NYC made this happen – lifeofacitygal

Summer Sixteen Tour

The day had finally arrived. After paying almost 4x the face value for a ticket to one of the most anticipated shows this summer, the wait was finally over. It was time to see Aubrey Graham, the 6’s own, along with my absolute favorite, Future, take the stage and give me a concert I should never forget. Especially considering the amount I paid for it. Gotta love resale right? I hadn’t seen Drake since his ‘Nothing was the Same’ concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn back in 2013. That show was pretty epic so my expectation for Summer 16′ was pretty high. OVO artists Roy Woods and Dvsn opened the concert which was fine by me since I’m a fan of both. I will admit the tone of the concert changed almost immediately since both artists are more on the R&B scale to me. However, as I stated before, I’m a fan of them so I appreciated their performances equally as much.

The moment had arrived. The lights dimmed and surprisingly Drake appeared on the stage first. I don’t think anyone expected him to come out first. Nonetheless, it was hit after hit, anthem after anthem that played throughout the garden. Just to confirm, he should be signed to Hit-Boy because he literally has all the hits boy. Okay sorry for that line but I had to say it. Drake’s set list was far from disappointing. The crowd, including myself, sung line after line the entire night. Even for those who will not willingly admit Drake is their favorite artist, you were bound to hear that one Drake song that you consider a classic.

Future came out about half way through and, seeing that he’s my favorite, he can do no wrong in my eyes. March Madness and Stick Talk will never get old to me. Bringing Young Thug, better known now as Jeffery, as a surprise guest was an added bonus too. Of course, Drizzy came back and they performed songs from ‘What a Time to be Alive’; ending the the joint performance with Jumpman. Drake then took back over and followed through with more hits. I will admit I was shocked Rihanna didn’t come out to join him to perform ‘Work’ but the crowd held her down. So after all of the criticism and never ending debates of Drake and his writing ability, “beef” with numerous rappers and arguments deciding if his music is actually rap or pop, one thing we cannot deny is the man’s talent. He definitely has a huge influence on our generation and is not going anywhere anytime soon. Views is continuing to chart and like it or not, Aubrey Graham has made his mark and is here to stay. I definitely enjoyed this show and even contemplated going to see it again the following night. Check out the merch below and be sure to watch the video too.

Clover Club

Sometimes you just want to go out and grab a good drink. Clover Club has been on my list of places to try for quite some time and I finally made it. Located near Cobble Hill on Smith Street, this is a stellar cocktail bar that must be visited if you’re in the area. The dim setting and overall ambiance is great. Very relaxing and inviting to have nice conversation over some of their many fancy concoctions. Although we only came for drinks, I’d been eyeing a few food items I wanted to try as well. I went with the deviled eggs and the mac and cheese. With the deviled eggs, you received four all topped with something different. Toppings included were crispy bacon croutons, smoked paprika and garlic bread crumbs, smoked trout and mushrooms duxelles. All were delectable and almost made me order another round but I remembered I had the mac and cheese to indulge in as well. The mac and cheese was cooked with several cheeses and also included bacon. Anytime there’s bacon involved, I’m overjoyed. I’ll have to re-visit to try the fried oysters and the bread pudding. I wish I could of tried everything all at once but this gives me a reason to definitely come back.

As for the drinks, there’s a huge selection categorized perfectly for an indecisive person like myself. Some of the categories were punches, tiki, beat the heat and brain freeze just to name a few. Clover Club was definitely a hit for me and it worked even better that it’s right in Brooklyn. Be sure to check them out if you’re ever on Smith Street and looking for a nice cocktail bar. Check out more pics below.

Just a little Southern Hospitality

You can always find a good barbecue place in NYC. One that happens to be a pretty good choice in my opinion is Southern Hospitality. Part owner, Justin Timberlake, brings his Southern roots to the heart of New York City with Memphis-style ribs, pulled pork, and the southern fried classics. I’ve visited for both brunch and diner and the food is always on point. This particular visit I tried the brisket sandwich topped with fried onions and a sweet BBQ sauce. All sandwiches are accompanied with a pickle and fries but the fries can be substituted of course. To balance it out, I normally try to add I side salad which was a great combination with this sandwich. When someone tags along, I also try whatever they have and this time it was the infamous chicken and waffles. The cornbread waffles were cooked to perfection and the chicken was very flavorful as well. Just the right amount of crisp with each bite. Seeing that I am from the south myself, I love venturing off and finding places like these. Their take on Southern classics here are very good to say the least. If you’re ever in the Times Square area and want to have some authentic Southern bbq with undeniable Southern hospitality, give them a try.

