Thursday 17 September 2009
Wednesday 16 September 2009
Tanzania is flying high
wat is CHEEK -O DREAD??
Age not a point of discussion {LMAO}, Enrico grew up deeply rooted in music, having represented his school in a country wide music festival (singing… ROTFLMFAO) and actually coming in 2nd place, a stint in a church choir, playing whatever instrument he thought he could, but never quite mastering any, figuring instead to tinker with electronics and how music worked with them.
He started his DJing at the tender age of 12yrs when he was given the opportunity to by a dear friend (James) at a notoriously known (even back then) club in Nairobi called Hollywood.
Loving the exhilaration, he decided to pursue one form of it or another and was taken under the wing of one of the DJs at the then Bubbles by… (name withheld due to the con), he would do a closing set of three tunes every now and then as he supposedly perfected his art, then women kicked in and the interest kind of waned as he pursued his new found teenage passions and various hustles across East Africa.
His mum having been fed up sent him off to the States at some point in the mid-nineties to pursue a tertiary education… Ha Ha!!
This as we know…
Anyway, while here he made numerous guest appearances at various East African haunts like the Kilimanjaro, and other mainstream joints like Champs in Georgetown, and Zei Club downtown.
Having gotten tired of that hustle he returned home in ’97 and did the private function scene and occasionally {read: regularly} did a set at Choices, Carnivore & Mamba settling for the head residency at both the Mamba discos (Nairobi & Mombasa).
Figuring to get more serious he ventured into production working on numerous radio and TV jingles, a few video productions and some input in various songs here and there (names withheld) then into radio where he started as a production assistant, and shortly after becoming a format manager (station manager) for one of the WorldSpace stations before moving to Dar Es-Salaam Tanzania where he worked for East Africa Radio & TV as the “infamous” Music Director for a couple of years.
While at WorldSpace he with a few others pioneered the monthly WorldSpace Ngoma night and was the main DJ for the event.
While at East Africa Radio & TV he would stand in for sick DJs while doing his own Jazz show under the name of Kizza.
While in Tanzania he chanced to every now and then play a 15-20min set at any club or night spot that would let him from Much More, to Garden Bistro, Coco Beach, even in Zanzibar at the then Garage and Bwawani.
Working with his compatriots back then Leanne and Medzio, he worked on numerous musical outreach programs like Music Crossroads, Music Mayday’s Mayday Festival, Sauti za Busara in an advisory capacity and even ZIFF.
He left TZ moving to Kampala where he worked for yet another radio station Touch FM and DJed all over town, from Steak Out, to Silk, Angenoir, various hangouts around “Kisementi”, etc.
During this period he was called out to Nairobi to help out with the Kisima Awards as a college member which he did for a couple of years and to date still lends his two bob when required.
That too became worn out and he decided to go back to Tanzania, the place he now calls home all in the name of love… that didn’t quite last long as he fucked it up, but what came of it was a beautiful daughter named Chantelle.
With his new found motivation, Chantelle, he left for Dubai working in Business Development before deciding it was high time he went back to the entertainment industry full swing, the parties he had done in this period notwithstanding.
He now has a residency at Plan B, one of Dubai’s leading nightspots, on Sunday night and also appears with the other two residents F!lthe R!ch and Gary Howard on Tuesday night.
He is also organizing a series of gigs everywhere from back home in East Africa to the UK, US, Far East, Finland, South Africa, and anywhere he gets the opportunity.
As an East African it is only natural that one of the genres that he plays is anything out of East Africa, he will warn you though that he is a bit radical and though while comfortably playing anything you throw at him including bottles his strongest genres are in dance and bashment thus appealing to a wider gloabal audience.
In addition to spending his time doing mixes that he posts on the web for anyone who wants to download them, he is also continuously working on remixes of every genre of music.
You may have heard something from him, but he will not divulge this info right now as this is all underground bootleg issue.
Need a DJ?? Drop him a line… believe it or not you can hire him too, cheeko.dread@gmail.com
Maybe you have a track you need plugged; for whatever reason… check him out!
