Think Pink Rocks!

Think pink is an annual event held at Mizner Park in Boca Raton, Florida. Stephanie Robin a survivor of breast cancer and her friend Elizabeth Weprin founded the event, which was started in 2008.  The event took place Saturday night on November 5, 2011 however, before the concert there was a street fair down Mizner Park from November 4-6, which showcased a "green" lifestyle by displaying organic food samples, recycled clothes for a fashion show and a fitness center that was held by Cross Fit. The event is really locally based so all the vendors there are from the South Florida area. 

On Saturday night the Think Pink Rocks concert was hosted by Terrence J and included 15 acts, some of the performers were Ray J, Flo Rida, Brianna, Shontelle, who has been a part of it since the event was started, Asher Roth, Brett Loewenstern, Iyaz, Mann and some local artist like Jake Miller and the Think Pink Rocks talent search winner Jason Marcus. The night of the concert the front of the stage was packed with people dressed in pink waiting for their favorite artist to take the stage regardless of how the weather was that night. Prior to the day the Think Pink Rocks organization had sold thousands of tickets. The concert attracted the attention of many teens in the area since that is the majority of the performers fan bases, and by that the performers are bringing more awareness to the cause.

"We have an opportunity to talk to the young kids, that’s our future right there its the young kids who you can actually impact and get them excited about stuff and that where we start" said Asher Roth.

Therefore, the future is looking bright for Think Pink Rocks as it is gaining more attention from the locals and performers many of which who empathise with the cause since they have had relatives that dealt with breast cancer.

http://www.thinkpinkrocksconcert.com/

Amy Winehouse's Spirit Lives on Through Her Songs.

"Like Smoke" features Nas and it will be a part of Amy's posthumous album Lioness: Hidden Treasures.The song has an easy beat, insightful lyrics from Nas, and powerful vocals from Winehouse that demonstrate just what great talent was lost. I figured a short and simple review was best since the song its self is better heard then explained.

Previw of What is to Expect from Take Care.

Just released single "Make Me Proud" from Drake's sophomore album Take Care is a classic woman praising song, which is refreshing compared to recent songs Drake has been featured in like "Round of Applause" and "She Will." (However, they are still songs I have on my exercise playlist because nothing is more motivational then a good beat and Drake's verses) "Make Me Proud" features Nicki Minaj and the song is already an expected hit due to how well they sound together and the catchy lyrics of both Drake and Nicki Minaj that within a matter of days will be quoted on every Facebook status and on every Tumblr post. The song only raises the expectation for the Take Care album that will be released on its new date November 15th.

A.K. Killin' The Rap Game

Recently the rap game has started to change by opening up more opportunities for white rappers, one of them being A.K. from Boca Raton. A.K.’s music definitely has that young carefree vibe which many can relate to along with a South Floridian influence in his beats and lyrics. Even though he will be starting his freshman year in college he has had a busy summer spent focusing on his “first love,” his music and working on his third mixtape called Frosh Week. When I met up with him we talked about what is up and coming for him, along with how it is to be a white rapper, and how he got started. His name may be A.K. but there is nothing to fear because with his motivation and talent he will reach the goals he has set for him self. If you are interested in hearing his songs click http://www.datpiff.com/AK-YOLO-mixtape.237737.html

SuperHeavy The Breakfast Club Of Music

 SuperHeavy is a group that consists of Mick Jagger, Dave Stewart, Joss Stone, A.R. Rahman, and Damian Marley. When I first found out about SuperHeavy my thoughts were skeptical because all five of these artist come from different musical backgrounds and I thought their sounds would clash. Although after hearing bits and pieces of some of the songs that will be on the SuperHeavy album I was mad at my self for not finding out about this sooner! I absolutely love how the songs sound. It is almost as if they help push each other to new limits like in “Miracle Worker” were you have Mick Jagger singing a little bit of reggae along with Damian Marley. So far “Miracle Worker” is the only song I have heard in full and when I did I had it on repeat for a couple days, it is a love song that is sung by Damian Marley and Joss Stone and the chemistry of the lyrics and the beat just flow so well together. After watching the video of all of them in the studio I was surprised they were all there together instead of recording separately in different studios, and in the video they were enjoying themselves and laugh like old time friends.

