So proud of this. New from T.Shirt, produced by Steel Tipped Dove. Video directed by Derek Pike.

Huge thank you to Tig, and of course, Kells, I see you girl. Shot on location, shout the fuck out to DJ ehT Mills.

For the record, I Should Just Chill. Download directly here.

Damn, absolutely gorgeous. I've come to terms with the fact I'm not a real sneaker collector. I like to wear dope shit and I switch it up every couple of months. These look like August to me.

In case you were wondering, Maharam is well-known in New York City and around the world as a century-old textile maker. Shout to Hypebeast for the heads up.

This guy is the greatest. I had no idea he produced a bulk of Adele's number one record this past year. It sort of all makes sense now. Running side by side with his immense talent to produce artists in the studio, for the past 3 years now Rick's been Co-Chairman of Columbia Records. He has some wonderful thoughts on what the music industry needs to be doing differently and there's some great tidbits on upcoming work. Shout to Mahdude for the heads up.

"People love music more than they ever have and ... are willing to pay for music," he said. "It's just a question of finding the best way for that to happen, without holding onto any of the past. I think with certain artists you want to hear their album ... and then there are other artists who I like where maybe it's more about the single. I don't think there is going to be one way that everything works. I think people will have many more options and choices of how to digest music, and hopefully the labels will get to the point where they are in the business of serving the audience instead of trying to hold on to an old model. Ultimately if they do service the audience, I think it's going to be a big business -- a bigger business than it has ever been."


Continue reading here

Remember that interesting song Drake jumped on some time ago? This is the video for it, though without him. It's on some sexy weird shit you might enjoy.

I'm pretty sure I'm really into this. The color scheme is great. Only thing that kills me is it's a damn snapback. As far as I know, I don't do snapbacks. Regardless, LA-based labels Ludwig Van and Quintin Co. use selvedge denim from out of Burlington Mills to create the limited edition 6-panel cap with details such as a leather embossed patch, an interior stash pocket and signature Mike Ardelean embroidery on the side. Cop me one and jumpstart my snapback game here.

What a cover. It's funny how I only accept this look from Weezy, haha. There's talk of this and of that inside, nothing of which is very news worthy if you ask me, but XXL has some snippets of the article by former MTV on air-personality/writer, Shaheem Reid, here. Get out there and support print.

Nice little quick interview. The kid looks comfortable and in good shape. I think the music he's about to put out is gonna kill.

This looks terrible, damn. The spark is gone.

Coming Thanksgiving 2011

Seriously one of the best pieces of work any of these guys have ever put out, in my humble opinion. It's just perfect, haunting, and so, so sad if you've been there.

Directed by two of my closest and most talented friends, Ronin and Dred of HotMop Films.

Sexy group of shots captured by young photog, Aram Bedrossian. See the full shoot here, as well as a behind the scenes the video I'm fond of. Premiere issue of LoveCat out now.

This shit is fantastic. Supposedly it just started appearing in people's inboxes out of nowhere on a new project called Cocaine 80's. That's what I like to hear. Just niggas working behind the scenes. Com sounds invigorated.  No I.D. on the track. Shout to FakeShoreDrive.

"shit gets thick like my bro's little sister..."

Download Summer Madness - Common (YK2Daily link)

And just like that someone is gone. I was never a big fan of this guys' work but it makes me really fucking sad that he lost his life at such a young age. 34 years young. Just chill out out there yo. Condolences to his family and friends.

Recently stepped outside of my direct comfort zone and opted for some new footwear for a cleaner, more mature kind of Summer. It feels nice to be able to switch it up and still feel like the coolest guy in the party. I looked around some, too, a lot of stuff designers are doing are a little too assuming for my taste. Don't know how best to say it. Bostonian seemed to get it right, and I don't know how they come off in the photo but these wear really great.

This is really, really very different than anything I've ever heard from Spitta. I don't know what to make of it actually. It's dope though. Real shit. Might need a new little mix but it's tight. Will not be appearing on the upcoming album.

Download 3 Wishes - Curren$y (NR link)

Pretty cool. Same guys that brought us the very dope Influencers joint from last year.

It's hard to put a finger on it, and these guys do a good job, but I think the real definition is something far more interesting. What defines cool? It can't simply be something someone is wearing, or what they do career-wise, etc. because throughout history there's been so many people from different walks of life considered to be the coolest people walking the face of the earth. I think a lot of it has to do with how you make others feel. I think a lot of it has to do with what you emanate, what your vibe is, how you transfer energy thrown your way. I don't know, I'm still figuring it out. Maybe being cool is as simple as knowing you can learn from any and everything around you. Maybe having questions is cooler than having answers. Maybe the coolest people in the world have that perfect balance of having both.

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there.

