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field--guide · 1 year ago

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Scarien

Lauryn and I feel like a couple of snails in the July heat as we walk the five minutes from our soon-to-be-old apartment over to Darrien’s place. He opens the front door covered head to toe in skate merch: a black Palace tee with pink font, and HUF Worldwide flip-flops with pink sweatpants, and gives us both a big hug. We feel instantly welcomed—a quality that makes this speaker geek from Virginia a natural leader in Denver’s underground. At Dem Deya Sound System gatherings, attendees often approach him to chat while he’s taking breaks from fine-tuning the party, and he’s proud to hold space for them. In keeping with the sound system tradition he operates from, community doesn’t merely come first, it’s the message.

"Reggae is just so hard, depending on what area you're doing it at. Like, if you're playing towards a Caribbean crowd, or playing towards a bunch of Roots peoples, Rastas, or just playing for people who like the word ‘dub,’ which is a completely different world almost...”

Darrien guides us to his studio apartment couch and apologizes for the temperature, then steps away to grab some cans of lemon sparkling water. I notice the various Lego car builds displayed on his desk next to a few pieces of MIDI gear—looks like he doesn’t just build speakers. After taking a few sips to cool down and chatting about the futuristic car on his TV (he's been playing Final Fantasy XV), we jump into the interview. He wants to talk about genre variety; for him, it’s a prerequisite for getting people tuned in to what he’s actually doing out here. He’s a natural storyteller and shrewd conversationalist, speaking candidly about the mission while maintaining a low key demeanor and cracking plenty of jokes. Lauryn and I quickly start to feel like a couple of buddies just kicking back and catching up.

Darrien is grateful for Denver’s “built-in” electronic music scene, and feels strongly about platforming original sound system styles. But he’s also blazing his own trail—pun intended! Traditionally, sound systems don’t showcase the non-reggae styles that Dem Deya does, at least not with such regularity. But Darrien understands that dubstep, drum n’ bass, jungle, hip-hop, and even garage aren’t just logical entry points for many of Denver's scenesters—they’re a solid foundation for a sound system community. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s got outstanding taste in these styles. “There's already a community here,” he says, “and we got to throw some of these [non-dub/non-reggae] events to get some of these people to understand that this is the role of the sound system.” This part of the mission is front-of-mind for Dem Deya. It’s been simmering on their proverbial cooktop for a time, and putting in the work to get people there has been an easy choice. But the work itself is not easy—it’s almost like threading a needle. On one side, the inherent pressure of genre ‘purity’ from the cultural giants whose shoulders they stand on. And on the other, a whitewashed bass music scene generally not prone to dub and reggae unless it’s worked into 140 BPM dubstep. Darrien doesn’t harp on cultural appropriation during our interview—his work isn’t concerned with drawing lines in the sand, in fact, just the opposite. But the context in which he’s operating is important to understanding the immensity of what he’s doing in Colorado. Darrien is an educator through and through, passionate about increasing awareness of true sound system culture and the roles it can play in society. He talks at length about sound system’s inherently political nature, referencing systems in Jamaica being stolen or destroyed by the government, and Rastafarians being tortured and killed by police on Bad Friday. The message of sound system, at its core, is “unity, community, peace, love, respect, and self-liberation," says Darrien. He’s dedicated his life to spreading this message in the states, where just a handful of traditional sound systems operate.

Darrien (left) with his grandfather and little brother, circa 1999

Before Darrien became entwined with sound system, family and community sparked his love for music. When he was just seven or eight years old, his dad let him pick out some CDs from a massive home collection. He opted for “Toxicity” by System of a Down, and “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” by Wu-Tang Clan. “[My dad] was like, ‘Yo, pick anything you want, I think you’re old enough. Here’s a Walkman CD player. This is how it works. Don't scratch it, don't drop it.’ That's when I kind of started seeing the value of it all, but, over time, y’know?” He thoughtfully observes how songs and albums used to carry so much power, and points out that in order to really make an impact on people these days, you have to throw an entire event.

As a teen, Darrien was particularly inspired by the music he heard in skate videos. His takeaway as a youngster was that it “was easy to understand,” because it “all came from an area of self-expression,” whether the style was heavy metal, hip-hop, country, or even folk. In high school, one of his skateboarding buddies turned him on to “FabricLive.37” by Caspa & Rusko. Along with artists like Pretty Lights and an introductory festival experience at Identity, this formed the “surface level” of his foray into electronic music. But joining the Air Force at age 18 to serve as an airplane technician was what truly pulled him in deep, into contact with the UK’s diverse electronic music scene.

“I didn't want my parents to pay for my college; I wanted to see some new shit. [So I joined the Air Force] and I was like, send me wherever. So they obviously sent me to the rave capital of the world.” [laughs]

Darrien was keen to check out London’s musical underground. First, through free parties in the midlands, then Outlook festival, and eventually, weekly visits to raves and sound system events in the city.

“Next thing you know, three years passed by and me and Ky [co-founder Kyler Coates] were going to parties every week, just buying tickets left and right. … We would drive an hour to our friend Rosa’s house in London who we met at this festival Outlook. Shout out Rosa, man. Her spot would just be poppin’ every single weekend. So it was never a question of 'if', we just had to hit her up and let her know, and then we would have our own space to sleep. Afterwards, we could just drive an hour back to town.”

This kind of exposure to underground music culture instilled excitement in the pair, and their eventual involvement with local sound system culture inspired a deep sense of purpose. They proceeded to buy a short speaker stack from a high schooler in town who built custom boxes, and planned a move back to the states to spread that purpose. Initially, choosing Denver as a home base was for little reason other than weed’s legality there.

“I don't really have to explain much about the reasons I would leave the military, but it was clearly not the fucking vibe, y’know? So we decided, alright, well, let’s go here [to Denver]. See what we can do [with our own] sound system, and yeah, it's worked out, it's become like nothing I could ever really imagine. This was something where we were just trying to dedicate ourselves to this message."

