YES! Baltimore enriched rapper, RYE RYE debuted album GO! POP! BANG! has finally dropped! Get a taste of Rye Rye’s hardcore flows, sunshine ambiance, and booming production.
The illest contemporary rapper Danny Brown, a flamboyant raw MC from Detroit is going to be apart of Rebirth Of Detroit an album featuring Detroit artists rapping over J Dilla production. Danny Brown’s track on the album “Jay-Dee’s Revenge” goes off with slashing lyrics and an massive flow. Check it.
Ex-band members of In Every Room, Amy Reid & Chase O’hara, have fused into Chiffon, a groovy dark funk band. Their latest track “Dru Hill” is so provocative and sex sex sexy. It’s perfect for summer nights and champagne. I saw them kill it at Golden West Cafe on Monday and was amazed by the mesh of sounds they produced and it made me excited to see what they have in store. They’re very eclectic and uninhibited. Chiffon give me more soon, please!
Photo by Frederic Nauczyciel
Balls are nothing new. Having read Voguing and The House Ballroom Scene Of New York City 1989-1992, a new photography book that documents a poignant time in ball society; I’ve discovered that the history of these fierce flamboyant fashionable queer masquerades, stretch all the way back to the late 1800s in the corridors of Harlem. Langston Hughes stated that the balls of the 1920s was “the strangest and gaudiest of all of Harlem’s spectacles in the 1920s and illustrated them as “spectacles in color”.
Now the vogue and the house ballroom scene is bigger than ever, with prominent figures like Willie Ninja respectfully known all across the world; dance group Vogue Evolution, who graced American mainstream television on MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew”; and the infamous documentary Paris Is Burning which is now an international cult classic. Though the ballroom scene is now noticed by many but it’s societiers are vaguely known. Plus now there are a few people who seem to be “inspired” by the ballroom scene are reaping it’s glory. So, I recently made it a personal mission to document these ballroom cultivators by interviewing them and giving them platform on my blog. First was DJ Vjuan Allure and now it’s Marquis Revlon.
“On the ballroom floor, I turn myself into someone else. I just let myself go with the wind and just be free. I perform. I entertain. I give people their moneys worth.” – Marquis Revlon
Marquis “Revlon” Clanton, who states “talent speaks for itself”, is a state to state noted figurine of voguing and a good representation of the beauty of the ballroom house culture. He’s now Father of Baltimore’s Revlon chapter and his organic devotion to the art of voguing, lead him to be respected by many, featured in an ad campaign for safe sex, a dancer in popular music videos, and this summer he will be teaching vogue workshops in Paris.
Marquis entered the ballroom scene in 1998 and went statewide in 1999. Being apart of the Baltimore marching band culture, he was introduced to the scene by his fellow band members who were members of the House of Revlon. Of course he joined the House of Revlon, then started doing runway and tall boys runway but he was enchanted by voguing, so he soon started to perform vogue fem and hand performance at balls.
Why Vogue?
What made me started voguing, came from me always dancing. I was always in dance class at my rec center and I was in a lot of talent shows. Voguing was easier to me, it was something that got me excited, it was something I knew I should give a chance because I felt like I could be successful in it. So I just decided to learn the art of voguing and from that I took off, and the rest was history.
What about it got you going?
I love the excitement. I love to perform and to entertain. Back when I first started seeing voguing, I knew that’s what voguing was about. It was about the hand performance, the catwalk, the dips, the spins, the floor performance, and the femininity. It was all about entertainment and I loved that. It was something that made me smile and mad me happy.
His words on the ballroom scene today.
The ballroom scene has gotten so much larger. It’s in so many different states now. It has taken it’s way overseas. With the new generation it’s now more futuristic. Voguing has gone mainstream. It was more of an underground scene and now it’s so many people who enjoy it. From Vogue Evolution taking it to MTV to Andre Mizrahi taking it to the Apollo, made so many people want to learn it.
On the downsides on it being mainstream.
One of the downsides is that some of the people are not getting recognition for the stuff they did; people are being overshadowed. But if alot of us not limit our talents and take it our talent more further than we have been taking it, then it will show people where the heart of it came from and where it’s really jumping off at.
How can the kids take it further?
In my opinion it really falls on the individual and what that person wants out of life. How far they choose to take their talent. It’s not as easy as it sounds because you really have to be hungry for it, you have to be dedicated to it, and you to be consistent in what you’re doing. Somebody might tell you no, somebody might not understand what you’re trying to do but you have to be more confident in yourself so it overshadows and overpowers all of that.
