6.30.2011
Fly Season: Mighty Healthy 2011 Summer Lookbook
6.25.2011
Dopeness: SNEAKEROLOGY Sidney | By FACET STUDIO
6.24.2011
Models & Freshness: Jake Davis Test Shots: Sibylla Deen
Dopeness: Amongst Friends – The Duckie
Shot at well known Brooklyn and Downtown locations such as 5 Leaves, Union Square and La Esquina, Jamillah Jerez wears the popular Amongst Friends ‘Duckie’ shoe.
After selling out quickly during the Spring 2011 season, the ‘Duckie’ returns for Fall/Winter 2011 in new colorways, releasing from September 2011.
Filmed and edited by Jack Cearnal for Amongst Friends/Highsnobiety.com.
Salute!
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6.20.2011
Models & Freshness: KIKS TYO X Aya Kiguchi X Mai Nishida – Girls & Sneakers T-Shirt
KIKS TYO are back with their popular t-shirt series, Girls & Sneakers, and two new designs are ready for release mid next month. Aya Kiguchi is a familiar face on this project and she is wearing the China exclusive LeBron 8 which is coordinated with a white bikini. Metallic fonts also mirror the silver outsoles of the LeBron’s. On the other hand, Mai Nishida is photographed wearing white bikini as well and she is rocking the Retro Jordan IV in White/Tour Yellow colourway. Yellow splatter back drop is a simple touch emphasizing the key element of the sneakers. Both of the t-shirts are currently on pre-order until Monday, June 27th from the KIKS TYO online shop.
Dopeness: No Skateboarding by Mathias Fennetaux Book Signing @ colette
Classic Music: Antlife's Top 25 Hip Hop Albums of All-Time #21 (N.W.A. "EFIL4ZAGGIN") (1991)
This one wasn’t easy, because I love NWA’s Straight Outta Compton album, just as much, but was too young when it dropped to have owned it at the time. I came up on EFIL4ZAGGIN, and went back to cop and eventually love their debut album. It’s no secret that I think that Dre’s Hip Hop’s best producer of all-time. And this album had some of his best production ever, in my opinion. Cube wasn’t around anymore, but the album still banged from start to finish. I was still a kid when this dropped, but I had no problem recitin’ every lyric from the tracks, profanity and all. I think one could easily say that the group got even more reckless on this album, than they were on the first joint. Being able to say what you want, AND have classic backdrops by way of Dre’s production, to do it over, is nothin’ short of a recipe for success.
My favorite tracks on this album were “Real N*ggaz Don't Die”, “I’d Rather F*ck You”, “She Swallowed It”, “Alwayz Into Somethin’”, “N*ggaz Fa Life” & “Appetite For Destruction”. This album is timeless, and it’s STILL in my heavy rotation today. Their first album could easily be in this spot for me, but I went with the album that influenced me more. And this EFIL4ZAGGIN was the only album that I played for a minute once I got my hands on it. Speakin’ of which, if you don’t own this classic, run out and cop it immediately!!
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6.15.2011
Classic Music: Antlife's Top 25 Hip Hop Albums of All-Time #22 (Gangstarr "Hard To Earn") (1994)
Y’all know what it is!!
Greatness just can’t be duplicated. And durin’ an era where Hip Hop duos were pretty common, one kinda stood out more than the others, and that was Gangstarr. They had a few classic albums, but the album, in my opinion, that really cemented them as all-time greats, was Hard To Earn. This album dropped when Nas, Wu-Tang, Snoop and Dr. Dre were at their peak in popularity, but it still knocked hard from start to finish. If you know me, you know I swear by Premo’s production, and I’ve always said that he’s in my Top 2 producers of all-time, right behind Dre. Nobody sounded better over Preme’s production than Guru, and their chemistry birthed so many classic cuts, it’s ridiculous to even start in tryin’ to name them all.
I honestly STILL listen to this album from start to finish. That’s how perfect I think it is. My favorite tracks have always been “Suckas Need Bodguards”, “F.A.L.A.”, Now You’re Mine”, “ALONGWAYTOGO”, “Code Of The Streets”, “Mass Appeal”, “DWYCK”, “Speak Ya Clout”, and “Words From The Nutcracker”. Even the Intro was dope, and Guru was just talkin’ on it!! This is one of those classics that needs to be in your collection. Gangstarr really raised the bar on what a group album should sound like. We need more cats like them in the game today, and this album should definitely be seen as the blueprint on how to get the job done right.
