STR8NYC.COM http://str8nyc.com A lil' bit Hood with a lot of Hollywood Good! Fri, 30 Sep 2011 03:50:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 STR8 VIDEOS: ADELE- “SOMEONE LIKE YOU” http://str8nyc.com/2011/09/29/str8-videos-adele-someone-like-you/ http://str8nyc.com/2011/09/29/str8-videos-adele-someone-like-you/#comments Fri, 30 Sep 2011 03:50:58 +0000 LexAve http://str8nyc.com/?p=45561
It’s been a minute since I’ve updated the blog, but just few moments ago I watched Adele’s “Someone Like You” and least to say I was in tears. Just listening to this song is emotional enough, the visuals here are simplistic yet so raw and appropriate for such a heart wrenching sad love song.


The black and white gives it a more authentic feel and not to mention the majority of the video focuses on Adele’s beautiful face with the streets of Paris (I think) in the background. The look in Adele’s eyes…it’s like looking into her soul and at that moment it reads nothing but sadness. Kudos to the director for portraying such a deep emotion with simple yet captivating visuals. The end of the video leaves me heartbroken. Overall the video captures the essence of a love lost and feeling numb.

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STR8 VIDEOS: FRANK OCEAN- “SWIM GOOD” http://str8nyc.com/2011/09/18/str8-videos-frank-ocean-swim-good/ http://str8nyc.com/2011/09/18/str8-videos-frank-ocean-swim-good/#comments Mon, 19 Sep 2011 02:59:04 +0000 LexAve http://str8nyc.com/?p=45554
Woman Down! Frank Ocean commits murder in his latest video “Swim Good.” Ever since he premiered “Novacane,” fans have yearned for more and it seems like Ocean is ready to give. Earlier last week, he delivered “Thinking About Youand now “Swim Good.” Great visuals consist of a panda bear mask, popcorn, monk-like ensemble, a beach, waves, samurai sword, an orange and black Lincoln town car and images of a beauty superimposed through out the video. What does it all mean? Press play…trust you’ll enjoy.

frank ocean [swim good] from christopher francis ocean on Vimeo.


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STR8 GLOSSY: MARY J. BLIGE COVERS EBONY MAG http://str8nyc.com/2011/09/18/str8-glossy-mary-j-blige-covers-ebony-mag/ http://str8nyc.com/2011/09/18/str8-glossy-mary-j-blige-covers-ebony-mag/#comments Mon, 19 Sep 2011 02:33:47 +0000 LexAve http://str8nyc.com/?p=45541
Check out the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige, gracing the cover of Ebony magazine’s October issue…on stands now! In the cover issue MJB sets the record straight those rumors, her demons and her soulmate. Below find a few magazine scans of the issue.

Sidenote: I’m not going to even address that horrible and non-flattering photo of MJB on the cover. I mean…look at her face…she just looks pissed and annoyed. Lol.

After skimming through the piece, MJB brought up a topic that’s been the conversation of my friends and I. Didn’t MJB put out better material and heart felt songs when she was “not” happy? Don’t you miss you the old Mary? It’s no question that depression, heart ache and just being in a negative space at times brings the most creative and chart topping songs. And Mary has come a long from those “Be Happy” and “Going Down” days. She’s now happy, both spiritually and emotionally. Do we really want to see MJB back in chaos and pain?




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STR8 TALK: BEYONCE’S BABY BUMP BOOST RECORD SALES http://str8nyc.com/2011/09/07/str8-talk-beyonces-baby-bump-boost-record-sales/ http://str8nyc.com/2011/09/07/str8-talk-beyonces-baby-bump-boost-record-sales/#comments Thu, 08 Sep 2011 04:06:13 +0000 LexAve http://str8nyc.com/?p=45520
You might recall a while back Beyonce’s “4″ album made a lackluster debut on the charts. Well thanks to her flaunting of her new baby bump, King Bey not only made Twitter history but her record sales got a major boost. According to Billboard.com,


Other obvious gainer thanks to the VMA show is Beyonce, who announced she was pregnant during her performance of “Love On Top.” Her “4″ album returns to the top 10 on the Billboard 200 with 39,000 (jumping 12-7; up 87%) and “Love” debuts at No. 10 on Digital Songs with 113,000 (up 803%). This marks the first time the “4″ album has posted a weekly sales increase since its arrival.

Luckily for Bey that baby bump boosted her back to the top on the charts. Now that The Carters are adding a new member to their empire, only more success and mayhem will follow. But is this surprising at all?! After they’re hip hop/pop royal couple. Either way congrats to the parents to be and Happy Belated Bday Bey!

