Bye, Bye BLOGGER. Hello, New WORLD!

Wassup my faithful flock? You know I love y'all. And like a good seed that got nutured, we are growing and blossoming! We want you to come along on the ride with us! WWW.COOLCRUELWORLD.BLOGSPOT.COM has moved! We love blogger.com, and they have really held us down in the clutch, but now it's time to move on. Check out our new site at:WWW.COOLCRUELWORLD.COM or CLICK HERE!
Thank you to all my followers, the fans that write me, my friends and family that support me, and the new-comers that love us! I love you too! I'll never forget you. Thanks for everything! CCW is a movement. Come join us!

Peace & Love ALWAYS,

*XOXO*

Cocoabella.

A Night With The CLIPSE!

Honestly y'all, my dreams came true last night. I got to politic with the CLIPSE-- one of the best rap groups in history... And I'm picky. That's sayin a WHOLE LOT... Shoot. "Grindin'" changed the [rap] game. Period. No questions asked.

Anyway, back in 2003 I met with Rob Walker (A&R for Star Trak), and he heard a demo I did where I covered Clipse's "Gangsta Lean". He liked it, and liked me, and things seemed promising but shortly after things went south with Star Trak and Arista. With that went my dream. I always wanted to be able to say I mingled with these cats. It was my dream to be on that label, but I guess it just wasn't meant for me. Shoot, what would have become of CCW? If anything? I guess all things for a reason? But I digress...

Pharrell, Chad, Kelis, the Clipse? I seen em all, met them all in the past, and they are all so humble and chill... And amazingly talented. Did I mention stupidly talented? Truly ahead of their time in every way, and they all continue to be in very individual ways. The Clipse did a free concert at Webster Hall last night. I finally got to sit down with the dynamic duo. You wanna hear it? Here it go:



Cocoa B. : How old were y'all when you started in the business?

Malice: When we started professionally?

Pusha-T: Like... 21

Malice: Well, I always said that if I wasn't in the industry by the time I was 25, I wasn't going to do it. It wasn't going to happen. But it happened, so I'mma say around 24, 25.

Cocoa B.: So you're age difference?

Pusha-T: 5 years.

Cocoa B.: Ohhhh, me and my sis are like 6! Cool. (laughs) So out of the both of you, who's the shy one?

Malice: I think I'm definitely more the shyer one out of us.

Pusha-T: (nods)

Cocoa B. : So tell us about your relationship with Pharrell? How'd you all get together on this music thing?

Malice: Well, we all grew up together in our area-- Virginia Beach, and Pharrell was just known around to be really talented with music-making and I think we were known around as being really talented lyrically, so eventually we all bumped heads...



Cocoa B. : True.... There are some massively influential artists that have come out of Virginia for example: Timbland, Missy, Teddy Riley, Neptunes, You all, but besides those was there a more local talent in VA that you drew your influences from?

Pusha-T: Like, definitely Mad Skillz. He's definitely an influence. He's one of the first rapper, no he IS the first rapper out of Virginia. And just to watch him, and watch him doing it all, like his drive... You know?

Cocoa B. Yessssss. Yes I definitely agree.

Pusha-T: When stuff like that happens? Like when you see people out of your area really doing it, it's almost like shit... that can really happen. You know? Like yes, you can REALLY do it.

Cocoa B. Yes, that's so true. An inspiration indeed... Can you tell your fans and my readers a little bit more about your new project? I know you've been doing mixtapes in anticipation...



Malice: "Til the Casket Drops" is definitely going to be the best Clipse album out yet. Ummmm. It's a blessing. Kanye West, Cam'ron, Neptunes, Khalil, Chauncey and LB. It's just hip-hop. Hip-hop on STEROIDS [laughs]!

Cocoa B. Ahhhhhh love it! That's a hip-hop quotable right there... For each of you just out of curiosity, if you could collaborate with any person dead or alive, who would it be?

Malice: Man, I gotta say BIG.

Pusha-T: Hmmmm, dead or alive.... And I can't say BIG he just said it (laughs), lemme see... Jay-Z.

Cocoa B. Ah ha. I see good choices. So I heard a little rumor that you all collaborate with Rick Rubin. How true is this rumor? LOL

Malice : Rick... wow. What do you say about Rick? He's a guru.

Pusha-T: Yesssss.

