A R IV U L

JoEl, of FHOD, released his second video a week ago. Employing simple visuals & an understated beat that practically begs the listener to light up a joint, the focus is all on JoEl & his flow. Good thing too, because his voice & the way it rides the beat creates an aurally-pleasing track good enough to leave this girl wanting more. Thankfully, his new album BARbarian 2 drops on February 12th. Check it out at weareflyhigh.com

The time I first saw one of Eduardo’s photos show up on my tumblr dash, I knew I had stumbled across something great. Originally from Venezuela, Eduardo lives in Bloomington, Indiana (of all places) & during the day, works as a mathematical neuroscientist (no, I have no idea what that is either). Though it’s not his job, Eduardo’s passion for photography is evident, as is his love for all things beautiful. His stunning portraits, most often done in black & white, reveal an eye not only for beauty, mystery & expression, but also detail, texture, & movement. It takes skill to produce a truly beautiful black & white photo, but Eduardo makes it look effortless. That’s all I’ll say about it for now–instead, I’ll let his work speak for itself. Take a look.

See more of Eduardo’s work on his tumblr & flickr pages (click for the links). I have a feeling you’ll love it.

-Erin Emiko

\”L8R\” by Azaelia Banks

The first weekend of Coachella is just under 80 days away–are you ready? If you’re anything like me, this is the time that you start sifting through all of your unknown bands on the lineup. You know the ones, the bands at the bottom of the list, where the print is so small you have to squint to see it. You look them up & you listen to their EP for a while, all in an effort to be able to see you saw them live before they got big. Well luckily you have me, & I’m going to do that work for you.

Azaelia Banks hails from Harlem & from what I can tell, is currently living all over the world. She’s based in London, filming a new video in Paris, touring the UK with Two Door Cinema Club & slated to play festivals in Japan, Switzerland, & Norway. She recently signed with Universal & is working with producer Paul Epworth, who brought us Adele & Florence & the Machine, to produce her debut album. Four tracks are planned for release in February, with the whole album following shortly thereafter.

Her music draws on a surprising range–backed by both house & hip hop beats, her voice delivers straightforward rap flows, impressive singing, & the sort of smart & raunchy quips that stars are made of. Come Coachella, I’m envisioning an intimate but energy-packed feel good dance party, led by the all mighty Azaelia herself. Mark my words: Azaelia Banks is one to watch, & you will want to be there when she takes the stage at Coachella.

Watch next: 212 ft. Lazy Jay

-Erin Emiko

There’s a lot about college life that gets romanticized, & living in the dorms is no exception. I go to a college that’s 1000 miles away from my hometown, so for me, living in the dorms was a given. But some of my friends, for whatever reason, be it hometown college attendance or gap year participation or something, never got to have that quintessential “dorm” experience. Thankfully, I’m here to set the record straight, & I’m not talking about 3 am heart to hearts or pranks on floormates or anything of that sort. If you have never lived in a dorm, here are the real things you missed out on:

-Living in close quarters with people you dislike. There was this guy on my floor who I could not stand, &, just my luck, our beds shared a wall. I went to sleep every night not five feet away from him, our bodies separated only by a thin sheet of drywall. For an entire year.

-Drunk people, all the time. Tuesday night, studying for your anatomy test? Your best friend comes into the lounge wasted & knocks over the table. Fast asleep in your bed at 3 am after a night of drinking? The guy next door busts in & starts rifling through your clothes. Walking outside to smoke a cigarette at night? Find a pledge brother slumped over on your normal smoking bench.

-Walking into a bathroom full of vomit. I lived in the party dorm at a party school where all the girls on the floor shared one bathroom. It’s even more repulsive than you imagine, but to be honest, I’m just surprised this didn’t happen more often.

-Getting written up. The high-stress judicial meeting, the ridiculous punishment, the bullshit paper you write about the whole experience afterward. Like I’m somehow supposed to glean some life lesson after two & a half hours of removing dance club ads off the public announcement boards? & then I have to write about it?

-Busting out all the tricks just to smoke weed. Smoking in the dorms required some serious effort. There was the towel under the door, the tube with the dryer sheets trick, blowing out the window, & constant passes with the febreeze. Either that or walking outside to the parking garages, & let’s be honest, our stoner asses never wanted to that.

-Meal plans. Sure, the food seemed repetitive after a while, but it was practically free, & free food is always awesome. Sorry, you really did miss out on meal plans.

-Erin Emiko

The video for “Vegas Nites”, a collaboration between Xuice Hades, Trade Voorhees & Toxsikk,  begins with the music fading in among scenes from a suspiciously deserted  & eerie Vegas strip. With a sample borrowed from “Doin Time” by Sublime, these iconic images of Sin City seem dark & alluring, effectively drawing you in until Trade Voorhees appears in frame with a covet-worthy beard & drops his first lines.

The music continues with the chorus line, “hotter than a vegas night/ pretty trees/ blazin lights”, sung amidst a backdrop of additional dreamy Vegas footage. Xuice Hades takes over, followed by Toxsikk, with images of concert performances interspersed throughout, conjuring up an envious lifestyle of music, parties, & homies. “Vegas Nites” is more than just an ode to weed, alcohol, & one of the greatest cities in America–it’s a celebration of the mindset & lifestyle of people who clearly know their way around the Sin City streets. These are the people you want to know when you go to Vegas.

