The HairyKat Chronicles

Well Happy New Year HairyKat's! We've been away but we're back and charged up with some great content, contests, and more in 2014. Our first post of the year meets you with great disdain. I recently read an article on XO Jane: "It Happened To Me: There Are No Black People In My Yoga Classes And I'm Suddenly Feeling Uncomfortable With It" written by Jen Caron. The title would suggest that this woman was an advocate for Black People and our need to learn to Downward Dog (sarcasm) but as I read through the article, it became evident that this wasn't the case. As I became more offended I decided it was time to set some things straight! I've copied and pasted the article for your viewing pleasure (Then read my response from the perspective of the heavy black woman!) "January is always a funny month in yoga studios: they are inevitably flooded with last year’s repentant exercise sinners who have sworn to turn over a new leaf, a new yea...

We all know I love new music like I love a new weave! Don't judge! I am currently listening to Audio Justice by Artist Kes. Kes hails from Compton by way of Orange County. The singer/songwriter is so musically creative. To give you a mental picture of Kes's sound just imagine that Prince had a baby with Frank Ocean and Pharrell was the babysitter/music teacher, pure AWESOMENESS right? I'm in love with The Audio Justice EP which features five tracks of funky soul bass beats infused with 80's punk rock and new age hip-hop.With lyrics like, "don't be throwing stones here in this glass house/cause if it comes crashing down/ it'll kill the both of us!  on the track Redemption has me saying MESSAGE when it comes to the heart felt ballad. The EP also features Kes's rendition of Lisa Lisa's "I wonder if I take you home", on the song Horses, which can easily be a boys anthem with lyrics like "Horses make her horny" as the catch...

HairyKats, A week after attending Jay-Z's concert at Honda Center, which I have yet to recover from (hands down the best concert I've ever been too, to date), I find the perfect way to start to the weekend with a new Beyoncé album! Yup that's right! Unless you live under a rock you've noticed social media go crazy with the Beyoncé self-titled 5th album released mid-week, no promo, and by the trending topics on the web I'm pretty sure she doesn't need it. This album is quite different from the others. Its a visual album. Yes! There's a video for every single song and more. I'm sitting here with my Arbor Mist and enjoying the hard work of this woman. She is clearly on another level. Making it clear, that releasing singles and heavily publicizing an album is so last year. She realizes her "Superpower" (insider, that you'll only understand if you have the album!) and knows her fan base well enough that she doesn't need publicity...

I had the privilege of attending a movie screening of Black Nativity a  Cinematic Musical based on the original Off-Broadway play written by Langston Hughes. The Movie stars Jacob Latimore, Angela Bassett, Forrest Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson, and Tyrese Gibson. While I think it was a great movie.  I also think it should remain on stage. There's something about timing in  a play that can't be translated on film.  The transition into the songs made some parts of the movie a bit awkward for lack of a better word. I would prefer that the movie follow the model of a typical film and leave the songs to a soundtrack because the music was absolutely amazing, but incorporated into the film, overshadowed the flow of the storyline. I would've rather seen the expressionism that each song emphasized as opportunities for the characters to ...act....simply put. Don't get me wrong, I do think the acting was great. I especially enjoyed Jacob Latimore's performance, he de...

Hello HairyKats, I'm back with more hot music to review. This week we're featuring Infinity by Inglewood Native Russian Rullet. Infinity is the perfect title for as his longevity as a rap artist is defined by this album. Rullet gives us 14 tracks of pure rap with impeccable precision of lyrical delivery and intense energy that draws you in as a listener. Songs like Go ft. Dae One and  Make My Entrance ft. Conyiac and Smokey Lane take me back to 1992 when I first fell in love with Tha Dogg Pound ( I know I was only 8, don't tell my mama!). Remember when Nate Dogg dominated the hooks of  every song on the radio? These songs are reminiscent of that classic sound yet they don't sound dated.  Although I must admit, I'm currently talking myself out of crip walking as I write this. (Lol!). Russian Rullet is a natural storysteller, an element of hip-hop that has become nearly extinct. On tracks like Black Widow, Born on a Plane, and Wall of...

Last night I had the privelege to attend a private screening of 12 Years A Slave a Steven McQueen film hosted by John Singleton. The film was amazing. So amazing that I can't stop thinking about it and all the implications it has for me and my life as an African-American woman smack dab in the middle of America raising a African-American male, solo. The film was simplistically artistic. There were subtle moments that were touching because they were so raw. I don't want to give away the film because I think its an important piece to experience and dialogue about. It was full of expressionism and this subtle angst that was played out beautifully. Its touching, its heavy content , its raw, its poetic, and has a great deal of symbolism, yet simple. Its a simple film. Almost too simple to the point that if you don't get it you miss it. It wasnt over-dramatized, there wasn't this huge build up. I enjoyed the musical score that gave this sort of daunting, horror-lik...

The Kat's Meow is the official interview segment of the The HairyKat Chronicles. This week we caught up with the beautiful DJ LA LA L&ND to pick her brain about the life of a female DJ. Check out her insight in the interview below. HK: “How did you get interested in DJ-ing?” DJ LaLa L&ND: “Music has always been a part of my life. I was introduced to Scratch DJ Academy when my Uncle started in 2005. When my Uncle passed away in 2006 I kept in touch with the instructors. I did a free class in 2010 and joined in January 2011. A few classes later I got hooked to it and now it’s something that I love. “   HK: “Take us down memory lane and tell us about the first DJ set you ever played”. DJ LaLa L&ND: “It was for my school, it was the 2 nd class I had taken (M202). We had to do a 6 song set, the goal was to be picked to play for graduation. Only two people were going to be picked out of the entire class.   I was so nervous, but I worked so hard on ...