News

Pakistan and its people need us. We should be doing everything we can to help. Donate your time, money, effort, goods, writing, anything you possibly can, for the 20 million devastated flood victims. There is a plethora of trustworthy organisations that one can dispatch relief goods through, and even sign up with: Edhi, The Imran Khan Flood Relief Fund, Zimmedar Shehri, the list goes on and on. THIS IS OUR COUNTRY AND IT NEEDS US. Ink magazine urges all of us, all the Pakistanis, to rise to the occasion.

Newlyweds. What lovely images that word conjures up- happiness, trips to Paris, searching for homes, unwrapping wedding gifts, and enjoying leftover wedding cake. However, it seems that such tame pursuits palled for rapper, T.I and his new bride, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, especially when they realised they could be out getting arrested for possession of illegal drugs instead. The two were taken into police custody on the 3^rd of September 2010, and only released at the posting of a $10,000 bail. This may not be the end of the matter for T.I, unfortunately, as he was already under probation for federal weapons charges.
The next Bonnie and Clyde? More like Dumb and Dumber. And to think I was such a big fan, T.I…

It seems that the same curse that Voldemort placed on the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher job at Hogwarts has been placed on the position of American Idol Judge (Harry Potter fans will automatically know what I mean). The judges are dropping out one after the other; the latest is Kara DioGuardi whose departure follows hard on the footsteps of both Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres. Who could it be? Who is the perpetrator of this malevolent enchantment? Cough, Simon Cowell, cough. One must admit he’s surely evil enough, but sadly we’ll have to rule out this likely possibility seeing as he is leaving himself. Perhaps the magic lies in, er, more lucrative offers elsewhere. Ah, we can almost stand and breathe in the materialism that today’s world subsists upon.

By Zehra Ali

Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has been suspended for six months after it was ruled that he disrupted an anti-doping test ahead of the World Cup. The country’s Sports Institute said an inquiry found that Queiroz insulted an anti-doping team and that his aggressive manner upset their work. The Portuguese Football Federation had already suspended Queiroz for one month for misconduct at the incident in May.

Neither the federation nor Queiroz, 57, have yet to comment on the ruling

By Zehra Ali

Given the wobbly state of media in the digital age, it is easy to forget that news is not always about profits and scandals. But for survivors of Pakistan’s massive floods, the day’s news can be the difference between life and death. That is exactly where BBC is innovating and adapting by airing radio “lifeline programming” in both Pashto and Urdu to about 60 and 80 million people.

The emphasis is on the need to deliver information, as aid itself. In which case, the BBC World Service Trust is the aid agency. By delivering information, they wish to target the masses within Pakistan who might have been harrowed by false pictures or beliefs as people do have the right to know and be aware of their own country’s conditions.

By Zehra Ali

Natalie Portman is earning early raves and Oscar buzz for her role as an unhinged ballerina in the upcoming psycho-drama “Black Swan”. The 29-year-old actress fully immersed herself in the part, which required hours upon hours of extreme training. Portman, who studied dance at the age of 13, got a jump on her preparation for the film.

“Physically, I trained starting a year ahead of time and then the six months prior to the film, went into a sort of hyper training. That’s when I was doing five hours a day of both ballet and cross training with swimming.” she told reporters at a press conference at the Venice Film Festival, where “Black Swan” debuted to glowing reviews Wednesday night.

Official Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jaI1XOB-bs

The Best of NADIA ALI Remixed
August 31st Release Date

TRACKLIST

Nadia Ali - PEOPLE - Justin Michael & Kemal remix
Nadia Ali - NOT THINKING - Green & Falkner remix
Tocadisco & Nadia Ali - BETTER RUN - Wippenberg remix
Schiller & Nadia Ali - TRY - Thomas Gold remix
Nadia Ali - FINE PRINT - Serge Devant remix
Nadia Ali - SILVER LINING - Andretta remix
Nadia Ali - BE MINE - Noel Sanger remix
Nadia Ali - FANTASY - Morgan Page remix
Nadia Ali - LOVE STORY - Sultan & Ned Shepard remix
Nadia Ali - CRASH & BURN - Dean Coleman remix
Nadia Ali - THE ONE - Ruby edit
Nadia Ali - REBEL - Ruby edit
Nadia Ali - KISS YOU - Ruby edit

click image to listen to the Album Sampler

Stay tuned for the ONYX and DIAMOND Editions
which are both scheduled for release before the end of the year

