After our Eyes Closed, Ears Open feature on Iman Omari, we decided that we wanted to do a follow up with him and get to know the man behind such pure euphoric sounds. Everything worked out and I got to chat with him a little about his upcoming projects. Energy was definitely a great name for his first release because he is very energetic! I really enjoyed the interview. Keep your eyes & ears open for his upcoming release with Moruf on 7/24/12 !! Download "Energy"
Founder of Contemporary negro, Avi "Obvious" McClain is all about representing his roots. He states, "I want to eventually be able to affect the current and younger generations and teach them about the beautiful history and culture we have and not to abandon it over the BS the media is forcing on to them."
Based out of Brooklyn, NY , the Contemporary negro brand came to the light when Avi began a search for certain African American leather medallions, this gave him a realization of getting back to his roots and he began a journey on informing himself more on his culture by studying, purchasing, and attending events that he says "expressed the movement" and this is what led him to designing.
Avi strongly believes that our younger generations should be learning about our history and where we come from instead of worrying about what the hottest rapper is talking about. He also wants to show them that anything is possible when you put your mind to it and work hard.
Avi says that he wants to see the brand recognized from the points of its approach and take on dealing with subjects of the past. "I hope to leave my footprint in history as someone who tried to change what the media is currently doing to the current and upcoming generations." The long term goal of Contemporary negro is to be the future one stop place to get stylish cultural items, as well as the CN blog being elevated to be a place of black history, current events, music, and art. Be on the lookout for upcoming projects and collaborations from the Contemporary negro!
"Never forget the past. As long as the principle stays with the brand, it will never lose focus."
Don't underestimate what social media can bring to your attention. I came across this melody while surfing my timeline on twitter. Some may call that 'twatching'. Well a recent feature of ours Sip Spitta just so happened to tweet this Virginia native on to my timeline. I'm happy to say I listened to Howl Seven, a young singer and songwriter from Newport News, Virginia. His song Fool's Gold has a Hawaiian island harmony with a message about love lost. Telling a tale that just because a relationship may shine like gold at first, doesn't mean its the real thing. Enjoy
I have to thank my twin sister Lawnna for bringing this amazing online haven to my attention the beginning of spring semester. I have an affinity for vintage fashion and I have been a fan of this online boutique for a while now. Kevin Hadden was founded by its namesake Kevin Hadden and partner Erick Perjuste in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2011. It offers unique and one of a kind clothing and accessories that will bring about one repetitive question everywhere you go: "Where did you get that?! I have to know!"
With this generation's ideas and concepts of fashion, it is imperative to be seen as unique as an individual, but at the same time presentable. The men behind Kevin Hadden live by the mantra "dress how you want to be addressed". It is capable to not only be a sought out individual for your character and moral fiber, but have the clothing that reflects that persona.
It is their mission to encourage and inspire the youth. They are products of inner city Florida, and want to dispel the misconception that inner city youth are incapable of reaching higher altitudes of excellence.
First and foremost Kevin Hadden and his supporters want to make the statement, "We're no fluke". Often times people can't handle the elevation of success and refuse to accept the progression of others and they want to clarify they are by no means slowing down and plan to make a statement in fashion.
They eventually hope to become buyers for larger brands or in-home stylists and consultants for a record label.
One thing that is of the utmost importance is making sure to keep the boutique accessible. Many boutiques and shops are hard to access and get in contact with in order to keep it 'exclusive'. Even though that is effective at making a few people feel special, it is imperative to remember before you were exclusive you were supported by 'the people', and Kevin Hadden consistently keeps that in mind. Their number one objective is putting consumers' interests first; interacting with customers via twitter, posting happy customers and their purchases on their blog, instagram, and facebook page, and making it aware what is going on with the site at all times.
They will have the opportunity to participate in various collegiate homecoming fashion shows over this year, but this fall they are preparing for their very own. They are also preparing their men's clothing and sneaker line for fall 2012.
Kevin Hadden's take on vintage fashion is that he loves bold colors, stripes, acid wash, and royal nautical prints. "Vintage is my favorite trend because it's timeless & will always remain relevant".
I can attest to the quality customer service, shipping time, products, and sincere character of Kevin Hadden. Below are a few products that I have purchased over time. Even a few that have encouraged my Grandmother to surf the site.
