Una Mae's Photoshoot

This time we had a "for real, for real" photo shoot with muff-occurs flying all the way in from NY to take pictures of us! Sometimes opportunities knock & remind us that we're kind of a big deal. We felt honored that the out-of-town-crew wanted to create a direct mail piece and send it out to a list of millions, featuring Kinky Notti & the legendary Big Daddy Kane ((Common's favorite emcee))!!

We literally shut down Una Mae's Freak Boutique ((Kink Not's fav vintage & rare-find-boutique in Chicago)). Usually they close at 8pm everyday, but they agreed to accommodate our photo shoot schedule from six pm til one am one Friday night. The owner Nancy, & Nick are the shit for their support! xoxox



First we met up with Agga B. the stylist ((architect in fashion...the girl's truly on the come up)). She took us shopping and helped us piece together our fits as a group. The crazy thing is that we were originally assigned to another stylist but she came down with strep at the last minute before the shoot. So when Agga became our stylist it felt like a ten-minute shopping spree trying to find our entire wardrobe with only one day to shop.

We had to work our regular jobs on photo shoot day...so when we left work, we felt like Superman (& woman) changing out of our gig-wear into Kinky Notti wardrobe. HaveMax's hair had been double-strand twisted prior to the shoot, so it needed to be separated on set...a task that was misguestimated by hours. The crew had to rush our hair & makeup session in order to stay on schedule. Luckily we had the talented Alfred Lester ((makeup artist for Alicia Keys, Heidi Klum & Fergie just to name a few)) to quickly whip us up into shape!

A few crew candids...

Dave = head producer by day... Draw Tippy by nite

So once we were all dazzled and frazzled... we took our first shots on the green couch. We worked with Matt Salacuse ((this photographer does it all...rock, rap, celebs, mag covers, ads, documentaries, you name it!))...he was loads of fun & beyond awesome. Every once in a while, he gave us wild suggestions like "Hey HaveMax- you should act like you're grabbing Chivas' tie" (it was silk-screened onto his shirt)...or "Have- I like that one evil face you made, gimme some more of that"...then he told Chae to sit on the arm of the couch, which was super skinny so it completely cut up her ass...but hey- beauty is pain :D

Couch shot before Matt Salacuse

Couch shot after Matt Salacuse...Kink Not??

When Matt shoots, anything goes...
he had us all standing on the couch for the keeper

It was dope checking out all the shots right away on the computer screen. Between shots, Agga and Alfred would jump in to tighten up shirts, fix stray hairs & touch-up makeup...their grooming went a long way to help us get those hot shots for the piece.

Una Mae's is such an amazing place. Since we already shop there on the regular, it felt like we were playing dress up, pulling clothes right off the rack for most of the shots. We'd be like "ooh lemme see that belt buckle... or "yep, these pants are gonna bang with this fit!" We even got to keep all the gear from the shoot in the end :D

Street traffic kept stopping & staring inside at the spectacle. We spent part of the photo shoot taping the video-interview portion of the piece. In all actuality, we don't know whether the piece will be used for the web, or as an included DVD with the direct-mail piece, or both...but we'll keep you posted on where you can find it. Anyway, the video-interviews were tight...we took turns spitting our piece about music, life, & random shit we give a fuck about.


During the final shot, things got a little more Kinky & Notti...the Tellian had us warmed us up by then! We asked Nick & Nancy to blast some of our music through the store speakers as Matt clicked away from the floor. We started getting wilder with our poses, sprawling ourselves across the display table & lip sinking "Beneath the Deck" for the camera. By the end, we were totally performing for the entire crew!

So, long story short (too late) in July-O-eight you might just open your mailbox and find us inside...Kink Not?

Kinky Notti Mail = way better than bills anyday :D

HaveMax B-Day Special

As of late, we've been kinda floating around, falling into different spots- just drawing inspiration from every corner and crevice we can find. We spotted the Velvet Lounge one nite and decided to stop in for a drink. It was such a dope & unexpected treat to find live jazz in the hood!! We chilled at the bar for a min to feel the vibe.

Clap your hands for my band Sexual Chocolate

First Part- HaveMax's b-day weekend. Saturday nite, she wanted to go somewhere off-beat & not really deal with the obnoxious club scene. Liam of The Life Askew invited us to their exclusive fashion event called "The Focus" which turned out to be just the type of event that HaveMax could adore. It was at 773Event ((dope spot where they basically turned a work space into a raw tri-level house party)). The grungy basement had a bar, then the main level's walls were all covered in graffiti by the hands of Joe Suta ((Choke of the Chicago graffiti movement...might've seen his work at Akira)). We all hung out upstairs in the "impromtu VIP section" which was the perfect spot for smoking out.

why was this dude over seven feet tall in real life?