You may follow him Tweet at https://twitter.com/cheekodread for continuous updates on events, and mixes and exclusive release links;
Or fan up on his Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cheek-O-Dread/106386248889?ref=mf
awww NAS AND KELIS together again.
The Little Homie and Kelis showed up together for the Hair Rules New York Salon opening in New York last night. If this means they’re working things out, that’s a beautiful thing. If not, well then at least they can stand next to each other without somebody dying. Either way, the baby won.
Tuesday 15 September 2009
new artwork for Blueprint 3
Related: BP3 First Week: 465,448
Greg Burke, the creative director on the project at Atlantic Records had seen the Letter ‘E’ I had shot with the set designer Nicola Yeoman and I guess he had it in the back of his mind when he was thinking of ideas for Jay-Z’s new artwork for Blueprint 3. I think Greg and Jay-Z had lots of ideas about what the album meant and it seemed to be about taking it back to the source, in terms of the music itself and then subsequently the artwork. For the album and the idea was it was very much about the music and all the things that make music. The 3 is represented by 3 bars which is of course the old way of writing ‘3’ so that seemed to work really nicely with the idea behind the album and the set design that evolved. We all liked the idea that the installation was almost machine like, like all these things were interlinked. That’s why everything is packed and jumbled together. Like it had kind of grown out of this corner.
I think it was a brave approach for Jay-Z as all his previous albums have had him on them. I love still life, and the way I shoot is quite old school. It took 3 days to shoot, was all shot on 10×8 inch film, so the quality in the whites is fantastic, so much subtle tone. We worked long and hard on the colour work on the post and even in a single page mag advert I can see that effort. You could blow the image up to the size of a building and it would still hold up. It seems the album is about that old school crafted production so its nice that that same method went into the shoot.
The reaction has been really good. Kanye put it on his blog which was nice. I’m sure some people want to see Jay-Z on the cover but at least they will talk about it. I love the idea of this kind of still life photography being so looked at. When they see the rest of the shoot for the singles I think it will grow on some of the people who were maybe less enamoured with it. There has obviously been comparisons to the letter E, some people not realising it was me who shot it! It was great that we shot it and the whole experience was great, everybody worked together really well
I think it was a brave approach for Jay-Z as all his previous albums have had him on them. I love still life, and the way I shoot is quite old school. It took 3 days to shoot, was all shot on 10×8 inch film, so the quality in the whites is fantastic, so much subtle tone. We worked long and hard on the colour work on the post and even in a single page mag advert I can see that effort. You could blow the image up to the size of a building and it would still hold up. It seems the album is about that old school crafted production so its nice that that same method went into the shoot.
The reaction has been really good. Kanye put it on his blog which was nice. I’m sure some people want to see Jay-Z on the cover but at least they will talk about it. I love the idea of this kind of still life photography being so looked at. When they see the rest of the shoot for the singles I think it will grow on some of the people who were maybe less enamoured with it. There has obviously been comparisons to the letter E, some people not realising it was me who shot it! It was great that we shot it and the whole experience was great, everybody worked together really well
Monday 14 September 2009
50 introDUCES RICK ROSS baby mama TIA..
After the jump, 50 reacts to Kanye’s incident and explains why it’s different from his 2004 Best New Aritst Grammy stage crash.
Lebron James documentary.
Here’s the trailer for the much buzzed about Lebron James documentary, More Than A Game. The film hits theaters on October 2nd
Sunday 13 September 2009
VMA 2009: Backstage Moments
Lady Gaga and Beyonce in the audience at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall.
Perez Hilton, Lady Gaga and Beyonce in the audience at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall
Lady Gaga in the audience at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall.
Lady Gaga in the audience at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall.
Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner backstage at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall.
Amber Rose, Kanye West and Lady Gaga backstage at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall.
Eminem backstage at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall.
Perez Hilton and Katy Perry in the audience at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall.
P.Diddy and Wale in the audience at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall.
VMA 2009: Behind The Scenes
Jay-Z arrives at Radio City Music Hall for rehearsal.
