While spending my summer days and nights down at Venice Beach it slowly dawned on me that I was surrounded by an explosion of artistic expression. Everywhere. Musicians playing on the boardwalk every 50 steps, an artist showcasing her work, or a tattoo artist doing tatts. The art is literally on the walls, scaling the buildings, watching over this artistic town.
Take a walk towards the beautifully built skate park and you can witness for yourself raw creative talent on the wide open canvasses that sit next to it. Graffiti artists frequently come to this spot to leave their mark. When their art decays with time another artist will come to fill the slot. The canvass is never blank and it never will be as long as its sitting there in the sand.
It is never a moment of non creativity. There is always someone playing music whether it's for some pocket change or a more mellow form of greenery. Always someone sitting alone sketching, drawing or painting. You can count on seeing some dancing. The raw talent is endless.
Venice is the art town, it can only be compared to the Art District of Los Angeles. Yet it is completely different. You can feel the creative energy here. It spills through the streets, it radiates through the sand, throughout the boardwalk. It is an inspiring environment. Most people overlook the inspiring essence of this environment and instead choose to notice the more dissatisfying factors of Venice. Every place has it's good attributes and some bad. In the case of Venice, the good out weighs the bad.
CA State Law Sends Letters to 1,700 Dispensaries Telling Them To Close Their Doors
After 17 years of debate between the State and Medical Marijuana Businesses, Measure D was finally decided on by voters. The measure was voted upon on May 21, 2013 being 1 out of 3 total initiatives regarding medical marijuana businesses in the city of Los Angeles. Measure D is the ordinance
that cuts the total number of dispensaries to just the original 135 that were registered with the state back in 2007 and re registered again in 2011, making the other estimated 1,700 illegal.
Those remaining 1,700 were sent letters stating that their operation has now become illegal and that they need to shut down. But the truth of the matter is that 800+ dispensaries are still operating at this moment, in this case illegally. So what happened? Most collectives simply relocated and changed names. Others just changed names. It begs me to ask the question, is it really that simple? It seems so considering that the state isn't really cracking down, which is understandable seeing as there are hundreds of collectives across LA alone. State officials would be hard pressed to bring the hammer down on ALL of them at once. A hollow letter is hardly enough incentive to shut down business and forget about patients. The dispensaries might be getting the impression that the State is all bark and little to no bite when it comes to the mass medical marijuana business in the city. Many collectives are continuing to do as they please despite the new provisions and for some despite having a now illegal business operation.
There is no doubt that Measure D was the best choice out of the 3 initiatives voted on. It is a compromise for the time being, it is somewhat a step forward. Yet the whole issue of Medical marijuana in Los Angeles is a hot mess. The federal government still sees the plant as a Schedule 1 "illegal and dangerous", the state cant make up its mind in regards to businesses in the industry, and there are over a thousand dispensaries in LA with 10x as many patients in total. Measure D surely is not the end all.
The picture above speaks a thousand words, A picture that shows us what it would look like if a living legend like Michael Jordan was to be in the same game with one of the best that's doing it today, Kobe Bryant. At first glance you can see the look of wisdom on Jordan's face and the willingness to learn on Bryant's. If you were to convert this picture to the hip-hop world these athletes would be the greatest of all time Jay-Z and the best out today, Kendrick Lamar. That's why this picture is perfect for the B*tch' Don't Kill My Vibe Remix featuring none other than Hov himself.
Kendrick Lamar has really taken off in the hip-hop industry, I feel he's a rapper for the people, not rapping for the fame but to put his thoughts in our ears and inspire, and what better way to do it with than the god Mc, Jay-Z.
Kendrick open's the remix with the same lines from the original but then reminds us that his album went gold in a week with a Trinidad James metaphor and now its platinum:
"Look inside of my soul and you can find gold and maybe get rich, hol' up Trinidad Jame$ in four weeks But now my album platinum and shit"
Kendrick goes on to slay the Sounwave produced beat as he did in the original and other songs like Hol' Up and Micheal Jordan.
Jay-z comes in after a smooth hook and shows us why he is considered one of the best, rapping the lines:
"Up in the clouds, me and my spouse Rumors on the ground gettin' too loud Please turn them shits down, can't hear myself think Turbulence, shit, almost spilled my drink In the White House with a mink Running through that bitch like it's my house All up in the hall like a mall Told you motherfuckers, all I do is ball"
This beat has a warm feel to it and Jay-z did it justice with his cold lyrics and says he doesn't know how many years he has left but until he dies he will be the best, he ends his verse with a warning:
"Don't waste my breath I don't know how many moons a nigga got left Back to this joint, smokin' this shit like I'm tryna' prove a point I'm the highest, the highest title, numero uno Kill my vibe, that's your motherf*ckin' funeral"
This is arguably the best Jay-Z feature in recent years, his 3 Kings verse would have to come next. But Kendrick has done something that is rare, which is have a better verse than Jay-Z on a track. He took the song back in the third verse and at one point you can hear the voice of Compton in Kendrick's words
"So many washed up with detergent But I don't dry tears, I just aim at them on purpose Like bluck, Mini-14 like bluck Empty out another magazine like bluck Hit a young nigga, get back I kill 'em all when they try to kill my vibe"
and truly kills the song and firmly plants his foot through the door's of rap greatness by saying
" I am the bad, the good God, the last the hood got The last that would try to pass a good job If Shawn's a black Beatle then I need a 10 second drum solo Bitch see you at Woodstock"
If Jay-Z was a black Beatle, Kendrick would be one as well. Kendrick has really given the rap game new life, being named the hottest MC in the game, having a classic album and a Jay-Z feature, I cant help but wait until the next track to come from Kendrick.
