I participated in my first fashion show. Boulevard of Chic asked me if I was interested in participating in their 2nd fashion truck rally, which took place on the Rash Field in the Baltimore Inner Harbor.

It was an honor to be apart of a fashion show that seemed better suited for the people and by the people. In a professional runway show, it’s apparent that the show isn’t for the people. The average person can’t be spotted at show like it. But at the Boulevard of Chic’s show, anyone can be seen there. The people spotted at last Saturday’s event most likely supported venues there by purchasing something from their tents. So to be wearing something that someone probably bought by the end of the day, I felt honored and pleased to know that the show was of good use to onlookers.

I worked my stuff in what I was provided. My make up for the fashion show was done by Candace Tingen of Metamorphose Industries LLC. She did a wonderful job. She also does professional makeup artistry for bridal, film, print, and any other special occasion a girl should look spazzy for. So if you’re seeking someone with professional work experience, check out Candace. The outfit I modeled, which is shown on the picture above, is from Hannah Mone’t, which is Maryland based fashion retailer that caters to women of all shapes and sizes, from small and petite to curvy and chic. So if you’re into that funky type of style, Hannah Mone’t is the place for you.

There were a lot of other nice clothing lines and small businesses that participated in Saturday’s show, check some of them out in the video below.

Did you see all the goodies from the 1st Boulevard of Chic Fashion Truck Rally? Read Fun at Baltimore’s 1st Fashion Truck Rally on Doc’s Castle Media.

Doc Participates In The Boulevard of Chic’s 2nd Fashion Truck Rally

Today is a big day for me. I’ll be participating in a fashion show. Yay! This fashion show is in promotion of all the fashion trucks that’ll be at this weekend’s truck rally event for Boulevard of Chic.

This is the second Boulevard of Chic event I’m attending. The first event was held earlier during the spring. This one is different because it’s adding a new addition to its truck rally that didn’t take place at its first in April: the Boulevard of Chic’s fashion show.

BOV is all about supporting local DMV small businesses so they’ve picked a few local lines and some local bloggers to help kick off a good show and catch the attention of some of Baltimore’s savvy shoppers while they shop at the Rash Field in the Baltimore Inner Harbor this Saturday afternoon. I’m so excited to participate in another one of their events.

If you’d like to see a great line up of bloggers model some of the DMV most popular fashion trucks attire, come through and support the Boulevard of Chic 2nd Fashion Truck Rally. I hope to see you there!

Visit:
Rash Field in Baltimore Inner Harbor
(Near Key Highway)
12 pm to 7 pm

Would you shop from a mobile fashion truck? Leave your comments below.

Did you read about the last Fashion Truck Rally by Boulevard of Chic? Read Fun at Baltimore’s 1st Annual Fashion Truck Rally on Doc’s Castle Media.

When Did Endangering Ourselves for Facebook Likes Become Popular?

Petroleum jelly challenge, Pass out challenge, Fire challenge, cinnamon challenge, and any other challenge that requires people to endanger themselves to get likes and views are swarming everyone’s social media timelines causing a huge uproar of disgust and disappointment. It’s even reaching major media channels.

People are dying from such incidents but these kids continue to participate in these dangerous challenges for attention. It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

Who’s going to accept the challenge to stand against the crowd and not do what’s popular? What’s going on is obviously a new form of peer pressure I’ve never seen before. These teenagers want to do what they think is cool, but forget to realize they’re not invincible. If there’s no one telling them the errors of their ways or pointing out how dangerous some of these challenges they choose to take on are, it’ll be a generation full of DUMB ASS PEOPLE.

There’s one person who’s taking on the fire challenge differently. No one takes on this challenge better than my friend Brian Sessions as he performs a spoken word about what he thinks of these fire challenges.

What will it take for these kids to stop doing these things? Do you think these challenges will let up soon? Leave your comments below.

Have you heard about Pizza King? Read Whole Time, The Pizza King Live in Baltimore on Doc’s Castle Media.

“Child Support The Comedy” Premieres August 14 at The Historic Senator Theatre in Baltimore

There’s a new film reaching our local theaters and I had the pleasure interviewing the director of this indie film. Mr. Frankie Jones was pleased to give me the scoop on his newest creation. This film is folks who may relate to the feeling of having their pockets emptied by the most evils of evil; a revenge seeking baby mother. Child Support The Comedy premieres for all to see this August 14 at The Historic Senator Theatre.

What’s the basics of Child Support The Comedy? What’s the movie about?

Frankie: Child Support The Comedy is about a character named Corey who’s subjected to pay child support because he’s not in a relationship with his vindictive baby mother. While Corey does not have a steady job due to being laid off, he struggles to pay his dues. After receiving a notice from the judge to pay one thousand dollars for child support with in 24 hours or be condemned into jail, Corey and his best friend come up with various plans to hustle up some money.

What inspired you to produce this film?

Frankie: I hear all kinds of Child Support Stories, and for the most part, its always frustration or anger that’s coming from the person who’s talking about it. Since I wanted my next film to be a comedy, I figured “Child Support” was catchy and its topic is real. I thought maybe I could come up with a storyline in a comedic sense to get a small message out there to people. It was also a challenge to make this film because its my first comedy.

Is this your first indie film? If not, what are some of your other works you’d like to share with the Doc’s Castle Media readers?

Frankie: This is my third film. The first was Family Faith and Money, based on my book Family Faith and Baltimore Money. The second film is One Song.

Should we expect more movie from you soon?