Katy Perry arrives at the VMA Radio Forum at Radio City Music Hall. 
Kid Cudi and Wale rehearse for the 2009 VMAs.
Moonman statuettes will be given to winners at the 2009 MTV VMAs on Sunday, September 13.
Saturday 12 September 2009
LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S FALL/WINTER 2009-2010
Louis Vuitton Catalog
Line: Menswear
Season: Fall/Winter 2009-2010
Creative Director: Paul Helbers
Photography: Josh Olins
Still-life: Bart Oomes
Art Director: William Snieg
Style: David Vandewal
Thursday 10 September 2009
Thabeet and Iverson
Hasheem Thabeet.
We all Tanzanians are very proud of you and wish you success on your NBA career.Go get'em.......we r so happy Iverson is by your side.
10-time All-Star and former league MVP has scored more than 23,000 points in his NBA career.
ALLEN IVERSON X MEMPHIS GRIZZLES
Though the 10-time All-Star and former league MVP has scored more than 23,000 points in his NBA career, he wasn’t a highly sought-after free agent.
The 34-year-old guard heard all the talk that he’s lost a step, that last year’s dip in offensive production indicated he’s on the downside of his career, maybe even20ready for retirement.
[+] Enlarge
Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images
Allen Iverson got a hero’s welcome, with a standing ovation and Grizzlies fans chanting his name.Iverson wants to prove those critics wrong, and he’ll ge t his chance inMemphis. He signed a one-year contract Thursday with the Grizzlies — a team that hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2006 and has never won a postseason game. The Grizzlies are coming off a 24-58 season that tied for fifth-worst in the NBA.
“This year for me is so personal,” Iverson said at his introductory news conference.
“It’s basically going to be my rookie season again. It hurts, but I turn the TV on, I read the paper, I listen to some of the things people say about me having the season that I had last year and me losing a step, things like that. They’re trying to put me in a rocking chair already.”
The team and Iverson’s agent, Leon Rose, declined to discuss specifics, though Rose said the deal is laden with team-oriented incentives. None is tied to Iverson’s individual statistics. A base salary reported at about $3.5 million was increased after the Grizzlies withdrew a qualifying offer to guard Juan Carlos Navarro, freeing up more money for the signing.
The 13-year veteran was welcomed with a standing ovation in an atmosphere that felt like a pep rally, with fans standing in the lobby of the FedExForum.
Iverson, dressed in a white shirt and wearing a Grizzlies ball cap, saluted the hundreds of fans who yelled out, “We Love You, Allen,” and chanted “AI, AI, AI.”
Cheerleaders, the team mascot and even the drum corps were there. One fan presented Iverson a book during the news conference. The Convention and Visitors Bureau gave him a Beale Street Blue Gibson guitar.
At times, the whoops and support of Iverson’s answers were reminiscent of a revival.
The Grizzlies are hoping for more than a revival. They want to go well beyond just making the playoffs; they want to boost interest in a franchise struggling to sell seats in Memphis.
General manager Chris Wallace called Iverson one of the NBA’s all-time great guards and said the signing is a great day for the team, Grizzlies’ fans and the city of Memphis. The team had been courting Iverson since July, a process that sped up with dinner Monday night in Atlanta with the guard, Wallace, team owner Michael Heisley and coach Lionel Hollins.
Iverson’s 2008-09 Season
Lowest since
PPG 17.5 Ever
APG 5.0 2000-01
Steals PG 1.5 Ever
Minutes PG 36.7 Ever
Career In A Capsule
• 13 seasons with 3 different teams
• 1996-97 NBA Rookie of the Year
• 10-time All-Star selection
• 2-time All-Star Game MVP
• 2000-01 NBA MVP
• 4-time NBA Scoring Champion
• 3-time All-NBA 1st-Team selection
“This guy has many years of basketball left in him . . . and he is eager. He expressed it to us to get going with the task of helping our team reach a whole other level of success,” Wallace said.
