Making their way towards another run at the top this season, Nike SB partnered up with Skate Mental on a second sneaker design, this time utilizing the classic Dunk Hi. The shoes are given a mostly Brown suede finish with White and Light Blue accents. Look for these at your local skate shops!
Truth & Soul Records artist, Lee Fields, has been grunting and screaming soul music since his days as a gospel singer for his local church choir. He has emerged as a legend in the contemporary funk arena, and his latest album with the Expressions, My World, is now available on the Truth & Soul label. Fans can now wear the music with a 100% cotton, ring spun soft tee that features the My World album cover graphic. Music fans can purchase the shirt by visiting the Truth & Soul Website.
Influenced by legends such as James Brown and Otis Redding, Fields began his singing career in the 60s, playing at colleges such as Duke University, Georgia Tech, and East Carolina University. In the latter part of the 60s, he would become part of the emergence of funk music, singing with acts such as Kool and the Gang and Little Royal. While funk music would fall out of favor with the general listening public, Fields forged on and would ultimately work with funk revivalist labels such as Desco, Daptone, and now, Truth & Soul.
The good people at Adapt Advancers recently unveiled their Fall/Winter 2009 line and it is one that should not be overlooked. Combining Bay Area fashion with unique style, this season is sure to excite many. The fan favorite ‘State of Mind’ tees and crewnecks are now available in various Bay Area team colorways. The ‘Provoke,’ ‘Local,’ ‘Soul’ and ‘Faith’ tees are simple with a direct message. The ‘I heart’ cities tee with the infamous Adapt pigeon is one to catch the eye of many and we can’t forget about the ‘Blood of Kings’ tee. Be sure to grab your gear today here.
Fitted Hawaii’s new release, ‘Front Lines’ features an all black Mua cap and hoody to match. The hoody comes in black with white trilocks running down both sleeves with the back featuring Hawaiian weapons. The last installment of Front Lines is a white Survival Fitted tee. Also, Fitted will be selling limited yellow lighters and pens for your everyday use.
The wally champ Ghostface Killah has been honored by Adidas with three different pairs of kicks! They are part of the Def Jam 25th Anniversary series. Peep the freshness of the black and gold adidas Superstar II’s, , the purple adidas Forum Mids, and my favorite, the ill grey suede Stan Smith joints. They’re in stores now!
Image courtesy of Daptone Records
Soul has been the journeyman of music, making its home at cities such as Memphis, Detroit, New Orleans, Cincinnati, and other parts of the United States. Recently, soul music has relocated to Brooklyn, New York – home of Daptone Records since 2003. The owners, Gabriel Roth and Neal Sugarman, have been putting out funky soul through Daptone for the latter part of the past decade, spawning acts like Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Lee Fields, and the Budos Band to name a few. They have successfully created their own brand of contemporary music that retains the rawness and grit of yesteryear’s funky soul.
On November 24, Daptone Records is releasing Daptone Gold, a 23-track compilation of music that features the aforementioned artists plus much more. The compilation will be available as a double LP or CD, both with deluxe gold foil packaging. In addition, the album will include extensive liner notes, photos, and a Daptone sticker.
To get a taste of this compilation album, listeners can download a free MP3 – “Stand Up” by Lee Fields and Sugarman & Co. For more information on the album, visit the Daptone Records Website.
In these days of swarming posers and “swagger jackers,” it’s hard to come across artists that are truly doing something different. Growing up, I thought rappers had to be smart, rappers had to have heart, rapping was an art.
Enter Faimkills: genre-breaking, society-questioning, Inland Empire rapper-representative. Faimkills’ recent release, A Thought-Ghetto Mess Tape, encompasses genres of hip-hop, rap, experimental, alternative, rock, shoegaze, and soul. It’s safe for one to wonder if it all collectively works—and it does, in the most refreshing of manners.
Duly titled, A Thought-Ghetto Mess Tape makes reference to a metaphorical guttered junkyard-of-a-mind occupied by one’s most inner feelings, judgments, and beliefs. Laid out straight, bush-beating aside, Faimkills voices his rather cynical, yet comical, comments and questions on everything on his mind. Society, pseudo-vegetarians, religion, undeserved rap stardom, same sex marriages, personal battles, and relationships are few of the many arduous topics that appear on the Mess Tape. Additionally, what would a rap album be without the obligatory tracks of self-proclaimed dopeness, as with “Dream On,” a one-sided conversation giving little hope to whack emcees when compared to Faimkills’ “scary intelligence.” However, a softer side of the rapper is shown in “The Splendor and the Glory.” Riverside producer, Insite, provided a beat so melancholy it makes me nostalgic for Jay-Z’s Song Cry” (in a good way), while Faimkills raps from the perspective of a woman in pain—a notable favorite.
Production-wise, A Thought-Ghetto Mess Tape explores grounds unfamiliar, uncrossed, and unconsidered by many. Faimkills’ beat choice and song reinvention adds an entirely new level of dynamics that not just lovers of hip hop would appreciate. Lyrics laid over CoCoRosie’s “By Your Side,” The Black Keys‘ “Strange Times,” Spirit Fang’s “Open Arms,” and even Italian composer Ennio Morricone’s “Un Amico” (which may be best known from Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds) adds a refreshing diversity to the “swagger this, swagger that” likes of many artists which will go unnamed. Closing out the Mess Tape, Faimkills couldn’t have provided a better, more original and intriguing track other than “M.O.”—the Curtiss King produced beat sampling the Mickey Mouse Club Alma Mater. That song is nasty.
Out of the many artists thriving in the IE, or rather, music in general, Faimkills is arguably one of the few making some impressively creative and innovative waves. Lyrically and musically, A Thought-Ghetto Mess Tape is a breath of fresh air amidst all these carbon-copy mixtapes, and “get’s you thinking: what the fuck?” For those delved in the culture of music, film, and art, and especially for those with their own ghetto of messed up and wonderful thoughts, this mixtape will become your best shit-talking friend.
For more information on Faimkills, visit his Myspace here. To download A Thought-Ghetto Mess Tape for free, just click here and enjoy.
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