RIP Ms. Etta James.. Sad to say but it’s only now that people will realize what a beautiful voice she had.. If you didn’t know, AVICII sampled this song on his hit record ‘Levels’…. Educate yourselves and pay respect to where the music you listen to comes from.
It’s hard to believe that it has already been 10 years since Aaliyah’s passing.. My birthday is on August 25th and I can remember turning 16 and hearing the terrible news that one of my favourite artists of all time at died.. Every time I hear her beautiful voice, I am reminded of how much I love and miss her music.
My brother Mensa just released an amazing tribute mix.. See below..
Today marks the 10th year of the passing of our beloved Aaliyah.
For everyone that came up with her music, this one especially hurt.
Following her career was watching a flower in bloom. Aaliyah’s sultry voice, mature demeanour, and provocative lyrics at so young an age captivated millions. Hers was the archetype for so many teenage women coming into their own. She encountered controversy early in her career, and shrugged it off with remarkable grace, and emerged with a new sound, identity, and stronger resolve. Her track record remained virtually flawless. As Aaliyah grew up, so did we.
It was never hard to find something you could love in Aaliyah, someone who had lived in the spotlight from day one. She was a regular girl even while walking down the red carpet. Aaliyah could turn on the star power at will, but found pockets of fun in a business that took itself so seriously. She kept her circle devoid of hangers-on and yes men. Her family was her main priority and support system. The spoils of celebrity were a bonus but not a priority. Aaliyah kept herself balanced because she was in her element as an entertainer.
Aaliyah’s life was tragically cut short at the height of her fame, and is comparable with Kurt, Jimi, Janis, and now Amy as artists who we all knew had long thriving careers ahead of them, but now we can only speak of beautiful fleeting moments we had during their time with us.
This is a mix of her key singles and album cuts. Songs that became anthems for us while we crushed on someone heavy, were in the midst of infatuation, embroiled in argument, or were dealt the crushing blow of love lost. Aaliyah explains her mindset at the different times of her artistry and career throughout the mix.
Forever with us. Rest in peace, Babygirl.
Intro
Hot Like Fire
Down With The Clique
A Girl Like You (with Treach)
Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number
Loose Rap
More Than A Woman
If Your Girl Only Knew
I Need You Tonight (with Junior M.A.F.I.A.)
Are You Ready
Everything’s Gonna Be Alright
I’m Down
Back In One Piece (with DMX)
Rock The Boat
Try Again
Back & Forth
No One Knows How to Love Me Quite Like You Do
The Thing I Like
One In A Million
4 Page Letter
The One I Gave My Heart To
I Don’t Wanna
Best Friends (with Missy Elliott)
My Body’s Callin’ Remix (with R. Kelly)
Choosey Lover
Heartbroken
Up Jumps Da Boogie Interlude
Are You That Somebody? (with Timbaland)
We Need A Resolution (with Timbaland)
At Your Best (You Are Love)
I Miss You
Download “Babygirl: An Aaliyah Retrospective”
(right click on PC, ctrl+click on Mac):
http://www.djmensa.com/mixes/djmensa_babygirl.mp3
Tricky Stewart is one of the most prolific, proficient, and efficient hit makers of our day. More than a music producer, Christopher “Tricky” Stewart is a songwriter, music publisher, executive producer, recording studio owner, and founder and owner of RedZone entertainment. To date, Tricky Stewart is behind 25 million records sold and has produced such singles as Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), Britney Spear’s “Me Against the Music”, Rihanna’s “Umbrella”, and Justin Bieber’s “Baby”, and Frank Ocean’s “Novacane” just to name a few!
Dave joins Tricky in his studio to discuss his career, philosophy behind music production, and his take on the current state of the music industry. Later in the episode, Tricky joins Dave in “The Batter’s Box” to answer Dave’s questions about his favorite synths and instruments for music production.
Special thanks to our partner Vintage King:http://www.vintageking.com
Despite the turntables being messed up that evening (go figure it being Friday the 13th), here’s a live set from Bryan Espiritu’s historic Because The Kids Don’t Play exhibit held in Toronto on May 13, 2011.
Download/Listen/Subscribe via my Podcast
Tracklisting
James Pants – Clouds Over The Pacific
K-OS – Sunday Morning
Peter Bjorn & John – Young Folks (Cousin Cole Edit)
Frank Ocean – Swim Good
Arowbe – Sade Is In My Tapedeck (Wristpect Exclusive)
Outkast – Elevators (Me & You)
Rick Ross ft Drake & Chrisette Michele – Aston Martin Music
The Weekend – Glass Table Girls
Kavinsky – Night Call (Coleco Midnight Xpress Version)
Mark Ronson & The Business Intl – Bang Bang Bang!
