News Narrative & Design I

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Blood Orange // Shabazz Palaces // Julian Casablancas + The Voidz @ Hammerstein Ballroom 11/25

Had an epic time seeing Blood Orange (FKA Dev Hynes), Shabazz Palaces, and Julian Casablancas + The Voidz at Hammerstein Ballroom. Shabazz Palaces is a Seattle-based afro-future hip-hop group comprised of Ishmael Butler, FKA Butterfly of now-defunct Grammy-winning alternative Hip-Hop trio Digable Planets, and Tendai Maraire, who's father is the late Dumisani Maraire, the Zimbabwean mbira (commonly known as the "finger piano") master. Tendai also just so happens to be my cousin, so he got us all access passes to the show. We got to hang backstage and meet Dev Hynes, Julian Casablancas + family, and other straggling guests such as Sofia Coppola and her husband Thomas Mars, who is the lead singer of the band Phoenix. Check out my pics below.

Shabazz Palaces

Shabazz Palaces performing with Julian Casablancas + The Voidz

Julian Casablancas + The Voidz

View of Julian Casablancas + The Voidz from backstage.

Me, mom & sis chilling backstage in Shabazz's green room.

My mom & Julian Casablancas

My sis & Julian Casablancas

My sister, my cousin Tendai of Shabazz Palaces, and Sofia Coppola's head.

Post-show stage view of the Hammerstein Ballroom.

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Hip-hop could help with depression and mental illness, says Cambridge University - Telegraph

Hip-hop could be an alternative cure for mental illness, claims the University of Cambridge

It's all good baby, baby...

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60 Minutes with Uversa, the Union Square Oracle

Uversa Oumbajuah rests perched at the fountain in the southwest corner of Union Square amidst a jumble of ex-con chess players and devotees chanting Hare Krishna. 50 years young and make-up free, she has a small tattoo on her third eye and a wild mass of dreadlocks piled atop her head, tamed with a cotton wrap. She wears a U.S. Army jacket, combat boots and a giant quartz crystal around her neck, known for expanding the mind to touch the spirit world. Her regal presence is perfectly complemented by the sheaths of rich purple fabrics and crystal balls that surround her. She believes the fountain marks the squares’ division of the homeless from the wealthy but is willing to use her gifts as a sensor and a seer to help either sect. Unlike the typical $5 fortunetellers who tend to resemble more the pushy salesperson, Uversa does not display a sign – those who want to come, will.

Born Melody Clark, Uversa grew up in Indianapolis and knew she was different from a very young age.

“I was the most quietest baby ever. The only time I cried is when I needed something like my food or my diaper changed, according to my mother’s report. So even in my unconscious stage of being, I was in some way looking at the world on another level. Like I was looking at my mom like, ‘We’re rich. You’re acting like we’re poor. You’re acting dumb. He doesn’t love you. You’re having sex. You’re seeking pleasure when you should be working.’ But I never said anything. I just kind of was silent.”

She recalls struggling to realize her gifts due to popular disbelief.

“I would say, ‘The lady down the hall is beating her kid, call the police.’ ‘But you don’t know that for sure. We might be false accusing them.’ And I would be like, ‘No, she’s beating her kid. You don’t believe me, alright.’ And then I didn’t care too much about the world or society.”

It wasn’t until she started going to school and meeting people that she recognized she had an insight that others did not possess.

“I began to say, ‘Tell your mom your father’s touching you,’ and they would be like, ‘How do you know my father’s touching me?’ And then I would say, ‘You’re gonna get pregnant, stop having unprotected sex, stop skipping school,’ And this was when I was like in high school with my friends. But I would not know why I knew that.”

Uversa discusses the very real consequences of being a seer.

“When I got to college, I turned it off, because my boyfriends would leave me. I’d say, ‘You was having sex last night at 2:30.’ Because I would wake up with an orgasm, and it was very hurtful. Why am I having an orgasm? My lover’s having sex.”

Thus began a frustrating lifelong pattern of suppressing her gifts. Instead, she channeled her energies into becoming a businesswoman. She has dabbled in many career paths, never staying in any one for too long. She tends to move in cycles with her business ventures, oftentimes in accordance with the natural changing of the seasons. She has a photography business, Photography by Clark. For four years she ran a successful fashion business, Melody’s Closet, where she would design, sew, and dress women from all walks of life in her clothing. She is also actively working on a book that will be published under her born name. It wasn’t until she moved to Atlanta, Georgia that she realized there were people making a living doing exactly what she had been told nearly her whole life was a load of crap.

“You had all these false people. They had like the hand sign, readings for $5. And then I went in there like, ‘Wow, what you wanna tell me?’ And then the stuff that they tell me I’m like, ‘You’re freakin’ lying. I don’t need to come back here and give you $200 for some candles because you think I have – what the hell lady, you’re a gypsy! You’re swindling me, this is not true.’”

