Stussy Fall 2009 Collection

Stussy is back for their 2009 Fall season with more well-designed pieces. Stussy is one of the few brands that can rock with either the in-your-face graphics and designs or the more refined, simple pieces we see coming out this fall. They opened their new flagship store in the building Union NYC used to be and dropped some new tees commemorating the move(via SwaggerDap). They even re-upped their website. This season is looking big for Stussy. Check some choice pieces from the Fall 2009 Collection and see the rest of it at Stussy.

Forever (Remix) - Drake, Kanye West, Lil' Wayne & Eminem

Forever (Remix) - Drake, Kanye West, Lil' Wayne & Eminem

A song that got somewhat overlooked on an earlier mixtape gets turned into the biggest collab of the summer. I wonder how many months Hot 97 is gonna play this song for before I want to cut off my ears. If "Best I Ever Had" is any indicator, we might never get this out of our head...

Dear IAAF

via TIME:

Caster Semenya was greeted by a rapturous crowd on Tuesday when she returned to her native South Africa after claiming the women's 800-m gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin. But speculation surrounding the legitimacy of her title continues to rumble on after a British newspaper revealed that doping officials had found the 18-year-old athlete's testosterone levels to be three times as high as those normally expected in a female.

On Tuesday, The Daily Telegraph reported that the hormone tests had been carried out in South Africa before the World Championships and that the results had contributed to the decision by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to request a detailed gender-verification test of the athlete. Semenya came to the world's attention after winning the African Junior Championships in Mauritius and then the World Championships by a massive 2-sec. margin.

Now, we can all make jokes about ugly women. We can all whisper about mysterious bulges, and unlady-like muscular definition. We can even talk about the ridiculous victory she earned over the other women in the 800M event at the World Championships. However, is it that far-fetched that this woman, is in fact, a woman? Come on now. We've seen worse on our own soil. We're knee deep in the WNBA season and I'm sure if you turn on ESPN2 on a weekday evening, you can be privy to some talented, albeit homely women gracing the hardwood. To say that Semenya isn't a woman is insulting. Although I wouldn't be surprised if she/he (shim??) has some extra testosterone floating around in her blood, or God forbid some extra appendages between her legs, locker rooms and other women (for the most part) don't lie. I'm sure at some point, she has to have done something remotely effeminate. What irks me the most about this situation is that Semenya herself hasn't come forward in disgust at the allegations of her manhood. Most women would probably cry at the prospect of being ugly enough to be a man, much less being outright called a man. I know that her victory raised some eyebrows, but damn. Leave her alone and let the woman enjoy her medals. Or does she have to put out a fucking sex tape and parade around drunk with no panties on for you guys to fall back?

Neighborhood Newsletter (8/26)

Note to Conservatives: We still haven't found any WOMDs or Osama bin Laden...

5 Cartoon Characters with Dangerous Food Addictions

Ted Kennedy Dies of Brain Cancer at Age 77

There Are More Slaves Today Than at Any Time in Human History

Little League coaches slug it out after a game

Youtube lets people cash in on viral videos

10 joke technologies that became reality

20 of the Worst Designed Websites In the World

Massive wave of jellyfish to attack Japan

Dear 'Fat Friend' Researchers

via Newsweek:

Now a new study by researchers at the University of Buffalo suggests an even more radical idea: banning fat friends from eating together. Sarah-Jeanne Salvy, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the university's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and her colleagues found that fat kids consume significantly more calories when they chow down with friends who are also overweight than when they eat with lean friends.

This makes me sick. Not just sick like I ate too many McGriddles, but sick like I was drinking McGriddle McGrease. Okay, we all knew that obesity was an epidemic, but the phrase 'the more, the merrier' shouldn't really apply here should it? To say that eating fatty foods with a friend makes you eat more is irrelevant. That's like saying that smoking crack with a friend is more likely to make you an addict. Regardless of who's doing it with you, engaging in an unhealthy act is unhealthy. The study says that "being friends increased food intake, being overweight and eating with an overweight [person] increased eating." No shit sherlock. Of course you're not going to be down to break bread as easily with some random kid from a study, than if you were chowing down with your regular friends.

