So let’s put this out there right off of the bat ok? I was never a big Wale guy. I have some friends who would rather listen to Benzino freestyle for three hours than download a Wale song, and I have some friends who swear up and down that Wale is the truth.

Despite not being a big fan, I’ve been well aware of this fellow’s track record over the past two years as he was being heralded as the MC that would put the DMV on the map. Fast-forward now to November 10th, 2009 and Wale is putting out his first major label debut Attention Deficit. An album that I could not escape like Snuggie commercials on late night TV. This body of music has not only been hyped from here to the mother land and back again, but it has received the biggest promotional push I’ve seen in years for any artist’s first album.

With those being the facts, I figure what the hell. Let me uphold my duty as a law breaking citizen of the 21st century and download this album and give it a fair chance. I would give the guy who’s name no-one-could-pronounce-at-first a shot at proving that he lived up to the hype I had endured hearing for the past two months. Well, what follows is my reaction. And in case you’e somewhat sesitive, I’ll warn you now that I’m not rushing out to purchase any “Nike boots” in which to do a W.A.L.E. D.A.N.C.E.

My very first impression? They really, really, really tried to sell this album. Take a look at the roll call of artists present on nine out of fourteen total tracks. Literally everyone from arguable legends like Pharrell and Bun B to heavy radio hitters like Gucci and Rihanna. (That’s not to mention fellow up and comers Chrisette Michelle, J.Cole or Marsha Ambrose.) They jam packed this disc with more collaborations than Nike SB had in 2007 and yet somehow I’m not convinced.

Follow me on this one. If Wale is the man who is going to not only put the DMV on the map, but also be one of the biggest forces in helping to usher in a new school of rappers…you’d think he would absolutely impress me on at least a few songs on his album right? I mean with some sort of lyrical mastery that would absolutely shatter my ear drums and lead me to hug the nearest dollar bills and coints next to me because they are as close to Washington D.C. as I can get right?

Where was that on the album? Since the very first day that I hear a Wale track, probably somewhere around two years ago. I have never been blown away by his skills on the microphone. There is something lacking to me, maybe it’s his voice, maybe it’s that he was so closely tied to a sneaker culture I was exiting at the time he came out or maybe it’s just plain and simple the fact that as a rapper he is just good at best.

Take a serious look at it. When I think of the other up and coming rappers in the game-I’m talking about a Drake, J.Cole, Pac Div, Blu, hell even throw Cudi in there. They have all at least once succeeded in make me stop, nod my head and go, “Damn, yeah he deserves the hype. That was ridiculous.”

I am not getting this from Wale.

The album has production of epic proportions. “Let It Loose” had the potential to be so over played that it would be annoying despite the genius hook from Razor Scooter/Skateboard/Roller Blade P or whatever we’re calling Pharrell today. But as soon as Wale got into his first verse… I literally tuned the song out. As soon as the hook came back? I was back into it, but Wale succeeded once again in losing me over the course of his verses.

There’s some light on the album. Prescription has some amazing production and some verses from Wale that are highly listen-to-able but again not stunning. The man has talent and I respect the degree to which he’s promoted himself and succeeded to date but to all my brethren out there calling out his name in adulation. Is this really the savior of the DMV? The fore bearer of the new movement? He’s cool guys I suppose but I don’t feel like this is the best out there. I think there needs to be some competition, maybe from the DMV, maybe from somewhere else but this can’t really be it?

From the amount of hype so many of you guys gave him, the absurd supporting cast assembled around Wale to make the album a success and the largely genius production throughout Wale still failed to make me a believer.

No par intended for those who are a fan of the man, all the more power to you. I even took it easy on him in this article. There’s a lot of things that could have been brought to light here but I feel like it’s counter productive to really shape any one’s thoughts who may be reading this and accepting it as truth without listening for themselves.

The essential problem is this.

I just feel as though maybe Wale was raised onto a platform to be a savior and star and perhaps maybe we all moved a little fast in choosing him to be the artist standing on that platform. Hell, I’m not even sure Wale wants to be on that platform.

At some point I think there needed to be a step back and analyzing of this man’s skill and ability to ‘wow’ on a track before we all cosigned his proclamation as rap’s “prescription” in his own words. That goes for everyone from the DMV to L.A. and in between. Best of luck to the artist on future releases. I’ll be listening, and should he inspire, paying for the music as well.

