What's Your Damage?

My name is Melanie (@Melknee) and I like innovative music, imagination turned into the tangible, films and photographs that evoke emotion and capture life, injustice acknowledged and rectified, original thought and personal style, and the places where people enjoy these things. Contact me at: [email protected]

[thepr0cess]

Asuquomo

[melknee]

Three #Goals: Find a full-time job (#HireMe), curate a festival & produce a mainstream award show for the digital age. #festivalseason (at Chicago, Illinois)

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Thank you everyone who came out to Dynasty Podcasts' Chicago's Creative Directors & Brand Managers panel! (at WeWork National Building)

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📍WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH I created the theme and I'll be a speaker on Dynasty Podcasts' Chicago Creative Directors + Brand Managers panel w/ Derek Berry (of Beauty Bar Chicago & Saved By The Max), Jameel Bridgewater (of Closed Sessions),and Alexandra Trumball (of Crain's Chicago Business). 1415 N Ashland (Future Factory - enter through alley) 7:00PM (at Future Factory)

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This has been a busy week! On Tuesday night, I attended the 3rd Annual Chicago Nightlife Awards to support early round Best Monthly Party nominee, Bump & Grindcore. I also provided live behind the scenes coverage on Periscope #IndustryProm #RedCarpet #Chicago #ChicagoNightlifeAwards #CNA3 (at Concord Music Hall)

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I was interviewed by @topello86 of 107 (formerly Bad Girl Confidence). We discussed the secret of creating your on lane in the digital age. (Link in bio)

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📍THIS FRIDAY, MAY 27 I'm hosting Bump & Grindcore Beyoncé Tribute aka Formation Tour After Party aka Cancel TIDAL Trial Party🍋 You will need the entire Memorial Day holiday weekend to recover. As Queen Bey says...I AIN'T SORRY 🍋 #Chicago #Beyonce #Lemonade @beautybarchicago FREE w/ @do312chicago RSVP before 10PM (link in my bio) (at Beauty Bar)

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The debut of DJ Melknee

My set at East Room featured classics by Estelle ("American Boy"), Sammie ("I Like It"), Ghost Town DJs ("My Boo"), and the famously Drake sampled "Do You Mind" by Kyla. I also played newcomers like Tink, TT The Artist, Smino, and Madeintyo ("Uber Everywhere")

https://soundcloud.com/auxcorddjs/sets/melknee-aux-cord-slay-js

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My new job as freelance strategist & community manager at Fanscape is going to give me a cavity and carpal tunnel in my social media scrolling thumb 😜

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ICYMI my interview with kish kilo is live on saint heron! We discussed identity politics, her lifestyle brands, the Internet, and her new album. "I have kind of a problem with the framework that your life has to be such a curated thing. It's somewhat bothersome to me because if I don't curate it you're going to think that I don't know how to curate it and if I do then I'm just boxing myself in with someones perceived idea of who I should be."

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How much is retired Kobe’s BodyArmor towel worth?