What my man says is incredible. Wild. Doesn't mention weed once but he's smoking throughout the clip. The writing is awesome. I fucks with this.

Great barbecue record. Has some nice feelings throughout. I'm scared for him with this being first single status though. Might have been a mistake but I guess we'll see.

Download Work Out - J. Cole

Got pretty inspired watching this. It's quick, give it a chance. I just said some stuff on twitter about how I can't believe the city would wanna stop kids from turning the train into these big, moving murals. Seems like such an amazing initiative to me. Anyway, another thing I love is my good, good friends at URNEWYORK have their work in Haring's famed Pop Shop downtown now. We are here.

Thanks to Hypebeast for the heads up.

My man Darvin puts me on to some of the coolest shit and tonight was no different. He's been talking about this song for a while now and we finally get a beautiful visual. Ed Banger Records stays killing it on the other side of the world.

Still sexy..

Actually just posted this same computer for $600 a couple days ago but I went to the Apple store today and got a brand new keyboard and mouse pad section. The mouse pad was stripped and hard to use before so I was only gonna ask for $600 but Apple replaced it for free and checked the whole thing out. There is nothing wrong with it at this point aside from a two year old battery you might have to replace down the line.

Processor is a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory is 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Contact in New York here

This is some visionary shit. I feel like Ocean's gonna be around for a while and give us some great fucking art while he can. Video directed by Nabil Elderkin.

Courtesy of frankocean.com

Yeah, new video coming soon. Shout to Derek Pike. Shout to Mills with the photo up top and the perfect location. Shout to my man Tig for everything. I still can't feel my feet and it's something like 12 hours later. Smh.

I don't know what to fully make of this yet but at least he sounds hungry again. Album title and release date TBA.

This is fucking incredible! All bets are off. We see big movies at midnight the night before. This will be no exception.

If you mess with illrapper on a regular basis you know how long I've been looking to get a good bag for the days I need to bring more than I can carry in two hands and still look cool. Last weekend, while downtown in the West Village seeing my brother, we ran up in a handmade leather goods shop and I fell in love. Laptop cases, duffels, weekenders and daypacks galore, all with some of the most reasonable prices I've ever seen. We're talking about one of a kind handmade leather here so a couple hundred bucks is wildly inexpensive. I've been all over and tried on everything, in every style, and just when I'd just about given up, there it was.

Here's a jewel, and don't say I never gave you anything. Hit up, 33 Greenwich Avenue, Between 10th & Charles St. Ask for Kim.

Just read a blog post that fucked up my day. Information is still leaking out and it's as unreliable as anything that could come from a nigga serving life in prison, but basically, Dexter Isaac, seems to be the one guy willing to talk about two of the most famous unsolved murders in history. He says he's the one who shot and robbed Tupac in the infamous Quad Studios attack in 1994, and that Jimmy Henchman and Puff need to stop acting so innocent when it comes to Pac and Biggie's death. I don't know what to make of it but it makes me sick to think of what it could all mean. I hate stupid speculation so I'll talk about the information as I get it. Nahright has details here.

This is fucked up but I don't know anyone at Supreme personally so all it is to me is a special, special bit of a promotion for this Kidult guy. Art Bully shit if you ask me. 

Sheer black silk will do me in. Photo is from a 2008 shoot by Hans Feurer.

I'm not gonna lie, man. Doing a visual like this is pretty ballsy. It can easily be cheesy as fuck using so many effects. There's something really sincere about it though, and I want you to watch with an open mind. The sky above the village is something else. Shout to my man Adam and his team, as their hard work continues all over the world.

Directed by Ruben Sznajderman

There's always a world of interesting at StapleDesign.com - this time is no exception. A man from Turkey has mystified scientists all over the world by being able to draw and paint pictures using a level of depth and perception even a very skilled artist would have trouble with. The difference here is, Esref, was born with no eyes. He's never actually seen any of the things he paints. This is just so wild.

Esref Armagan

Pretty lengthy interview if you ask me, but there's some interesting stuff here. I like how it seems the interviewer, David Hochman, actually cares and plays off what Just is saying. The kid's a beast, there's no way around it. Inspiring to say the least. Shout to Mahdude for the heads up.

... People asked Bill Withers all the time, “Why did you stop doing music?” Which is what I get asked all the time too. He said, “I don’t know what to say, because I didn’t stop doing music. I just started doing something else.” He also quoted Thoreau: “The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation.” Only Bill added, “I want to know what it feels like for my desperation to get louder.”

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Motherfuckin' Nore got himself another one. Something fun at least. Gotta love Pharrell for these hooks. Wayne kind of phones his verse in, if you ask me.

