“Back to ya crib/ to change clothes once more/’cuz you’re invited to a barbecue that’s starting at 4.” Will was right, the smell from a grill can spark up nostalgia. If you are planning on having your crew over for a cookout, good drinks are a must. When it comes to serving drinks at a house party, the essentials are all you need: some brews, some liq’, mixers like juice and soda, and red cups, right? Wrong! This 4th of July, it’s easy to step up your drink selection and impress your peeps.
Serving good cocktails at the crib isn’t just for professional bartenders. With the right tools, anybody can make amazing cocktails this summer.
See Also: Cirocktails! Inspired by Diddy, AllHipHop Gets in the Holiday “Spirit.”
AllHipHop.com linked up, again, with our peeps at Ciroc and celebrated Atlanta Mixologist, Brian Boykin of the Drinkshop at the W Hotel-Downtown who mixed up Ciroc’s cool summer recipes for us to sample, and he gave us tips on how to sling drinks in the backyard like a pro.
As always, AllHipHop.com urges you to drink responsibly.
Five Tips on Making Great Summer Cocktails:
1) Fresh Ingredients: If a recipe calls for lime juice, use real limes. Not that plastic, green thing. Fresh ingredients add better flavor and contribute to the “balance” of a cocktail.
2) Stick to the recipe: Ciroc’s cocktails are created and tested by their resident mixologists. Changing drink recipes can throw off the ever-important balance. Make the drink according to the recipe, then modify it to your own taste, carefully.
3) Prep & Presentation: Instead of your same old red cups, try Chinet’s cut crystal cups, they’re designed to look like glass drink tumblers, but are made of strong plastic, you can serve your drinks with class, plus they only cost about $3. Also, prep all of your ingredients first, it makes serving the drinks easier.
4) Use “good” ice: That’s right, not all ice is made the same. Skip the gas station bag of ice, which is smaller and melts quickly watering down your drinks. Instead use larger ice cubes, they melt slower. Investing in large ice cube trays will run you about $8.
5) Have the right tools: You need a Boston Shaker Set. The set should include a stainless steel shaker, a strainer, a muddler (a wooden tool that mashes solid ingredients), and a jigger (which measures the ounces). A good shaker set will run you about $40, but you can use it for years and it makes you look cool.
All of Ciroc’s summer cocktails are a twist on “The Diddy,” which is the mogul’s own recipe.
CÎROC AGAVE LEMONADE
Ciroc Peach is the company’s most popular flavor, this tasty drink was a treat because Georgia is The Peach State, and we used local peaches. Elderflower liqueur is the latest drink craze, Brian Boykin calls it the “ketchup,” of liqueur’s because you can put it in any drink and make it taste better. We also skipped the garnish.
1.5 oz – CÎROC PEACH
.25 oz – Elderflower liqueur
.75 oz – Lemon Juice
.5 oz – Agave
2- Slices of Peach
Muddle peaches. Add remaining ingredients to shaker and shake with ice. Double strain in to a chilled double old fashion glass with ice. Garnish with a dried peach
CÎROC SUMMERTIME LEMONADE
This was our favorite. We made it at home and it was easy and great. It has a fresh, summery taste that instantly made us wanna sit by the pool and get a pedicure like Fabolous did on Instagram.
1.5 oz – CÎROC Vodka
.75 oz – Lemon Juice
.75 oz – Agave Nectar
4 Chunks – Watermelon
5 pieces – Parsley
Top – Sparkling pink lemonade
Muddle watermelon and parsley in shaker. Add the remaining ingredients and shake with Ice. Double strain in to a Collins glass and top with sparkling pink lemonade. Garnish with a slice of watermelon and sugar rim
CÎROC POMEGRANATE LEMONADE
This one was just “ok,” because pomegranate juice has a really strong flavor, that you either like or you don’t. But, you can give it a try.
1.5 oz – CÎROC RED BERRY
1 oz – Lemonade
.5 oz – Pomegranate Juice
.5 oz – Limoncello
.5 oz – Simple Syrup
Combine all ingredients in shaker. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled coup class. Garnish with a lemon twist.