Cocoa B. : Agreed. Double R is definitely the man. For real. And he's a little crazy-looking too! LOL

Malice : (laughs)

Pusha - T : (laughs)




Cocoa B. : But that's a whole other talk show.... Haha, anyway what is your favorite Clipse track to date? Mine will probably always have to be Gangsta Lean-- especially since I did the ill re-make! Hahaha.

Malice: I'd have to say, "Hot Damn"

Cocoa B. : Yessssss! "Hot DAAAAAAYUM! it's a new day!" LOL

Pusha - T: Mine is definitely, "Mama I'm So Sorry" -- you know, KEYS OPEN DOORS?

Cocoa B. : Yessssss, I was just listening to that today!! It definitely goes hard. OK-- good choices, good choices. Now comes my firing-squad final few questions. Although you kinda answered this first one, but y'all ready? Ok. TUPAC or BIG?

Malice : Biggie

Pusha-T: Yes, Biggie!

Cocoa B. : Mc Donald's or Burger King

Malice : Burger King

Pusha-T: Burger King!

Cocoa B. : KIM or FOXY?

Malice & Pusha-T (IN UNISON): FOXY!!!!!!!

Cocoa B. : HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! YAY! Good answer, good answer. I love her and she's cutie-pie dark skinned girl such as myself... J'yeah! Ok... I'mma calm down now. Beamer or Benz?

Malice: Benz

Pusha-T : Yeah.

Cocoa B. Platinum or Gold?

Malice : Gold

Pusha-T: (thinks about it.....) Platinum!

Cocoa B. (laughs) T-Pain vocoder or acappella?

Malice : acapella, meng!

Pusha-T : definitely acappella. (laughs)

Cocoa B. : Timbaland or Dr. Dre?

Pusha-T & Malice (in UNISON) : TIMBALAND

Cocoa B. Yes! He's my favorite. Ok now, boxers, briefs or boxer-briefs?


Pusha-T & Malice (in UNISON) : BOXERS!

Cocoa B. : Hahahahaha! I think that wraps it up. Thank you so much for your time and contribution to rap, seriously though. My photographer, Jeff and I are really big fans, and we always support good music and will always support y'all. Fa real!


...And by taking this time out I really appreciate them. Plus, these dudes are smart-- see how they co-signin?:




The show afterwards was awesome. They played some of their new-new and the oldie but goodies. I went nuts when they did "Clap That Boy", and I definitely lost my voice after "Grindin". People were turning around like "Damn, shorty knows ALL the damn words!" I guess people just didn't expect that, but I'm a fan, what can I say? I go hard, lol. When they started "Kind Of A Big Deal", I really lost it. These guys tend to have that effect, the crowd was LOVING them! And so was I. It was dope. In fact, my voice is still sore this morning.. Orange Juice anyone?




**During the VIP session before the concert, T was nice enough to bless me and my photog with some dranky dranks, so I have to give a big shout-out to him for that! Thanks, meng!**

So in the end-- the interview went just as I expected.... Cool. Extra cool. These two are the epitome of cool. Laid-back, but business-oriented and fierce on the stage. They draw you in, and you don't let go til the very end. There was a pocket of quick-silence between songs and I said, "CLIPSE 4-EVER MY Ni**as!" I dunno y'all it just came out! But T turns around and goes "Ya damn right", and we all felt it!







These fans are devoted. There's no duo quite like them. Although they do have a 5-year age difference, it's hard to tell-- homeboy's got those GOOD genes! LOL. And if you didn't know better, you would barely be able to tell that they are one of the most sought-after and well-respected rap groups out. They are approachable, humble, honest and engaging but not over-bearing. Well-seasoned industry vets. In this business it's always a pleasure to see. People can get gassed real easily when they have a few fans. But not these guys. And their fans know that, and love them for it! Peace to Malice & Pusha-T. The true examples of a gangsta and a gentleman. PEACE!

Arm-Candy.

This is the Flud "Gunmetal Boombox" Watch. I think it's adorable. Its cool for novelty and fun, laid-back settings like concerts and bowling. But it's also a super-fly gift for teens! I could see a 14 year old fly-guy flossing in one of these, lol... Makin' the youth fresh for a cool $90.



