Turn it up...Shout it out...

I say it a lot, music is in a recession. A recession of talent, drive, and creativity. It seems like everyone is bent on copying the same sounds, singing about the same tired club experiences, and just being damn robots. Pop music to me especially is full of over-produced, emotionless crap, and it makes turning on a radio pointless. Keri Hilson isn't exactly a svengali of music, but she's a nice departure from the same formulaic R&B dominated by few artists with few fresh ideas and sounds. Hilson's debut album "In A Perfect World" released March 24th, features the song "Knock You Down" with appearances by Kanye West and Ne-Yo. The production is breezy, enjoyable, and all artists on the track make it worth listening to. Keri may not be creative revolutionary, but she at least shows her talent and proves that maybe music isn't as formulaic as it always has been.

For a moment, there's an artist with a different approach to the same old scheme. Maybe the army of pop music machines can be defeated.

Creative Recreation

Creative Recreation is a shoe company based out of Los Angelos, California, and is best described as urban runway along with countless other shoe outlets across the world. Consistent styles combined with unique patterns, designs and materials make them a company that is absolutely worth watching and wearing. CR's Spring 2009 shoe line features solid, clean, bold colors and shoe quality built to last. The Italian manufacturing is icing on the shoe construction cake. And the best part is their logo is just too dope, so I guess I like them just because of that. It's just a bonus that the shoes happen to be nice.

Check out their Spring Collection and more Creative Recreation

'Rebirth' of a rap superstar..

Lil Wayne has proven in the past few years that he's your typical southern rapper, having pushed himself far away from his Cash Money roots. He hasn't lost who he used to be, but instead added a quirky, eccentric, hip-hop response to Kurt Cobain type of personality to his music. We almost never know what to expect from him in interviews, performances, and albums, and with the release of his newest single from his rock inspired album "Rebirth", we're taken on yet another roller coaster ride, courtesy of Dwyane Carter.


"Hot Revolver" in theory should be a nice song. The instrumental is catchy, Wayne's guitar playing is actually not as horrible as people might assume, but combining all of that with his unique rap sounds and over auto-tuning, the song is a creative project blown up in a million pieces. The saving grace of the song ends up being the background vocals on the chorus, which gives it the only sense of catchiness throughout the song. Lil Wayne is not a singer, obviously, but the over digitization of his voice only magnifies the alien qualities that made him so unique and the song ends up making the fans possibly reaching for a revolver. To end their misery, of course.

However, I will say this in Wayne's defense; He's taking a very bold and interesting risk with this album, and maybe it's not that the songs are bad, but they just don't catch the full energy of Lil Wayne. That is the ultimate disappointment because he is like lightning in a bottle when he performs, but so far this is sounding like a spring shower in a cup. I'll sit back and wait for the final act myself.

Gravitate to...

Gravis Shoes. I'm not gonna spend a lot of time talking about the company, because it's simple. The shoes are cool. Simple, fresh, and always fly.
The pictures speak for themselves. They're a solid mix of skateboard classics mixed with urban flair, and topped off with unique and creative patterns.

Check them out Gravis Footwear

Introducing...

(RE)Volution Street is here to enlighten the world to fresh style and music that you won't find in your day to day life, and once again this is no exception.

Let me introduce you to Tanya Morgan. The question isn't who is she, rather than who are they? Their words are "The name means nothing...and everything!" But they're much more than a name, and much more than computerized beats and cliched rhymes. Their dopeness factor comes through in their use of live instruments, poetic lyrics, and smooth delivery. Think of them as what I like to call "Neo-Hip Hop". A merger of the best of both musical worlds into music that is timeless, real, and still cranks with the best rap out there.

That is what I call a (RE)Volution.

Tanya Morgan Myspace

If you like the samples you heard, download their mixtape "Tanya Morgan is a Rap Group" Here

Be on the lookout for their upcoming album "Brooklynati" out soon

(RE)Vamp your style

Society Original Products.



An up and coming clothing company based out of Boston.is quickly proving why they deserve to be one of the hottest names in modern, urban clothing culture. Sleek, fresh, retro and cutting edge, SOP is making their mark on the fashion world with their first seasonal collection (Spring/Summer 09). If future collections are as promising as the first, Society Original Products just may be around for a long time.

Check them out at Society Original Products

Sight Unseen

I don't want to go blind or anything, so I need sunglasses. Although, I'm still confusing my wants with my needs, so I probably don't need anything that I can't get from Target, but sue me. I'm young and impulsive. I rest my case.



SUPER Ciccio Flat Top Black Chicano.

It's like Kanye meets Warhol meets James Dean. I'm in there like swimwear baby.



