So I was able to go to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah for the first time this year! It was an awesome experience. My crew rented a house that slept 8 people. It was so cozy and cute. We saw a few films and went to a few parties to network. I ran into some friends I hadn't seen in a while that are still doing their thing in the business. It was an amazing time! Here are a few photos from the festival and a video of me getting some private ski lessons at one of the best ski resorts in the world, Deer Valley Ski Resort. Overall it was one of the best times I have ever had in my life :)
Me with a Sundance regular!
At the Swagg gifting suite :)
New Oscar Nominee -- Nick Quested
Hair stylist to the stars and dear friend of mine! Larry Sims!
Jaqueline Fleming had a film screening there! Go girl!
I recently joined this amazing spiritual congregation called Agape. I usually go on Wednesday nights. I couldn't make it last night but then I realized they record it. I was so touched by this service I had to share. Michael Bernard Beckwith is the TRUTH! Enjoy. For more information click here
UPDATE: This is not the same service. It updates itself as they have new services. Enjoy :)
Finally a REAL song from R Kelly! I was pissed about that auto-tune joint he did a while back. lol I was just hanging out with some music lover friends a few nights ago, listening to some oldies but goodies and we all were craving REAL SONGS and REAL MUSIC. If anybody can deliver, R Kelly can. 10 thumbs up! :)
What can I say.... It was everything! For a whole week it was fun, exciting, relaxing, sexy, steaming hot with a hint of danger and very spiritual. I'll begin with the hotel...
We stayed in a HUGE suite at the Fasano :) It's a fairly new luxury hotel (maybe 2 years old) with every amenity imaginable. Beyonce and Alicia Keys had just left a couple days before we got there. They were there shooting a video together. Madonna, Lourdes, and Jesus (her boy toy lol) were staying there while we were there. Somehow people found out that Madonna was in the building and all hell broke loose. It was like TRL outside of the hotel with screaming fans right outside my damn balcony for 2 days! It was madness and Madonna had a huge bodyguard entourage every where she went. I just got a glimpse of her but I have met her once before already in LA so it wasn't a big deal to me. Well.. maybe just a little lol! But yes, the hotel was amazing, especially the infinity rooftop pool. We chilled up there a lot getting a head start on my tan for 2010. Nicole Scherzinger (pussy cat dolls) frequented the pool often as well. It felt so good to get some R&R far far away.
The Rio Carnival was way more than I anticipated. It was breath-taking! The day we arrived I was thinking people would be all over the streets dancing but I now know, that is the Trinidad Carnival. This carnival is held annually at the Sambodromo specifically built for this occasion. The parade goes on for HOURS each day. At least 9 hours. Unbelievable, right? It's different parades per school and each float tells a story. We were standing there and the parade ended after about an hour and a half. I was like wow, that was beautiful! I'm thinking it was over but no one was leaving. About a half hour later, a complete new parade with a total new theme started! So you'd better had a comfortable seat or some comfortable shoes because you could easily be there all day. One float with more wow factor than the last. It keep going and going like the energizer bunny lol. Needless to say we were wore out because we did two days for about 4-5 hours. But it was well worth it... to see all the work they put into this amazing affair. My favorite parade was the King and Queen, Royalty type theme, especially Cleopatra and her servants!!! I took so many pics I don't even know where to begin to add them...
It's like the whole city gets involved. If you are from Rio, 9 times out of 10 you have participated in the Carnival because it is such a prideful event with lots of heart! I felt so blessed to witness the BIGGEST Carnival in the world.
It also has it's religious connection... 40 days before Easter. It officially starts on Saturday and finishes on Fat Tuesday with the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday after which one is supposed to abstain from all bodily pleasures. Carnival with all its excesses, celebrated as a profane event, can be considered an act of farewell to the pleasures of the flesh. I'm not Catholic though so I won't be giving up anything :)
So after experiencing the spirit and soul of the city, we did some more relaxing by the pool, then spa pampering, then shopping, then sight-seeing. I'm realizing right now that we never made it to the beach. It was just steps away but the pool was too nice and it had waiters lol! Next time!
