Purple Sector…

First, the commercial is for Kobe’s new Lo-top kicks, a game or HORSE with Mike Epps, DJ AM, and Mamba himself.

The Air Yeezys AM rocks in the commercial:

And the Quickstrike Yeezers expected to drop March of 09:

Liking the gray ones, and AM’s.

2008 was one hell of a year. It was hell at some points, and euphoric at a few others. For many of us, this year was filled with triump and gut-wrenching defeat, hope and despair in even shares. But here’s what I’ll remember, good and bad, from 2008.

The Ass-Whoopin’ of an election

Let’s be honest here folks. I know when it happened, I was on that nice, it’s an honor, “Yes We Did” tip, but, this wasn’t a race, it was a royal, Harlem Globetrotters Vs. the Green Team style ass-whoopin’. Not your garden variety, just for the hell of it whoopin’, the kind that only happens in the clutch, MJ exploding for 35 with the flu and your teammates asking you why you can’t guard him when he’s sick as a dog type ass-whoopin’. Tiger Woods riding his golf club like Happy Gilmore on the 13th hole cuz he knows he got this style ass-whoopin’. Somebody coming to your party at YOUR house, putting their snowy feet on YOUR oak coffee table, DARING you to say something, and then slapping you down,  American Pimp style ass-whoopin’. It was never even close. They stopped counting earlier than they had to for almost three elections past. He won by nearly 8 percent, but popular opinion and consensus hasn’t been that lopsided since the backlash against New Coca-Cola, Or Kwame’ Polka-dots. The man played it cool (in the words of a close friend, like a “real cool ass nigga”), outclassed and outjabbed the opposition for the knockout. This was De La Hoya – Pacquiao, Mike Tyson – Francois Botha HERE bad. Ass Whoopin’. And yeah, yeah, the concession was nice, but on some real stuff, forget that. John McCain was playin for keeps, he let Sarah run her mouth, and then they got slapped in them. They lost hard like the Raiders in the ‘02 Superbowl, minus the 14 points they put up late in the 4th quarter. PWND.

Celtics take #17

I’m ranking these in order of severity of the whoopin’. This is a close second. FINALLY. After my entire teen and adult life watching my favorite team wallow in suckiness, they make some right moves, aided by a former Celtic (once a C, always a C) and take it in dominating, crushing at times, Randy Moss in Minnie “I play when I wanna” style. Paul outdueling King James? Bomb. KG running roughshod over Pau? Bomb. Leon off the bench doing it ALL?! Bomb. Big Baby, being Big Baby, Rondo coming into his own, Ray getting hot at just the right time, Sam I Am scoring in bunches, Eddie drainin’ 3’s, Poze fouling hard and doing what he does best? BOMB. The defense was amazing, they moved almost in sync when the ball did, and though they lapsed, you knew that there was never a game that would genuinely get away from them. They delivered in classic green fashion when the time came, each contributing, no one doing more than their role, coached amazingly by a man I swore to hate until he left but now find myself growing in respect for. They represented out there. Anything is possible.

Goodbye, Yves S-L!

Yves Saint Laurent was the prototype for greatness in the fashion world. Everything he did was elegant, stylish, loving, amazing, beautiful. He got his start at 21, and since then, for 50 years, if it’s hot, if it’s new, if it’s to be admired, desired, envied, he was at the helm, steering whatever ship it may have been. He never fell behind, never played it safe, never let age loosen his grip on what great fashion was, is, and would or should be in the future.  The fashion world lost a favorite son this year. Rest in Peace, Yves. Au Revoir.

Who dat said dey gon’ beat Lil’ Wayne?

Quite simply, he was omnipresent in pop culture for this year. Award shows, commercials, features, products, news, controversy, hate, criticism. He was the LeBron of Hip-Hop this year, it was his official coming out party. Though critical of his work and his dedication, no pun intended, his work ethic is unquestionable, unwavering, and that is to be commended. Very simply put, he lives what he does, and he loves what he does. How long he allows himself a place on this earth remains to be seen, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt he’ll do this until he drops, and there is nothing bad to be said about that kind of love for any one legal thing. Congratulations on your newfound success, Dwayne, I hope you find the inspiration to keep them talking.

Talking Heads, And the People Who Listen
I’ve always been a news channel junkie, always will be. But, with this year being the first time we’ve had a viable black man run for Prez, I’ve seen the rampant, blatant, unrepentant, unchecked bias, racism (overt and covert) and hatred spewed by not only many in the media, but many laypeople. The internet seems to have taken the place of the gun, fist, shoe as the way to express hatred and anger. A truly cowardly move by most who indulge. I understand disagreement, I understand anger, resentment, prejudice, bias, even racism to a point. But if you’re any of those things, ADMIT IT. Don’t hide behind some BS front and make yourself seem noble or just behind your facade. I can’t take issue with you if you own up to what u feel, even if it may not be PC or popular. However, to masquerade as something else to save face while pumping your hateful agenda gets no love from yours truly.

Happy New Year to all, be safe, be alive, be loving, be caring, and do whatcha’ like in 09!

These are over at Dedue.

Word to Dora, these are caliente.

The First one is a collab between Maharishi and Medicom Toy, and comes with slippers, a rucksack, mobile case, and a pillow. It’s available at Purist in San Jose. The Second is a collab from Arai Tent and Hobo, sportin’ the nice single colors all over. I like the yellow especially. Dig in, and cop one if you can.

