. Militancy Riddim | Protoje .




Jamaican dub record label Overstand Entertainment have produced a new mixtape, Militancy Riddim. Featuring both new and established artists who are currently at the centre of the Reggae Revival, Jah Cure, Protoje, Jesse Royal, Chezidek and King Mas, to name a few, spin their own versions of this raw, Kingston rooted, dub track. The first to stick in my mind were Jah Cure's 'Territory' (an obvious legend) and Protoje's 'Resist Not Evil'. 

Now if you know me well, then I've probably preached to you my love of Jamaican reggae artist, PROTOJE and his band In.Digg.Nation. First bought to my attention by Fresh Habits and David Rodigan about a year ago, both albums The Seven Year Itch (2011) and The 8 Year Affair (2013) have been my most listened to records. Son of 'Breakfast In Bed' 70s reggae star Lorna Bennett, who is notably also his manager, Protoje is in the forefront of the Reggae Revival that Jamaica, particularly Kingston, are currently undergoing. You might have heard his hit single 'Kingston Be Wise' on the Grand Theft Auto V soundtrack, and you should have heard his biggest tune with Ky-mani Marley, 'Rasta Love'.  Not even sure if the UK is ready for whats about to happen with this guy, so watch out! And with his European tour completed, we can expect to see Diggy in the UK next year.

 Literally. So. Hyped. 


Protoje's latest single, also featured on the mixtape, above. And we can't ignore the Music From My Heart mixtape, released over the summer, below. Speakers up!


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. #SomeoneLikeMe .



MTV Staying Alive and Durex have teamed up to create a global campaign, holding the premise that the more we talk openly about sex, the closer we get to a world free from HIV. Someone Like Me gives a voice to young people across the globe - an opportunity for young people to upload their thoughts and ideas about sex, as openly as they like. There's someone who has the same questions or opinions as you do, somewhere in the world.

So what does this campaign have that all the others don't? REALNESS. HONESTY. FUN. Sex education but without all the boring bits! 

On December 1st, World Aids Day, MTV & Durex will release a 45 minute documentary film which follows the journeys of young people from all over the world through their sex lives. And let me tell you, it's pretty mind blowing, so make sure you catch in on MTV! They will also be throwing parties and events all over the world, from Russia, Australia, China, Columbia and more to kick start change. 

As the Ambassador of the Staying Alive Foundation, I wanted to get involved in this global conversation, not only by uploading my own views about sex, but also by helping to produce the campaign and getting the best out of our subjects. I love having a nose around, so getting the ins and outs (excuse the pun) of peoples sex lives - no questions asked - was pretty ideal for me!

I found this guys story fascinating. The first thing that comes to mind when he hears the word 'sex' is STI's and disease :(


The lovely Shane spoke honestly and openly about being HIV positive. 



Applauding Malika's honesty!



My personal views about the availability of porn...


And here's some safe sex chat...


Hundreds more on the website! I encourage everyone to check it out, http://www.someonelikeme.tv/ to find out more, share the idea and get involved! Don't forget to hashtag #someonelikeme :)

On a final note, you can help us donate 10million condoms to HIV Projects worldwide with  #1share1condom so please share this awesome clip!



xxx





. Nike Sneakerboots .


I was fortunate enough to be asked by Nike to take part in their campaign push for their newest collection of trainers, the Sneakerboot. An elevated, high topped incarnation of Nike's most iconic models, such as the Air Force 1 and Free Run 2, the Sneakerboot is lightweight and fully functional for Fall/ Winter conditions. 

The first part of my task was to make an insta video, showing how I take my Sneakerboots to new heights.  I chose the Free Run 2's (The best out of the womens range in my opinion), although my favourites were the Air Max 90's - love the colourways they come in and they look super clean. You can watch my efforts below.



Here's some behind the scenes footage filmed by GRM Daily featuring Poet, Mikil Pane, Krept & Konan, and Anthony Agogo, who also took part in the project. 


And here's me chatting absolute BREEZE about my outfit.


