ANIME NOIR = BEATS + ANIMATION June 16th

It's been a minute people. June 16th I'll be celebrating my birthday (a day after) at the monthly I do in Culver City w/ ABF and Effin. We're doing our Anime Noir installment of Cinesounds. This round we have Elos, Luke Cage from the Mothership, and dirtRAID performing. Animation selections for the evening are Akira, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, and Appleseed Ex Machina.

No cover, dope beats, dope films, $5 drink specials and a smoking patio out back. Come to Culver City June 16th because your other watering holes are getting played out.

May 15th, BODEGA returns to LA

May 15th, BODEGA starts up again @ Señor Fish in Little Tokyo. Guests include DJ Nu-Mark, Moni (Friends We Love, NYC) and B+ (Mochilla). Residents Cee Brown, Melaaza, and Panamami will be holding it down as usual w/ their tasty blend of latin/world infused goodness. The party is free, there's no bullshit hype line, and people come with one purpose: to move hips sexily. Past guests include Jeremy Sole, Quantic, Sabo, Los Rakas, Oro11, and more. Act right and put some sabor in your Sunday.

Btw, BODEGA soundsystem is rollin to Miami in June to rock for all the fly mamis w/ that future wifey status. Just sayin. If you got fam down there, I strongly suggest you let them know about this party.

Taylor McFerrin + Nikko Gray 3/3/11 @ Little Temple

It's been a minute LA, but this last Thursday @ Little Temple made me realize I need to get back on the blog wagon. I had the pleasure of seeing both Nikko Gray and Taylor McFerrin (as well as some surprise guests) perform for Nu-Thursdays (put on by Nu-Soul: www.nu-soulmag.com). I have seen bits of Nikko's performances in the past as she is a staple in the love-friendly nightlife of LA. She once again laced the mic with sugar like the sultry songstress she is. Always in diva-mode, she kept that healing feminine energy flowing. From downright dreamy tunes to hip-shakers, she knows how to flex in many forms. She also had guest MC, Chris Young join her to throw in some rap flavor for a couple joints. Nikko Gray = Voice + Looks + Vibe = WIN.

Next up on the bill: Taylor McFerrin



After a little intermission with DJ Destroyer on the decks, Taylor McFerrin took the stage with a Rhodes, midi controllers, and his mouth. Deceptively humble in his vibe, he proceeded to build straight, uncut DOPENESS from scratch via live looping of keys, samples, and beatboxing (dude needs to jam w/ Rahzel if he hasn't already). To say the least, the McFerrin seed contains some sort of inter-galactic magic (his pops is Bobby McFerrin if you hadn't figured it out yet). Taylor brought Nikko Gray back on stage, as well as Chris Young and they proceeded to improvise their way through a song that honestly sounded better than a lot of pre-rehearsed bits I've heard from other artists. He then brought up fellow Brainfeeder signee, Austin Peralta. An odyssey is about the closest approximation for a word that can describe the musical journey they took my ears on. McFerrin is a deft beatboxer who understands rhythm to the core, and Peralta, well, he's legit as fuck on keys, truth. They had a free-form chemistry that only true musicians possess and carried on a musical conversation that probably only half of the audience fully understood (unless they have a grasp of music theory). Be on the lookout for more from Taylor McFerrin. He's got an honest, unpretentious, and highly-skilled nature that will continue to serve him as he gives the world more of his musical goodness.

LINKS:
Nikko Gray
Taylor McFerrin
Brainfeeder
Nu-Soul Magazine

Photos by Jenny B: