Wednesday, 29 June 2011 19:23
Naledge
All I have to say is last night, a bottle saved my life. I have been unable to sleep for quite a few weeks and yesterday I decided to use the wee hours of my zombie like existence to try out a promotional bottle of the new Jack Daniels Honey Liquor that I received awhile back. While I am usually not a huge fan of specialty flavored liqueur, Jack Daniels has hit a home run with this. I poured some of this stuff on ice and mixed it with some green tea. Not only did I end up getting a good sleep sans a hangover, I also feel like I might've cleared my sinuses...lol. "It manages to be sweet without stickiness, and it balances that sweetness with a lovely amount of cinnamon and spice. We were very surprised when we find out that this liqueur is 70 proof, as there is almost no alcohol burn whatsoever in the spirit. The Jack Daniel’s folks recommend drinking Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey chilled, which only serves to make it even easier to drink – it’s the kind of thing that leads to drinking half a bottle in a sitting. Jack Daniel’s has simply hit a home run with this liqueur and we’re sure it will win a lot of people who are drinking or shooting other liqueurs. We also anticipate it being a bridge to whiskey for those who’ve never explored the category."
Wednesday, 06 April 2011 21:39
Naledge
Move over Grey Goose. Pardon me Ciroc. But the french vodka competition just got a bit stiffer. Fans of the brands previously mentioned may not realize that their is a cheaper and still satisfying alternative coming out of France, but such is the case with a hot new brand that surfaced in 2009 by a company that has been very successful in the vodka market. I’m talking about White Rock Distillers fast rising product, Pinnacle Vodka. If the name draws a blank, just think of Three Olives Vodka. White Rock Distillers were the “mad scientists” behind Three Olives, and more importantly their innovative collection of flavors starting with Cherry and Grape that put the brand on the map. After selling Three Olives to Proximo Inc in 2007, they launched the hot new french vodka, Pinnacle, and with it an ever growing innovative list of flavors. Their current portfolio includes wild flavors such as: Root Beer, Butterscotch, Fruit Punch and Cherry Lemonade. Their latest in release are “Cotton Candy” and “Whipped”, both of which I had the opportunity to sample this past weekend at a local tasting. The distillers in this case obviously realized that in today’s drinking society, the ability create new and exciting cocktails that “wow” your mouth is what drives the business. With a line of flavors like no other, they have insured that they will be in heavy consideration by bartenders around the world. Below are my reviews of each of their latest additions as well as a few cocktail ideas for you to try.Pinnacle Cotton Candy: First thing you notice is the distillers ability to recreate the exact aroma of cotton candy. The base vodka has a very smooth finish with a clean smell probably aiding to the ability to capture the cotton candy aroma so easily. Those with a distaste for sweet in their beverages need not continue, but if you’ve got a sweet tooth like myself, this ones for you. The initial taste is very smooth and very sweet, leaving very little after taste and absolutely no burn. After initial sampling, I tried mixing with with a few different products but noticed it’s best mix for the moment is the basics, club soda, or a lemon lime based beverage.
Thursday, 24 February 2011 20:47
Contraband King
Last Tuesday myself and Naledge embarked on a trip to LA from Chicago for a week of recording and promo work for adidas and Red Bull with the rest of the Kidz in the Hall team meeting us in LA from New York. Upon arriving in LA myself and Naledge met up with Double 0 and Andrew aka Good Will Hunter to pick up our ride for the week and then headed straight to Red Bull studios to begin work on the new Kidz EP. When I say "Do Work" I mean the Kidz did work, putting in a long day in the studio from aroud 2 until 10 PM the day of arrival. For the next 3 days Naledge and Double 0 recorded, wrote and composed new songs in 8 hour lockout sessions each day. Here's a quick look at what the Red Bull studio looks like and what we had to work with in the 4 days at Red Bull Headquarters in Santa Monica. 
The Boards in the studio are CRAZY! 