Cop this classic if you don’t have it.
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6.13.2011
Top Shelf: BMW 2011 M3 “Frozen Black” Edition
Fly Season: Oh Don Piano Collection by Rockwell
Classic Music: Antlife's Top 25 Hip Hop Albums of All-Time #23 (Nice & Smooth ("Nice & Smooth") (1989)
It’s funny thinkin’ back to when I used to listen to albums on cassette. This album was one of the albums that I actually had on cassette, and used to run all the time. I honestly don’t know where this tape came from or who really owned it, but it ended up bein’ mine some kinda way, and I really dug it, and still listen to it like crazy today. Nice & Smooth’s debut album was always a fun listen, and their albums after this were just the same, but this was their classic. The tracks were never over-produced, and each MC had their own signature style of rhymin’. It was pure Hip Hop, and definitely one of the most chilled out albums from that time.
They had all kinds of tracks, and they never tried to come off as somethin’ they weren’t. I always liked that about Nice & Smooth, and their approach just reminds me of how Hip Hop used to be, when it was original and still had that feelin’ that made you wanna have a good time and just throw on some dope music to party to. This album has always been one of my favorites, and I think it’s a classic that should definitely find it’s way to your collection. It’s an out-of-print album, but I was able to find it on eBay awhile ago. I paid a ton for it, but it’s definitely worth it. My favorite tracks on the album were always “Dope Not Hype”, “More And More Hits”, “Early To Rise”, “Funky For You”, “No Delayin’”, “Perfect Harmony”, “We Are No. 1”, & “Skill Trade”.
There’s a lot of dope music on this album. It’s not an easy album to find, but if you can, cop this one!!
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6.08.2011
Classic Music: Antlife's Top 25 Hip Hop Albums of All-Time #24 (O.C. "Word...Life") (1994)
It’s no surprise to people that know me, that I would have some D.I.T.C. work on this list. I remember hearin’ O.C. for the first time on Organized Konfusion’s “Fudge Pudge” and lovin’ that track! When word got around that he was workin’ on an album, I definitely wanted to hear what he had to offer solo. Needless to say, he ended up droppin’ one of the best albums of 1994, in my opinion. Legendary college radio stations like WKCR and WNYU used to play a lot of the album before it even dropped, so I actually owned most of Word...Life, before gettin’ my hands on the actual CD. And even with that said, this album was a must-cop back then, and even now.
The production on this album was untouchable. Handled mostly by Buckwild, with a couple looks by Lord Finesse, the beats on this album were RIDICULOUS!! O.C.’s lyrics are always on point, and he told some pretty serious stories on this album, and even had some straight spittin’ work on here, as well. It was really just one of those incredibly slept-on, but perfectly sequenced and put together albums. I still play this album like it dropped yesterday, and think it’s definitely a classic, and one that every Hip Hop fan should own. You can easily listen to this album from start to finish with no skips, so I won’t even list my favorite tracks, I dig ALL of ‘em!
Just cop this if you don’t have it.
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6.07.2011
Classic Music: Antlife's Top 25 Hip Hop Albums of All-Time #25 (Naughty by Nature "Poverty's Paradise") (1995)
It was tough choosin’ where to put this album on the list, ‘cause there were so many classics to name. But Naughty is one of those legendary groups that never really gets the respect or props that they deserve, in my opinion. A lot of people thought they only did anthem-type music, but they had some of the best street music back in the 90’s. Poverty’s Paradise is so slept on, it’s ridiculous! When I got this album, I pretty much played nothin’ else for a minute. The production was crazy, and the songs were extremely hardcore. I still listen to “Connections”, “Hang Out & Hustle”, “Craziest”, “Clap Yo Hands”, “Slang Bang”, “Sunshine” & “Klickow, Klickow”, like it was still ’95. I’m not really big on albums havin’ tons of guests on them, and even though this album had a lot of cats I never heard of rhymin’ on the tracks, I STILL dug this album crazily.
This album was just good Hip Hop, and my favorite album from Naughty. I never got that solo album from Treach that I always wanted, but this album really stands the test of time, as far as dope albums from the mid-90’s are concerned. You can’t listen to this album and not wanna work on your flow better, ‘cause Treach is gonna make you feel kinda wack, after you try recitin’ the verses on this joint.
Cop this classic, if you don’t own it!!
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