We've loved the McClure Twins ever since we featured them on our blog back in March as a Featured Multiracial Family! The other day I was on YouTube and stumbled across this adorable video of the girls, Ava and Alexis, discovering they look exactly the same. It is the most adorable thing ever! You can follow all of the cuteness that is the McClure Family on their YouTube Channel!
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Multiracial Mixed Man
I am currently OBSESSED with The.Wav! And honestly I have been for the last few years. Watching the evolution of these magnetic artists has been amazing. The.Wav combines different rhythms, sounds, and cultures to create their own sound, which they describe as Afro-Trap.
The group itself is comprised of 4 members, Gregory Stutzer, Kelly Be, Cardigan Deville, and Badí. Each from a different cultural background, and their backgrounds are definitely reflected in their music and even in the title of their new album, Diaspora of Sound.
This album has something for everyone! From the Caribbean pop Carnivál vibes of their hit single “Love Games” to the hypnotic lush jungle rhythms of “Claim My Love”, you’re sure to find yourself winding your waist and drifting off with the music.
The.Wav will be hosting an album release party on November 3rd at Los Globos in Los Angeles. And just in case you needed any more reasons to love them, the party will feature all female DJ's and percussionist from different cultural backgrounds! Talk about representation!
There will be a special guest list for friends of Swirl Nation Blog.
To RSVP, please shoot an email to swirlnationblog@gmail.com
We hope to see you there as we get down to multi-cultural grooves and celebrate the diverse beauty of the diaspora!
Check out their website for music and videos.
Kohshin Finley
I was lucky enough to meet brothers Kohshin and Delfin Finley last fall through my friend Elizabeth, who is best friends with Kohshin and Delfin's mother, Blanca. The moment I saw their work, I knew I had to meet them and I was lucky enough to collaborate with them on an art show very soon after!
Both brothers are clearly extraordinarily talented painters and all of their work is incredible, but my favorite pieces are the ones that dive into social issues, specifically tied to their experiences as young, multiracial men.
Delfin Finley
In Kohshin's piece Camouflage For The Modern Man you see a black man with white paint on his skin, representing a need to camouflage his blackness in order to stay safe in today's world. Similarly in Only Way To Make The News At 25 you see Kohshin actually as a self-portrait also covered in white paint for protection.
Delfin's piece Dead Man Walking shows a young man crumpled onto the pavement.
I think you will find their work as powerful as I do! I can't wait to see these two young talents take over the art world!
KOHSHIN FINLEY, CAMOUFLAGE FOR THE MODERN MAN
KOHSHIN FINLEY // Camouflage for the Modern Man, 2015 // Oil and Mixed Media on Canvas
KOHSHIN FINLEY // Only Way to Make the News at 25, 2015 // Oil and Mixed Media on Canvas
ABOUT KOHSHIN FINLEY
@kohshin_nn
Kohshin Finley is a contemporary painter based in Los Angeles, CA. He received a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design. Kohshin utilizes traditional oil painting techniques and contemporary text-based imagery to communicate a character’s emotional travels; where they were; where they are; and where they will be.
Kohshin explains his work by saying, “Los Angeles’ graffiti covered walls and sign-lettered awnings are as artistically inspiring to me as the classic works of the Renaissance. Just as a songwriter tells stories through rhythm and melody, I tell my stories with brushes and paint. The subjects of my paintings are captured in a vulnerable state of being, at their most honest and revealing. Poems and short tales are written in diaristic scrawls throughout the paintings as if the characters wrote them. I utilize traditional oil painting techniques and contemporary text-based imagery to communicate a character’s emotional travels; where they were; where they are; and where they will be. I create paintings in this way to showcase my own vulnerabilities, and to give the viewer permission to discover something about themselves when viewing my paintings. I utilize traditional oil painting techniques and contemporary text-based imagery to communicate a character’s emotional travels; where they were; where they are; and where they will be.”
DELFIN FINLEY, DEAD MAN WALKING
DELFIN FINLEY // Dead Man Walking // Oil on Polyester
ABOUT DELFIN FINLEY
@delfinley
Delfin Finley grew up in South Central Los Angeles and always felt a great connection to the art that sprouted around him. Instead of letting his spirit sink with the chipped paint and broken windows of the abandoned buildings, he saw beauty in the vibrant colors and lines of the graffiti embellishing the alleys. He found even more inspiration in the people that found their voice through a spray can.
He was born with a need to journal his experiences through drawing and later through oil painting. He speaks through his images, which flow more easily than words. His portraits convey the emotion and angst of love lost, the pain of depression, racism and ultimately the joy and beauty of a moment forever captured on canvas.
I love art. Like LOVE, LOVE, LOVE art. The walls of my apartment are overflowing with pieces from amazing artists, many of whom I discovered online or on Instagram. Recently I came across an artist's Instagram profile that instantly caught my attention!
Let me introduce you to the work of Isreali illustrator, Amit Shimoni.
His series HIPSTORY has reimagined world icons such as Barack Obama, Martin Luther King, Queen Elizabeth II, Che Guevera, and of course Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump into technicolor hipsters!
The pieces are amazing! Barack all tatted up, the Dalai Lama in a hoodie and a mohawk, Martin with the flat brim, and Hillary rocking purple ombre hair- each one has special details and I love the bold, colorful style.
On his Facebook page, Amit shares this philosophy about his work:
I am Shimoni, a young designer, illustrating is my love. I think anything can be turn into an illustration, seriously anything, whether it is scenery or a feeling; and I believe an illustration has a place anywhere, seriously anywhere, whether it is in the Louvre, or on coasters, if it is illustrated I love it.
