makes you happy

this track is contagious
novel - makes you happy (produced by dj toomp and jay mac)

dc chillin

video of wale performing his first single on his upcoming album, chillin, and one other track.

the fully mastered version of the track is said to have lady gaga on it.

prom queen

lil wayne is back in full force now, with his new upcoming album, the rebirth.

check out the video trailer for his first single and video.

1: abandoned, forgotten, erased

last year, taacit helped put on a project at the university of california, san diego. the event, entitled the "writing's on the wall" paralleled both the controversy of the wall dividing israel and palestine and the border crisis in mexico. with over 600 people in attendance, and featuring def jam poets as well as students, the night featured high enery spoken word and artistic talent.

this year, the event will be titled, "1: abandoned, forgotten, erased."

peep the video trailer below:

imogen heap

in case you haven't seen this video (but i truly hope you've seen it) i'm throwing it back and putting this video up of imogen heap performing just for now live for indie 103 a while back.

it shows the true dynamic some artists have, as she's using simple pieces of equipment, an amazing voice and nothing else to create an eclectic and beautiful acapella version of the track.

johnston marklee design

johnston marklee online

sonystyle

check out the new commercial for sony style. pretty fresh.

audi tt/rs

peep game
audi got the game on lock. nuff said


unfortunately the good people at audi have no plans to bring it to the states....what a tease

credits: autoblog

4-3-2-1

k-os, who's fourth album comes out in march, has released his first single and video off the album. "4 3 2 1" is a pretty cool track, and the video is pretty fresh. at times, it feels like the video is too much for the song, or the song is too much for the video, but still a fun watch.

kid cudi video debut

talked about this earlier in the week. here's the new video for day n nite.

and for the fake of it, i should share the remix music video he did with the crookers. it's not as aesthetic, but its his video nonetheless. this video actually was created, and cudi didn't like it, and said he wanted something else... so this isn't the video you'll be hearing about.

k'naan live

k'naan on jimmy kimmel last night.

kid cudi & wale

wale and kid cudi did a track together on cudi's mix tape, " a kid named cudi " but this new track features both of them again, entitled " look up in the stars. "

no word on what album it'll be on, but nonetheless a pretty fly track, even with all the dj mess behind the track.

kid cudi - look up in the stars


credits: hypetrak

ten most stylish men

in gq's march issue, they do an interesting piece on the top 10 most stylish men in america. the list...intrigues.

1. justin timberlake, entertainer -The man who helped bring fedoras—and sweater vests, and beards, and three-piece suits, and skinny ties—back - see image
2. mark ronson, dj/producer - see image
3. alexi lubomirski, photographer - see image
4. andré balazs, hotelier/scene magnet - see image
5. kanye west, musician/aspiring designer - see image
6. sid mashburn (and staff), haberdasher - see image
7. t.i., rapper - see image
8. glenn o'brien, gq style guy - see image
9. jason schwartzman, actor - see image
10. ed ruscha and son, eddie, artist - see image

for the full article, check out gq.

kicked pushed

saw k'naan last night in hollywood, and it led me to look up more stuff on him and about him. real soulful dude. check this video out he did using lupe's "kick push."

but before you watch it, here's why he did it:

Kicked Pushed: Some of you may have heard or read about what happened in Sweden's Gothenburg. Where after the performance a bouncer wouldn't allow me to go backstage to collect my things, though I had my pass in hand. The story is deep, and Sol Guy (my friend and manager) ended up going to jail for the night in Sweden. And me and the band spent the night at the station waitin for him. While it was us who were disrespected and actually physically assaulted, it was also us who were betrayed, processed and reminded of the diseases in the human heart. Fortunately, we were traveling with a camera and so we have some of those people and some of the situation on camera.

Those of you who know my music know that I've never really written for leisure. And that my experiences have always been at the forefront of my music. And you must agree, rarely is life uneventful. But this one called for special presentation. So I wrote a song, using Lupe Fiasco's Kick Push instrumental. Documenting the experience we had in Sweden, I call this song... KickED PushED. We also put together a video for the song, using the ACTUAL footage from the scenario. Nothing is re created, or re enacted, everything that you see is REAL.

Enjoy it (it's hard to say that about this one)

Peace, K'naan.

nadia ali

ok, so we had the experimental hip hop...and then the hip pop. so let me take it one more step further and put up one more video...electronic/trance...nadia ali's new track - love story.

dead and gone

another new music video for you. t.i. with justin...dead and gone.

welcome to heartbreak

kanye west track featuring kid cudi. not supposed to be the next single on the album... but i'll let kanye tell you that.