The Booth 
The Fridge Now back to the recap... After the first long day at the studio we arrived at the crib we were staying at and only one word can truly describe it... SWAG! We were staying at a 4 bedroom crib in the Hollywood Hills with a TRILL view of LA and jacuzzi on the back porch. Take a peek... 
It looked even greater at night when the city was lit up. The house was awesome, it was a shame that we had to spend most of our time in the studio, but that's what happens when you make business trips like this. You just have to enjoy the downtime that you have from all the hard work being put in. Wednesday we had to make a stop over at the adidas showroom to pick up some goods for the Kidz and Crew seeing as though they were participating in the adihoop and Snoop Dogg 3 on 3 tournament over All-Star weekend. The adidas showroom was very dope as we got to look at a whole bunch of products from adidas both old and new as well as a few previews of things to come from the brand. I was wandering around the showroom when I stumbled upon some interesting designs from adidas' most eccentric designer Jeremy Scott. 
Jeremy Scott French Fry track jacket's and shorts 
Jeremy Scott winged vest which appeared to have possibly been glow in the dark 
Myself taking a MySpace mirror picture in a clear Jeremy Scott rain trench. Despite my fascination with the Jeremy Scott gear we were at the showroom for a reason, to get laced with hella gear, here's the end result. 
I myself got laced with the new adidas Crazy 8s, a pair of the adiRose basketball shoes, classic Rod Lavers and Stan Smiths, The Atmos Exclusive Roundhouse & more (which I had to leave behind in LA due to not having space to bring them back to Chicago). Naledge and Double 0 also pulled in considerably nice sized hauls featuring some of the new Ransoms as well as Double 0 receiving a pair of the adidas x Burton snow boot. All in all the trip to adidas was a good one but as soon as we left the showroom it was back to the studio. While in the studio we had a stream of visitors in and out throughout the week. Amongst these guests appearances in the studio there were pop-ins by DJ Wreckinize, Ben Baller, and Playboy model Brittany Ireland as well as a few personal friends of the Kidz.  Ben Baller 
Double 0 taking Model flicks with Playboy's own Brittany Ireland 
One half of the Danagers, Dan Glogower, Andrew and Mir chillin at the Red Bull Studio. By the end of the week in the studio the adias basketball tournament started to loom over the heads of both Naledge and Double 0 seeing as though neither had much time to practice and their team wasn't completely set. Being that one half of their management team, Dan Solomito, is 6'7" and played college ball it seemed that going into the week he would be a surefire teammate for the 3 on 3. Previous commitment to Donnis' video shoot in Hawaii left the the team lacking a real scoring threat, so the search was on for someone who could add production to the mix as well as represent the Kidz properly. Luckily the other Dan had a trick up his sleeve and called Jack Davey who he had stated had been gushing over how good her younger brother was at basketball. Enter Parker Cartwright, a 5'7" 130 pound 14 year old who looks no older than his age but has game beyond his years. Parker and the Kidz friend Mexi joined the squad to fill out the roster. The tournament itself was full of stars and LA local celebs. The Kidz, UNI and Snoop all had teams in the tournament as well as local spots such as Proper, The Hundreds and UNDFTD. The Kidz played a tough two games and despite the insane play Parker and illegal substitution of YO from UNI they still came up short in the opening round. Snoop's team (equipped with The Game, YG and surprise guest Chris Brown) took the crown but not until after Kidz in the Hall gave a great performance previous to the Championship rounds. 
Parker Cartwright. 
Performing at the adihoop 3 on 3. Saturday was the most organized and planned out day as the Kidz went straight from the 3 on 3 to soundcheck at the Standard for the adidas & Snoop sneaker release party. The party was crazy with performances by the Kidz as well as Far East Movement, Suga Free, Chris Brown and Busta Rhymes. Celebrities and Athletes were all in the party which was quite fun due to a plethora of drinks and food. We dipped from the party before it ended but it was still quite a good time. 