Nigerian cover group VanJess (Ivana Nowkike & Jessica Nwokike) who currently reside in Rancho Cucamonga, CA are definitely a unique pair to come across. These two sisters are known for covering many song styles, whether they're singing or rapping you're guaranteed to enjoy it. They describe it as "singing with a brand new flavor." They've covered the styles of Lady GaGa, Adele, Rihanna, Justin Beiber, J.Cole, & The Wanted but, that's just to name a few. The duo has also done a "Cali Love" skit with fellow friend/comedian DeshanRaw as well as posting a few video blogs here and there. Make sure to check this duo & their videos out!
I initially came across 19 year old New Orleans native, Ryan Lee when he was a featured lyricist in a previous post of ours for SOL in a video calledFool Me by New Renaissance. He's wanted to be a filmmaker since he was little with aspirations of making children's cartoons and movies. Ryan Lee attended NOCC(New Orleans Center for Creative Arts) for media arts where he learned film and audio. His journey to music began in the 10th grade after mixing bounce music for local bounce artists and editing dance videos. Hip-hop music ended up turning into a full aspiration. He then joined the local hip-hop/rock/pop collection "Raw Revolution" where he plays the role of emcee, producer, and video director/editor. Since then he has put out 3 mixtapes. Ryan Lee is currently working on his debut album "A Little More Better" which is set to drop before the end of the summer. Above is the video Ryan Lee directed for Deuce the Poet entitled Coach Bag.
New Orleans, LA native or "Nawlins" as they like to call it, musician Luke James opens our ears with his incredible ranges and his amazing R&B aura. You may have spotted him during his brief cameo in Beyonce's "Run The World" video. Luke is not only a singer, but a songwriter as well. He co-wrote Chris Brown's "Crawl" , he has also written Justin Beiber's "That Should Be Me" & Brittney Spear's "Kill The Lights." His voice gives off that soulful feeling you would get from hearing an old Marvin Gaye tune. Luke is working on his upcoming album "Made To Love", the album does not yet have a set release date. He states, "This isn't a fad for me, I'm Willing to go wherever with this because music is everything to me. This is my world and how I see it. My music speaks for me in a way that's relatable and truthful"
I recently came across this amazing and creative blog for naturosapiens, as the writers calls it, from Strawberricurlswhile on twitter one day. It is an ingenious comic series that portrays the life of an African-American woman that is 'team natural' or has all natural hair, through a heroine named Kinky from planet Nu Groath. This comic wholeheartedly expresses the highs and the lows of being an African-American woman, but overall praises the essence of black femininity and power through her biracial husband Carl E.(Curly). You see what they did there? As a black woman who is also natural I hope to see this comic go far. Below is just a few questions we asked the creators of Kinky & Carl E. to answer that we thought you'd be interested in knowing as well. Fellow naturosapiens or not, I hope you enjoy.
Who are the writers?
D. Rickerson and G.E. Allen are the writers of the natural hair comic "Kinky & Carl E."
Well it's been in the works since late 2011, but came to fruition in early 2012.
How did this concept come about to create not only a comic series on women with natural hair, but the main character as a disguised heroine in an interracial relationship?
We wanted to make sure we captured the essence of not only the natural haired woman but African American women period. If a person stopped and took a look at the daily tasks and responsibilities of most African American women, the first thought that would come to the mind of most is Superwoman, which is what Kinky personifies. Sadly enough though, this usually goes unnoticed by those closest to them, which is personified in Carl E. Kinky's adopted parents being Caucasian and Carl E. being the son of an interracial relationship is something that just kind of "happened" in the creative process and it worked so we stuck with it.
What do you love about women with natural hair?
What I love most would have to be the strength and courage, because it's not easy to go against societal norms, and to do such with style definitely deserves praise.
Using this comic series, what do you want to convey to women with natural hair?
We want to make natural hair just that, Natural. As of now, natural hair is generally viewed with judging eyes, sometimes by our own people, as if this isn't the hair you're born with! We want to make natural hair the normal thing to do. African Americans not only spend dollars on products that are damaging to our hair and bodies because of this, but the money being spent isn't staying in our communities. Most of our beauty supply stores are foreign owned. Don't get me wrong, this is in no way us being racist, but it's about time we start supporting ourselves and building up our community. And we figured a comic was a great medium to make our people aware and add a little humor along the way, because who doesn't like to laugh?