Anyone who watched Kobe Bryant’s final game will remember 4 things: 1) The record setting 60 points he scored for The Lakers 2) The mic drop during his farewell speech 3) His wink to his wife 4) The BodyArmor towel draped across his shoulders as he walked around the Staple Center for the last time The subtle product placement of the BodyArmor towel was a bold statement for Kobe. Not just because Gatorade is the official beverage of the NBA and he knew that Adam Silver wasn’t likely to fine him for promoting a rival brand. The towel also represented the transition in Kobe’s focus from basketball player to businessman. Kobe owns 10% of BA Sports Nutrition, the owner of BodyArmor, his percentage had an estimated worth of $4-$6 million at the time of his investment in 2014. Seconds of a sports related media integration are worth millions. Manny Pacquiao received $2 million to take a selfie with a Samsung phone after the Mayweather rematch. Kobe’s white BodyArmor towel is definitely worth more as its tied to one of the biggest moments in sports history. Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc was aware of the significance of the moment and increased their investment in BodyArmor to 15.5% this month. After seeing Kobe strategically display his Body Armour towel on the court and Body Armour bottles on the table during his final post-game press conference with the logo clearly showing, a lot of people tweeted the question, “What is Body Armor?” Typically athletics with partnerships with rival brands avoid NBA fines by drinking water during the game (the only authorized beverage alternative) or Gatorade with the label removed. Powerade spokesperson, LeBron James was once trolled by Gatorade’s Twitter account because of the beverage rivalry. Despite several fans tweeting that Kobe should get Gatorade poured over his head after the final game, the company’s community manager made the decision to keep the Gatorade Twitter account silent the day that an era ended for a NBA legend. During the game, BodyArmor’s Twitter account, @DrinkBODYARMOR did light work to provide information of the self-described “SuperDrink” during it’s grand introduction to many basketball lovers. The account responded to a handful of tweets about the sports drink by sending a link to the company’s website and explains that the beverage is a “Sports Drink with natural flavors & sweeteners, coconut water and potassium-packed electrolytes”. Unfortunately, the storytelling that Kobe frequently mentions like an advertising creative director wasn’t implemented via the Twitter account, besides a static photo of Kobe sitting on the bench with the BodyArmor towel draped across his shoulder. Only time will tell if Kobe’s sports drink will take a chunk of the market dominated by PepsiCo’s Gatorade and Coca-Cola’s Powerade. Odds are good that Kobe’s new team, BodyAmor will excel due to assists from the other two major investors, the co-owner of Vitaminwater, Mike Repole and the third largest soft drink maker, Dr Pepper.

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“Don’t come for my Hot Cheetos Rachel Dolezal” -Blue Girls Burn Fast by Amandla Stenberg

Apparently it was uploaded to Vimeo in January, but I guess I missed the Tumblr stills, so thankfully Teen Vogue tweeted about Amandla Stenberg’s short film, Blue Girls Burn Fast.

Amandla made the film for a NYU application. By made, I mean that they wrote, directed, cast, produced and edited the film that clocks in a little under 20 minutes. It’s the type of film that I wish existed when I was a teen. Understated, diverse, indie, beautiful, and witty. Leeza Lester and Julia Rocha star in the film and it reminds me of Mosquita y Mari if it has Mac DeMarco and Rachel Dolezal references plus a soundtrack by Willow Smith.

I love films that leave me with questions: What is Andy running away to? Why did Andy stop referring to herself as Andrea? Does Andy miss Lea? Who is the friend that Andy talks to one the phone? Does Andy view life differently after meeting Lea or will she return to her old outlook?

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Hamburger Helper just released their Watch The Stove mixtape on SoundCloud today. It’s not an April Fool's joke by Action Bronson, but rather a perfect example of authentic branded content and multicultural marketing.

The surprisingly good rap mixtape makes listeners feel like they're dabbing and milly rocking in the club to typical trap house euphemisms about cooking in the kitchen. However, the millennial friendly, mother approved lyrics are about literally cooking food in kitchen like, "Hold up, I told you I'm serving that stroganoff (BEEF)". The opening track, “Feed The Streets” features Bobby Rap, a hometown favorite of the Minnesota based parent company, General Mills. The trap influenced song sounds exactly like Young Thug and What a Time to Be Alive by Drake & Future. The five-track mixtape’s other highlight, “In Love with the Glove” is a autotune R&B slow burner with an accompanying music video that can be viewed on First We Feast. The mixtape features a couple lukewarm moments on "Crazy" and "Food For The Soul", songs created by McNally Smith College of Music student, but it didn't ruin the fun. Before the release of the video, the Hamburger Helper’s Twitter account, @Helper tweeted a photo of a handwritten tracklist on notepad that mimics Kanye West’s PR stunt when he promoted his The Life of Pablo mixtape on Twitter this winter.