All we needed was an airbrushed Mercedes Benz behind us & wed've had the perfect
"oh-so-hood" take-home souvenir-pic, complete with the black, matte take-home frame

Instead of a fashion show, they did an interactive photo shoot, where they projected tons of dope shots right onto the wall. It was cool how the same models blown up on the wall were gallivanting around us in the same outfits as in the shots. It was such a dope concept... plus it took up a lot less space than putting a biggass runway down the middle of the floor.

HaveMax kicked it hardcore with Chiv & her sister Brit that nite which was a nice treat because Brit's got a new baby- so naturally she's working overtime with lil Jabber Jaws. Chae was M.I.A. that nite, which turned out to be hilarious because muff-occurs actually thought that Kinky Notti had replaced its third member...but Brit can't really hold a note, so Chae doesn't have to worry about that one happening!

The old skool photo booth in the spot was a hot touch.
Now we'll always have our little keepsake from that nite.

Part II - Sunday nite... We kicked it at Crimson Lounge ((basically the downstairs lounge of Saks hotel)). We were fashionably late and had to politic our way through the door because it was a marketing event & they had already pulled the list before we arrived. But once we got inside, the party was already juking with tons of muff-occurs on the dance floor. To loosen up a bit we went to go sip the flask in the bathroom.

The bathroom waiting area was kinda dope & somehow inspired us. It was something about the decor with its velvety-blue walls & caramel-colored leather couch across the hallway...either that or the booze was woorrrkiiing. Or maybe after such a fashion-driven experience the nite before, we just felt like striking a few drunken poses ((this has now become one of our favorite hobbies)). So the next thing we knew we were all into our "mini shoot"- not even caring about the people entering & leaving the bathrooms around us. We'd just wait until they got out of our shots and then *click click*

Hey you- don't be a shithead & steal our pics!
Hit us up first at kinkynotti@gmail.com
((then it'll be OK for you to use some of our lame pics :D ))

.....Peace to the Babies.....

Trialz & Tribulationz

So we're in the lab right now. We've been working on this one track off and on for months now and we're finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel with it's level of completion. We all got real gigs ((Tshurhad= marketing/events dude * HaveMax= graphic designer * Chae= hair stylist)) so time spent on songs feel like dog years for us...it's a wild beast trying to sneak in weekend & after-work hours with families, financial needs & other grown-folk ish to worry about.

That Hot Kink Not Laboratory

That's why each song birthed from us feel like our babies. Each project pushes us further to create a better work of art- more concise and more polished. Our focus is to create a collection of pieces that somehow fit together- even tell a story, if you can make sense of the whole hodgepodge.

Being in a group like Kinky Notti ain't no punk. Art of course is highly preferential by nature. One has a way of guarding and offending one's personal tastes as sacred and highly valid. Therefore, the subtlest differences in flavors can send a group's project back to the drawing board in a moment's time.

Primping before the performance
New Years Eve 07 @ the Hyatt Regency

Just last weekend, Chae & HaveMax got into it real ugly...to the point of Have saying "get the fuck out of my house" and Chae saying "and I won't ever come back!" But days after that, everyone was back to chilling again like fam. That's the whole maddening side of being involved with such a dynamic trio. We're all extremely opinionated artists (not to mention the drama that comes when you add together two women with diva mentalities and random PMS-induced mood swings)...it's no wonder that trios rarely exist in the music biz with two chicks and one dude. Poor Tshurhad is always in the middle of the cat fights thinking "these bitches are crazy as hell!!"

**shots from the CRB Box Social ©2008 Joe M. Reyes**

We're all extremely passionate about the ideas, influences & talent we each bring to the table. When we disagree, one often feels obligated to bring one's case before the jury, thus testifying one's right for their idea to live on a track. As follows, the defense presents its argument until a final verdict is reached between all, otherwise all die of exhaustion during the process. It's like a war zone...we have to fight to the finish.

A trio equals instant democracy for any given situation, along with instinctual feelings of "this time it's me against the double-crossers". All experience being "the rejectee" where one either mediates a situation or is forced to reconcile ones differences with the others. However, the magic lives inside those auspicious moments when a concept can be shared equally amongst all. The result is nothing short of collaborative genius at its finest- a triumph over the human ego. The product is music. (( I, You, She, We = the next completed Kinky Notti single!!!))