Who he lives for.
I love to see one of my kids, Boom Revlon, Alex Mugler, Lil James Khan,Lil Magic Khan, Lil Ronnie Balenciaga, Rico Balenciaga and the list can keep going on and on and on. I just like to see everybody, people with talent, and seeing people enjoy doing what they’re doing.
Tips on voguing.
When you are voguing or in anything that you do; you should have your own style and your own identity. That takes you far. It’s ok to look at others and be inspired by other people but in order to make a name for yourself, you have to have your own identity. You would never want to be a copycat or considered as a microwavable girl.
I think the ballroom scene can better. It’s just alot of people need to be more positive. Alot of people have to be more mindful about the judges and realize it’s just about opinions. When somebody gives you their opinion, one that you might not like, don’t take it as an offensive thing. Just next time come back stronger. Some people just don’t know how to leave certain situations on the floor. Some nights, is not our nights. As much as you can take a “10″ you should be able to take a chop.
What needs to get better in the ballroom scene?
The violence. I think that needs to stop. Some of the heavy drugs, that needs to stop. Some of the cattyness and drama needs to stop.
About being a father of a house.
It’s not just you hitting the floor and having everybody clap for you because your father. It’s about nuturing your kids. It’s about working with your kids. It’s about helping your kids better themselves inside the ballroom scene and outside the scene. It’s about them having a positive life, making sure their working and being educated.
Photo by Frederic Nauczyciel
Being a Revlon.
One thing about the House of Revlon, is that it’s unforgetable and undenyable. To be a Revlon and to be a good Revlon means to never be forgotten.
Message to the kids.
Have safe sex. Be respectful. In order to recieve respect you have to give respect. Just be humble.
Learning to be a poet has been one thorny vine road for me. I never understood the path of a path of a poet. How to transcend from a person who writes poetry to being a living poet.
This semester I took a poetry workshop class and discovered some brilliant words by Rainer Maria Rilke, the devotion of Rita Dove, and the work that must take place in order for me to establish a relationship with my writing. Honestly, I’ve been a bit scared of committing myself to an art that seems unlikely for me to thrive in. Not only that but it’s not easy. Reading the works of excellent poets like Langston Huges, Maya Angelou, and Frank O’Hara; noticing the grand effort they put in their work. Yes, natural talent can get your foot in the door but discipline get’s you to a mansion, with royal chandeliers, unbeatable marble floors, and luxory drapery.
So, I took a mental note that I will chain myself to my writing and strive to be a great poet! It’ll probably be the most challenging task that I will ever face but I think it will be fruitful. Plus this year, seems to have claimed my starting point as a poet.My first ever published poem recently debuted in the University of Balitmore’s literary publication magazine, The Welter.
This semester I was also fortunate enough to be submersed with great talented writers, like Mary Elizabeth Mays, who has been published in The Welter and Baltimore based literary magazine, and Artichoke Haircut. She was in my poetry workshop class too and for our last class we had to recite a poem. Mary read one of her poems and it conjointed my heart, my stomach, and throat in big knot.
Spilling Guts
by: Mary Elizabeth Mays
The book she left on the passenger dash
spreads like an Odalisque.
Haunted by women in paintings I never understood
and the recurring snap of a books binding,
I believe I have heard the fracture
of a young woman’s spine.
Streetlamps dim before intermittent flashes
of a caution signal. A dirty palm stroke crosses
my right thigh trying to grapple
the moment I forgot the grace of every clenched fist
my father taught me.
I.
I imagine the suffering of gutted animals
strung during slaughter.
The shame of staring into the tangled mess
of your own intestines puddled on the floor,
then kicked aside by the filthy boots
of a white trash asshole.
II.
I imagine the suffering of white trash assholes
strung out during slaughter.
The shame of staring into the tangled mess
of an animals intestines puddled on the floor
before kicking them aside with filthy boots.
Confessions stream in from an open car widow,
someone is screaming in the distance.
Tonight will exist as a series of after thoughts:
A girl with no spine.
A gutted animal.
A pair of filthy boots committing unspeakable atrocities.
Has the rejection of every violent impulse
that raced through my circulatory system
left me the same as paralyzed children?
Should I have been given to them
and followed the wisdom of my father
measuring strength with the force of a fist?
Or should I have worn the persona
of “tough” like a heavy winter coat
to hide the written word on the page?
