We Got It 4 Cheap: Clipse 'Hell Hath No Fury' Tour, Toronto May 19th 2007, Tonic nightclub.

I had not (thankfully) been to Tonic since the infamous exercise in grandstanding aka that BBL show. Wow, What a distant memory - and I would submit myself to shock treatment to forget it too. In any case, The Clipse were in town to essentially remind us how to VA ni**az cook that contraband. The main direction is to apparently stir vigorously. And stir they did. Fearing that they would show up with a Major Label attitude, i went expecting the worse. But they rawked the show with this indie artists zeal and hunger that I certainly did not expect - esp in light of having guys like the 'Tunes in their corner. The Neptunes?? Pshhhhh. But man, by the end Pusha-T an Malice were perspiring like they would have been after cooking that good batch - working the mic like it were a spatula over the stove. Crack cooking co-hort, high caliber carrying Ab-Liva was also in the cut, and kicked some verses over R-E-U-P G-A-N-G classics.

In any event, pix and videos are avail below. Man, Shouts to Q who always knew. Say wrd.

Happy Birthday New Era NYC

1 yr ago, I got this sick invite in the mail. Black and gold foil, with the New Era logo embossed on it. It was an invite to the New Era Flagship store opening party in NYC. Made it down there, and the rest is history. The store opened a few days later, and It remains a must stop when down in money makin' Man. 4th & Broadway all day. Where else would I grab a fitted this sick?? So, this is a Happy 1st Bday out to my fam @ NE: Best (Thanks for the HH exclusive), Sid (do it.), Antoine (Good Look homie), Initial H, Omar. I see you Aaron!
BTW, wrd is that New Era will be opening another Flagship shop in Toronto. Looks like July. More deets to come soon.

Your boy aka Hizzla outside of NE NYC opening day (above), and inside (below).

Livestock Toronto: Grand Opening

The proverbial new kid on the block has arrived to much fanfare. A new sneaker boutique (shoetique?) that is going to turn that Richmond West x Spadina corner into even more of an internationally reknown goto location. Nothing but upside for yyz. Had to show love. Skam is my man and was in fact one of the 1st cats that I met when I moved to Toronto. This is his project and as such, pay respest. Copped some joints that I will likely rawk very soon. In anycase, this is to show love to my man Skam, and let him know how stoked and proud I am.
Livestock Toronto: 116 Spadina, just south of Richmond on the west side.

To LAX with Love.

Man, I was just up my man Filthy's new music post x all this sun makes me realize how much I miss LA.

Shouts to Basik of Bleu Collar, Diz Gibran, The Mighty Nick Diamond of Diamond Supply Co. (Shine!), El Gigante, the infamous Stevie Williams and my man. All is love.

Ride of Icarus

That's the feeling @ times. Though, the plunge into the sea will not be planned @ all. So, with the sun shining, you know how I get. I start to bug out....

It's all in fun. This is the long weekend.
Shouts to my BK Negrito who just got right on a bipod as well.

Wrd is chicks dig riding. Well, they gotta hear my boy K-Dee then: No one rides for free. ;)

Scootergate

it's a wrap. The above are now unified by a common thread.

1 Infinite Loop is down with me

The above screen shot was taken this afternoon when I found some friends online who all had iSights whilst using Apple's iChat AV, a chatting app part of OSX. So I decided to start a video conference so we could geek out and watch eather make dumb faces (click above).
I still recall the days that I used to get clowned for using an Apple computer. Look @ them now. iBooks, Powerbooks and MacBooks are errrwhere. I won't even get into iTunes & the iPod. [head shakes] As such, I'm just giving a nod and a wink to my family 1nce regarded as inconsequetial and negligible. We apparently call all the shots though. Strength in (no) numbers. Shouts to Abb, Raj (nice face dude) & Keesha (happy bday grrrl!), and Hater dot com who was christened in 2006. An eternal shout out Steve J & Jonathan Ive.

