California: Day 8. (July 22nd, 2010)

It was so miserable that day, It was cold and windy. We went to the beach, I do not know why. People were swimming in the ocean, I couldn't understand that.

This isn't normally what I would wear to the beach:

Diamond Crew Neck, Comune Waxed Denim, and Futura Dunk Highs.

After about three hours of complaining about the weather on the beach. It finally got nice. I changed because I started to sweat.

The pigeon were back and better than ever...

Then it began to get cloudier and colder, so we left to do some shopping.

I was pretty excited to go shop because I heard about a cool sneaker boutique when I stopped by 5&ADime, they told me to check out Blends. Blends was super hard to find though, GPS told us it was at one place but when we got there, we were 3 blocks away from it, so we walked there.

I was super stoked when I got there, they had a NikeSB campaign for breast cancer going on. They had a DJ in-store, free drinks, and had these on display for bidding:

Keep A Breast was the campaign, it was exclusively to the 3 Blends stores in Cali.

There layout of the store was my favorite I have ever seen. Each shoe was properly displayed on the wall like a gallery for art. They carried the likes of... Jordan, Nike, Nike SB, Vans OTW, Converse Black Flag, and more.

I picked up some black suede Converse Black Flag boat shoes for $55.

The Campaign co-sided with the re-release of the Brainwreck Dunk High (that I already have) and the likes of other Todd Bratrud works.

The Brainwrecks were displayed along the way, I really liked this look.

They did carry some clothing, but it was minimal, and only carried 'Premium'(quote) garments.

Jump Down

Dangerous

As time crunches down, and we approach the release date of his Sophmore Album. You are going to start hearing more and more from Mr. Rager (Cudi) himself. I recently found out the he was performing at a night club in the city, I wanna go... but it's one of 'those' clubs... we will see what happens.

Here is a track that was recorded two years ago, but will be seen on an upcoming mixtape entitled "Biggy Jiggy S.G Exclusives 30":

In My Lifetime (Remix) prod. Ski Beatz

Heard this off the season 6 finale of Entourage a few weeks back. The song is a remix of Jay-Z's first single, which came out before the release of his debut and now classic album: Reasonable Doubt. I wish I had heard this earlier, but ah well, it's still one of my favorite Jay tracks nonetheless.

Take Note. So Steezin'!

Doo-Wops and Hooligans

It is a rare occurrence to catch me listening to anything other than hip-hop. However, one thing I like to listen to that most hip-hop artists don't have, is a mellifluous voice. Peter Hernandez aka Bruno Mars is my latest favorite artist because of his geuninely good singing voice. He is part of a producer group called the Smeezingtons, who are responsible for many popular hits like Nothin' On You by B.o.B (which was where I first heard of him). Check out this video. It may not be the greatest song, but it's catchy and you can't deny that steez. His upcoming debut album Doo-Wops and Hooligans (set to be released October 5th 2010) is one I highly look forward to. Here's the tracklist:

1. Grenade

2. Just The Way You Are

3. Our First Time

4. Runaway Baby

5. The Lazy Song

6. Marry You

7. Talking To The Moon

8. Liquor Store Blues ft. Damian Marley

9. Count On Me

10. The Other Side ft. Cee-Lo Green & B.o.B

If you want to get familiar with Bruno Mars, check out his EP:

It's Better If You Don't Understand EP

As an added bonus, here's one of my favorite Smeezington produced songs:

Fuck You by Cee-Lo Green.

Blue Eyes Meets Bed-Stuy

My cousin introduced me to this awesome collaboration back when I was in Grade 8. I wasn't a huge B.I.G fan back then, and didn't really start loving it until a few years later when I thought I was sooo gangsta. The concept is simple but it works surprising well: Biggie rapping over Frank Sinatra's instrumentals. Be sure to listen to one of my favorite collabs of all-time. Download here. My favorite song? Everyday Struggle/A Day In The Life Of A Fool. ListenUp!

Fotography Fridays.

California: Day 7. (July 21st, 2010)

We just relaxed around the house and then went for a walk.

We stumbled upon Batting Cages and a Driving Range at the bottom of the Canyon. I was pretty bad at baseball. I played 'little league' as a kid... but obviously was not meant to play it.

I was alot better at golf... look at that form.

After enjoying the Driving Range and Batting Practice... We were heading to the beach to play beach volleyball. My Aunty and Uncle are in a beach volleyball league... which is pretty cool. No ref, just for fun. So after our Cali relatives sized us up... Canadians who play volleyball (Mom has been playing volley ball for over 20 years, she also went to 'Worlds' in 2007 for volleyball. Leo played college volleyball or something. Jen, has been playing volleyball for about 6 years, club and school. I just played Senior Volleyball, and I am 6'3".) I thought they made a good 1 game deal, after seeing the team. Mainly, over the age of 50... We were in for a treat.

This is me... After we lost... Such a shitty game. Keeping in mind we played against only two people... We had four subs. They were pretty athletic though.

After the utter defeat... We headed over to a really nice beachside restaurant.

It started to get dark, and I got tired.

Primitive.

Shay Maria, straight babe.