What's Kinky's favorite hair product?
As of now, it's Oyin Handmade Hair Dew, she can't get enough of it!
What does Carl E. love about Kinky most?
It would have to be her stand up for what you believe in attitude, she doesn't sit idly by at any injustice of any sort.
Will Carl E. ever realize that Kinky is a superhero?
Well, we can't give out spoilers just yet, so we'll just have to keep reading and see!
Where would you like to see Kinky & Carl E. go in the future? A movie? TV Series?
We would love to see Kinky & Carl E. formulate into a cartoon on an popular African American network in the future and we're steadily working towards that goal to get the message out to as many people as we can.
Do you think Kinky would fit in with The Avengers, X-Men, or Justice League?
We touch on that in some upcoming issues, but for the most part, Kinky's in a class of her own simply because, like most Afro-American women, her superhero cape never comes off. Whether fighting crime or taking care of home , she's on the job!
If you loved the interview, make sure you share the goods! Natural? Go to their tumblr & start reading. Even if you're not natural, support our culture and enjoy the comic anyway. Reading up on Kinky & Carl E.'s antics becomes addictive, but a good addiction!
Since Timbaland, Trey Songz, Missy Elliot, and Pharrell, when was the last time you heard of a versatile artist coming out of the VA? We could say Chris Brown, but lately his fame is based off tabloid than actual talent.
Here is Isaac Thompson aka Sip Spitta, Virginia born and raised.
He showcases his love for a variety of sounds and genres with his mixtape Once Upon A Fall Linewhich has sampling from Dr. Dre's Next Episode with his song Get Your Hands Upand live band production similar to Jay Z's Show Me What You Got with his song I Won.
Sip Spitta has had the opportunity to open up for Theophilus London for ODU's Campus Chaos.
His most recent single Morning After featuring Daunte Lyriq performed for vh1.
He is preparing to go on tour for a pilot for vh1 called 2 Turn Tables and A Mic by Shaun Nicole also featuring local artists such as Ms. Proper.
We overlook musicians with quality production and lyrical content for artists with a gimmick, mediocre rhyme schemes, and elementary production. Here is versatile artists from Virginia, and I know the DMV loves to support their own, that we should keep our eye on.
We came across this video on WorldStarHipHop, the video entitled "Dear White People", is actually a film trailer for a movie with the same title geared towards "being a black face in a white place." The crew is campaigning to get the movie in theaters. There hasn't been a film of this sort in quite a while. It's definitely guaranteed to cause some commotion once it hits theaters. We ENCOURAGE you to follow this campaign & support the film all the way to the big screen!
We'd thought we'd take a break from posting old pictures all over twitter for Throwback Thursday, & give you all a few real throwbacks. I'm sure you all remember In Living Color & Jamie Foxx's character "Wanda".
Doing my daily web surfing, I came across this new Frank Ocean when downloading new songs on HotNewHipHop. When I saw it was from Mr. Ocean I automatically new I would be downloading it because he never doubts me. Produced by none other than himself, the song has a run time around 10 minutes, which i'm still slightly puzzled about. The song changes tempo throughout the course of the song & makes you think its over when it's really going more in-depth to the song. "Pyramids" is off Frank's upcoming album "Channel Orange" being released 7/17/12 we are definitely guaranteed a couple more singles to drop hopefully before then. Check out the DJBooth article on the song which goes a little more in depth with the explanation. Let us know what you think of the song in the comments below!
Envision entering a downtown Atlanta men's boutique, as you enter the smooth melodies of jazz surround you. You are greeted by three gentlemen dapper in appearance and manner, LaDavion Smith, Sage Guillory, & Justin McIntyre. Displayed around you is men's fashion and clothing of the highest quality. However, this is merely the excellence of their website. This is The Gentlemen's Table, why don't you have a seat?
In 2011 Smith,Guillory, & McIntyrebegan a fashion blog and clothing line that embodied their own daily inspirations, style, and outlook on fashion. The name The Gentlemen's Table essentially comes from their own distinguished manner, and their desire to encourage every man world wide to be a gentleman.
Their style slogan is, "A gentlemen is one that lets his style and personality reflect his character".
They are currently based out of Atlanta, Georgia and students of University of West Georgia. Once again proving that you do not have to wait for your degree to reach entrepreneurial success.
