The I.$.H. Presents...The Late Night Sessions Mixtape Vol. 1

Every once in a while, I have to give back as thanks for all of the things that are given to me, and with the Christmas spirit still lingering, I figure I have one more gift to give. (I mean some of the best gifts come the day after Christmas anyway...ha).

How many times have you had a hot date coming over and you end up scrambling to make a playlist to set the mood but just can't find the right songs in time before the doorbell rings. Ahhh, thanks to me, you can look no further.

When I am working, as you all should know, I always listen to music to groove to, edit photos and surf the web. During this time, there are certain songs that tend to stick in my head and I may have to repeat them several times.

Back when I used to DJ, this is how I would compile the latest mixtape/mix CD for the people. If I would get enough songs that were what I call "a repeatable", then I would get to working on that new hot ish for the streets.

Even though I don't DJ anymore, it ALWAYS has been about the music. I have such a strong passion for new music, especially new R&B music and usually when I hear my new found favorite joints, I want to share the passion with the people, hence the reason I USED to DJ.

I definitely am an avid believer in movie night, DVD night, or date night etc, which is the perfect time to share your new favorite songs, so my gift to you all is my mixtape "The Late Night Sessions" obviously FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY to get mood right for you and your special "friend".

Download it, unzip and enjoy with your boo...ha!

The I.$.H. Presents...The Late Night Sessions Mixtape, Vol. 1

18 Bonus Hidden Track

*mixtape cover photo courtesy of I Am Lost Photography

LT and Me...the book signing...

Last Friday, thanks again in part with TV Host Eric Edwards & A-List Television show, I had the privilege to cover Ms. Loreane Tomlinson, mother of San Diego Charger Ladainian Tomlinson, new book signing.

In the process of signing books, Ms. Tomlinson also spoke to fans about why she wrote the book and what its like living in San Diego after moving from Texas. Ms. Tomlinson has also partnered up to start a new magazine called San Diego Business Woman that should be released early 2010.

The book signing, and Magazine launch was a great event with catered food, a tequila bar and hosted appetizers in a lavish plush house out in Del Mar. All in All, I would have to say, as always, more fun times for just another Friday night in San Diego.

*photos courtesy of A-List Television Show

Stingaree 4 Year Anniversary

This past Saturday, Stingaree celebrated their 4 Year anniversary in style with a host of big San Diego names making an appearance to show some love. Of course I had to be in the building for this event.

I think secretly, since I have only missed 1 anniversary party, I always hope Kanye will come back. Kanye West hosted the grand opening in Dec of 2005.

Coincidentaly, NYE of that same year I moved to San Diego...I guess I just missed the party. Oh well, maybe next year. Congrats Sting!

*photos courtesy of ISH for J Public Relations

Chargers Love The Kids...

Big Brothers, Big Sisters of San Diego County held an ice skating event at the Gaslamp District's Ice Rink near Horton Plaza. The event paired big brothers/sisters with their "Littles" against other Bigs/littles in an Ice Skating competition.

Santa Claus along with San Diego Chargers Luis Castillo, Darren Sproles, Alfonso Boone and Brandon Siler came out to cheer on the BigBrother/Sister teams as well as took time out for photo-ops and autographs. The event was a great, positive way to pay back to the community, kids and fans.

Thanks to Samantha Lang of Big Brothers, Big Sisters for all your support.

*photos courtesy of ISH for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of San Diego County

Emergency, Man Down...Man Down...

To use or not to use...it's not just a question, its a lifestyle choice. Yesterday, millions of North American Blackberry smartphone (i.e. Crackberry, a powerful, addictive cellular device that gets work done while being mobile) users scrambled for dear life because their best friend/phone was living in a nonfunctional, lifeless state due to the Internet data service temporarily being down.

RIM, manufacturer of Blackberry smartphones, reported a service outage to the whole North America for a period of time. I personally must admit, I'm an avid Crackberry user and with my device being down, I suffered from functional withdrawals.