She is highly aware of the stigma against those who practice her craft, and the very real threat of competition in a bustling metropolis such as New York City.

“There’s a lot of women out there who do pose as a reader, or clairvoyant. That’s why I was so mad at the lady the other day, when she went and set up like right there [points to about 20 feet away] and put this little sign out, ‘Tarot reading’ and I was like, ‘[gasps] We, we, we are not out here doing readings. You are not me.’ I knew she was lying to them [customers] but I was like, ‘Oh well, there’s more than one chess player.’”

But it wasn’t the threat of competition that bothered her so much as it was the falsities she knew the woman was relaying to her customers.

“She’s misleading the people. That’s a definite kill. You do not mislead the people. Not according to the coven that I’m a part of. You tell the people the truth. You help them. You don’t just get $5 just so you can go and read something stupid and then say bye, and hope that they don’t question you. Because I see it.”

Uversa honors the well being of the people first and foremost. She uses her gifts to help those in need to tap into their abilities so that they may reach their highest potential. Her going rate is $40 per reading but she will take whatever you have to offer and won’t accept any money until the reading is complete. She offers free counseling to the homeless in Union Square, an eclectic population that is growing by the day. During our meeting, an older homeless gentleman approached us and Uversa began speaking with him as if they were old friends. He had just come from a meeting with a board whom assign housing to the New York City homeless, and he thought it went well. The man seemed eager to discuss this exciting prospect with Uversa but being that we were in the middle of a conversation politely asked the man if they could speak later. He then told her he needed some money for lunch. She made a face that seemed to say, “There’s always something more” and proceeded to dump a coin purses worth of change into his hand. After he left she explained to me that this man is what she likes to call a ‘professional beggar’, but that she can’t resist because, “Even though he’s old, he still has some swag.” It turns out he is but one example of someone Uversa has helped to turn their life around.

Perhaps the most sobering part of our conversation came when Uversa explained the time when she realized she could no longer ignore her gifts, and knew she had to use them to help those in need.

“The only time I took it serious was when I had my children. After every birth I got stronger. And I have four children. I could know what the doctor’s doing, what the nurse is doing, what my kids are doing, what’s happening downstairs, the Taco Bell down the street. But what was scary was the negative – the missing children, the domestic violence, the kids who were being beaten by parents, and they go to their room and cry and then they get beat again. I would see that. Like the news is all a lie. I see it. The voting, pssht, I’m not gonna stand in line all day to vote. They already know what President they want. But then they wanna make me think, ‘Your voice count, vote.’ So I never really involved myself into the propaganda of that. And then when I began to do readings out by the fountain it was only because I was hungry. And then people would walk away like, ‘Oh my God, I just saw a therapist and I paid them like $2,900 and you just told me the same thing for $40!’ And I’m like ‘Really?’”

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Putin Creates International Shawl Controversy

Wrapping up the Chinese First Lady.

Amazing.

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Advocacy Journalism: The Shailene Woodley Predicament

I feel that more and more our generation is placing a great deal of value on individuality. It is no longer cool to be normal, and female celebrities are being celebrated for their quirks and eccentricities. When you look at pop stars like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and even Miley Cyrus (twerking aside), it is clear to see that the typical pop star is becoming a thing of the past. Many of these artists success actually hinges on the idea of being an outsider. Katy Perry has made crazy cat lady cool, insisting she was and still is a weirdo at heart, albeit with a hearty dash of sex appeal. And it’s not just pop stars that are resisting the mold – we have actresses such as Zooey Deschanel, arguably the queen of quirk, and Jennifer Lawrence, whose fall up the stairs to accept her 2013 Best Actress Academy Award only added to the list of ways in which she is, “just like us.”

These are all great things. I am fully supportive of any movement that will subsequently leave Taylor Swift and her normalcy in the dust. My issue is this – young girls from every background all over America, many self-identified ‘outsiders’, are using the internet and social media to see what their favorite female alt-celebs are up to – are they embracing the resurfacing of 90s grunge fashion, is that pixie cut working out for them, what causes are they speaking up for? They are looking to these females for influence and inspiration, many to the point where they will adopt any notion, simply because it came out of their idols mouth. This brings me to feminism.

Feminist theory is not something that is typically taught in grade school. Of course we learn about the suffragette’s and Roe v. Wade – typical history textbook happenings. But how can a young girl be expected to know that there is still a fight going on for the advocacy of her rights? Perhaps over time she caught wind of the murmurs about the angry, unshaven, bra-burning women called feminists and, knowing this was not her, wrote off the title completely. I know, because I was one of those girls, afraid to claim the title due to its negative connotations, as if one could not exist without the other.

