Below is the video for the beautiful track "Butterfly," the latest single off Bilal's A Love Surreal

                                 

Fashion Icons: A Chat with Andre Leon Talley, Former Editor at Large of Vogue Magazine

92ND STREET Y

1395 Lexington Avenue | (212) 415-5500

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8TH, 2013
8:00PM - 9:30PM

Fashion guru Andre Leon Talley has been front and center at fashion shows for nearly three decades and is a tireless supporter of young artists and designers. Join Vogue's former Editor at Large as he discusses his career with Fern Mallis.

Read More: www.92y.org

   

@hot97's Who's Next Live w/ headliner @MACKWILDS
f/ @sebastianmikael @JustBeano x @KALIUCHIS! 10/23 @ SOBs!

41 Halsey St. Newark, NJ

973-642-2300

“Let’s go to the Elbow Room”

“Cool, heard they have dope Mac & Cheese. 

What else is on the menu?”

“Uh, Mac & Cheese!”

Yes, I will admit, I have my hipster moments. I’ll rock my black horned rimmed glasses, hit up a few thrift stores, grab a couple PBR’s, and yes, eat gourmet Mac & Cheese!

If you are going to devote an entire meal to just Macaroni & Cheese it better be right. Elbow Room Brooklyn gets it right with varieties including the Margherita mac with tomato and basil and the Jamaican Jerk with marinated  chicken and pineapples. They also have a Vegetarian option with Vegan cheese. All super delicious. 

And If you follow this blog at all you may now realize we're all about atmosphere. Elbow Room meets those expectations with its relaxed vibe and friendly staff. Alcohol is not served, but it makes my hot spot list thanks to their laid back attitude towards BYOB. So don't forget to grab a 6 pack of the aforementioned PBR’s, or a nice bottle of wine. 

The seating includes tables for 2-4 people as well as communal tables for larger parties. A shelf full of old school board games is also available and what's better than beer and board games with friends?! 

PS:  Don’t let the deceptively small size fool you. 

It’s very filling!

Locations in both Brooklyn, NY and Newark, NJ

125 MacDougal St. - Greenwich Village

Welcome to my "cheers" bar. For me, Thursday happy happy hour and most special occasions usually start (pre-game) or end here. Whether you are visiting NYC or a native New Yorker, the Groove is a spot you will definitely want to experience. We discovered this local live music bar on accident many years ago and have been regulars ever since. 

What keeps bringing us back you may ask? Well, it has everything! Great energy, amazing atmosphere, and strong drinks. The Groove has by far, one of the best happy hours in the city. $4 food and drinks everyday of the week. $5 Martinis.



We often have great conversations with the bartenders here and buybacks are pretty common. 

And like we mentioned earlier, Groove is also know for its great live music. They have some of the best live bands playing house, R&B, funk and jazz. Check the walls on the way to the bathroom and you'll see a shrine to all the greats that have stopped in here - from Chaka Khan to Prince.

Great for dates and after-work meetups. 

                       

15 1st Ave

(between 2nd St & Extra Pl) East Village

When I'm looking for a club/lounge to enjoy for the night there are a few things it must have for me to put it on the rotation. First, and probably the most important, I'm not paying a cover. Second, the door has to be relaxed. None of the I may or may not let you in based on  judgement of what is appropriate attire. And third, the music has to be great of course! 

La Linea has all these and more. Whenever I'm in the area, this is usually a must stop. It's also a go-to destination whenever I get the urge for drinks and dancing. Start the night off with an amazing 2 for 1 happy hour till 9pm. Late night the hip hop DJ's take over with some of the best Reggae, New and throwback Old School hip hop. As you enter you'll notice the space seems small and narrow, but as you head past the bar to the back you'll find comfortable lounge seating and  an open space. You will soon witness plenty of bumping and grinding so be ready to dance! This is a locals, word-of-mouth type of spot, so it will definitely give you the feeling that you are one of the few in the know. Stumble over to nearby Houston St. afterwards to feed your drunk belly.   

Strong drinks, great atmosphere, relaxed dress code, love the music! Dance the night away! 

Jazz at the Lincoln Center

There is nothing like Jazz at the Lincoln Center. If you are an arts lover, this is an ideal, one of a kind experience. For this season, the Lincoln Center will be graced with legendary artists, performers and bands. Check it out! 

September 19, 2013 – June 12, 2014

10 Reasons Why New York City Is The Best, And Worst, Place To Live

1. You can “fake it ’til you make it”…and then fake it some more in NYC–no questions  asked.

Everyone in NYC lives by this, so good luck dating someone who’s actually genuine.

2. Forget about hunting for designated drivers, DUIs and beating traffic, taxis and subways are available 24/7!

Expect awkward train rides. Crotches in your face and smelly men abound. AIN’T NO ONE GOT TIME FOR THAT.

