Tellin' Me Nothin'

Behind each song that I create, there is a real story. With every song, I will at least try to write a little something to my followers to allow them to know where I come from because I think it's interesting to know the thought process behind music made.

Tellin' Me Nothin' was an anthem after a very trying 2015. Emotionally challenged with what seemed to be relationship failures, I was immediately faced with the opportunity to discern who I did and didn't want to be. From feeling cheated of my worth to repeated accounts of others' unaccountability, I think I could say this was a positive outcome of  resentment.

This is for the ones who've made me feel small, the ones who've tried to multiply their status by verbally knocking others down in the process, and for the ones who cheated me of the respect that I felt I deserved. More importantly, this is for the ladies or men who struggle with knowing what they truly deserve. No one has the power to determine your worth and their actions will always tell you just what you mean to them.

Project: DANGEROUS with JG

R&B used to make people feel. It used to make you wanna fall in love. Beginning of August, I linked up with JG yet again to try to revive this style of R&B -- forget the girls, forget the club, forget the money and forget cheating. DANGEROUS was the outcome & we've been getting nothin' but love, straight up. Thank you all.

LUV IT

 My trip home consisted of a lot of studio time day and night with my good homie Justin Galisim (JG of Prodigy Studios). He is an extremely talented musician/producer/sound engineer whose musicality is insane to me.  He and I both have a different ear for music, but when we put our heads together and collaborate what we come up with is phenomenal.  We've always been musically great together because of our history of performances.

But from all that studio time we've worked on so much included Luv It, which was originally a small project I was working on for fun.  Again, started out of GarageBand and I had the privilege of working with a few musicians to help make this project come to life (Shout out to Lee for the mean bass progressions). JG really just made the shit come full circle and I'm so thankful.  We have more music coming up that I can't wait for everyone to hear. Peace & love.

Quake

Lately, I've been in and out of existence creating shit.  Pressure makes diamonds.  Its been a rough 4 months and I'm not gonna hide it.  But music is what lifted me from a hard time & this was the outcome and is the beginning of a beautiful project.  I wrote, like I used to years ago.

Could you stand normality?
What I meant to say was I miss you.
I mean, we strive so hard to keep shit normal;
Go day by the day to do what makes us feel sane
We go by grooves, swings and hangs of things
Nine to fives or five to nines
With him, with her, with them
from the crib to the bar to the studio
But you breathe and let it sink in.
We avoid what makes our life a mess
But these days the mess is what I miss.
I gravitate to what's true to my heart
The passion, chaos I left all that in the dark
But today what I don't have is my bliss.

I try to live my life good and well
But you dance your way back in
Maybe my conscience ain't clear but dreams.
They never lied to me.
And the last words ever said was we couldn't
But I'm trippin like maybe, just maybe...
You should've hurt as much as I did when u said that.
Fuck we were a tragedy but a pretty one at that.
Today. Everything is perfect. Everything is normal.
Everything is as it should.
But I still be prayin' on an earthquake, love.

And from this came a song, made and recorded entirely on GarageBand, called Quake.

"Rollin' With Rosales" · Lucky We Live HI

I spent 4 sweet days vacationing with my family.  It's been 5 months since I last seen them, I absorbed every minute of it.  It's tough to be away, especially from them because being genuinely happy around them is effortless, foreal.  I compiled this video because creativity just can't stay away and because I miss them already.  Scenes include Lulumahu Falls, Waimea Beach, Eat the Street, Kailua Beach and the nameless lookout off Kalanianaole.

Melrose in HI

Surfboard Alley, Waikiki 

Fashion is an art that I haven't really accepted and embraced as a part of me until after my senior year in high school.  So forgive me if I have trouble verbally expressing my looks.  In the heart of Waikiki, I am wearing JoyRich Clothing, an eclectic, trendy Los Angeles brand that I feel has been the timeless victor among many rising and falling street-wear trends.  Sporty shit is me and has been me for as long as I could remember.

I've paired this look with my favorite pair of Jordan XII's (Playoff XII's) and my cute croc crossbody bag via NastyGal.  The humidity and heat in Hawaii is a little unforgiving to a California girl, so I seized the opportunity to rock a turtle neck in chilly weather.... bottoms not included.

Refix: In This Life

Somewhere in Oahu 2015

With everything I've achieved throughout my life, I've come to find that when you're good at everything, perhaps you're never really great at anything.  I've been an writer, I've been a painter. A collector.  Graphic artist. A singer. Dancer. Even a bikini competitor.  Sure, I would love to become "great" at something, but the truth is, I have more of a will to wander.  If you all have had a watchful eye over anything I've done - my art, my fitness, my photos, my clothes - I have some good news. I've reconstructed my blog to better suit who I am.  Whether I'm in SF, Hawaii, or anywhere else on the planet, in this life I'll always be me.

Wanderers tap their feet into anything, but there's no telling how long they might stay.  So I've revamped my site to represent anything and everything I am, and all that is a part of me.  Whatever I do, recognize the raw artful vision behind it and the woman, whatever she is or was, who has stood behind her name from the beginning.

XOX.  PS - Enjoy these photos. They were taken somewhere in Oahu, where I currently live.  It is literally an unnamed place off of a Waimanalo highway.