Friday, February 27, 2009

Tadd Good


Tadd is a good friend of mine whom I met all the way back in like 6th or 7th grade. He's a super talented dude...remember his name, he'll do big things.


Thursday, February 26, 2009

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Kid Cudi - "Day n' Night"

J DILLA

I can't say enough about Jay Dee. To me, Jay Dee is the definition of real hip hop music. Few artists have the unique ability to not only create something unique and inventive, but also something that really reaches to people's hearts and minds. I remember when I first listened to Common's Like Water for Chocolate. I was immediately hooked on the music...not the rapping, but the music. Read on...

Dilla: A Personal Appreciation

The photo used in the making of this poster was made in 2003 in Detroit at Dilla’s home/studio. I had been commissioned by Stonesthrow to photograph him for the Jaylib record. Coleman and myself were chuffed to tell him about how much love there was for him in the city of Angels. We had met Dilla several times before and he always had the same humble slightly withdrawn demeanor. He wasn’t entirely happy to have his photograph taken but it was understandable as the illness was beginning to wreak havoc on his body. Dilla meant so much to anyone who watched hiphop slowly decline as the 90s wore on. He stood for soul and jazz and musicianship in the music. His beats saved many lives, inspired many and he carried a heavy weight into the early millennium. He continued to elevate the music when many fell to the demands of a mainstream only interested in excess, hyper-commodification and violence.
In 2005 Coleman, Madlib, Dilla and myself went to Brasil. It was a remarkable journey considering how sick Dilla was. He needed to go there we thought, he was the first to sample Brasilian music.
All through his illness Dilla leaned heavily on his mother Maureen Yancey (fondly known to him as Ma Dukes). She was his 24hour nurse, she patiently sat as he programmed beats. She even pushed his wheelchair on a European tour at the end of 05. Her complete commitment to him was inspiring. She too suffers from Lupus, the illness that took him. Early in 09 we received word that Ma Dukes illness had gotten worse. She was struggling away in Detroit and had hit some financial difficulties. I reached out to Shep through Ernesto to see if he would be interested in doing something for her. As always Shepherd got on it with the quickness. The proceeds from this sale will go to her. What you see here is a unique and great collaboration for someone who has brought much joy and love into many lives. Long live Dilla. Ma Dukes we love you.

-Brian Cross (B+)

DILLA

James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known as J Dilla or Jay Dee, was one of the primary forces behind the revered underground hip-hop movement that emerged in the mid-1990s and continues to have far-reaching impact today. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Dilla was often called “your favorite producer’s favorite producer.” Though he maintained a virtually anonymous profile, his reputation followed him through both the subterranean circles of hip-hop, as well as the mainstream. Producing some of modern hip-hop’s crowning anthems–including Common’s “The Light,” De La Soul’s “Stakes is High,” and the Pharcyde’s “Runnin’”—he also worked with R&B luminaries Janet Jackson and Macy Gray. With his premature death at the age of thirty-two, his musical legacy has garnered him prominence as one of hip-hop’s most gifted scions.
More than a beat-maker, Dilla was a “composer” in the modern-day sense of the term’s progression. From his beginnings with production team the Ummah (with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest) to his step into the foreground as an emcee with Slum Village, Dilla perfected a style characterized by his steady wobble, which remains unfailingly artful and rich in detail.
Entering the millennium as a core member of the vanguard musical collective Soulquarians with James Poyser and the Roots’ Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, Dilla co-created some of the decade’s most significant hip-hop and soul releases: Common’s Like Water for Chocolate, D’Angelo’s Voodoo, Erykah Badu’s Mama’s Gun and Talib Kweli’s Quality. Meanwhile, a serendipitous collaboration arose between Dilla and prolific L.A. producer/emcee Madlib in the early 2000s. Between L.A. and Detroit, the duo released Champion Sound as “Jaylib” in 2003. Dilla subsequently moved to L.A.
Around this time, Dilla was diagnosed with lupus. Despite his failing health and having to perform in a wheelchair, he was still able to tour in Europe during late 2005. With his musical spirit still intact, Dilla managed to complete his last album Donuts, while he was hospitalized. It was commercially released on his thirty-second birthday—he passed away three days later from cardiac arrest.

via OBEY.

New Balance x Solebox 1500 - 2009 Pack

The pack consists of a red heel (shown above) and a green heel.

via hypebeast.

These are soooo UGLY!

These. Are very ugly.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Kanye West & Kid Cudi - "Welcome to Heartbreak" Video


KANYE WEST "Welcome To Heartbreak" Directed by Nabil from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

This is my favorite song off 808s and Hearbreak. I guess the video is still in progress but what they've got so far is amazing...although I'm not sure how this would look on lower definition displays...

Sunday, February 15, 2009

The Pedestrian Project

There's something about this that I love.

The Pedestrian Project consists of several performers wearing entirely black custom-made costumes modeled after the generic images of men, women, and children seen on public signs. Mimicking the lives of everyday people, the roaming sculptural forms inspire the imaginations of onlookers, who often find themselves mesmerized as these familiar icons assume busy lives of their own. Created by New Yorker Artist/Costume Designer Yvette Helin.

Check it out HERE (via trend.land).

J Dilla Month - Turn It Up!

Jay Dee is one of the most important musicians of our time. He left way too soon. RIP.

npr interview HERE.

The Simpsons Goes HD



Plus a new intro/main title! The Simpsons will be broadcast in HD for the first time tonight.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Radiohead 2009 Grammy Performance



I would have much rather seen it live...but this is kinda cool. Thom Yorke sounds great at this performance!

Monday, February 9, 2009

This is what Uday had to say about my latest track...

Below is a portion of our Google Chat transcript:

Uday: nice nice .. awesome man
the track is FUCKING AWESOME
6:35 PM I am inspired .. I just opened my logic pro :P
me: NIIIICE



!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New Track - Untitled...

This one is nowhere near finished and needs a LOT of improvement but I worked on it pretty much all day yesterday and wanted to get it out so that I could try and get some feedback. I don't have a title for it yet. I've provided a few nerdy details about the track below...they aren't really important, the important thing is to just listen! ...and tell me what you think.

Click on the player below to listen or right-click HERE to download.









I decided to take a minimalistic approach to the writing of this one but I didn't want it to sound like minimalist music. It was composed as simply two melody lines, one in the piano and one in the bass. I also put some auto-tuned vocals on this track, but they are disguised a bit and not prevalent until the very end. The more I record my trumpet the more I realize that I really need to get myself a decent microphone. I'm satisfied with the mic I have for live gigs because in that situation the natural, acoustic sound of my trumpet projects enough to balance things out but when I go into the "studio" it's really not working. Anyone have an RE-20 they want to sell to me for cheap???

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Thomas Pink Men's Spring/Summer 2009


Thomas Pink for Spring/Summer 2009.  These are perfect.


Sam Sannia Furniture Designs



Some days I wish I had a house and some money so I could check out some furniture. I walk by Meta Home in Iowa City every day and they have some very unique pieces in there.

via selectism.

Ok, so not all North Face looks bad...



via selectism.

The Fate of a Voodoo Doll by Joaquin Baldwin