Does That Make Me Crazy?

This past Friday the 13th I had the opportunity to perform at an iTunes Live event at the Apple Store Aventura. Here's a little clip of me singing Crazy by Gnarls Barkley... enjoy!

C&I Studios: Gaby Duran Live from C&I Studios on Vimeo.

More video coming soon!

Happy Father's Day!

Ah, tomorrow is a new day. Today will remain only as a memory soon to
be distant... It's funny how these moments pass so quickly yet imprint
your soul like an indellible ink. What do we do with these markings?
Do we wear them proudly like a fresh tattoo or do we hide them with
our blanket of regret? Nonetheless, they are inevitable. You, me,
today, tomorrow... Unstoppable as this marble of water wandering
steadily through space. What will you do with TODAY?

Instant Joy

My day is complete.

"Is That The Money You Could Saving With Geico?"

World Resource Cafe's bar, Lincoln Road.

The bartender totally flipped when this was pointed out. Good call,
Whitney.

Gotta ♥ Jigga

The new Jay-Z single, "D.O.A. [Death of Autotune]" just dropped and at first I thought it would be another "Jockin' Jay-Z" freebie single, but I was happily mistaken. This new joint is breathing new life into the commercial stagnancy that Hip Hop's in right now. A million thank yous.

Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe...

UP Your Dreams!

I went to see UP in 3D last night and let me tell you, it solidified all that I've been pondering this past week. I won't spoil it, but if you believe in the relentless pursuit of happiness, regardless of any possible circumstance, go watch this. You will leave the theatre inspired and mentally refreshed... and get your laughter therapy for the week, too :)

Thanks Disney/Pixar, you regressed me to my childhood once more.

Free [Non-Judgmental] Therapy

Goodnight, First Of Da Month.

Hello, June. It's been a while! You're one of my favorite months. Fun, energetic, reminiscent. Six months in, six months to go. What's GOOD?!
We're gonna have fun ;)

I Want This Dude To Be My Friend.

I laughed so hard watching this video that I eventually start crying.

Dorky? Abso-effing-lutely.

Song Of The Day! Lady GaGa "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich"

Happy Sunday Night :)

Happy Birthday, Satcheeb!!!!!!!!

Today, is Andrea's 18th birthday... [EASY, BOYS.]

She's been my sidekick since I was 4, and now that she's legal.... IT'S ALL OVER, BEETCHEZ.

You are my heart and soul. I'm beyond proud of everything you've accomplished and I can't wait to see the storms you will cause in the years to come. I'm here for you!!!!!

You're SO winning Prom Queen tonight, btw...

I LOVE YOU, SALOOPS!

Dougie Who? Rahzel Who?

Now that I think about it, this kind of doesn't surprise me. The Japanese LOVE to one up the Americans on their own shit. Pimp steelo.

General Electriks "Take Back The Instant"

General Electriks "Take Back The Instant" has officially been put on my "repeat" playlist. It's one of those songs that make you feel like there's progression in music today...

Directed by Arno Salters... peep the site for more awesomeness.

Remember These?

Ah, the Two Way. The little instrument that helped the text messaging phenomenon skyrocket into existence. When I was in 9th grade, this was how you were mackin it to the girls.. or boys. This was also how we cheated our asses off and plotted how to leave school early without getting caught. Because of this little guy, my monthly bill went through the mufuggin roof.

Eh, who cares. Text messages were [and still are] the way to

stealthily express what's on your mind without the physical or aural

contact.

...speaking of texts, have you guys been to textsfromlastnight.com?!

DO IT. Haha so money.

Aw, Kanye... RELAX.

Yeezy, c'mon who cares. You don't need to waste your energy [or blog space] on such useless matters :)

I Want Her.

Lalah, You're The Shit.

Lalah RT'd me last night! I replied to her about her concert at Berklee back in '05; At the end of the concert, during the final jam, Miss Hathaway sang a chord... as in more than one note at the same time.... Seriously, we ALL freak the eff out. It was UNREAL.