And dedicate themselves, they have. Dem Deya have developed a strong presence in Denver’s sprawling music scene in just a couple of years, going on to fly out staple reggae & dub artists while platforming the local DJ community, getting the sound system to a place where, in Darrien’s words, “all two thousand of the Instagram followers are trying to buy tickets to go see Joe Schmo play, because they just know the stack is coming out, and they know they’re accepted there.” But this run hasn’t been without its challenges. Darrien isn’t shy about the pushback they’ve received from certain parts of the scene in Denver. Unfortunately, as is the case in many other cities, clubs and greedy promoters have been a particular source of frustration. He pulls no punches discussing industry commodification and monopolization, illustrating how sound system has a unique ability to disrupt that chain.

“Man, it really gets goofy sometimes. I remember the first event when we brought our sound system here. At this point, it’s a half stack. We've got a bunch of dub records, and we’re literally just looking for a space to bring it in and press play on it. And this dude was trying to charge us $600. I'm like, bro, what is.....what do you mean? And this person is an industry person and they’re like ‘Oh, I know about dub and reggae sound.’ They see the potential of charging at the door, you know, such and such. We're like cowboys with speakers, to where it does expose a lot of the fluff. What does he want $600 for? And then, it's like, y’know, tell him to go fuck himself!”

We erupt in laughter for the hundredth time that day. If Darrien hadn’t gotten into curating events and building speaker boxes, he would have made a splash in stand-up. He goes on:

“People always talkin’ ‘bout, ‘oh, this is for the community, I'm throwing this event for the community, but I'm charging $40 at 3am.’ It's like, uhhhh....that's not community! … If you want to rent some speakers and throw an event to make 30% on the dollar, then you can go ahead and do that. There's no foul play in that. … Just don’t call yourself an underground entity. ... With sound system, there's accountability. That's the best way to put it. There's accountability, and a responsibility behind it. It’s a gift just to be able to do this.”

‘Exposing the fluff’ hits the nail on the head, but Darrien doesn’t stop there. He talks about clubs in Denver turning local promoters’ communities into a product, then turning around and buying artist bookings right out from under them. He references the recent Deadbeats controversy, where the label marketed an anonymous 'underground' artist using messaging about the 'roots of the culture,' only for it to come out later that the artist was a side-project of a mainstream bass music producer. Darrien is “not bound by the music industry to be quiet about” or “turn a blind eye” to the “funny business” he perceives in how it operates and sustains itself. But absolutely none of his opinions come off as moaning or complaining. They’re principled, passionate accounts of his lived experience as a promoter, which serve to counterpoint and help define the role of the sound system to an outsider. When it comes right down to it, the message and the method are what matter most to him and Dem Deya.

“We know what we gotta do. We know what's important to us. So we just gotta do that."

The self-assurance is palpable. And you can feel it when the crew conjures a vibe at an event, keeping their focus on the sound and attendees. Their events transform into more relaxed, community-oriented experiences, where being there becomes more important than being seen. The deejay is still viewed as a guide, artist, and essential piece of the puzzle, but they’re part of the experience, rather than being the experience itself. The attention economy is replaced by groups of people, coming together to form a whole and enjoy good music on good speakers. This space is easy to exist in: intensely creative and expressive, but still low key and uniquely intent on togetherness. Being sober at their Dubamine event felt like second nature to me, rather than some sort of quest, despite the party atmosphere and weed smoke lingering in the air. Speaker stack in the back, people at the front, and Subjet spinning vinyl, gracefully moving from dub tunes into dubstep over time to an enthusiastic crowd.

Dem Deya parties are refreshing, but Darrien isn’t one to toot his own horn about that. He’s humble through and through, refusing to take full credit for events, and when he does perform at something he’s helped curate, he prefers to play early so he can “put the homies on.” This collaborative spirit is embodied in the name of the sound system (often mispronounced ‘dem daiya’ – no vegan cheese here, just tunes!), which he stumbled upon during an acid trip with co-founder Kyler:

“We're like, man, what the fuck we gon’ call this thing, and so, like any couple homies looking for creative inspiration would do, we dropped some acid.......and come up with the name in the first ten minutes! [laughs] But the name Dem Deya is just a play on words: Dem Deya, like, dem over deya, ‘them over there.’ If you’re from the culture in which all of this is talking about, it's easy, it's not even a name. It's almost stupid, kind of silly. But then when you look at it on paper and you're not from that at all, and you say the name Dem Deya, it just sounds like a thing. … I can’t do this by myself—it’s just no longer ‘dem.’ Then it’s just him deya, right? And that’s fucking wack.” His solo deejay gigs, he explains, in addition to the ‘too many styles’ events, are important to him, but ultimately, secondary—done in order to spread awareness about the sound system’s primary offering. “No one's gonna really listen to Darrien Williamson. But people will listen to Scarien, the DJ. … Getting it to that level [where people will listen to you] takes that sort of celebrity-ism, that status, y’know? Otherwise, people don't want to hear what we got to say—they wanna hear Rick Ross say it!” Perhaps this wasn’t clear to him when he moved to Denver, but through trial-and-error, he’s come to understand how to effectively spread this message and get people to show up to events focused on reggae, dub, and dancehall. In fact, Dem Deya recently collaborated to bring international dub heavyweights O.B.F. Sound System and Iration Steppas to the Aztlan Theater in Denver.

Dem Deya Sound System + Zion Souljahz Sound + Headway HiFi present O.B.F. Sound System & Iration Steppas

Listening to Darrien talk about this milestone event is just about the cutest thing ever. His old soul is completely wrapped up in the joy and validation that came from bringing together all the different people from his journey in music, for an event of this scale, and having it be received so well in the Mile High City. This was a full circle, leveling up moment for him and the crew. Since that show back in March, they’ve sustained the momentum, increasing the resonance of Caribbean and UK sound system culture for people in the West through productions, bookings, and collabs.