CÎROC COCONUT LIMEADE
This was another one of our favorites, and it was really easy to make. The combination of limes and the peppery smell and taste of basil was perfection. We tried this one at home, and modified it with .75 oz of grenadine to make it cherry limeade, and it was awesome.
1.5 oz – CÎROC COCONUT
1/2 – of one lime
.75 oz – Simple Syrup
6 – basil leaf
Cut lime and place half into shaker. Add basil, then muddle. Add the remaining ingredients and shake over ice. Double strain into a chilled old fashion glass. Garnish with a sprig of basil.
Share your twists on summer cocktail recipes made with Ciroc on their Twitter and Instagram @Ciroc
(AllHipHop News) The Trayvon Martin murder case has been anything but an open and shut case but might have just received its most definitive evidence yet. According to Florida Department of Law Enforcement DNA expert Anthony Gorgone, Trayvon’s DNA was not found on the grip of the murder weapon nor was George Zimmerman’s DNA found under Martin’s fingernails.
As an attempt to counter, the defense attorney Don West questioned Gorgone on the packaging of the DNA samples, implying that improper packaging could lead to inaccurate results. Gorgone asserted that the evidence was packaged in plastic while wet and retained all necessary qualities.
In addition to this damning evidence, Florida Department of Law Enforcement analyst Amy Siewert testified that due to residual material and tearing on Martin’s clothes, it revealed that the gun was pressed against Trayvon when fired.
(AllHipHop News) According to Los Angeles attorney Mike Feuer, 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) is being charged with domestic violence and four counts of vandalism for attacking his ex-girlfriend and trashing her Los Angeles condo.
The incident occurred in the affluent Toca Lake, CA and resulted after an argument according to the unnamed woman’s account. Allegedly, after the argument, Jackson began to cause an estimated $7,100 in damages to her home which included broken chandeliers, televisions, furniture and more.
The alleged assault occurred after the woman locked herself in the bathroom and was kicked and injured by Jackson after he kicked the door down.
An interesting revelation is that the police report that the woman and Jackson had been in a relationship for the past three years and had a child with the G-Unit rapper.
No word from 50 Cent or his camp as of yet.
So we were all set to review the Jay-Z album upon receipt of the album, Magna Carta Holy Grail. But, after listening, we’ve opted to give it a few spins and then write a critical analysis of Jigga Man’s newest work. But, in the meantime, our homie A.P.T. has put together a pretty good initial review of the album, which we’ll consider a pre-review. He’ll encapsulates our views almost down to the tea (watch it until the end of the video). But, we’ll have our formal review shortly. Enjoy and offer your views.
(AllHipHop News) “I’m blacker than midnight on Broadway and Myrtle”-Mos Def
On July 12th, the biggest Hip Hop festival in Brooklyn returns for the 9th annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival. As a venue for authentic Hip Hop, Brooklyn Bodega decided to partner with Jay Shells, the creator of the innovative Rap Quotes project.
Jay’s ingenious Rap Quotes project involved red-and-white street signs being posted in certain areas of New York City that have been spoken of in rap lyrics.
Brooklyn Bodega President Wes Jackson partnered with Shells to bring his grassroots promotion and Hip Hop savvy to Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival:
Wes and I share a love and admiration for this culture and give back to it in our own ways. When he reached out to work together on the festival I didn’t have to think twice. Put two creative minds together who are this enthusiastic about hip hop and great things happen. Be on the lookout for more collaborations with Brooklyn Bodega in the future, we have some things cooking.
Tickets for the Brooklyn Hip Hop festival events can be purchased at http://www.bkhiphopfestival.com/bhf-tickets/.
Check out a few images of the collaborative promotion below:
The Legends of the Summer tour headliners reunite over one of the standouts on Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail.
Produced by Timbaland, the track finds Jay-Z and Justin battling with the back and forth of emotions that comes with fame and maintaining one identity over a signature Timbo bounce.