Here are some flicks of the pair kicking it in Crotia with the crew.



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STR8 STYLIN’: HONEY B. GOLD FOR FLY CHICKS! http://str8nyc.com/2011/09/03/str8-stylin-honey-b-gold-for-fly-chicks/ http://str8nyc.com/2011/09/03/str8-stylin-honey-b-gold-for-fly-chicks/#comments Sun, 04 Sep 2011 01:56:45 +0000 Noel http://str8nyc.com/?p=45432

All it took was a tweet from a friend raving about an up and coming jewelry line for me to get interested in Honey B. Gold. I checked the link and was immediately in awe over the collection.
I created a mental note of the pieces that I would soon be adding to my personal collection. With a line such as this, I just couldn’t keep it a secret to myself.
Honey B. Gold was created by designer Natalia (pictured above rocking her pieces).

Honey B. Gold consists of pieces that speak volumes to women with slogans such as “Trust No Man”, “Fuck Him”, “Sex Love Money”. Those particular sayings can be seen in the “Love Don’t Live Here” collection, which Natalia explains was inspired by a direct perspective of a tainted heart.
The line is full of both bold and eye catching statement pieces. There is without doubt that women can relate to the messages in the collection so why not let your jewelry speak for you?

Check out what Natalia had to share on the line’s history, inspirations and about the woman she designs for below:

Noel of Str8NYC: Tell me a bit about yourself and how you developed the line:

Natalia[Honey B. Gold]: My name is Natalia Durazo owner and designer for Honey B Gold Jewelry. Honey B was born in ’09 but the concept was lingering years before. Being
heavily influenced by music particularly 80′s and early 90′s Hip Hop I’ve
always had an affinity for HUGE Gaudy jewelry ala Ghostface Killah and
Slick Rick. Problem was being that it wasn’t necessarily “in style” dope
pieces were rare and hard to come by. That’s when I decided I’d create my
own. I started out handpainting on a few existing pieces I already owned,
people started asking me if I could make them custom pieces, and the rest
is pretty much history.

Noel of Str8NYC: Who is the Honey B Gold woman? Can you define the ideal woman that you have in mind when designing?

Natalia: The Honey B Gold woman literally has thousands of personalities and
styles. I don’t necessarily design for a specific type of woman; I design
more for an attitude. I try to envision my pieces on all different types
of females. I admire and find muses in the Grace Jones, Kelis, Linday
Lohan, Amy Winehouse, to the regular everyday chicks. I’m extremely drawn
to girls who don’t give a shit what society says and just do whatever the
fuck they want (as long as it’s not degrading then the concept gets all
messed up lol)

Noel of Str8NYC: While reading your ‘About Me’ section, I couldn’t help but notice that you mentioned that you’ve been drawn to art, music and fashion, can you name a few of your favorite artists and designers?

Natalia: A lot of my inspiration comes to me randomly to be honest. I don’t
necessarily look for it (I usually find myself with designers block when
it’s not organic) I pick up inspiration or ideas from movies, music, maybe
a word someone used in a conversation. It’s kind of crazy actually lol I
almost feel like the ideas aren’t mine, I’m just used as some sort of a
portal if that makes any sense. That’s mainly why my collections are all
over the place, a lot of random ideas that I try to piece together in a
puzzle. Although, I’m proud to also say LIFE is an inspiration in itself,
as if it isn’t obvious my latest collection “Love don’t live here” came
directly from the perspective of a tainted heart.

Noel of Str8NYC: Where do you pull inspiration from for the collection?

Natalia: I hope to one day become a well-known accessories brand much like the
companies and designers I look up to. I LOVE Melody Ehsani’s work, I think
she’s a complete genius and understands composition very well. I admire
all the strong brands with bold messages. Dime Piece clothing is also so
on point with their designs it’s impossible not to love their pieces!
All in all I’m excited to have the opportunity to start creating a tiny
niche in this world. I’m grateful for the ability to put myself and ideas
into tangible objects that are represented by all the fly bitches around
the world.

Learn more about Honey B. Gold…

Website: Honey B. Gold
Twitter: @NatalieBGold
Facebook: Facebook.com/HoneyBGold


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STR8 VIDEOS: NICKI MINAJ ft. RIHANNA- “FLY” http://str8nyc.com/2011/08/29/str8-videos-nicki-minaj-ft-rihanna-fly/ http://str8nyc.com/2011/08/29/str8-videos-nicki-minaj-ft-rihanna-fly/#comments Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:50:49 +0000 LexAve http://str8nyc.com/?p=45497
Not only did our favorite MC Barbie take away the Video Music Award for Best Hip Hop Video last night, but she also debuted her new dramatic, post apocalyptic video for the song “Fly,” featuring Rihanna. The video is full of disaster, plane wrecks, couture get-ups and whole lot of mean mugging for the camera.