“This is what we've been working towards, being able to create the space for people to listen when the music speaks. … Doing all this music stuff within a genuine light and having a peace of mind to do it is one of the biggest..it's the most important thing. Because independence within the music industry is important, independence in your own life is important. I feel like sound system reflects and touches on all these things and that's why I've dedicated my..I guess, life to it, at this point. Because it just does so much for people.”

It’s enough to demonstrate this level of wisdom at such a young age, but to have such dedication to this calling, and to so patiently usher people from overlapping scenes into the rich culture of sound system makes Darrien one of a kind. His ethos of serving the sound system—not the self—is his north star, but it doesn’t just guide his way. It shines a light that allows others to see what he sees in the music, and the people that congregate around it: a great power for good that comes with a great responsibility. [Published October 22nd, 2023]

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dnaamericaapp · 2 years ago

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Shell Toes And Hoop Earrings: Eight Hip-Hop Fashion Items That Changed What We Wear

New York exhibition traces style evolution: ‘These are intergenerational ideas of what it meant to be stylish’.

From Professor X’s hat to Spike Lee merch, Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous, a new exhibition at New York’s Museum at FIT, traces the history of hip-hop style across 50 years. Elizabeth Way and Elena Romero, the event’s curators, talk through the importance of eight items – including one from Romero’s own archive – that changed fashion.

Romero contributed her own name belt to the exhibition – an example of a trend for wearing your name on accessories in the early 80s. “There were these small mom-and-pop stores throughout the different boroughs,” she says. “You would tell them how many letters, with either your name, your horoscope, your crew, and then have them customised.”

Hoop earrings are synonymous with hip-hop style – worn by everyone from Salt-N-Pepa to Lil Kim and Cardi B. Way says this is another item with roots in wider Black culture. “We see a lot of figures like Betty Shabazz, Angela Davis, wearing hoops, and we see that continue with women in hip-hop.”

“A lot of it is paying homage to mothers, our aunties, the baby boomers of the civil rights movement,” adds Romero.

Images taken by the photographer Jamel Shabazz @jamelshabazz in the early 80s are featured in the exhibition. Documenting young people in the hip-hop scene in Brooklyn, the images showcase the large-lensed Cazal glasses now so associated with this era. Romero says they were a status symbol and could be seen as an early example of geek chic. “Glasses have not always had the best responses from young kids,” she remembers. “But now, all of a sudden, the very thing that people kind of hated was chic and popular.” They were the finishing touch on a kind of uniform: “You’d wear them with the bucket hat, the shearling, the Shell Toes or Converse.”

Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style is at the Museum at FIT in New York from 8 February to 23 April -(source: the guardian)

DNA America

“It’s what we know, not what you want us to believe.”

#dna #dnaamerica #news #politics

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darkdevasofdestruction · 4 years ago

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I was thinking that pt3 jotaro, rohan, and narancia headcanons with their s/o who's an idol. There's also one scenario I would like where s/o is waiting for whoever it is and some creepy fan goes up to them and ya know, invades their privacy, how would they react? Sorry if that's too much 🥺