I see my creation process as a game of "Ping-Pong" with the reality, I capture things that
arouse thoughts and feelings within myself, and through my filters, I bring it back to world as a drawing. I hope that after going through my filters, these final outcome will light something in you, or at least give you something to contemplate about, but not less important I hope you will find them beautiful.
Click here to check out his Instagram!
Amit told the Huffington Post:
“When I started ‘HIPSTORY’ I only wanted to deal with the dead leaders,” he said. “But with today’s personification of politics, you see how leaders are being iconized already in the process of their election. And Trump is a good example of that.”
I can’t wait to see who hipster-izes next! I also need to figure out a way to clear some wall space so I can start my own HIPSTORY collection!
I love D'Angelo and this is a beautiful rendition of Sometimes It Snows In April, which obviously has new meaning now. Also it is cool to see Maya Rudolph singing backup. A very moving performance by all of them.
The thing I’ll remember the most about the day Prince died is everywhere I went people were playing his music. His voice was on the news channel, the radio stations, and even at my gym. The sound and soul of Prince was everywhere, and it warmed my heart to hear it.
When I heard of Prince’s passing I reached for my phone to play my favorite song of his – Raspberry Beret. If you’ve never heard it, I suggest you buy it. No need to listen, first, it’s awesome. It’s Prince.
Raspberry Beret Lyrics:
1 2 1 2 3
Yeah
I was working part time in a five-and-dime
My boss was Mr. McGee
He told me several times that he didn't like my kind
'Cause I was a bit 2 leisurely
Seems that I was busy doing something close 2 nothing
But different than the day before
That's when I saw her, Ooh, I saw her
She walked in through the out door, out door
She wore a raspberry beret
The kind U find in a second hand store
Raspberry beret
And if it was warm she wouldn't wear much more
Raspberry beret
I think I love her
Built like she was
She had the nerve 2 ask me
If I planned 2 do her any harm
So, look here
I put her on the back of my bike
And we went riding
Down by old man Johnson's farm
I said now, overcast days never turned me on
But something about the clouds and her mixed
She wasn't 2 bright
But I could tell when she kissed me
She knew how 2 get her kicks
She wore a raspberry beret
The kind U find in a second hand store
Raspberry beret
And if it was warm she wouldn't wear much more
Raspberry beret
I think I love her
The rain sounds so cool when it hits the barn roof
And the horses wonder who U are
Thunder drowns out what the lightning sees
U feel like a movie star
Listen
They say the first time ain't the greatest
But I tell ya
If I had the chance 2 do it all again
I wouldn't change a stroke
'Cause baby I'm the most
With a girl as fine as she was then
(Raspberry beret)
The kind U find (The kind U find)
The kind U find (In a second hand store)
Oh no no
(Raspberry beret)
(And if it was warm)
Where have all the raspberry women gone? (She wouldn't wear much more)
Yeah (Raspberry beret)
I think I... I think I... I think I love her
(Raspberry beret)
No No No
No No No (The kind U find)
(In a second hand store)
(Raspberry beret)
Tell me
Where have all the raspberry women gone? (And if it was warm she)
(Wouldn't wear much more)
(Raspberry beret)
I think I love.
This week we're all sharing our favorite Prince moments in memory of the icon's passing.
I had my own Prince moment about 15 years ago. My friend Staci and I were dancing at a club in Denver called The Church when all of a sudden a man with gold plated ears (yes, seriously...) came up and tapped me on the shoulder and motioned for us to go with him. For whatever reason we trusted this strange man lol and we followed him up to the balcony and when we got there Prince was standing there. I don't even remember if we talked to him, but I do remember him spending the majority of the night talking to a guy a in a wheelchair and he seemed like a really kind person. I'm glad I at least got to share the same air with him that night. 57 is definitely too soon to go.
Enjoy a week full of some of the moments in his life we are most obsessed with. I am starting with Prince and Beyonce, because of course I am obsessed with Bey and the two of them together were incredible.
As we celebrate and highlight African-Americans during Black History Month, I think of Bob Marley and how he touched the world with his music. Who hasn’t been moved by him or his music? There is something magical about true artistic talent. It has the ability to transcend time, cultural and unify racial differences and divides. Everyone has a favorite Bob Marley song or, at least, knows the words to one of his many hits! His words hit your soul and the island percussion lets you escape, dream and believe.
Dave Thompson, author of Reggae and Caribbean Music, laments what he perceives to be the commercialized pacification of Marley's more militant edge, stating:
Bob Marley ranks among both the most popular and the most misunderstood figures in modern culture ...That the machine has utterly emasculated Marley is beyond doubt. Gone from the public record is the ghetto kid who dreamed of Che Guevara and the Black Panthers, and pinned their posters up in the Wailers Soul Shack record store; who believed in freedom; and the fighting which it necessitated, and dressed the part on an early album sleeve; whose heroes were James Brown and Muhammad Ali; whose God was Ras Tafari and whose sacrament was marijuana. Instead, the Bob Marley who surveys his kingdom today is smiling benevolence, a shining sun, a waving palm tree, and a string of hits which tumble out of polite radio like candy from a gumball machine. Of course it has assured his immortality. But it has also demeaned him beyond recognition. Bob Marley was worth far more.
One of my favorite songs by Bob Marley and the Wailers performing in Boston, MA.