I'm not in the least bit supportive of most things American, one of them being research and studies that prove things that we already know from common sense. Professors and researchers spend countless hours and ridiculous sums of money to put together these studies. Then they post them up in Newsweek or on Dateline NBC, scaring Americans for the 5 minutes that they're paying attention, until hunger strikes and we reach for another Ho-Ho. If researchers really something to make American kids less susceptible to obesity, they should show them something that would truly scare them skinny.

How to scare America's kids skinny:
- Show "fat" versions of their favorite cartoons and TV shows. I'm sure Rocket Power would have been a lot less rocket-powered if the kids snapped their skateboards from their ridiculous weights.

- Put a picture of an inhumane chicken or beef farm on the lawn or front window of every fast food restaurant in the country.

- Make Monique and Bruce Bruce have sex at each school in America to show how much of an 'acquired taste' sex with a big person is.

- Start putting Dexatrim or some other black market weight-loss substance in candy. That way, kids won't even know they're getting fit until they start having emotional breakdowns because of the unbalanced chemicals.

ORISUE Fall 2009 Collection

Fall is all about keeping it clean, as I've stated numerous times. California brand Orisue is doing just that with their Fall 2009 collection. ORISUE has always been different from other brands in that it never was too heavy on bright colors or flashy designs, so the simple aesthetic is nothing new for them. They combine minimalist design with cut and sew production to make one of the more underrated drops coming in this fall. Check out some selected pieces from ORISUE's Fall 2009 Collection, and check the rest of the collection at ORISUE.

Neighborhood Newsletter (8/25)

What is it about androgynous stars from the 80's. Note to Steven Tyler: When you sing a song about dude looking like a lady, make sure it's not you...

15 Mistakes People Make When They Are Drunk

Bullshit Psychology that Everyone Believes

Is American Scientifically Illiterate?

Real Aphrodisiacs vs. Fake Ones

Trade: Where America's money come's from and is going

American Vice: Mapping the 7 Deadly Sins

Unbelievable Physical Optical Illusions

Man's appendix ruptures a month after it was 'removed' in hospital

Human Water Skipping

This is something you have to watch to understand. My question is: Why do the Japanese always look like they're having more fun than you're having? I wish I knew the answer, or how to make myself into a human skipping stone...

Dear Glenn Beck

via The Huffington Post:

Glenn Beck returns to Fox News Channel after a vacation on Monday with fewer companies willing to advertise on his show than when he left, part of the fallout from calling President Barack Obama a racist.

A total of 33 Fox advertisers, including Walmart, CVS Caremark, Clorox and Sprint, directed that their commercials not air on Beck's show, according to the companies and ColorofChange.org, a group that promotes political action among blacks and launched a campaign to get advertisers to abandon him. That's more than a dozen more than were identified a week ago.

I guess your confident indignation is making you lose more than viewers Glenn. This week marks three weeks since you called the President of our nation a racist, and questioned his affinity to white people. Honestly, you couldn't have made a situation like this up. The confused stares around you did nothing to quell the idiocy spewing out of your mouth. Not once did the thought cross your mind, that maybe, just maybe, what you were saying was out of pocket? I mean I know FOX has racist undertones, but this is ridiculous. Corporate America had to take notice, which is even sadder than your comments themselves. I guess this is just the state that we're in as a a nation. Everyone is on pins and needles about changes to the status quo of the government, and even the pundits don't know what their limits should be. Sorry you had to be the first sacramental pig for the new awareness of racism that the national press is undergoing, but somebody on FOX had to get nabbed after a decade of disinformation. Hopefully there are some conservative consumer companies willing to take that attitude into their advertising plans, though something tells me you won't be on TV for much longer...

DURKL Fall 2009 Collection

Clothing brand DURKL burst on to the scene this year with their signature collab with SABRE to make some of the most memorable sunglasses to come out this past summer. They're coming back with a vengeance, as they prepare to drop their Fall 2009 Collection. Sticking with last season, they have lots of clean, solid colors for tops, and a healthy heaping of bright colors for their bottoms. Also, they've revamped their hats and apparently added a new style of sunglasses. I'm all about the simple and the austere for the Fall, and DURKL certainly has my stamp for some serious Back-to-school gear...

Asher Roth & Some Guy Freestyle

Asher Roth is simply a beast. The man has a ridiculous control over his flow and hint-hint, the guy actually goes off the top. He's hilarious with his lyrics and is eloquent with his words, never wasting breath or using filler like some MCs I know. Check the dopeness (yeah I made that word up) of Asher Roth over the beat of a Wu-Tang Clan classic...

