A Letter To Amy Winehouse

I believe it was last year that VH1 was showing this special called “The 27s: The Greatest Myths of Rock & Roll.” It came on after “The Soup,” and I was feeling incredibly lazy, so I decided to watch it. Luckily I did, because the incite I got was ridiculous…

The 27 Club aka Forever 27 aka Club 27, is a group of 34 Rock & Rollers at their peak who all died at the young age of 27 years old. And in this club, you have the greats that some, most, or a small amount of us grew up listening to: Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin…

The special, to say the least, creeped me out just a little bit. Not too much, but to the point where I was spooked and intrigued to find out more about the “club.” They went into deep analysis, from dates to color palettes to social behaviors and mental backgrounds… Of course, many of these artists had involvements in drugs and alcohol, but most, if not all, had issues.

Serious serious issues. Issues that should have been dealt with but that couldn’t be, and issues that they used as their art. As either a plea for help, or their way of saying, “This will be all that’s left of me. This is all I need to get across. After this… I think I’m done.”

Matter of fact, it was Neil Young that said: “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.”

At the end of the special, they spoke about those who they felt would be well on their way to this club, due to the rate in which they were going. You, Amy Winehouse, were the first on their list. Sure, it all added up, but in the same year, many sources said you were getting better. That you were doing pretty good, laying low, keeping your life out of the newspapers. Slowly but surely, you would get back on track, if you were on track to begin with…

Well, Amy…

I checked the 27 Club Wiki page. Guess what? You’ve already been added to the list. Hook, line and sinker…

Dammit, all of the cues were in your lyrics. All of it. The tone of your voice, the messages of your songs, the names of your albums… But, regardless. Help was never on the way, was it? You were spiraling way too deep into the depths of your mind that to be pulled out of that chaos would be an act of death. Could that have been the reason?

After you checked out of rehab just as quick as you had checked IN, you went on tour in Europe, and got severely booed off stage, due to forgetting your lyrics as you performed your most famous songs, and for coming on stage intoxicated and completely disheveled. The tour was cancelled due to the incident, and everyone felt it can come back on once you got some more help, which you didn’t get. Could this have been the reason?

What was it? Was it because your life was spiraling out of your control COMPLETELY, or was it because you were finally fading out because of your life, and out of fear that you would be forgotten instead of remembered, that you would rather have burned?

It’s all over now, Amy. Sleep well. I hope you finally find that peace you were looking for that you couldn’t find here.

V Magazine

This is my ultimate favourite magazine. If I had to work for any publication in the world, It's be 'V' Magazine. I love it with all my heart and it encapsulates all that I am succinctly.

My love for art, fashion, music, film and architecture are all catered for in this publication.

It's really young magazine, being only 12 years old but has already grown exponentially, having the biggest names grace the covers.

The best thing about this mag is that it fuses high end with street and is therefore accessible to all who appreciate art in the broader sense of the word.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: If anyone knows where I can find this magazine other than in Melville, I'll love you forever. Tweet me (@DameLesego)

Obsessed with V Magazine

x Bisous x

Chiddy of 'Chiddy Bang' Breaks World Record for Longest Freestyle!

During MTV's first ever O (Online) Music Awards, Chidera "Chiddy" Anamege (on the left of photo) from the rap duo Chiddy Bang, attempted to freestyle live for 9 hours straight to earn the Guinness World Records title for "Longest Freestyle Rap," with the time to beat being 9 hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds by a Indianapolis rapper named M-Eighty.

You wonder what a person can go for 9 hours rapping about, right? Chiddy was ahead of us, asking his followers via twitter to give him some topics to freestyle about.

And how, do you ask did he prepare? "I just gotta get a good night's rest, eat a healthy breakfast."

CONGRATS, CHIDDY!

Source: Rap Fix

The Lonely Island's "Turtleneck & Chains," Tracklist

The Lonely Island (who's genius/hilarious/undeniably jamming track, "Mother Lover," ft. Justin Timberlake has just been available for download on iTunes) have released the tracklist for their new album, "Turtleneck & Chains," which is out May 10th.

