Russell Steps Down as CEO of Phat Farm...

Russel Simmons has finally decided he's through with Phat Farm...

Daydreaming...

I need a new bag but I have no clue what I want so I was searching the net for inspiration...I want something big, colorful, something that's a bit of a departure from what I'd normally carry and something cheap enough I can carry it everyday and not feel worry about the damage being done to it...These bags are bags from designers I'd never look at twice but somehow they pulled it together for fall enough to make me forget that I vowed years ago to never get caught dead in them...

I got my first Coach backpack near the end of high school...It was a gift from my mother and I cherished it to death...After I hit my early twenties I decided Coach is a brand that all the rats wear and I'd rather not be lumped into that category...This Coach bag however appeals to my artistic side with the crazy shapes and bright colors...This is actually a Coach bag I can carry...

Dooney and Burke is another brand I swore I'd never get caught dead in again...My mother got me a pebbled leather one in my early college years and again I cherished it to death but it was so plain and so boring I outgrew it quickly...When they revamped the brand a couple years ago and put out a logo print that's when I knew my relationship with Dooney was over...Then I saw this...The colorful handprints remind me of preschool when I wasn't afraid to get dirty and I painted with passion and again my artisitic side took over... It just can't get enough of this purse...

These are the perfect reason why you should never say never and the reasons why I'm sitting here biting my tongue...

Cereal 101

I love cereal...I didn't get to eat it as a kid because my mom hardly ever fed us processed food...She cooked breakfast for me every day all the way through high school...As soon as I was on my own, my love for sugary cereal blossomed...Now I take my cereal very seriously...Being that I'm the only one eating out the box I never finish the box before it starts to get soggy so as soon as I open a box of cereal I put the entire bag inside a ziploc freezer bag and put it back inside the box...This way I can ensure my cereal will never be stale when I reach for it AND it even allows me to have two different boxes open at once so I can have some variety...You can imagine how happy I was when I found this gadget 'The Box Topper Lid' from Buddeez.com...

It fits most cereal boxes, holds the liner bag open inside and keeps cereal fresh...

The other problem I have with cereal is that it's really hard to eat it once you've left the house...You can buy those individual cereal bowls and a small carton of milk at the convienence store (which is what I usually do if I want to eat cereal at work) OR you can use this Portable Cereal Bowl I found over at dormbuys.com...

It keeps your milk cold and separate from your cereal. The milk stays cold by keeping the gel filled cup frozen and it even comes with a portable spoon...I like it because I can put any kind of cereal in it like my Kashi Go Lean so I can eat it on the run even though they don't make it in individual serving size... Seriously I love when gadgets make my life easier and both are under $5 which is good ish 'cuz breakfast really is the most important meal of the day...

All Over for Allover Prints...

I, for once, happen to be home in the middle of the day folding clothes and watching TV...All I wanna say is...When the Burlington Coat Factory has a commercial advertising allover prints for back-to-school you know it's time to drop the trend...Or maybe just freak it...Can somebody freak it somehow?

ish...

- Hello Kitty is dropping a new set of vibrators...(A lot of you guys are probably shocked that I'm not shocked about a HK vibrator...Just wait and you'll understand why)...What really caught my eye in this article is that they're talking about the mythical, hard-to-find Hello Kitty vibrator that came out 5 years ago...I didn't realize it was so rare...Apparently it's only available on the black market and really hard to find...They obviously didn't check my underwear drawer...

- Why are they acting like this is a big deal? I've seen normal people with normal incomes throw more money than this around at the club...This dude is a multimillionaire and they're trippin' 'cuz he gave away $500? Sheesh...

- So Kimora is going to be on 'The Apprentice'... I hope she kicks Omarosa's ass...

- THIS is why I LOVE Samuel Jackson...This and the fact that on the low he's always dressed real ill... He's usually rocks that Rosasen and tries to show the young'ns how to stay fly when they get older...On another note read the trivia on his IMDB page...Did anyone know he took hostages while protesting the lack of black trustees on the board or lack of a black studies program while he was in college? I dunno which fact is more insane...The fact that he took hostages or the fact that the school was MOREHOUSE! Oh yeah...Hey Sam...Power to The People...

- Lawd Chance got that reality show he was auditioning so hard for on 'I Love New York'...Guess actin' a fool does pay off sometimes...And can I ask how you take a clown and embrace it? I know this fool knows Saaphyri called him seashells 'cuz he looked a hot mess...(FYI - I was so happy she won...I happen to be from 54th and Crenshaw too...ROLLIN'!)

- You know...peeps (me included) give Superhead (or is it Supa?) a hard time but I read this article over at Essence and all I have to say is I feel the girl...The quote about Lil Wayne really hit home and made me realize that she and I aren't as different as I'd like to think...I have the same kind of relationship with a certain skateboarder and you know what? I wouldn't change it for the world...