And then there is the LRG x G-SHOCK concoction:



Hello Spring! I love the colors-- I can definitely see this as having great unisex opportunities because I could definitely rock this. In HS I rocked Baby-G's, when I got older my tastes changed, but I still dibbled and dabbled in G-Shock finery, lol. It's not that hard to step the wrist game up this season: $150. Fly, and recession-proof. Just the way I like it!



VIA KARMALOOP

The Socialite Strikes Again: SCION Art Exhibit

ON Thursday, I went to the SCION sponsored art exhibit called, "Installation 5". It's part of a nation-wide art tour that SCION is participating in. Many artists contributed to this exhibit, and many of them such as: Angela Boatwright, Brek Le Rat, Christina Felice, Edwin Ushiro, Logan Hicks, and Tessar Lo were actually in attendence. Above is a picture of a really cool photograph. I loved it, it reminded me of old-school horror...

There were many other dope photographs such as these:



I had a great time socializing with the crowd. I was lucky enough to be escorted by the diva herself: Ashlene, and the talented J. McClary:






The night was filled with a lot of socializing, and networking. There was a DJ spinning some new-wave and electronica, and of course we had to give it up to the bar-keep who kept Rolling Rock's and Pinot Grigio flowing:





There were SCION goodie-bags filled with pics and neat things like headphones... There was also much, much, much more art to be seen:








I thought this one was so dope. They should make a t-shirt out of it:



The crowd was definitely thick:



I had mucho fun with my peeps. I also met a few new ones:




J (Left), recording artist "Word Spit" (middle) and his manager (right).



Andre Futrell (CEO of earthtronix) and of course Mr. McClary.... It was yet another great venture for this NYC socialite... Man, chillin ain't easy... Or is it?

Young Women's Empowerment Summit

Yesterday at Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus there was a fabulous event called the "Young Women's Empowerment Summit". It was sponsored by Ivy (Igniting the Voices in our Youth) and Black Girls Rock. There were also treats from Ambi Skincare, Akademics urban-wear and Shakara's famous cupcakes (www.getemgirls.com):




The panel consisted of 6 beautiful, dynamic and successful sisters that are great examples of what a phenomenal woman should be. Basically, each panelist opened up about all of their fears during childhood, and the constructive things they did to overcome those obstacles. They also discussed how to "shake the haters off" and how to celebrate the women around you instead of fighting them. Nadia Lopez is the founder of IVY, and put this wonderful event together. She had a few words before introducing the panel:



After giving an anecdote about her struggles on being a mother and an entrepreneur-- the panel was underway! The discussion was lead and moderated by Michaela Angela Davis:



Michaela is a bold and striking woman with a beautiful head of red hair and piercing blue eyes. Her wittiness and warm spirit made the girls open up to the panel and really express themselves!



I had a hard time focusing though-- Michaela had on the KILLER shoes! (www.afropunk.ning.com/profile/MichaelaangelaDavis)



First panelist up was the homie DJ Beverly Bond. She is a model, DJ, and Founder/President of Black Girls Rock! She told a story of how she was inspired to break out of her shyness, embrace herself and seize her destiny. (www.blackgirlsrockinc.com)




Next was Mitzi Miller. She's a very accomplished writer, blogger and author. I have been following her career for years, and it was awesome to hear her speak. She gave some great advice on giving yourself "5 seconds" to assess a situation when your in a tough-spot. Some life-saving advice right there... (www.mitzimiller.blogspot.com)



Then there was Thembisa Mshaka, whose words and spirit were just as beautiful as her hair! She is an author and BET copy editor (sweet job!). She spoke of the struggles of coming up in an all-girls predominantly white school where she was often the only Black face... (www.thembisamshaka.com)



Next was the beautiful Dee Vazquez-- FUSE NETWORK Host and Sirius Satellite Radio Personality (catch her show with Kay-Slay!). I love this girl-- she is truly amazing. She has a warm spirit and a great attitude that shines through everything she does! She told an emotional story of rising above the obstacles of her project-neighborhood and pursuing even her most far-fetched goals because she just knew she deserved more... And she does! (www.myspace.com/deevazquez)



Then there was the beautiful Tylibah Author, CEO of Leebah Bay Productions, and emcee straight from Brooklyn! She taught the girls that therapy is a great, healing thing that should be taken advantage of whenever possible. It's always nice to have a non-judgmental person to pour your heart out to. (www.myspace.com/leebahbaby1)



Garnett Alcindor, CEO of Collective Concept PR, was also in the house. She admitted even that day-- that she was painfully shy, but it was something she has worked on and she never let it get in the way of her goals. She taught the girls to strive and welcome haters, as they are always an indicator of you doing the right things. AMEN to that! (www.collectiveconceptpr.com)



The audience was made up of girls from: Bedford Academy HS, Benjamin Banneker HS, and Boys & Girls HS. They warmed up to the ladies quickly, and many of them had a lot of insightful things to say. Some just wanted help, and others wanted to know how they could be a part of some of the organizations these ladies ran...