Sabre Vision- The Die Hippy Sunglasses ($97.50)

I mean if I buy them I'll die hippy...and happy, right? I'm on it baby.

And of course....



The poolside style. Reflective lenses....good stuff.



The clear version just might be a little more random...which is more dope at the same time. Just try not to pull an Amber Rose and wear them in everyday settings, because....it can still make the hot look stupid



The Purple Haze($95)
The name of the glasses only makes me want them more.
Enough Said.

I think I've found a new reason to save my vision folks.

Shop Sabre Online

A "New Found" Interest...in some old "Friends"

A Day to Remember - New Music - More Music Videos

The time for a pulsating, insanely addicting song of the summer is almost here, and with the musical landscape not dominated by a single genre unlike years past, the field is wide open for an act to take charge of the radio airwaves. New Found Glory has stepped up to the starting gate with their new single "Listen to Your Friends", and the title alone makes it worth a listen. After all, friends don't lead friends in the wrong direction, right?

In the midst of the Fall Out Boys, the Panic! At the Disco's, Good Charlotte's and the countless other pop/rock punk bands out there, it's easy for a group without a hit in recent memory to fall into the abyss of one-hit wonders. (Bowling for Soup, anyone?) However, they're back and in full force with an energetic number that will be played at more proms, homecomings, and high school dances then necessary. That just might be the point, after all if the kids latch on to a song, the general public just might be a little more interested. The song isn't revolutionary, and pretty much sounds like the rest of "Glory's" catalog, but as long as radio spins it, the kids are happy, and the band has been plucked from obscurity, then this single should be checked off as a job well done. It isn't groundbreaking enough for song of the summer, but this is the great start of a potentially beautiful friendship

New Found Glory's sixth album "Not Without a Fight" was released February 20.

Video Vantage Point

"If You Seek Amy"



Britney Spears may be a lot of things, but shy and reserved is definitely not one of them. Her personal troubles have certainly been well publicized in the last few years, but now the focus is back on her music. By no means is she the deepest artist in the sea of musical fish, but she's figured out what works for her, and if she has to make fun at her own life while batting her eyes the other way, then she will. "If You Seek Amy" garnered a lot of controversy over it's suggestive lyrics, as well as the double meaning of the song title (If you don't get it, say it really slowly), and in true Britney fashion, set the stage for what would inevitable be a media field day. She called herself "Miss Bad Media Karma" in the single "Piece of Me", but maybe she should reverse that title, because her media karma just may propel this song up the charts.

On to the video. She still possesses her blatant, teasing sexuality, but instead of flipping her hair, hips, and other body parts in front of a million back up dancers in an anonymous club somewhere (as the teen pop formula for successful videos had long required), she's picked up her come-on's and taken them to suburbia. This is the time where the kids need to leave the room. "Amy" is set in a typical suburban home that has been taken over by drunken, promiscuous partiers. Spears emerges as the lone vixen, and as she wanders through the remains of the night before, we see flashbacks of Britney doing what she does best, putting on a show. She certainly proves in this video, that the sexiness of past years, has not gone anywhere, and if anything, mature Britney has become more tantalizing to fantasize about.

While the video is considerably less choreographed than many of her older (and more infamous videos), her dancing is still there, although Britney has moved her mindset into the world of double meanings. The video cleverly ends with a June Cleaver-esque Spears stepping out of her house with her two children and husband and greeting a voracious paparazzi, news media mob. Translation? What goes on behind closed doors, is not always what you get in front of your face. If anything, this works for her "Amy" persona, because that is who the world is looking for; sexy Britney writhing on tables and beds in bustiers, with an apparent reckless abandon. Instead what we see is a modern-day Stepford woman. I'll bet money that Britney would rather stay inside if she could. Can you really blame her?

I want....

Adidas Ecstasy Mid

Adidas is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year, so look for a lot of retro styles to hit store shelves soon. These shoes scream dopeness and freshness, and I need them. I mean come on! Maybe I'll continue the retro revolution with a hi-top fade and a kangol hat. Or maybe I won't.







Y-3 2009 Collection
I don't care that these are most likely well over $200. Yohji Yamamoto is quickly becoming one of my favorite shoe designers, and he's proof to others (cough Kanye cough) that slapping a hefty price tag on bullshit that can be found at any swap meet from here to Alaska is not gonna go over well. The price of men's sneakers has always been a little overkill, but if the style is there, the durability is also present, I'm all for spending a little bit of money for a good pair of shoes.

Just make sure your bills are paid and you have a roof over which to store your shoes. Because I know I'm not about to begin begging for food and money while looking like I stepped out of an advertisement for the good life.

Thanks to Sole Collector for the images.