Magna Carta Holy Grail is available now to all Samsung Galaxy owners and will hit all outlets on July 7th. The Legends of the Summer tour begins in July 17th at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada.
Check out the “Holy Grail” collaboration of Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z below:
(AllHipHop News) The A3C Hip-Hop Festival has once again partnered with iHipHop Distribution to release the third installment of A3C’s compilation albums. A3C Volume 3 will feature over 50 performers, and this year’s version will also be open to international artists to submit their work for consideration.
Last year’s A3C Volume 2 featured tracks by Reek Da Villian, Smoke DZA, Slum Village, and Trinidad James to name a few. Rising stars like Rockie Fresh, Chase N. Cash, Action Bronson, Nitty Scott as well as Hip Hop veterans like 9th Wonder, Freeway, and Dead Prez appeared on Volume 1 in 2011.
Having the chance to see their work alongside some of Hip Hop’s leading voices could be a breakthrough opportunity for an aspiring artist. Selected rappers will also get to perform at the 9th annual A3C Hip-Hop Festival in Atlanta, Georgia in October.
The five-day festival provides music performances, film screenings, art exhibits, fashion pop-up shops, and educational panels. Featured artists at this year’s event include Ghostface Killah, Too Short, 9th Wonder, Pharoahe Monch, and Jean Grae.
For more information about A3C Hip-Hop Festival visit a3cfestival.com and to submit music for A3C Volume 3 visit a3cmusic.com.
A3C Volume 3 is scheduled to be released on October 1.
[ALSO READ: Public Enemy Gives Away New Single For Free; Announces Remix Contest Through BitTorrent]
Watch a video recap of the 2012 A3C Hip-Hop Festival below.
(AllHipHop News) How can school systems teach the complexities of science to teenagers who would rather be jacked into their MP3 players than listen to a lesson about chemistry? One New York City based youth program may have found a way by combining Hip Hop and science together.
Columbia University assistant professor of science education Chris Emdin, Wutang Clan member GZA, and the website Rap Genius teamed up to create Science Genius. The experimental pilot program serviced 300 students from 9 New York City public high schools this past semester by using Hip Hop to teach science.
[ALSO READ: New York City Schools Hire The GZA of The Wu-Tang Clan to Teach Science]
The program is a part of Emdin’s “reality pedagogy” method of reaching out to urban students through a culture they understand – Hip Hop. According to Emdin, the Hip Hop cypher is an ideal structure to develop educational success.
“A Hip Hop cypher is the perfect pedagogical moment, where someone’s at the helm of a conversation, and then one person stops and another picks up,” Emdin told the New York Times last November. “When somebody has a great line, the whole audience makes a ‘whoo,’ which is positive reinforcement… All of those things that are happening in the Hip Hop cypher are what should happen in an ideal classroom.”
Recently, Science Genius enhanced the concept of the friendly rap battle from use in the classroom to a city-wide competition. On June 21st, the top students from the participating schools gathered at Teachers College at Columbia University for the Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S. (Bringing Attention to Transforming Teaching, Learning and Engagement in Science).
With rhymes about everything from Charles Darwin to kinetic energy the high schoolers showed their skills on the mic and their knowledge of science.
Jabari Johnson from Harlem’s Urban Assembly for the Performing Arts High School took home the top prize. The senior’s rap about energy won him a full day at the Museum of Natural History and time at a recording studio with battle judge GZA.
The Science Genius program appears to have been a success. Emdin claims that the students that used Hip Hop in the classroom outperformed the ones who did not, and the students themselves seem to be fans of the program.
“We all hated our science class before,” said Victoria Richardson, one of the participants. “Now I can’t wait till Friday to go to science class.”
Watch Jabari Johnson’s winning performance from the Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S. and footage of the full competition below.
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via: Wired
(AllHipHop News) J. Cole’s latest album Born Sinner opened in the number two spot the week it debuted falling closely behind Kanye West’s Yeezus, but according to Billboard, Cole may be moving up to number one on next week’s chart.
