Archive for November, 2014
Different iterations of popular characters have been drawn over and over and over again, but there’s just a little something special about the illustrator ‘1000Day’ and his cartoon displays. From The Joker, to the Simpsons, the presentation, representation, and most importantly the illustration of all of his works of art are impressive. Check out a small multitude of the characters ‘1000Day’ has chosen to re-imagine.
The works above are just a taste of his work, there are many more pieces in that can be found in galleries as well…
Fergie’s career has one of tremendous accolade for creating music her way. Her most recent release is a masterful collaboration with DJ Mustard, and YG, celebrating Los Angeles, and shouting out (almost) every other major city in the world. Check out the newly released video below.
The answer… A sushi restaurant. Sounds fishy to you? Well, thanks to a revolutionary Sushi-go-round in Japan, and an experimental sounds system that can detect colored sushi plates and play a specific sound, you CAN technically make music with sushi. Still wonder how? Watch Just Blaze give some Japanese locals a fish-fueled DJ set with the revolutionary system.
Album artwork sketched by Michael Tudor.
Since the first time I stumbled up Action Bronson’s “4 My Jeeps” I’ve personally been in love with the track, and with the beat. Working in a music studio with people coming in and out all day long, eventually you’ll find someone to compliment a beat with as good, if not a more dynamic flow than the original. Enter, Lil Dev, young, talented, and charismatic, this quick freestyle is just a taste of his lyrical tenacity over one of my favorite beats. Check the method.
Being a DJ is now a title that’s taken for granted, thanks to more accessible tech, it seems that anyone thinks they can be a DJ these days. FailFactory compiled some of the worst moments from turntable and digital spinners – whether caused by accident or just plain lack of talent. Check the method.
Artist Peddy Mergui created a series of food packaging, extended from the lines of luxury brands. His exhibition ‘Wheat is Wheat is Wheat’, currently presented at the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco, displays the collection of crafted boxes, containers and cases, each bearing a familiar trademark of a well-known brand. Nike, Tiffany, Gucci and Apple are logos featured on the packs, which are aesthetically described by visual elements and characteristics appropriate to each label. To see the whole series, click here.
Rita G became a nationwide phenomenon after an unprecedented appearance on the Howard Stern E! Television show in late 2003 where Rita magically unveiled the world’s “Best Natural Breasts” with a style all her own! The TV appearances earned powerful ratings, e-mail recognition throughout Stern user groups, and one of the fastest repeat telecasts in the history of the Howard Stern Show (repeated less than two weeks after the original air date). Since that time, Rita has appeared in Playboy Special Edition (“Voluptious Vixens” Nov. 2005), been featured on the COVER of a national magazine (“Smooth Girl” October 2005), appeared in more than a dozen other major magazines, been a regular guest on Dr. Dre’s radio show and Hot 97 out of NYC, and as a correspondent for BET (Black Entertainment Television). In December of 2005, she also takes over as Playboy’s new Sex/Advice columnist for their “Special Edition” magazines.
The story of Minions begins at the dawn of time. Starting as single-celled yellow organisms, Minions evolve through the ages, perpetually serving the most despicable of masters. Continuously unsuccessful at keeping these masters-from T. rex to Napoleon-the Minions find themselves without someone to serve and fall into a deep depression. But one Minion named Kevin has a plan, and he-alongside teenage rebel Stuart and lovable little Bob-ventures out into the world to find a new evil boss for his brethren to follow. The trio embarks upon a thrilling journey that ultimately leads them to their next potential master, Scarlet Overkill, the world’s first-ever female super-villain. They travel from frigid Antarctica to 1960s New York City, ending in mod London, where they must face their biggest challenge to date: saving all of Minionkind…from annihilation.
Touchdown. Big Sean plays the field in the cinematic video for his Kanye West and DJ Mustard-produced anthem “I Don’t Fuck With You” featuring E-40. The G.O.O.D. Music MVP stars as the quarterback of his high school football team, the Lions, in the Lawrence Lamont-directed clip, which was shot at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Calif. Against the odds, Sean makes a last-minute attempt to save his team from losing the game and comes away with a huge win. There are plenty of cameos too from Mustard, E-40, Power 106′s Big Boy, Teyana Taylor, and Kanye, who stars as the team coach. Plus, peep the Naya Rivera look-alike, who flashes her boobs. In between his collaborations with Calvin Harris and girlfriend Ariana Grande, Sean has been in the studio with Chris Brown, Kanye, and more working on his third album, and hopes to release it by the end of the year. “You guys might be getting it for a stocking stuffer, who knows?” he recently told Carson Daly. Watch Sean lead his team to victory, check the method below.
German artist Monika Grzymala`s three-dimensional drawings are taking over the space. For her, drawing is visualized thinking. She is starting her works from scratch, developing huge installations made of black tape that seem to burst on the walls, taking over the gallery space. Grzymala creates vivid artworks that become accessible for the viewer and suggest new perspectives for a usually two-dimensional drawing.
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Up until now November 7th was just a date in the eleventh month of our year, but as of now, it represents one of the most unique EP releases by an independent artist in recent memory. Manni Phantom’s latest drop ‘Fables’ is a short, but dense collection of stories, interludes, and unforgettable beats that will catch the ear of any type of music lover. From the first track in the 6 song collection, “Dead Man Walking” starts off strong. The track boasts a bass-heavy beat, composed of classic piano’s and strings, but drizzled with extremely digital vocal harmonics that create a great foundation to support the heavy lyrical content that starts off this EP.