Here's a little video showcasing the beastiality that is Lalah Hathaway...

[Marcus, how old is that hat?!]

Gosh, she sounds so much like Donny... ::sigh::Now that I think about it, Jazmine Sullivan has a little Lalah in her voice, no?

Cee-Lo Just Made Asher Roth 4728691 Times More Awesome

Asher Roth Featuring Cee-Lo Green [The Soul Machine] "Be By Myself"

The video is sweeeet... but only because Cee-Lo's lookin like a pimp and the girls have "paint" all over them. Nice job, Ashie.

My Local Bodega

[since it's a little hazy, here's a break down]

BUSINESS HOURS

OPEN Most day ABout 9 or 10

Occasionally as Early as 7, But SOME DAYS

As Late As 12 or 1.

We CLOSE about 5:30 or 6

Occassionally about 4 or 5, But

Sometimes as Late as 11 or 12.

SOME DAYS OR Afternoons, WE

Aren't Here At All, and Lately

I've Been Here Just About All the Time,

Except When I'm Someplace Else,

But I Should Be Here Then, Too.

It's Miami. I'm SO not surprised.

Happy Mother's Day!

I love you, Mami.

Thanks for putting up with my bullshit.

FULL MOON = DRUM CIRCLE ON BEACH

It looks like the sun! No wonder shit's been going crazy.... thanks, full moon. See you at the beach.

Melanie Fiona "Give It To Me Right"

I saw Melanie Fiona live at the Delano during WMC back in March and she KILLED it. I was an instant fan. She was beyond charismatic and the vocals were on point to say the least.

Here's the video for her first single, "Give It To Me Right"... her album The Bridge is coming soon! Can't wait. We need more authenticity in this game...

Raul Midon "State of Mind" Live

I saw this for the first time when I was in Boston a few years ago... I'm pretty sure I've watched it over 50 times. At least.
I'm sharing this with you because you need to have this in your memory bank. So necessary.
Enjoy :)

The Maze Game

Step 1: Play this game here...

Step 2: Watch this!

ENJOY :D

Album Of The Day: Common's "Electric Circus"

This album dropped back in 2002 and was definitely a boundary-pusher for Hip Hop. With it's entrancing progressive-electro feel and lyrical content, not everyone was feelin its ambition. It's hard for some people to openly accept change and innovation. But you know Common... always on his real shit tip ;) Features include greats like Dilla, James Poyser, Bilal, Prince, The Neptunes, Cee-Lo, Jill Scott, & Erykah Badu just to name a few.

Been bumpin this all day. Perfect music for packing up...

Priscilla Renea's Version of Drake's "Best I Ever Had"

Love this girl's voice... the Drake cover is so money, too.Enjoy :)She's got a little Lauryn in her, doesn't she?Check her out @ myspace.com/priscillarenea
[speaking of Drake, the recent mixtape, "So Far Gone" is superb... probably better than most albums dropped this year... it's free! download here]

I Guess She Wanted White Booty Shorts....

I'm Back, Bitches: LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO... RED.

Here's a little goodness to get back in the groove... [WARNING: YOU MIGHT FREAK OUT.]
"I SHOULD TELL YO MAMA ON YA"

Our boy Red is hustlin his way to the top.... Please SUPPORT.

Pizzle, Pizzle.. Dream... TAKE NOTES.

Cutes!

Kanye West's "Street Lights" interpretation by Mills Miller

Saw this on kanyeezy's bleezy and I loved the simplicity of it...

The Fast & The Bi-Curious

I think I'd rather go see The Fast & Bi-Curious way more than Fast & Furious.Get on it, SNL.

Happy Birthday, Q-Tip!

One of the most influential figures in the wonderful world of hip hop turns 39 today!

Thanks, Q, for all the goodness you've provided...

Here's my favorite Tribe jam to put you in good spirits for the weekend ;)

Enjoy!

I also had the pleasure of seeing Q-Tip live this past year at Revolution.Click here to take a look at the whole album!