Stay Safe-Phil.

Midway through last week I made the trek up to Tone’s loft where he gave me the opportunity to sit on a chair and quite literally rant for a two and a half hours about everything and anything from the state of this here “culture” to ridiculously annoying emails. Luckily for you, Tone was able to cut my monologue down to a very manageable few parts only two minutes or so in length consisting of somewhat coherent thought. Take a look see, drop a comment, say what you feel all of that so on and so fourth.

Shot by TONE.

It’s an exciting time right now. Despite the decline where some things are concerned, the culture is poised for some big change. There are so many people out there right now who are on the cusp of really blowing things wide open with new and original ideas. Ideas that they are not only passionate about, but ideas that carry positive meanings along with them. It may take some digging and searching but there are people out there really doing some things worth your attention. It’s a great (albeit tiring) feeling to consistently work day and night in an effort to be at the forefront of this approaching change. Anyway, all of that can be saved the time when things come to full fruition. Support the people who are making it happen, while you’re at it get out there and blaze your own path. Time to shake things up a little bit. Looking forwards to seeing what all you folks bring to the table.

Take it easy,
-Phil

[TONE kills these videos on the regular, make sure you're familiar by clicking HERE.]

So if you pay attention to the murmurings around these parts than you have no doubt seen a few pieces of Eastern Alaskan Pine popping up on blogs here and there. All the blokes from one of Complex’s top scribes Joe La Puma to the everywhere at once man himself Emeka Obi to the fellow who defines receiving promotional goods, Marcus Troy have been spotted with the big man up-top hanging around their necks.

I was fortunate enough to be included amongst such company and had a package waiting in the mail a little over a week ago.

Photography by Tone.

After reading over the posts from Joe and Emeka, and seeing the video courtesy of M.Troy I didn’t really know how to showcase this refined two by four. It probably wouldn’t prove wise to try to out write Mr. Puma, I don’t think I know enough religious terminology to reference a la Emeka’s post, and I definitely couldn’t bust out any videos of Marcus Troy caliber. None the less I had to stand tall amongst my peers in promoting this glossy balsa-wood-bling-blaow which sits draped around my neck. Than I realized I didn’t have to do anything, when in doubt-let Tone handle the heavy duty work.

If Tone can manage to make me look like a half normalized human being than I had no doubt that he could take a picture of what was once prime Home Depot stock and turn it into a beautiful portrait of craftsmanship.
The word on the streets is that these things are hand carved in tents made of caribou by Sherpas on their lunch breaks. Than carried by hand from the Himalaya Mountains to NYC for distribution. I don’t know if any of that is true but it sounded great being pounded out on the keyboard.

Oh yeah, all of this epic imagery courtesy of Tone wasn’t merely for the purpose of grabbing some promotional images of the necklace. A little after midnight last night at Tone’s studio a little bit of art was thrown around, I got to ranting and some video may have been taken. All of that will end up here sooner than later.

Big ups to the brother Chris.

Stay Safe,
Phil.

If you follow any of the outlets through which I release my nonsense than you have no doubt by this point heard mention of The Madbury Club. The Club is being referenced and name dropped from here to East London and back again without actually being explained and that’s how it is going to stay for a little while longer. The following pictures however, for those begging through email for a preview or explanation, are some of the first direct looks into Madbury proceedings. Gathered in New York Cities Central Park just this past Friday was a group of young individuals of the highest stock. Let’s just say that what ensued on that day will be highly enjoyable for you as you sit at home on your computer chair clicking through.

Trust me on this one if you have never trusted me before, the entire Madbury experience is something to look forward to. You’re going to have to sit tight for the time being but be assured that The Club approaches.

Invitations to be extended soon.

Bigs up to Olivia! She’s an absolute monster with the camera and the same goes for the brother Sean. Vinny you too sir!

Everywhere that I go the family goes as well. Juice channels Snoop Dogg circa ‘94 while J.Burke and Demetri survey the park.

And just imagine…these are the pictures that I threw away. Some happenings are on the horizon. Apologies to those who have been waiting for what seems like years but the polished end result will prove worth the wait.

Stay Safe,
Phil.