The men that sit at the head of The Gentlemen's Table believe in more than just the image, they believe in the lifestyle. Being a gentleman relies on action just as it relies on appearance. With their style blog & clothing line they hope to enhance the mindset & lifestyle of men everywhere.
The founders aim to distinguish themselves as a rarity, a brand that is one of a kind. They hope to establish themselves throughout the United States for their suave style and impeccable perspective on how a man should carry himself.
Their mission is longevity and progress to a corporate level and an international brand.
Their overall desire is simple; to have their names and their endeavors mark a place and time in history. To have their accomplishments one day be highlighted in a history book by an adolescent aspiring to reach their excellence.
As they themselves, their style, and their brand develops they intend to keep the core principles of the quality, detail, and personality of the brand in mind. It is imperative to them to keep in mind the lifestyle of the brand so that it remains authentic.
The Gentlemen's Table believes that now is the time for our generation to define fashion by our own means, and in later years it will be this generation's fashion being recycled and praised.
They have recently relaunched their website, I encourage you all to experience it. As far as upcoming releases, I also encourage you to stay tuned.
As the sole creators and designers of their line, the ability to point out a single garment as a favorite would be a lie for these gentlemen. They take pride in every piece of every collection.
In order for you to sit at The Gentlemen's Table you must "Have the ability to step out from the uniformed mediocrity & up the proverbial ladder towards style and superiority".
If you feel as though you have the qualities required to sit with these gentlemen, visit The Gentlemen's Table
Below is video footage from their Winter Collection fashion show.
When I hear the name Dom Kennedy I automatically think of his saying "Westside Get The Money" and him repping hard for the West Coast. With his second album "Yellow Album" dropping this 6/21/12 , I came across one of his newest songs "My Type of Party" on DJ Booth & him doing a live performance on Skee Radio. Mr. Kennedy has five mixtapes under his belt "25th Hour, FutureStreet/DrugSounds, Best After Bobby,From The Westside With Love & The Original Dom Kennedy." Having worked with numerous hip hop artist such as Smoke DZA, Curren$y, Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole, YG, Too Short and many more, when you listen to this laid back Cali guy make sure you sit back and let his lyrics flow through your mind! Check out the video for "My Type of Party"
Oklahoma Central University attendee and Oklahoma City native, Josh Sallee made his first debut on DJbooth.net. He's now beginning to receive the recognition his lyrical content and stamina deserve. For those who are not history buffs, the October 1777 Battle of Saratoga was the critical turning point that lead to the colonists eventual triumph over the British forces in the Revolutionary War. Josh Sallee sees himself as a man no longer undoubted or underrated, ready to claim his victory and independence as an artist. Check out his first album Return to Sender. He currently has a new album out Probable Flaws. I'm interested to see the for the video that will soon come for this single, until then above is the audio for Saratoga.
As a product of a historically black university(Claflin University c/o '13), I feel it important to also showcase HBCU initiatives and accomplishments. This is one that is slightly unconventional, but just as effective. On the social network Twitter, it is mostly used for entertainment and quickly dispersing news. However, three HBCU students saw the opportunity to use this medium as a way to connect and unite HBCU students. Kyle Harvey & Bo Amusa of Alabama A&M, & Marcus Brandon of Grambling State are the creators of the HBCU Follow Train allowing students nationwide to communicate and network.
On Twitter there are often twitter topics or follow trains focused specifically on a certain region or a university. The method behind the HBCU Follow Train was to instead unite all HBCU colleges and students. As each university has something special to offer, reaching out and networking with each other leaves everyone a beneficiary.
It was evident that this initiative to bring together the nation's HBCU students would be effective by the mass amount of positive feedback the follow train creators had after only a few tweets. It allows students to communicate in various aspects. Campus queens, individuals in the same field of study, sororities and fraternities, band members, & even those with common interests such as the average college struggle with the cafe can relate and identify with one another.
The creators of the HBCU Follow Train are currently preparing an HBCU Mixtape. It is their hope and mission to give exposure to the many talented students that walk among our campuses. It is important to not only expose HBCU artists to professionals in the music industry, but to highlight our many talents to fellow students and alumni, and those that unfortunately believe the many negative stereotypes of HBCU students.