The Lonely Island - Turtleneck & Chain (Tracklist)

01 We're Back!
02 Mama
03 I Just Had Sex [ft. Akon]
04 Jack Sparrow [ft. Michael Bolton]
05 Attracted to Us [ft. Beck]
06 Rocky
07 My Mic (Interlude)
08 Turtleneck & Chain [ft. Snoop Dogg]
09 Shy Ronnie 2: Ronnie & Clyde [ft. Rihanna]
10 Trouble on Dookie Island
11 Falcor vs. Atreyu (Classy Skit #1)
12 Motherlover [ft. Justin Timberlake]
13 The Creep [ft. Nicki Minaj & John Waters]
14 Watch Me Do Me (Classy Skit #2)
15 Threw It on the Ground
16 Japan
17 After Party [ft. Santigold]
18 No Homo
19 No Homo Outro

DVD:

01 We're Back!
02 I Just Had Sex [ft. Akon]
03 The Creep [ft. Nicki Minaj & John Waters]
04 Motherlover [ft. Justin Timberlake]
05 Shy Ronnie 2: Ronnie & Clyde [ft. Rihanna]
06 Threw It on the Ground
07 We'll Kill U
08 Reba (Two Worlds Collide) [ft. Kenan Thompson]
09 Great Day

Featuring artists such as Snoop, Santigold (My God, she's not holding back on this promotion for her album coming out soon!), Nicki Minaj and more with the DVD consisting of their SNL Digital Short videos, this is sure to be a buy. I mean . . . humor and music and geeky hot guys in one? C'moooon...

Will you be buying?

Source: Hypetrak

Zoe Kravitz

ZOE

LENNY

LISA

Zoe is 12 days older than me. 12 DAYS!!! She would've been way too cool for my school. But I believe we would've been best friends. I really do.

She is awesome for so many reasons but her DILF of a father is Lenny Kravitz and she is the first (and probably only rock star daughter that has sprinklings of black). This automatically ups her cool factor ;)

She is apparently an actress... I don't care for her movies. It's her attitude and style that put her on this 'list'. Her mother and father are also totally cool.

Let's just make this post about her whole damn family coz no one has a better looking father than Zoe and a more interesting mother. Lenny, will you marry me?! Screw best friends, I'll be Zoe's step mom. And Lisa you cool too. Too cool for Cosby... in your mind. I think Lisa and Lenny got divorced because there's only so much dope that one house can have.

Obsessed with Zoe and Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet

x Bisous x

Peaches & Pixie Geldof

PEACHES

PIXIE

Known for their wild partying ways and "occasional" drug use (I'M NOT ENDORSING DRUGS... I HATE THEM), The 20 & 22 year old British princesses of grunge and cool are completely rock star chic. Having actual rock star blood in them might be the key to their intense and ever-lasting awesomeness (their dad is Irish legend Bob Geldof).

* Peaches is the older of the two. She is a socialite/ model who epitomises the word 'edgy'. She looks almost like a pin-up type and she embraces all vintage looks with a modern twist. She wears and says and does what she wants and does it whilst looking hot! Plus those tattoos, A DIOS MIO! They're amaaaaze!

* Pixie's got a totally funky hairstyle (a grey 'pixie' cut which is sometimes blonde or black). She's known to appreciate the more Goth side of fashion and this is seen in both her heavy eye make-up and also her wardrobe which consist of a lot of 'cross jewellery' and black items.

Obsessed with Pixie and Peaches

x Bisous x

Introducing: Donald Glover

If you have a good sit down with Donald Glover, on first impression, he would come across as a nerdy funny guy that was doing a great job at keeping your attention with his laid-back humor. But you probably wouldn't have guessed that he was one of the genius writers behind the hit show "30 Rock," starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, writing some of Tracy Morgans' character's funniest lines. You also probably wouldn't have guessed that he plays Troy, the sort of/kind of/almost very slow jock on NBC's newest and greatest show, "Community," (which just got renewed for a 3rd season) starring comedian and host of E!'s "The Soup," Joel McHale. You probably wouldn't have guessed that he's a stand-up comedian, either! Well...maybe you would have. But the biggest shock would have to be that Mr. Glover is also an accomplished rapper, going under his stage name, Childish Gambino. And he is taking everyone, including his nerd squad, by storm.