(Pookie voice from New Jack City) It's bad man, I needed my Crackberry man...it just keeps calling me.

Now, some of you may say, I don't get what's so big about this device that makes people freak out, but I want to point out a very important issue while throwing a SSD flag as well!

First, ALL phones, ALL phone carriers and ALL technology comes with service issues from time to time so before you iphone users start jumping for joy and other "trendy-following, use-a blackberry-because-its-cool-users" start switching to other phones, I want to say PUMP YOUR BREAKS!

*sidenote, To be honest, the Iphone can never truly be "superior" to Blackberry until it does a few things which I will get to.

Ok, so why are these crackberry junkies going nuts for their device? Blackberry has superior functionality because it manages a lifestyle, network or business with the touch a few buttons all while being mobile. Sort of a computer on the go without having to lug your laptop around.

Yes, Iphone has a world of great apps, but the fact remains and will ALWAYS remain that until Iphone is able to be used on ALL cell phone carriers and offers a physical keyboard it can never be superior. Blackberry delivers the consumer an array of options such as a physical keyboard, touchscreen, and the option to choose a device on all major cell phone carriers. Choice is always superior to limitation.

Like I said, it comes down to superior marketing vs. superior product. I'm sure there are fair weather friends that switched to different devices during the RIM outage, but do you really think RIM will go out of business soon?

No, because RIM has a superior product. Of course Apple won't stop selling Iphones either because they have a superior marketing team.

In the end, you personally have to find the phone that works best for you. And that is not selling dreams but realizing the truth. For I$H, I despise ATT as a service and I HATE touchscreens so the choice is obvious, its crackberry for life!

Soldier Of Love

It's Tuesday which means new music is released, but I have something even more interesting than current artists' new music being released.

Last week, I discussed how Sade will release a new album on Feb 8, 2010. Well today is December 8, 2009. This is an epic event, yes I said it.

Why is today an epic event? Because the album cover and title track to Sade's new CD have both officially been released to the world and Sade has not released new material in 10 years, so you will have to forgive me for being excited.

Soldier Of Love is my "I'm Focused" song for today because I feel everyone should be a soldier of war.

When you deal with love, sometimes you become wounded, but you have to get back in the fight because love is needed to survive whether its through intimatcy with a mate, with friends or with your family.

Anyway, without further delay here is the video for...

Sade - Soldier Of Love

Chris Jones Birthday Party

Ridiculous Entertainment CEO and my friend/business partner, Chris Jones, celebrated his birthday in style this past weekend featuring live performances by recording artists Tommy Redding and Rio, along with a host of others. I know right now you may not know who some of these names are, but with time I'm positive that you will.

Chris Jones is the co-founder of SSD, and also the founder of the Ridiculous Entertainment Record label, so you will be hearing more about these up and coming artists on this site from time to time.

Chris Jones Birthday Party Pics HERE...

Rihanna & Shy Ronnie...

Rihanna made her SNL debut this past Saturday doing a skit with Adam Sandberg. I don't know who is making Sandberg's beats but they are hot!

First, Sandberg scored the infamous sketch-turned-hit, I'm On A Boat with T-Pain and now Shy Ronnie with Rihanna. Hopefully Kanye or someone can get on the remix, but either way its a pretty funny, cool song. Oh well, check it out.

Rihanna & Shy Ronnie - Fire & Ice

*video courtesy of http://www.hulu.com/

*Adam Sandberg photo courtesy of ISH for http://www.mavrixphoto.com/

Movember Means Awareness...

November is known for a lot of things including a few national holidays such as Veteran's Day, my birthday, Thanksgiving, and of course #scorpioseason.

But what you may not know is November is also known to some as Movember, an annual, month-long celebration of the moustache, highlighting men’s health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer.

Men all around the world start growing moustaches to raise money for men's health awareness. At the end of the month each city holds a party where men style their moustaches to replicate their favorite moustached film/TV character.