Maybe I’ll just keep fighting it, remaining gutsier
than she thinks.
Checking my email, reading WeSC’s latest newsletter, I saw that the legendary bushi of Hip Hip, RZA of Wu Tang, has his own spin on headphones for WeSC Chambers. I became a big yogi of RZA, when I listened to Afro Samurai: The Album for the first time. Also, one can’t ignore his huge contribution to the best production ever listened to in hip hop, and his legacy with the infamous talented hip hop group Wu Tang. So it can be assured that his orginality, zen like rhymes, and urban sophistication has contributed to the making of his new headphones, impacting the same artistic satisfaction.
Headphones are the new rave branded product for hip hop artists’. Of course it’s began to become be a fad. Though it makes a lot of sense; headphones are symbolic tools to the cultivation of hip hop. Looking at the reviews plenty of them suck. The Chamber’s by RZA headphones seem to have avoided the lashing of a trend. They feature an active noise cancellation on/off switch, a music sharing function, 3-touch hands free unit that controls music and video playback, and can answer and end calls and record voice memos. The design doesn’t lack either, equally matching to the headphones’ performance, the design is stylishly minimalistic, functionally savvy, and most importantly they’re cozy.
Check out this 1-2-1 with Jeff Staple interview with RZA. He talks about his latest book,The Tao of Wu, his favorite Wu Tang albums, and his new passion for film directing.
Florence Welch in Alexander McQueen 
Source: The Telegraph UK
Lately, being a bit purposely dormant to “fashion society”, I wouldn’t go this blogger’s route, hyper sensationalizing the word on the main street, but being a fashion lover, an emerging feeling, a natrural one, came over me to serve my tea of the best of The Met Gala.
Karolina Kurkova in Rachel Zoe
Source: Getty
For past few years it seemed as if most celebs caught onto the style bandwagon, showing up and out on red carpet looking quite sleek or not too bad. Lately it seems as if they become too cocky or too cozy. At the 2012 Met Gala, there was too much modesty, dashing complex dresses on uncomplicated subjects, bad make up, passe styling, identity cliches, and drowning fits.
Thankfully there were a few fashion divas/divos that came onto the runway, intact with plenty of guts, opulence, and optimal fierceness.
Chloe Sevigny in MIU MIU
Christina Ricci in THAKOON
Rihanna in Tom Ford
Chanel Iman in Tom Ford with Tom Ford
Marc Jacobs
My good friend Frédéric Nauczyciel, zagging from Paris, had an opening at the Honfleur Gallery, in Anacostia, Washington, DC, titled “Le Temps Devant (Our Time Ahead): Anachronism and Utopia in the French Countryside”. The opening was curated by Amy Cavanaugh Royce, executive director at the Maryland Art Place, and feautered photographed portraits of folks submeresed in romantic milieus who live in the French quarry. Illuminating antique individuals who coexhist in a modern world, the portraits pose as well defined motifs of transcendence, and captures the beauty of an uncomplicated unseen utopia. When looking at each piece, I felt like I was in a dark lit room, holding a conversation with each habitué as they modestly reveal themselves to me. It was a lovely opening, with a pleasent atmosphere, the Honfleur Gallery was so chic, and Dale who’s a member of the House Of Revlon performed a dandy vogue freestyle to Bach Concerto for two harpsichords.
Amy’s Take.
“Upon seeing proofs from the series Our Time Ahead by Frédéric Nauczyciel I knew immediately there was something significant and special about his photography. The more I learned about Frédéric, the series, and his way of production, the more interesting this body of work became. Our Time Ahead takes you to a place of history while simultaneously drawing a familiar connection with modern life. The photographs prompt the viewer to consider their lives, the role of the countryside today, farming and other rural lifestyles through a subconscious co-mingling of contemporary living. For instance, more recent movements towards buying local, supporting independent farmers, crop sharing and other ways of integrating modern life with our food source. This was the first notion that came to my mind, although the work has much more significance than just the aspect of food and farming.” -Amy Cavanaugh Royce
Congrats Frédéric, for being tagged in the Washington Post!
Members of The House of Revlon
Artist, Frederic Nauczyciel
Here are some pictures from TT The Artist x Dai Burger performance at ENIGMA Saturday’s at the Paradox (more on tumblr). It was cute and it felt good to finally get out! I realized that in order to keep up with the world, one must chase the sunset. I’m also starting to be swayed into this alter ego phenomenon.