Our last day there, we were so in the moment. The beauty of God was everywhere! In the birds, the people, the sea, in us. We were high on life and thanking GOD for all his blessings!! The next step was to go see why they call this city, The City Of God.
My favorite part of the trip was seeing the "Christ The Redeemer" statue. It was so high in the sky! Think Empire State building high, but wayyyyyy higher! We took a trolley type train that was hanging from wires up the mountain. It was a lot of Asian tourists on there. Our ears were popping and it literally looked like we were on an airplane by the view with the clouds eye level to us. Up and up we go til we finally reached the top. My friend Ann couldn't breathe well because of the thinness of the air. It was so hot that morning, like 90 degrees at 10am. Plus we had not been to sleep the night before because we wanted to sleep on the airplane back home. (15 hour flight) It had been a very spiritual morning because we watched the sunrise and was leaving that night so we took it all in.
Christ The Redeemer is a MUST SEE. No pictures will ever do it any justice. It is by far one of those things that should be on your bucket list. It was built in the 1920's but I still can't figure out how they got it up there Or how they worked so high in the sky, especially back then. It took 9 years to build and it only cost them $250,000. Amazing! I wonder how much something like that would cost today... If you want to learn more about it click here.
We were deliriously happy and giggly. It was the best time I had had in a long while. With the everyday hustle of life you forget sometimes what's important. Paying attention to GOD's signs and living in the moment is the beginning of a spiritual rewarding life. All work and no play makes anyone dull. Take time to actually hear the waves crash and the birds sing! I was well overdue and it was just what the doctor ordered. I feel so refreshed and new. I feel like I am back on my spiritual path :) I can go on and on about this trip but that would be a book in itself. Bottom line it was AMAZING.
Here's a video of me doing the "Samba" on the trolley type train that was hanging on wires in the air on our way to see Christ The Redeemer at 9 AM... With the Samba, from which I learned from a Brazilian at Carnival, it really is about the fancy footwork but you can't see it in this video unfortunately. I heard drums and had to dance! I have other vids I recorded of the parade and other things but for some reason it won't let me download. I'll take it as a "sign" that it's not really significant at this point. Enjoy...
Just in time for Christmas! Nice to see my homeboy Steph Jones still at it! He is very talented. Evidently it runs in the family because Deray Davis is his brother. Love them both! Keep it up Steph! The video is HOT.
I like pretty much everything R. Kelly does but I will say this... the auto-tune coulda been left out. Sounds like something I've heard before. Still tight nonetheless. I just ran into him the other day at the park while I was in Chi. Actually it was Olympia Fields (suburbs). He was working out doing sprints. Cool dude as always...
This probably was one of the most creative video sets I worked on. Joseph Kahn (director) did his thing and Scott Lazarus(casting director RIP)was in rare form...
I remember exactly where I was. Chicago. I was in a car with friends. I cried like a relative or close friend died. We had to pull over. We went out and got faded and poured out liquor for him. I still can feel the emptiness I felt whenever I think about that night. He really touched me with his words(very deep)and his delivery. He was much more than a rapper, he was a revolutionist. He probably would have been doing something political now if he was still with us...
California Love and 2 Live And Die In LA is one of the reasons I moved to LA to follow my dreams. I wanted to experience it for myself. He made it look so good. I'm glad I did :) Calfornia Love wasn't one of his deeper songs but it captured his Gemini fun loving free spirit.
Fresh off the press.... Hot Video!!!!!!! Mirrah and Zig have been good friends of mine for years now. They are the coolest and realest entertainment couple hands down. I met them together years ago on a "Master P" video shoot. Since then we have seen each others career take huge growth spurts. You might remember Mirrah from T-boz and Chilli's reality show "R U That Girl". Using what they learned and developed in Hollywood, they moved to Australia (where Mirrah is from) and have not stop working since and are literally taking over. I love these two. They make me smile. Happy 10th Year Wedding Anniversary Mirrah and Zig :)
