DJ Premier VS Pete Rock at Manhattan Record's 30th Anniversary

It was a great Golden Week in Japan this past week. Great weather, great vibes and great shows. I was fortunate enough to meet 2 legendary DJs in Hip Hop; DJ Premier and Pete Rock. They know how to really rock a crowd and I was extremely impressed and in awe. I went to the event with STOKYO President, Charles Ono, and Teddy. You can check out the video below of the event.

Photos on Flickr. Click HERE.

DJ Premier VS Pete Rock at Manhattan Record's 30th Anniversary from Caesar Rodriguez on Vimeo.

DJ P-Luv on Global Noon News Extra - Jan.27

My homie, DJ P-Luv gave a short demonstration and talk on Global BC's Noon News Extra to help promote the Red Bull 3 Style Competition. This year he is defending his title at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver on Jan.28, 2010. If you're in Vancouver, you definitely don't want to miss this party. It was crazy at last year's competition and it's gonna be crazier this year. For the first time this year, 2010, Red Bull will be hosting the championships in Paris. Good luck to all of the participants! Move the crowd!!

For P-Luv's interview on Global BC, click HERE

For information on the Red Bull 3 Style Competition and dates, click HERE

DJ Flipout's re-edit of Bob James' classic

Hello all!

The holiday season is upon us and I would like to wish you all "HAPPY HOLIDAYS!"

I gotta share this with y'all because it's a bangin' track from none other than one of the original bboy's of Vancouver and one of the many Hip Hop historians that I know. When I first heard the original track from Bob James back in '97/ '98 from a Japanese friend of mine who had one of the original LP's, it just blew my mind. I love this track!! And now with Flipout's re-edit of the track with the "Beats to the Rhymes" drums with it and Nas, it's a neck breaker! Be sure to download it from the link below. I got it on repeat.

Bob James feat Nas "Nautilus" (Flipout C.U.P. Edit)

For more info on DJ Flipout, you can check him out here:

http://www.myspace.com/straightgoodsradio
http://www.nationofmillions.ca
http://www.ampfamily.com/index.php
http://thebeat.com/

Also for your weekly dose of hip-hop, and I MEAN HIP-HOP you can tune in "every Friday night/Saturday morning from 12:00am to 2:00am. It’s 100% Hip-Hop, straight from the streets to your radio." << on the Beat 94.5, with DJ's Flipout and Jay Swing. Stream it or download the shows from www.nationofmillions.ca. VANCITY (Vancouver) baby!!

PEACE!

BOOMBOX SAINTS MUSIC VIDEO PREMIERE, "FLIP IT"

THE PREMIERE of the BOOMBOX SAINTS official music video for "Flip It" is finally here. These are my boys from back home, Vancouver. Be sure to check out their site HERE.

Been a long time, shouldn't have left you......

Hello everyone! Hope you're all doing well. Yes I know it's been a while since my last post again. Work's been busy since then; day in and day out. I'll share with you with what i've been working on once the project is complete. But for now i'd like to share some music if you haven't heard and got this yet. This mix features the Boyscouts on hunt.fm from last month. One of my favourite mixes to date. Marlon J. English throwin' down the hip-hop and P-Luv bringing us back into time. Check it out!

hunt.FM #102: It Tastes Like Pepperoni w/ Guest DJs the Boyscouts (Marlon J. English & P-Luv)

I DREAM IN COLOR TV

WWW.PAULSKRATCH.COM

鎮座 (Chinza) Dopeness Album Release Party @ Moon Romantic, Aoyama - Sept.15, 2009

Chinza Dopeness, one of W+K Tokyo Lab's latest artist, held an album release party at Moon Romantic in Aoyama. It was a good night consisting of good music and collaborations with other artists, such as Hifana. Chinza's a real humble and great artist. Please check out his music and his MySpace page at: http://www.myspace.com/chinzadopeness

For photos click HERE.

Izawa Ayame performing at Cafe Muriwui, Sept. 11, 2009

I'd like to present to you a good friend of mine, Izawa Ayame. She is a talented musical artist that plays the piano and the pianica. A couple of friends and I went to go check out her show. I surprised her by just showing up. I haven't seen her since I moved to Japan, and it's been a while since we've seen each other. She was a yoga student in Vancouver, and stayed with my family and I for a month. She's a friend of a friend, and we've kept in touch since. She's currently a yoga instructor in Tokyo. She creates and composes her music, and performs her music at selected venues. Please check her music out at: http://www.myspace.com/ayamelody

For photos, please click HERE

Behind-the-Scenes: 鎮座 Dopeness Music Video

Early this week, I worked on the set of Chinza Dopeness' music video, shooting behind-the-scenes footage for W+K Tokyo Lab along with Takeshi-san.

5:30am - Wake up
6:45am - Leave the house
7:10am - Catch the train to Chuo Rinkan Station
8:00am - Arrive at Tama Plaza Station
--- Walk to the studio ---
8:30am - Arrive at the studio after hitting some Red Bull for the system
9:00am - Setup, makeup and wardrobe
11:00am/ 11:30am - Rehearsal
12:00pm - Start shooting
.................
7:00pm - Wrap

That's the basic schedule.