If you weren't aware of his amazing rap skills, take a listen to his verse on the Jamie xx produced remix of pop/soul singer, Adele's latest hit "Rolling In The Deep," in which he speaks about hipster dudes and cheating girlfriends! The remix has been getting major buzz and downloads from all corners of the Internet, and Childish Gambino is slowly creeping into people's iPods & mP3's. His rap consists of indie beats, hardcore production (most of which he produced himself) and top notch verses to go along with them.



With juggling stand-up, script reading for "Community," and rapping into the mic, it's obvious that Donald Glover is a talent that is rare nowadays but so worth taking the time to acknowledge and appreciate. Oh, did I mention he won an Emmy? Admit it. You'd be crazy not to dig into his nerdy awesomeness.



To catch more of Donald, watch him on "Community," every Thursday on NBC at 8 pm ET, download his latest EP that he released on March 8th here, and to purchase tickets to his IAMDONALD tour, which is a mix of comedy acts and his music, click here.

Trust us, you won't forget it.

oh! dance party

I thought one guy starting a huge dance party only happened in movies. guess not!



I would probably make fun of this if I saw it in person, but it still makes me happy

oh! dance party

I thought one guy starting a huge dance party only happened in movies. guess not!



I would probably make fun of this if I saw it in person, but it still makes me happy

a kiss with a fist is better than none!

I am loving this song right now. even if in the video she is wearing weird 90s tights. also, I am thinking this is one of those songs that everybody already knows about for months and then I just find it and get obsessed. I hate when that happens





florence and the machine.

and here is their version of a beyonce song that I love, too (halo, but b's version is obvi superior)
don't hate. I fuckin love queen B.

a kiss with a fist is better than none!

I am loving this song right now. even if in the video she is wearing weird 90s tights. also, I am thinking this is one of those songs that everybody already knows about for months and then I just find it and get obsessed. I hate when that happens





florence and the machine.

and here is their version of a beyonce song that I love, too (halo, but b's version is obvi superior)
don't hate. I fuckin love queen B.

as if.

In her fashion Q&A column for the guardian, writer Hadley Freeman chose to respond to a question regarding fashion in the 90s;

Why do clothes from the previous decade look about a million times weirder and more old fashioned than clothes from, say, the 70s, or even the 40s?

She basically answered that 'people in the 90s dressed like crap' because people had 'simply no taste at all.' and then adds rather nonchallantly, that this holds true even for music; 'any decade that hosted 2Unlimited, The Crash Test Dummies and 4 Non-Blondes has lost its right to voice any kind of opinion whatsoever, Nirvana Schmirvana' (read the whole article here)

i don't think this woman thinks through a lot of the things she says and this isn't the first time i've disagreed with her. no, i'm not a HUGE fan of 90s fashion, the jeans were pretty bad for one, and i don't feel very good about scrunchies. But to say people weren't interested in fashion? Um, sorry but wasn't this the decade of the super models Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Tyra Banks, Claudia Schiffer, and Linda Evangelista? Oh yeah, those guys. the ninties were a decade of 'anti-fashion', yes, but that doesn't mean that people weren't fashionable. a lot of iconic looks surfaced during this time, but not only that THEY ARE BACK IN FASHION TODAY. Doc Martens are hugely popluar at the moment. as are mid-drift tops, cut off shorts, leather jackets, leggings, denim jackets, platforms, knee-high boots, booties, and flannel (plaid) shirts. what about the fresh prince, 90210, my so called life, clarissa explains it all, GRACE FUCKING JONES??

from topshop.com

and don't even talk to me about music. really. you are a fool.

as if.

In her fashion Q&A column for the guardian, writer Hadley Freeman chose to respond to a question regarding fashion in the 90s;

Why do clothes from the previous decade look about a million times weirder and more old fashioned than clothes from, say, the 70s, or even the 40s?