Movember Madness At Bondi Photos Here...

More Photos courtesy of BoogieNightsEvents.com

Flaunt Fridays w/ Svedka Bar

Flaunt Friday returns with a special hosted Svedka Vodka bar and photobooth for the evening. VIP's that RSVP'd for the event had a chance to take some sample shots of Svedka Vodka and then take some photos in the Svedka Photo Booth. All in all, it was a trade off of "Shots for a shot" to top off the fun-filled night.

Flaunt Fridays hosted by Svedka Vodka photos HERE...

Dreams Come True...

Have you ever wondered why your favorite artists have never collaborated? A lot of times it can be ego, record label politics or just something as simple as a scheduling conflict.

All of my life, my passion has been music and art. I love music. Its undeniable...

...And as much as I would want certain collabs such as NaS and T.I. (Topless, thanks Dr. Dre.), Jay-Z and 50 Cent (thanks to Reebok for that one) and Sade with Pharell's production skills (By My Side Remix) wait...oh wow, come to think about it, I guess dreams can come true.

I'm sure you all know by now, for me it's official. I love Beyonce, I love Alicia Keys, I love music and I am proud to finally say, the collaboration has happened.

Alicia Keys and Beyonce appear together on a new track called Put It In A Love Song from Alicia Keys' new album appropriately titled, The Element Of Freedom.

With egos aside, conflicts put to rest, and just the freedom of expression left, not to mention in a business driven industry, for once it is all about the actual music, talent, and raw passion rather than the business side.

Thanks to Alicia Keys and Beyonce, this is a great time for art because the art form categorized as music is delivered in its authentic form as it was intended to be.

Thank you to Queen B & A. Keys...

Put It In A Love Song

p.s. This is my "I'm Focused" Song for today because its starting to get cold and everyone needs a DVD buddy...ha ha ha...

50th Anniversary Charger Block Party

In honor of the San Diego Chargers 50th anniversary, the prestigious organization held a block party in the heart of the Gaslamp District to celebrate with fans and players alike.

Thanks to Eric Edwards, host of The A-List Televison show, I was granted VIP backstage credentials to photograph the VIP reception lounge.

Current Charger stars such as Antonio Gates, Shawne Merriman and LaDainian Tomlinson could be seen shaking hands and fraternizing with the Old School players such as Charlie Joiner, Dan Fouts and Kellen Winslow. The night was filled with high energy, catered food and stories of Charger player's memories to last a lifetime.

*Photos courtesy of ISH for A-List Televison

Crazy Night..

"Whew, wow, what a crazy night!"

I think anyone and everyone that has ever gone out with their friends on a Friday or Saturday night can relate to this quote. And rest assured you can leave it to R. Kelly to sum up that feeling in the form of a song.

This is my "I'm Focused" song for the day. I feel like in order to have a great night you have to have something to celebrate, right? Well, I feel like if I work hard during the week, I can party hard after the work is completed.

Crazy Night is dedicated to all my hard workers out there! It's Monday so let's work hard this week so we can have a crazy night!!!

R. Kelly - Crazy Night Featuring R. City

Team Captain, World Champion, Sportsman Of The Year...

I feel a special "congrats" are in order to Mr. Derek Jeter. I also feel its only fitting that the starting shortstop and team captain of the 2009 World Champion New York Yankees should be named sportsman of the year by Sports Illustrated.

Honestly, this is good news for everyone. Why? Because for fans, its shows the appreciation for the team captain by honoring his leadership, knowledge and sportsmanship.

For the haters it gives them a new goal to work towards by working hard to overthrow the king.

I say, its motivation either way to be the best at what you choose to do. Hate it or love it but finish strong whichever road you decide to take! Ha...

10 Years In The Making...

There is a lot of good news for the world of music right now and I am happy to say this is a great time for R&B music as well.

