They Call Him Drizzy

Last week, Canada's very own rapper Drake, released his much anticipated debut album "Thank Me Later." To celebrate the release of his album, an HMV located downtown Toronto offered the first 500 people who bought his album a pass to an autograph signing with Drake the following week. Hundreds of fans lined up over night to be one of the first 500 and luckily I was one of them!

I attended the autograph signing earlier this week and boy was it crazy! Many fans lined up at HMV overnight even though they were guaranteed a spot to meet him after getting a special laminate for being one of the first 500 people to buy his album. I went there about 3 hours before the signing and hung out with some friends before hand.

Once people were let into the store, everyone went crazy, super excited to see Drake. They let people in chunks so that the store wouldn't get too crowded and uncontrollable. The promoters of the signing, radio station Flow 93.5, hosted the event and told everyone the rules of the signing which were no photographs with Drake (to make the signing go faster apparently) and to have ONE item ready to be signed by Drake (once again to make the signing go faster).

Although I was a little disappointed about the picture, I was super excited that I would be meeting Drake in just a few minutes. The "no pictures and one item signed only" rule did make the meet and greet go a lot faster and it felt like only seconds before it was my turn to go up. Super excited, I was at a loss for words when I was face-to-face with one of the freshest rappers in the game!

Drake shook my hand and began signing my copy of his CD. He asked who he should make it out to, and I spelt out my name, K-H-I-Z-E-R. He replied, "that sounds like an ill name bro." I asked him to try and pronounce it and like the first reaction I always get with my name, he pronounced, "KAISER??" (like the bun). I was laughed and told him how its actually pronounced and he replied, "Khizer! (with the right pronunciation) damn that's even more tight!!" He shook my hand again and security then started rushing me out. Starstruck wasn't the feeling I had but it was more really just super happy and excited to have met a person I really admire and have respect for. What made me even more happy was how down to earth and caring he was for all his fans! Despite his crazy security, Drake really showed interest in meeting each one of his fans and had a genuine smile for each person that came up. Despite the "one item" rule, he signed multiple things for others (something I found out later on) and was just really humble, sincere and genuine.

From his beginnings on long running Canadian TV show, Degrassi The Next Generation, to his mixtapes that got mad attention, Drake has come a very long way! He finally released his debut last week and it debuted at number 1 both in the US and in Canada! The album features many high profile collaborations featuring Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, T.I., Kanye West, Boi1Da, Timbaland just to name a few! It is one of the best hip hop debuts in a really long time and is such a solid album that everyone should definitely check out...even if you're not a fan of the genre! Here's hoping he remembers my name!

Check out Drake on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drakkardnoir and on Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/thisisdrake!

Photo credits go to the ATF (All Things Fresh) blog; the biggest Drake fan site! Check it out here: http://allthings-fresh.net/.

Concert Review: Bamboozle Festival

Concert Review: Bamboozle Festival

Featuring: LMFAO, Good Charlotte

Date: June 16th, 2010

Location: Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, Ontario

Last night I went with a friend of mine to the Toronto stop of the Bamboozle Road Show. The main performers lined up to perform at the show included Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, LMFAO, Third Eye Blind, All Time Low, and Boys Like Girls. My friend and I stayed enough to see Good Charlotte and LMFAO, who were the bands I was most interested to see, especially LMFAO since I had seen Good Charlotte two years prior.

The first performance we saw was of Good Charlotte. They put on an okay show, but it was kind of interesting see them on stage having had no new album since 2007’s Good Morning Revival. Midway through the show they performed a new song dubbed “Like Its Her Birthday” which will be on their new album they announced on the tour to be released in September. Although I was a pretty big fan of theirs a few years back, their performance didn’t really convince me or tell me why I was a fan. They weren’t really energetic with their performances and didn’t show much enthusiasm. For a band that’s been around for almost a decade now, I did expect more from their show. Perhaps dating Nicole Richie and fathering her child has taken a toll on Joel’s career?

The second performance we saw was by the Hip-Hop/Pop/Dance or perhaps “Party Rock” duo LMFAO known for their singles, “I’m In Miami Bitch” and “Shots”. From beginning to end, this band created a non-stop party. It seemed as if they belonged more inside a club rather than a big venue because of their style of music, but regardless they were amazing. They sang completely live, which is sometimes rare nowadays, and put on a very entertaining show. They had crazy dancers, some dressed as a lego blocks, and others decked out in “Party Rock gear” (I guess a nonchalant way of advertising their clothing line). The costumes, the choreography, and the overall energy they had on stage was just incredible. They were a little out of place though at the festival; if you look at the rest of the line up, they were the only ones of their genre. Although I went specifically to see them, the rest of the crowd knew them more just for their singles and only really got into them then. Regardless, for a fairly new band, they definitely put on a show and had great stage presence and would be perfect openers for artists like Lady GaGa, Black Eyed Peas, or any energetic pop performers as these guys know how to “get the party started!”

Overall, the Bamboozle Festival was fun, despite seeing just two performers. The set up was fun with gaps between each bands to get merchandise, socialize, and meet some bands (the side stage ones for the most part) walking around the venue. Because the Molson Amphitheater is outdoors, there was some fun in the sun as well with the great weather going on.