In early May of this year, Shailene Woodley, one of our mainstream-alternative Hollywood ladies and star of the smash hit film adaptations of the young adult novels Divergent and The Fault In Our Stars, was interviewed for Time magazine. Woodley has been quoted before saying that she takes into consideration her young female fans when choosing roles, wanting to take on ones that promote a “sisterhood” rather than encourage the catfight culture. Time naturally decided to ask her if she considered herself to be a feminist. Her response, “No because I love men, and I think the idea of ‘raise women to power, take the men away from the power’ is never going to work out because you need balance.” There are so many problems with this statement. Firstly, it exacerbates what my mom likes to call an old husbands tale that all feminists hate men, or that you have to hate men in order to be a feminist. Secondly, it gives the impression that the feminist agenda is contingent upon the demise of all males from power. Of course, neither of these things is true. Nowhere in the definition of feminism does it say anything about being anti-male.

But aside from the blatant falsehoods of this response, perhaps the most egregious is the potential effect this one statement could have on hundreds of thousands of young girls nationwide, and even worldwide. Of course not many of these girls are going to be reading the Time magazine blog, but a response from a high profile young artist on a hot button topic such as this spread like wildfire throughout the cyber world. Young girls everywhere will use this statement as their own reference point, adopting this tainted picture of feminism painted by one Shailene Woodley, and following a long trail of myths continuously perpetrated by pop culture dialogue about what it means to be a feminist. Not to say that there aren’t independent-minded young girls who will do their own research and not just latch onto what their favorite actress has said, but in a generation where the ‘fan girl’ idolization of celebrity culture is growing by the second, many will.

Thankfully, there are a handful of young female celebrities that fit the coveted mainstream-alternative profile who are shedding light on feminism in an accurate and positive way. Towards the end of September, Emma Watson, most widely known for her portrayal of Hermione in the screen adaptations of the Harry Potter franchise, in her position as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, stood on stage at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City and gave a speech surrounding the launch of her campaign, “HeForShe.” The goal of the campaign is to get men to be real life advocates for gender equality. In the opening of her speech, Watson stated, “…the more I have spoken about feminism the more I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one think I know for certain, it is that this has to stop.” I couldn’t agree more with Miss Watson. She is a prototype of what we need more of in this world if we want to combat what I will now tentatively title The Shailene Woodley Predicament.

One final note – there has been much speculation as to whether or not Beyoncé considered herself a feminist. At this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, she delivered the closing performance, a massive 16-minute production including a medley of songs off her most recent album. As her song “Flawless” began to play, a recording of Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TEDx Talk “We Should All Be Feminists” came on, booming, “We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are. We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, ‘You can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise, you will threaten the man.’” As Beyoncé stood, feet apart and firmly planted, chin held high, the word “Feminist” flashed across the screen in big, bold lettering, declaring herself one and urging us all to be just that. Adichie’s definition of a feminist played over the system, “The person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.” So my question is, now that Queen Bey said it, can we all just be feminists?

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Guys. Guys guys guys. 

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This. Woman. 

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TURNIP!

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New Die Antwoord music video for "Ugly Boy" off their new album Donker Mag directed by Ninja himself featuring Cara Delevingne, Dita Von Teese, Flea, Jack Black, Marilyn Manson, and the ATL Twins. ZEF SIDE.

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Lower East Side Pickle Day 2014

The Lower East Side Pickle Day took place on Sunday, October 19th, 2014. From 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. New York City picklers and various vendors set up shop across three blocks on Orchard between East Houston and Delancey streets. Aside from the 20+ world-class picklers, there were 30+ local food and fashion vendors, as well as activities, DJ’s, live music, and comedy performances. The event was free and attracted visitors of all ages, from families with young children to groups of young hipsters to senior citizens.

Pickles were everywhere. There were free pickles, pickles on sticks, and every single kind of pickle-themed food you could possibly think of, from the classic fried pickles, to pickle potato chips, to pickle pizza, to pickle cupcakes. Most pickle vendors had barrels of pickles for sale. There are more kinds of pickles out there than I would have ever guessed. Not only were there pickles, but all things pickled. There were salsas and condiments and also a variety of non-pickle themed foods for sale. There was even a Home Pickling Contest.

Pickle Day featured a number of activities and events. There was a Tammany Hall DJ stage that featured DJ Bruce Tantum, DJ Kai Song, Gil K/NOSI Music, Ellen Kaye and the Moscow 57 Band, and DJ Hurrikeen. There was a Yelp Lounge. There were DJ lessons provided by Scratch DJ Academy. There was a Nicky Digital photo booth at The L.I.S.A. Project paint-out, featuring a pickle mural by Bishop 203. There were animal adoptions thanks to Heavenly Angels Animal Rescue. There were workout demonstrations thanks to Manny Cantor Center. There was face painting, pumpkin decorating, and a make-your-own-salsa station.