This goes out to everyone out there who takes their Blackberry out of their pocket at every possible opportunity to flash it in my face as if I am supposed to be impressed by the life changing beauty of their QWERTY keyboard. For everyone out there who has a Blackberry with no data plan on it, no internet access, and no email accounts synced to it. Everyone out there who ran out and bought a Blackberry a few months ago because they suddenly realized some of these so called cool people had them. God forbid you bought them because Jay-Z name dropped it in a lyric. If that is the case than I’ll just pray for your soul and end the rant here.

For what reason would you carry around these obnoxiously large phones unless you have a reason to use it? Don’t give me the “I’ve had a Blackberry since high school” response. I don’t really want to hear that either. What were you doing in highschool with your Blackberry? Forwarding Myspace surveys to your BFF from your AOL email address? I’m having a hard time figuring out what the appeal of these plastic encased blocks of circuit boards is. Before you scroll down to the comment section and call me a iPhone-flag-waving hater please hold on for a moment.

I’ve carried around my god forsaken Blackberry for years. I’ve had more than 5 and less than 10. I break them like it’s my job and scratch the screens like I was the bastard child of DJ Premier and Qbert. I carry this thing around because I “have” to. There are 900 something unread messages in my Inbox and if I didn’t cut half of them down with the Blackberry than I’d just give up email all together. At the end of the day though? I do not want this thing.

I do not want to walk around and have people ask me for my “pin.” How about you just call me brother? We can talk you know like…human beings. I don’t want to get that awkward nod of “approval” from the other kid on the University bus with the newest Blackberry when he recognizes my use of the same phone. You can keep your nod brother I’m feeling ok without my existence being validated by our shared cell phones.

If I had the opportunity to throw this thing from the window and move on with life I would be hurling like freshmen on Thirsty Thursdays on campus. I respect the hell out of people like my man Purp in NYC who gets by on a day to day basis with no phone. For those of you walking around with Blackberry’s purely because they are Blackberrys…I am saddened by your need to be accepted by a group of people who’s lives live in their hands. For those of you who use a Blackberry because you have to…well, I feel your pain. Prayers go out for the day where we can all live in log cabins and smoke wood pipes and text message refers to us writing text on paper.

iPhones you say? Lord don’t get me started.

Stay Safe-Phil.
(More frequent posts coming soon when I’m in better moods. Got some good stuff coming your way.)

A somewhat brilliant combination of an undeniable life style (Read more on that here.), hilarious antics, witty writing and of course the ample dose of perfectly balanced Hollywood enhanced breasts and butt cheeks has made Entourage among the best shows making the rounds on television. We would all be remiss however to leave out the musical element of the show. I’m not sure who is choosing the tracks for episode after episode but they are proving time and time again that they have their ear to the proverbial streets and or err..blogs.

The “outro” song that plays in the last minuet or so of every Entourage episode has become something of a phenomenon itself. Just about everything ranging from Cam’ron to Empire of the Sun has found itself as the background sound canvas to another one of Ari’s rants or Drama’s mishaps. Seriously, whoever is putting this stuff together has quite the ear for artists both classic and those on the come up.

Maybe I’m just saying that because these are tracks from artists like Yeasayer and Lee Fields but perhaps it quite simple is just some damn good music. You be the judge.

Link to download every outro track from Seaon 6: Click Here!
Featuring Dutchess & the Duke, Empire of the Sun, NWA, Yeasayer, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Lee Fields, Jay-Z and more.

If you want a link to all of the songs from the season in its entirety drop a comment.

Stay Safe blokes,
Phil.

So not too long ago I guess it was that I sat down to write a blog post similar to this one and ended up going off on a veritable rant about my inner conflict with attending college. As I type right now I am sitting in my on-campus apartment, with two papers due at the end of week, and approximately 442-and-a-half pages of reading to finish for my classes this week alone. The work load is probably more than enough to make anyone question why they would willingly sign up for such treatment, much less pay over 20 thousand dollars a year but for the moment that isn’t my particular gripe. Also this may only extend to my personal University and maybe I’m the only one who feels this way but this is supposed to be my forum for thought no?

Straight up here is the essential problem. We can’t all be Van Wilder.

My campus. Kind of nice no? Makes you want to throw frisbee like youre the school brochure no?

I almost wish I could using a certain seven letter accentuating curse word there to strengthen the above statement but alas who knows when my grandmother who just discovered the wonders of the internet may be stopping by for a read.

