Adisa McKenzie

Fillmore stand up!

“varoom, motha fu**a boom boom” word!

other sources>

As we come to the end of a great festival season, I have been blessed to have a long term goal fulfilled.  Below is a music Video for the song “Planet Crush” by the Black Rock City AllStars.  About half way through you will see yours truly along with my TripKnight family.
Please send this to people if you will. Lots of talent, love and energy went into the process.

I have been having more and more conversations with people about the unique and profound energy coming out of the nightlife in Reno NV. No other place and time has had this many things working for it.
I have hit the scene in most places people talk about: San Francisco, Hollywood, New York, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Seattle and a bunch of other places too. What sets Reno apart from other places is the “everything effect”. Here is the list of things in or around Reno:

Outdoor Sports –> Water Skiing, Snow Skiing, Boating, Camping, Hunting, Fishing, Kayaking and so on

Vices –> Gambling, Prostitution and 24 hour bars.

Events –> Hot August nights, Baseball, Basketball and public performance areas.

Landscape –> Reno is pretty small

Jobs –> Reno is a major shipping and receiving hub so jobs have a future.

College –> U.N.R gives it a college town feel sometimes.

Star Power –> The casino and other venues bring in big name acts

So, those are the raw ingredients but it is more than that. The Median age for Reno is around 34, meaning it has a very young populous. Burning Man really supports year round events and Reno being the closest major city gives the party-goers a common flag and a consistently sexy aesthetic. The most important element in this perfect storm is the people. I have never seen such a committed group of people who put the time, energy, and money into really enjoying this life. Seattle is very similar – almost a small town feel where everyone is very interconnected and actively participating. In Reno I notice it in the form of the crews and the media. All the various organizations, and the local media that reports on them, help to make Reno an amazing place.

This month the Cool Sample comes from Trick Daddy. The song is called “Lets Go”. It uses an Ozzy Osbourne song called “Crazy Train”. What I like about it is the Ozzy yell mixed with the beat. It doesn’t just sample a riff but it puts a little Ozzy in it as well. Plus this track is vintage Trick Daddy and vintage Lil John.

Lets Go – Trick Daddy Ft. Lil John & Twista

This month I want to start my Cool Samples list, one or two per month. I will try to post the song on this page but since sources change over time, I will try to provide multiple sources. This month is Lil Wayne’s “I Feel Like Dying”, containing a sample from Karma’s “Once”. I especially like it when the producers chops the lyrics to adjust or change the meaning. That is why, while I enjoy some of their music, it is unlikely I will list an old Kanye or Puff Daddy track on this list. The future stuff, we will see, but the old stuff is too straight forward or just simply sped up. This song was leaked, but in 08 Wayne got sued for it.

here is Karma’s myspace

Just got back from another Reno trip. I hit the slopes under the hot April sun and went to the studio at night. On the plane back, I really gained some clarity about where underground / avant-garde music is going as a career choice–earning money from critical mass without appealing to the masses by watering down the art. I believe in the advertisement model. However, the ad industry is saying that revenue is down. This further legitimizes my thoughts on community integration. As we build infrastructure and grow our community, we are supported organically by the community. The work becomes less about promoting yourself and more about participating and giving to a larger collective.