Tag Archives: fun

Apr 8 2014

Rav Report Live: Kelela @ Rough Trade.

If you know me, or follow me on Twitter *points to sidebar*, you know that I am a Kelela stan on the low.

I listened to her album , CUT 4 ME on a whim sometime last year and I was SUPER impressed. For an alleged music snob who hates everything (I don’t!), this was big. I ran this album into the ground for months until I got tired, didn’t think about it, then bought it back to life.

I was lucky enough to catch her in October at the CMJ edition of Fader Fort out in Brooklyn. The Internet was also on that bill. Needless to say, crazy show. I also wanna put this out here, I was pretty drunk off of Captain Morgan Black by the end of this, so that was probably why I was in the front row, turned into pure putty while Kelela was singing. Yeah. The drinks. It’s not because I’m soft and partial to women who sing. Nope.

Fast forward to last week, and I remember that Kelela is doing 2 shows in Brooklyn. I HAD to attend at least one. I kinda had a lot going on that weekend (COOL GUY ALERT!!!!) so I saw that there were still tickets on Friday and took the plunge. I was flip flopping between this and the Natural History Museum party with Machinedrum , but an industry buddy (who I actually met at CMJ, and is a pretty nifty DJ) told me “IM GOING TO KELELA!”. I go to plenty shows alone, but if you have the chance to go with other people…you should take that. Plus she’s is also a stan, so it works out.

So that was that. I set out into a semi crappy weathered night and head to Williamsburg for the show. I step in and my first thought is “wow, there are a lot of bad, weird black girls in here, right now”. I move around a lil’ bit and hit the bar and get a rum and Coke, because I’m a cool guy who drinks boring shit. I’m drinking and watching the stage, which has a DJ duo just going to WORK. I wasn’t a huge fan of some of the transitions but they seemed to get better as the night went on. It’s a guy and a girl, who I later recognized were Shayne and Venus X of GHE20G0TH1K fame (if you know, you know). They were really playing some daring stuff (BMore club) and songs that will at least make you smile if you arent a lame (Aaliyah – One In A Million). Everything was working. The people were beautiful, the energy was good, I was starting to get into it (AND INTO MY RUM!).

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A little later, she texts me that she’s in Rough Trade, so I set out to find her and her friends. I start to walk over and I look up and see…Dev Hynes. Now as someone who loves Solange and pretty much followed Dev from his work on “True”, this was kind of a big deal. Dude’s a real talent and I had basically a few seconds to decide “Am I gonna walk over and say what up or am I just gonna drift over to my destination.” I opt to not be a bitch and quickly show my appreciation to Dev (very gracious and humble guy) and head over. FULL DISCLOSURE: I was guzzling Rum and Coke number 2 so I’d bet money I shook his hand too quickly and was probably talking too loud. SO WHAT. Also, someone on Twitter linked me to this. Dev is wild, son.

I get to her and her friends, introduce myself, and Kelela takes the stage immediately.

Let me be frank.

Kelela is fine.

Anyways, here’s some footage cause I’m tired of typing.

When I go to shows to see singers, I’m specifically trying to see can they recreate records live. If I found out Kelela was CB4, I might not have recovered. LUCKILY FOR US, she is not. Not at all. Her song “Send Me Out” is one of those test your vocal chops tunes, and she killed it. There were actually a group of girls next to us were just standing there dissing Kelela the whole show. While that shit is kinda weird, Send Me Out shut them the fuck up. So thanks Kelela, good lookin’. She’s powering through basically all of the songs you’d want to hear off of her album, including reworking a few with different edits (such as “Keep it Cool”).

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While doing this song, the j appears. Now mind you, this is an alt r&B show, of COURSE there’s weed right? But I’m gonna tell you something about me.

I am a rookie smoker. Possibly less than rookie. I could count on my hands the amount of times I’ve burned and still have enough fingers left to shoot a jumper. Or toss a frisbee, for our shoes off in the grass buddies. I’ve never really put time into learning the intricacies of smoking, because its just too ill. It literally feels too good; I feel like if I learn to roll, smoke in any situation and light roaches etc, I’m going to become Redman. I’m just gonna keep doing it. So, I stick to rare recreational settings where I don’t have to do too much but pull.

Anyone who’s been in the presence of weed will tell you, you got about a split second to decide are you gonna hit or not. I hastily said yes.

“Yo, you gotta relight it.”