I go to a University that has an enrollment of over 40,000 students. That is quite massive. Now of this utterly over-the-top number of young adults, I would say that probably 10% want to be studying at University. Ok I’ll be generous, 15%. Fluctuation here and there from year to year sure, but that is the number I’m going to stick by, 15%.

That other 85 percent, the overwhelming majority, is enrolled at school for one of three reasons.

1). It was the necessary next step after high school.

3). They want to be Van Wilder.

I cannot tell you how many times I speak to a student who has absolutely no idea of why they are at college. Now at the most basic level there is nothing immediately wrong with not knowing what you want to do at school. Hell, I don’t even have a major because I can’t decide what I want to study but there is an essential difference between myself and the vast majority, the 85%. I want to learn. I want to sit in class for two hours and walk away smarter for it. I take whatever class interests me at the time of registration with no regard to a major because I simply want to learn as much as possible.

Here is my problem with the 85% coming to school and not having a desire to be there or a purpose. An utter and complete waste of time, money, and resources. If you have no desire to sit in class, what is the worth of sitting in the back of class on simultaneously browsing TMZ on your laptop, texting your BFF, eating lunch and sleeping. All at once, yes sleeping as well-I’ve seen it. Why would you waste four years of your life to embark on an educational journey you have no desire to be a part of? Not only do you waste the time of your professor, but more importantly you waste your own time. Times you’re never going to get back from the prime of your life. Surely college is an amazing place and you can have attempt to have your Van Wilder-frat party-esq experience but the end result is so depressing. Four years wasted in classes doing something you didn’t want to do in the first place.

Princeton University. Years ago. Maybe we need to bring back the suit?

Here is my solution, don’t go to college. Go get a job, or go get a dream. Go get a bottom level job working at the mall, local Italian restaurant or mechanic shop and see how you like it. Than when you realize that you have an undying and burning passion to never work that sort of job again in your life? Woah there young man! Now you enroll in college. An educational epiphany will ignite in your head and those same classes you would have been sleeping in a year prior will transform into your every desire. You’ll sit at the front of the class and ask so many questions the kids in the back will want to fight you afterward but low and behold you have a reason for being there!

I guess this goes back to my original problem with school, the fact that it is a “necessity,” something we are required to do in order to achieve success in out society. It’s about time we threw that concept out of the window. It’s breeding a generation of college age kids (15% excluded, shouts to the students who don’t stop asking questions.) who quite literally sleep walked through 5 years and 100,000 dollars of school and are graduating with degrees they didn’t want in the first place.

So to my college age peers, let’s wake up and take some pride in what we are doing or just leave school in general. I have 100 times more respect for the local kid who leaves after high school to pursue a working career because he has no desire to go to college than for the kid who heads off to college because “Oh yeah I mean what else am I going to do?” Suffering suckatash, if I didn’t have these scholarships and jobs on campus I would not be here. But while I’m here I have a desire to learn. More importantly perhaps I’ve got a dream as well. But that’s for another day.

Stay Safe-Phil.

I was sitting exactly 20 rows behind the action when our favorite unabashed practitioner of speaking one’s mind hopped onto the stage and proceeded to add yet another gaffe to his resume of public mishaps. Although I was probably one of the only ones in Radio City Hall laughing at the immediate time of the interruption it took no time for the issue to be the talk of the entire nation. No really, the entire nation. CNN, NBC, ABC, Nas’s favorite news station FOX and broadcasting channels I’d never heard of before were handling this incident like it was the OJ trial all over again. I don’t even have to bring up Twitter where Mr. West has been a trending topic just about every hour since he hopped onto stage days ago.

So besides highlighting the fact that the vast majority of people have no lives and even less things to speak intelligently about this whole issue brought one sad thing to light for me personally. The depressing and fickle state of media and the frightening racial realities that still exist today in America. I’ve been sitting in University classes for the past week so excuse my essay writing ahead of time.

Take a look at the above. Back in 2005 the good folks over at the time honored publication known as Time magazine took it upon themselves to declare Kanye West “the smartest man in Pop music.” Find any media outlet still stating the above and I’ll literally grant you my life savings. (It’s mostly sneakers don’t start Googling just yet.)