Then we all attempted to shoot our Sneakerboots creatively elevated. I went with these....




The project was rounded off with the Sneakerboots launch party, held at The Deck - the rooftop space on top of The National Theatre, and my god, it was Instagram Heaven. 



I hosted the event with funnyman Poet, who if you haven't heard of yet, GET TO KNOW, whilst Brit rapper Mikil Pane and grime artists Krept & Konan gave live performances. Wasn't one to miss!





Here I am with Poet and Konan, wearing Diamond Supply beanie, Nike jacket, Lazy Oaf hoodie, Ragged Priest dress and of course, The Sneakerboot.  Awesome night, big up to Nike!



xxx


. MTV EMA 2013 .


This year the MTV EMA was held in Amsterdam.  First thing that came to my mind was -PROSTITUTES AND COFFEE SHOPS FUCK YEAH. However, it turned out to be a lot more civilised and a lot more productive. I went out with MTV VOICES - MTV's online platform for young people to voice their opinions, and we held a 2 day MTV Pop Up in Trouwr ( sick venue for a biiig ass rave).... 


...which involved workshops, talks, seminars and general shits n giggles for the young people of Amsterdam. Myself and Anna Alicia, the Netherlands presenter, gave a presentation on our lives as presenters as well as a workshop and lots of tips, we had RJ Mitte AKA WALT JUNIOR from Breaking Bad (I die) giving a talk on his new life of stardom, Swizz Beats and Jay Sean gave a talk that essentially ended up as a talent show not dissimilar to a hip hop version of Glee, as well as the top bosses at MTV/Viacom talking about how to make it in the industry. 




Check out more in the vid  below.



Later we caught The Killers who played the world stage for music week, the drummer blew my mind, like a lot. 


In terms of the actual EMAs, it was so much fun. We interviewed the likes of Rita Ora, Calvin Harris, Dizze Rascal, 30 Seconds To Mars, Robin Thicke, Icona Pop, and of course, my favourite - RON BURGANDY. I recall him saying that women should grow moustaches to be a successful anchor, and that he used to be a brain surgeon. He didn't go to school so he just cut peoples heads open and hoped for the best, but had a 98% success rate. CHEERS RON. 





I wore this super tight, super short, super cute dress by Mary Benson, and Bugged Out head jewellery.



And this super hot model, name unknown, was happy to pose for my picture.


Here's a bunch of potatoes backstage:


And here are a couple of outfits I went through...





Lazy Oaf x Looney Tunes dress


Diamond Supply Co beanie & vest, Nike Jacket



Diamond Supply Co beanie, Illustrated People tee, Topshop shorts, Vintage jacket 

xxx

. New - ATM Jam ft. Pharrell Video .


Love this track, but not sure how I feel about the video that just dropped. Maybe it's Azealia's outfits. Maybe it just needed Pharrelly. Diggin the Nastygal style white bitches though.

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. Tune of the week .



Pusha's long awaited, highly anticipated, 4.5 star rated (by me) debut studio album My Name Is My Name dropped a few weeks back, so I've had time to give it a good few listens. And let's put it this way, any record with a strong presence from Kanye and Pharrell is a record I will very happily rinse. The only slight setback for me is the random commercial sellouts. Like seriously, Chris Brown and Kelly Rowland, WHO invited you. I am not welcoming you to this album, but I am willing to overlook because the song posted above, Nosetalgia, rocks my world. A throwback to their days in cocaine, Pusha and Kendrick wave goodbye to big booty hoes and strip back to the basics in this video, and I am loving the simplicity of it.


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. Updates .

Well I've been slacking, haven't I? It recently came to my attention that my blog's been going for over 4 years now and admittedly, posts have been rather sporadic. But I'm ready to change it all up. I'll be posting up more frequently from now on, so be sure to keep checking in for everything from interviews, features, new music, outfit posts, videos, food posts, pretty pictures I like, random rants and general life updates. 


Where to bloody start.

...

Some summer highlights, I reckon. Gonna have to be quite brief as there are a few!