"This is not the next single, 'Amazing' is the next single. This is the video we’ve been working on for the last month. We know there is another video out there using the same technique so we were forced to drop it now."

credits: kanye

toilet paper rolls

yuken teruya is an artist who's main motif is to manipulate everyday objects with hope to transform their meanings to reflect on contemporary society and culture. cutting trees out of paper bags and cardboard toilet paper rolls, he goes on to develop intricate pieces of art embodying a small and enchanting world of its own, all to relate to a more broader concern. each project, be it a paper bag or a roll, shapes of trees are created without adding or removing anything, but just the cutting and folding from the paper on the bag or roll itself.

on a higher note, teruya uses his work to explore issues around growing consumerism of contemporary society, depleting natural resources and other problems associated with globalism. teruya also has a passion for addressing threats aimed at local cultural traditions and identities.

see more of his work below.

credits: booooooom

kid cudi drama

in other kid cudi news, the new artist was supposed to perform at some point this weekend during all the nba all-star festivities, but reportedly had an argument with reebok officials. security was called, and cudi was tazed. while many reports and blogs have said he was arrested, kid cudi was not, and simply left the venue.
other reports suggest that cudi and reebok were arguing because he refused to wear a pair of reebok high tops (shown above) and opted to wear a pair of jordans. however, cudi on his own blog stated that he did tell them he didn't want to wear them, but decided that he will wear them, forcefully. by the way, if i had to be wearing these reeboks, i'd be pushing for my j's too!

by the way, if i had to be wearing these reeboks, i'd be pushing for my j's too!

here's a small tid bit from cudi's own blog:

"as far as wut REALLY happened, i kno the truth and GOD kno’s the truth and my peoples who were there kno the truth and dats all dat matters…im not finna sit here and break down the whole story bit by bit, scene by scene. yall can believe wut yall wanna believe, i do this for me, my family, the people who like my music and to fulfill my destiny on this earth….thats it, all this gossip column shit is fa suckas….im on some other, leave me the fuck alone, i jus wanna create music, leave me the fuck alone, please!

when suttin else happens (and im sure it will) i will not b mentionin anything on my blog and i will not explain myself on here….this is my last explaination to the world….next time, if it doesnt sound like suttin id do, then 9 times outta ten its suttin i wouldnt do."

kid cudi - day n' nite

kid cudi will be on bet's 106 & park this thursday to premiere his official video for "day n nite."

not gonna lie, pretty excited for this one.

air jordan 2009 announced

the jordan brand announced this weekend the official release of the air jordan 2009. these shoes have been seen around this blog a couple months ago, and you're starting to see them more often now. it's in jordan's new commercial debuting on broadcast television during the nba all-star festitivies this weekend.

nba players richard hamilton, ray allen and chris paul are already rocking these as game shoes. a sleek looking pair of basketball sneakers, the air jordan 2009.

shoes are on sale now for a jordan-typical $190.

sexiest vdubb ever

while the cc is slowly getting ads placed in auto mags and in commercials on to your tv screen..the gold coast concept edition takes this already sexy automobile to a whole new level. expect production models of the cc to reach vw dealers soon and hopefully special editions such as the gold coast in the future.

i think i'm drooling...still

credit: autoblog.

ryan leslie

with his self titled debut album hitting stores this past week, it was only right that i shed some light on this man's creative genius.

ryan attended harvard at the age of 16 on a full scholorship, finished studying and gave up law school after graduating to pursue his dreams of being a musician and making his career as a hit maker and entrepeneur. utilizing viral media outlets such as myspace and youtube and the web at large - his previoulsy thought of as "unorthadox marketing strategy" paid off when he broke a smash number 1 single for his artist cassie. the single "me and u" went to sell over 3 million digital downloads after tearing up the radio charts and her debut album finished with a soundscan of over 500K world wide. fans are not just attracted to ryan's voice and his production style, but the way he shares his creativity and his journey as well as his insights for others chasing a dream. his viewers and subscribers have access to his studio sessions, music videos (he is known to shoot up to 2 or more videos per single all with independent directors and budgets), short films, radio visits and show performances. The success of cassie's first project and the growing attention by fans online has only created more production opportunities for ryan, allowing him to produce for a long list of major artists both domestically and internationally, most recently jim jones, slim of 112, ll cool j and kid cudi. ryan has shaped his own destiny by his constant hustle and passion for putting forth his best work for all to enjoy. with out any major label push he has created his own lane in the music business. as the music industry takes hit after hit due to piracy and in my personal opinion: fans just falling out of artists who just push single after single instead of a great album; ryan has delivered exactly that - a great album (and because of it - his album is officially my first music purchase of the year =D). even with controversy surrounding his artist cassie last year, she has now over 22 million plays on her myspace for her first single "official girl" off of her upcoming project - proof that ryan's upcoming record company and creative group "Next Selection" is seeing more success and love then most artists still making noise these days. ryan's hustle sets a platform for upcoming talent and what i think should be the standard for what it takes to be a breakout entertainer these days. his hardwork has earned him my money, and i hope this blog has at least earned him some new devouted listeners and fans. check the videos and links below to see just exactly what the ryan leslie experience is all about.