Kanye is a jerk. Or in the words of the man who lives in the House of eternal Whiteness, a “jackass.” But here is my problem with the whole world going off at one time and deciding to brand Kanye an ass at this particular juncture.

We’ve known Kanye to be an asshole for a very, very, very long time.

There is nothing new about these revelations. This is the artist who calls himself the international asshole after all. Hell, this isn’t even the first time the man has jumped onto stage. But low and behold here comes the entire world who only years ago was declaring Kanye West a genius of the genre because he wore clothes that fit, rapped about leaving college, was the son of college professor and spoke on “socially conscious” topics rather than those of the street. The media was quick to embrace a rapper who diverged from the gangster imagery 50 Cent and others had made so popular at the time Kanye came to popularity.

Anything to make rap safe for the suburbs and mainstream consumption the major media outlets were ready to promote. Than, low and behold here comes Kanye in his Ralph Lauren Polo sweaters and Gap chinos. What more could they ask for right? Well I guess they didn’t do their research because Kanye never lied or changed who he was. An asshole right from the jump.

He has been doing things like this from day one. If you appreciate Kanye as an artist than you should expect things like this to occur. And if you stand behind him as a person that you should not only expect these things, but you should in fact support those same actions since they come from a man you support. I think what he did was idiotic and in extremely bad taste but I still support Kanye and his actions that night and all the bone-headed, thick-skulled mistakes he’ll make in the future.

Now I’m going to change lanes here and what I’m about to say is going to piss off a few people I’d imagine.

The fact that Kanye West had to interrupt Taylor Swift in order to create a veritable media wild storm is not a good statement about the state of racial realities in our nation. Now walk with me here for a moment and see if this makes any sense.

Kanye West once stood on national TV after a decade defining national tragedy in Hurricaine Katrina and said that the than President of the United States of America and I quote, “Does not care about Black people.” Now to me, that seems FAR worse than interrupting an acceptance speech at an awards show that means next to nothing when you sit down and look at it.

Now how much media attention did Kanye get for that statement? As I recall, from major outlets the coverage was next to none. As it should have been. But whoa, whoa, whoa. Kanye West interuped a perfectly innocent suburban country singing, red meat eating, born and bred in the heartland of America teenage white girl from accepting an award and the entire nation goes to hell in a hand basket over the travesty.

There is something ass backwards about this situation and if you can’t see it than I don’t know what you’re looking at. Maybe it’s Kanye’s haircut which was the only thing more offensive than his remarks that night.

Throughout history whenever a black man has violated the right of an “innocent,” young, white female the reaction has redefined the word extreme. Ask Emmet Till.

I’m not trying to say that this should even be compared to this situation but look at what people are saying about Kanye West on Twitter. I believe there is already a “Kanyenigger” username spewing 140 characters worth of nonsense hourly. Not to mention the endless bevy of people (mostly middle aged white American men) saying that someone should murder, lynch, and in many more words kills Kanye West.

It brings about a sad realization about the feelings people bury deep. The feelings that only emerge when people feel something so grievous has occurred that they must let their true colors fly. The fact that this is what prompted people to speak is depressing on an entirely different level but at the same time completely expected if you take just a short look at the history of relations between these two parties.

Now I realize this is a little heavy for a Hypebeast blog. I’ve never been able to just look at things at their most simple level so I guess it’s expected from my end. Hopefully someone else actually read all of that and has something to offer, I’d definitely love to read.

For those who just scrolled to the end, here is the synopsis. Kanye is an asshole, but you should expect these things from him, he has made no efforts to hide his feelings in the past why would he start now? The media is fickle and looking only to serve it’s agenda and in realizing that Kanye is not the squeak clean, sweater clad, suburban rap icon they would like him to be are now enjoying a period of crucifying him for something that should have gotten 120 seconds of coverage and nothing more. Lastly, race relations in this country point to a black man violating an innocent white girl as a most egregious sin, even more so apparently than speaking blasphemously about a President or the vast array of current events that press our nation as we speak.

Sadly, although much is improved, very little as also changed. It is just buried deeper than ever under the skin and it takes moments like these to expose that truth.

I’m not even going to speak on our current President’s comments. Barry O was trying to keep it funky.

Stay Safe,
Phil.