Do dat, do dat, do do dat dat dat.

MIRANDA!

Miranda is a "professional singer" and aspiring "famous person".
Enjoy.
[the ending is the best]

AND SHE'S ALSO OFFERING A FREE VOICE LESSON, VIA YOUTUBE!!!DON'T MISS OUT!!

Thank you, Facebook Newsfeed, for showing me this video post by Adriel.
Seriously made my day.

Ignorance Makes Me Laugh

A few weeks back, I wrote a little something something on these videos I saw on YouTube about how the music industry's "evil" and whatnot...

Today, I come across another video by this SAME person and I HAD to comment on her YouTube Channel... it went a little something like this:

"Your motive with these videos is to shed light on the "brainwashing system" that is the entertainment industry... when in reality, I think YOU'RE so deeply brainwashed by your own religion/beliefs that it drives you to make these videos. It's unbelievable to me to know that you spend sooooo much time on these videos solely to tell the masses how bad something is... Do you realize how much precious time you consume with this? If you REALLY want goodness in the world, then spread goodness. Spread positivity! Preaching about the workings of evil is almost as bad as the evil itself. Are you anti-evil? THEN BE PRO-GOODNESS. You're just a walking contradiction right now."

I posted this comment and WITHIN MINUTES, it was deleted...

I love how she's so quick to criticize the industry yet can't take any feedback herself.

THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO SIDES TO A COIN, LADY. ALWAYS.

Seek and ye shall find ;)

Eminem --> "We Made You"

Eminem's back! Back to making those hilarious music videos... this is so reminiscent of "My Name Is" and "The Real Slim Shady".
So many cameos, too!: Britney, Jessica Simpson, Amy Winehouse, Kardashian, Sarah Palin, and of course, Dr. Dre... mwa ha ha ha aha ENJOY!
BTW... who's the singer on the hook???

Perpetual Sickness

If you live in South Florida, you ALWAYS know somebody that's sick or getting sick or getting over being sick or just perpetually sick. It's an endless, vicious cycle. Yesterday, it was almost 90 degrees. HOT AS *&$#!. And now look at today...

Get your Airborne & Vitamin C, kids. 

Rob Roy Is My New Favorite

"Fur In My Cap" --Rob Roy
via: kanyeezy's bleezy

I Hate Doing This But...

I'm totally watching For The Love of Ray J tonight... but only because Danger's so gangsta... & hot! It's down to the final 3 and I wanna see her dominate [do-mee-nait] a la Dog Whisperer.

Ugh,... shut up, Noah.

Disney Recycles!

WORD!

The State of the Arts

Saw this at the South Florida Art Center last night...

Ha; even though it says "going out of business, everything must go", there's a door opening in the background.

Gotta love the perseverance.

Dickfly? or Ballfly?

[take a closer look...]

Oh, South Beach, you're funny.

AAAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAAA.

"Control Me" Choreography

"Control Me" is a song produced by my boy Rykeyz [hey boo ;)] and referenced by Keri Hilson. It was originally intended for Rihanna but due to the leakage, you already know it's not gonna happen. It's too bad tho it's such a HOT SONG!
I found this choreography for the song on YouTube. The main dude [who I'm assuming is Jazzy?] RIPS IT. I couldn't take my eyes off him. Peep it...

If you want a copy of the song, holla :)

Bad Cop, No Donut!

If I were a cop, I'd pull this dude over just to be an asshole.

HAHAHA.

Thanks, John.

Listen, Power 96...