Only in NYC

Free Love- live performance by Marc E. Bassy (Ace Hotel, New York, NY) from Lifeofacitygal on Vimeo.

Only in New York can you go to brunch and randomly run into one of your favorite artists. That’s exactly what happened to me. While having brunch in the Soho, I ran into the one and only Marc E. Bassy. We had a quick convo about his music and recent performance with G-Eazy the week prior at the The Endless Summer Tour. He then mentioned he was having a new EP dropping the following Friday and was having an intimate show coming up if I wanted to attend. I was stoked!

The show took place at the Ace Hotel in Flatiron, New York and was nothing short of amazing. Open bar and great summer vibes are always a good combination for a great night. Marc performed songs from his album ‘East Hollywood’ including my favorites ‘Free Love’ and Some things never change’. Since the new EP, Groovy People, was coming out he made sure to perform songs from that as well. My favorite from this one is ‘Subway Car’. Who knew a typical day out brunching would turn into not only meeting one of my favorite artists right now but also a personal invite to the show. Could life be any better? Marc E. Bassy is truly talented and has a great voice. Be sure to cop his new EP, Groovy People, and check out his other music as well. You won’t be disappointed.

Some things never change- Marc E. Bassy (Ace Hotel, New York, NY) from Lifeofacitygal on Vimeo.

The Endless Summer Tour

The Endless Summer Tour headlined by G-Eazy and Logic was definitely a good summer concert to partake in. The tickets were very reasonably priced and the show included both Memphis’ own Yo Gotti and Mr. Bompton himself, better known as YG. I am definitely a fan of the latter 2 artists and figured the price was a steal so why not. I didn’t know what to expect at this concert so I went in to enjoy the experience. Unfortunately, I missed YG opening the concert but caught Yo Gotti. He performed a good line of music including the summer classic ‘Down in the DM’ and even gave a verse from a new song entitled ‘Wait for it’. Luckily, YG came back out to join G-Eazy to perform the remix for the ode to Donald Trump. We all know the title by now. Glad I was able to catch a performance by him.

Logic then came out to keep the crowd’s hype going. His new project, Bobby Tarintino, also had just dropped so he was able to perform both old and new tracks. I was astounded at the crowd’s response. Singing line for line, never missing a beat. After the response I saw Logic received, I couldn’t wait to see how it would go for G-Eazy. Man, it only got better. I heard a couple of songs from G-Eazy and was glad to hear them live including the popular songs like Me, Myself and I, Order More, and Drifting. G-Eazy also made sure to bring out special guests including Jadakiss, Ty Dolla Sign and Marc E. Bassy. All performers were great that night and I have a newfound respect for them, their craft and artistry. From seeing fans that had traveled several times to see both Logic and G-Eazy in concert and hear their stores, to Logic giving a special birthday shout out to the twins that were at the Barclays Center that night, to rocking the crowd the way they all did. Kudos to all of the performers. I love expanding my music catalog and experiencing a great concert. The Endless Summer Tour was a great way to keep the flow of summer music vibes in NYC. Enjoy some of the video footage I was able to capture and check out the new music from all of the artists mentioned.

Brooklyn summers

Summers in NYC are made for a nice tee and shorts on a perfect day. Here I’m wearing a New York edition tee made by The Hundreds and I paired it simply with denim shorts. To add a bit of color, I decided to wear my comfy slip on sneakers by Steve Madden. The rose gold compliments the black and white nicely. Also to add a little flair, I used a black bandana as a headband and made a cute little fun bun for a hairstyle. You also never know what an NYC night can lead to so grabbing a long sleeved shirt or light jacket is never a bad idea, even when it’s 100 degrees out. Just tie it around your waist and head out! More full outfit pictures below.

In Formation

Beyonce probably has to be the biggest artist of my generation; comparable to the stature of how my parents feel about Michael Jackson. After the visuals for Lemonade aired on HBO, I immediately purchased tickets for the Formation Tour. My fiance’s bucket list included seeing Beyonce live so I figured let’s make this happen. I definitely wouldn’t say I’m apart of the Bey Hive or a known Beyonce fanatic, so to make an executive decision to spend about $160 per ticket was definitely out of the ordinary for me.

