Happy Holidays from Another Dope Music Blog!

I hope you all are having a blast spending your time with your loved ones and drinking egg nog or in my case, coquito (Thanks Puerto Ricans!). I spent Christmas packing my car for the big move to Florida. I'M STILL NOT DONE (UGH!). However, leave it to music to give me enough ganas to move forward with the packing. So here I share with you my list of my top holiday songs.

Run DMC - Christmas in Hollis 

This is my all time favorite holiday song since childhood. As a kid, I was never a fan of "mushy" Christmas songs (I'm still not today). This classic gem from Run DMC is the perfect blend of a joyful holiday melody with a hip hop twist. To this day, I still find the video absolutely hilarious. NIIICEEEEE (In the words of the naughty elf).

Mariah Carey - All I Want for Christmas Is You

This is a total no brainer. Mariah is still making money off this song 17 years after its release (Are you kidding me - 17 years?!?!). As a kid, I HATED this song. However, it grew on me when I studied abroad in Paris during the fall of 2006. My roommates played Love Actually several times a day within a given week and the final music scene just grew on me.

Adam Sandler - The Chanukah Song

I am Catholic, but this song makes me want to become a Jew. This song is so awesome that I prefer to listen to it over any other Christmas song (except for Christmas in Hollis).

Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake - Dick in a Box 

 I still can't believe the ridiculousness of this video. But it is a favorite. The last thing you expected these two cats to do is to dress up like an early 90's version of Jon B and sing about having a dick in a box for Christmas. 

So there you have it, my list of my favorite holiday tracks. Happy Holidays from Another Dope Music Blog! I will see you in 2012!

Here Comes The Neighborhood - Awesome Docu-Series About Wynwood Walls in Miami

Check out the trailer for the online docu-series for Here Comes the Neighborhood, by Ben Solomon, Jenner Furst, Daniel B. Levin, and Julia Willoughby Nason, that captures the story behind the transformation of the Wynwood Walls in Miami, Florida.

HCTN TRAILER from Here Comes the Neighborhood on Vimeo.

In 2009, Tony Goldman and Jeffrey Deitch (Deitch Projects Soho and director of MoCa Los Angeles) came together to create the concept behind the Wynwood Walls. What once was an area full of rundown factory buildings, parking lots, and loading docks turned an outdoor art museum displaying international graffiti talent. The area opened for Art Basel in 2009 and since then has become a major attraction in the Miami area.

This is an excellent example of how street art can uplift a community. As an avid lover of graffiti, I love seeing how street art can revitalize a community. If you want to check the docu-series for yourself, go to http://hctn.tv.

Foo Fighters Rocked the Earth [Literally]

You know your band is the shit when you are a confirmed seismic event. According to an article by Spin Magazine, the Foo Fighters along with 50,000 fans shook the earth twice as much as volcanic activity in New Zealand according to Geo Net, a geological hazard monitoring organization. Judging from the videos from the show in Auckland, New Zealand from last week, I'm not surprised. Rock on, Foos!

 

Trailer: The Dark Knight Rises

Check out the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. It looks like it's going to be a pretty awesome movie if you ask me. 

Dope Gig Alert: RJD2 at Bardot in Miami - January 12

We are psyched for our first ticket purchase in Miami. RJD2 will be performing a Living Room Session at Bardot in Miami, Florida on January 12, 2012. Since I missed his gig at Brooklyn Bowl, it was pretty refreshing to find out that he'll be in my new town when I'm there. Cop your tickets aqui. 

Music Monday: What Have I Been Groovin' to All Weekend

After spending Saturday being a reckless Santa in lower Manhattan to playing David and Goliath with my laundry on Sunday, I am exhausted. Thankfully, music (besides espresso coffee) gave me the boost that I needed to move forward with these activities. And what better way to get the party started with some kuduro.

Kuduro? What's this? 


It's an uptempo dance beat that originated in Angola in the late 1980's. They took elements from zouk, soca, and semba (music from Angola) and meshed them into one beat. You cannot help but to dance to the music no matter how ridiculous the lyrics or the drops are in any given kuduro song.

Now, I'm actually pretty new to kuduro. I have Don Omar to thank for the exposure with this collabo with French-Portugese singer Lucenzo.

