Bananas Music Event

These past few weeks I have been discovering a lot of different music spots in LA! Last night was the most interesting by far! I love experiencing new music and art, and living in this wonderful city gives me tons of opportunities to do so!

Every third Tuesday of the month there is a music event called Bananas at the Kaos Network on the corner of Leimert Park. I have passed this venue often, but never paid much attention to it. Parking was easy and free, which is always a plus in the busy streets of LA. I'm so glad I got to experience the great atmosphere and positive vibes last night. Kyle "Verbs" Guy hosted the event, and each month they have a variety of underground artist sharing their art on the stage! Last night, nearly a dozen artists graced the stage: Vinny Virgo, Coresh, Shango Zeropoint, Go Semi, Chasity Londyn, Osbe, Weareskywalkers, God MC, Telsa, Hazmat, Conchance, Sevidemic. 

This opened my eyes to a new style of music. It was very new to me, and very fun to watch! The artists were rappers, but like rockers. They were very energetic,  jumping around, and getting the crowd in to the hype! Some artists had bands, and some had DJ's. It was a great variety of music, and unique sounds.

Besides the music portion, there were so many other activities going on! Outside of the venue there were a lot of people hanging out, and socializing. The energy was pretty awesome! With the chill, yet unique attire, relaxing vibes, great conversations, and the aroma of food and smoke, it was the perfect dynamic. There were food stands serving tasty and cheap meals, along with water for beverage. Wo'se Kofi ran the Patties Gourmet Vegan Food Stand, which got a lot of positive feedback last night. Apparently, partakers couldn't believe how flavorful Vegan food could be.

Overall, this music event was an eye opener to really cool people and artistic performers. The energy was calm, yet fun, depending on being inside or outside. People were very sociable, and I enjoyed meeting people from literally around the globe. I definitely plan on attending this event in the future, for another great night!

Critique- Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B

Like most, I grew up with the musical influence of Aaliyah. Her self-titled album is still one of my favorites today. Her music captivated me at a young age, because it was sweet and hard at the same time. It has that bumping hip-hop-filled beat, with her soft, beautiful tone breezing over it. Like the rest of the world, I was devistated when she passed. I remember seeing it come on TV, and being in shock. I didn't realize, at the time, how young she actually was, and now I'm older than she was when she passed. It's unfortunate that someone so young and full of life had to be taken from this world too soon. It is also unfortunate to lose such a humble and generous individual who possessed a beautiful gift. She wasn't just a singer, but an actress, dancer, and a woman with high dreams for herself. I envy that in her. I am motivated by her legacy.

Last night my timelines on all social media were filled with comments about the Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B movie, produced by Wendy Williams, and aired on Lifetime. WOW! There were SO many opinions... and most of them were negative. Well, here's mine. I don't really put much energy in to hating on things, but I will say a few critiques, both positive and negative. First of all, Alexandra Sharpp is a decent actor. I'm not a big actor critic, but I think she did fine. 

The singing, on the other hand is a different story. She is not Aaliyah, therefore, she isn't going to sound like Aaliyah. She sounded very musical theater to me, but she has a nice voice...it just was not fit to portray the great singer. But then again, that's what you get when you can't use the artists original music. They had to recreate it, and I guess that's the best they could do. Just be mindful, that Alexandra is not Aaliyah, so she's not going to be able to deliver the way Aaliyah did. 

I think there were flaws in the realness of the movie and how it portrayed Aaliyah's life. The actors did not resemble the actual stars, Timberland, Missy Elliot, R-Kelly, Damon Dash, etc. I can understand that this is just a movie, but... it wasn't that believable, especially for the actors portraying these great music celebrities. Body language is everything, and I definitely didn't buy it. 

Along with wishing there were less performance scenes, I also was hoping to see more in depth scenes of the creative process Aaliyah went through with different producers and artists she encountered throughout her career. I was hoping to learn something new...but that didn't really happen. Also, I did not like how the movie just ended.... it was just....over. Maybe, that was symbolic to the sudden death of Aaliyah. I don't know, but I was left thinking, "Wait?...that's it?!?" 

In conclusion, it was an ok movie. I had higher expectations, but then again, it's Lifetime. Even though I love watching Lifetime movies, I think taking on this kind of movie just wasn't a good move for the network. The critics are on fire! Everyone is throwing flames at the network and Wendy Williams. Welp, they tried. I do think Alexandra Sharpp is an exceptional actress though, and she should sing in musicals or on Disney. 


I wonder how Whitney Houston's movie will turn out....

Original Song: "Stormy Weather"

Last month I had the pleasure of doing my very first show at The Viper Room in West Hollywood. Preparing for this show was super exciting for me! Since it was my first, I wanted to make sure the set list was perfect. I practiced for weeks, and decided on some of my favorite cover songs. I started with the recent acoustic version of "Latch" by Sam Smith, and ended with "Love on Top" by my favorite performer, Beyonce Knowles. I set this dynamic to draw in my audience, and then tell them, with a power house song, how much I appreciate their presence. In between those beautiful, soft, melodic, but yet upbeat and high belt songs, I sang my original song, "I Promise," "A Long Walk" by Jill Scott, and new original songs, "Affair" and "Stormy Weather." The new songs I performed will appear on my upcoming mixtape. I am very excited about this project, and it was such a pleasure to perform and introduce two very new songs! Rahkua and Mercy U also performed that night, and they were great! The also did a mixture of originals and covers, and had a strong delivery. I love watching other artists, because there is always something to take away from a sharing performance. I am looking forward to my next big show! I will keep you all posted. 

Here is a video of me performing my original song "Stormy Weather." I had SO much fun with this one! :D


"Stormy Weather" by Skyler Reed