Ohhhh niceeee! Let’s see how this goes ~!

~~~~

KUJO JOTARO

Even if the music you do isn’t his cup of tea, he still supports you very much, in his own way

He buys all your CDs and cassettes, every bit of merch, even if it’s figurines, Tshirts, stickers, pins

And will, without a doubt, act as your personal bodyguard

He’s genuinely shocked if anyone actually has the guts to get anywhere near you when he’s around ( unless it’s a meet & greet, a signing or something )

So you can imagine the face he made when he was escorting you out of a venue after a concert, while you were still glowing and wearing your cutesy and flashy idol outfit, and this...This...Guy...Waltzes up to you

With a stupidly lecherous grin on his stupid face

And asks for an autograph on his merch Tshirt

You smiled politely, as per your Idol persona facade that you had to put up to keep up your positive image, and having to sign Tshirts was nothing out of the ordinary for you, so you didn’t mind it

But as soon as you stepped closer to him, he sneaked his arm around your waist and pulled you into his arms

And he started slurring a shit ton of perverted ‘love’ confessions

But boy of boy, he had no idea that your bodyguard was also your boyfriend

He’s literally dead

Jotaro will snatch his wrist from you, snap it broken and push him away

Then he picks you up bridal style, walking away, while he lets Star Platinum to Ora the shit out of this idiot

He would have liked to stay and watch, but he didn’t want you to witness such violence, even if you’re a Stand user and had to fight before

That night, he will be a bit quieter than usual for most of the time, until he gets to hold you to sleep

And when he thinks you’re finally asleep ( even if you aren’t ) he will mutter a very sweet ‘I love you’

-----

KISHIBE ROHAN

He’s a artist, okay??

Rohan = Art = Aesthetics

He will design all your clothes, one outfit for each song, all your special effects, all your stage backgrounds

Will also help you with songs if you ask him to, or will give you ideas if he sees you’re in an artistic blockage

Will propose to travel with you as your manager, but also, will plan trips in various places he deems beautiful, hoping you’ll feel inspired

Also, a ton of photoshoots

You’re a Goddess, alright??

Divine

And he will make sure EVERYONE sees that

Not to mention, he does all your album art and posters - He would get genuinely offended if he wasn’t the one to do them, actually

And a LOT of fanart

But he also does fanart with the two of you together, or with your Stands, either as they are, or dressed in the two of you’s artsy clothes

He actually takes great pride when people buy your merch, because it’s designed by him, so while they appreciate you, he’s also feeling appreciated from the shadows

It’s not the fame, but the art loving that matters to him!

However, one day when you and your girl group idol friends were at a long table, signing things for your fans, while he stood in the chair next to you, scribbling around in his notebook and occasionally gossiping with you

Some guy leaned over the table

Dangerously low

And close to your face

And just...Grinned

It was super creepy, and despite the perfect facade you always pulled, you could only lean further back on your chair and give an awkward half-smile, greeting him and very uncomfortably writing on the disk he bought

But he then asked for a kiss, and that was the last drop for Rohan

Before you knew it, the little white man that his Stand was punched this creep and wrote “Will always shout his most embarrassing secrets out loud”

And that happened

And it was so bad that the guy started sobbing and ran out of there

It took all self-control both you and Rohan had not to laugh hysterically

But by the time you finished the signing session, he took you to a nice cafe outside and you could finally freely gossip and mock all the idiots that cross your path

ESPECIALLY that guy

-----

GHIRGA NARANCIA

He’s literally your biggest and most vocal fan!!!

Will fanboy about you ALL the time, so much that he kinda annoys the Bucci gang

But they’re also happy for him ‘cause he got to meet the love of his life and he is so excitable and happy with you

So they will also support both you and him

Will be there, in the front row, with huge signs that say “Y/N WE LOVE YOU”

Will constantly yell ALL the lyrics to ALL your songs, and when you’re talking to the crowd, he’ll whistle and cheer so loud

It makes you grin so much and he loves it

Also, instead of the hip hop things he used to listen when on going on missions with the gang, he will listen, hum or sing your songs

So much that every member has at least one favourite line of your songs and will unfortunately have a song stuck in their head

After the concert, you had a meet & greet backstage with a few fans, but of course, Narancia was there and ran to hug you and spin you around, congratulating you on another perfect concert while kissing you all over your face

Apparently, despite the fact that you were open about your relationship with the boy since the beginning of your career, some of your fans weren’t aware of it - Or maybe they didn’t want to acknowledge its existence

So as soon as Narancia let go of you, so you could catch your breath, you got picked up by someone else, which made you squeak in shock and surprise

This action left everyone speechless - Literally jaw dropped

And Narancia got so pissed off at this fan’s rudeness that he started throwing hands with him

Well, not literally, he respected you too much for that

But he literally picked the boy up by the scruff of his blouse and threw him away from you, threatening him to never get anywhere close to you ever again

If you don’t respect Y/N’s personal space, you don’t respect her music either, so you don’t deserve to be anywhere near her!

So he got security to throw him away from here

All while he commanded Aerosmith to chase him down and shoot the hell outta him, while he held you in his arms and comforted you

Not to mention, he’ll get info on him with the help of Buccellati’s gang and will make his life a living hell

All while giving you only sunshine, rainbows and unicorns, because you deserve all the best and nobody will EVER bother you again <3

#JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #jojo's bizarre adventure x reader #jojo's bizarre adventure imagine #kujo jotaro #kujo jotaro x reader #kujo jotaro imagine #kishibe rohan #kishibe rohan x reader #kishibe rohan imagine #narancia ghirga #narancia ghirga x reader #narancia ghirga imagine

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jelenamasterpost · 4 years ago

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2011 pt.II

July 1st:

Selena's new film Monte Carlo is officially released in theatres and Justin tweets out his support:

Justin: "Everyone go see @/selenagomez movie #montecarlo in theatres NOW"

*tweet here (x)

July 11th:

Justin and Selena are spotted/joined by fans singing karaoke at Lucky Strike Lanes in LA - one fan tweeted he was partying with the couple.

The two took to the microphone for an impromptu duet of Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow’s “Picture” and shared a kiss after their performance.

Videos later surfaced (x)

July 13th:

Justin and Selena attend The ESPY Awards together held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.

July 17th:

Justin and Selena crash a wedding in Malibu, California

TMZ reports:

According to our sources at the wedding, Justin and Selena were strolling on the beach when they heard Justin's song "One Less Lonely Girl" playing at the reception -- inside the historic and shi shi Adamson House.

We're told Justin snuck up on some guests -- who predictably OMG'd and LOL'd -- and then hopped on the mic, saying: "We just crashed it. We heard a party so we decided to just come. So let's party."

They only stayed for about 10 minutes to pose for pics -- including some with the happy couple -- and then bolted.

youtube

July 20th:

Justin visits Selena at a Hollywood studio while she rehearses for her upcoming tour

July 22nd:

Justin and Selena are spotted together shopping on her birthday - he posted a photo of the two on Instagram and tweeted:

“Happy Birthday @SelenaGomez gonna be a special day.”

*tweet here (x)

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A post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber)

instagram

July 24th:

Selena's We Own the Night World Tour begins tonight in Costa Mesa, California - Justin surprises her at the show and joins the stage to perform Justin Timberlake's Cry Me A River

He later tweets that night:

“@selenagomez u did great tonight. proud of u”

*full performance video here (x)

July 26th:

Justin and Selena are photographed out for lunch at Hooters in Burbank, California:

“Justin and Selena came in at about noon for lunch,”

“They were both really polite and signed a few autographs. They were both super-friendly and made the most adorable couple!”

July 28th:

Justin attends another one of Selena’s shows with friend Sean Kingston in Boca Raton Florida.

He posts a photo to his Instagram wearing her tour merch

*article here (x)

August 2nd:

Rumors began circulating that Justin and Selena may have broken up after a YouTube video went viral declaring that Selena found flirty texts Justin sent to his ex Jasmine - E!News later shot this down

Selena performs in Atlanta Georgia and Justin’s friends Alfredo and Carin attend the show. Justin tweets:

“ATL show @selenagomez love tonight! @alfredoflores and @carinmb are in the building i heard. #Beasts!”

*E! article here (x) / tweet here (x)

August 6th:

Alfredo posts a photo of him, Justin, Selena to Instagram captioned: “swimming with the boys :)” while Justin adds a photo of himself to Selena’s Instagram

August 7th:

Justin and Selena attend the 2011 Teen Choice Awards together and were super affectionate throughout the entire ceremony - Justin danced through Selena's performance of Love You Like A Love Song and cheered her on as she accepted her 5 awards

youtube

August 13th:

Justin and Selena are spotted in an Apple Store in Rosemont Illinois, while she's in town for tour

August 18th:

Justin and Selena attend a pool party and are photographed kissing - Justin also uploads a photo of the two on instagram captioned:

“my babbyyyy”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber)

instagram

August 19th:

Justin and Selena are photographed as they picked up a smoothie from Smoothie King in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she performs later that evening on tour

During Selena’s soundcheck performance in Philadelphia, a fan shouts out asking for her phone number, Selena replies:

“I don’t think my boyfriend would like that”

*full video here (x)

August 20th:

Selena had “JB” written on her right hand and “I love you” on her left wrist during her concert in New Jersey

August 21st:

Justin and Selena are spotted walking in Hershey Park theme park, in Pennsylvania

August 23rd:

Justin and Selena are photographed out and about with Alfredo, Ryan and Kenny in Toronto, Ontario

August 25th:

Justin announces that he would be releasing his first Christmas album and second studio album later in 2011 -

His manager Scooter Braun and vocal producer Kuk Harrell confirmed a week later that Justin had collaborated with Sean Kingston and Taylor Swift and had also worked with producers The Messengers.

August 28th:

Justin and Selena attend MTV Video Music Awards together where Selena was a co-host for the pre-show - Selena interviewed Justin in the arrivals hall at the awards ceremony where the two were very affectionate sharing kisses, Selena telling Justin:

'Thank you so much. Thank you for hanging out, babe.'

Justin also hugged Selena onstage as he accepted the award for Best Male Video

September 2nd:

Selena watches while Justin plays basketball and cheers in the background

*video here (x)

September 9th:

Justin talks with Women's Wear Daily for an interview and mentions that he's dating Selena:

WWD: You told one of the kids earlier that you’re still friendly with Selena.

JB: She’s amazing. She’s my girlfriend right now.

WWD: Where do you see yourself five years from now?

JB: [Visibly counting] Well, by 25 or 26, I want to see myself, like, married or start looking for a family. I want to be a young dad. I want to be able to have done what I wanted to do — to be successful, to do a movie or whatever. But if the time is right, I definitely want to be married by 25.

One thing — I’m not looking to get married now.

*full interview (x)

September 10th:

Justin and Selena spotted out for lunch in Las Vegas, where Selena performs that evening - they later attend the shows after-party with DJ Taf

September 14th:

Justin and Selena visit the old-set of Wizards of Waverly Place

September 15th:

Justin and Selena attend “The Abduction” premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles - Selena gets boo’d (?) by fans as she walks the red carpet.

September 16th:

Justin are Selena are photographed having lunch and doing a bit of shopping at a mall in Los Angeles

September 17th:

Justin and Selena are seen arriving to LAX Airport departing to Atlanta - later that evening, they attend Georgia Music Hall of Fame with Usher and Justin performs and was honored with the Horizon Award at the 33rd Annual Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards.

*article here (x)

September 18th:

Justin and Selena went to watch the Atlanta Falcons play the Philadelphia Eagles at the Georgia Dome. Justin tweeted photos of themselves kissing on the way to the game.

While leaving the game, Selena is filmed slapping Justin, suggesting they may have been fighting

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A post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber)

instagram

*full article here (x) full video here (x)

September 19th:

Selena attends The Jay Leno Show where she performs Love You Like A Love Song. Justin came to support Selena and was photographed with her backstage

Selena has a cute interview backstage with Bryan following her performance, Bryan points out that Selena brought Justin:

Selena: “I did. He’s sweet. Everybody’s taking pictures with him right now,”

After her interview, the camera flashes to Justin chatting with Simon Cowell. Before the couple say bye to Simon, Justin grabs Selena’s hip and tells Simon:

Justin: “I’ll look after her.”

*full article here (x)

September 20th:

Justin uploads a photo of him hugging Selena while deplaning a jet onto Instagram.