INTERVIEWS



I think the lady in the background clutching at her heart with the look of love across her face sums up how most women (and men, to be fair) feel about Pharrell. Was pretty chuffed to chat to such a legend, and often it's difficult meeting someone that you hold so high in your opinion as it's disappointing. But Mr Skateboard P was quite the opposite. Dashing, a total charmer, polite, and gave a fantastic interview.



Joey Bada$$ - high as a kite but what a cutie. (Watch my Wireless interviews HERE)



Christopher Mintz Plasse (MC LOVIN!!!) he was pretty shy but loved him, we even had a little drum off! Watch the interview HERE.



Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum. Chatted to these two about their new movie White House Down. I got them to rap the plot of the movie (have you seen this amazing spoof!?) Foxx gave me his best Obama impression and then we took this (slightly unprofessional but very necessary) selfie.  



FESTIVALS

Wireless had to be the best for talent spotting. Our MTV News stand was in the middle of the backstage area, right next to Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake's compound (yes it really was a compound - a Nandos and a Basketball court were involved. Standard.) so I had the chance to photobomb Frank Ocean:


And Jay Z gave me the nod - he walked by me back stage whilst I was sneaking off for a wee. I was thankful for my pathetic bladder at that point:


I also bumped into A$AP and had to get a picture. Strictly for the MTV Twitter, obvs. He said he liked my floral backpack, and something along the lines of "you're on that Dora The Explora shit, I like it." Thanks A$AP, I'll take that as a compliment:



I died my hair what I thought was pink at the time, but actually it was just this weird colour:




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V Festival was a laff, I kept it all pretty low key in this SPANGLED jumpsuit & sunnies:




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Secret Garden Party was by far my fave Festival everrr. I loved the freedom and the variety of people - one minute your standing next to a man dressed as a lampshade, who's chatting to a midget, opposite a naked man on a trampoline, near an old couple having a jolly day and a group of uni lads avin' it large on pills. On the last day we all dutty wined to Rodigan post paint fight. So ideal.














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Farr Festival was SUCH a vibe. A small boutique festival in the depths of fields and woods, it was refreshing and very exciting to be at a 3000 capacity Festival as opposed to a 30,000. Plus I went with an absolute dream team.




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Bestival never fails me. I was working most of it this year, but still got to see some super cool DJ sets such as Fat Boy Slim, EZ, Annie Mac, Cyril Hahn, Julio Bashmore and headliner Snoop.







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Wilderness I thought was a really cute festival. Great family vibes and a wilddd forest rave at night. The only downside was that everything finished at 2am, so there were a lot of inflated pupils wondering round the site every night, desperate for some sort of beat. I did catch Luke Sitah Singh's performance and boy did it blow my mind. 














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FASHION WEEK


Street Style shots from the Topman Design and Burberry shows.



Wearing Nasir Mazhar hat, Mishka NYC top, Topshop skirt, HUF socks, Underground boots. 



Wearing Grind London bucket, To-orist Jacket, Dope Chef top.


TRIPS

Iceland was all about promoting Tom Cruise's film Oblivion, so the MTV News team and I flew out to where the movie was filmed. And we had the BEST TIME.

















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Brazil was crazy. I flew to Porto Alegre with MTV Staying Alive and Durex for the WAS Sexual Health Conference, to present the campaign we are working on. It wasn't very touristy so the streets were quite dangerous to walk alone and the weather was appalling, but the guys from MTV Brazil hooked us up with a great time. We went clubbing (where I did an impromptu DJ set,) shopping, a city tour and ate at the best restaurant I have EVER experienced. Brazilian food is just made for me. Shit loads of beef and BBQ'd meat and delicious desserts. 









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South Of France saw the Quicksilver Pro France 2013 in Hossegor - a surfing competition and music festival. I covered it with MTV news and it was a pretty dreamy work trip of chilling on the beach in 30 degrees and watching sexy surfers. We interviewed surf champ Sally Fitzgibbons, Klaxons and Citizen!













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So yeah, pretty neat summer! X






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