Dutty Winehouse: Amy Winehouse, May 12-13 2007. MOD Club. Toronto.

Dutty, Dutty Wine-house. I mean, I had heard the music, read the accolades. So these back to back SOLD OUT shows this week were going to be the zenith of a brilliant string of parties this weekend.
As much I as love her music, nothing did compare with the live act. The sound was quasi neo big band, backed by the Dap Kings - who packed a set of horns that we brighter than the sun on a clear day on a playa cubana (We did it Brooklyn!). In full viva voce were her back up vocalists Zalon & Hashima who offered not only sound but visions of Motown. But most melodious was Dutty Dutty Wine-house. The oft documented comportment characterized as unrestrained, unruly and vociferous, was balanced on stage with angelic harmony. Only thing bigger that her voice might have been her hair - which looked to account for much of her certainly sub-100 lbs weight. ;). These were the last 2 shows before heading back to ENG. She's due back this summer for V-Fest. Hopefully, she'll be backed by the Dap Kings 1nce more. Again, horns so bright, I needed shades! Below is the footage from the encore from the last show. Enjoy.


So with that, I leave you with a dream that I had, supplicating to a higher power that Ghostface would come out for the encore, performing his version of You Know I'm No Good off More Fish, the duet with Dutty Winehouse herself. WE EAT FISH! Click below and enjoy a mouthful.

Calamity!

Arrgh. The irony. The day after singing the praises of scooters.

Tools of the Tirade aka The Get Right.

Just assembling the gear for the night. Hitting that GDFT x Nike party feat. Clark Kent & Scratch @ The Drake. Should be aiiight. So here's the deal. I have always been one for getting your gear right. But I urge, don't forget the accessories. All day long. They add that je ne sais quoi to your outfit. So, I'll let you in on some of my accoutrements. Yep. Secrets revealed.
Tonight?? I'll likely be using the following:

Nokia 8801. I have spoken about this phone in the past. All about it. Candy bar form factor with a smooth slide design that will reveal jet black keys. Stainless steel case makes this one timeless. Will be just as hot 2 yrs from now. And, don't be fooled: it's surprisingly small. It will fit in your coin pocket. Got this on a trade for a Pink RAZR. Guess who came out on top?
Nixon Player. Pshhhhh. Does it get any more classic? Offered in a variety of finishes, I'll be using my stainless steel one with the (yes) real diamond bezel. Love it. Got it @ Ransom on Richmond St West.
Lastly, l'eau de toilette. So crucial. I mean, not having the right cologne is like having a Alexandre McQueen suit and Payless shoes. SO, many have wondered about this one. Well, for the last year and change, Comme Des Garçons 2 has been that scent heaven sent. Drives them bananas. The mirrored glass bottle is hella tight. This one is a little harder to get as it has been discontinued apparently. But, I overheard that Nomad on Richmond West still has some left. Do your due dilligence.
Aiiight. Let's have fun tonight. If you read this, and got right, don't just stand there when you see me, get me a drink!

Sun x Scooter riding: We get the chicks.

Enough about the sun already! But I can't. It makes me want to get up and work outside with my BlkBook & ride all day - I plan on doing both actually. Speaking of riding, I know many of you know but to confirm, and I am an official scooter rider. Not a Vespa - though they are now synonymous. Vespa makes scooters, but not all scooters are Vespas. Just an FYI. Mine? it's a Derbi. A Spanish brand. I'm riding on Tom Bradys. Introducing the Derbi Bullet.