Chicago based agency, Burrell Communications is likely behind the social media event. In 2001, Burrell won the account for General Mills’ African American market. The 5 Mics (or rather 5 Left Hand Gloves) worthy Hamburger Helper mixtape was even feature on music sites of like Complex, Noisey and XXL. The mixtape is a perfect example of the historic agency’s understanding of African American culture and millennial hip-hop listeners. Even on April Fool's Day, no one would imagine that a packaged food company would have a relevant social media campaign inspired by the hottest rappers of 2016: Drake. Future, Kanye, Young Thug, and Thestand4rd

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Samsung Is Lit

In the last few years, Samsung has become one of my favorite brands. I first noticed their frequent media integrations on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Later I noticed it during the World’s Most Famous Selfie stunt at the 2014 Oscars with Ellen DeGeneres and other awards shows when celebrities presented awards using Samsung phones instead of traditional envelopes.

Recently I was drawn into the conversation about Rihanna’s partnership with Samsung for the release of ANTI. Samsung made her a VR mobile game and a series of TV commercial that were the only true hope that the long awaited album was coming soon. The biggest stunt was giving away the Rihanna album for “FREE” to Samsung phone users. In 2013, Jay-Z made a similar partnership for his Magna Carta Holy Grail album.

I didn’t attend SXSW this year, but I closely followed watch day of SXSW Interactive and music from home. I found myself thinking about Samsung again and it wasn’t simply because they’re a sponsor. I read that they were one of first brands to release custom SXSW geofilter for Snapchat, which will undoubtedly become the biggest social media trend of 2016 (Spotify also released a notable branded geofilter). As a SXSW Interactive Samsung put a spotlight on their industry leading VR headset, Gear VR. In addition to filter, VR was the topic on tip of everyone’s tongues. Standout brands like Budweiser worked with Pro-ject to created a multi-sensory VR brewery and McDonald’s created an oversized Happy Meal box that allowed used to spray paint. As I intentionally started to research Samsung I learned that they opened their first flagship store in NYC in February. In additional to having cool architecture, the New York space hosted an “inaugural festival” in conjunction with SXSW, which featured live streaming of performances and Austin themed events. In addition the flagship store is partnering with Okayplayer.

I’m no where close to switching my iPhone for an Android, but I’m always impressed by brands that get my attention with events, unique partnerships with celebrities, industry leading technological advances, and technological advances that I can notice in my every day life even if don’t own their device.

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Tonight I spoke on Soho House’s #YungCreatives panel w/ Austin Vesely (Chance The Rapper’s music video director) & Supa Bwe (formerly of Hurt Everybody)! We discussed branding, the future of streaming, brand partnerships, Black Girl Magic & Zootopia #Chicago #SohoHouse #SaveMoney #SXSW #Advertising (at Soho House Chicago)

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G Eazy performing to a sold out crowd of over 4000 Chicago fans.

Back in 2009, I knew this would happen one day, but it was still a surreal experience. (at Aragon Ballroom)

[melknee]

If I Submitted My Pazz & Jop Ballot - Top Albums/EPs of 2015:

1. MNEK - Small Talk EP 2. Tame Impala - Currents 3. Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit 4. Bonzai - Royah EP 5. Snakehips - Forever, Pt. II EP 6. Years & Years - Communion 7. Rudimental - We the Generation 8. IGLOOGHOST - Chinese Nü Yr EP 9. Mura Masa - Someday Somewhere 10. Blackbear - Deadroses

Honorable: Empress Of - Me Justin Bieber - Purpose Troye Sivan - Blue Neighbourhood Shamir - Ratchet Tuxedo - Tuxedo Julio Bashmore - Knockin Boots Colleen Green - I Want to Grow Up Dawn Richard - Blackheart Marian Hill - Sway Kehlani - You Should Be Here Jess Glynne - I Cry When I Laugh Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment - Surf Honne - Coastal Love EP Drake - If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late Tobias Jesso Jr - Goon Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear Ty Dolla $ign - Free TC Grimes - Art Angels Aye Nako - The Blackest Eye EP Maribou State - Portraits Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Multi-Love G-Eazy - When It’s Dark Out Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell Erykah Badu - But You Caint Use My Phone Petite Noir - King of Anxiety