Justin and Selena are also spotted in the park taking staged photos with 6 babies (?) in which Justin also later uploads to his instagram captioned:

"Brangelina 2.0 hahahahahaha"

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A post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber)

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September 21st:

Justin and Selena attend LA Zoo together

September 23rd:

Selena and Justin are photographed on a PDA filled beach stroll in Malibu California

*Daily Mail article / photos (x)

September 23rd:

Selena and Justin attend Demi Lovato’s concert together held at the Nokia Centre in Los Angeles

After the show, Justin surprises Selena by renting out The Staples Centre arena for a private, exclusive dinner date and movie screening of Titanic:

"The teen supercouple arrived at the empty, 20,000-seat arena, where the lights had been dimmed; on the court floor was a table set for two with candles.

After the meal — steak and pasta, catered by the Lexus club — the couple enjoyed a private screening of Titanic. (The "Baby" singer apparently got the idea from the Adam Sandler flick Mr. Deeds, in which Sandler's character surprises his girlfriend, played by Winona Ryder, with a similar gesture at NYC's Madison Square Garden.)

And TMZ reports that Bieber paid nothing for the big date: The Staples Center comped the evening as thanks for Bieber's recent sold out concerts there."

*UsWeekly article here (x) *justin's tweet (x)

September 25th:

Justin’s best friend Alfredo posts instagram photo of him, Justin, Selena on private jet:

"BOOM BOOM POW! @/JustinBieber @/SelenaGomez -- see the creeper?"

*alfredo's tweet / photo (x)

September 28th:

Selena joins Justin in Franklin Tennessee on the set of his music video shoot for a song off his upcoming Chrismtas album, Under the Mistletoe.

Justin tweets:

“video shoot today for christmas album. #mistletoe”

September 30th:

Justin begins the Latin American leg of his My World Tour, beginning this evening in Monterrey Mexico and concluding October 19th in Caracas Venezuela.

Selena was judging a Disney Channel show with Sean Kingston when she met Ben Baller, the man who made Justin's grill. According to Ben, Selena wasn’t too stoked about meeting him originally, but then she concocted an idea to prank Justin, which he wrote about on his blog:

“Selena says ‘ohhhh I don’t like you! you’re the one who made Justin’s grill huh?’ I said yeah….. does he wear it?’ Selena said ‘YES! he definitely wears it! (stone face towards me) and I’m thinking to myself like damn…. she’s actually really sweet though, I can tell lol… so She says let’s play a prank on Justin…. and I agreed (why not right?) let’s take a pic and then send the guys the pic and under it say ‘guess who’s getting a grill?'”

“I didn’t say it was a joke or anything… a few hours later, I get a text from Justin saying ‘call me’ and I’m like…. damn, he’s gonna be mad or tell me to take it down….”

“He says ‘cmon bro. is she really getting a grill? (I’ve talked to him enough on the phone to know his voice and different sounds, from regular to really happy) and he was definitely concerned like ‘please say it’s a joke’…. so I’m thinking to myself, like damn, I know in the last 3 hours he’s had to have talked to his girl and he had to ask her…. I can’t believe she’s really stringing this little prank along for so long…. she’s really cool for playing the joke for real! haha”

*article here (x)

October 3rd:

Justin was seen looking for Selena in the airport in Rio de Janeiro because there was an issue with her visa.

Selena had some difficulty getting into Brazil because she didn’t have the correct visa

October 4th:

Justin and Selena take a helicopter ride while exploring Rio de Janeiro, Brazil before he takes the stage tomorrow.

An insider tells told Hollywood Life:

'Justin and Selena are staying at the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro, which is considered to be the most exclusive hotel in Rio.'

'They are staying in a Penthouse Suite which includes one bedroom with a king-sized bed, a living room, a mini bar and two marble bathrooms with a separate bathtub and shower.'

*Daily Mail article / photos (x)

October 5th:

Selena joins Justin backstage before he takes stage and poses for photos, while Justin tells a reporter he calls Selena “Mamacita” during an interview

After the concert, Justin and Selena were seen out for dinner, clubbing at Copa Club and kissing in the backseat of the car on their way back to the hotel

*DailyMail article here (x)

October 6th:

Selena and Justin are spotted by numerous fans around town before Justin’s second show this evening - that night, Selena joins Justin on stage and they perform Selena’s song Who Says together.

Justin tweeted earlier in the day:

"had a lil fun last night in RIO….show #2 in RIO is 2nite….got some very special guests with me 2nite #mistletoe"

*justin's tweet (x)

youtube

October 7th:

Justin and Selena are photographed boarding their plane as they leave Rio de Janeiro

October 9th:

Justin speaks with New! Magazine for an interview and admits he loves Selena but insists they have no plans to move in together because of their busy careers:

"I wouldn't be with somebody if I wasn't in love,"

"Everybody can see she is hot and that's great, but there is so much more to her than that. She makes me laugh and she puts up with my practical jokes. She has really strong family values as well. We were both raised by our moms in single-parent households, and that's given us a lot of the same family values in life."

"At the moment we're so busy, it's pretty much hotel rooms for me for most of the year. She could be in one part of the world and I could be in the other. We are just a young couple who are enjoying spending time with each other. But we both took time off last month and it was just really cool to be able to spend time together and just do normal things like go to the beach and have dinner together."

*full article here (x) and (x)

October 9th:

Justin gives a radio interview with 97.5 Fanatic Philadelphia:

Interviewer: What’s up with you and Selena man?

Justin: Well she’s on tour right now, so yeah.

Interviewer: Is this an official hookup?

Justin: Y‘know, I like to keep some of my private life to myself.

Interviewer: Well it’s already out there.

Justin: I know I mean it’s pretty obvious, but I don’t really like to talk about it.

Interviewer: I got you, you wanna keep it a private relationship - but how’d you swing that? It’s tough to get that break through line.

Justin: Yeah I know, I was pretty shocked myself. She’s very beautiful.

Interviewer: So how’d you make the approach? Did someone put you two together or what?

Justin: We started as friends like 2 years ago, so we were just friends for a long time - that’s how it happened.

October 12th:

Selena tweets a photo she added to instagram, of her eating Tim Hortons in Canada:

“Canada.. I missed you. But @justinbieber misses you more.”

*selena's tweet here (x)

October 17th:

Justin's song Mistletoe, the first single off his Christmas album, is officially released - Selena posted a photo of the song to her Instagram captioned:

“Finally it’s out.. Did y’all buy it?”

October 18th:

Justin performs the last show of his My World Tour this evening in Carasova Venezuela