All in all, the event was a success. It warmed my heart that I was able to go and be a part of such a positive thing. It's always nice to see strong, up-standing women doing their part to give back to the community. It's something I think about everyday, and something I strive to do in the near future! Afterwards, some were lucky enough to get to taste Shakara's cupcakes, and take a look at her book : "The Get 'em Girls Guide to the Power of Cuisine", while the rest of us mingled and enjoyed the vibe!








See us tryna be cute posin' in the cut? Haha. Big shouts to Ms. DEE VAZQUEZ for putting me on to this event-- gotta love twitter. Make sure to catch her show on Sirius, it's great! Bye for now, and remember: EACH ONE, TEACH ONE... And I'm out.

The Other Night In NYC....

... We went to the Chester French show at Highline Ballroom. The opening act was Hollywood Holt-- from Chicago (pictured above)...

And his dee-jay Million Dollar Maino (LOL, I couldn't make this up folks!). We had a good time though. The music was different. It was like a fusion of electro-beats with a hardcore rock edge and loud chant-like lyrics. It was different-- and I liked it! Holt was very involved with the crowd which was awesome. He had so much energy-- notice how his clothes become progressively less and less on stage! LOL...

I like his style. He says he likes to make fun of himself before anyone else can, so he called his music weird and he said his pants were too tight. I loved it! He really got the crowd involved-- good showmanship makes great stars!


Towards the end of the set, the dee-jay joined the stage for the last song, and they rocked it out! It was a great time!


Next up was Chester French. For those of you that don't know, they are signed to Pharrell's "Star Trak" imprint. They're his latest protege, and they are blowing up! I really like this band! They are young, fresh, full of energy and their songs are cute, thoughtful and fun. Sometimes heir lyrics can be dark and though provoking, but for the most part it was a lot of fun...







Ya boy actually broke that tambourine he's playing in that pic above. He was going IN! And as soon as he broke it, he shrugged and tossed it to the crowd, and girls were going crazy over it! This is how I knew that these guys were here to stay. Once you got the teeny-boppers? It's over! Haha.

More Heat!

These bad-boys are the most... To say the least.

I am in podiatric heaven! Ha. These are the latest installments this season by House of Holland. I love almost everything black and white, and the cut-out detail, and white-heel detail are killing it! You know, my shoe obsession runs deep. It started as a youngster of about 7. My older sisters were rockin the hottest asics, nikes, addidas and etonics... I needed my own too. I had a lil crew of fly girls (shout out to NIRE, LOL), and we were always "laced" with the most fashionable footwear for elementary schoolers. As I grew, the sneaker-obsession just got worse until I hit 25, last year. I dunno what happened, but all of a sudden my sneaker rotation faded to black and I had a whole rack of heels: wedges, stilletto's, booties, slip-ons, mules, espadrilles-- the whole nine. Now, you will be hard-pressed to find me in flat-shoes-- although I will ALWAYS be a sneaker fan at heart! But again, my friends... I digress.

Wanna get with the flyness? It'll set you back about $450. Not a bad price to pay to be the fiercest kid on the block, huh?

VIA SEVEN NEW YORK

Yes, yes.... That's it.

See? I knew Rih would get her swag back. Here she is looking rather "Springy" and very mature might I add... The papps caught her leaving her midtown hotel in NYC yesterday evening... I like her hair (though many are not liking her streaks-- I just had streaks in my hair so I'm biased). And I have that shirt-- so of COURSE I love it... Plus, you can never go wrong with Christian Louboutin's on your feet-- and I've always envied people who owned white suits. I'm not brave enough. The day I wear a white suit is the day that I'm nursing a huge glass of merlot and the whole darn thing just spills over on me, like a scarlett letter... SMH. But still-- I digress. Love the look. Go Rih!

