Dressing is always tricky when I know I’m going straight from work to a rap show. Occasionally, I’ll bring my evening outfit to work and change before leaving. Obviously I prefer not changing in a bathroom stall, so I've reached back to my Cosmo magazine days to try and choose clothes that “transition from day to night”. Mostly I just throw a blazer over evening outfits and that’s a pretty quick fix. Or sometimes I wear work skirts over mini dresses and then lose the skirt before I head out.
It didn't use to be as difficult. Working in the arts generally means a more relaxed office attire, so I could get away with wearing trendier outfits on rap show nights. But now that I work in an auction house, it’s pretty corporate. Blazers, suits, business attire. But on rap nights, sacrifices must be made and I might not look as professional as usual.
Corina Corina’s
release party for her album,
The Free Way, was last Wednesday night. Paul produced the album and was involved from start to finish, so it was almost as important a night for him as it was for her. Which meant I had to look fresh. After tearing through my closet, I found a black and white patterned dress and paired it with a clunky gold-tone necklace. Inappropriately tight for work, so I threw on a long sweater that came off as soon as I walked into the venue. Done.
This is the second album they've done together, and it’s clear there is a lot of mutual trust. She gave Paul freedom to experiment and get creative with the production on this one. Paul and I have been really into heavily produced albums lately. After Paul made his album,
We Live In The Future, we started noticing how many major label artists were also experimenting with beat changes and more elaborate arrangements. Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 Experience, both of Lana Del Rey’s albums, and most recently Pharrell’s GIRL. We listened to those albums a lot, and they were a source of inspiration for the production on Corina’s album. And allow me to have a brag moment, but
Village Voice just called Paul one of East Coast's indie rap "it"-producers.
Paul also acted as musical director for the show. It was Corina’s release, so he wanted her on stage all night. She was joined by her four guest artists (rapper Henry Canyons even flew in from LA!), who also performed their own material. Paul arranged their solo sets to follow the joint songs they had with Corina. Which meant that she got to keep getting back on stage to perform instead of having a designated set time. I don’t think Corina’s smile could have been any bigger.
