DRAKE Fever!!!

If you haven’t heard of Drake, you should probably go ahead and issue urself a FAIL sticker to the forehead. The Toronto native, Drake aka Drizzy, has taken the hip hop world by storm inundating every hip hop site in the blogospehere. His So Far Gone mixtape is sure to be the most talked about, if not the most successful mixtape of 2009 and features collaborations with the likes of Lil Wayne and Trey Songz. But then, all of his mixtapes have gotten mad love from fans and industry insiders alike. Which is probably why you should get familiar with the kid, cause he aint going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, Drake recently signed with Dr. Dre’s Interscope Records, and since then has been touring North America hitting up smaller venues and colleges, in an effort to connect with his fanbase and create a buzz (as if people don’t know who he is smh).

I personally have not come across any Drake haters, whether you’re a huge fan (like I am) or not, you have to respect his hustle. The extremely talented urban Renaissance man is a former actor (used to be a character on the teen show Degrassi. I know, I couldn’t believe it either. LOL) who sings, writes, and flows. Speaking of flows, can I just point out how engaging and entertaining his style is? And I cant remember a time when I thought a rapper was this physically attractive. The fact that hes tall, dark and model handsome definitely doesn’t hurt is plight. I can already see the Louis Vuitton ads in the works. Check out this video of him performing this summers smash single (already getting radio play in major cities) “The Best I Ever Had”, the ladies sing so loud they practically drown him out!

In addition to the laundry list of reasons to love the guy, heres one more: Drake proves that fame and success can still be achieved organically based on someone’s talent and hard work, proving that you don’t need a catchy club hit or some whacky dance along song to build a fanbase. As a fellow artsist and lover of hip hop, I definitely feel that. If you’d like to catch Drizzy on tour, go to his myspace page for dates myspace.com/thisisdrake. I know I’ll most definitely be in attendance for his May 23rd show in Los Angeles, its going to be crazy! Come out and catch him at a small venue before he launches a megatour w/ Weezie and you lose the chance to see him in an intimate setting. And if you have twitter his official site is twitter.com/drakkardnoir. Bottom Line: Watch out for this guy, hes the new face of GOOD, universally accepted hip hop. Drizzy is definitely in a league of his own, hes spreading like a bad epidemic and I don’t think anyone wants the cure for this fever.

Summer Preview

This summer its all about having a distinctive, mix and match sort of style. Now moreso than ever, collective styles from around the globe are influencing eachother. Im particularly intrigued my Italian and Parisian street style. New York is representing too. Note to LA: we gotta stand up! Lemme show you the ingerdients for the perfect fashion cocktail so that you can remain FRESH when the temp heats up in la la land.

Some things you should cop for summer are:

1.Cut off shorts
We’re already seeing these crop up everywhere this spring. They were a big hit at Coachella for sure. It seems the order is: the shorter the better. Try throwing some patterned tights underneath to make the look more interesting & polished.

2.Geometric heels and chunky platforms
Futuristic and flyyy. Don’t be afraid to be different.

3. Wild nail designs
No, not the crazy old school mickey mouse airbrush designs from the slauson supercenter. Ditch the posh nude shade (hard for me to do!) & get funky with different coulour nails, custom designs, animal prints, obscene colors, etc.

4.Vintage Tees. Extra points if you can find mystic wolf, horse, panther,or unicorn designs.
Check out your local thrift or vintage store and you should be able to score one.

5.Ray Bans
Everywhere! Its like ugh. Even I own a teal pair. But the classic frame is more than a trend, its a fashion staple. If you want to be different & IF your face shape can support it, go for round shade glasses. Think John & Yoko.

6.Fedoras
Yep, but not just the regular kind, try finding one with a short bill or maybe in a different texture/color.

7.Playsuits/onesies
Awesome. One piece and your done! So comfortable & figure flattering too. Grab some chunky jewelry a pair of wedges and go….. Topshop.com has some great ones

8.Cut t-shirts
For me, this isn’t really a trend. Ive been cutting my tees since middle school and never looked back. Now with the resurgence of everything 80s, girlies are opting to show a little skin while still looking “un-done”. A look that I term Indie-chic.

9.Bleach stained tye-dyed pants
Cant afford the Balmain jeans everyone and their dog is blogging about? Me neither. Why dont you DIY? Im taking an old pair of my dark skinny jeans and bleaching them myself.

10. Oversized Jewelry

Statement necklaces are still in. Try to stay away from the dark black or victorian styles that were in this fall. Instead, look for bright colours and floral designs. Big rings (never go out of style) and knucle rings are a must. Check out Melody Eshani, she makes some killer knuckle rings & sparkly earrings that clelebs are eating up. And of course, bangles bangles bangles. Bling it out!


Im definitely excited that Hip hop is embracing its vintage side. Its becoming more imaginative, playful, and wild. The result? Hip hop style desert storming mainstream fashion and becoming a paradigm of trend indicators. We have fun, and we make it look damn good in the process.