[ALSO READ: Kanye West, J. Cole, & Mac Miller Take Top 3 Spots On Album Chart]
The music magazine is reporting that Born Sinner is on pace to sell around 60,000 copies during the week ending July 7th. As of now, that looks to be enough for Cole to claim the number one album on the Billboard 200 chart after spending the last two weeks in the runner-up spot.
This would be J. Cole’s second number one album. His first studio LP Cole World: The Sideline Story opened at number one with 218,000 copies sold first week. Born Sinner‘s first week numbers were an increase over CWSS. The North Carolina native’s sophomore album pushed 297,000 units its opening week. Born Sinner went on to sell another 84,000 copies in week two bringing it’s total to 381,000 thus far.
[ALSO CHECK OUT: Red Carpet Recap: BET AWARDS 2013]
Watch footage of J. Cole’s Dollar & A Dream Tour from Detroit and Toronto below.
(AllHipHop News) Welcome to a world where Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail exists and Timbaland openly talks about it.
Timbaland spoke candidly with Diddy’s RevoltTV about working on Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail album, his desire to do an album with Kanye and even spoke on Yeezus’ disparaging remarks about Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z’s “Suit & Tie”:
“When he made that little comment about ‘Suit & Tie’. I didnt get offended. I still love my man. That’s my man. He’s going through something. People always want to attack before they find out what’s wrong with the person.”
One of the most startling revelations is that a personal riff between Jay-Z and Timbaland existed and hindered their musical production.
“It was over petty stuff. It was more personal stuff and disagreements. It was not industry-related. It was personal and I was wrong.”
Check out the full interview below where he touches on his potential Grammy speech, his thoughts on Yeezus and more:
(AllHipHop News) Superproducer Timbaland sat down with Diddy’s new media company Revolt to discuss working on Jay-Z’s new album Magna Carta Holy Grail, repairing his relationship with Jay (which he admits was strained for a while), the #newrules marketing campaign, Kanye West’s “diss” of “Suit & Tie”, Yeezus, and more.
[ALSO READ: Jay-Z Debuts Magna Carta Holy Grail Album Cover In Cathedral]
Set aside 16 minutes and watch Tim go in-depth about what he calls “the best Jay-Z album thus far.”
WHAT THE!? LOL! Jay-Z’s motto has always been “I will not lose,” but it seemed like he took a bit of an L when he was mysteriously denied a permit for the concert. The authorities or whatever decision makers that were said it was due to fear of terrorism and crap, but please. This is Jay-Z! The man that dropped Blueprint on 9/11!
Back on topic…PEEP!!!!
You know his other motto: “do what thou wilt.”
Now, as I write this, I got word that the show may be a fake. We’ll see how it develops.
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In addition to being LL Cool J’s DJ on the Kings of the Mic Tour, DJ Z-Trip is one of Hip-Hop’s most respected on the wheels of steel. He is a pioneer of mash-ups and one of the first to introduce them to the masses (shout out to DJ P as well). Z-Trip has also received rave reviews for his sets at festivals and his recent 14-month run of sold out shows on Friday nights in Las Vegas at the Rain Nightclub inside The Palms Casino Resort.
Therefore, it is no surprise that Z-Trip was voted “America’s Best DJ” in 2009 in DJ Times by beating out over 100 others in its annual readers poll. Additionally, the Phoenix, AZ, native has made several contributions to the DJ Hero video game series and produced original material for, among others, Busta Rhymes and Beck. Plus, he has remixed material from Nirvana and Bob Marley, both of which received approval from those acts’ respective estates.
Before taking the stage with the G.O.A.T. in Michigan late last month, DJ Z-Trip spoke to AllHipHop.com and shed some light on how and why he is able to do what he does.
The tour is called the Kings of the Mic. But make no mistake, DJ Z-Trip is a king on the 1s and 2s as well!
