PAAFF Recap

It was an honor to be involved with PAAFF (Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival) this past week on the panel discussion about the Asian influence within the Hip Hop community along with Author Jeff Chang, Chops (Producer / Mountain brothers) and DJ Rekha.  A lot of topics were covered and quite honestly, we could've gone on for hours with even more uncovered topics.  The follow evening I had the pleasure of DJ'ing the afterparty at Silk City and playing a vinyl only Hip Hop, Soul and dance classics set.  Looking forward to working with PAAFF more in the future.

Japan 2014 Tour Kick-off

This week kicks off my 2014 Magma Taishi Returns Japan tour and I'm super excited to be rocking these great parties in their country as well as two others in Taipei Taiwan.  First up will be this Friday night's CHAMP party at The Room in Shibuya.  This will be Yosuke Tominaga's release party for his new 7inch, BISCO on his CHAMP label.

Then the following day I will be in Fukuoka DJ'ing at a party that I've heard so many good things about B.W.G. - Black Water Gold spinning that heavy blackness.  Funk, Soul, Disco, Jazz and Rare Groove are on the menu.  Both the CHAMP and B.W.G. parties are strictly vinyl events as are most of the events I'll be play so I'm acking the deep crates for the occasion.

The Jam Session

Had to make a quick flight back to Europe to Stuttgart Germany via Amsterdam to DJ at The Jam Session.  Some great DJ's, live percussionists, African art exhibition and more. This should definitely be a fun time to just play records for the people to go off to!

PAAFF Presents: The Jump Off

Tonight I'll be spinning a set at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival after party at Silk City.

Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival

This afternoon I have the honor of being involved with the PAAFA (Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival) panel discussion on the influence of Asian culture within the Hip Hop community.  Also on the panel will be author Jeff Chang, Chops (Producer) and DJ Rehka.

He's With The Band

That's how I was introduced when I walked into Seven Grand Whiskey Bar before opening hours this past Friday night while in San Diego to hear my brother Marsellus Wallace spin his set shortly before Surefire Soul Ensemble took the stage.  I love great whiskey bars and Seven Grand definitely holds a high standard with their selections, presentation and of course having great taste in knowing that SFSE and whiskey go hand in hand.

One of the things that I needed to check off my list was going to see Surefire before they became a household name within the industry.  I've seen Budos Band, Ikebe Shakedown, Menahan Street Band, Sharon Jones & The Dap kings, Funkshone and a few others prior to their rise in fame and have even written about them here and on the Hot Peas & Butta site.  I even interviewed Budos Band early on for an Australian magazine some years back so yeah, this was a must do mission.

Early on in the night Marsellus Wallace opens up with a perfect blend of genres ranging from Soul and Rare Groove, to library and Jazz while people fill in, socialize, dance and of course drink.

As people fill up the space, it's time for the band to take the stage and do what they do best.  They definitely lived up to my expectations and sound exactly (if not better) live than they do recorded (and their recordings are pretty solid).  They do two sets while the first is of their original material and the following was a few new pieces and covers (the Placebo cover was crazy!).

It was definitely a great night and a pleasure to hang out, enjoy whiskey and hear some of the best music known to man.  Until next time San Diego!

San Diego Food Porn

There's only a few must do's on my list when traveling, recording shopping of course is one but the main objective is to eat at the highly recommended spots in town and that's exactly what I did this past weekend while in San Diego.  You can never go wrong when hanging out with the fam over there, they know the best places, from Bonnie Jeans Soul Food, to burgers, I've got friends with great picks in where to eat.

Two highly recommended and always must do's before leaving the city is Royal Mandarin where the go to thing on the menu are Salt & Pepper wings, Salt & Pepper Shrimp and of course Salt & Pepper fries.  Maybe add a bowl of soup or add rice but a tasty Sing Tao beer usually rounds out the bill.

The second place which is a must try is Tacos El Gordo which seems to be the hot spot after the club lets out because this place is like Club Taco.  Hard to get a seat and the line is long but it's well worth the wait for this amazing plate.

Neighborhood Burger

I think it's safe to say that I've been around the globe and tried my fair share of good burgers in each of those parts, so having a good one should be nothing new.  Nothing new until you are introduced to a local San Diego spot called Neighborhood.  Yes folks, there is indeed a new burger in the runnings for one of the tastiest that I've ever had and I owe this introduction to my brother Marsellus Wallace who took care of me this past weekend while I was in San Diego.

Neighborhood is a great burger spot with a nice menu, great selection of beers and of course the music playing was perfect for our sit in at 11:30am on a Friday morning.  I can actually get used to that type of life.  We both opted the Neighborhood burger which was pretty basic, quality beer, gruyer cheese, arugula, and caramelized onions that was used more as a spread than just onions on top.  The bun was perfect, light and fluffy on top and once you bit in and got to the lower portion there was a nice crunch from where it sat on the grill.  Add perfectly cooked shoe string fries and an Allagash and we're all set.

I want to add this burger to my top 3 but I'm going to keep it in top 5 for now, I've got a lot more to try before making my final ranking decision.