Last night in Bushwick: Joell Ortiz & Illmind Human the art show

Last night,  I attended Human the art show, hosted by Brooklyn rapper  Joell Ortiz and !llmind.

Curated by A Dying Breed NYC, in Buswick's The Wick, the event featured art created by Joell Ortiz fans. The artists created a piece representing each track off  Human, his collaborative album will !llmind.

Fans of the rapper, not only got to view the art collection, but many had a chance to meet and take photos with the rapper.

Joell Ortiz, who makes a habit of hosting events that allows him to interact with fans, hopes to host similar art shows in the future.

Hot 97's Drewski was also in attendance.

New Era
New York State of Mind Part II
Brian Kirhagis

Joell Ortiz and !llmind

As I am a bandwagon jumper, I decided that I too would take my best shot at blogging everyday in April. Now technically, it is April 2, however, as it is only 2:30 am, I will count this as my April 1st entry.

Lil' Wayne, the rapper known for his hits "Lollipop" "Mrs. Officer" and a multitude of hooks and verses on just about every song and remix in R&B and rap, will drop "rebirth" this June. Unlike his previous efforts, The Rebirth is Lil' Wayne's attempt to cross-over to rock.

Lil' Wayne discuses this transition with Rolling Stone, explaining that he has "grown tired of rapping." Excerpts from the interview were posted on MTV.com. In discussing his attempt at a rock record, Wayne admits that his "rock" won't appeal to all (or many) rock fans, and doesn't seem to be bothered that the album won't be as successful or as popular as past work. Such an admission is admirable coming from in artist of a genre which tends to be narcissistic.

After hearing Prom Queen, which leaked a few months back, I am honestly not expecting much from this album. However, I give Weezy serious props for stepping out of his comfort zone and trying something new. For making the music he wants to make, even if he is the ONLY one who wants to hear it.

While some haters have argued that Wayne's success will allow him to sell rock albums no matter how much they suck because of his past success. While this is may be true to an extent (undoubtedly many Lil' Wayne Die-hards will scoop the album up without even hearing it), he will definitely face negativity and criticism, often from critics who won't bother to even listen. Just look at Kanye-and all the hateration around his new sound on 808. But art is all about evolving...even if no one is ready for the evolution.

***I know this blog tends to be a bit too culture/mtv heavy,...I'm working on that!!!