AllHipHop.com: Tell us about your working relationship with LL Cool J prior to the Kings of the Mic Tour.
DJ Z-Trip: When LL and I hooked up, we were taking meetings with this person who had a TV show idea and he wanted me and LL to be a part of that. My manager had suggested that he come out and do a guest spot on the SXSW show that I was headlining. And he [LL] went for it, and we were only supposed to do one song, “Mama Said Knock You Out.” And I was like I can’t just go up there and do that one song. My fans would be p#####. His fans would be p#####. I was like, “We have to do ‘Rock the Bells.’” But I’m a purist in the in the sense of, as a DJ working with an emcee, I always had a hard time with emcees rapping over their own vocals.
I knew one didn’t exist on record [an instrumental of “Rock the Bells”]. And every time I saw [LL] doing it, he was rocking over his own vocals. So I was like, “ Oh S**t, he doesn’t really even have a copy of the ‘Rock the Bells’ instrumental for himself.” I then remade the instrumental. I have the drum machine and all the samples they use. I didn’t tell him and we went to rehearse. And the minute he goes to his first line, he didn’t hear himself and looked back at me.
He’s like, “Where’d you get this?” I was like, “I made it.” He came up to me afterwards and was like, “I like you work ethic.” So we did the SXSW show and he was excited and was like, “We gotta do more shows.” So his juices started getting flowing again into music and he was like literally, “Yo, we should do a tour of this.” So it’s kind of cool, I felt like the SXSW and Rock the Bells [festivals] was sort of the tipping point to getting LL fired up again.
AllHipHop.com: You’re obviously in great company on this tour with legendary rappers. What do you bring to the table, as a world-class DJ, that will get concert-goers excited?
DJ Z-Trip: It’s my knowledge of all these guys and their material. I’m a fan of all these guys. But then I tour and I do my own thing and have been doing my own thing for years doing Bonaroo, Coachella, whatever, all the different festivals. And making my own records, so I have a fan base of my own and I have my own thing that I’m bringing to this.
AllHipHop.com: And much respect to you for [your 2005 solo album] Shifting Gears by the way.
DJ Z-Trip: Thank you. Thank you for knowing that. My angle is like I’m a son of all this stuff, of all this Hip-Hop. And I’m really totally the caboose on this whole thing. I’m the youngest and the one that people might not identify with. But from the DJ’s perspective, I’m bringing that to the table in such a major way. And so is Maseo, DJ Lord, Crazy Toones, Chuck Chillout- those are the other DJs on the bill. But I came from a place where I’m out there touring as a DJ, so to bring that world and connect it to LL’s world, that was something I was very conscious about and really wanted to make happen. When he and I actually met and we started talking about doing this, I made it very clear like I don’t want to DJ for you, I want to DJ with you. And there’s a very big difference.
AllHipHop.com: One of my favorite things in your Crate Diggers episode is when you talk about getting records from sections of the record store that other DJs don’t go. Could you please elaborate on how some of your unusual finds have enhanced your shows?
DJ Z-Trip: It has allowed me to have a different musical diet. I can mess around with kids records or world music or spoken word s**t or rock. Rock has always been my thing because I grew up listening to it, but it’s just still so untapped in Hip-Hop. When people think of rock records, there’s like six or seven rock records in Hip-Hop that they think of and that’s it. And there’s so many.
And also, you have to take chances. In early Hip-Hop, starting with the greats like Grandmaster Flash or Jazzy Jay or Kool Herc or [Afrika] Bambaataa, these guys were taking records that were completely obscure and weird records and fusing them into the map of what they were doing and breaking artists like Kraftwerk. That’s total electronic music, but Hip-Hop didn’t know that s**t. They just heard it, and were like, “This is kinda cool.” Same rules apply now. If you’re not going out and grabbing weird s**t to put into your mix, you’re just going to sound like everybody else because, to me, you’re only as big as your musical library.
