Trinidad Video on youtube under police investigation: Shinez apologize

Yeah, so de man apologize. Dey also removed the infamous video from youtube so I guess in a few days things will be back to 'normal'. Hope everything works out for dude though cause I'm really looking forward to Real Talk 4. Life is a game and you really need to watch how you play.

Trinidad Video on youtube under police investigation

I don't have much to say on this but I'll just say this to the upcoming artistes; be careful what you present in your music and videos. At the end of the day I believe music is art and people have the right to express themselves but you must always remember that your music represents you. Me for one...I eh no badman so yuh go never hear no war talk on any of my tracks. With that I ask you to watch this now nefarious video that has 'blessed' the Express newspaper and some news stations with something juicy to report and the politicians with an excuse for their ineffectiveness in the war against crime.

I AM HIP HOP 3 (Trinidad hip hop show)

Oye people. Da Face in. Before I expound on the title of this post I want to first thank Mr. Thompson for doing us proud and placing first amongst the human runners participating in the 100m final. Dat dude Bolt is something else and I'm not sure whether his planet even exists in our solar system. In my 26 years of existence I've never seen an athlete running against the best of the best on planet earth get time to look around far less beat chest at any point of the 100 metres that comprise the race. The scary thing is that because he's from the Caribbean, the probability that he's on drugs tends to zero (yeah it's biased but true). Anyways...

Now back to the topic. What can I say about I am hip hop 3? As an instant spoiler and from a realistic point of view it was decent. If you got sucked into the hype then I guess it may have been a tad bit disappointing. However, I am a realistic kinda dude and the only segment of the show that was disappointing to me was the highly touted mc freestyle battle. There were some good punchlines thrown and some of the mcs displayed good clear deliveries but there were also some who couldn't string more than two sentences together and opted not to efficiently use the provided mic. Additionally, it's really hard to consider this battle as one involving 'Trinidad's finest' when freestyle guru Nemesis and freestyle pro Hollow man were both liming in the crowd and not part of the competition. Some patrons also doubted if the better battlers were really going off the top since there was a notable lack of 'personals' (disses that directly attack the person...their name, what their wearing etc). Nevertheless, MC Red (I think that was name) emerged the winner in an anti-climatic final that wasn't even the best battle of the night.

On the good side though, the ambiance in the club was right and Jus Jase really did it on the turntables. As a mid-level rap aficionado, I was really loving the Wu Tang session and was entertained watching the more hardcore rap fans get grimy for the classics that I really didn't know. Predictably, "Ante up" tore up the show and the local rap group I.A.L.S. were the hype masters on the dance floor, jumping with a sea of other hands, head bumping almost to the knees and mouthing lyrics to entire songs. I wasn't in the mix though, I was left of the bar hoodie pon de head and sucking on caribs whole night just zoned out and only headed to the front for Chromatics' performance which was great. I heard his mini-hit song "Takeover" before and it brought the crowd to life after the battles but it was the song "Rumours" that shocked and impressed me. This song steps on more toes than a bad dancer and I'm not sure if some in the music industry are ready for it. I really can't wait for his new album...fuh real.

I also saw plenty of artistes in the crowd. I was very pleased to have met Make it Hapn outside the club before the show. If you've been reading my posts you'll remember when I named his album "Ghetto Child" the best album for the month of June. The pleasing thing was that dude was real humble despite having a largely regarded album and it was a good look for him when they later bumped two songs from his album ("Small man" and "S.O.A.K.") later on. I also saw Nemesis, synergy soca star O.G., rap producer Beebo and a few others. By the time I was ready to leave I was chill after about 5 caribs but some of my peeps were disappointed and wanted a little more. Personally, my only concerns are that Euphoria lounge as a venue is small making it impractical once this show grows and the battles were a little underwhelming. Other than that, I find the night was decent and a good starting point for better things. Check out the videos below. Face out.


Freestyle battle: Max vs Sphinx


Chromatics performing "Takeover"


Chromatics performing "Rumours"

ONE MIC rundown

Greeting folks, I hope everything is a one love during these trying times. As a consolation, two out of our three Trinidadian runners have absolutely sizzled in the 100m thus far and although it's a long shot, I hope at least one of them can upset the lethal Jamaican runners who are favourites for a one two in the event. Anyways, is no scene... God is a trini.

Yeah, so I 'palanced' in the One Mic on Tuesday. I've been getting mail in my Facebook for like forever inviting me down to San Fernando to yuh know, share my talent and stuff but excuses have been me keeping back until now. The worst of these excuses was the fact that it was too far and you know that really cyah cut it when you originally hail from quite down Palo Seco. However, when I learned that a maxi was available to carry persons from uwi to the venue and back for the inflation-friendly fee of $20, I knew that my period of making excuses had ended. So Tuesday I linked with Akila and bundled in a maxi with about twelve other strangers in transit to Club 601.

Overall I must say that the One Mic experience was good and above expectations. The event itself was and is hosted by a guy called Skeeto who is an extremely talented lyricist and an extremely cool guy overall. I met this Skeeto after hearing a very powerful song that he put up on the internet. Well yuh know me, I doh stick. I called up this Skeeto dude and reasoned with him and next thing you know we up in a studio recording a song on my upcoming album "Hitchhiker's Guide to Uwi called "I won't pretend". Working with someone you haven't met is always risky and can sometimes reveal egoes and all that unnecessary bull sh*t, but Skeeto proved to be the perfect mix; skilled, professional and humble. So it was good seeing him hosting the One Mic.

The show itself is a nice mix of genres and performance depth (for lack of a better word). It has spoken word and poetry for the hardcore open mic junkies as well as dub, reggae, soca and catchy-sounding but eclectic jazzy stuff that irregulars looking for a nice vibe can head nod to. My first performance in the show was far from my best but one ting for sure is that I will be back to really do it in the next one. I even video-taped some performances but the lighting was too soft for my budget-priced camcorder so I haven't put them up. Next month is the 2 year anniversary of the show so I implore anyone reading this to check out Club 601 in San Fernando for the niceness (join the group on Facebook find out when the next one is being held). At the very least yuh seeing me there fuh sure. Face out.

Trini Videos on You Tube pt 4

Yeah folks. I'm back with your favourite feature. I really don't know what you all will do without me nah. Yeah ah know, it win...and without steroids too. Speaking of which, China look like they might put a cut tail on de US this Olympics if they keep it up. Pressure! Face out.


Reggae All Stars


"Reach" by Rizon


Positive performing "Only in the ghetto"


"Foreign used" by Veta

Digicel Rising Star: Erica Win!!!

Yeah folks, is Da Face in the building.

Well I for one certainly didn't expect these results. Special shout out to the Trinidad Express for the pic and the balls to buss the results before last night's episode which was supposed to reveal it; you saved me from having to actually watch the show and I'm grateful. I would have given anything to have seen the look on Erica's face when she actually heard the results and found out that she won; would she have not been suprised? At the end of the finals she looked lost and distant and it was Meda who was donning the swagger of an unofficial winner. I guess people funny that way.

A lot of people that I spoke with after the results weren't really that surprised that Erica won so I guess Meda suffered from the backlash of being the most consistent performer and the disadvantage of not having an interesting enough back story. It really is poetic when someone who was kicked off the show makes it back to win and it certainly looks good on the judges who brought her back. In any event, I want to congratulate both girls on making it this far and doubly congratulate Erica for winning after the end of her long journey. My hope is that both girls can etch out some kind of fulfilling musical career from this good start and pave the way for other upcoming artistes to use this show as a vehicle to stardom. I eh going to say much more on the topic though...Face out.