Download Finito - N.O.R.E. feat. Lil Wayne & Pharrell (Produced by The Neptunes) (UHTN link)

Damn, man. Someone put me in touch with Al while I'm in LA next month. Please! One of my favorite guys making beats. Cool studio spot in sunny California and all. Day in the life shit, along with a preview of the new Soul Assassins Fall line.

This is so good. Makes me so happy to see Gerard, amongst some other things. TVOTR's videos are always so creative and shot beautifully, in my opinion. This one is directed by Barney Clay. Don't fast forward or be so quick about things, chill for 9 minutes and watch a few of my Brooklyn friends get together and do what they do best.

My younger bro just posted this on his Tumblr and I'm fucking into it. Pretty sure it's the beautiful Audrey Hepburn, am I right? Regardless, It's Amazing, mate.

Sounds like this nigga Nasty been listening to that I Should Just Chill album. I'm kidding, I'm forever humbled and inspired by the Queens legend. This is just what I hoped the new music would sound like.

Download Nasty - Nas (Produced by Salaam Remi) (NR link)

This is wild good, wow. Street video on LSD. It's brand new from New Jersey-based indie band Memory Tapes. Directed by Eric Epstein for the latest track off their upcoming album, Player Piano out in July.

Love the simplicity of the new beauty cover. Sun-kissed and gorgeous, through the lens of Alasdair Mclellan. JeremyDanté has some more from the shoot.

So unbelievably excited about this! Album is executive produced by the legend Rick Rubin, and the new single “The Adventures of Raindance Maggie” is dropping July 18th. Only fitting, I'll be in LA that same day. Red Hot Chili Peppers are my favorite band in the world. Let's go!

*Oh, follow Flea on Twitter.

Gotta admit, this shit put light tears in my eyes. I never met this kid not once in my life.

When a rapper starts off a song "this album is just some hip-hop shit / next one I'll make you groove" it makes you expect a lot more from them. Given the current state of hip-hop, where few can straddle the line between making strippers butts shake and making backpacks' zippers unzip, it's cool to hear someone express that duality of hip-hop. T.Shirt, I'd heard your name sprinkled about the blogosphere and even in my e-mail box, but never had given you a listen. I rue the day I slept now, having listened to your LP I Should Just Chill.

I'm gonna start with your diss to 88-Keys 'Don't Take it Personal'. Ironically, this track is about as personal as it gets, and I love it! You made the once-protege of Kanye West look like a nobody with this one, claiming your greater mastery of Ralph Lauren style, and ultimately dismissing him as a passing fancy. You ethered him for trying to charge you to get on his mixtape, called him out for being money-hungry and pointed out how badly the man would flop (where is 88-Keys now, anyway?) I'm not even sure where the beef came from, but you ended it before it could really begin in my eyes. Next your 'Ode to Raekwon' was beyond dope. The flow you put on the bass-heavy instrumental was reminiscent of the Chef, but shows that influence doesn't have to insinuate imitation. On 'Lana, Kim and AMK' you alluded to the universal truth that seeing a woman dance gives you direct insight into how well she 'performs' otherwise. It's little tidbits like that that made you interesting to listen to.

What threw me for a loop in your music though, was the 'rawness' that it engendered. Every song had a grimeyness to it that was only overturned by the next. I Should Just Chill, while very 2011 in its content, sounded fresh out of 1994 in a lot of respects. On a track like 'Art Bully' it's evident that you grew up in the Golden Era, from the flow down to the cacophonous beat you go over. Chants of 'New York' keep your origination in the listener's mind, while verses talking about the dissemination of art and the differences between art and imitation show your intellectual acumen. It's clear you've taken a hint from both the old and new, all while making it your own, which is what good hip-hop is made from. Even by using the instrumental from Kendrick Lamar's 'HiiiPower' on the title track of this LP, you show where your head is at in an introspective verse and tip your cap to the Compton MC. Like I said earlier, there is a duality to your work that cannot be denied. You claim you need time to 'just chill,' while embodying a hunger that won't allow you to. I suppose this goes without saying, but I'm excited to hear what's coming from you. The track 'What They Said' is an ode to naysayers, and exemplifies every negative opinion an artist can hear, from family to friends to love interests. You clearly want to leave a lasting impression, and ending on that track is the impetus for you not to chill. I know you won't...


Ev 

I mean, I'm into this because I've come to like this type of shit from the kid but it's definitely a little questionable, haha. First off, sex 4 times a week? With 4 different girls? That's not thaaat crazy. Also, is it just me or is this emo shit getting kind of out of hand? Does the brother need some serious help? Anyway, them OVO niggas announce an official first single in July and the new Drake album, Take Care dropping October 24th. That's a long while away. Hopefully they keep dropping joints like these to hold us over.

Download Marvin's Room - Drake (Produced by 40)

Oh yeah, 7onthehip.tumblr.com still on and popping. Don't be a stranger.