He’s been everywhere…from questionable BET 106 & Park freestyles to Jay-Z’s latest album to the VMA’s and back again. I’m going to go out on a limb and just say it, Kid Cudi has “made it.” Day N’ Night’s undeniably catchy sing song flow and a few well placed follow up tracks took the Cleveland nobody from a 9-5 jobs at Abercrombie to a certified celebrity in a matter of months. Couple that with a massive Kanye West co-sign and Cudi is well on his way. Quite frankly the only thing left to be figured out at this point is whether or not the man can craft a classic album. We’ve seen everything else, it’s time to actually listen.

ALBUM REVIEW:KID CUDI-Man On The Moon: The End of Day.

Epic photography courtesy of the good brother TONE.

First off let me just come right out and say that I am neither an unabashed Kid Cudi fan or hater. He has some tracks that I really enjoy and some stuff that I can only really shake my head at. On the same token I have friends who absolutely love everything he does, and friends who would rather listen to Bill O’Rielly recite a Tupac album on repeat for an entire day. So biased I am not.

Let me start off with saying why I like the strange young man named Scott from Cleveland. He puts some thought into this whole music thing. Even if I don’t agree or even fully comprehend 80% of what he is talking about, you can tell he sat there for a good amount of time and put some thought into the entire concept of his album. Now granted he was probably heavily under the influence of a certain magical leaf but thought was utilized none the less.

Cudi actually formulating a deeper meaning for these tracks counts for something in a game where artists throw out track after track that is absolute mindless garbage. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think it could possibly take more than 3 min. to come up with the concept for “Throw It In The Bag.”
*Fabalous* “Yo Dream, songs about girls, shopping, and money seem to do pretty well on the radio wouldn’t you concur?”
*The Dream* Oh yeah surely good brother, I haven’t heard a song that touched on any of that diverse subject matter in years.

So on that note, I appreciate Mescudi’s devotion to crafting a well thought out product. I’ll admit that I laughed when I heard Common on the album as a narrator but on many levels it works. I didn’t follow the whole movie concept as far as the tracks go but the thought and idea is a dope one so I give points where they are due.

You also have to give to to the man. He’s not leaving anything behind in the studio. There is some pure emotion being poured into a good amount of these tracks and that is something that can never be overlooked. Props to Cudi for being man enough to step into the booth and speak on his own personal reality with no embellishments. I can respect that. Sadly though, the review doesn’t end there. You have to tolerate a few more short paragraphs of my long winded writing concerning why exactly I’m not an enormous fan of this Man on the Moon.

OK, so this is why I can’t completely hop on here and declare this album as 12-ply rust proof platinum musical wonderment.

When Cudi is good, he’s really good. Sky Might Fall, Alive, Cudi Zone, even Solo Dolo are all really solid tracks that I don’t feel like you can discount for anything. But when Cudi is bad? Well it’s…it’s just something else.

Let me put it this way, there was always that weird kid in class who was odd but really cool at the same time right? Like he had some off the wall clothing, didn’t speak to other people and always drank the disgusting mixture of liquids and foods during lunch period but he was still cool in a completely odd way. Than…there was that other kid. The kid who was just strange. Strange in all the wrong ways. Strange like not changing his drawers for weeks and eating gum off of the bottom of the lunch table.

That strange kid-the one who was strange in a not so grand fashion is the only way I can think to classify some of these tracks. The album is good, it’s perhaps maybe even really good. But there are some tracks on here that I just can’t give a pass too. I’m not going to give titles because I don’t want to influence your thinking about the music before you hear it but there is some stuff on here that just a little too much. Too much of a reach. I feel like it’s asking too much of me to take a few of these tracks seriously and for that reason alone I withhold an absolutely perfect review.

There is no doubt that Cudi has something. Something special? Maybe. Something different? For sure. He can surely write a catchy track. I’ve been bumping the album for the better part of the day and I’m sure I can probably sing the hook off of just about every track and a good deal of a couple of songs. Throw on some moon boots and give this album a run, it’s entertaining at the very least to hear Common’s inhumanly deep voice appear out of no where and start rattling off a novel about Kid Cudi if nothing else. In all seriousness there are some tracks worth listening to on here, enjoy the music.

I give the album a three and a half self-orbiting Zordon’s out of five.Respect.

What’s your take?

Stay Safe-Phil.