MOCA X Murakami Collabo

I was soooo excited when I ran across this article in the LA Times...MOCA will be having an exhibit with Takashi Murakami this fall...The exhibit starts in October and will run until February...What's unusual about this exhibit is that there will be a Louis Vuitton pop up store in the middle of the museum...According to the Times, the items being sold at the pop up store will be marked around $300 higher than at the LV store...There will be at least one new item available at MOCA that will not be available anywhere else...A lot of people think this is some sort of conflict in interest but very honestly...I dunno... I think the melding of art and fashion is always good ish...Hey maybe they can get Kanye to perform at the opening reception...Now THAT would be hot...

In other MOCA news...In October they also have an exhibit opening titled "Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas" ...It is a collection of work Emory Douglas created while he was Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party...The exhibit includes over 150 works and I can't wait to see it...If you really know me you'll know I'm a revolutionary at heart...Every now and then you'll even see me throw my fist in the air...The fact that MOCA recognizes the brillance of his graphic design enough to present it to the next generation is why they're my favorite museum (sorry LACMA)...Check it out...Feed your inner-renaissance man...and oh yeah...Power to The People...

For The Masses...

Scion Presents: To The Masses

August 25th-September 8th, 2007

Curated by Giant Robot

Featuring: Caroline Hwang / Ben Woodward / Feric / Dan-ah Kim / Brian Ralph / Eishi Takaoka / Kohei Yamashita / Olaf Ladousse / French Opening

Reception: Saturday August 25th, 7-10pm

Free Valet Parking

The Scion Installation L.A. Space is located in the Culver City Arts District in a brand new 4500 square foot location.

Scion Installation L. A.

3521 Helms Avenue (at National)

Culver City, CA. 90232

310.815.8840

Gallery Hours:Wed-Sat 11am-6pm, or by appointment

We all know how I love art...

ish...

- I think these hoodies are a good alternative to the all over print that's dominating the market...I can't wait to see what's on the hoods of their next releases...

- Aw lawd...Foxy gettin' 7 NEW charges slapped on her and NONE of them have to do with the blackberry incident I was talking about a few days ago...AND ya'll know she's pregnant right? Lawd have mercy...

- Told you Chanel Iman is go'n be big...She just got signed to do a Gap campaign...

- Take a look at my playlist on the right...Looks like 'Kiss is tryin' to go the route of Andre 3000 with the whole remix thing...Maybe if he keeps it up he can earn himself a spot on the MTV Hottest MCs In The Game too...

- I wish I had this about 2 years ago when someone dropped my baby phat i95 into a fountain...It woulda saved me a lot of headache...

- For those of you who are still worried about blood diamonds, here's an alternative from Canada...

- Daily Candy has promo code for 30% off LeSportsac...You have to register to get it but who wouldn't want to register for Daily Candy?

- What does Karl Lagerfeld know about the 'hood?

- Here's the link for the 'American Gangster' Trailer with TI, Common, Rza...Oh yeah and Denzel...

Crooked I Mixtape...'Bout Damn Time...

Dub CNN has the download link for the Crooked I mixtape...It's all the hip hop weekly's to date...With the weekly release of a freestyle over popular songs Crooked I has proven that he's probably the hardest lyricist on the West right now...Half the time his verses comes off harder than the originals...Yeah there's a DJ hollerin' over this download (like with all mixtapes) but if you search real hard you can find all the original mp3's without all the hollerin' on the net...Or you could have accumulated all of them since the first week like I did and then they won't have all that...

September 7th & Crooked I - Hip-Hop Weekly (Mix)

Tracklisting

1. N.W.A. (New West Anthem)

2. Straight 2 The Bank

3. I'm Throwed

4. Vibe Wit A Bo$$

5. Take You There

6. 2nd Coming

7. Tuck Ya Ice

8. Umbrella

9. We Takin' Over

10. Get It Shawty

11. Amusement Park

12. Crusin'

13. Just The King

14. You Make Me Better

15. Deep Cover

16. You Know My Steez

17. Boy Looka Here (Horseshoe Gang)

18. Go Getta Remix

19. Big Shit Poppin'

20. International Players

21. Pop Lock & Drop It

22. Can't Tell Me Nothing

23. My Bitch

24. Oh My God

25. Uh Oh

26. Died In Your Arms

27. Real Muthaphukkin' G'z

Again...I love mixtapes...

Inga might be goin' down...