October 20th:

Selena and Justin are spotted walking around The Forks shopping area in Winnipeg, Canada. Selena has the night off from her We Own the Night World Tour, but has a performance in the city tomorrow.

Insiders confirm that her and Justin are staying at the luxury boutique hotel Inn at the Forks in Winnipeg.

That evening, Justin again rents out an entire movie theatre for a date with Selena -he arranged for a screening room at the SilverCity Polo Park Cinemas to be kept empty so he and Selena could watch Real Steel' in private, and also rranged for pizzas to be delivered to the cinema for him and Selena to feast on during the movie.

A source at the venue said: "They made sure to keep everything really under wraps and private. He was really polite and they both thanked everyone before they left."

Justin uploads a photo of him and Selena in the theatre to Instagram captioned "me and my besty watching a movie"

*full article here (x)

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October 21st:

Selena plays at the MTS Centre this evening in Winnipeg Manitoba, while on her We Own The Night World Tour.

Her and Justin stopped by Winnipeg's D'Arcy's Animal Rescue Centre for a visit and played with the dogs for over an hour - there were rumours that Selena took a pup with her

Justin and Selena are spotted by various fans throughout the day while out exploring Winnipeg, including Tim Hortons, and Speedworld Indoor Kart Track along with friend Ashley Cook

*full article here (x)

October 22nd:

Justin takes Selena to a hockey game to watch his favourite team, the Winnipeg Jets, from a private suite at the MTS Centre wearing matching jerseys with their names emblazoned across the backs. According to onlookers, they spent most of the game kissing and cuddling one another.

After the game, the two physically took to the ice both wearing Jets jerseys - after circling the ice a few times holding hands, Selena didn't skate much at all, preferring to watch Justin take shots at net.

*full article here (x)

youtube

October 24rd:

Selena is in London, Ontario for her We Own The Night World Tour and was seen carrying puppy Baylor around backstage before her concert wearing a Baylor University sweatshirt.

*photo here (x)

October 24th-October 29th(?):

Selena’s tour continues through October 30th in Canada and Justin remains with her for most of the dates - sometime throughout this period, they visited and spent time with Justin's family and are photographed together carving pumpkins and eating pie.

October 25th:

Its been reported that Selena and Justin have adopted a puppy together from D'Arcy's ARC while in Winnipeg, Canada:

“I was told that [Selena] was missing the dogs that she has at home,” the shelter’s CEO told People. “I wasn’t expecting her to adopt a dog while she was on tour.”

*full article here (x)

October 27th:

Justin sat down with Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush while promoting his new Christmas album, “Under the Mistletoe,” and chatted about Selena’s new puppy and their private movie theatre date

Baylor:

“She saw this dog, and she fell in love with it. She was like, ‘I need to have it!’ We just went to the shelter just to look around. Turns out, she brought one home. It was kind of like she just saw the dog, and it kept going to her, I don’t think the dog really likes me that much. I think he’s on tour with her right now,”

Movies:

“If I go into a movie theatre and everyone’s not looking at the movie and looking at us, it’s kind of like awkward, I’m looking at the movie and everyone’s looking at me. It’s like I’m the movie or something.”

*full article here (x)

October 28th:

Justin appears on Jay Leno and talks about Selena - she is in attendance and her and Justin pose for photos backstage

November 1st:

Justin’s Christmas album “Under The Mistletoe” is officially released today - he begins shooting the Fa La La Music video with Boys II Men and Selena joins him on set posing for photos together.

Later that evening, a tabloid story about Justin began circulating online:

A 20-year old woman named Mariah Yeater has filed a paternity suit against Justin on October 31st, alleging that he fathered her child after a brief backstage tryst at Justin’s October 2010 L.A Staples Centre concert. The paternity suit was reportedly filed on October 31st in a California court.

*Mariah Yeater article here (x)

November 2nd:

Justin on appears on On Air With Ryan Seacrest to promote his new Christmas album “Under The Mistletoe” and he mentions Selena's newly adopted dog Baylor

He also later appears on POWER106 FM during his “Under The Mistletoe” promo, rapping an Otis freestyle referencing Selena:

“my girl says I’m perfect she just loves an imperfect person perfectly, personally I think she is perfectly perfect"

Later that day Justin tweets alluding to the Mariah accusations:

“all the rumors...the gossip....Im gonna focus on the positives....the music."

*POWER106 video here (x) tweet here (x)

November 3rd: '

Selena was photographed arriving to LAX Airport in Los Angeles, heading to Belfast to meet Justin, and was all smiles.

Meanwhile, the Mariah Yeater rumours have not settled down whatsoever as the tabloids continue and Mariah continues to give interviews

*DailyMail article here (x) AnythingDiz photos here (x)

November 4th:

Justin gives an interview to Today Show to dismiss Mariah Yeater’s claims and says he's never even met her:

“I would just like to say that none of those allegations are true.”

“I know I’m going to be a target, but I’m never going to be a victim,” Justin added.

“It’s crazy, because every night after the show I’ve gone right from the stage right to my car. So it’s crazy that some people want to make up such false allegations.”

A statement released by Justin’s publicist on Wednesday said his lawyers had not seen the suit reportedly filed by Yeater, but said:

“it’s sad that someone would fabricate, malicious, defamatory and demonstrably false claims. We will vigorously pursue all available legal remedies to defend and protect Justin against these allegations.”

Rumors begin circulating that Selena and Justin have split in light of the Mariah Yeater allegations - late Friday afternoon, it was reported Selena had dumped Justin in the wake of the scandal.

*Today Show article here (x)

November 5th:

Justin and Selena have not split up, a rep for Selena told Access Hollywood and USWeekly on Friday night.

A source close to Justin also shot down rumors of the split on Friday night, telling Access that there was no truth to the rumors and the couple is still heading to Europe together this weekend for the MTV Europe Music Awards in Belfast where Justin will be performing at the show while Selena will be the host.

*AccessHollywood article here (x) UsWeekly article here (x)

November 5th:

Justin and Selena wave to fans as they arrive together at the Merchant Hotel in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Later that evening, Justin and Selena are later photographed together hand-in-hand arriving at the MTV Voices Dinner.

"Justin and Selena could not keep their eyes off each other for the whole night," a dinner source told Us. "They were very much in love and didn't show any signs of stress or strain in their relationship."