Drinks and lobster eggrolls courtesy of adidas. Sunday morning we decided to invite a few friends over for a party which would cap off the week in LA for the crew. After sending out around 50 invitations we ended up with one hell of a party on our hands as well over 100+ people showed up at the crib to party and watch the All-Star game. The party went on from 3 until 12 as people flowed into the house all the way up until it was time for people to make their next move to the club for the night. We hope that everyone who did come to the party enjoyed themselves, it sure seemed like it while y'all were there! Monday was a R&R day before the return flights home and it was very necessary. Overall the trip was quite a success and it appeared as if everyone really enjoyed it despite the fact that most of it was work. The end result of this trip should be quite fruitful seeing as though it was packed with recording and performances. Thanks once again to Red Bull and adidas for making such a great trip happen, we hope to keep working with y'all to spread the Kidz in the Hall music and Brainiac Society movement to the masses!
Thursday, 03 February 2011 01:34
Showrocka
Show: That ni**a looks crazy. He's wearing anything.
Lefleur: Don't you have those pants?
Show: Shut up.
Lefleur: This dude is like Martin Luther King. I mean, Martin Changed the Country...but He changed the world.
Show: How you gonna say that...that's just rude. Michael Jackson has nothing to do with Martin Luther King.
Lefleur: Rude? Yall injected a line about interracial porn into the "I have a dream" speech!!!!
That's how conversations usually go with me and Lefleur. Me spittin intelligent discourse and him hating, or vice versa. The following banter about big booty bi**hes, however, is something we can both agree on.
I'll offer my take on the quintessential big booty in 22 words. Quote me on this.
"Minority girls had it right. White girls had it wrong. Now, minority girls have it wrong and White girls have it right. " --Show
I watch a lot of Martin episodes on DVR. Check out Gina and pam. Actually, you can even check them out in the houseparty movie when they were dancing. Upon checking it out, one thing becomes evident...
Slim in the waist, cute in the face...and a nice, rotund budadonkadonk.
Perhaps it was that black and ricans were having less babies back then and didnt inherit the zebra striped stretchmarked stomachs. Perhaps there were less readily available Mcdonalds dollar menus. Whatever the cause, that was the ideal curvaceous shape.
White women, in the 1990's were either adhering to the Model thin, Kate moss ideal, or were pretty much just trailer park fatties dating black guys a.) because they had money or b.) because the black guy was a user or loser with no job.
Then a transition occurred...the 1990's turned into the 2000's and the janet Jacksons and Rosie Perez's slowly morphed into J-Lo's and Toccara's.
This was not a bad thing, in fact...it was a glorious thing...
 ...until it got outa control.
Booties got bigger and with it the accompanying thighs.
Now I don't mean the thick stallion equestrian horse riding thighs, I mean the Je-LL-O, cottage cheese kind. Regular girls couldn't understand that we men idealized the near perfect shape AND booty of the Lopez's of the world, not just the T & A. We men, however, did little to dispel the myth as we knew there weren't any J-Lo's in real life, and hey....you're having sex with her vagina butt and thighs, not her gut. We smashed big bootied girls indiscriminately as they got bigger, and bigger...using the term "thick" to describe a combination of big bootied/ big bootied and fat/ or just plain ol' fat women.
Enter Ludacris (fuck him, by the way) and the game changing line "The new phenomenon, like white women with ass"
"Whaaaaaat!?" says the white girl listening. "People are taking notice of this butt which the white guys I'm dating think is gross?" "Cute, famous and muscular black guys like this? Not just broke thugs and deadbeats?"
And here come the kardasians, picking up where J-Lo and Takara left off....before booty jumped the shark.
Don't get mad at me for saying it. It's the truth. White girls got yall fu*ked up right now in the booty-body ratio department. It's like yall all lost your motivation to go to the gym once Aaliyah died...and going to Planet fitness on Pizza night or Bagel day doesn't count. Lucky for you minority women, there's another Kardasian (Khloe), and some fake Itallian named snookie simultaneously pushing the thick-fat booty line, which may cause "white booty" to jump the shark just as its minority predecessor had.