Inga needs to get her ass locked up because they've given her TOO many chances and she still trying to act like Naomi throwing blackberries at people and ish...Man she just lucky getting off when she harassed those manicurists because she was ALREADY on probation when she did that...I wanna know why she was playing her music too loud tho...She better stop playin'...She already went deaf once and I'm not even trying to be funny...I'm dead serious...She must never want to hear again...

Questions About I Get Money...

I have a hip hop question and no one to ask right now...My best friend is in South Africa and for some reason I don't have anyone else to ask...Well not completely true...It's Friday night so that eliminates calling most of the peeps I know...I'm sure they're out in a club either partying or working and I IM'd my brother but he's not responding...Maybe I'll send this post to Eskay or post a myspace bulletin or something wonder if someone would respond...

I'm sitting here loading my CD's in to iTunes for the third time...I always lose my music and I can never get back to my original 7,984 but I was back to 4,682 and I recently loss those (so sad)...But I found my 50 cent 'No Mercy No Fear Collectors Edition' and I was listening to it while it was loading and this is where the questions start...OK two questions...

1 - Why is it a collectors edition? WTF does that mean? Mine was free...It's a promo copy but they're selling the same thing on Amazon for $10...I did peep Amazon says the original release date was October 31,2006 and I know I got this in like 2002 so maybe that's why it's collectors edition...I dunno...

2 - Is it known that 50 used this 'I Get Money' sample/line before? Track #12 'Say What You Want' the very first line he says 'I gets money, Money I got' ...Am I the only one not in on the reference? I'll admit...Every now and then I get a lil dense and a reference will go over my head until pointed out...Or is he just hoping since this mixtape is so old no one will realize? If I knew how to convert mp4's to mp3's I'd post a link...

Oh yeah...Two more things...1 - Listen to 50 brag about getting a mil for signing...That's like pocket change to him these days and 2 - As soon as I heard 'Wanksta' I remembered the 50 that I once loved...They ain't never lied...There's a thin line between love and hate...

It's That Time Again... Five Four Sample Sale...

The Evolution Of Common

I love music...ALL music...It's my life...Without it my soul would be tormented...Like seriously...Clothes are fly and jewelry is nice but music...That's what I live for...I recently lost my entire iTunes catalog...Over 4,500 songs and I think it might be a loss I'll never get over...The pain is worse than any breakup I've known...The first two Common singles (The People and The Game) were in that catalog...I got them back in May and as soon as I heard them I instantly fell in love with Common...Again...

Growing up in LA you knew who Common Sense was...You remember the infamous beef with Ice Cube and you knew Common for the lyricist he was and you always knew he'd be a force to be reckoned with but never in a million years would you have seen the evolution of Common Sense coming...

The man we see now is Common Sense grown up...He's come full circle...Of course he's always been a great lyricist but in the "Can I Borrow A Dollar?" days he was a lil hardcore and a lil thug...He was young and proving his manhood...He was caught up in beef with gangster rappers and doing things that you could never imagine Common doing today...Then the battle for the name persued and he had to drop the Sense and he became Common (which is crazy...'cuz he's anything BUT common)...Then Common fell in love with a woman with such a strong soul the men she dates can't help but let her soul permeate theirs and let their souls meld (at least for a hot sec)...During this time we got Common in love...In love with her, with himself, with hip hop...We got albums like "Electric Circus and Like Water For Chocolate"...Then it was over and he was a free man...He was no longer the young Common Sense or Common in love...He was a grown Common who had now experienced a lil more life and had a lil more loot but he was also single and so in his new found glory we got the album "BE" which was liberating but this new album "Finding Forever" shows Common is back to his roots...Back to the people...Back to the music that both he and I love so dearly and it's classic hip hop that will be loved forever...

- Quick Common Fact: He's the first rapper to have his album sold in Starbucks

*NOTE: I wrote this BEFORE I went to the Heineken Red Star Soul Concert last night...All I can really say is after that show I love Common even more...His freestyle is still sick...His stage show entertaining...He's what hip hop is all about...

Blackle-iscious...

In other form's of Blackness...Check out Blackle (yeah at first glance I thought it said Blackie too and I was almost offended)...It's a new energy conscious website that is "powered by Google custom search" (in case you're worried about switching search engines)...Like I always say we all should try to do our part for the environment and this is a simple way to save energy...Hey as long as you can still find me by Googling or should I say Blackling (but it is still a Google search so maybe it is still Googling) 'wildfireishot' I see no reason not to switch...

ish...

- I don't blame Chanel...I'd work for shoes too...Especially those D&G's she's wearing! Give me any excuse to talk about Chanel...She's my favorite model right now and from the looks of it she'll be a supermodel and that's good ish...