Neighborhood Newsletter (8/23)

Teen becomes the first prisoner for Cyber-bullying

Our nostrils are rivals apparently

US doctor offers British couples chance to choose sex of child

The 12 most annoying types of Facebookers

10 Things We Hate About Wireless Carriers

The 'black' McDonald's website

Seven Crimes That Will Get You a Smaller Fine than File-Sharing

Athletes are getting horrendous press nowadays

Dear Jay-Z

Can somebody say irrelevant? I certainly can, and Jay, you should be thinking the same thing after leaking this track. Because it sure as hell seems like you're searching for relevancy. By adding Drake to this song, but also by writing the song about things that you are "off", you've only proven how far off you are. Jay have you ran out of ideas for songs? I guess cocaine raps don't work when you're the CEO of a new label and have Oprah busting a nut off you're cologne. Think about it; the king of cosigns needs a cosign from a newcomer for anyone to even listen to the track. What's even worse is that the newcomer (Drake) doesn't even have a verse on the track. So Jay, what you're saying is that you can have the hottest MC to come out in years, but wouldn't let him outshine you on your own song? I hope not, because that would be a sad day in hip-hop. After getting killed on the first single by one of your own artists, you shave off the single with Nas that EVERYONE wanted to hear, and replaced it with Drake, only to not let the man spit a verse in fear that he'd kill you as badly as Kanye. Gee golly Jay. You sure are making this album more of a big deal than you are at this point. Being the king of the game doesn't mean shit if you're acting like a pauper while you're on the throne. Hopefully someone is saying 'long live the king', because I sure as hell want to see who's heir to the throne...

The Mailing List: August 2009 (#2)

2. Trey Songz - Ready



Just when it seems like you've heard "I Need a Girl" for the 1000th time, or that you've heard another DOPE remix of a popular song, Trey Songz finally puts us out of our misery and is set to drop his highly-anticipated 3rd album 'Ready'. Let's get straight to the chase. The album drops on September 1st (yeah I know, that's not August is it?) and as with most albums will have a few leaked tracks gracing it. Regardless of repetition, I'm still excited for this man's new offering. Trey has long been an underrated player in the R&B game, but his mixtape "Anticipation" did just that, raising the hype for this album. If you're a fan of silky and sultry vocals and sensual lyrics, then you should be ready for 'Ready'. Check the album cover, the tracklist (with production credits) , a snippet from it, and a few loosies that didn't make the album...

Trey Songz - Ready (Snippets)
Trey Songz Ft Fabolous-Say Aah
Trey Songz-Obsessed (Loser)

1. Panty Droppa (Intro)
2. Neighbors Know My Name (prod. Troy Taylor & Patrick Hayes)
3. I Invented Sex f. Drake
4. I Need A Girl (prod. Stargate)
5. One Love (prod. Bryan Michael Cox)
6. Does He Do It (prod. Sean Garrett & Eric Hudson)
7. Say Aah f. Fabolous
8. LOL ☺ f. Gucci Mane & Soulja Boy (prod. Fisha & Price)
9. Ready To Make Love (Interlude)
10. Jupiter Love (prod. Troy Taylor & John “SK” McGee)
11. Be Where You Are (prod. Chris “Deep” Henderson)
12. Successful Part 2 f. Drake (prod. Noah “40” Shebib)
13. Black Roses (prod. Bei Maejor)
14. Love Lost (prod. Troy Taylor)
15. Hollalude
16. Holla If Ya Need Me (prod. Troy Taylor & Chris Hines)
17. Yo Side Of The Bed (prod. Troy Taylor & Patrick Hayes)

Donnis - Diary of an ATL Brave (presented by 10 Deep)

