Kanye West’s Glow in the Dark Tour

SARA MARSH & SABRINA BROWN '09

Get ready for May 15th! Kanye West is coming to the Tweeter Center, located in Mansfield Massachusetts for his Glow in the Dark Tour directed by Larry Charles. The artist will be joined by popular R&B and pop singers Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco and N.E.R.D. This fabulous line consists of Grammy winners and top seller artists.

Recently, Kanye West has been getting media attention for his top selling album Graduation that includes three top hits: Stronger, Flashing Lights, and Good Life. He released his debut album, The College Dropout, in 2004, and his second album, Late Registration, in 2005. He is a nine time Grammy award winner and also runs his own record label GOOD Music. West's mascot and trademark is a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of his three albums. He enrolled at Chicago State University but later dropped out to continue pursuing his music career, which is how he developed the name for his first album. In July 2007, West changed the release date of Graduation, from September 18, 2007, to the same release date as 50 Cent's album Curtis, September 11, 2007. 50 Cent later claimed that if Graduation were to sell more records than Curtis, he would stop releasing solo albums. In the end, 50 Cent ended this bet. The album has been certified double platinum, with guest appearances from T-Pain, Mos Def, & Lil Wayne.

Rihanna, a native from Barbados, is currently heating up the charts with her new album Good Girl Gone Bad, which hit stores June 5, 2007. The artist has recently changed her image from a sweet innocent teen, to a feisty, sex image. Her hit “Umbrella” became the number 1 hit single for ten consecutive weeks in the United Kingdom, and was played all summer on the radio in the United States. Rhianna has won many awards including World's Best-Selling Pop Female Artist & Entertainer of the Year at the 2007 World Music Awards, "Favorite Female Artist - R&B" at the 2007 American Music Awards. Her hit "Shut Up and Drive" won best R&B song at the 2008 People's Choice Award, while "Don't Stop the Music" won best international song at the 2008 NRJ Music Awards in France.

Lupe Fiasco is a Grammy-winning American Hip-hop artist, who is also the co-founder and vice-president of 1st & 15th Entertainment, a record label under Atlantic. Lupe is open about discussing his Islamic beliefs, and one of his musical influences happens to be Kanye West. Fiasco, a Grammy winner for the 2008 Best Urban/Alternative Performance ("Daydreamin' (feat Jill Scott)"), hasn’t been recognized for any other awards, however he’s been nominated for many. These nominations include BET Awards Best New Artist of 2007, Grammy Awards 2007, Best Rap Album: Food & Liquor, BET Hip Hop Awards 2007 for Hip-Hop CD of the Year (Food & Liquor) and Hip-Hop Video of the Year ("Kick Push”). His most recent hit song is “Superstar” from his 2007 album Lupe Fiasco's the Cool featuring Matthew Santos. “Superstar” was the first single off his album released September 25, 2007.

N.E.R.D. is an alternative rock band consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes, and their friend Shay Haley. When asked what n.e.r.d. stood for, Pharrell Williams, the lead singer replied, “N.E.R.D stands for No One Ever Really Dies.” Their second album, Fly or Die, went on sale on March 22, 2004. The album went top 10 in the USA, featuring their hit single, “She wants to move.” Their most recent album, Seeing Sounds is due to be released June 10, 2008. The group is currently promoting it during their tour with Kanye West.

If you are anyone you’ll be at the concert Thursday, May 15th! We hope to see you there!

Read more!

Fashion News: The Natick Collection

SARA MARSH '09

The Natick Mall just got a lot more interesting! The beginning of September became a very busy shopping season due to the grand opening of the Natick Collection. The mall, located off route 9 on the Natick-Framingham border, just expanded and inherited a wide variety of luxury shops. Due to the extensive advertisement of new stores, thousands of people are checking out the new extension of the mall and they are not disappointed. Most are astounded by the amazing sales, special promotions, and unprecedented discounts. The new addition features trendy and sophisticated restaurants, upscale department stores such as Nordstrom’s and Neiman Marcus, and a wide selection of other high-end clothing and accessory stores.

The Natick Mall has always attracted shoppers in need of new outfits or electronics, but the creation of the Natick Collection allows one to do their shopping in style and luxury. The new are more designer based and offer clothing and accessories at better quality. Stores such as, Kate Spade, Betsey Johnson, Juicy Couture, Tommy Bahama, The Apple Store, Banana Republic, J Crew, Lulu Lemon Athletica, BCBG, Max Mara, Burberry, Lacoste, Louis Vuitton and others are some of the new designer stores added to the mall. While these stores are more expensive, they are also more upscale and attract more people. For many, it is easier to travel to Natick than to Boston to find the same selection, and no one wants to deal with Boston traffic and parking? Before Natick collection opened, the only place to grab a meal at the mall was if you either visited the food court, or went to California Pizza Kitchen, which always seems to have a long wait. Some of the new restaurants are The Cheesecake Factory, Finale, The Metropolitan Bar and Grill, Melt Gelato and Crepe Café, Nordstrom Café Bistro, Sel De La Terre, and many more. The wide variety of restaurants allows shoppers to enjoy dinner, lunch or a tasty snack at trendy, high quality restaurants.

The interior decorations throughout the mall are fantastic! There are statues of realistic birch trees throughout the mall, and the floors have all been retiled with marble and are nicely polished. A giant fountain, located where the new section and older section of the mall meet, has created a nice courtyard feeling. The balcony of the second floor looks over the treetops of birch trees that have been mounted into the first floor and the glass ceiling allows the sunshine to glimmer through.

Looking around, the shoppers appear to be happy, excited and overwhelmed. I think that many people are still in shock about how nice the new addition is to the mall. The older part has been refurbished and is still crowded with people. The new wing has brought in many more people to shop at the new stores and as a result numerous people are discovering the improvements to the old section of the mall. If you haven’t already gone to visit the Natick Collection, it’s definitely worth a visit. Make sure you check out the new stores, and restaurants, and bring some extra cash, you may find yourself a new wardrobe!

Image from: www.Boston.com
Read more!