Fun, right? After doing some reading into what the heck kuduro was, I stumbled upon this gem from kuduro giants Buraka Som Sistema from Portugal. After playing around with Spotify, I discovered a mixtape from Major Lazer and I stumbled upon a track called Bruk Out remixed by Buraka Som Sistema. Check it out. 

27. Bruk Out (Feat. T.O.K. And Ms. Thing) (Buraka Som Sistema Mix) - Major Lazer by eminn3m

What a fun track to dance to! I also love how there is a samba effect on the background music during the transitional portions of the song (the part that joins the verse to the chorus/hook). This is an awesome mix of kuduro and dance hall meshed into one. I absolutely love it!

Another Dope Music Blog is Relocating.....To Miami :-)

After almost 4 glorious years making it big in the most amazing city in the world, I have decided to move on with my life and my career. As I have mentioned before, my ad agency lost our biggest account. But there was no room to freak out. I saw it as an opportunity for liberation. So what happened? The unexpected happened. The one job that I just applied to as a dare called me back. After 2 phone interviews and one webcam interview, the offer was made and I took it. Therefore, I will be taking my talents down south to Miami, Florida.

Image taken from FIU - Department of HR

Now some of you may be thinking, What the hell is she thinking moving down to Miami....it's not New York City. Well dude, that's the point. As much as I love New York, I've caught the native syndrome and I needed a change. Here are my Top 10 Reasons Why Moving to Florida Rocks: 

10. Mo' Money, Less Problems

      I got a salary bump at a place where it's 35.5% cheaper to live according to Salary.com. I can't wait to pay off my debt! 

9. Warm Weather

     It's a shame that I complained about the cold when I lived in Maryland. The cold weather became more intolerable after I moved to New York. I need a break from the madness. The last thing I need is to be stranded for 2 days because a blizzard hit New York City and the city didn't have the resources to clean up the streets. Don't you just love how your tax dollars are handled efficiently? 

8. 2pm Fridays ALL YEAR

    Hell yes. 

7. I Get to Drive Again

    I'm one of those weirdos that like to drive, even during traffic. I'd rather be stuck in my car rather than stuck inside a subway car with some weirdo bum that looks like he's about to stab me. 

6. The Flights from Miami to Santo Domingo are Hella Cheap 

    I haven't seen my dad in over a year and a half due to plane tickets being ridiculously expensive from New York. I'm excited to finally have the funds to go visit him more often. 

5. I Miss The South

    Truth be told, I do miss the South, although Miami is technically Latin America. However, there is a little southern charm in Florida and I do in fact miss it. 

4. Tax Refugees For the MF Win

    I got raped in taxes from New York. That combined with the high cost of living really screwed my finances. I never got to see the fruits of my labor and it drove me insane. 

3. I can actually afford a nice one bedroom apartment. 

    Thank God. 

2. The people at my new job rocks! 

    Not to discredit the people I have worked with in the past, but my new team have been absolutely amazing with helping out with the relocation. They even set me up with a great real estate agent. Awesome! 

1. The Beach

    Hello, it's Miami. 

So there you have it. My top 10 (non-music related) reasons why I am so excited about this move to Miami. Looks like I will have to get used to listening to Pitbull every 2 minutes. Dale! 

New Video From Lady Gaga - Marry the Night

Why hello there?!?! Long time no speak! It's been a couple days since I posted. Between finalizing the job search, work, and Thanksgiving, I haven't gotten a chance to update the blog until now. So here's your treat for today: Lady Gaga. La Gaga is continuing her streak of creating beautiful videos (or short films, shall I add) with her latest single, "Marry the Night." 

Towards the beginning of the video La Gaga explains her creative vision for the video. "When I look back on my life, it's not that I don't want to see things exactly as they happen, it's just that I prefer to remember them in an artistic way. And truthfully, the lie of it all is much more honest because I invented it.[...] Memories are not recycled like atoms and particles in quantum physics, they can be lost forever. It's sorta like my past is an unfinished painting and as the artist of that painting, I must fill the all the ugly holes, and make it beautiful again. It's not that I've been dishonest, it's just that I loathe reality." Well said, if you ask me. 

The video depicts Lady Gaga's downfall during the time when she was dropped from Island Def Jam. It also depicts her recovery and her getting signed to Interscope Records. This "music video" is one of the most beautiful autobiographical short films I have ever seen. As a viewer, I felt La Gaga's pain and her determination to get back to the top. I commend Lady Gaga and her team behind the creation of this video for a job well done. Enjoy!