Every Miamian can agree that Power 96 has played a momentous role in their upbringing here. The 5 o'clock traffic jam was the soundtrack of the city when everyone was escaping the mania of work/school. The live broadcasting from the clubs reminding you that you'll be there as SOON as you turn 18. The Power Love Hour teaching you a thing or two [be it good or bad] about love; it was indubitably an enabler to our curiosity with sex with all that Keith Sweat and 112, not to mention the sexy broadcaster's voice giving you advice. Last but not least, this is by far the most important. The DJ Laz Morning Pimp Show. I can't think of high school without thinking of this morning show. EVERY. SINGLE. MORNING. @ 5 Am... my radio would turn on, the cowbells would start ringing, and "GOOOODD MOORRNINGGGG!!!!!". It woke you up with gossip, jokes, music, etc... there was no better way to start the day. Are you kidding? "DDDDDDJ LAZ,... THAT CHICO'S A PIMP!". Please. Everyone in Miami knows that shit. Even when I was living in Boston, I would listen to Power 96 live online just to feel a little closer to home when things got gray... literally. It reminded me of the life of Miami; its vibrancy and hilarious ignorant tendencies.

When you think of Miami, you have to think of Power 96. I first came to Miami from NY in 2nd grade and my cousins put me on immediately. Power 96 was apparently THE radio station... Now, 15 years later, I hear all this talk about the new "96X". Can someone please enlighten me as to WHAT THE FUCK is going on?! I demanded answers so I did my research...

[ah, miami dade transit, you're so shitty.]

Apparently, the station was called 96X (WCJX 96.3) in the 70s and was mostly a Top 40/ Disco station. The station went off the air in the early 80s then later becoming Power 96 in 1986 with a change of management. From there forward, it was officially Power 96 and the rest is history. That's 23 years yo. Changing Power 96 to 96X would be a [ginormous] step backward. Who wants to go backward?! Go FORWARD. If you're going to change the name, change it something that resonates with the people of Miami and denotes the progress of life in the city.

...and stop playing all these wack ass "artists", too. Step your game up; you're better than that.

UPDATE:

Lucy Lopez just confirmed to me that all this 96X stuff was just a good old April Fool's prank. Hahahaha... thanks for getting me all worked up, guys. We got punk'd.

Mario Paint!

Remember Mario Paint for SuperNES?! It was one of Nintendo's first attempts at pushing the SuperNES closer to computerworld. Obviously the shit. I was 4 years old when I got this for Christmas... It was my first gaming console and I felt like I was in a whole new world of cool. Painting Yoshi 219435281 different ways, swatting those flies with a vengeance, and making the corniest beats known to man. The wannabe beat machine in Mario Paint was definitely my earliest encounter with music theory... with mushrooms & airplanes in place of actual notation, but hey it was a start right? I was a beaaaast.

Ah, the mouse was so cheapy, too. It weighed nothing and I sometimes had to throw it against the wall for it to work properly.

They gotta have an emulator for this, right?

Junior M.A.F.I.A. "Get MOney"

Jam of the day. Currently on repeat... Mandi, this is aaaall you, haha!
Trashy ass Charli Baltimore... no wonder her career's in the shitter.

Steven Lopez Art

Jill Scott

Erykah Badu

Artist Steven Lopez paints the Soul greats... and these are just a few. Others include India Arie, Tina Turner, Aretha, etc. It's absolutely beautiful how he captures the true essence of these artists on canvas. Erykah's stare is piercing... and I can totally hear Jilly rippin it in that painting... haha!

For more, visit After Midnight Soul!

Quote Of A LIFETIME + New Book To Read = YES!

My kind of shiz. Holla.

MUST WATCH IN 3D!

Probably the most fun I've had in a movie in a veeeeeery long time. Monsters vs. Aliens caters to all audiences so it's definitely something for the entire family or a huge group of friends. Hilarious indeed! And the 3D makes you feel like you're IN the movie. If possible, try to go with someone under 10; it only adds to the fun.

Favorite character: B.O.B. (voice by Seth Rogen so you already know)

R.I.P. Pinkness [March 07-March 09]

This past weekend, a very dear part of my life has vanished.... ::sigh::

My Pinkness.

She went everywhere with me... from Boston to California, New York to Dominican Republic. Capturing all those (add adjective here) moments I'll remember forever. We took about 30GB pictures together! Good times. We had so much fun she even had to go to the repair center wayyy more than necessary. I'll miss you :(

Anywho...