Yes Ladies, It's THAT Time Again

Naomi's looking fierce on the cover of "V" this month, isn't she? Her barely-there playboy bunny fits are a vivid reminder that bikini season is right around the corner. I hope all you fashionistas and super-hawt diva's out there are hittin that gym, doing those squats, sipping that Perrier, and doing whatever else one does to get in shape... Cottage cheese is only acceptable wtih crackers! Lest we forget.... Happy gymin'!

Picture of the Day...

This is what I like to see. Diva's making moves. Oprah and M.I.A attended the TIME 100 most influential of 2008... Imagine just being a fly on the wall of that meeting. What would they talk about? Wanna hear it? Here it go:

Oprah: "They say you're "fly like paper"

M.I.A: "Really? I figured I was more "get high like planes".

Oprah: "Oh come, come now... A nice girl like you? I know you're not getting high like planes... But if you are-- let a sistah know where I can get that good-good".

M.I.A: "No diggity my niggity. My homie Diplo is waiting out back in the blue Cadillac. He'll hook you up!"

Oprah: "Cool. I need to hang out with you young people more often. The most I get from Bill Gates and them are some damn microsoft shares. What I'mma do with Microsoft shares? How I'm supposed to smoke that?"

M.I.A: "Well, you know how I do. Just tell em: GALANG now!"

LOL... I'm a mess... I know!

CCW Certified.

I like this chick y'all. I really do. She does things the way they're supposed to be done (at least in my humble opinion). The bald thing truly got me. I am a sucker for the bold. I gravitate towards the outcast...



Sometimes I AM the outcast-- so this is prolly why I feel this way. I mean, why have long, flowy predictable hair when you can turn all heads and break all necks with a wicked buzz-cut? She puts her outfits togeher the way your supposed to. Her accessories always work.


Her make-up choices are bold-- but work. What can I say? I'm lovin this chick! And the new arm-candy? Normally I would gag at tatooed roses but her shit looks super-fierce-- I can't even front. She posted the main-picture {above} on her twitter page....

Some criticize her because she's known to like girls. So what? As long as it's not your skirt she's sniffing around-- who cares? Others criticize her sexy pics and rumored past-stripper career. Once again, I don't judge people for their past (with the exception of murderers and rapists), but rather on their future and where they are going.... And ya girl Amber Rose is clearly going places. And lastly, many judge her relationship with 'Ye saying she's just gold-digging her way to fame. Ha! I scoff. Because half the chicks saying that would trade places with her in a NY minute. Call her what you will, but don't call her no slouch. Go AMBER, baby! You're CCW CERTIFIED.

Rihanna Spotted: MOMA Event NYC

Rihanna was spotted at the MOMA "Model As A Muse: Embodying Fashion" Event. This is the first time she has been spotted out and about since the infamous CB incident. She looks... Happy. I'm hating the tux-- the jacket would be a cool idea if it was short-sleeved. Not liking the cropped pants either. Kudos for being bold and different though... You'll get your swag back Rih... So glad to see you got rid of the synthetic mohawk mess of yesterday....

And poof SURPRISE:



Dope-a-licious (yup, I made that up) couple Amber Rose and Kanye West were also at the MOMA event looking spectacular. I guess this can now quench those "Kanye dumped Baldy" rumors that have been circulating. SMH.. Miserable people always wanna see rich happy people in misery... I almost don't blame em though! LOL

VIA Global Grind

New Lil' Kim!

You know we always got that new-new for you-you! If it's hot-- it's here and that's that. NOW, let's get into it. Lil' Kim has a new joint out featuring T-Pain (of course-- how predicatable) and Charlie Wilson (which kinda threw me for a loop). The song is called, "Download" and is set to be featured on Kim's next LP titled, "Vintage". Love her and the album title....



The concept of the video is simple. Kim is talking to a man she's met on myspace but never in person and they discuss all the freaky things they will potentially do. It's surprisingly tame and tasteful compared to Kim's normally super-raunched out lyrics. I thought the concept was modern, realistic and cute! I know it's been said a billion and one times, but I love Kim, and I'd love her more minus all the nip-tuck swag she got going on. She looks HORRIBLE in this video unfortunately. It was prolly taped before Dancing With the Stars because she looked cute and almost human there... WATCH:




VIA Concreteloop.