QUEEN OF CLUBS “RUBY” EDITION WORLD TOUR

will commence September 1st

TOUR DATES

Sept 14 – Ibiza
Oct 8 – San Francisco, California (tbc)
Oct 9 – Orange County, California (tbc)
Nov 13 – De Jaarbeurs, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Dec 10 – Buenos Aires, Argentina
Dec 11 – Buenos Aires, Argentina
Dec 25 – Las Vegas, NV (tbc)
Feb 19 – Poznan, Poland

Multi-talented artist JaninaZ (Janina Gavankar), flexes her musical muscles and jumps in a new direction with ‘Kali Ma’, a track done with Canadian dubstep scene heavy weight, Downlink.

‘Kali Ma’ has a very raw, heavy sound and in-your-face lyrics. JaninaZ says, “’Kali Ma’ is about recognizing how powerful you really are.”

Downlink says of JaninaZ “She isn’t afraid to throw it down to some heavy ass beats and keep it grimy.”

This new sound is a massive explosion of dubstep, combined with a rap-like lyrical flow, but still maintains pop sensibilities.

People might know JaninaZ (Janina Gavankar) as a successful actress, currently starring in ABC’s ‘The Gates’.

Her most recent musical offering was a critically acclaimed flip of Kanye West’s smash hit, ‘Love Lockdown’.

Check out ‘Kali Ma’ as it blazes new ground and once again shows that JaninaZ is a real artist on rise.

Athletic magnum Nike recently launched a campaign to promote the new Nike Air Max 90 shoes by celebrating innovators who have gone against the mold to create their own identity and make waves in their fields. Among the featured talented personalities representing the brand is DJ Kayper.

As one of the world’s premier DJ’s with the ability to spin everything from Hip Hop, House, Dubstep, Drum N’ Bass, Reggae, Mashups and everything in between, Kayper has solidified herself as a force in the music community. Her fierce talent has catapulted her to the top of a profession where she is a minority.

Speaking about being a part of the campaign, Kayper says:

“It’s an honor to be included in the campaign that highlights people who have defied tradition, expectations, stereotypes, prejudice and who make their own rules. Shooting the video was a great experience and I hope that Nike’s message inspires more young people to go against the grain.”

Kayper is coveted around the world as a DJ whose dance floor is always full. She recently spun several events at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. In addition to touring the globe, DJ Kayper hosts her own weekly show on the BBC Asian Network. She attracts some of the best urban and pop music artists from Drake, Nas, Will.I.Am  , Common, Questlove, Damian Marley Lupe Fiasco, Nelly Furtado and Akon to U.K. artists Estelle, Tinchy Stryder, and Jay Sean. Fans can catch the DJ Kayper Show every Friday on the BBC Asian Network, 10 pm – 1 am GMT.

DJ Kayper’s Nike Commercial can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWeHE5Wgru8&feature=player_embedded

“Kiss” – the first video off of Blitzkreig’s album, Get Blitz has released and it is going to have people going in for the kiss!

The track, which features Blitz singing along side veteran bhangra group, RDB is an incredible neoDesi collaboration.

Coming off of his last album, Rhyme Book, Blitzkreig teamed up with some of the most notable artists in the neoDesi industry for this unique collaboration album. The presence of: Tigerstyle, Juggy D, Roach Killer, Navin Kundra, Cat Eyes, Deesha, Bally Sagoo, Josh, Ritz and Mentor are all felt heavily on the album.

Blitz says, “I wanted to do something different and unique for my second album. I feel with last yr’s recession the music industry was deeply affected. So i wanted to do something special for all my fans and diversify my sound. My first album mainly consisted of me doing solo songs, so with this album I thought I would go the opposite direction.”

“Kiss is now available for purchase on iTunes.

Video – “Kiss“