So lets see...we got Nasty Nasty, Beneath the Deck, Respirator Thump, and Caught Up so far...with this new banger, that makes us one step closer to a complete Kinky Notti collection. WORD!

Kinky Notti NYE 2007

It's like magic when the group comes together

.....Peace to the Babies.....

Retro*Grade

**Peace to Mireya Acierto for shooting this event**

So there's this one celebrity fashion designer you may have heard of... She goes by the name of Kesh. One day we checked out her blog ((therealkesh.blogspot.com)) and read "CHICAGO 2NIGHT!!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO COME AND SEE YOU CHICAGO :D"...but at the time she didn't say the exact location and the time, so we were like "where the fuck...when the fuck?!"

Later that day we stopped at a rack sale and ran into our girl Colleen from Heroine Chic ((her belt buckles R.O.C.K...go grab yours now at the Macy's on State St. Chi-IL)). So anyway, Colleen was at the rack sale showcasing her merch when cosmically a deck of flyers appeared to us on her table that read "THE HOLLYWOOD EXPERIENCE...SOUNDTRACK BY DJ JOURNEY (LA) AND KESH (LONDON) @ TABU ULTRALOUNGE"... We were like "wow that's crazy...now we know where the fuck and when the fuck!"

Irena, Eric ((Siver Room)) & Colleen on politic status

So after some small talk we discovered that Colleen was actually a part of the whole "Hollywood Experience" event, along with her girl Dana of Concrete Runway ((stylist/TV show producer...the girl does her thing)) Of course when we found that out, we had a suggestion for "a really hot group from Chicago who could rock the runway"... Kink Not? :D

The H.N.I.C.

Without a question we were on ten after being added to the bill! But because this was a last-minute decision, we ended up having to lug our own sound equipment to the spot. Good thing we got there extra early that nite because we had to jimmy-rig our whole sound system just so muff-occurs could hear us. But once all the fuckry was over of having to run all over downtown looking for extension cords and adapter plugs, the crowd started trickling in.







Dana introduced us to DJ Journey ((Chitown native gone La La)) and we soon found that it was actually a re-introduction. He remembered us from a previous band project...but so much time had passed since then, he was sleep on "Kinky Notti". But as soon as we described our new sound to him, he was totally down for the mission.



Kesh was first on the wons-&-toos while we pulled together a game plan with Journey and Dana. Then somebody said that we should put Kinky Notti on first to kick off DJ Journey's set,right before the fashion show...the rest is history. Mission complete!

The "live mannequins" were amazing! Tres Belle Vintage put their foot in it...((super-hip stylists/designers with a vintage line)). The Life Askew added their touches with a tight, ready-to-wear clothing line ((totally loving the new line, btw!))

The Tre Belle Crew

Two dudes from "The Life Askew" crew

For fashion we stand

So this was the real kicker-- just as things were warming up, Dana had to shut the music off and make an announcement. Turns out the police ordered the venue to shut down the party due to a suspension or some shit. The whole party was at a complete standstill. We were all standing around, mouths hanging open like "get the fuck outa here!" Luckily it all turned out to be a misunderstanding. So you know after that, muff-occurs were really ready to celebrate...Tshurhad Chivas grabbed the mic and yelled out "All ya'll who thought yall wasn't tryna dance before got a second chance now to get get yo ass out here on this dancefloor!" Somehow that whole situation made the party more on bone!

Don't faint Dana... the party's still jumping!

We only performed one song (Nasty Nasty) just as planned and plotted...just enough to hype the crowd before the crazy-80's fashion show began. The dance floor thickened up as we were taken to Hollywood...DJ Journey-style. KINK NOT?


Part II...Kesh's last nite in Chitown ended up at the "I Love Haters show" at Sub-T. This shoulda been a whole 'nother posting, but we don't really feel like creating a new one ((shit takes 4ever!!)) But anyway, this was a great nite becuase we got out to see some of our peeps rock the mic for a change. ((Crazy Hotness!!))

There were a ton of peeps on this bill, but we only saw Mic Terror,
Million Dollar Mano, Kid Static + Yea Big, Shala, and
Hollywood Holt ((his name need not be mentioned on the flyer because...

He got his own flyer, Bitches!

Dropping some a dat new hot shit

These catz literally worked it out on the mic!

HIIIIOOOOOOO!!!!!

The End…