Twitter: @ztrip, Instagram: @z_trip, Bandcamp: ztrip.bandcamp.com, Facebook: facebook.com/djztrip; SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/z-trip, Official Website: http://djztrip.com, YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/djztrip1
(AllHipHop News) In a strange twist, 50 Cent has been charged with domestic violence with a woman that has been deemed his child’s mother, when it has been widely know that he only has one kid.
This latest development emerges as a new report claims the multi-million dollar rapper allegedly kicked this woman Daphne Joy – and also trashed her California condo. 50 has publicly dated Joy and, reports say, has a 16-year-old son with her.
The rapper also stands accused of creating $7,100 in property damage in June 23 incident at the woman’s residence in Toluca Lake, CA, according to TMZ. He’a accused of breaking chandeliers, furniture, a TV and a lamp and ruining the woman’s bedroom closet.
The woman claims she had to hide in her bathroom the avoid 50 Cent. The police were subsequently called to the alleged scene of the crime.
50 Cent stands charged with one count of misdemeanor domestic violence and 4 counts of misdemeanor vandalism.
The rapper faces up to five years in jail and $46,000 in fines.
50 is due in court on July 22.
Whether or not 50 has another child remains in question. Publicly, he’s only had one son, Marquise Jackson, with Shaniqua Tompkins.
Burgeoning BX-born, Orlando transplant Ca$h Jackson connects with Q-Borough’s multi-platinum producer SPK for their free mixtape, Dat Free Cash. The seventeen track offering features guest appearances from N.O.R.E., Nutso, Smitty, Omniscient and Paulie Staxx Mixtape Download, Ca$H Jackson over SPK’s original production, as well as industry beats that feature the likes of A$ap Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, The Weeknd and Jeremih. Dat Free Cash is now available for free download
Tracklist:
Rick Rubin is the man. He’s THAT DUDE! He’s that dude so much that Kanye West utilized his talents to pull together Yeezus and it was still bad. Imagine if Rick didn’t put his magic on it! Well, Rick Rubin has been prominently pushed and active in promoting Jay-Z’s new album MCHG, but now it has been revealed that he didn;t work on it! LOL! He’s actually been speaking on the album. It seems like the dream team consists of Timbaland, Pharrell and Swizzy! Rick was just in the room. Peep the scoop from XXL Mag:
“The point of me being in the commercials was that he was filming a documentary and he asked me-I imagine he’s just comfortable talking to me-to come listen to the songs with him and just talk about the songs. Just listen to it and talk about it, and that’s what we did. It was fun.” He went on to divulge what he initially thought of Magna Carta, saying, “I liked what I heard, but it was a little difficult-after just coming from the Kanye sessions-to listen to Jay’s album, because they’re so different. I was in a very alternative and progressive headspace, and Jay’s record is a more traditional hip-hop record.”
SOURCE
This doesn’t matter much to me, but I do feel a bit hoodwinked.
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I know some people may be getting sick of Tim Dog, but HEY, I’m getting new information all the time. I’ll update ya. I’m starting to think that Tim Dog is either dead or hiding from everybody. And when I say everybody, I mean everybody. That includes his friends like Kool Keith of Ultra Magnetic. I’ve been told that investigations show that Keith and them have no idea where Tim is and if he’s alive. Also, they weren’t with him when he recorded that new song.
On to the next…FUTURE
So, it looks like Future may have a tough future if there is any truth to the rumors. Now, remember I told you there is a price for safety out there in the West Coast. Pay and you get that pass. Seems like the boy Future may need to pay his dues and fast.
“Sunday night in L.A., they almost got him at Greystone night club. The Crips ended up beating up dude’s security ‘Rasco,’ and the club helped Future to escape.
Future has to pay his hood taxes and he doesn’t want to. He can’t go to Chicago because they’re looking for him out there too.”
SOURCE
ASAP…SLAP…
A$AP Rocky has been getting some flack for apparently slapping fire out of a fan that hit him on the top of his wig piece. Nothing formal has a been announced so I think he’ll be OK, but check the vid.
This was in Sydney, Australia.
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