Viva Las Vegas, indeed.

-Erin Emiko

PS-What was that track in the intro scene though? Help a girl out, I’m a sucker for a beat with some piano.

Let me tell you, the Spanish really know how to live. Good wine is abundant & affordable, their health care ranks among the top in the world, & there are cafés/bars on literally every corner. Also, siestas. If you never had the good fortune of having a Spanish class in high school, allow me to explain: it is not uncommon for people to leave school or work & go home for a couple hours to have lunch with their families & take a nap. Yes, nap time is built into the general schedule, & it is just as glorious as it sounds.*

It has been six months since I left Spain, & now that I’m back in America, one of the things I’ve missed most is “Spanish time”. I hate to admit it, but ever since returning to the US I’m not as punctual as I once used to be–I just can’t seem to shake the lax attitude I’ve acquired about getting somewhere “on time”. Instead, I’ll wake up a couple (or 30) minutes late, or I’ll get distracted on the internet, or I’ll lose track of time, or there will be traffic…for any number of reasons I’ll find myself running late. And as the moment of truth approaches, whether it’s the moment I walk in ten minutes late or the moment when I realize I’m really delayed & I should probably send a text, the stress just escalates. Some days I find myself running around the house, checking the clock every few minutes as I collect all my necessary belongings for that day, in a mad dash to get out of the door as quickly as possible. The ensuing commute usually involves speeding, punching the steering wheel, & swearing. And checking the clock.

Instead, imagine a world in which being late doesn’t matter.  This world does exist! With Spanish time. In Spain, you are expected to be late. On the first day of class I arrived at my classes five minutes early, only to sit in a deserted room by myself for fifteen minutes. I adjusted my schedule & planned to be 15 minutes late to everything, only to be left waiting when I met up with friends. I must have spent hours just loitering in front of metro stops during the first couple of weeks. It took me a month or two of adjustment until I fully adopted the Spanish attitude, but once I did, life was brilliant.

Here’s the magical thing about Spanish time–you don’t have to plan to be anywhere at a certain hour. Not worrying about being on time means you don’t have to schedule your day so strictly.  There exists this small but treasured sense of freedom, so slight that I wasn’t aware of it until I realized it was missing . You are not a slave to the clock. Instead, you are free to enjoy whatever you’re engaged in at that moment rather than worrying about what is coming next. The relaxation is palpable–there is an absolute lack of rush.  It’s not about respecting or disrespecting someone else’s time, it’s about embracing your present. I wish America would take note.

Also, while we’re on the subject of changing our country’s deep-seated cultural patterns, I would really appreciate it if everyone started eating dinner at 11 pm & going out to the bars at 2 am. I find myself becoming increasingly nocturnal & it really works better with my schedule this way.

-Erin Emiko

*It’s worth mentioning here that I lived in Madrid, which is to say that I studied abroad there for a semester, which is to say that I have all the cultural authority of a misguided almost-white girl (which is to say, just shy of absolutely zero).

“Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I’m not living.”-Jonathan Safran Foer

Call me pessimistic, but I’ve never been one for new year’s resolutions. I probably gave up on them sometime in high school, after years without weight loss or any improvement in my grades. I slowly became the type of person who was “just being realistic” & stopped bothering to even think of any resolutions at all.

But 2011 was a crazy year. There were a lot of highs, & there were also a lot of lows. I find myself now, a week into the 2012, in a more confusing & uncertain place than I have ever been in before. My schooling, my love life, my job, & my future are all up in the air. I find myself torn between doing what I want to do, doing what others expect of me, & fighting against my limitations. I’m filled with doubt. I worry a lot. Everything feels a little bit out of control. But this is not a unique situation–I’m looking at you, twenty-somethings. Our lives are rife with uncertainty & change & let’s face it, it’s probably never going to get easier. There is no better time to examine our lives than now.

So after some thought, I realized I had one mission. My resolution this year is to nourish what I love. In other words, my resolution is to live a life that I am proud of. School & work can be rewarding, sure, but I feel drawn towards other things too. For me, this means writing more often & taking more photos. This involves letting go of my perfectionism & allowing myself to make mistakes & generally be “bad”–I possess neither innate talent nor experience in either of these fields. But my resolution is to just do it anyway. Not because it complements my college coursework or because it will look good on my resumé or because I will earn money or fame, but because I enjoy doing it. Because I feel better, more alive, & more like myself after having done it. My resolution is to take my life & define it by what is really important to me, letting go of all the bullshit in the process. In my humble opinion, I recommend that you do the same. Take a step back & recognize what you love. Devote more time to your passions & you will feel more alive in the process.

Nourish what I love. Devote more time to my passions & feel more alive in the process. This year, I think I’ve finally got a resolution I can keep.

-Erin Emiko

There is a new sound bite in town that will grind an eargasm into your mind’s drum with a swish of a beat and his name is Xuice Hades
; God of the Emcee Underground.

With a sick name like that how can anything less than a lyrical hellfire be expected. Xuice Hades in both albums Stealth and Bushido delivers a stereophonic sound that combines the echoes remnant stylings of Santigold and effortless rhythm of ephemeral underground rapper Cage.

Skeptical?

Just give the first 10 seconds of “Wisdum” [Stealth] a listen and try to resist moving with the flow of switches.

Impossible.

-Miss Izzy D.