What even made my mornings and evenings better (sounding sarcastic), was the humidity. As you may or may not know, i'm a December baby, so i'm not fond of heat. But I "toughed it out" and brought me a towel to dry myself off.

The staff, talent and crew were very professional and friendly. Everyone was a class act. Chinza, the main talent, is a gifted lyricist and has a great personality. He is signed with W+K Tokyo Lab and is friends with HIFANA. Good people; good friends.

I look forward in working with Tokyo Lab in the future. Until then, keep smiling and keep creating.

Peace out.

Photos

He is ALMIGHTY...

I'd like to introduce you all to Paul Belen a.k.a. Pluskratch a.k.a. Paul Skratch a.k.a. Paul Mighty. Yes, this man has several aliases and that is in part due to his eclectic life. Paul, as long as I can remember during my DJing days, he has been a hard working individual. He is a DJ, a producer and a fashion designer. He has been interviewed recently on www.justalilhype.com. Watch out for this talented artist! He's makin' heads snap.

Here is the link to his interview.

Also here is the link to his websites: www.almightypaulmighty.com, www.paulskratch.com

Dedicated to the Hastings Set

As my title shows, this entry is dedicated to the Hastings Set. This movement has been inspiring artists from all mediums, as well as people who just love art, music and life. I was privileged to be a part of this experience when my good friend Jeff (Jeproc) invited me to a Hastings Set event. From there on my spirit felt renewed and had been longing for a movement, a collective to inspire me and others to open our minds and our ears and hearts. After the first event, I always looked forward to the Hastings Set and their partners work. I was getting hungry. It's been about a year since I was introduced to the Hastings Set. Everytime an event was hosted and associated with THS, I always encouraged friends and family to come along for the ride. To name a few, THS consists of a collective of musical talent, producers, promoters, photographers, dancers, dj's, etc. Here are some of the links I encourage you to look at and be inspired:

The Hastings Set
Love and Electrik/ Blog
Brad Dijkman
Tiffany May
Justin Tyler Close
The New Royales
Chin Injeti

A recent article from Vancouver Is Awesome website features the Hastings Set and can be seen HERE.

Love and Electrik will be releasing some new material in the near future, SO LOOK OUT AND COP IT!; Justin Tyler Close did a wonderful makeover of his site, as well as posting new work; The New Royales will be dropping their new single "Kinda Like A Big Deal" which features the Clipse and Kanye West, with the beats and talent of Chin and DJ Khalil. Single drops 4/20/2009, 12noon PST.


Congratulations to the Hastings Set!! Many blessings and love! Caesar misses y'all but so happy the internet keeps me connected.

Shout outs to Jeproc, Chin, Aidan, Love and Electrik, JTC, Tiffany, DJ Bles-sed, Niña Mendoza, DJ She, Brad, NaRai, Jeff Spec, Omar Khan, SVS Style Dance Crew, Boombox Saints, the Boyscouts, EH! Team DJs, Almighty, The Freshest, Beatstreet Records, Gman and Rizk, DJ OMG, Littlesumo, SDUBB, Baby J, Shaolin Ewok, Rock Royalty Inc., Riojex, El Kartel, VANCOUVER, and to you all!!

W+K Tokyo Lab Presents “VIDEO MUSIC” - March 28, 2009

This past Saturday, W+K Tokyo Lab hosted another event, "VIDEO MUSIC". A night filled with great visuals, music and people. One of W+K's artists, JEMAPUR, did a couple of sets, giving the crowd an experience not to be forgotten. Also, Jemapur will be doing an hour exclusive set on W+K Radio, tonight at 1am (9am-Thursday PST).

"VIDEO MUSIC" was held at Roppongi Hills, at Mado Lounge on the 52nd Floor (great view!!).

For photos of the event, please go here.

Also please check out W+K Tokyo Lab's Blog here.

Funny how time flies...

So today marks my one month anniversary since i've moved to Japan. Life's been pretty chill for now until I get the proper docs to allow me to work. I've been seeing old friends and trying to meet some too. I've been spending most of my time at home and practicing my hiragana and katakana, as well as learning some Photoshop, After Effects and Illustrator skills from online tutorials. The one thing I need to do is polish up my cover letter, so that when my visa arrives, i'm able to work a.s.a.p. I've been trying to occupy my time up with online tutorials, surfing the web, reading a book and occasionally stepping out of the house to go for short walks around the neighbourhood.

About 2 weeks ago, I went to a live show in Kichijoji, Tokyo, with Ephraim and Masako, to check out Hifana and some other live acts. This was my first time seeing Hifana live and to my surprise Semba-san and a group of percussionists and musicians, Kargamos, with Hifana collectively played great music. I had the privilege of meeting more of the W+K Tokyo staff through one of the Creative Directors, Shane Lester, that I had met while on my trip to L.A. last November. They are all personable and great! It was a good night of great music and company.