Why!? First off, Beyonce shows her true vocal range live in Vegas for an intimate concert and has released a DVD capturing the moment for all to enjoy.

Next, R. Kelly has brought back the grown and sexy, slow groove music with his latest album "Untitled" and...

Sade returns to finally drop a new album after almost 10 years.

I know a lot of people including me were very happy to hear this news. Right about now 3 quotes come to mind. "Patience is a virtue, Good things come to those that wait and Better late than never. Good Morning!

February 8, 2010 - Sade - Soldier Of Love

*www.sade.com

Snoop Dogg in San Diego...

Wow, what a month of fun. #Scorpioseason is definitely in full effect. First off, Mya comes to San Diego to host my 30th birthday party and then Snoop Dogg comes to town the very next Friday.

Thanks to A-List Televison, I got back stage access to the Snoop Dogg show at the House Of Blues San Diego. Much Love to the TV host, Eric Edwards.

I was only going to go to the afterparty for Flaunt Fridays, but since its Scorpio Season, everything works out perfectly.

Anyway, The Dogg Father rocked the house by bringing out his Uncle, Tha Dogg Pound and Lady of Rage. This show was hot and it took me back to '95 riding in my Lincoln Continental...of course the Good times continue to roll from then until now.

*photos courtesy of I.S.H. for A-List Television.

About My B.I....

When I found out Mya was gonna host my "dirty 30" birthday party, I knew I HAD to be on point with her music. I've been a fan of Mya's since...I'm focused man, tell Stout to holla at me man!!!! and probably even before then.

ANYWAY... I started doing some research to catch up on Mya hits and not just my favorites. I won't sell you any dreams and say I know every single new and old song of Mya's, so yes, I had to dig in the crates and I'm so glad I did because Mya has a song with Shawty Lo, called I'm about my B.I. (meaning I am about my business).

This is today's get focused song. Some of you may have heard it, and to others it may be new heat. Either way...you know I have to share the heat and also, when it comes to the artistic journey, (for me its music and photography) being on top of your game is a must if you're going to succeed. So in the words of Mya and Shawty Lo, Let's get on our B.I.! (B...I...is...nezz!)

Shawty Lo - I'm About My BI feat Mya

*song courtesy of www.yoraps.com

Side note...Mya already sang happy birthday to me at my party, WHOA!!! I am forever thankful and so pleased, but really, Mya, if you ever want to get me another gift, REDO THIS SONG by yourself without Shawty Lo, just like Drake did when he REDID Page's Song Still Fly! HA!!!

It's My Birthday and I'll Dream If I Want To...

Something people may or may not know about me is, I am a music fanatic. I am addicted to music, I need it around me at all times. Some of my favorite artists have to be attached to my hip because I never know when I'm going to need a fix.

I have found there are certain people that share this addiction with me and as soon as we hear something, hot and new it's like..."Yo, did you hear this!!!?" That's why I love art so much because, art is full of passion and passion needs to be shared. So, being up early, I feel the need to share something with you.

The reason I am a huge Beyonce fan is because I fell in love with her voice on her ballads, such as Killing Time, Crazy Feelings and Dangerously In Love but it seems that my favorite song on I Am...Sasha Fierce has become a ballad as well. Hmmmmm...Bey, you never cease to amaze me.

Sweet Dreams, The Ballad...

*Song courtesy of imeem.com

Chopper Style in the city

Surprise, surprise! San Diego, got a last minute surprise from former Da Band member, Chopper. Thanks to Chris Jones of Ridiculous Entertainment, my access was granted backstage to his impromptu performance.

What's funny is I hadn't heard anything about him still working but apparently, Chopper a.k.a. Young City has been touring with a new group, the M.O.E. Boys, since the split of Da Band.

I guess Chopper was the only group member actually listening to Diddy when he said "we can't stop, won't stop".

Either way, Chopper was my favorite member of the group so it's good to see him still grinding.

Chopper Young City Photos Here...