Carnival Rap-up 2013

Caribana,  now better known as The Scotia Bank Carnival is one of the hottest events to hit Toronto in the summer. For the 3rd year in a row, I was more than happy to be part of this years festivities.


It all started with the Kiddies Carnival. This had to be one of my favorite events thus far. Mini revellers as young as three, came dressed in their costume ready to hit the road. My tent was filled with little people sporting giant head pieces ready to get their faces painted.

   This years winner was Toronto Revellers Once upon a time.. They're costumes where fairy tale inspired, one including Jack and the Bean Stalk. Check out these cute little bean stalks, aren't they adorable??

Next up was the King and Queen Competition, where all the Mas Bands compete for title of King and Queen of the Band. I was honoured to be chosen as part of the Toronto Revellers Mas Camp lead by Basketball Veteran and Toronto's own Jamaal Magloire.

  I had the chance to work sided by side with award winning designer Brian MacFarlane, who designed all of the revellers costumes this year.





Jamaal Magloire

me and Brian MacFarlane

 

The icing on the cake were the parade activities on Lakeshore Boulevard. The Scotia Bank Carnival starting early Saterday August 2nd. The revellers came together bright and early, making  9AM feel like 12AM on a club night.

As music blared through speakers of the floats setting up, I had very little time to take in the many costumes as my Toronto Revellers mascaraders  flooded the tent.

 Although I did not see the parade, I had a great time meeting  people from all over the world.

I would like to thank Jamal Maglore , his family and the Toronto Revelers for giving me the opportunity to work with them. A special thank you goes out to my sponsors Fufutel, Bell Auto,  A.M.A. events Front Page management,  and Strong Arm Ent.

Last but not least, my deepest condolences to the family of Rueshad Grant, who died during this seasons festivities. May his soul rest in peace

Rueshad Grant

 

Peter Jackson and Karl Wolf #1 Fan

If you don't know who Peter Jackson is by now, you haven"t been reading my blog (shame on you!!).
He is one of the hardest working rappers in this city. Along side some of hip hop's  biggest influences,  he has toured the country a dozen times over. And when he's not on tour he's in the studio, making music good enough to make your head snap back....

Atleast..that's what my head did when I got the news that he was ready to film his video for #1 Fan along side Karl Wolf!  With over a million views on Youtube, his song Africa has gone 3x platinum.  His collaboration with Three Six Mafia on the song "Mash it up" has only been played on radio stations about a couple billion times, making him one of Canada's hottest artists.

  Filmed by none other then G-dot Solo who's video views are also in the millions. Ones again ,I found my self on-set at an exclusive spot on the other side of town. 
My favorite part of doing video's is of course meeting the models.  Model's are like Forest Gumps box of choclates..you never know what your gonna get. Will their be drama? Will there be diva antics? One never knows what could happen when you put a group of girls together! (see upcoming blog for more info...trust me it gets juicy!)

But for this video, I couldn't have wished for a greater set of girls courtesy of Girls of Glam modelling agency.  Coming as far as Hamilton these dedicated ladies gave it their all. There's something about the makeup up chair and table that seems to bring people together. The girls sat gathered around my table and within a few second, you would think they had known each other forever. 


Peter always gets support wherever he goes and it is always good to see some familiar faces.| Amongst those stopping by included: rapper and athlete Brett Williams as well as Toronto artists Kisco and Breezy.

But it was Karl Wolf, who came on set with a energy that was so contagious it lit up the room. You would think that someone with more then 50,000 twitter followers and  360k likes on Facebook would be a little conceited or shallow.  Karl was humble, friendly and very charming and he made staff including the models feel at ease.  Together with Peter and the rest of cast they made the set feel like a club on Saterday night.

Peter and Karl made a great team and both turned their "swag" up, when it came to playing dress up.

 Sports jackets and G-shocks seemed to be the style of choice and as an accessory...beautiful models. Check out this exclusive pic I captured of these two serenading the ladies.

I was honored to be part of this videos and amongst such an amazing set of people. Dont forget to download #1 Fan on Itunes! And if your looking for some great shows check out Peter Jackson on tour with D-Block. You can spot Karl Wolf at some of this summers hottest events, for more info go to www.Karlwolf.com

Special thanks to Peter Jackson and Karl Wolf for inviting me to do makeup for this videos.

And  G-dot Solo for not killing me while I went camera happy during his shoot. (think he was mad at me????) Sorry G-dot!

Next up...more award shows, and some America's Next Top Model...Stay tuned!

Backstage with Rapper Belly and Actress/Model Veronica London

Last month I had the opportunity to work with another amazing rapper this side of the border.
 Not only is he a Juno award winner and four time Much Music nominee, but has also scored a Gold selling album. Most recently known for his collaberation with rapper Snoop Dogg for the song entitled
'I drink, I smoke', rapper Belly was in Toronto filiming another video for his mixtape The Greatest dream I never Had. 

The video losing my religion is based upon  a girl, who was ones on top of the world in the music biz, loses it all and ends up going insane. The female role was played by non other then the beautiful model/actress Veronica London.

 Not only is Veronica a Maxim model but has also starred in many films and TV series, including Jane Doe along side Vivica A. Fox.




Sporting newly colored fiery red hair and played her role to  perfectly! From the a singer in the booth to playing a junky in the alleyways, she definetly rocked it.

 Belly played a minimal roll on this perticular day shooting only one scene in the studio. He did however stop for a photograph with me before his speedy exit.

It was definitely an interesting evening to say the least, but as always I had a great time. Special thanks goes out to Aisha Chacha of owner of Chacha Cosmetics and my personal hairstylist,  BG owner of Hair Wee Go for assisting me with the hair styling.

In other news: I will be makeup sponsor for the biggest male revue to hit the city, brought in part by my favorite clothing line Alter Ego Clothing.

Word around town is I might be travelling  for another video and hosting a beauty workshop and giving back to the community!... Stay tuned.