Iverson is the biggest name ever stretched across the back of a Grizzlies jersey. The franchise has only one All-Star in its history – Pau Gasol in 2006.
The 6-foot Iverson has been rookie of the year, the 2001 league MVP and a four-time scoring champ with a career average of 27.1. Philadelphia made him the top pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and he spent the bulk of his career with the 76ers before being traded to Denver in 2006 and then to Detroit last November.
Whether Iverson’s presence translates into more wins for the Grizzlies is unknown, but the excitement Thursday could indicate his potential impact at the box office. The team store already had jerseys with Iverson’s No. 3 hanging on the wall ready for sale.
Iverson ranks second among active players in career scoring, behind Shaquille O’Neal, and is 16th all-time with 23,983 points in 886 games.
Iverson will open the season against his most recent team. The Detroit Pistons visit Memphis on Oct. 28.
New York, Charlotte, Miami and the Clippers also inquired about Iverson, but Memphis appeared to be the only one to make a solid offer.
Questions still remain about where Iverson fits in the Grizzlies’ plans after talking most of the summer about the need for scoring help off the bench. Iverson said in April he would rather retire than come off the bench and complained about his minutes while with the Pistons.
Iverson said Thursday he wants to compete and be a coach on the floor.
O.J. Mayo, who finished second to Chicago’s Derrick Rose in rookie of the year voting last season, starts at shooting guard. Memphis seems committed to Mike Conley at the point. There’s little doubt Iverson’s scoring talents should help a team which averaged only 93.9 points a game last season, next to last in the league.
“I’m excited,” Conley said after watching the news conference with his teammates. “It’s a guy I always watched growing up, and having him as a teammate is going to be a great opportunity for me.”
CONGRATS ELUKA
members of TGNP.Tuesday 8 September 2009
meet AJAY WEEKLY
I've been writing lyrics since the age of 11. I grew up listening to old school rap and hip hop legends, such as KRS One, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Big L and 2Pac.
I also grew up surrounded by alot of negativity and I've felt some deep pain in my life and because of that I inspired myself to start making music. I tend to get very emotional in the process of recording my music but thats because I have alot of passion for music, and thats what seperates me from all the other recording artists out there. My passion is driving me to success. I generally talk about the positive things in life or how you can improve your life.
I love performing. I enjoy it. Its like a drug to me. I'm addicted. I feel as if it is a way of life. I've performed in front of crowds as large as 10,000 in venues such as Hackney Empire, Glastonbury Festival and Underage Festival, just to name a few, more still coming, with a return to Glastonbury already in the diary for 2009. So you can say that I'm over qualified and I have more than enough experience when it comes to gigging, whether its with a live band or with a DJ. I also have some experience making club bangers and rock tunes.
I've also met some of the sickest people on the urban scene, i.e. Dizzee Rascal, Bashy, Ghetto, Wretch 32, Ms Dynamite, Chipmunk, Tinie Tempah, Ny, Doctor, Double S, Dot Rotten, DJ Ironik, etc... the list goes on, so you can say I'm very involved in the scene at the moment, while studying a 3 year Law degree at a university in the Midlands???
Sunday 6 September 2009
Big brother house unveiled
The house which will be used for the next Big brother Africa project, scheduled to start on the 6th of September, has been an unveiled, this time with more style and comfort. This house, which has been built in what may be called ultra-modern Africa, is stuffed with 100 microphones and 40 cameras to monitor each and every move of housemates. This year’s winner will walk away with $200 000 cash
Saturday 5 September 2009
BEFFTA award nomination
Category: Best Spoken Word Artist/Poet.
For more information on the Red Carpet event that will take place on October 17th at London's Hilton Metropole please go www.beffta.com
god bless tanzania http://itsprettypoet.blogspot.com/
Friday 4 September 2009
LOUIS VUITTON EVIDENCE SUNGLASSES
BURGUNDY & KHAKI: NEW COLORS TO THE LOUIS VUITTON EVIDENCE SUNGLASSES
LOUIS VUITTON EVIDENCE SUNGLASSES
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