While in a New York studio listening to ScHoolboy Q's new album Kendrick was surprised by Top Dawg, CEO of TDE with Jay-Z's verse.You can watch the video below:
Dont be afraid to leave your comments below, Do you like the Jay-z feature? Would you rather see someone else on the remix? Let us know!
Being a young male in Los Angeles you get a certain style growing up around here, and there are always brands out there to help us carry that swag. Whether it be Polo, Diamond, Levi, or Nike. Yet there comes a time when a certain brand comes up and changes the style of today's culture and I feel one of the styles that's coming up comes in the form of an accessory that you rarely see, I'm talking about HUF.
For those who may not know,HUF is a brand created by a professional skateboarder from New York named Keith Hufnogel, who used his skating to travel the world for inspiration and moved to the West Coast where he created HUF. Keith first opened up a little store for the brand on the streets of San Francisco and quickly came a hard to come across fashion apparel on the West. HUF shortly blew up around the world in mid 2012.
In June my friend told me to keep my eye out on HUF and here it is November and i own a pair of HUF socks and have seen numerous superstars wearing the brand. HUF is not only about socks either, the brand makes everything from shirts to shoes. The brand started off for skaters only and evolved into something quite larger.
No where will you find a duo like Nocturnal Youth! They are true examples of the real drive for success and trust me, they will see it very soon. Just yesterday they officially launched their kickstarter campaign for their first ever EP. One small step before we are graced with an album. But before they take that step they will be stepping on stage at Central S.A.P.C. in Santa Monica, CA on September 26. Be sure to check them out live. But as for the Kickstarter video you can check it out here! Help them reach their pledged goal of $800 before October 4th!
Check back soon for an exclusive interview with the duo and photos from their upcoming show.
Till then check out their site : NoturnalYouth.com
Your neighborhood nerd is back with a new project. I'm talking about Donald Glover a.k.a. Childish Gambino. And the project I'm talking about is Royalty.
Royalty
The actor turned rapper is back and D-Money, the rappers alter ego is taking over. D- Money is the side of Gambino that more hip-hop heads would listen to in a nut shell. This 17 track project has features from TDE's Schoolboy Q and AB-soul, Detroit's Danny Brown, legends Bun-B, alternative artist Beck and even actress and former "30 Rock" co-star Tina Fey. After dropping his debut album "Camp" Gambino seemed to step out of the hip-hop scene but this mixtape proves why and where he has been. If you havent heard Royalty yet you have to, its Flight trust me.
“They want sick, they really need the medicine.” Words of Los Angeles rapper Laze®, member of the L.A. based group Illie. They are the equivalent of a breath of fresh air in the audio world. They are the medicine. A new sound amongst the mass production of senseless, random beats heard today. The sound of guitar, keyboard and drums accompanied by intricate lyrics can make anyone tune in.
What got me was the music. I was instantly in the flow. Song to song. The instrumental feel of Illie is Aaron Matthew Johnson on piano, Noah Andoh on guitar, Ryan Jackson on bass and Cheo on drums. Now add Rickey “Skeme” Palmer and Jeremiah "Laze®" Owens with vocals and you are bound to hit repeat. The rappers are sure not to finish a verse with out a few sick bars. The back and forth of their verses gives listeners something else to look forward to and it flows with the music well. Let’s not forget to applaud the musicians. You can’t help but nod your head to the music.
Illie has already released their mixtape Déjà Vu. The name comes from the fact that the mixtape is a collection of songs from various artists done with a more live feel to it. Listen and you’ll get it. Songs include: Drake’s “I’m Going In”, Kid Cudi’s “Soundtrack 2 My Life”, and Jay-Z’s “Allure”.Illie has also dropped a few singles: On, Talk, 2033, Lights Out, and D.G.A.F. The group has a habit of making each song better than the next and if they decide to do another mixtape like Déjà Vu or just their own music then some people in the game are going to have major competition.
Illie has been on the road to success. You’re just now noticing they’ve been gone. There is a lot more to come from Illie. Check out their blog and be sure to download Déjà Vu and their other singles. Keep your eyes and ears tuned because they are only getting started. #ILLIE
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While spending my summer days and nights down at Venice Beach it slowly dawned on me that I was surrounded by an explosion of artistic expression. Everywhere. Musicians playing on the boardwalk every 50 steps, an artist showcasing her work, or a tattoo artist doing tatts. The art is literally on the walls, scaling the buildings, watching over this artistic town..JPG)
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