And there, in the thick of it all, to reclaim the "slim in the waist, this is what booty should be" throne for all black & minority women around the globe...AMBER FUCKIN ROSE. Thank her later.
Dead.
-Show
Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:49
Contraband King
People who know me know that I grew up in a pretty affluent north Chicago suburb named Highland Park, what a lot of people may not know is that Highland Park and the rest of the North Shore were prominently featured in many of the classic 80's teen movies we all know and love. From Weird Science to 16 Candles to Ferris Bueller's Day off John Hughes (a North Shore native) prominently featured the north suburban area in his films. Although he never really mentioned the names of the towns much of the outside filming in his movies was done in Highland Park (Weird Science, Ferris Bueller), Northbrook (The High School in Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller, etc.) and Wilmette (Home Alone). I even have a friend/old co-worker who had a small speaking role in Uncle Buck as the kid in the principal's office when John Candy shows up at his nephew's elementary school. Actually my Cousin's yard of their old house on the corner of St. Johns and Lincoln Ave. W in Highland Park housed trailers during the filming and was visible in Weird Science as Gary and Wyatt are being chased by the cops and go flying over a set of train tracks past their house. Many would argue what movie in the almost endless series of John Hughes movies was considered to be the best but I find that most people tend to lean on Ferris Bueller's Day Off because of the sheer fantasy of living a day like the one Ferris and Cameron did. One of the main elements of said fantasy would have to be "stealing" Cameron's fathers Ferrari and cruising the burbs all the way to Chicago while ditching school. What many people may not know about the movie is that Cameron's house and the famed Glass Case garage actually exist in my home town of Highland Park about a half a mile from my family's house. Well, that house and it's garage which is built into a Ravine is now on the market. The two buldings (House and Garage) are made of Steel and Glass and are now for sale for $2,300,000 which is actually a HUGE steal in Highland Park, a town littered with amazing architecture (Frank Lloyd Wright houses) and Sprawling mansions on the lake. Check it out for yourself on Realtor.com
Friday, 14 January 2011 22:26
Naledge
Check Out this interview I did. 
It’s our second favorite time of year over here at AlreadyTV, time for the NFL playoffs so throughout the next few weeks we’ll be bringing you a new features pertaining to such. To start it off, we get with Naledge of Kidz in the Hall & Brainiac Society, an ill emcee by trade and a Chicago native by nature, to chop it up about one his favorite subjects, the Chicago Bears. So check below for a quick Q & A session on everything from who he’s checking for to take their game to the next level in this weekend’s divisional match-up against the Seahawks, to the Bears chances at another Super Bowl appearance. AlreadyTV: This is the Bears first playoff appearance in 4 seasons, what’s the scene in the city like right now? Naledge: Um, people forget that it wasn’t that long ago that the Bears went to the Super Bowl with Rex Grossman. That was the last time. That team seemed dominant defensively and on special teams. The assumption is Jay Cutler is the deciding factor of whether we will do good because he and the O-line have been erratic. Cutler is being scrutinized daily for being seemingly aloof but we love the Bears here. Them and the Hawks (who just won the Stanley Cup) get the most love as teams go here. Having a black coach makes the southside love the Bears in the hood. The other teams just have certain players we all love. AlreadyTV: How do you and your crew usually post up for a big game(sports bar, friends house, tailgate)? Naledge: I usually watch the game at my crib if I don’t have tickets. I have a lot of friends on the team. I’m superstitious about bars so I only go to bars after they win. Bull and Bear, ESPNzone and Market are good spots. AlreadyTV: What intrigues you most about the match up with Seattle and which player from the Bears are you expecting to show out? Naledge: We’ve gotten a great amount of luck this season by facing three 3rd string quarterbacks and getting away with stealing a win from the Lions. That luck gave us a bye and put us against the worst team in the playoffs at home, it’s made us believe we’ve got a shot if Cutler doesn’t