I shouldn’ta left you, without mad blogs to read.

Okay, That sucked. But it’s true.

I’m back like cooked crack ya’ll. Let’s Start off with some music reviews, shall we?

GhostDeini The Great:

This is a wierd album. It’s not quite a best of, not a live album, not a remix or B-Side album, though it contains remixes, B-Sides, and some of his best songs. It’s classic Ghost in its incongruence, in my opinion. It’s not anything, it’s just a body of Ghostface material meant to be enjoyed as such.  And enjoyable it is, for Ghost fans and Newbies alike. The Champ remix is amazing, Mighty Healthy is just as cryptic as it was the first time you heard it, and the Back Like That Remix with Yeezy is a gem that they should have played more. The Run Remix with Freeway and Weezy falls flat, as does the Be Easy Remix with Ice cube, but aside from those, it’s a great buy. I play it in the car daily, and have made an avid GFK fan out of my unsuspecting girlfriend.

Universal Mind Control

Reviewers have given this thing a bad rap. It’s not at all Com’s best, yes, but it’s a damn good record. The title track starts it off with a banger, it’s dance friendly while not devoid of rhyme skill, a rare find in today’s music climate. Punch Drunk with the KonMan is a great song, with Kanye dropping in for a simple yet braggadocious hook. It finishes strong with Everywhere. I can find fault only in two tracks, Sex 4 Suga, and  Gladiatior, the latter only because the beat and break are the most annoying I’ve heard from Common. Don’t believe the hate, buy this album, turn the bass up, and let the former foul-mouthed Chicagoan do the rest.

If you’re not deaf, and you’ve lived in the US all of 08, you’ve heard the word change about as many times as you ever had in your life prior to 2008. And, Suffice to say, we all know change won. Monumental, fantastic, sweet, and other adjectives as it may be, it made me think tonight, one month and 18 days after the election, why do so many people fear the utterance of the word change? Change, the word in and of itself, is divisive. Change implies out with the current, in with the new. Why so scared then? I’m not speaking of just this election, but the spirit of change in general.

Whenever I use the word change, to my knowledge, it’s used positively, to speak on graduation from one thing, idea, ideal, way of living or thinking, to  a better one. For instance, in the morning, after a shower, I change my underwear, I’m thankful that Barack will bring a Change in foreign policy, I’m glad Kanye West changed the style and structure of his album for 808s and Heartbreak, etc. In two out of those three cases, I’m met with opposition over the word. Many people, in fact, seem to take offense to the word, especially when speaking about music, sports, politics, or religion. You can see the countanance change on a person’s face right after the word. The ears seem to shut off, and the brain goes into defend mode. Why? My idea is simple: many people take change personal.

When we grow to enjoy something,  we tend to make it habitual, or even uniform in the way we tend to enjoy it. If I like Ghostface Killah’s music, I’ll go get his, some Sun God, June Lova, ODB, etc. Anything in the vein of Mr. GFK is what I want. Don’t you dare come at me with some Heiroglyphics, my nigga. What, you too uppity for Ghost?! Does he spit it too real for you nigga?! Into all that Heiro ish, nigga, you ain’t real! I bumps my Rigatone on the daily nigga, baleehdat! I’m not making this up, this happened to me about a month before Rock The Bells 07 with a semi-close friend of mine. We no longer speak, over this lone incident. If anyone knows me, they know I’m a Toney Starks fanboy. But why no Heiro? Here’s why: some people believe that the desire for change or diversity is the same as disdain or dislike for the current trend, thing on the radio, or what have you. This is not always the case. Switching from the Ferrari to the Bugatti isn’t throwing shade on the ‘Rari, you simply want to enjoy one on somewhere near the same level as you currently enjoy the other. I switched from buying Dunk His to Air Maxes all summer. Did I throw out all my dunks? Hells no! I simply saw a lack of AMs, and filled that void in the place of buying more of  what was abundant in my closet. This idealogy is not a blanket rule for change. For Example, we don’t want Barack because we loved Bush, but we just want to let him ride off into the sunset before he messes anything up. No, we want that hillbilly out yesterday. However, for things less far-reaching, ease up on change, and give it a chance.

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, Jordan Lebeau and Lee Beard Present to you:

Long Weekend!

(Cheers, deafening applause)

Seriously though, Lee, the beat king and Me, Jordan, Mr. Awesome himself, hooked up, minus the alcohol and drunken regret, and formed a duo by the name of Long Weekend. Why Long Weekend? We bounced name

Here’s an interview with Mr. Pro Keds himself speaking on his former partner, and Jimmy Jones, the man who ALWAYS looks like he could use a shower.

And here is the day 16 track from Philly Freeway’s Month of Madness, it’s called Start Wildin’, download it HERE

Sorry about the 1s. My girlfriend just loves them so much, lol.

These bags are fresh, They remind me of the Nike Woven-front bags that just released about a few weeks ago. Maybe they bit a little? Nike? Biting? psssshhh get outta town!

Eli Porter Stare.

These are fresh, peep them. I dig the fanny pack, and I am NOT saying pause.

Here’s the video for the best song on the album, IMO. Pharell is slowly becoming that dude on the fashion tip. I admit, I hated for a while, but I respect his get-up game at this point in time. Peep the Video HERE