The HairyKat Chronicles

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 ...

I felt like writing ....here we go:   A man an artist by nature his words come to life in his actions adversity strikes him on his back like whips and he does not bend break nor flinch but stands taller and rises to the occassion in every instance he respects her like she is his mother and cares for her like he would his daughter a man pours life and knowledge into his own creations and even if what he's planted is not of his own seeds he can look in their eyes and see hers and love them as if their roots are of his vine even when the others have turned over new soil and refuse to teach them how to grow but leave them to wither and die a man never succumbs to the pressure to maintain an image perpetuated by the non man around him A non man cannot stand alone but runs in packs and crews they are his backbone where he has none he is visibly strong and eternally weak because internally he never peaked beyond his childlike demeanor of look at me and love me please  he cannot s...

The Kat's Meow is the official interview segment of the The HairyKat Chronicles. We caught up with Connecticut Hip-Hop Artist Ace Da Youngin  to get some insight on who he has as an artist. As I chatted with him the word that kept going through my head was "Destiny". I'm sure he knows already, but he's definitely destined to be a hip-hop legend. Check out our interview below as well as some hot tracks from some of his projects. HK : “What’s your first memory of hip-hop music and how has that influenced you as an artist?” ACE : “I do remember as a child I used to go in my cousin’s room and go through his tape collections and I used to listen to the tapes and write out the lyrics word by word. One of the songs was by this guy Paperboy.   I would play every one of my cousin’s tapes. As a child I was having fun with it not knowing that was building me up to being a music artist.   I kept doing that unknowingly it just became a part of me.”   HK : “...

  The Kat's Meow is the official interview segment of The HairyKat Chronicles where we catch up with up and coming talent from all walks of life. Today we chatted  with Mogul RJ to pick his brain about his experiences and journey in the music industry. HK:  "How did you get started in the music industry?"         RJ: "The same way a lot of people get started: Singing in church. My mom was doing a lot of                 recording signing for Michael Bolton and recording with her choir.  Being around all of that                made me want to do music. Singing stopped being fun around 13 or 14. I stopped singing               and started being a musician, playing instruments"   ...

I've had the privilege to hear exclusive music by Anthony Gates, an LA native, RnB artist and let me tell you I'm definitely a fan. His music embodies the sound of West Coast hip-hop with hard hitting bass-beats that make you want to roll down Crenshaw on a Sunday and show-off your vehicle. He has a diverse body of work from slow cuts to hip-hop hits but what I love most about his music is that  despite the pressure of wanting to rap over a hip-hop beat he doesn't stray away from sanging on each and every track! Anthony's  unique syncopation in the delivery of his lyrics paired with is remarkable and sultry tone makes him the breath of fresh air that's giving life to the RnB game.  Anthony is currently working on a project titled "Sing Till I'm Famous". Check out some of Anthony's work below and like his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AnthonyGatesMusic/app_2405167945  and follow him on instragram @therealanthonygates.  

Last year I dropped my list of artist that I believed to be the Kats (because this is the HairyKat Chronicles, and Kats have nine lives...duh, lol) that signified that we hadn't closed the casket on hip-hop just yet.  See link to last year's list: (  http://hairykat.blogspot.com/2012/05/kats-have-nine-lives-reviving-hip-hop.html  )   It's only appropriate that within the week that the hip-hop world is going crazy over Kendrick Lamar's verse featured on Big Sean's -Control that I provide my 2013 list of artist that I see as innovative yet understand the historical work ethic and artistry that is hip-hop and music in general and are in fact keeping hip-hop alive. 1. Kool Head - Kool Head consists of duo Jason Nitti and Brandon Lee hailing from New York and Atlanta. At first listen I was just excited, I actually drooled when I listened to their single Trans AM. Their sound is so refreshing and representative of the tra...