She basically answered that 'people in the 90s dressed like crap' because people had 'simply no taste at all.' and then adds rather nonchallantly, that this holds true even for music; 'any decade that hosted 2Unlimited, The Crash Test Dummies and 4 Non-Blondes has lost its right to voice any kind of opinion whatsoever, Nirvana Schmirvana' (read the whole article here)

i don't think this woman thinks through a lot of the things she says and this isn't the first time i've disagreed with her. no, i'm not a HUGE fan of 90s fashion, the jeans were pretty bad for one, and i don't feel very good about scrunchies. But to say people weren't interested in fashion? Um, sorry but wasn't this the decade of the super models Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Tyra Banks, Claudia Schiffer, and Linda Evangelista? Oh yeah, those guys. the ninties were a decade of 'anti-fashion', yes, but that doesn't mean that people weren't fashionable. a lot of iconic looks surfaced during this time, but not only that THEY ARE BACK IN FASHION TODAY. Doc Martens are hugely popluar at the moment. as are mid-drift tops, cut off shorts, leather jackets, leggings, denim jackets, platforms, knee-high boots, booties, and flannel (plaid) shirts. what about the fresh prince, 90210, my so called life, clarissa explains it all, GRACE FUCKING JONES??

from topshop.com

and don't even talk to me about music. really. you are a fool.

"la la la . . . Cherry Chapstick!"

Don't worry. I don't think Travis would mind. He'd like to watch you kiss a girl, Katy.

I am inspired by numerous amounts of people. Christina Aguilera is one. Her voice is absolutely stunning. My God. I remember way back in the day when she came out right after Pop Princess turned Wacko turned Trying-Very-Hard-to-Regain-Fans singer Britney Spears zipped through our radios and blasted to our ears. The battle began. Me? I was always a Christina gal. I couldn't stand Britney back then, and the same goes now, except now, I have more respect for her (she's been through hell and back and she's making it. How many No. 1 albums has she had?! Heller?!).

Michelle Branch. Erm, her songwriting skills had me at a standstill. Plus I was in a phase back then where emo and acoustic music were my shizzot. She still is amazing to me, and I wish she would come out with some new material, yes and I mean post-"The Wreckers," but she's too busy taking care of her baby with her husband/drummer, who is, BTW, twice her age. Cough.

But there is one person who seriously helped me to understand that being yourself is the funnest and greatest way to live your life. And that wonderful God given gift who helped me to realize that is Ms. Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, aka Katy Perry.

Eureka. This girl is a freak of nature. And I'm saying that in the best way possible. When "I Kissed A Girl" came out, I thought it was a bisexual that came out with that song to introduce herself as, "Hi! I'm a bisexual! SUCK ON MY FAMILY JEWELS, BEEYOTCH!" See, I have a tendency to create the face of the person I hear on the radio before actually knowing what they look like. So because hearing Katy's voice for the first time, I concluded that she was probably butchy and a rebel and someone that probably wasn't all THAT purdy.

By goodness macaroni rolls was I wrong! After seeing her face, listening to a few more of her songs, and reading up on this gal, I instantly fell in love. Yes. I'm tellin' ya right now. She's my female crush! Cross my heart! She's a stunner. Her eyes are large and beautifully baby blue. Her hair is slick, glossy and flippy. Her style is a style that I can only admire from afar and dream to carry out the same style she displays, because that style is God-like IMO*. Her music is amazing!! 'Nuff said! Her humor is out of this world insanely hilarious. I catch myself laughing at her jokes and WITH her beautiful insanity that is sane. She's dating/tapping Travis "Travie" McCoy of the Gym Class Heroes, who I find extremely sexy, even with his body art and piercings. She's biffles with Perez Hilton AND homegirl hangs out with Dita Von Teese. DITA VON TEESE?! To chill with this woman, the amazing Dita Von Teese; to even get the chance to say "Hi, whats up?" with her is amazing to me. Like, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Surely, Katy does! And last but not least, she truly is someone who believes that HERSELF is the greatest SELF there is. She just shows you who she is from the getgo. there's no cookie-cutterness. No blanket over your head. She's not pulling a fast one on you. Nope. She's real. Up front. She does the wackiest things that can get people like Miley Cyrus cursed at, but for her its admirable.

She's so amazing. Katy Perry, I idolize you.

Truly.

P.S.: Your rendition of "Black & Gold" by Sam Sparro is played repeatedly on my iPod.