Interview With MalcStewy A Local Delray Beach Rapper

MalcStewy is Junior in high school and an aspiring rapper who within this past year has been taking his first steps into the music industry. MalcStewy is in the process of recording his second mixtape called Timeless with the help of his older brother and rapper Bigg Miles. Do not let his young age and quirky appearance fool you because he already has a couple performances under his belt along with even having one of his songs played on the radio! Slowly but surely he is gaining respect of other local rappers as well as increasing his fan base. MalcsStewy’s lyrics are witty and lively and his beats make you want to groove. His songs make a wonderful soundtrack for the summer since they give you the vibe to just kick back and enjoy your day.

ML: I saw that you had your song on the radio how was that? How did it happen?

MalcStewy: My manager set it up, and it’s actually my friend’s dad’s radio station and I performed at his club so he put the song on the radio.

ML:  Oh cool! What song was it?

MalcStewy: It was my song called “Geometry”.

ML: Where can people hear your songs?

MalcStewy: Youtube definitely and I have a song on www.hotnewhiphop.com and you can find me on www.reverbnation.com.

ML: Do you feel like because of that more people are starting to take an interest in you?

MalcStewy: Yea definitely, everyday someone asks me to do a song now.

ML: Where have you performed before?

MalcStewy: I performed at King Tuts, I performed at Top Chef it’s like a restaurant/club, and I have another performance coming up in November I don’t know the venue and stuff yet but it’s definitely going to happen.

ML: How do you like performing?

MalcStewy: It’s fun and it’s like everybody’s eyes are on you so that’s always cool.

ML: What’s your favorite song that you have written so far?

MalcStewy: I’d have to say “Geometry.”

ML: What would you say was the inspiration for the song?  Was there any one specific inspiration?

MalcStewy: Really there wasn’t, I was just sitting on my bed one day and I listened to the song [the beat] and I just made the song.

ML: What inspires you to keep pursuing music as a career?

MalcStewy I don’t know it’s just something I have wanted to do since I was in 4^th grade I have always wanted to have my videos on MTV and perform in front of a bunch of people.

ML: When did you start rapping?

MalcStewy: Well 4^th grade I started rapping Eminem songs and I was so good at it that my friends had me do it for them at lunch, and then freshman year is when I really started writing my own rhymes. I recorded in December for the first time and fell in love with everything.

ML: I know you and your brother both rap do you think that helps you and gives you that brotherly competition?

MalcStewy: Most definitely because he taught me how to rap actually like we would always free style and he would give me pointers when I would mess up.

ML: You have your second mixtape coming out how do you think it’s different from the first one?

MalcStewy: Well the sound quality sounds way better cause I got a new mic, my lyrics are just better like we’re more confident now because we got feedback from the first mixtape which for the most part was good feedback. 

ML: Who would you like to collaborate with if you could pick anyone? 

MalcStewy: Famous I would definitely like to collab with Mac Miller that’s my dude. Locally Delray wise One Hot definitely he’s pretty tight.

ML: As an upcoming artist what do you think is the one important part that helps when trying to make it big?

MalcStewy: You just gotta promote your stuff so that everybody sees it, and having loyal fans because if you have fans that listen to your song once they don’t really pay attention to your other stuff your buzz goes away quick.

ML: In a year from now what do you hope to accomplish?

MalcStewy: Definitely get my likes up on my Facebook page, and next summer I want to go on like a mini tour around Florida, maybe Georgia, and a couple other states just my buzz increase.

To get into contact with MalcStewy and get information on booking him contact him at info@1stmillionmgt.com

Take A Dive Into Frank Ocean's Music

Frank Ocean is someone who we as the public are just taking an interest in due to his Mixtape called Nostalgia, Ultra that was released in February and because of its success it was turned into an EP, Nostalgia, Ultra includes his song Novacane which can be heard all over the radio now. However, Frank Ocean did not just show up overnight, instead he was a songwriter before the release of his own EP and has written songs for singers like Justin Bieber, Jay-Z and Beyonce. The Nostalgia, Ultra includes 14 songs even though 4 of them are about 20 seconds long and are just the simple sound of flipping a tape over and then pressing play. Frank Ocean’s EP brings a new a refreshing sound that has been missing from a majority of Hip Hop and R&B songs lately, his lyrics consist of catchy hooks but not for songs that have been overly simplified but instead for ones with meaning and striking emotion. The majority of the songs on the EP are love songs some that have a more sorrow and nostalgic outlook on love and break ups, while others have a more upbeat sound that bring back emotions of your first love. Some of my favorite songs include “We all try,” “Lovecrimes,” and “Songs for women.” To listen to his music go to http://www.datpiff.com/Frank-Ocean-Nostalgia-Ultra-mixtape.210282.html.