This shit is crazy. I slept on the trailers, directed by Shia LeBeouf, for a minute now just out of pure disinterest, come to find out they look pretty good. CuDi and rapper Cage ran around detroit with the movie star making what is said to be an, "ultra-violent Short Film". Drops Halloween night. As in 4 months from now Halloween night.

Feeling the prints on these a lot although I'm not sure I could pull them off. Hipsters really fucked up the world, hahhaa. The bookbags (pictured) are at least the most normal silhouette out of any of the others but still I think I'd buy it and handy it on the ball before I walked through an airport with one. Oh well. Still a good job on North Face's behalf, constantly keeping things moving with different designs.

These bad boys are available for purchase here - and Hypebeast has some more info

Our guy ILLZ puts out some big ass artwork and does his 1, 2 thing over a beautiful beat by Daughter Darling.
 In Between Us (Remix) by TheILLZ

I'm not a father and my girl isn't pregnant, but for some reason I can't stop thinking about raising my kids right. Not society right, either. Just right, period. To my standards of what right is. Maybe it's the big brother in me. This article focuses on the importance of teaching your children to be creative, think creatively, approach problem-solving different than maybe you were taught to. Nobody knows what the future world looks like but I much rather give a child the tools to think and dream on their own than leave my babies in unknown hands, afraid to jump.

‘When I hired engineers and people on the creative side, I never looked at their grades.’


Want Kids To Win The Future? Turn them into makers.

As tedious of a process it is, it's important for people all over the world to be able to hear your new shit.

I Should Just Chill available for download in full now, here

This is beautiful, wow. What a feeling. Supposedly produced by Kanye West and get this... Consequence. Shout to my homegirl, Jas. Cé's 4 drops June 28th.

Download Party - Beyoncé feat. Andre 3000 (2DB link)

If you haven't heard, the boys are back. I've spoke with the kid Dred on what it was like to be out there, documenting an experience of this magnitude, and I'm getting back a lot of long-winded, drawn out answers. It's weird. Almost like there's an unspoken thing happening I'm not supposed to know about. Either way, the clip up top is by far the darkest footage yet. The contrast of where the artists are, with what they're doing, still just bugs me the fuck out. Salute the Artists 4 Israel and them boys and girls all over the world.

These are soooooo good. Oh man, I don't even know what else to say. They come in a plethora of bright colors, as evident in this expertly laid-out post for Hypebeasts around the world, and what I feel most about them is how they stick to that one color and do not deviate! Head to toe shit.

Coming soon to a specialty Nike retailer. No word on pricing yet.

All new.

Download here

Tracklist:

01. Ode To Raekwon (Produced by The Letter L)
02. Lana, Kim & AMK (Produced by The Letter L)
03. For The Record (Produced by Steel Tipped Dove)
04. Don't Take It Personal (Produced by Ayesroc)
05. 20 Minute Blowjobs (Produced by Shaun Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra)
06. Get Off Me (Produced by Jahlil Beats)
07. Art Bully (Produced by Illtal)
08. I Should Just Chill (Produced by J.Cole)
09. What They Said (Produced by KRK!)

Recorded at ILLRAPPER RECORDS, All Rights Reserved © 2011
All Records Mixed by T.Shirt, Mastered by Julian Silva for On Air Mastering
Cover Photo by Ronin for Hot Mop Films, Designed by Reno Msad and Cmykvsrgb

I'm almost sure I read this somewhere else he said it but I can't remember where. I wanna say it was on the Decoded run sometime. Anyway, regardless this is cool. Mothafucking Hov, getting his blogger/writer on, haha. As far as the 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time List goes, he has four songs by and featuring himself (Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love, Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and his own “99 Problems” and “Big Pimpin”). Watch The Throne updates should be coming soon.

Read Jay-Z For Rolling Stone

Honestly, Madewell is such a great clothing brand for Women. The Soho boutique is my favorite. Here the very beautiful, Miss Muse, is all over the new season donning all their latest and greatest. I'm freaking out at some of the patters and pieces, I like them so much. Not for the boring, I must say. Take notes.  More here.

One of my favorite songs ever from the girl and the video gets a masterful video from directer, Anthony Mandler. I love how they give her the perfect reason to murder.

Soon as I can get the official Vevo clip up, I will. Props to Yardie with the swiftness though.

It's funny how you read something like this and it propels you to go to the store and pick a copy of it up your damn self. Fastest-selling album in six years status. Major hit. I mean, so far everything I've heard off this thing has had something incredible playing through it. Judas could be one of the greatest songs ever written. Congrats is in order.

Lady Gaga Album Zooms to Megahit Status

Pretty cool. Contemporary artist doing something quite different. I love the motif. Wanna do something interesting with buckets of paint myself. Inspired.

Seen at Jeff's