throw too many INTs. I think Lance Briggs and Matt Forte are both due for big games. Hester can be a X factor as always… AlreadyTV: Is this the year for a Bears Super Bowl? and Why? Naledge: As I said, we have a legit shot at it…I think we’ll be best playing at Home. AlreadyTV: If the Bears get to the Super Bowl, will we see a Naledge/Kidz in the Hall/Brainiac Society remake of the “Super Bowl” shuffle, and who would produce it? Naledge: You can google it but Rhymefest, Glc and I made a song for the last Bears Super Bowl and they lost. I’ll wait until they win to decide to do another… AlreadyTV: Speaking of music, what projects can we look forward to from you in the near future? Naledge: Just check brainiacsociety.com. A lot of big things are ahead from Kidz in the Hall. New album this summer… Tweet me @naledgekidz! Paz. story by http://www.alreadytv.com
Wednesday, 12 January 2011 00:03
Naledge
Now that the 33 trapped Chilean miners are home safe, we suppose it's time someone released a product referencing them. Actually someone probably has, and this one isn't cashing in as much as being clever, because this seems pretty tasteful. Finally - if you're just dying to find out how Florencio Alvaros tastes, now's your chance. "Each bottle is named after one of the rescued miners and numbered in order of their resurfacing. Each bottle comes in a tube representing the Fénix 2 rescue capsule, and is buried beneath a layer of rocks. As recipients dig out their wine, they reveal a replica of the message sent up to rescuers which exclaimed "Estamos bien en el refugio los 33", meaning "We are okay in the refuge, the 33 of us"." ChileanWiners [via Creative Review and @liquorsnob]
Tuesday, 11 January 2011 17:58
Naledge
 This new years eve, I wore some black low top sneakers that seemed to be all the rave. Everyone kept asking me if they were Diesel, Polo or some limited edition Vans...everyone was shocked to find out that they were adidas. The Ransom collection has quickly become my favorite lifestyle collaboration Adidas has done aside from the Jeremy Scotts. They fit my Brainiac style, have the comfort of a sneaker and are "bouncer-proof" for those that hate dress codes...partake. For more info on the Ransom for adidas Originals 2011 sneakers click here.
Saturday, 01 January 2011 20:06
Naledge
Naledge's New Years blog.
Thursday, 23 December 2010 17:40
Naledge
Well...its Christmas in Chicago this year for the Brainiac crew and I must say it's a more than fitting way to end the year. Holiday season is naturally a time for reflection and family and I've been think about my future musically with Kidz in the Hall and for the entity that is Brainiac Society. I'm really disappointed that everything didn't turn out exactly the way we planned with the Land of Make Believe album because I felt like with a proper roll out for a second single we could have gave the album a bit more buzz life and caused more chatter amongst the Grammy voters. We actually made to the final round of voting for Grammy Nominees with a song that didn't have a push at radio or any type of accompanying visual. It makes me wonder what could've been but I also a ton positives that have happened this year. As a group, we (Kidz in the Hall) have taken larger control of the business aspects of our careers. We changed our management team, we were more hands on with pursuing licensing, features and show opportunities, and we also used the internet and this site to get the music to you on our own terms. I'm proud of what I've done with Brainiac but I realize that without the music remaining pure, the brand will never be a strong vehicle for people to care about. That being said, I saw a lot of friends and associates play close when big events happen for me and somewhat back off of me when I didn't have certain luxuries in abundance. I wonder if those people were ever around for the right reason in the first place because they always reach back out once any big announcement is made about my career. I don't know...I think that's the nature of life just as much as it is the music industry. People are like seasons sometimes, you just have to weather the storms. That said, you can expect a lot more new music from Kidz in the Hall and few big changes in the way Brainiac will operate as a official company (not just a crew) in 2011..I hope y'all are ready. Should be a fun ride..Well, I'm about to handle some more christmas shopping and download this new Nipsey Hussle... Happy Holidays to all! Paz. photo via darkroomdemons.com
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