There was an additional stage called the Pickle Party Tent. This stage featured performances and activities by a number of comedy groups. The first group was Fantasy Grandma. Fantasy Grandma are a comedy duo consisting of two young women who dress up like Grandma’s – hair, clothing and makeup – and perform a musical act where they rap, because what else would they do. Their slogan reads, “We are your grandmas. We’ll save your life with our raps. You never visit but we still love you.” One of their shticks is giving out “checks” to their grandchildren in need. They wrote me a check for $3.72 for “college and drugs”. Fantasy Grandma led a game of Cat Bingo, which is essentially just bingo with various cat-themed prizes (cat toys, cat costumes, etc.) with the grand prize being a real life cat. This real life cat turned out to be a six-foot man dressed as a cat. After Cat Bingo, they performed their rapping musical act.

Following Fantasy Grandma was the Punderdome Pickle Day Pun-Off. Willing participants were handed over sized name tags and instructed to write their pickle-themed pun names. They then got on stage one by one and delivered their best set of pickle-themed puns. Two finalists were chosen: a young Orthodox Jewish man, “Meetclever” and an eight-year-old boy, “Mr. Half Sour”. The winner was chosen by whomever the onlookers clapped louder for, and Mr. Half Sour came out victorious, winning a toilet seat, while the runner up took home a land line telephone with over sized buttons.

Pickle Day 2014 was a complete success to be enjoyed by all. A true “only in New York” happening. Look out for next year’s event; I know I will surely be there. Check out my pics from Pickle Day below.

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Riccardo Tisci on Erykah Badu, "She's a modern warrior, a tribal goddess..."

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Bette Midler covers TLC's "Waterfalls". This is a dream I didn't even know I had come true.

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Had the honor and the privilege of going to hear members of Pussy Riot in conversation with Klaus Biesenbach at MoMA PS1 this evening. So very interesting. In discussing things lost in translation, we learned that Russian propaganda have translated pussy riot as "enraged vagina's". Completely hysterical. I urge all to go see the exhibit at PS1 this talk was positioned with, called Zero Tolerance, all about activism, artistic courage and civil disobedience.

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How to Be Powerful, Likable, and Female: Learn From Jenna Lyons

So very true. Women have to grapple with the likeability factor in ways that men do not, both in the workplace and out. Should we take it into account? If so, how much? Do we even care? Why is it that we must choose between the roles of cold-hearted bitch or submissive Sally? Why does society feel the need to compartmentalize us? Where are the good categories and how do we find them?

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This is very real. In thinking about my Halloween costume for this year I had to consider the fact that the character I chose to portray would probably garner this specific brand of unwanted attention. I should not have to weigh this factor into my decision but the reality is that I do. At the same time, I could have gone as a sack of potatoes and still experienced catcalling. I will not allow the actions of any man to curb my sartorial expression. However, is it a sad truth that many men will feel that they have the right to objectify my body and reduce my character to a thing that is ripe for their taking regardless of how I choose to dress and carry myself through this world.

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Uversa and I. Profile coming soon...

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Corey Kilgannon: The Character Man

Corey Kilgannon walked into our classroom and if our teacher hadn’t announced his arrival, he could have gone unnoticed. Kilgannon I presume is in his mid-forties. He has crystal blue eyes and salt and peppered hair. He grew up in Long Island and this comes out in his slight accent. He’s a little on the shorter side but seems to be in good shape, however it was hard to tell for sure through his ill-fitting ensemble. He wore grey skateboarding sneakers, the kind usually seen on teenage suburban boys. Donning a green striped polo and baggy mid-wash jeans, he easily blends into any scenery. And that works, because the real stars of his work are not him, but rather the underground New York City eccentrics who are the subjects of his weekly “Character Study” column for The New York Times. He has a Twitter but doesn’t use it. Why would he need social media to find subjects when they are all around him? All he has to do is go outside and explore. One could even be lurking as close as outside his home on the Upper West Side.

Kilgannon attended Columbia where he graduated with a degree in English, but felt he was more going through the motions rather than aiming for a purposeful career goal. He got a job working as a clerk for the Times, where he was told from the start that there was no chance he would ever become a contributing staff member so best to kill those pipe dreams now. He eventually worked his way in, testing out stories on editors he became friendly with and trying to get a read of what it meant to have a good story. They took him on as a reporter and ten years later he started his “Character Study” column. He expresses himself modestly when discussing these works, oftentimes seeming down on himself. “I’d say more than half of the time I’m not satisfied with the outcome,” he told the class. But when it came to a story he was proud of, you could see a real sense of accomplishment in the way he spoke. Not boasting or overzealous but a very humble sense of self-pride. However unassuming, Corey Kilgannon lets his characters speak for themselves.

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Visit Original Link

Do you feel safe around cops?

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My map of Union Square.