I would definitely recommend everyone to check out LMFAO if they can, but I might pass on Good Charlotte. Although they have a bunch of catchy songs, their show just felt a little lackluster, especially for a band that’s been in the game for nearly a decade.

Adventures at Vervegirl

As many of you guys know, I've been interning at Vervegirl Magazine for the last few months now, however I haven't really blogged about my experiences as a intern at the company. These past few weeks have been quite busy with various projects I've completed and am currently working on, so I feel now is a great time to write about some of my adventures at Vervegirl!

Although I have been interning there for almost 7 months now (I can't believe its been that long!), these past few months have been a few of the most eventful! It started with the February issue of the magazine in which my name finally began getting published in the header of the magazine. It was definitely an exciting and exhilarating feeling seeing my name in the magazine. Following this, I had quite a few projects lined up which included editing a behind-the-scenes interview of Jesse Labelle on the set of his upcoming music video, Lost.

After editing the interview and getting the A-OK to have it posted online it was on to the next project right away which included editing an event held by model Stacey McKenzie called the Walk This Way workshop. Editing this event was a lot of fun because there was so much going on which made the video very progressive and fun with lots of cuts, edits, music, and titles! Definitely a lot going on which made it a fun video. Similar in style, the next video was editing the May/June behind the scenes cover shoot video featuring Tara Jean Popowich, winner of So You Think You Can Dance Canada Season 2. This video was not only a lot of fun to edit, but it was also fun seeing the interview done with Tara who was really professional and down to earth!

Following this project, a bigger door opened for me at Vervegirl; I had a little meeting with one of my superiors at the office, the online editor, and we spoke about my time there thus far, and about what I would like to get out of the internship, etc. It was a refreshing talk as she understood a lot about my passion for media and "promoted" me almost to a cinematographer or videographer for the company! This let me not only edit the behind the scenes videos, or interviews, but also put me behind the camera and let me film such events. It was definitely an honour for me to get bumped up to that position!

Since then, my first official film project was supposed to be an interview with UK singer, Kate Nash, however that fell through due to conflicting schedules. My first official film project then became an interview done with Ottawa up-and-coming singer, Alex Lacasse at the Vervegirl studios. Having previously "met" him at a Hedley concert, and exchanging conversations via Twitter, it was definitely nice to finally meet and speak to him face-to-face at the interview. Filming the interview was a lot of fun as I got to use two cameras, so I was able to have different angles and shots for the editing process. Alex Lacasse was a very nice guy, not to mention he is extremely talented and focussed on the direction and where he wants to go. He not only writes his own songs, he produces the beats and rhythms using software at home, writes for other artists like Girlicious, all this and his debut album hasn't even come out yet! He's definitely an artist to watch out for! The edited product came out very nice as well. Check it out below and here.

The next event that I got to film was another interview, this time with Canadian R&B sensation, Karl Wolf. He came in for an interview at Vervegirl studios to speak about his single 80s Baby, and his career thus far. Again, I was able to use two cameras to film which made it a really fun project. The interviewer from Vervegirl who took his interview did an amazing job keeping flow and interest in their conversation and keeping it well engaged...this was all impressive as it was her first interview she did. Very impressive (I'll post a link once it is edited). Karl was also a very nice guy who also has a major focus on his career. He has some great aspirations for his music videos and a potential acting career. He produces his own songs and also directs his own music videos. His songs are heavily infectious also and most carry a flavour of Middle Eastern music which make them that much more appealing!

In between the two videos, I edited another behind the scenes video, this one was the Fanshawe College annual Unbound Fashion Show. This project was fun to edit, and I was able to incorporate Lady GaGa's song Fashion in it, which made me happy as it is one of my favourite's of hers. My latest project began just this Friday when I filmed an interview done with super-talented singer, Charice. Known for her amazing voice and the story of her rise to stardom, Charice was very charismatic and proved how amazing her voice was by singing some acapella for us! The video should be up shortly, but in the meantime you can check out a link to a Vervegirl tidbit on her here.

Looking into the future, I already have a few exciting projects that might happen in the next few weeks. I don't want to give anything away just in case it doesn't happen, but I will know very soon. Definitely excited not only for that, but my continuously growth with Vervegirl.

I am very grateful to have had this opportunity to intern at Vervegirl come across me, and would like to thank everyone at the headquarters for being so amazing and making me feel like home every time I am there. My skills as an editor and now as a videographer have been growing so much since I've started and I've learned so much from this internship. Not only that, but after going to University for a completely opposite field, it is nice to intern somewhere where I can live out my other dream and passion which is in media. Thank you Vervegirl!

I leave you with some of my videos below. They can all be seen on www.vervegirl.com! Make sure to follow Vervegirl and their amazing staff on Twitter at:

www.twitter.com/miss_vervegirl

www.twitter.com/vervegirlmag

www.twitter.com/kimucooper

www.twitter.com/kristiamandaa

I look forward to updating with you with more adventures as they happen!

For now, peace and love,

Khizer