TIME FOR NEW CAMERA! Any ideas, guys?

[PS: TO THE ASSHOLE WHO STOLE MY CAMERA FROM MUVICO 24, KARMA WILL CONSUME YOUR SOUL. ]

SLACKERS R US

Ah, yes... The slackeritis has been rather potent in the past week. But alas! BACK TO DAILY GABBING!

The following posts will be a compilation of happenings and amazingness.

Enjoy.

WMC 2009!

Wale and Pete Rock and ?uestlove, oh my!

See you on the beach! Hit me up ;)

So People Are Getting Shot Up @ Burger Kings Now?

Beware of the BK on Biscayne & 54th... customers got into a brawl today: One killed, one seriously wounded. Ski masks involved. WTF was so bad that you had to go open fire in the middle of the afternoon at a BURGER KING?!?! ::sigh:: Stay safe out there people... don't go ordering any whoppers & shit like that...

Read full article @ Miami Herald

The Twittersphere

Haha, this is hilarious. Or should I say twitterlarious?
This has Brian Ramirez written aaaall over it.
via: katy perry's blog

Seek And Ye Shall Find!

In the past couple of days, I’ve been watching these music video analysis’ by YouTube user OrangeMoon82. The continuing theme of the videos are the involvement of evil in the music industry and how these subliminal messages of darkness infiltrate the masses. OrangeMoon82 analyzes Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown”, Aaliyah’s “We Need A Resolution”, Omarion’s “Ice Box”, Keyshia Cole’s “Playa Cardz Right”, as well as a breakdown of Beyonce’s alter ego, Sasha Fierce. I’m not going to get into details of the videos but you can watch them yourself here for your own interpretation.

At first, I was intrigued, especially since I’m well on my way of prying into this industry myself. I was like, “Damn is this for real? Could this have any validity?”. OrangeMoon82 breaks down these hidden messages in the videos with facts; it is evident that some homework has obviously been made... However, after watching every single video, I realized some are just out to see the negativity.

Although I agree that music videos in general have the power to skew the minds of those watching, I don’t think that these “hidden messages” are necessarily looked at in this manner. If you’re looking for the bullshit, you will find it, otherwise... who cares? I mean, don’t get me wrong, a five year old watching Beyonce shake her ass is going to want to emulate... but not to “worship the devil” or “turn to the darkside” but solely because the five year old looks up to Beyonce for being beautiful and entertaining.

The entertainment industry as a WHOLE is a shady ass bitch. HOWEVER... we need to remember the reason this industry even exists: THE ARTS. There would be no industry if there were no artists. No artists = no art = no product. So why is it so grimey? Because there's money to be made, and where money lies, corruption lingers. All things fucked up in this industry are fueled by the money. Take the money out of the industry and let me know what you're left with... people who are genuinely in it for the art. Specifically in the music industry, there are 19,035,790,381 people in the industry that have NO CLUE what music is. No clue as to what the integrity of true art is... this is why we have wack emcees makin madd dough off of their Mickey Mouse tracks and these autotuned, talentless singers “blowing up”. MONEY. So what are we going to do? Blame the money on evil itself? Fuck no. Money might be the root of all evil as they say but take a closer look at those in possession of distributing this money and you might find your Lucifer. So OrangeMoon82, are you saying that the music industry is evil with its messages? Maybe some aspects of it, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it “evil”.

Music is the autobiography of life. The music reflects what we as human beings experience in our every day routine! Our indulgences in sex, drugs, and money intertwined with our experiences, with our emotions (i.e. love, happiness, rage, sadness) are the raw ingredients to the artwork. There’s no way I’m going to sing about peace & happiness when I feel like wilding out on somebody... and I’m sure as hell not gonna sing about celibacy when there’s desire chillin in my blood. That would be a LIE.. and deceitful music is the kind of music that doesn’t permeate.

The scouring negative eye will most definitely find its demons... and those looking for the light will also find. Maybe you should look at the world through another perspective...