Hip Hop Already A Big Part Of GRAMMY Camp®

When applying to GRAMMY Camp® many of the Campers were surprised to find out that hip hop was not a career path to choose considering that rap albums are the second most sold in the U.S. I'd like to see it added for next year's Camp because not only is it a popular style of music, it would also allow more people to have the opportunity to make it into GRAMMY Camp.

While waiting at LAX airport for our ride to Camp, the Bass track's Satarra Troutman was asked to rap with the Keyboard track's Jack Rodenburg, who supplied the beat boxing. Troutman even mentioned how at her dinner table each night they go around the table and rap four bars about their day, everyone from her grandmother to her little brother.

Giovanni Quattrochi, who is in the Electronic Music Production track, shocked everyone with his rhyming skills at the first open mic night. Quattrochi answered whether or not he would be interested in a rapping career track by saying, "I was just thinking actually when I was applying to this Camp my main interest in music is hip hop and that if there was a hip-hop track I probably would of applied for that…I was surprised that they didn't have one since it is such a huge part of the music industry."

Many of the other campers agreed with Quattrochi, like Danny Wirick from the Vocal Performance track. “I think it would be cool. I’m not a rapper myself and I don’t listen to a lot of rap music," Wirick said. "I went to GRAMMY Camp last year and we did a rap last year. We tried to do one this year as well but none of the vocalist could rap. So we definitely have a need for it.”

Almost all the Campers here support the idea of having a rapping career track since many of the Campers perform their original raps at open mic night. Sadly it is not something planned for next year, when asked why this is, the GRAMMY Foundation's Nate Hertweck said, "We don’t offer any genre specific tracks; there are elements of hip hop in every track.”

For Campers interested in rapping and being part of GRAMMY Camp there is more than one track they can apply for that incorporates elements of rap. Those include Electronic Music Production and Audio Engineering and the GRAMMY Foundation's Joe Langford believes those tracks give kids a chance “To produce their own music and rap as well.”

Even thoug hip hop may not have it's own career track, that does not stop the campers from incorporating it into the music at GRAMMY Camp.

Written while at  GRAMMY Camp original post date July 16 2011

Lukas Frank Is A Jack Of All Trades

GRAMMY Camp®, held at the USC campus in Los Angeles, is filled with talented Campers from all over the U.S One of them is 17-year-old drummer Lukas Frank, from Santa Monica, California. At the GRAMMY Camp mini-concert held on July 10th he showed everyone how talented he was by playing in two different combos, one being a jazz piece and the other a rock piece. Each time he performed in a combo the faculty would make comments on the drumming by saying, "The drummer did a good job keeping the pace of the song where it should be and not rushing it." The following day I met up with Lukas to interview him and talk about his drumming.

ML: Hi, my name is Mia Lepp, and you are?

Lukas Frank: I’m Lucas Frank, I’m 17, and it’s my first time at GRAMMY Camp.

ML: How do you like it so far?

Lukas Frank: It's good, I like it. I like the collaboration, the different tracks, and that everyone working here is pretty much in the thick of It In their field. My favorite parts are the collaborations and that's my favorite part about music in general. I think this gives you a good sense about what the real world is like and I’m enjoying my track.

ML: How long have you been playing drums for?

Lukas Frank: Ten years, but I tell people four.

ML: Why?

Lukas Frank: Ttwo reasons: one, If you say 10 years they are expecting you to sound like 10 years and that's too much pressure on me. Then the other reason Is I don't count the years when I was like seven and taking classes, I had a good teacher and I liked It, I definitely liked It but I wasn't really studying, learning about the instrument. I really got passionate about It when I was 12 or 13.

ML: What is your favorite part about playing the drums?

Lukas Frank: Just the feeling to have like an extension of yourself, just something to hide behind.

ML: Who inspires you when you play the drums? What musicians do you look up to?

Lukas Frank: It depends, in certain situations I'll have different inspirations. If I'm playing a funky tune I'll try and sound like my favorite funk drummer. If I'm playing a jazz standard I'll think about my favorite jazz drummer or whatever. I've never had one, but if it was to be one person who constantly inspired me it would probably be like my dad, my uncle, my grandpa, or something like that.