‘Dead Man Walking’ is rife with complex flow and true feelings about the start of a career in music. “My daily routine is chasin’ a dream/ sellin’ beat for the same price as an eighth of some weed.“… “I swear its so close I can taste it now/ and everybody want the dream, but nobody wanna chase it down/ and that’s where I excel on everyone/ because investing in yourself costs less than having fun.” With such a dynamic lyrical output, you can hear the emotions that were meant to come through on every song. The second track, titled the same as the EP, Fables, reflects more on the feelings of affection towards a particular, unnamed woman.
The lyrical prowess of the song falls in line with the high standard of the rest of the collect, yet what’s exceedingly special about this track is the genre it falls into. Some albums by hall of fame artists morph between genres as the project continues, the song ‘Fables’ does this all in 4 minute and 35 seconds. In one song, Hip Hop, Electronic, Dub Step, R&B, Classical, Alternative, and New Wave inspirations can clearly be heard, without the song turning into a car-crash of different ideas. The mellifluous transition between musical styles sets the track “Fables” into a bracket of its own. Next on the list is ‘Cursed/33 Percent’.
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The first of this divided song, ‘Cursed’ lyrically touches on a variety of different subjects, from the obsessions people have with money (As expressed by the chant “Cursed by a dollar bill”), to the perceived view of people starting in the entertainment industry. “Tell me your passion, it better not be rappin’/girl why can’t you be in college or somethin?/ every female I meet is like a model or somthin’/ it’s crazy, addicted to the bottle or somethin’, like that/ addicted to game, or addicted to fame/ roll it up, spark it up, she’s addicted to flame./ cursed by her own poison self inflicting the pain/ cursed by a f*ckin dollar, aint no cents in her brain.” After a swift, but fluid change, one song becomes the next, and ’33 Percent’ begins.
Opening with a quote from Brett Sweeny of BRE and Team ISO, the song ’33 Percent’ is a mellow, Hip Hop based, well presented breakdown of what makes Manni Phantom a great artist. “33 percent strugle, 33 percent hustle, 33 changed, 1 percent stayed the same, I ain’t frontin, so I keep it 100 percent.” The beat remains relatively in one place, and allows the views, and opinions to be expressed without being drowned out by production, and once again the lyrical content is light years above the gambit of unsigned artists in the Bay Area, which makes both ‘Cursed’ and ’33 Percent’ stand out. The interlude ‘The Camera’ (a short, simple, opinion on what can happen on the other side of the camera) slides perfectly into the next track in the collection, ‘Presence’.
Pieces of ‘Presence’ are quite reminiscent of the Timbaland and Magoo days, sprinkled with a generous amount of Kanye West, which makes for some very happy listening. The complexity of the beat once it gets going is enough to keep any listener engaged. As the beat marches on, Manni has a mellifluous way of flowing over the beat in different pitches that reflect the tone and gravity of the lyrics he’s presenting. It’s this style of presentation that makes ‘Presence’ the most radio-ready song of the collection. ‘Presence’ is ahead of it’s time, but it the song best apt to draw new listeners into the entire ‘Fables’ project. The final track on this 6 song EP, is ‘Ghost Stories’.
‘Ghost Stories’ breaks the mold that hold the previous 5 songs together, without sounding too abstract to be on the project. The sound, emotion, composition, and delivery on ‘Ghost Stories’ is unique in its own right, yet shows more of the diversity Manni Phantom is capable of as an artist and a producer. Although having a minor key, and a slight darkness in it’s undertones, ‘Ghost Stories’ presents some of the most playful lyrics on the project, “…know some homies that ain’t make it, that’s ghost stories (for real)/ and that’s real talk, no fib, no fable, no toy story.” But ‘Ghost Stories’ is the final act in what is a very well rounded, unique sounding project that is worth the listen from fans of any style of music.
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In conclusion, ‘Fables’ is a perfect example of how not everything that people listen to on repeat has to be something they heard in the club. The project has a definitive hand in making the point that “dope” music doesn’t just consist of a 4 note loop over 808’s placed way too high in the mix. ‘Fables’ is produced, and performed (which entails rapping and singing) by the same person, (which is extremely rare these days), which most emerging artists could never fathom. The engineering is not too simple, nor is it too gaudy, which provides the right sound for both the beats and the lyrics, (another factor many a developing artist is lacking now a days.) And over all, one of Manni Phantom’s strong points is finesse, his ability to go crazy with production, but knowing when to do so, and when to keep it simple. Everything all said and done, the only two points left to make are that, ‘Fables’ is for sure worth the listen, and as Manni Phantom stated himself… ‘The competition’s better dead.’ Click any of the photos to take a listen.
It’s crazy to think that about a decade ago, I used to sit on the steps of my boy Carlo’s place, with him and our best friend Jon, and fantasize about the soon to be released Halo 2. The original Halo: Combat Evolved, was a game that the three of us had play for hours on end every day after school, and although Jon and I would have our asses handed to us by Carlos, the premise of a sequel to this epic game was mind blowing. 10 years later, the launch trailer for the 10th anniversary edition of Halo 2 gives us a peek at the sweet new cinematics for the game, courtesy of Blur Studios. Halo 2: Anniversary is part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection for Xbox One. Check the re-vamped trailer below.
To this day, Halo is still the ONLY video game I play.
Ben Young, the self-taught artist is currently based in Sydney, was raised in Waihi Beach, New Zealand, where the local landscape and surroundings greatly inspired his art. His incredible glass sculptures have a distinct realism that bring the feel of the ocean, while still having clean, crisp feel to them. Check the method.
Universal Pictures launched the trailer for Furious 7 during a live event today and you can now watch the trailer below. Continuing the global exploits in the unstoppable franchise built on speed, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast of Furious 7. James Wan directs this chapter of the hugely successful series that also welcomes back favorites Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Elsa Pataky and Lucas Black. Take a look at the trailer below and some special videos released by Universal to celebrate the 7th entry into the series.
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