ryan leslie blog/official site
ryan leslie @ myspace - listen to his debut in its entirety!
ryan leslie @ youtube - see all of his studio sessions, music videos, and video diary posts of becoming a breakthrough artist and producer








on a fashion tip: ryan self or custom tailors most of his wardrobe, including most of his kicks. and his aviator game is pretty up there

drake mixtape: so far gone

drake's new mixtape has been something people have been waiting on for a long time now. drake's been here and there on weezy's tracks and his duet with lykke li drew raves from around the music world... well his mix tape has finally dropped today.

no word on when his full-length album will be dropping.

drake - so far gone



credits: wedoitright

nike cortez

to honor the nike cortez pack release by nike this week, tokyoplastic, a production company, created an animated short film for promoting the shoes.

nba all-star game this weekend

with the all-star weekend in phoenix arizona this year for the nba...it means only one thing. a whole bunch of special edition sneakers.

check out my post on bso featuring all the sneakers all the nba cats will be rocking this weekend.

all-star sneakers

rubik's touchcube

The rubik's cube will always be a staple in popular culture.

With the original rubik's cube at nearly 350 million pieces sold, the new touch cube is sure to be a success. The touchcube will feature touch and motion sensor technology on all six sides, a motion detector accelerometer (similar to that found in an iPhone) and colored lights in every square. For many like myself that find solving a rubik's cube a very daunting task, the new touchcube will have a built in solver to help aid new players along with internal memory so you never lose your place.The gaming market has just started to break into motion and touch technology and if allowed to grow will certainly change the way games are played today and in the future. With the overwhelming success of the wii and its current niche in the market place by utilizing motion sense capability, dont be suprised to see more and more.

credits: engadget

the isophone

this is rather unreal. the isophone, is meant to allow you to have phone conversations with completely no distractions, and peace of mind. to quote their release:

"The Isophone is essentially a telecommunications device providing a service that can be described simply as a meeting of the telephone and the floatation tank.

The user wears a helmet that blocks out all peripheral sensory distraction whilst keeping the head above the surface of the water. The water is heated to body temperature blurring the physical boundaries of the users body. Floating in this manner frees up to 90% of the brains workload normally engaged with calculating the lie of gravity. In combination, a space is created for providing a pure, distraction free environment for making a telephone call.

Effectively going against the grain of mainstream design, the Iso-phone trades contemporary preoccupation with efficient, ubiquitous and multi-functioning products for quality and depth of a singular experience, requiring total immersion into the telecommunications media."

credits: auger-loizeau

lead the charge

the jordan brand has a new commercial set for the nba all-star weekend this upcoming weekend. it's unbelievable. that's all i need to say about it. it features carmello anthony, joe johnson, chris paul and rip hamilton.

there's also a cameo of the jordan 2009, can you spot it?

school of seven bells

school of seven bells' track "half asleep" is a big song from last year, but an anticipated video never followed...until now.

named after the mythical south american pickpocket training academy, school of seven bells is a 3-person group: benjamin curtis and twin sisters, alejandra and claudia deheza. once parts of different bands, the three met and decided it'd be more of a challenge and creative process to work together. they left their groups and created an in-home studio and began creating the music they make today.

these lucid dreamers that they are...have a full-length album coming soon, alpinisms.

truly design

truly-design is a pretty sick collective out of italy. at one time, four street artists, rems182, ninja1, mach505, and mauro 149 were all individual artists but good friends. realizing they all had a strong passion for the same works, street art and everything revolving around it.

they consider themselves a artistic collective that specializes in corporate identity, logo design, aerosol art, mural and canvas painting, interior decoration and artwork.