- Rhianna is most def Jay's artist and ish like this is how you can tell...I'm not mad tho...Get yo paper Rhi Rhi...One day this girl is go'n be bigger than B...Watch...I should shut up 'fore she ends up missin' one day...We see how they got Kelly's career...Shit I should shut up 'fore this blog ends up missin' one day...

- Speaking of Knowles'...The mother of all gaudiness is releasing a line on the Home Shopping Network...The line is called Miss Tina...Now don't get me wrong...I have no problem with HSN...When you can't find DiorShow mascara (which is the best mascara ever! I must say) HSN usually has it in stock...They actually carry a lot of really good Sephora items...Trust...I LOVE HSN...It's Miss Tina I'm worried about... I just don't want to walk into my mom's house and see her or my abuela in a catsuit of some sort or in some 'fit made entirely of denim...See my mom is the Queen of HSN and my abuela ain't too much better...We get crab, prime rib and jewelry delivered all in the same day...Oh yeah and a bird feeder...So I'm just hoping she doesn't fall under the spells of Miss Tina (like so many other people seem to have) and buy me any of that crap 'cuz I may have to hurt someone's feelings...

- Good to know the Jason Markk Sneaker solution really works...Water stains on kicks are the worst...

Marcel Wanders X Puma Collabo

I LOVE Fashionista... They always show me ill collabos...This one the 'I Hate Camping' collection from Marcel Wanders and Puma is absolutely the illest picnic/camping gear I've seen...It includes a lounge tent, a cooling case for fruits and your Clicquot champagne, bags, flip flops and inflatable mattresses...I think I have to agree with him when he says...'I hate camping but I love lounging in style'... because this does indeed make lounging outside much more bearable...

This Might Explain Remy's Bad Luck Streak

I saw this over at Nah Right and all I can say is Remy Ma has lost her mind...I think Miami Kaos might be right...This whole shooting situation might be some kind of divine retribution...When are ya'll go'n learn to stop playin' with God?

Oh The Places We'll Glow

I just started wearing blush...I was so against it for so many years and then something happened in the last 6 months that made me fall in love with it (what? I dunno)...Now I'm trying all brands all shades...So I saw this O-Glow months ago and I have to admit I was skeptical...VERY skeptical...It's a clear gel that is supposed to react with your personal skin chemistry to turn cheeks the exact color you blush, naturally in just seconds...Yeah right...Yeah they say it works on all skin tones but a lot of people say a lot of things...Sometimes these things don't work on us with a lil more melanin in our skin...So I had to try it and can I say? I'm in serious LOVE! LOL! It's the best blush ever...It does match your natural tone so there's no need to worry about the color but you do have to watch how much you actually rub on cuz too much and you will mos def resemble Raggedy Anne's cousin other than that it's good ish...

Spinning Monkeys And Gangsters...Oh My!

I've always been into phone charms...Best believe when I shelled out $600 back in '03 for the Baby Phat i95 I had to decorate it and make sure everyone knew mine was different...Most people just ended up thinking it belonged to a teenage Asian girl due to the plethora of Hello Kitty charms dangling from it and the fact that back in '03 the phone charm craze hadn't completely caught on in the States even tho it was all the rage in Japan...

Since '03 phone charms have evolved into a whole new product...My 'kick is now decorated with felt Murakami charms, metal and ceramic Hello Kitty charms, a huge plastic Corpse Bride and a multitude of other Hello Kitty charms my good friend whateyesaygoes picked up for me while he was in Japan...Let's just say I really don't need anything else dangling from my phone...Then I saw these Mopods... They spin and flash when your cell receives a call or text...Now that's something none of my other phone charms do no matter how cute they are...They come in about 8 different characters (I'll mos def be buying the monkey) but if you really do some Googling you'll find some real interesting, hard-to-find ones...Like the gangster pictured below...

Thrillist vs Daily Candy

VS

My mom says I'm a wealth of useless information...I like to think I know a lot of things about a lot of random things...Sounds better that way...One way I get my useless information is from Daily Candy ...I've been a fan for years...I subscribe to multiple editions...the travel, the LA, the Miami (my home away from home), the everywhere and the kids (even though I have none)...They always have good tips and info and it really is one of the better e-letters to subscribe to...

A couple months ago I received an evite to join Thrillist...From what I gathered it was a Daily Candy for guys...Now we all know I like to embrace my inner tomboy and have a penchant for mens mags...I mean the only magazine I subscribe to is Complex...So I figured what the hell? lemme add my name to the distribution list...All I can really say is I was pleasantly surprised...It IS like a Daily Candy for guys but it's a lil more...it's a lil more fun, a lil more ill and seems like its a lil more relevant for younger ages...So props to the guys at Thrillist... I think they filled a niche that was lightweight barren and very honestly they made Daily Candy seem a lil less sweet...