RIP Aaliyah: One In A Million

The year was 2001 when the R&B world stood still to hear the tragic loss of one of it most iconic and influential artists, Aaliyah. Fans worldwide mourned her untimely death as she lost her life just as her career was expected to solidify her as one of the urban greats of all time.

The talented singer was signed at the age of 12 and went on to record three chart-topping albums, "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number", "One In A Million" and "Aaliyah". She also released two compilation albums and twenty six singles.

When the world heard of Aaliyah Haughton's tragic death in a horrific plane accident at the tender age of 22, loyal fans were shocked and left in disbelief. Before her passing, she starred in successful films "Romeo Must Die" and "The Queen Of The Damned". She was the trend setter to her fans and her lyrics spoke to millions. Ten years on, her music has proven timeless and still inspires her many fans.

(Photo Credit)

As a child, I remember listening to her tracks and she is one of the artists that made my love for R&B music even greater. I had trouble coming to terms with her death at the time because her death was so untimely. She was in the prime of her career, and in my mind, was re-defining R&B music.


Take a moment to remember the life of the talented and beautiful star who was taken too soon. Listen to her music and remember how she impacted the music industry forever.

To Upgrade or Not To Upgrade? The DJ's guide to Mac OSX Lion

Apple have recently released their new operating system, titled 'Mac OSX Lion'. It is only a $30 upgrade and available via the Apple App Store.

Now a lot of DJ's have been asking the question wether or not is it worth upgrading their systems to the new OS. Programs such as Scratch Live, Ableton Live, Adobe Audition are used quite heavily by DJ's and Producers world wide, and the same question keeps being asked. "Will Lion mess up my program?"

Below is a small guide, highlighting the Pro's and Con's of upgrading your system to Mac OSX Lion. It will be kept updated when developers release patches for their hardware/software

Features
One of the coolest features included within Lion which can be very useful for DJs, is the 'Airdrop' feature. This allows multiple computers running Lion on the same network to easily drag and drop files to another user. Sharing MP3's between DJ's in the same vicinity has never been easier.

Serato Scratch Live
I have currently upgraded my MacBook Pro to OSX Lion and have had no problems using Serato SL1 or Scratch Live (Version 2.2.0)

Rane does not recommend upgrading to Lion for the time being until a patch is released. Rane have identified some know issue's such as;

- Rane hardware core audtio drivers do not install
- Haning/GUI not updating after computer goes to sleep
- Possible crashing when using the Relocate Lost Files function

Adobe Audition
Adobe have officially stated that the Adobe Creative Suit 5 and CS5.5 suite editions will run reliably on OSX Lion.

Ableton Live
Ableton is officially compatible with Mac OSX Lion.  Just make sure you are upgraded to the latest version.

"As of version 8.2.5, Ableton Live is officially compatible with OS X Lion." Dennis DeSantis- Ableton Staff

Audacity
No problems at all, runs perfectly

If there is a program you would like me to test out on Mac OSX Lion, feel free to comment below.

Games To Look Forward To In 2011

Here are some of the biggest video games hitting our shelves in 2011. Unfortunately there are so many I couldn't fit them all in, but these are the best of the best!

October 25th- Battlefield 3 (X360, PS3, PC)
Critics say this will be the game to knock Call Of Duty of its perch as the top dog in shooter. The developers are using a brand new graphics engine for this game, and from the gameplay I've seen. The realism is amazing. This is a game i recommend checking out on launch!

October 25th- Dance Central 2 (X360)
The highest selling Kinect Dance game returns! This time around you will be grooving with artists such as Montell Jordan, Akon, Nicki Minaj, Daddy Yankee and many more. The biggest addition to this game is to be able to have two player simultaneous gameplay. Time to bust out your moves B-boys!

November 8th- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (X360, PS3, PC, WII, DS)
This is the big one. Come November 8th, 99% of the people you know will be playing, or have already played this game.

Set directly after the event of Modern Warfare 2, where the Russian Federation continues to invade the United States of America. But now they are also moving forces into Europe, including England, France and Germany. So expect a lot of Russian but kicking and some awesome multiplayer modes in this upcoming blockbuster.

November 25th- WWE '12 (PS3, WII, X360)
After spending hours after hours with WWE All Stars earlier this year, who would've thought that THQ would bless us with another WWE game within the year! The latest addition to the series sees a return of the 'WWE Universe' mode, featuring new and more unpredictable events based on player decisions. WWE '12 is packed full of new features and a must grab for any wrestling fan!