 

I don’t know how to relight this shit, man. I’m in the dark, cant even see my fingers, trying to open the lighter, light the j, and pull in one smooth ass motion. I failed, almost burnt my upper lip off, and inhaled wild weed flakes into my mouth. Was like chewing mesquite wood chips. I’m so fucking wack. I got away with this with only one person peeping me PLAYING myself. I’m now in the dark, watching Kelela, constantly touching my possibly singed lip. If I fuck my lip up, my sex appeal gon’ be on E, and I can’t afford that. Luckily I was ok.

 

A little after this, Kelela walks into the crowd.

 

This is how close I was.

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I did not walk over there, because…well I don’t know. Seeing her up close confirmed my “Kelela is bad” thought, word to dude who was less than 5 feet away who refused to make eye contact. SHOOK!!!!! (As I notice this 10 feet away.) She thanks us, goes backstage for few, and comes back to encore a bit then close with “Do It Again” , which is a favorite of mine.

Show ends, I linger a lil bit, say my goodbyes, and skate up outta there.

It was a good night, Shayne and Venus did their thing and Kelela was very crisp and has a good feel for the stage. Most fun I’ve EVER had while trying to burn my face off with a lighter.

To summarize it all:

Drunk Levels: Low to Moderate (2 Rum and Cokes)

Bae Levels : A lot of weird brown/black baes who definitely talk about the eco system and co-washing in the same breath…..and thats my type of scene

Show quality: 8/10 -9/10

Venue : First time being at Rough Trade, and I loved it. I’ll be back.

 

If you guys like, I’ll keep doing Rav Report Live for events I go to. Any shows in NYC you think I’d like (even ones I wouldn’t), let me know!

Mar 22 2013

6th Street Sights or , what really happened at SXSW.

SXSW was a pretty ….wild experience. A few thoughts and pictures.

Trinidad James is a star (and I was wrong. For once!)

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(pardon that guys fat ass neck!!!)

Trinidad was one of the biggest names at Fader Fort last Thursday. I also caught Katie Got Bandz, who did a pretty good job. KAAAAATTTTIIEEEEEEE!!!!

So, I admittedly thought of frontin’ on seeing Mr James for the 3rd time in my life. Thanks to the endless urging from multiple sources, I decided to stick around Fader Fort and give it a go.

Blew my mind. I’m no fan of “Don’t Be S.A.F.E.” but I could not deny what he was doing on that stage. He got to “One More Molly” early (IMO his best song) and I stuck along for the ride. Shocked by his skill (!!!!!!) and mastery of the stage. Soon enough, I was turning up with everyone else in that crowd. I was legit singing along with songs of his that I HATE! He has a way of forcing you to like what he’s doing. Another thing that really stuck out about Trinidad is he’s VERY humble and thankful to be in his position. Every time he addressed the crowd, it felt “natural”. He deeply appreciated every soul under that sweaty ass tent in the middle of Austin. Also, shoutout to my dirty ass shoes that I acquired here; I’m probably never going to clean them because I don’t care that much.

Thank you, Trinidad James. Sorry for doubting.

Baauer is NOT overrated.

I was lucky enough to catch Baauer at show put on by Night Supply. The bill was Just Blaze/Baauer/Big Sean but that last guy decided not to show for whatever reason. Since I wanted to continue being drunk and touching butts, my soul burned a little bit. Not to worry…Baauer saves the day. He really went to work in the very dark, yet cavernous venue.

Baauer worked the crowd into a froth and he DIDN’T play Harlem Shake. He has a great ability to read the crowd and is well versed in various types of music, including rap in all of its varieties. If you like music, you would’ve enjoyed Baauer. If you expected it to be a Harlem Shake WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP UNCE UNCE UNCE UNCE LIGHTS FLASHING sorta deal all night, you’d be pleasantly surprised. I was also drunk as shit. Here’s some visual proof of how chopped I was.

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Shoutout to Kat for sending me the pic AND tying my based headgear  onto my very drunk scalp. No, I don’t know what the hell that lint is in my beard.

Time with your friends from various walks of life is always great.

Time spent with my #NT savages and my friends from back home. Got to introduce them and put those two worlds together for a little while. Far as I’m concerned, it went rather smoothly.

I also bumped into artists who I consider friends that ALSO make music I enjoy.

Noah Caine, The Boy Illinois, Audra The Rapper. All people I’ve known for some time (especially Audra, as we went to school together.) It’s beautiful seeing your friends work towards their dreams and get closer and closer to success so quickly. Situations like these is really what SXSW was built on.

I also stopped Kris Kasanova in the street to express how much I appreciate his music and progress. I don’t know him personally but I met him through a friend. I take time to show love when we cross paths because that’s important. If you’re a fan of someone’s work and get a chance to tell them in real life? Do it. I have 94% of the time. I choked on talking to Kanye but that’s ’cause he was trying to ninja lurk through SoHo.