it's been a slow trend, but the corporate world has finally been opening its door to the urban world where a creativity has evolved to reach new levels that were previously not thought of . the new thought leaders in creativity are no longer the top-notch creative directors in suits.

counter-culture is the new pop culture.

and the people in hip-hop, indie and urban worlds who were once difficult to find, and hiding under a rock...are now the people we look to for creativity.

cats like truly-design nearly define that model, doing work for nike, dc shoes, the european institute of design, fiat, the european union, budweiser and many more.

you can peep their website at www.truly-design.com

check out some of their recent work below:

credits: booooooom

j. period + q-tip = the abstract

j. period is known to be one of the best remix dj's around, previously working with kanye, lauryn hill, mary j. blige and the roots. for the past few months, he's been working on what many have called his most ambitious remix project...a tribute to q-tip.

it includes tracks from talib kweli, de la soul, blackthought, ?uestlove, busta rhymes, blu, kid cudi and so many more.

also, take a look at the fine detail in the artwork. it's a project that everybody put a lot of good energy into it.

the [abstract] best

peep the thought process from the press release:
"What defines an icon? In hip hop, it is an artist whose influence is immeasurable, whose stature exceeds his contemporaries, whose music defines the cultural ethos of a generation. MCs like Biggie, 2Pac, Jay-Z, Nas. Producers like Kanye West, Dr. Dre or Timbaland. Yet in the history of hip hop, only one artist has quietly shaped an entire generation of MCs (see: Common, Mos Def, Andre 3000) and also an entire generation of producers (see: Kanye West, 9th Wonder, Pharrell): The Abstract himself, Q-Tip.

On Feb 10, 2009, Mixtape King J.Period elevates his documentary style to new heights to pay respect to this incomparable hip hop icon with The [Abstract] Best, a comprehensive collection of Q-Tip’s music and production, new remixes, interviews, plus brand new tracks from an All-Star lineup of hip hop heavyweights—paying tribute to The Abstract’s legacy. "

robin thicke's new music video

robin thicke's voice is unreal. enough said.

anthony mandler, as a video producer is ridiculous. he's been doing videos for a long time, and brings a resume of common, snoop dogg, r. kelly, rihanna, t.i., beyonce, jay-z, m.i.a., and eminem.

check out the mandler's new video for robin thicke's track, dreamworld.

the mixtape about nothing

so this mixtape is old, but with all my continuous posts here and there about wale (more are coming, know this!), i figure i should share his most recent mix tape. this came out back at the end of may in 2008 and was put up by sites elitaste and 10deep, two online realms that wale runs with very closely.

the mixtape is really really good, both production-wise as well as his flow. it's inspired by seinfield as you can see by the album art, but even the titles have a specific "the" before each track like seinfield episodes. and there's no way you can hate on that cover. it's perfect. download link below:

the mixtape about nothing

just a quick note: his new album, with no real release date is entitled "back to the feature" and know this...it's going to be produced by the genius mark ronson, kanye west, just blaze, 9th wonder and the virtuoso french electronic tag team, justice. that's what's up.

you are a creative genius

taken from: ted - ideas worth spreading

elizabeth gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. it's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

The author of eat, pray and love, elizabeth gilbert has thought long and hard about some pretty incredible topics. her next fascination: genius, and apparently how we ruin it.

a little long, but definitely something to put your ears to.



credits: ted

blu

blu is a little known hip hop artist. he's big in the general la area because he hails from san pedro, ca and has always done some pretty genius stuff with exile, an incredible dj. relatively staying hip to the underground music scene, blu has slowly seen some positive exposure.

in dec. 2008, he was included in XXL's top 10 freshman of 2009. (the other 9 were: wale, charles hamilton, asher roth, b&b, cory gunz, mickey factz, ace hood, currensy, & kid cudi)

blu has been known to take after common, he keeps his lyrics real. and when signing his first record deal, he opted to go with a los angeles based independent label over interscope and death row.

check out 2 new tracks:
amnesia
jb's gone


credits: wedoitright

kanye and aziz ansari

"swagger on a hundred. thousand. trilllionnnn."

this is classic.

credits: kanye

nike air elan pinnacle qs

the nike sportswear division is taking a new refined approach to their most recent sneaker release, the air elan QS. designed specifically for the nike sportswear pinnacle collection, the shoe has a full-grain leather with concise details to make it a simple yet elegant pair of low-top sneakers. the perferated nike swoosh on both the brown and black adds a sleek touch and the shoe is finished off with a crocodile based tongue behind the laces.