Brandon, Amusa, & Harvey are also planning to do HBCU Tours, where after interacting on social mediums, there can be personal and face to face networking and interaction. Overall, there are 105 HBCU's nationwide, and the creators hope to bring every one together in some way.
Singers, bands, rappers, & poets if you would like to be apart of the HBCU Mixtape contact Marcus Brandon, Kyle Harvey, orBo Amusa and email submissions to richierishvish@yahoo.com. All finalists for the mixtape will be featured on Urbane.
This crew straight out of the DMV caught my attention with their new age feel and techno like sounds. The group consists of 3 members Tim Porter, Fair, and Octavion Xcellence. Member Tim Porter was featured on another notable DMV artists, Nike Nando's "Loud" track earlier in the year. Their recent video shown above "Hands Up" featured on DJBooth, is hot off the press from their new album "Beer Before Breakfast" which is being released 6/12/12. Interested in this groups unique flow and synth filled beats?
I came across The Freshmen while surfing through Djbooth.net's Independent list. They are just one among many indie treasures my ears have gotten the pleasure to uncover. The Freshmen consists of California bred Kristo,A Wolf, & THX. The trio infuse the elements of 60's pop rock, hip hop, and broad genre's of music to create their own California sun-kissed sound. Within the group, each member has their own role and contribution. Kristo & A Wolf provide the lyrical content while THX composes the melodies of yester-years and music of tomorrow. Above is the high energized video for their video Surf's Up.
While surfing the DJ Booth site for some new music, I came across this video for Kooley High's newest song "Regular S***" which is off of their latest album "David Thompson" but, this isn't my first time coming across these lyrical few. Made up of six former NC State students, three emcees Charlie Smarts, Tab-One (on twitter strike), and Rapsody but, they also have two producers Foolery, The Sinopsis, and what would they be without a DJ, Ill Digitz. They rep hard for their state of North Carolina, the city of Raleigh to be exact and have great following from the Carolinas/East Coast! The group has six albums under their belt (including their individual albums) , a few mixtapes, as well as a couple features here and there. They've also been able to perform along with a couple of notable people like J.Cole, Wale, Pac Div, 9th Wonder, & Chuck Brown but, that's only to name a few. Not only a group, they are all individual artist in their own way but always come together to make music. You can definitely say they have a lot of experience on their resume.
I was recently introduced to Virginia lyricist, Bleu Friday's music while browsing through twitter. Bleu Friday is in the midst of completing his Narcana Trilogy EP series. He released the first installment Narcoticin late 2011. The second EP NRVNA, an abbreviation for Nirvana, which in Buddhism is the state human euphoria or freedom from suffering, is in production. Bleu Friday is a child of the arts, beginning by writing poetry and doing painting and artwork that later progressed into an affinity for music. Above is the video Carnage from NRVNA with sampling from Gotye'sSomebody That I Used To Know, produced by Swiff and directed by Jay Cornell.
When building a brand and a name for yourself, you have all types of obstacles that may be thrown at you. Founder of Nik Gold Designs, Nicole Ayilola has not been one to let these obstacles stop her. In my beginning year at Claflin University she was a prime example of showing me once you start your brand, you don't stop there, you use all the talents that you have, and combine them into one to make something great.
Ayilola states "A little bit of glam and chic makes a look pure gold," following the fashionosophy of showing one, that they make the clothes, the clothes don't make you with a few of her Nik Gold Designs added you can make a statement anywhere. Originating from "living life like its golden" and the combinations of Nicole's nickname, the NGD brand is made up of symbolic & crafty jewlery/clothing that gives you just that extra umph that you need.
With hopes of also becoming a fashion stylist tv host and taking her designing,journalism, & modeling skills and put them to work! Lately, Nicole has definitely been dabbling in a little bit of everything. Not only designing but also doing a little freelance writing in the Atlanta area for BE Magazine . She has also been featured in Leviate Magazineand was nominated for as their model of the year. Using her journalism skills in other places, she is also the editor in chief of her own blog The Blog In Fairylandwhich has quite the following.
Nik Gold Designs will soon be launching the official website on July 4th. With not only the website launch but, a exciting fashion show with fellow stylist Marquis Guthrie and plenty of photoshoots on the calendar, Nicole is definitely on her grind! This is what we love to see here at UMG!
Pictured below is one of Nicole's favorite pieces that she just designed.
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