Motown In The Kitchen

This past weekend, my girlfriends and I rented a cozy 1850’s farmhouse in the Catskills in upstate NY. When you live in NYC, sometimes you have to escape. Especially after a long winter. There’s also nothing better than a road trip. The subways are great for getting some reading in or being able to go out, drink, and have a ride home at the end of the night, but there is something so freeing about being in a car. So we were pretty obsessed with our minivan.

It was a recharge weekend, so we spent some quality time in the kitchen. We made amazing brunches of eggs, toast, bacon, pancakes, etc. every morning, but it was our Saturday night dinner that I think defined the weekend. We all had something to contribute, and we drank wine and danced to Motown in the kitchen as we prepared dinner. Which naturally led to a screening of the “Evolution of Mom Dancing” with Michelle Obama and Jimmy Fallon and then the “History of Rap” with Justin Timberlake and Fallon. You’d be impressed with how many rap songs a group of dec art & design grads can identify. Rappers in my kitchen: the white girl edition? We sat down to pumpkin-goat cheese pasta, fresh salad, and an apple crumble for dessert in a dining room that can only be described as farmhouse chic. I would say it was a perfect evening.

The highlight of the trip was our hike up Overlook Mountain. About halfway up, we discovered the snow hadn't fully melted. Considering our aversion to winter at this point, we almost turned around. But luckily we followed through. When NYC has beaten us down all winter, why wouldn't we choose to climb a mountain covered in snow and ice? It was the best decision we could have made though. At the top were ruins from a 19th Century hotel that had burned down. It was beautiful and eerie and amazing to explore. There was also a fire tower that we climbed for stunning views of the surrounding Catskills and Hudson River. The only thing that trumps the beauty of art is the beauty of nature.

It was hard to leave our farmhouse on Sunday. Back to a small Brooklyn apartment and far fewer stars, but with plans for many more weekend excursions. There’s a reason my girlfriends had High Voltage off of Paul’s new album stuck in their head this weekend. Illustrate knows what’s up. We’re all craving summertime.

Recovering From The Future

Last night was pretty epic. Paul’s release party couldn’t have been more perfect. It was a packed house and there was so much dancing, so much cheering, so much love. Paul had his guest artists come on stage and perform live with him. The energy coming from ANGI3, BS, Illustrate, and Michael Ross made the night even more amazing.

A big thank you to all the rappers (including some I had never met before) who came up and told me they've been a rapper in my kitchen and have read my blog. Here's to many more rappers in the kitchen!

The Future was pretty crazy. I was out late and I’m a little hungover, so today’s post is just going to be pictures from last night. Paul looks pretty good in his future hat, right?

If you missed the show, don’t beat yourself up too bad. Just get the album on either iTunes or Amazon!

Willie Green

Illustrate

ANGI3 & BS

Willie Green

Willie Green & ANGI3

Michael Ross

Hi, My Name Is Alessandra. What's Yours?

Paul's first album

I’m often curious about how rappers choose their stage names. Paul got Willie Green from a character in the blaxploitation film, Dolemite. When he first adopted it, he was actually Big Willie Green.. ya know, back when rappers were always Big or Lil’ something. Luckily, that’s since been dropped.

Not being in the rap scene myself, I never know how to address rappers. It’s not weird when they do it, but I'm pretty sure I sound ridiculous when I use rap names. To understand my predicament, here is a sampling of names of the rappers/producers/dj’s I have been introduced to over the years: Pastense, PremRock, Uncommon Nasa, Mo Niklz, Sketch tha Cataclysm, Tah Phrum Duh Bush, Illustrate, Urban Miracle, Varyus Waise...

Of course, the names that are a mouthful get shortened. Tah Phrum Duh Bush is just Tah, Sketch tha Cataclysm is just Sketch, even PremRock is just Prem. That’s easier for me to do, cause it feels more like a nickname.

Made by KC of MakeShopLive!

Since some rappers stage names are their real name (like Warren Britt), people sometimes assume that Paul’s name is Willie. He even had someone put him down as a reference on their job application as Mr. William Green once.

In the beginning, I asked rappers their real names and used those, but some people don’t like to share them. It was pretty funny when we went to address our wedding invitations, and Paul needed to ask a few friends for their real names. We joked that the reception place cards should also include people’s rap names in parentheses. I actually wish we had done that in retrospect. I think it would have been amazing. Especially in juxtaposition to the adorable bow magnets my crafty bridesmaid KC (check her site: MakeShopLive) made to display the cards. Rappers with bows? Yes, please!

Anyway, I'm getting better about using rap names. So when I introduce myself, I'll ask you what your name is and you make the decision what I call you.

Livin' In The Future

Today, Paul's album "We Live In The Future" (via Fake Four distro) comes out! Anyone who is or has known an artist understands the emotional ups and downs of working creatively. When they feel uninspired they can be in bad moods, when they are inspired they feel great. It has been a long, but exciting year of watching Paul put together this project. And I couldn't be more proud of the end result.

Paul's focus has always been hip hop and rap, and while that edge still comes through on this album, it's definitely got more pop and is dancier than his previous projects. I joked before that I felt like he made the album for me, but me and my sister really were sounding boards for this project. Maria lives in Manhattan, and we have her over for dinner all the time. It makes me so happy that my sister and my husband are such good friends. So Paul will invite her over for dinner sometimes, and while we are in the kitchen cooking, he will play some of his beats and gage our reactions. When we started dancing to a beat, he knew it was a keeper. When we just stood there chopping veggies, he tossed it. We were his product testers so to speak.

Since I work in the visual arts, I often think about the producer process as similar to an art curator's process. Obviously, by making the beats and the musical arrangements, he is also the artist. He even wrote the scores for the live horn and string sections. But as the producer, he chooses the artists that he thinks would sound best over the different songs. Then once he has the finished songs, he figures out which order he wants the listener to experience them. He even writes liner notes that discuss each song, which are akin to artwork labels in a museum. The end result is a creative, well thought out exploration of Paul's futuristic interpretations of funk, dance, disco, pop, rap, and even rock.

You can buy the album on iTunes or Amazon. Get ready for a dance party!