Justin, who was receiving an award for his charity work, tweeted after the event:

"I know what it is like to not have alot...so it feels great to be in a position to #giveback. thanks to everyone helping me"

*photos here (x) UsWeekly article here (x)

November 6th:

TMZ reports from sources directly connected with Justin that he will happily take a DNA test in two weeks when he returns to the United States to prove he is not Mariah Yeater's baby daddy -- and after that, him and his team are going after her in court.

Selena hosts the MTV Europe Music Awards in Belfast, North Ireland this evening while Justin is set to perform at the event. After the ceremony, they attend LMFAO'S after-party and are photographed together at the event

*TMZ article here (x) photos here (x) / tweets here (x) (x) (x)

November 7th:

Justin and Selena are photographed after their private tour of Chelsea FC’s football ground in London on Monday morning

It's been reported that Justin gifted Selena $27k diamond bracelet and surprised her with it just before she took the stage to present at last night’s MTV EMA’s

*full article here (x) photos here (x)

November 8th:

Justin and Selena stop by NRJ Radio station Paris, France for an interview while Justin is promoting his Christmas album

Later that afternoon, Justin and Selena are photographed together hand-in-hand after a lunch date at Paris's L'Avenue restaurant

And that evening they were photographed on a dinner date

*DailyMail article (x) dinner photo (x)

November 9th:

Selena and Justin are photographed shopping while in Paris

Justin posts a photo of him and Selena on Instagram at Disneyland Paris with the caption:

“thank god above for my very own christmas love”

November 11th:

Justin and Selena hold hands as they head back to their car after visiting a television studio in Madrid, Spain

Selena has been joining Justin on his European promo tour for Under The Mistletoe.

Selena tweets that her puppy Baylor is sick and needs surgery.

*full article here (x) tweet here (x)

November 12th:

Selena and Justin are spotted leaving KISS FM Radio station together in London

*DailyMail article (x)

November 16th:

Selena’s music video for Hit The Lights is officially released and premieres on VEVO

TMZ reports thatMariah Yeater officially dismisses paternity lawsuit:

"The suit was quietly dismissed late last week and Mariah Yeater's lawyers, Lance Rogers and Matt Pare, have withdrawn from the case.

As we first reported, Justin not only planned to take a DNA test when he returned to the U.S., he was going to sue Yeater and her lawyers for making a bogus claim. And, as we reported, Justin's lawyer, Howard Weitzman, called the attorneys and informed them a suit was looming.

The paternity lawsuit left Mariah Yeater open to a possible charge of statutory rape, because Justin was only 16 years old at the time of her claims."

*TMZ article here (x)

November 17th:

Justin does the radio interview circuit today while in New York City in promotion of his album Under The Mistletoe:

Justin sits down with 92.3 NY for a radio interview and was asked about Mariah Yeater's claims, getting serious with Selena, and what Usher thinks of them.

They first speak about Mariah Yeater and the texts she sent her friend begging him to erase evidence/text messages that admit her son's dad is someone else, promising to give him a cut of the action when she gets paid.

*full video interview here (x)

Justin sat down for an exclusive interview at the Elvis Duran Morning Show at Z100 Studio where they replayed him an interview he gave back in 2009 saying while he thought Selena was pretty, he didn't *like* her.

Justin, blushing, tells Elvis:

"My life is pretty good right now, and she's just another blessing”

*full video interview here (x)

Justin appears on The Breakfast Club Power 105.1 for an interview and talks about his Staples Centre date with Selena and how that came about

(the interviewers are pretty inappropriate to him the entire time tbh)

*full video interview here (x)

November 17th:

Mariah Yeater sent a text Wednesday to a friend, begging him to erase an incriminating text in which her mom says someone OTHER than Justin Bieber is the baby daddy, and then promising to give him a cut of the action when she scores a payday.

*TMZ article here (x)

November 20th:

Justin and Selena attend The AMA’s together in Los Angeles and walk the red carpet, arriving and departing to and from the event in a white vintage Packard Super 8.

UsWeekly reported Justin serenaded Selena during AMA rehearsals:

"At one point Justin even sang 'I Feel Good' a la James Brown. They were totally adorable. They were snuggling in between takes, and he was serenading her! They look as in love as ever."

Selena and Alfredo were filmed dancing during Justin's performance

*DailyMail article here (x)

November 21st:

Justin and Selena went out for breakfast at iHOP, the restaurant where they were first spotted holding hands last December, with their one year anniversary right around the corner — they smiled for the cameras as they walked hand-in-hand out of the restaurant in Los Angeles.

“Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez had breakfast here at about 11 a.m. They were here for about one hour. They both seemed very happy and hungry. Selena had the double blueberry pancakes and Justin had two fried eggs, two waffles, bacon and potatoes. They left a very generous tip that was double the amount of their bill and said Happy Thanksgiving before they left!”

*full article here (x)

November 22nd:

Justin is photographed in the audience of Taylor Swift’s concert in New York City where he watched Selena and Taylor performing “Who Says” together

*photo here (x)

November 23rd:

Justin appears on The View to promote his album and he talks about Selena

*full video here (x) timestamp 2:33

November 23rd:

Justin appears on The Late Show with David Letterman and talks about Selena

*full video here (x) timestamp 8:45

November 25th:

Justin plays “Who Says” on Sirius XM while he was DJing songs “he was grateful for in 2011” (aired on the 25th)

November 25th:

Justin and Selena spent Thanksgiving in Selena's home town, Dallas, Texas, with Selena's family.

They went to watch The Muppets at the Landmark Magnolia Pictures Theater, after spending Thanksgiving with Selena’s family.

“It was just the two of them, they watched the movie with the general public. They were both incredibly polite and low profile.”

“Not too many people realized they were there because they came into the screening while the trailers were running,” the insider explains. “It was dark and people didn’t see them. When they came to the theatre complex, they were both holding hands. They looked really down to earth and very happy!”

November 29th:

Fans spot and photograph Justin and Selena hugging and walking around in Utah with Jaden Smith.

The three of them were later photographed by fans ice skating at Park City Mountain Resort, which later a staff member confirmed the photo was taken there:

“Jaden was doing some crazy one-legged stuff, I guess he really thinks he is the Karate Kid. They were laughing and joking with each other. Justin joked with Selena and tried to do a doubles routine at one point. It was all very playful. Everyone was in super great moods.”