Turn your burden into your blessing. Share your story. Don’t settle.
– Enjoy
Author Archives: A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group
Sebastian Mikael – Mine
Sebastian Mikael released his newest track entitled, “Mine” just in time for Valentine’s Day. When I checked out his Twitter profile he mentions how it feels good to put out new music. I feel you homie! I’m looking forward to hearing more throughout the course of this year. For now, let’s appreciate what we have. #Mine
– Enjoy!
Kanye West x Adidas Fashion Show (Awesome Is Possible!)
Hello Lovers…Happy Valentines Day! NYC has been buzzing since earlier this week and the festivities will continue over the course of the next 24+ hours or so. Not only is it fashion week, it also happens to be NBA All-Star weekend. On top of that, Monday is Presidents Day; which adds another layer to the madness. With everything that is going on this weekend, what is there not to love?
Yesterday night, as I was making rounds through Jersey City and Manhattan, I received a call from one of my good friends. I couldn’t answer at the moment, but when I called her back, she asked if I heard about Kanye’s fashion show with Adidas. I told her that I did and she sent me an email to check out an article and some footage of how the show was received.
As I began to read the article, the number one statement that initially caught my attention is when Kanye mentions, “I want people to think awesome is possible.” I immediately identified with that philosophy. Too often we idolize the achievements of others to a point that we no longer believe that it’s possible to achieve great things in our own right. We become desensitized to mediocrity. We view greatness as an anomaly. We become comfortable with things being fine just the way that they are. I extremely disagree! I believe that our existence in itself grants us an opportunity to achieve profound accolades beyond our imagination. Why settle for anything less?
Push culture forward. Push creativity forward. Live legendary, leave a legacy!
– Enjoy!
Bob Safian – Catching Up With Fast Company
In 2008, I attended CUNY City College in New York, NY. At the time, one of my older sisters lived in Harlem. Her house was just a few blocks away from where I attended school. One afternoon, I was spending some time at her house in between a few classes of mine. As I was browsing through her magazine collection, I came across a title by the name of Fast Company. 7 years later, I’m still a fan of FastCo and all of the content that they offer on a daily basis. In fact, I just received the newest print issue yesterday in the mail.
In the latest installment of ‘Innovation Crush‘, Chris Denson interviews Fast Company’s Editor-In-Chief, Bob Safian. In the course of 50 minutes, they make time to discuss a plethora of topics pertaining to business, creativity, marketing, and innovation. If you’re a fan of what’s next to come in business, this one’s for you.
Enjoy!
Khary Durgans – Self Centered/Twenty – 3
You know you’re on the right track when people can identify your music within minutes of listening. It’s even better when you’re an emerging artist from Rhode Island yet to gain mainstream recognition. It’s only a matter of time before a young 23 year-old MC by the name of Khary Durgans goes next level!
Do you know that feeling when you hear something special and everything else around you comes to a halt? As I was in the kitchen cooking dinner earlier this evening, that’s exactly what happened. I heard a very familiar voice projecting through my speakers in my living room. I had a pretty good idea who I thought it may be. Nonetheless, I still had to walk over to glimpse at the screen on my iPhone just to make sure. I was right. It was Khary and he just dropped some more heat with this one! It’s entitled, ‘Self Centered/Twenty.‘ You don’t believe me? Check it out yourself…I know one thing, I’m diggin’ it.
Enjoy!
India Shawn + James Fauntleroy – Outer Limits
I remember when I first came across India Shawn back in 2012. In fact, my post of her debut project, Origin was on this very website. 12/6/2012 was the date. “Sinking In” and “I’m Alive” are still some of my favorite tracks to date. Fast forward 2 years and here we are today. India Shawn…James Fauntleroy…Outer Limits. What more can we ask for?
India embodies an essence which is somewhat ethereal. Her music is angelic. Her state of mind is deep. She’s curious about life, and she’s super creative in her artistic expression. Listen to “No Saint” and you may understand exactly where I’m coming from! For now, let’s allow her to do what she does best…take us to outer limits. Look out for the EP in March.
Enjoy!
Kali Uchis – Por Vida EP
I woke up this morning, meditated for 10 minutes, and took a look down my soundcloud timeline to see what new releases surfaced during my (undisclosed) time of rest. Uh ohhhhh…I see that Kali Uchis just released her debut EP, Por Vida! How did I miss this last night? I’ve been waiting on her project since I heard a few remixes of her single, “Know What I Want.” The ESTA. remix is fire!
So…what are some of my favorite joints? I’m really diggin’ “Rush”, “Ridin Round”, and “Speed”. “Rush” sounds like it can be one of the lead tracks off of her project in it’s own right. I would love to see visuals! “Ridin Round” offers a nice alternative twist to the fundamentals of trap and “Speed” gives me those breaks that Chad, Pharrell, and Tyler always seem to master so well. It only makes sense that Tyler produced it.