the shoes will go on sale february 16 in hong kong. going price for these in us dollars is relatively inexpensive, going for just under $130.

credits: hypebeast

new wale track

check out this track. "night life" feating young chris and tre (from ucb)


the track is supposed to be off wale's upcoming album "back to the feature."

real fresh sounding track (as everything else has been thus far).

wale - nightlife


credits: elitaste

q-tip on ellen

check out q-tip performing "we fight/we love" on ellen's show last week. homie rocks the hook!

young dro

best known for his track in 06 "shoulder lean," young dro is back in the studio actually putting together real music this time around.

here's a clip of him in the studio previewing the track "you gotta know" which has a pretty fresh sound.

death cab for cutie

death cab for cutie has a new track circulating...it's a cover of "love song" by the cure. pretty fresh. check it. ben gibbard kills it.

death cab for cutie - love song

credits: wedoitrightmag

kobe bryant the ninja

kobe/lebron interview each other

pretty cool half-time segment of yesterday's game between the lakers and cavs.

high school hoops

can't get mad at these cats. this is fresh.

k'naan is a dreamer

if you don't know who k'naan is, that's fine. not a lot of people do. but consider yourself warned. this dude is going to be making big moves in hip hop in 2009. here's a video for what could be his next single. his 2009 album is set to come out later this month entitled troubadour.

the muslim somalian artist is a mixture of hip hop, and it's hard to describe it, but think of bob marley meeting hip-hop embedded with a sense of "urgent music with a message."

his name k'naan means "traveler."

here's his first video and track "dreamer" for his upcoming album.

missionG

so a few weeks ago, i started seeing these "be G" advertisements all over the city, some saying to be righteous. some saying be justified. some saying be real. be g.... and i couldn't understand it for the life of me. was it google trying to start something new? no, they aren't that hip anymore. what else was g? was it a marketing campaign for a movie? then i started seeing these commercials with tiger woods, bill russel, mohammad ali and lil wayne doing the voice over about what g is...hell, even the jabbawockeez were in the commercial. i couldn't understand what the deal was.

then came the next array of advertisements showing gatorade's thunder sign. and it all became clear what "G" was. but it's much more than just a drink campaign anymore. gatorade has created a whole new level of advertising/marketing with their new iniative, entitled mission g, a new online sports and entertainment network showcasing athletes and others on their road to finding the "g" and what the "g" is all about.

from videos of people like kevin garnett and tiger woods on the path to finding their "G" to an online TV show hosted by fonsworth bentley...they are creating something unreal and refreshing for everybody. with so much negativity around us, gatorade is working ad agency chiat | day to develop a new brand of entertainment charged with ideas of self-worth, self-evolution, inspiration and a positive mode to living.

can't get mad at that.

here's one of their commercials, featuring jordan, tiger woods, eli manning, usain bold and others...

check out the site: www.MissionG.com

lamborghini countach

ten years ago, richard moriarty picked up a black lamborghini countach for $60k.

he drove it for 10 years, but now, with a poor engine, and having to always have the car towed, he has retired it.

on his wall.

moriarty hired a 70-ton crane to lower the italian whip into the skylight of his living room. the countache will hang over a solid glass staircase leading to moriarty's wine cellar. The car will also plug into the home's electrical system so its inside lights can be switched on.

moriarty, who's family developed south coast plaza in southern california, has done other outlandish projects in previous homes, such as an indoor rifle shooting range, bowling alleys, and a 28 foot high interior waterfall. in his current newport mansion being constructed, moriarty is using $2million worth of steel and concrete to develop the home that will overlook all of newport's back bay. but this piece of art, is as he notes, "one of a kind."

but apparently, he isn't satisfied. "i want to stencil some tire marks on the wall," he said. "seriously."






credits: la times

lykke li - she can kick it

so if you haven't heard anything by lykke li yet, you are way behind. girl has an entrancing voice, and she is making a lot of headway in the music industry. but she's indie. way indie.

so being a hip-hop junkie, seeing her to a cover on a tribe called quest's "can i kick it" is refreshing on so many levels.

new chucks by undftd

it seems to be the move these days to put out a special edition of chuck taylor/converse all-stars, but these special kicks by undefeated (undftd) is absolutely sick.

these kicks areinspired by the classic military bomber jacket.it has a black nylon shoe with some pretty clean details, and actually a removable velcro converse signature patch that says "war is big business."

pretty fresh kick. no word on how many are being made...but definitely a pair of chucks to appreciate.