Realtalk…I could’ve done without this video. Nothing but just another photoshoot brought to life. And what’s with the latex bodysuit and ninjas…where do ninjas fight in all of this. Shouts to the director and Barbie team for thinking this one through! NEXT!

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STR8 SNITCHIN’: CONGRATS TO JAY-Z x BEYONCE! BABY ON BOARD! http://str8nyc.com/2011/08/28/str8-snitchin-congrats-to-jay-z-x-beyonce-baby-on-board/ http://str8nyc.com/2011/08/28/str8-snitchin-congrats-to-jay-z-x-beyonce-baby-on-board/#comments Mon, 29 Aug 2011 01:54:46 +0000 LexAve http://str8nyc.com/?p=45482
After all the speculation and gossiping…the rumors are now finally true! The Carters are expecting their first born. Check out Beyonce Knowles showing off her baby bump on the black carpet of the MTV VMAs. Though the pair didn’t actually confirm the news, Beyonce was photographed embracing her bump and MTV News went to Twitter to confirm the baby bump.





Congrats to Jay-Z x Beyonce! This ought to slow the hardest working woman in show biz.

UPDATE!

Beyonce hit the VMA stage to perform RnB hit “Love on Top” and said to the crowd, “I want you to feel the love that’s growing inside me.” Soon after her performance, she dropped her mic, unbuttoned her glittered blazer, and unveiled her growing bumped and rubbed her belly, while Kanye West congratulated a beaming and papa to be Jay-Z in the audience. CLASSIC MOMENT!

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STR8 VIDEOS: KENDRICK LAMAR- “A.D.H.D.” http://str8nyc.com/2011/08/28/str8-videos-kendrick-lamar-a-d-h-d/ http://str8nyc.com/2011/08/28/str8-videos-kendrick-lamar-a-d-h-d/#comments Sun, 28 Aug 2011 21:07:01 +0000 Noel http://str8nyc.com/?p=45462

RockSmith presents the video to “A.D.H.D.” by Kendrick Lamar, directed by NYC’s own Va$htie in NYC. This song is one of my favorites from Section80. If you haven’t downloaded it yet…you’re seriously sleeping. Before checking out the video, check out what Vashtie said regarding the video concept:

“I wanted the video to illustrate the emotion he paints with words, while avoiding gratuitous shots of any substance. Despite the song’s title and content, the focus isn’t the drugs, but rather, that basic human experience of apathetic youth. That simple mood of emptiness which we choose to either address or self-medicate.”


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STR8 MIXTAPES: WALE – “THE ELEVEN ONE ELEVEN THEORY” http://str8nyc.com/2011/08/28/str8-mixtapes-wale-the-eleven-one-eleven-theory/ http://str8nyc.com/2011/08/28/str8-mixtapes-wale-the-eleven-one-eleven-theory/#comments Sun, 28 Aug 2011 20:52:33 +0000 Noel http://str8nyc.com/?p=45393

As promised, Wale released a new mixtape after reaching his initial goal of 1 million followers on twitter.
The Eleven One Eleven Theory is Wale’s first mixtape after being picked up by MMG [Maybach Music Group]. This time around Wale let’s go of his Seinfeld inspired tapes which is always an interesting take.
The emcee brings his poetic style of spitting over strong beats, the production on this tape is phenomenal. All original tracks which is always refreshing to hear. I’m definitely a fan of the tape, many thanks to Wale’s followers.

DOWNLOAD->> WALE- ELEVEN ONE ELEVEN THEORY MIXTAPE here

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STR8 STYLIN’: MADE ME CLOTHING x STUSSY http://str8nyc.com/2011/08/28/str8-stylin-made-me-clothing-x-stussy/ http://str8nyc.com/2011/08/28/str8-stylin-made-me-clothing-x-stussy/#comments Sun, 28 Aug 2011 20:41:11 +0000 Noel http://str8nyc.com/?p=45420

Stussy teamed up with New York based women’s street wear line MadeMe Clothing for the S+M Collection. The collection is 80′s punk influenced with a series of pieces such as military jackets, mesh dresses, leggings and more. S+M brings an urban feel to 80′s punk influenced style for key pieces in any woman’s wardrobe.
I love this entire collection and will definitely be adding a few of the pieces to my wardrobe. Check out some of the collection below and be sure to check out the entire S+M at Stussy



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