Where can you catch Kali? All over, she’s already blessed many of the major media outlets such as Billboard, The Fader, and Pitchfork just to name a few. I’m looking forward to following her career as she continues to take things to new heights! I would love to see her get in the studio with The Neptunes. I would also be curious to see how she sounds over some of their production. I’m sure that they have a bunch of tracks just laying around. She may be the right artist to make something out of nothing. Plus, it may make for a nice project or even mixtape. Can we make that happen?
Overall, Kali is an artist who definitely has her own aesthetic. She expresses her art, style, thoughts, and vision on her own terms…period! Not only do I have some tunes to take me into the summer, but most likely, this may also be a project to consider for a lot of year end lists come December.
Enjoy!
Empowered: The Story of MankoFit
Earlier today, I was talking to a friend of mine about fitness, health, and wellness. She asked me if I knew of someone by the name of Massiel “MankoFit” Arias. Although the name sounded slightly familiar, it still didn’t quite ring a bell. A few seconds later, I asked to see her Instagram. After a few quick glances, I knew that I had seen her somewhere before. I sent out a quick text to one of my close childhood friends, Thomas Johnson. I wanted to see if he was familiar with her. 5 minutes later…he replied, “Yes, I am.”
Thomas is a Health and Fitness Coach and also the CEO of GetUpNGetFit. GetUpNGetFit is a health & fitness company that helps clients learn how to implement healthy and safe lifestyle habits that will allow them to live an optimum lifestyle. This past weekend, Thomas, my brother, and I all went out to celebrate my brothers birthday and the release of one of my other friends mobile app. When we returned from the city, Thomas shared with me some insight on MankoFit. He told me how she is very well known within the world of fitness and how she is doing a great job at making a positive name for herself.
Hearing about someone once might gain my acknowledgement. Hearing about someone twice definitely gains my attention. It was finally time to hit that search button. As expected, I did all of my preliminary searching via Google. I also checked out her Twitter, Youtube, and website. I liked what I had seen. I could tell that she is very passionate about her work. She has the drive of someone who is out here fighting to prove something. The ambition of someone fighting for a specific cause. What really caught my attention however is her mini-documentary above. ‘Empowered – The Story of MankoFit’, does a great job at portraying how Massy utilized fitness as a medium to overcome her depression.
We all know that life is full of obstacles, hardships, and setbacks. How we choose to overcome the challenges that stand in our way is ultimately what helps to build our character and craft our own unique story. Ask yourself, what are you doing today to make your journey more fulfilling tomorrow?
This video (which is very well shot), was directed by Eliu Cornielle of EC Media Studio. It’s super empowering, inspiring, and motivating…Enjoy!
_________________________
(Uh • Kway • Us) Aquaus Kelley is a forward-thinking Brand Strategist, Educator, and Music Publisher. As the Founder of A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group, he specializes in identifying talent and creating opportunities for brand development, exposure, and growth. Aquaus has worked with companies and organizations such as Cornerstone Agency, City Year Miami, Universal Music Group, and W Hotels. He is extremely passionate about helping companies adapt to culture and building value between brands and their consumers centered around love. His ultimate mission is to use his influence to project positivity across the globe and invest in the collective future of society through the arts, education, entertainment, and leadership.
Common Interview on Bristol Presentz #ALOVERSAmbition
On September 14, 2014 I received an email inquiry from Lekan Latinwo of Amon Creatives out of Bristol, UK. Lekan happened to see my 3 Lessons Learned interview with Jaha Johnson on behindthehustle.com. In my interview on BTH, Jaha mentions that he co-manages Common along with some other well-known artists and producers. Before reaching out to me, Lekan had obviously done his research. He requested an interview with Common knowing that he would be at the O2 Academy in Bristol, UK during his ‘Nobody’s Smiling’ Tour. All that Lekan needed from me was to connect him with Jaha. After collecting some additional information, I reached out to Jaha to see if he was cool with Lekan’s request. Thankfully, Jaha gave me the green light and I was happy to connect the both of them.
I wanted to share this with you all because it’s a great example of how to go about bringing your dreams and goals to fruition. If you have an idea, act on it! Find the people who can help you to connect those dots and make things happen. Yes, you definitely have to play your part. It’s also important to know exactly what you want while being strategic and smart about your approach. Once you have things together on your end, life becomes more simple. There are people in this world such as myself who do want to help others out and see them succeed. As Cortez Bryant, one of Billboards 2014 Top 40 Under 40 honorees once said, “I got into this business to help artists fulfill their dreams.” That’s the ethos of A Lovers Ambition. It’s more than a creative agency. It’s more than a lifestyle group. It’s an all around lifestyle based movement founded on helping to make others dreams and passions come true. We all have ‘A Lovers Ambition’ to achieve something in life. Ask yourself, what do you aspire to achieve?
Enjoy the video!
Childish Gambino – Sober
Ahhh yesss…Childish Gambino recently released his video for “Sober” which is one of my favorite tracks off of his Kauai EP.
What are your thoughts on the video?
A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group 