Not knowing what to expect, I entered Citi Field in NYC somewhat anxious and, to say the least, highly anticipating just what to see from the Queen herself. Dj Khaled opened the tour and brought out a number of guests including Yo Gotti, Kent Jones, French Montana and the Lox to name a few. Khaled definitely knows how to read a crowd and kept up the momentum until the big moment finally happened. The lights dimmed, flashed black and white and just the shadow of Queen Bey stirred the crowd in a way I never seen before. Big Freedia’s intro to Formation played and there she was. Effortlessly slaying per the usual.

To start with the hit Formation, I knew to only expect greatness from here on. Beyonce has a slew of hits. I watched her perform for over 2 hours; never missing a beat and never losing connection with the crowd of fans. The experience was like no other. She has to be crowned as the best performer of all time in my opinion. Beyonce gained so much more respect from me as both an artist and person after this tour. I am proud to say I got in formation with ease. Check out some of the moments I was able to capture below.

Greene St Vibes

Living in New York, you come to learn that dressing comfortably is key. I eyed this t-shirt dress from H&M for awhile and finally decided to just grab a small and see how it fitted later. To my surprise, this dress fit perfectly! A great investment for the summer and definitely worth the $14.99. I paired it with a quilted rose gold patterned ‘Van-like’slip on shoe from Steve Madden. These shoes are pretty comfy as well. Pairing these with all black seemed to highlight the shoe more in my perspective and went well with this street comfy style. I was Soho ready with this look. Check out more pics below.

A look inside BR99

Pop-up stores are definitely making a good stint this year in NYC. Bleacher Report teamed up with the owner of Kith, Ronnie Fieg, and hosted one of their own here in Soho called BR99. There was tons of merchandise from tees, shorts, towels, hats, hoodies, etc. Some items were branded with 99 for this specialty pop-up and other things simply kept the KITH name or enlarged K. Since Bleacher Report is sports based, there were a lot of other activities one could partake in at this pop-up, particularly in the lounge located upstairs. Being a big fan of air hockey, I was definitely excited when I saw this and decided to play a few games. You could also play NBA 2K or even create a meme using popular viral videos that we’ve seen so far this year.

The pop-up wouldn’t be complete without Kith Treats. The Kith store in Brooklyn, NY offers Kith Treats which includes their ice cream cereal swirl and a good handful of cereal and candy toppings; perfect for a hot summer day right? This pop-up offered 2 specialties. One created by none other than the #1 NBA draft pick, Ben Simmons, which included captain crunch, cookie dough and Twix for the toppings. The other one was created by the Bleacher Report team and included fruity pebbles, captain crunch berries and blue marshmallows for toppings. Sugar rush indeed!

This was definitely a great pop-up to say the least. Its open until 6/30 so if you are in the area, stop by and check it out. More pics below.

A Trip to Cuba

For one of my girls day/night out, we decided to check out the cutest little Cuban tapas restaurant named Havana Social. Be warned it is a few blocks from subway transportation in NYC but definitely worth the walk if you’re not cabbing it! Okay, now that I’ve given that disclaimer, let’s talk food. My friend suggested this place for dinner and we did not leave disappointed. We went on a Sunday around 5pm and were delighted to see they had a price-fixe menu with pretty good selections. You could choose from about 4 or 5 entrees along with either an appetizer or dessert. I decided to start with their empanadas; this came with 3 which included spinach, beef and chicken. OMG!! What a way to start off a meal. We also ordered guacamole for the table (which is a must these days I’m figuring). As for my entree, I went with the chipotle pork chop; infused with chipotle and honey and served with plantains and beans. This was so flavorful and really exceeded my expectations. Towards the end of the meal, I was definitely stuffed but refused to leave any food behind as it was too good to not eat everything. As for drinks, we all went in on a pitcher of their infamous coconut mojito. Seeing that I am not a huge fan of mojitos, if I ordered it, it must be a hit.

Overall, the dining experience was great at Havana Social. In fact, right before you leave, they give you a complimentary shot too. This is much needed after you get your bill and realize you probably went over budget for a typical day/night out. Don’t worry. It’s worth it! More pics below.