While the hunt is still on, i'll do my best to update you all on a regular basis.

For a review of the live show, please go HERE.

For photos of the evening, please go HERE.

Video of the Hifana and Semba show soon to follow.

HIFANA @ Star Pines Cafe (Tokyo)

HIFANA (W+K Tokyo Lab) will be performing live @ the Star Pines Cafe in Kichijoji this Saturday, Feb.28. Also part of the musical lineup are IZUPON, Cinza Dopeness, Kyo Sakurai, Senba and karugamos. If you are in the Tokyo area, please come check them out. It's gonna get LIVE!

For more information, please click HERE.

Red Bull 3Style Challenge - Jan.30, 2009

Okay, playing catch up is my game right now. I know you probably have been coming to my page and nothing has been new. My apologies again.

The Red Bull 3Style Competition at the Commodore Ballroom was off the chain, too bad I got drunk too early and had to leave midway through My!Gay!Husbands! set. I managed to get some photos and video of the champ: P-Luv. Good luck to him and to the rest of the champs across Canada at the Finals in Toronto. Also congratulations to both Rico Uno (Runner-up) and Marlon J. English (Third Place)!

For photos of the evenings events, please click HERE.

Christmas @ the Bays to the Hastings Set Boxing Day Blowout

In the early eve of Boxing Day, I celebrated another Christmas Dinner at the Bays. I've known most of my friends there since elementary and it's always great to spend our annual Christmas dinners together.

Afterwards, I headed down to the Biltmore Cabaret to the Hastings Set Boxing Day Blowout which featured a live set from Love and Electrik and Omar Khan. As always, great music by the duo and Omar, as well as the DJs (DJ She, Bles-sed and Niña Mendoza).

To view photos of the evening, please click HERE.

Love & Electrik @ Shine - December 18, 2008

Round 3 - Love and Electrik performing at Shine Nightclub in Gastown. As always, these 2 put on a great show. In attendance we had the Freshest Kids minus one, DJ Bles-sed, Omar Khan, Jojo, Mr. Brad Dijkman, NaRai, DJ Relly Rels and the Hastings Set.

To view photos of the evening, please click HERE.

Saturday Was A Good Day

Dec.13, 2008:
Let's see, where shall I begin...

2pm:
Oh yes, none other than Love and Electrik performed their second performance at Beatstreet Records out of the Five Feats of Strength Tour. Their first performance of the tour was the night before at the Sweatshop for the Schools Out For Winter event, which was hosted by Team Cream. Their next performance will be at the Shine Nightclub this Thursday, Dec. 18 with the Freshest Kids DJs and special guest DJ Bles-sed. For more information on Love and Electrik, please visit their MySpace page HERE and their blog HERE. I took some video footage of their performance at Beatstreet Records, which I will post shortly.

For more photos of Love and Electrik, please click HERE.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

10pm:
Next up, I went to the Camilla D'Errico art show which was hosted at El Kartel on Robson St. She is one of the many favourite artists that I admire. She's such a cool person and real easy to talk with. I had the privilege of meeting her at her first show, about 2 years ago at El Kartel. She signed a t-shirt for me then and signed another one now. Thank you!! Also in attendance was Vincent Chan, who was featured on Hypebeast.com recently, along with his partner and a good friend of mine, Matthew Miyagawa from Finale Design. And last but not least, Santa stopped by for a drink. For more information on Camilla D'Errico and to see more of her work, please visit her website HERE.

For photos from Camilla D'Errico's show, please click HERE.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Midnight:
And last but not least, I headed down to the Royal Unicorn for the Studios' Film and Music Industry Party. Music was provided by Cheeky Disco (in a monkey suit. What?!), Small Fame and Saint Expedite. The night was great with good music and good company. Thanks again to Justin for the invite! :) Please visit www.thisisthestudio.com, to view more of their work. I also have some video footage of Small Fame's performance, which I will post up shortly too.

For photos of this event, please click HERE.

Good night :D

the Good, the Bad, the Hastings - Friday, November 28, 2008

Once again the Hastings Set put on another great gathering. The DJ's for the evening were DJ She, DJ Niña P. Mendoza and DJ Bles-sed. The musical acts were Chin Injeti, Omar Khan, Love and Electrik, along with Narai, and Emotionz. The evening too was entertained with dance routines from two excellent dance groups: Stone Foxx and the SVS Style Dance Crews. On behalf of the Hastings Set; we thank you for your donations. Peace, love and the Hastings!!

For photos of that evening, please click HERE.

Jemapur "Evacuation" 2nd Album release

Maledict Car by Jemapur

W+K Tokyo Lab's newest artist, Jemapur, released his 2nd Album. Unfortunately this album can only be purchased off of the iTunes Japan Store. Above is a video from W+K Tokyo Lab and was directed by Kosai Sekine. I had the privilege of meeting with the Creative Directors from W+K Tokyo Lab earlier this month in LA. For more information please check out their website, HERE.