Q-Tip – Let’s Ride
Mary Jane Girls – All Night Long
Aloe Blacc – I Need A Dollar
Frank Ocean – Lovecrimes
Rich Kidd – Lovecrimes
Q-Tip – Getting Up (King Most Remix)
Frank Ocean – Novacane
Bill Withers – Lovely Day (DJ Eleven Do-Over Remix)
Gang Starr – Royalty
Frank Ocean – Songs For Women
Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Under The Bridge (Wristpect Remix)
Outkast – So Fresh, So Clean
Jay-Z – Girls, Girls, Girls
Shuggie Otis – Strawberry Letter 23
The Jackson Five – Never Can Say Goodbye (Rich Kidd Remix)
Southside Movement – I’ve Been Watching You
Cormega – American Beauty
Big Boi -Feat. Gucci Mane – Shine Blockas
Mayer Hawthorne and The County – Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out
Kanye West Feat. Nicki Minaj, Justin Vernon, Bon Iver, Teyana Taylor, & Amber Rose – Dark Fantasy
Styles P – I Get High
Rick Ross Feat. Curren$y, Wiz Khalifa- Super High Remix
Rich Ross Feat. Lil Wayne, T-Pain & Kanye West – Maybach Music 2
Kanye West – Through The Wire
Jay-Z – Song Cry
DJ Khaled Feat. Drake, Lil Wayne & Rick Ross – I’m On One
Ahmad – Back In The Days
Ice Cube – It Was A Good Day
Estelle Feat. Rick Ross – Break My Heart
Mos Def – Ms. Fat Booty
Wiz Khalifa & Curren$y – Huey Newton
Nas – Represent
The Notorious BIG – Going Back To Cali
Hanni El Khatib: Loved One
Cymande – Brothers On THe Slide
Chicago – Saturday In The Park
Nas – Made You Look (Apache Remix)
Nirvana – Polly
Lykke Li – Breaking It Up (Remix)
Outkast – Spotttiepottiedopaliscious
Coleco – Vision
Ace – Dracula
Curtis Mayfield – Move On Up
Santigold – Shove It
Big Sean Feat. Chiddy Bang – Too Fake
Brick – Fun
Rich Kidd – Unreleased Beat
Lil Wayne – Forever (Wristpect Remix)
Kanye West & Jay-Z – H.A.M.
Barrington Levy – Good Loving
Art Of Noise – Moments In Love
Drake Feat. Santigold & Lil Wayne – Unstoppable
Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl (Bmore Edit)
Good Day World!
It’s about that time.. The 6th Annual Stylus DJ Awards are around the corner! If you appreciate the time and hard work that I put in to my career, I’d like to ask you for two minutes of your day to place your votes. Thank you all for your continued support over the years!!
Here is how you can help!
1) Log on to http://stylusgroup.ca/votenow
2) Vote ‘Wristpect’ in the following categories
Category #2 – Radio Mixshow of the Year ‘Mixology’ (Download all shows here)
Category #9 – Toronto DJ of The Year
Category #15 – House DJ of the Year
Category #16 – Club Dance DJ of the Year
Category #18 – Electro DJ of the Year
*Please vote for ‘Sir Lancelot’ for Club MC of the Year
3) If you are unfamiliar with any fields you can put N/A
Thanks again for taking the time.. Peace!
INFLUENCERS in-depth Series / STEVE STOUTE from R+I creative on Vimeo.
I posted about Steve Stoute a while back.. Check out this clip on his thoughts regarding the current state of music and branding in 2011.
For the first time ever, the 2011 Grammy awards is going to have a slightly different sound-scape.. Over half of the nominations (273 of the 542) are for artists whom belong to Indie Record labels. I think this is largely due to technology, and interestingly enough this is an indicator that the the major labels are finally starting to see the the lagging effects of music piracy. Ten years ago, the mp3 came out and the RIAA was infuriated with the degree of piracy, along with the fact that a number of artists signed to major labels were losing money in record sales. Finally, they are accepting defeat – realizing that purchasing music via albums and CDs is not a viable business model for 2011.
What I don’t think they expected was the drastic increase in technology and internet usage, resulting in what I call the “super-mp3″- where it is now the dominant format for the average music consumer. As a result of this, Indie record labels are now finally being recognized as equals with the majors as per public choice. This is a good thing, and is a necessary step in order for the music industry to regain profitability. The old models are dropping and new ones are coming about, including the much anticipated Google Music & Apple Streaming Music services.
It will now be much more possible for talented artists to ‘make it’, without necessarily being signed by one of the giants. Everyone is always stressing out over the out-dated music business models and what needs to change..
Personally, I think the artists that focus as much on their marketing are going to be the ones to make it big during the next decade.
Re-Cap of Drake’s historic ‘OVO Fest’ in Toronto on Sunday, August 1st, 2010.
Specieal Guests included: Bun B, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, Kardinal Offishall, Fabolous, Eminem, Jay-Z..
I’ve been travelling and DJ’ing a lot lately – almost every day for the last few weeks..! In the midst of all the running around, my room has turned into a disaster zone. When this happens, my life usually tends to start getting chaotic and I hate it, as I am usually very organized.
Despite the images below, I am actually quite the perfectionist.. This mess has been annoying me for several days now and I decided to put it out there so I would deal with it and get things sorted out.
I also stumbled upon an interesting discovery while organizing some records.. Why the hell do I have 18+ serato records/control vinyl??
I should really sleep.. I need to be up in a few hours for a day full of meetings, and then off to Niagra for my Tuesday Night Residency at Dragonfly Nightclub [Casino Niagra]
It’s hard to believe its been 12 years since the death of BIG – one of the game’s legends and one of my personal favourite emcees. He has so many dope lyrics, verses, and bars throughout his short-lived career.. I’ve posted his discography below – make sure to revisit it and dig up some of the verses you may not have heard..
One of the best to ever do it.. RIP BIG.