ML: When you're playing the drums what types of style do you like to play the most?

Lukas Frank: I hop around or I have been hopping around, it used to be jazz. I used to be obsessed and that was like my only thing and then sophomore year I heard John Bonham play and I was like, "Damn, that's cool," so I got back into rock. I get conflicted because you want to be a jack of all trades but you don't want to spread yourself too thin and you want to be a specialist but you also like certain different genres. It's hard to pick and chose but I would say jazz, rock, alternative rock, indie rock, funk, just anything with good musicians who will kick my [butt] and make it fun.

ML: All right well thank you and by the way you were great yesterday.

Lukas Frank: Thank you so much. 

Written while at GRAMMY Camp original post date July 15 2011

Starting GRAMMY® Camp Off On The Right Tune

As we walked into Ground Zero for open mic night the smell of fresh brewed coffee filled the air. All our attention was automatically brought to the stage by the purple, red, and yellow spotlights. The first performance was by none other than the music gurus who are teaching the GRAMMY® Campers. They set the mood at Ground Zero, getting everyone’s head bobbing to the upbeat melody and inspiring the other Campers to sign up, because by the end of their performance the list was up to 35 people!

The night was then followed by a wide range of different performers singing their original songs, like Austin Taylor Zudeck, who surprised us all with his powerful voice and the way he conveyed the emotions of his lyrics to the audience, along with others like Sarah Lindstedt, Vikki Pritchard, Jack Rodenburg, and Elise Go. Others sung covers of already popular tunes, such as Kashish Shamsi doing "Nobody" by Alicia Keys, Danny Wirick, with "Sunday" by Maroon 5, and Brandon Martinez, who turned Justin Bieber's "Baby" into a sweet and heartfelt tune that got us singing along. Some of the performers who shocked everyone were Bria Kelly and her powerful blues song, Bj Monk with his moving piano piece, the No Name band, who had an upbeat sound with incredible bass solos, and Michael Arrom, whose instrumental piano playing was jaw dropping. There were also a lot of rappers that performed at open mic night, like Geo Quattrochi and Malik Rodgers.

Even though all of the artist were being cheered on before and after they went on, the MC, Brandon Roberson, kept the crowd pumped in between songs or when the performers were setting up by telling jokes or reminding us to tweet about GRAMMY Camp to make it the trendiest topic on Twitter. The night ended with GRAMMY Camp's own dub step performance by Brandon Holt and Tanner Grandstaff.

 Written while at GRAMMY Camp original post date July 11 2011

As we walked into Ground Zero for open mic night the smell of fresh brewed coffee filled the air. All our attention was automatically brought to the stage by the purple, red, and yellow spotlights. The first performance was by none other than the music gurus who are teaching the GRAMMY® Campers. They set the mood at Ground Zero, getting everyone’s head bobbing to the upbeat melody and inspiring the other Campers to sign up, because by the end of their performance the list was up to 35 people!

The night was then followed by a wide range of different performers singing their original songs, like Austin Taylor Zudeck, who surprised us all with his powerful voice and the way he conveyed the emotions of his lyrics to the audience, along with others like Sarah Lindstedt, Vikki Pritchard, Jack Rodenburg, and Elise Go. Others sung covers of already popular tunes, such as Kashish Shamsi doing "Nobody" by Alicia Keys, Danny Wirick, with "Sunday" by Maroon 5, and Brandon Martinez, who turned Justin Bieber's "Baby" into a sweet and heartfelt tune that got us singing along. Some of the performers who shocked everyone were Bria Kelly and her powerful blues song, Bj Monk with his moving piano piece, the No Name band, who had an upbeat sound with incredible bass solos, and Michael Arrom, whose instrumental piano playing was jaw dropping. There were also a lot of rappers that performed at open mic night, like Geo Quattrochi and Malik Rodgers.

Even though all of the artist were being cheered on before and after they went on, the MC, Brandon Roberson, kept the crowd pumped in between songs or when the performers were setting up by telling jokes or reminding us to tweet about GRAMMY Camp to make it the trendiest topic on Twitter. The night ended with GRAMMY Camp's own dub step performance by Brandon Holt and Tanner Grandstaff.