Frankie: You can definitely expect more movies. We will be having a casting call in August for a new project.

Are there any other events we should look forward to from you in the upcoming year?

Frankie: You can expect more movies and projects in the upcoming year.

Do you know anyone who’s experiencing what Corey’s going through in real life?

Frankie: Its a lot of people who I know that can relate to Child Support The Comedy or are going through similar situations.

Doc’s Castle Media seeks to inspire positivity and productivity in the people of our city. From your experiences, could you share a few words about what motivated you to keep pushing to make Child Support The Comedy or any other film you’ve created?

Frankie: First and foremost, what motivates me the most is God because he wakes me up every morning and gives me the strength and talent to be able to do what I do. Then, of course, there’s my family that motivates me. Connecting with my friends while bringing our ideas and creativity together to create a great production also motivates me. I just like helping people take steps towards something that they always wanted to do.

What are your links for people to keep up with what’s new coming from Frankie Jones Movies? (Social Media, websites, etc.)

My website is www.frankiejonesmoves.com

Twitter: @frankiejones122

What’s the funniest child support experience you’ve heard? Leave your comments below.

YTube Vid of the Week: Beauty and the Beat

I watch cartoons faithfully, as if I’m still 8 years old. I recently watched The Little Mermaid and song along with it like it just came out in theaters. I’m such a kid on the inside. But what’s up with these memes and videos that I come across on Facebook and Instagram that constantly tries to ruin my childhood memories by tainting them with adult messages.

Like this one:

Haha! They’re wild! I can’t help but laugh.

When I came across Beauty and the Beat, I died from laughter! It’s a parody of the song “Belle” from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, recreated to follow Belle’s day to day activities in a new perspective. IsBelle’s living in the hood!?

Boojie Belle has the attention of all the hood; hoodrats and thugs watch her go about her day. She’s the talk of the neighborhood.

It’s amazing how growing up can change your outlook on something so innocent. I can’t even imagine what the producer of this video was thinking. What’s really funny about this short is it plays off the stereotypes of blacks. So some of the things that happen in this video is funny because I picture a group of black people talking about a white girl coming into a majority black environment, similar to a previous YTube Vid of the Week: Mean Gurlz, which was also created by Todrick Hall.

I’m experiencing what happens to people when they get older and have kids themselves. Majority of adults no longer watch at cartoons that were created by people who were older than us as a child. (I’m talking about those 1980s and 90s babies aren’t looking at new cartoons.) So we’re watching what we’re familiar of. Now we’re finding that the adults creators of our childhood cartoons left subliminal messages to be unraveled. If there weren’t any subliminal messages previously in our kiddy shows, we create them anyway for laughs for my generation’s age of ignorance. Poof! There goes our memes.

While my generation does this, I can fathom what my children’s generation will be or how their kids will utilize new media. But my generations love making jokes of my childhood innocence.

What’s the most funniest meme you’ve come across in the past 2 years? Leave your comments below.

Did you watch the last Ytube Vid of the Week: IceJFish Like I Want To (Official Video). Watch it on Doc’s Castle Media.

Sign The Petition Against WERQ-FM’s Local Artist Airplay Time Slots

I know many may say they don’t listen to the radio anymore. But when you do want to listen to something new, what do you prefer? Do you listen to the local DJs on your cities radio station or do you listen to Spotify and Pandora? In the case of Baltimore, do you listen to 92Q or WMSK Online Radio?

I still listen to the radio. But it’s not my primary choice for new music. Whenever I feel the urge to listen to something new, I find myself running to soundcloud or YouTube rather the radio because the radio plays the same songs too often. When will the music gods ever change that? Honestly, does this city care enough to want to change how we hear new music?

We moan and groan about why our local radio stations refuse to play local artists music for our community to hear and support, but won’t make a difference about it. What’s going on here? Nothing is adding up. Someone’s making an effort, for sure. We’re just so blind to what’s happening in our community that we’ve overlook it. I’ve come across a petition,which entire purpose is to stop WERQ from playing only industry crap during the hours of 6am to 12am, and mix up the music selection with more local/independent artists during those time slots.

The Petition was created by Catherine Moran, and this woman makes a very good point for why we, as music lovers, should sign in agreement for changing when WERQ should play independent music.

Allot 1/3 of their playlist to local Baltimore artist between the hours of 8 a.m. & 6pm daily. Songs should be chosen by the people NOT the PDs, Asst PD, or DJs. There needs to be a voting poll via 3rd party site example “Polldaddy.com” where the results can be viewed by the public with real-time updates, to insure radio staff are not fooling people.

For too long our radio station has put on this front calling themselves the “People’s Station” when in fact they are not helping our “People (local talent)” at all. Every time you turn around they are creating more and more ridiculous policies to discourage artist from trying to get on radio, and justify shutting them out. This needs to end today.

VIEW THE CATHERINE’S WORLDSTARHIPHOP VIDEO & SIGN THE PETITION HERE

I already signed the petition. I want local artist to have more opportunities to shine. I want the city to be behind this because many of Baltimore residents claim there is never a time where we have a voice. If we could rally up more people to sign this petition, we face a chance in being recognized as another city full of very talented people with the potential to go as far as anyone who may come from New York, Atlanta, or Los Angeles. We can make this happen!

Do you think this petition can be the starting point for big change in the music industry? Leave you comments below.

Have you read Doc’s opinion for why she thinks Baltimore isn’t supportive their artists? Read Baltimore Is Too “Cliqued” Up To Have Supporters on Doc’s Castle Media.