3. Running low on cash? There’s $1 pizza on nearly every corner, not to mention $5 sandwich delis.

You might not even make enough to afford that pizza, forget the sandwich. 

4. No night is a dull night. Tuesdays rock, and Saturdays pop off. This will be you every.single.night.of.the.week.

You’ll spend $15 for a rum & coke every.single.night.of.the.week.

5. One minute, you can walk around the city totally dejected. The next minute, you’ll stumble upon a sight of the new Freedom Tower a feel a surge of exhilaration.

Then you realize you still don’t have a job and come down from that high. Sad face.

6. Your favorite celebrity will be your new coffee shop buddy.

You’re forced to hang in aforementioned coffee shop because you can’t afford WiFi. 

7. The top 1% of the world live here, meaning the likelihood of meeting a sugar mama/daddy are very, verrrry high.

The top tier supermodels are also here. And they look like this. So, there’s that:

8. Nothing in NYC is predictable. One day, you’ll be pleading to get into a bar, the next, you’ll find yourself popping champagne in a penthouse one floor above Justin Timberlake.

Also unpredictable: your goddamn rent

9. You’ll follow your aspirations and do something impossible in any other city.

You’ll feel like everyone is doing something bigger and better than you and ask yourself whether being here is actually a waste of time and money. 

10. You’re living in N-Y-FUC*ING-C.

Nope, nothing bad about that. 

Swagger

THE 5 BEST LATIN STREET ARTISTS IN NYC

Street art experienced a renaissance during the 1970s, when hip hop culture began to emerge and the underground scene began to BE colored with tags, images, and stylized writing. Fast forward some forty years and everything from walls to entire trains have been canvases for graffiti artists. Here are five latin street artists that have pushed the boundaries of the game, have traveled the world showing their skills yet have never stopped calling New York City their home.

Lee Quiñones

Immortalized by the film wild style, a hip hop documentary released in 1983 that follows a number of seminal graffiti and music artists from new york, lee quiñones is one of the forefathers of graffiti art. He began by tagging NYC subway cars, painting entire trains in some of the most large-scale graffiti work up to that time. His work was documented in the groundbreaking art book subway art, which is one of the most sold art books to date, raising awareness of graffiti art throughout the world.

Lady Pink

One of the few women graffiti artists that’s met mainstream success, Lady Pink was part of the first wave of graffiti artists that came out of queens in the early ‘80s. Lady Pink started tagging walls and subway cars when she was in high school, gaining immediate recognition for her distinctive style and name. Also featured in wild style, Lady Pink went on to create a number of legendary works, in both graffiti and painting mediums. She has collaborated with many of graffiti’s heavy hitters and her paintings are periodically included in graffiti exhibitions.

Cekis

This Chilean artist now living in Brooklyn started in the early ‘90s and has done some of the most recognizable works in NYC. His work is figurative, using images and symbols to influence viewers, a shift in graffiti that signals a move towards more image-focused works rather than just writing. He works in both canvas and large-scale murals, a sample of which you can see in this time-lapse painting.

Cern

Cern is a NYC-based graffiti artist that creates fanciful scenes that blend color and humour with some serious skill. cern began writing graffiti in the early nineties and has since been inspired by a range of artistic genres. His scenes can be found around the world as well as in several books including Burning New York and Graffiti World. A member of the YMI crew, Cern often collaborates with other heavy hitters like Revok and Pose. Cern’s unique blend of fantasy and realism exhibits a technical mastery of his medium that blurs the lines between graffiti and fine art.

Mata Ruda

if you like your graffiti art with a side of social commentary, then Mata Ruda is your guy. A native Venezuelan, Mata Ruda often draws upon Latin American history when creating his work. Channeling everything from Mexican religious imagery tojornaleros (or day laborers), Mata reveals the power of art to inspire change and appreciation for latin culture. He is currently working on a project titled “colossal series” in which he paints large olmec heads in public spaces to commemorate the prehistoric mexican civilization.

Source: briskbodega

How to order drinks at the bar properly in NYC

If you’ve ever been to a crowded NYC bar, you know it can be a pain to get the bartender’s attention right away. You face multiple obstacles that you must overcome in a timely manner to avoid starting on the wrong foot and killing the mood right off the bat. First thing you need to do is navigate your way through the crowd in style and and find a spot to post up at the bar. Your body language should be facing the bartender somehow and you should be looking to make eye contact with  him/her. Avoid waving or yelling for attention. Waving at the bartender is disrespectful and they will hate you for it. You will get ignored and when you get your drink, it may be watered down. So avoid that.

Stand at the bar with your money in your hand where the bartender can see it  and try to make eye contact. Once they see you, they will know you are ready to order and they will appreciate and respect you for not disrespecting them by waving or calling them over. Your drinks will be well made and you might just make some new friends in the process.  If you’re in the NYC area and need to know which bars to go to, check out the  "Happy Hours & Haunts" section of this blog. Have fun and remember to always drink responsibly.