What do you think?

UPDATE: These Aaliyah videos were removed from OrangeMoon82's user page on YouTube for reasons unknown... here are the videos!

PS: Etherspace

A few weeks ago, one of my crazy clients called the internet, "etherspace". I pulled some serious pokerface out of my ass to keep from laughing deliberately in her face. It was hysterical how her hippie, outdated mind thought "ethernet + outerspace = the internet". That's not even the best part: the entire time I was with her, she kept calling me "Gay-be" and complaining about having to go to the bathroom... all while farting incessantly. It smelled like a Chipotle burrito filled with baboon feces. FML

eeeeeeeetherspace...

The Emergence of FML

I was recently introduced to the term "FML". It simply means "fuck my life". Harsh, you might think... but it's quite hilarious because, of course, we find pleasure in others' miseries. The official fuck my life blog [yes, it exists. click on it] is a place where you can share those priceless FML moments on the etherspace without shame. Here are some goodies [click to enlarge]:

Today, I was so excited I was getting paid. Then I realized Bank of America took all my money in overdraft fees. FML

Faith Evans "You Used To Love Me"

I've been on a serious early 90s R&B binge this whole week. I've been in that kind of mood.... the singing is so gangsta, too. Sick riffs and harmonies for daaaays. Reminds me of what the standard of "skills" really was! Ugh, take notes, up and comers! Faith Evans' first album, Faith, is probably number one on the list. Many, many gems on there. Here's a favorite :) Enjoy!

Haha, the Biggie cameo cracks me up.

Does yours fall asleep, too?

aaaaahahahahahahahahahaha.

Are you kidding, AIG?

73 BONUSES OF 1 MILLION+?!?!?!?!!?!?

It's true, Brian... Obama's gonna wanna smoke a fat ass blunt soon...

BTW: Spring Break Sunday

So yesterday, my best friend, Jessica, and I head to South Beach to get some sun & sand time in. We were in serious need of some pigment so tanning was a must. We get to South Beach, and of course, we know it's Spring Break. HOWEVER: we had NO clue that the beach was gonna be this thick. There was no sand! ONLY PEOPLE. SOOOO MANY PEOPLE! It was awesome. I always love being in the multitude. The electricity of life in the air is intense and I enjoy every minute of it. Here's a little snapshot, but it definitely doesn't do the real shit any justice.

PS: It's almost summer... are you ready?!

How Could You Be So...

Sometimes you need to be a little cold hearted in life, don't you think?

THESE WERE MADE FOR ME.

Designer lollipops!

Lollipops are my shit. Corner store trip? I'm searching for the Jolly Rancher pops or the usual Blow Pops. The oral fixation can't help it. And now with these... I'm gonna be stuntin! Ha.

The mission now is where to find them... ?

Ha! iChat Is Awesome.

Espreeng Bray

While I was out last night, I realized... "oh, shit: it's spring break!"... The streets were wild! There were so many people that the street itself was being used as the sidewalk. I don't even wanna know how much intoxicants were consumed last night in Downtown Ft. Lauderdale; mofoz was gettin crunk. Soooo many foreigners looking to get in trouble in an unfamiliar place is an element that only adds fuel to the fire... The night was filled with invitation rejections, giving out wrong phone numbers, and sweaty reggae rooms. It was awesome. The ladies and I had some fun...  tonight I'll be in Miami with the boys. Let's see what craziness arises. Twitter should inform you... 

[Hahaha! This is the first image that popped up when I googled "crunk"... I never thought I'd ever have Lil Jon on my blog. YEAAAAH!]

BE SAFE OUT THERE! 

Scarlett Johansson x Dolce & Gabbana

Isn't she gorgeous?!?! She's oozing Marilyn Monroe swag all over this. Dolce & Gabbana did a fabulous job in choosing Scarlett to be the face of their new make up line, available exclusively at Saks Fifth Ave in NYC in April... ugh, what a bunch of haters. Bring it to Miami!

PS: whatever happened to her singing career?