I love it. You can tell by the way I zip around town. What do you know about 5L to fill up?? Getting almost 175+ kms to a tank? You a gas miser? Do the math. This is a win win. This could be you too ;). Today's Globe & Mail has a story on Scooters in Canada.
Evidently, "the guy on the Vespa gets the girl" as per the CDN Scooter president. I sure hope so, as I have yet to enjoy the nectar of said fruit. But what about the female rider? In anycase, why did I get one? I was out in EU the last few years and was just floored @ the scooter culture out there. Driving in Toronto, esp dwntwn, is synonymous to congestion @ this point. Ask me about sunny days in QB. Bananas. Oh yea, free parking. Hold that. The permit? A mulitple choice questionnaire. Anyhow, I can park this thing virtually anywhere. I can go on and on about the advantagees, and in fact I get stopped to talk about it all the time. But enough qwerty - Just come for a ride next time, or ask the Child sisters about it. BTW, top selling model in Canada? Vespa LX50, seen below. Do it!

Nueve De Mayo: Una muestra

Like it says, just a little taste. Sunny will be the day, as such, sunny is the theme of the music. Tonight is the night. Juan-Miguel DeJesus & Enqrique Pandillero, ¡EnVivo! @ The Beaconsfield, in the heart of QB. Come out. In the mean time, enjoy. Just press play, and lean back. 3 nice tracks. Shouts to Jneiro.

@ least the sun love us...

... a we love it back: It's The Sun God. And cats wonder why I Iove to be out riding. The Sun is real therapy. Oh, if you think that I'm playing, give this a good read. Now you have some real reasons to be out on the patio, let alone the therapeutic significance of a good juice. These are the days that I really miss The Bamboo. RIP. Knowing that the sun was gonna be on blast today made me spring out of bed. Suited up and even took this fab shot. Helmet on, going thru my Nokia e62. Classic. I had the P100 sitting on the bench. Nice.
Speaking of sun, it's been a few months since I made the mammoth mistake of leaving my YSLs on a plane in SF. What a catastrophe! Well, it's all good now. Yves & I are 1nce again friends.
Shouts to the good ppl @ Spectacle for the hook and the awesome shop @ 752 Queen St West, just a few doors west of the Queen and Niagara corner. Ask for Pier, Safina or Jag. Tell em My Man Henri sent you.
Shouts to Aten & my grrrl Caro in Cairo. Shine!

Nueve De Mayo: Wednesay May 9th 2007 ¡En Vivo!

I mentioned it to a few, it's now official:

Sin Duda. Me-Js por la noche are Enrique Pandillero, long side Juan-Miguel DeJesus taking no requests all night long. This will be one of many such apparitions éste verano. Pls arrive early as The Beaconsfield gets really snug. If you hear a song you fancy, make sure to buy either Juan-Miguel or Enrique a bebido. Dios sabe que the weather will be hella nice on Wednesday. Peep it:

Miercoles will be straight platanos!. In any case, if this sounds muy bueno, come thru. Should be fun. And it's free. Shouts to both Enrique Pandillero y Juan-Miguel DeJesus, Santo Carlos Fernandes.

Cinco De Mayo x Beacs x LCD Sound

Although the sun was on blast all weekend, the temp was not. Esp Domingo. But Sabado was nice out. Day & night in fact. Nonethess, Cinco De Mayo came and went w/o a wimper, to my dismay. So, as such, my 1st drink sat night had to be Corona or Dos Equis: I would have it no other way. Le gusto. In fact, this girl swears that I have hispanic lineage. So, having planned nothing for the Mexi fiesta, I started what i knew would be a fun night. 1st stop Beacs, last stop... space. A sort of Haiti's Comet. In any case, a fun time was had by all. Got home @ 7h12. Below is the photographic dissertation, so enjoy. For those who recall my bday in 2004, my shoes may seem like a déja vu. Ha. OMG. I also have yet to find my brand new all black player ever since that night. Damnation! Getting ready for what likely will be the craziest week I have seen all year - more on that l8r. BTW, I will be going to a Nueve De Mayo Fiesta (4 days late). Look for it l8r today. Shouts to Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín, Calcutta Cutie Crusher, Mike - those shots were funny, P, Rudi Ruderson (say what?), Nasty Nav (good look dude). Out.