I told Victor Cruz what up.

Please come back to NYG, Victor.

I saw Earl Sweatshirt over and over. He was at near my gate the day I flew in and the day I flew out. He looked tired….people still bothered the hell out of him lmao. I understand fully….because he is skilled.

Seeing people perform who have dominated your music choices for months is a crazy feeling.

Perfect example of this is Aston Matthews. He’s from Cali so I didnt forsee having a chance to see him perform anytime soon. Thrasher CLEARLY loves me because they put him in a showcase. I came to see him and ASAP Ferg but I was more than satisfied seeing Aston do his thing. He’s confident, his music is quality, and he has very good people around him. I chopped it up with one of the dudes from his crew “Cutthroat” and he said “yo come turn up when Aston gets on stage!” When Aston did “Latino Heat”, the place turned into a madhouse. I had a stupid grin on my face; it was like seeing a friend make it. Good things lie in his future.

I also got to catch GrandeMarshall in Fader Fort. I’ve met Grande a few times and he’s always shown love. Seeing someone who moves around like a regular dude get and maintain the attention of a Fader Fort crowd, far from home? Madness. I also dug how A-Trak holds him down and vouches for him with such conviction. It’s clear that Fool’s Gold believes in Grande and that’s vital. I feel lucky that I got to even be in Austin for such a big moment. Grande went up there and performed like the crowd didn’t affect him at all. Perfect recreations of the songs on his tape 800.

Heartbreak.

I missed Future, who decided to destroy Fader that night.

I missed Inc., who’s album I bought off of the strength of one song. I then commenced to listen to the CD for nearly a week straight.

I missed Waaves, about 3-4 times. I am a loser.

I airballed on Solange because I am an idiot who doesn’t read the fine print and I am impatient.

Chief Keef cancelled on a lineup that was GBE/RL Grime/Baauer/Flatbush Zombies/etc……the line was as long as the Trail of Tears and we were there an hour and a half. I stared to the skies and hoped BasedGod would deliver me from this pain…..did not happen.

This is my second time going to SXSW. Shows get cancelled. You miss stuff. It happens. It just happened A LOT because stuff that would’ve been a cakewalk to get into last year was like trying to sneak into Area 51 this year. But I won’t complain.

I was real god damn drunk. We were real god damn drunk. 

We were thoroughly chopped. Don’t think anyone around me was sober after 4 all week.

Me?? I was perpetually destroyed because A)back home I really don’t go out or drink that often B)I enjoy being irresponsible out of town.

Last year, we spent a LOT of time in a bar called Toulouse. This bar has 5 dollar mason jars. Mason jars of what?? Whatever your soon to be straining from this greasy ass Texas food heart desires! We prefer the “Adios” jar because it gets you remixed real quickly and is by far the strongest. I was throwing those shits back like Berry Kool Aid. Predictably, I got a lil wild , bros.

Prolly my worst case of “lord help me , I’m very drunk” was Thursday. I believe (THINGS ARE HAZY) I started off with two Stormy Seas (pls Google) that were free at this event. A Rum and Coke. Another Rum and Coke…..another Rum and Coke. This was before I even touched Toulouse. A few hours later I end up in Toulouse with the ever sweet Patrina. We went to ODU together and I haven’t seen her in years; I had no choice but to get her drunk. So I knocked down 2 Adios. She knocked down 2 Adios. All I remember from there is getting dubbed/twerked to the point I was squished UNDER the bar. I also remember vigorously squeezing A LOT of asses that were literally offered to me. At this point I’m nearly half blind but I can identify a southern ass in my clutches blindfolded. In short , I WAS LIVING.

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(screenshot because the actual pic is lost in cyberspace…Patrina unfortunately lost her phone that night)

Patrina intro’d me to these 4 fine YELLABONES from Houston. I was so thrashed that I blew it when I shook one of their hands. She saw me fail and gave my half balled up hand a slap/pound then a handshake. SMH. All was rectified by one of her friends offering me her ass to squeeze. Why me??? ‘Cause real black is back…..fam. Looking like the iPhone dark side of the moon emoji is never a negative.

Every night I entered that bar I definitely said and did shit that would make my mother shake her head. She’s probably going to read this so: Hello , MommyRav.

So yeah go to the Toulouse. Ass will end up in your hand every night. Or maybe that’s just me. LOL!!!!!!!

All in all, Austin was fun. It was tough , it included stress, but I think we still managed to work it and win where we could. If you have a chance to go , do it.