Rock The Bells, lines, lines and more lines…

We just did a massive Lollapallooza write up and Yvettita has given her take on this past weekend’s Rock The Bells festivities in SoCal. Everyone is entitled to their opinion about how they spend their time, here’s a quick rundown on my thoughts from Rock The Bells 2010.

The Good

1. The stage was centrally located with plenty of space to move pretty close to the acts.
2. A Tribe Called Quest killed it! Q-Tip had a superior performance to his UCLA Jazz Reggae act, and Fife looks like he’d been practicing.
3. Moment of the night for me was when Tribe brought out Busta Rhymes and Spliff Starr as surprise guests and proceeded to do a bunch of Violator tracks circa 1999.
4. Wu-Tang was fully in attendance with ODB’s son holding it down as well. I have never seen the full collective and frankly it was an honor and a special moment for me to watch them perform “Enter The 36″
5. Both Wu-Tang and Snoop strayed from their respective albums, which was all good, because we got to see WU perform “Triumph, Method Man perform “Da Rockwilder”, and Snoop put down some classic shit like “Next Episode” and “Murder Was The Case”.
6. Hosing the crowd with water at key moments on account of unbearable San Bernardino heat.

The Bad

1. The parking was overbooked and the lots were closed by the fire marshal, this forced many (including me) to find random, crazy, street parking.
2. When entering the concert grounds, security confiscated cigarette packs (but no single smokes), lighters and bottles of WATER! (including Nalgene) from ticket holders.
3. The indoor venue acted as a second stage, the airplane hanger-esque building was lacking sun, fun, and people. Bust.
4. There was no grass, the entire outdoor venue is on asphalt, basically a huge parking lot. That prevented most (not all) from being able to lie, sit or give their legs a respite.
5. The food vendors were limited and pricey. The Jamaican Jerk sauce was weak, and the lemonade was sour.
6. We arrived at 4PM and they had already pushed a lot of artists on the stage. In just 4 hours we had missed Rakim, Slick Rick, DJ Premier, and a slew of young cats.

The Ugly

1. There were lines to EVERYTHING.
2. There was a line to enter.
3. There was a line to get ID checked so you could wear a Heineken bracelet.
4. There was line to buy “event cards” which were prepaid amounts to spend for food and drink.
5. There were lines to get food and drink.
6. The COLD WATER tent ran out of water. So did the bar.
7. It was about 102 degrees for the majority of the day.
8. LAURYN HILL. Man she sounded like Whitney, post -2009, just cracked out.

ZIF Video Of The Week: Living La Vida Guerra

If your grandmother was world renowned for her derriere would you speak on it publicly? Personally I’d be uncomfortable with how many spank banks my grandmother had been unknowingly employed by. Regardless, Vida Guerra will go down as the most famous ass ever. I call it that Goldilocks ass, not too big, not too small, just right. Cop Vida’s 2010 calendar on her home page. And some Vaseline at your local drugstore.

Punkie the Zebra

Punkie the Italian Fashionista/Blogger Speaks to ZIF

Having an Italian woman send you pictures of herself in a zebra outfit is one way to get your heart palpitating. When that woman is a talented fashion blogger from Milan, you need to slow that pulse down, process the images and post about it. Because this young star on the rise is not just another trick attempting to satiate your grossly juvenile desires. No, this is a real woman, a fashionista, a pleasurable token from Italy. Bellissima! Catch Punkies fashion features at her blog A Dream of A Lifetime.

ZIF: What is the deal with all the Zebra print in fashion this past year? Zebra print is a la mode, correct?

Punkie: Of course! I think zebra print could be current and a la mode, all the time! If you match it in the right way, it can always work!

ZIF: We are a hip hop site. Do you listen to rap music? Italian rap? American? Your impressions?

Punkie: I listen to all kinds of music! If a certain song attracts me, I will surely add it to my playlist! For example in Italy I love so many artists, one is named Caparezza. He is a bit rapper and a bit storyteller… his songs are always amazing me! And I ADORE Sean Paul. I know that he’s more dancehall than rap, but he’s great! Oh and I also like Matisyahu a lot, the melodies of his songs are stunning!

ZIF: What about hip hop fashion? Where does it find its inspiration, in your opinion?

Punkie: I don’t know where the inspiration comes from… I think from the streets! Personally I don’t strictly follow this trend. But I think that in summer a large pair of jeans, sneakers and a simple cotton tank works so well! Oh and the collaboration between Missy Elliot and Adidas is just a fantastic! Some pieces of the collection are AMAZING! Anyway, I respect all kinds of fashion. Even if someone is being himself wearing a certain type of dress, he should be admired!

ZIF got some Jewlz to show you!

Here at ZIF we pride ourselves on our extensive network of eclectic industry brethren. Jewlz Bailey is an old partner in crime of mine, so it’s with great pleasure that I share this exclusive look at a recent JB photoshoot. Though Jewlz has an extensive modeling background, it is her work with a camera that has turned heads. After the jump, be sure to peep the recent music video by Nirvana Savoury, directed and shot by Ms. Bailey. Jewlz will be back in Los Angeles soon to shoot some LionStarr content, and we’ll be sure to keep you updated on any of her upcoming shoots