Usually, when listening to mixtapes there are a few things I look for: originality, lyrics and musicality. I look for these even more when I know that the rest of the blogosphere is raving over the artist. I look for them even moreso when the mixtape is sponsored. When I d/led the new Donnis mixtape, "Diary of an ATL Brave" presented by 10 Deep, I was expecting a lot considering their first two sponsorships (Wale and KiD CuDi) were both really successful. After listening, I can say this. In my opinion, Donnis has skills. However, at times it seems like he's trying to sound like other rappers. I got vibes from T.I. I got vibes from Andre 3000. I got vibes from Bun B and even a little from Soulja Boy. Not to say that it's a bad thing to want to emulate your favorite rapper, but in order to break into the mainstream, a rapper has to bring something new to the table for him to have any sort of longevity. In terms of beats, this mixtape is excellent. The music sounds polished and the production is great. I guess that's what happens when you get a mixtape sponsored. All in all, Donnis is going to have a future in rap, and the mixtape is okay. I just think he has a lot of work to do in terms of finding his own sound, especially coming from the South, where EVERYONE has a distinct personality on wax. Maybe your opinion is different. Whatever the case, check the mixtape download, the covers and tracklist, a loosie and of course, my picks...

Cream of the Crop:
Beginnings
Underdog
Gone

Cream of the Crap:
The Way You Are
Ticket to the Moon

Neighborhood Newsletter (8/21)

Sometimes you just have to watch a KO to see how lucky you really are...

Swine flu: Part 2??

The 20 Highest-Paid Athletes

New Poll: 77 Percent Support "Choice" Of Public Option

Next-generation band-aids

How long it takes to work for a Big Mac

Cannabis: a saviour or sin?

The 5 Most Expensive Military Vehicles

The world's first Muslim superhero

No 'sexting' in China

He does it again...

I can't tell you how proud I am of this man as a Jamaican. He continues to defy all logic and understanding every single time he takes to the track. The fact that he is only 23 years old makes me think he'll be at the top of the sport for another 10 years, and when it's all said and done he'll be the best sprinter we have ever seen. Bolt is the first person to ever hold the Olympic and World Championship records in both the 100 and 200-m sprint events. If that doesn't blow your mind, then I don't know what will. If you haven't seen the race, then here you go. Don't mind the German telecasters...

Freestyle Friday (8/21)

What's really good people? It is FRIDAY and I know you guys have been waiting for some ciphers to rock out to. This week we have a familiar face and two heads you might not really know. The first freestyle is from the kid Young Chris, formerly of the Young Gunz (where in God's name is Neef?). He goes in over "Shook Ones', but it's a little hard to hear if you don't have headphones in. The second one is from Young Nate (Charles Hamilton's old partner) and his boy JY going in over "We Gon' Make It". Both of them seemed soooooo hyped to be on CDR and put together some nice flows for the radio. The only thing is they seemed a little too hyped and a little nervous at that. Regardless they hit the track hard. Check these two ciphers out...

Run this Town - Jay-Z, Kanye West & Rihanna

Okay, a lot of people have been giving me shit recently as to my opinion on Jay. Whether it be salty Brooklynites who are geographically obligated to like the man, or casual rap fans who don't read between the lines, people seem to flock whenever this man speaks. Don't get me wrong. I RESPECT JAY-Z. However, I don't respect the amount of inconsistencies in his legacy, his sense of entitlement to the game, and the way he simply goes off his name these days. I also (respectfully, of course) disagree with his stance on auto-tune, but that's another story. The point is that Jay shouldn't be the end all be all of hip-hop. Although I know most of my reader's allegiances will stay put, it's important to remember that Jay-Z has been in the game for almost 20 years. He's been through it all, and what he has to say now, he's probably already said in some other capacity. Much like Brett Favre, this man keeps hip-hop in a constant limbo as to when his career will end. And much like Brett Favre, I'm fed up with it. It's time to usher in a new era of hip-hop. Not to say that Jay's legacy will ever be forgotten (Reasonable Doubt will ALWAYS be one of my favorites), but when you get shown up on your own song, it's evident that maybe it's time for someone else to "Run This Town" we call hip-hop. Check the video and its eerie resemblance to "California Love" (minus Chris Tucker, of course)...

Fuck Ed Hardy

Ed Hardy has long been relegated to sales racks at Foot Locker and thrift stores all across the nation, but I remember when it was actually in. I remember when dudes used to swear by the tattoo designs and the rock star look that died out with the Shop Boyz. That's why this song is soooooooooooo dope. Obviously the people highlighted in the video are celebrities, so they're not held by the same sanity or fashion standards as the rest of us. Therefore, I suppose you can excuse their attire, even if you detest Ed Hardy like I do. Check the brand I like to call "vomit on a t-shirt"...