Wednesday, August 19, 2015

MID-WEEK MIX UP:Brace Saga - #RetroFuture

#RetroFutureEP has official dropped. This is an 8 track EP that gives you the ability to visualize the musical component worthy of recognition. (if you pre-order the cd you received 3 bonus tracks)
Check out the interview with the Artist.



Dion: Alright let’s kick this off with your first track, Badder, Now this song to me is a statement out the break. "Who wants it badder?" I can say you clearly want it. With this EP what was your goal, the end game for you?



Brace: First off thank you for having me. The goal for the #retrofutureEP was to make a hood musical like the Wiz, but in a hip-hop format. I’d got to thinking to myself, “ I would love the visuals to be this elaborate cabaret look, but still hood enough to bump down the street.



Dion: So you have a track entitled RetroFuture same as the EPs title, was it your intent to make this your single for the album?



Brace: I wanted to make Police State the single. I’d already had the name idea for a bit there. I had been looking into a form of art called retrofuturism, and I wanted to hear it. The more research I did, I eventually came up with Wild West motif for the song, and I just ran with it.



Dion: On the same track you have a line, “If you think Kanye a dick, you ain’t seen nothing yet." I had to laugh at this line by the way it just catches you off guard. Kayne is known for doing and saying crazy things but he is very intelligent. He makes great points sometimes. But what did you mean by these lyric?



Brace: I admire Kanye West’s intellect seeing how he can use practical logic opposite mad genius and get these working products out of that. It’s impressive. I studied that to figure out how to turn my level of genius or creativity into something else. I mean why not? Innovation is often held back by the fear of similarity, but similarity can bring progress if it’s worked with enough.



Dion: Ok so I definitely have to point out my favorite song at this point! SpaceTime! I think this is your single, the hit. The beat is laid back but in-depth at the same time. The lyrics just push the song over the edge. Plus I noticed the switch towards the end. The trumpets and the back ground "tick tock" set the song on a perfect visual. It has so many layers. What inspired this song?



Brace: I had this idea of 1945 Roswell New Mexico. It’s shot in black and white. There’s a colored only nightclub, and this space-ship crashes through the roof, and green women get out. I really wrote this one for the visual. I was sitting there thinking that would look so cool if I could shoot it.



Dion: I want to turn our attention to 2 songs on this EP that address issues that are going on now. You have 'Police State' and 'Primary Colors'. Let's talk about 'Police State' which I believe depicts a vivid encounter with a police officer tell me about this scenario, what was your basis from your perspective?



Brace: I was thinking of the mechanics of how songs work. People tend to shy away from the truth, especially when they can’t form a solution that works. But this is still something we need to talk about in terms of where our country is going as far as social maturity. People like love songs and certain vibes because they feel like this environment where things happen. I put the idea together thinking to myself “If I do a love song about police brutality, people might accidentally listen before they fight the truth off.” It’s a different approach, and maybe not the best, but it’s too early to call.



Dion: And 'Primary Colors'? You really went in on this track. You address many issue that are going on in the Black and Brown communities that are effected literal lives. You stated "America's more like Apartheid" and “Community leaders they reneged, and then side with our oppressors", this is very evident in what's going on today and the Medias' portrayal of black and brown communities. Can you give me your views on what's going on?



Brace: We hit terminal velocity. Essentially the wealth gap established by the business practices of the 20th century have lead to a relapse. We should be space age, but we can’t even trust skin color. It’s a cruel trick of those in power…. They have the poor fight each other for what’s left after they take their cut. The rest breeds resentment, hostility, ignorance. Our growth has been effectively halted in our communities because we lack purchasing power and localized stability. In the case of blacks in America, it doesn’t help that we aren’t responsible for our own publicity. I would love to hear more about young people graduating college, pursuing their dreams, but we hear about murders so often now. It’s not because there are more murders necessarily, but there are more cameras than ever, so nothing goes unseen. I just wish that was enough.



Dion: Now to round it out, 'Let the Beat Go' this is a happy upbeat song. Kind of Loungy, right? I dig the flow on this. Is this your laid back party joint?



Brace: I wanted to write the ultimate last call song where everybody hooks up and leaves on a good note. The night I met my fiancĂ©, this song played on the radio called Love Ballad by LTD. It was so beautiful. I want somebody else to meet the love of their life while my song is playing. That’s like a moment that I wish I could be there for, but you know….



Dion: Brace this EP is legit! I enjoyed listening to it from front to back then back to front again. It's on repeat. What can we expect from you in the future?



Brace: I’d like to do a follow-up on this project. I’m thinking it would be nice to put together a nice lounge jazz joint. Something with a Sinatra Nancy Wilson feel to it. But more modernized.


Braces' music can be found:

Amazon & iTunes Store - Brace Saga
or
https://bracesaga.bandcamp.com/album/retrofuture-ep






Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Girl Develop IT! Baltimore

I love this group! I really do!
Here is why this is an awesome thing to have.

When I was growing up you didn't have that many women around that new coding or in the tech field. Call it my enviroment or just a lack of access or lack of opportunity. Either way you look at it, It wasn't quite there. Girl Develop It! Is an Organization that allows Women (and men, they are not biased based on the name) Come together and connect through technology.

I just recently went to a meetup were I met people with varied backgrounds. Either they had a ton of experience or none at all. They also worked in other fields as well but are looking to expand their coding skills.

For me this is a much need outlet to have others that do the same thing that I like to do and know what they are talking about. The phrase "Use it or lose it" applies greatly to the technology field. If you don’t practice your coding essentially you're going to forget it. Coding has one essential throughout each language. Structure and syntax. If you understands these you can essentially learn any of the languages.

Girl Develop IT! Has volunteers that organize the events for each chapter. They make each event relevant and unique as well as friendly.

I look forward to attending in the future! These events in the future.

Friday, August 7, 2015

What phone should i get?



It's that time again, we all know it. Sometimes we look forward to it and other times well we just don't want to let go. For me it is about that time again. I have to upgrade my phone, although it is a good thing well I am not that interested in doing so. My current phone which is an LG G2 is still working fine without any major issues with the memory. But there are some draw backs to this phone. One of the biggest draw backs so far is that the battery tends to overheat! A lot! It was an issue before but now it is very much so an issue. When playing mobile games or just perusing Facebook it will cause the phone to and over heat. I love technology and is always excited by the new phones and tech that comes out, there is one thing I don't like is having to deal with my cell phone provider.



So it is coming down to the crunch time and I have to make a decision of what type of phone I should get. I am still a fan of LG and also like the look of their LG G4. I don't want to skimp on the bells and whistles as I use the phones features a much as I can. I like to find hidden gems and use them to their fullest potential. Samsung is up there as well and I think they have a good front runner as well. I am not against the iPhone or anything I just don't like the way it looks as far as functionality it seems to me, very basic looking. Not saying I won't ever get one just not at this point.



So this leaves one question for me to figure out what phone should I get?