Summer At The Movies: Star Trek and Pointed Ears Are Cool Again.
At this point it is no secret that Hollywood is just about fresh out of ideas. I heard rumblings of a Rambo 14 and Alien 36 to be releasing next year in addition to six year super hero movies from comic book titles even I haven’t heard of. This summer did have some gems however, The Hang Over was the funniest movie of the past years not named Old School, Transformers 2 had everyone in the theater despite bad reviews and District 9 managed to breathe some new life into an age old alien plot line.
Let’s face it though, as far as movies go this summer it was all about pointed ears and the man named Kirk. When I was a kid we used to make fun of people for liking Star Trek, but at some point this summer all of that fell to the wayside as the remake had audiences across the country throwing up peace and prosper signs like N.E.R.D. was in town. If you missed the film, than you surely missed the block buster of the Summer. I have three words for G.I. Joe. Massive let down.

Economic Downturn: And Streetwear Doesn’t Really Care.
Times don’t seem to be so bueno in the good old US of A. Trillions of dollars in debt and still trying to figure a way out of a massive collapse, the country is needless to say at a massive point of transition. Money is tight just about everywhere but low and behold, streetwear kicks on. There was some talk before and during Summer about how streetwear is suffering from the recession and granted a fair number of stores did close their doors in addition to some brands but let’s just call that process the weeding out of those who probably were not quite doing it right from the beginning.
As long as the kids are out there buying 34 dollar, 6 ounce cotton t-shirts with one color screen prints than I dare say that streetwear is still in fact doing fine. So heres to the Summer of the 2009 when every beaster of Hype gave a large singular finger to the American economy while laced up in a fresh pair of $300 Nike Air Yeezy’s. Recession who?

Sporting World: Kobe Bryant Finally Gets It Done.
That was this summer? Yes young squire. Early in June while the entire sport’s world attempted to convince me that Lebron James was superior to Kobe, Mr Bryant strolled, walked, and trampled all over Denver and finally brought home the championship trophy to LA all on his lonesome. *Cue up Kanye West “Can’t Tell Me Nothing.” right about now.* Meanwhile in other world news, the massive mountain of human being known as Shaq, spent summer playing beach volleyball and baseball on some piss-poor excuse for television. Actually, you know what, I take that back. Shaq VS is genius TV maybe I just can’t stand the fact that when Kobe finally wins the Championship on his own Shaq came out with a TV show instead of a diss track.

Radio Spins: Canada Finds Its Savior.
First of all the above isn’t a Calvin Klein, Land’s End, or LL Bean Fall 2009 catalog cover.

In case you have been hiding under a rock the size of well…Shaq for the entire summer and months prior to that than you know that the above is Aubrey Graham otherwise known to the world as Drake. The all singing, all acting, all bum-knee having savior of rap from the cold land to the North known as Canada. We were banging a Drake mixtape about two years ago and we all thought the kid could spit but we had absolutely no idea that the hype would ever approach this level. With three singles on the Billboard charts, THE biggest song of the summer, and a 3 million dollar deal off of ONE mixtape, it is safe to say that Drake probably had a decent summer. I don’t even understand the progression of this man’s career right now, he is pretty much bulletproof. Who can freestyle off of a blackberry, wear a pair of Kool-Aid-esq awful fake Jordans, completely bust his ass on stage and still stroll to the number one spot in the game? I can’t wait to see what this album does just out of sheer disbelief. Shouts to wheelchairs, don’t forget where you came from.

Political Universe: Iran Stirs The Pot.
Well in the wide world of politics all sorts of grand things went down. Sometimes I feel like I have to speak about this stuff because I worry that your guys only news source is the front page of HB. Anyway, big man numero uno, President Barry O held down his first hundred days in office and seems to be keeping at least half the population happy.
Iran on the other hand held some elections that only pleased about one quarter of the country. Their most recent presidential elections were about as honest as the Trojan horse just being for decoration, and the resulting uproar from the Iranian citizens had the entire world biting their nails in anticipation of what could possibly happen. Never quite a pleasant thing when fragile countries with nuclear power and ambition descend into turmoil. Oh yeah, Sarah Palin finally decided to drop the whole Washington thing and just stick to shooting caribou in the Alaskan wilderness. Good for her.

Summer Styles: Flood Watch.
There’s nothing new under the sun. I didn’t see anything particularly inspiring on the streets of NYC this summer as far as style goes but it does seem that everyone and their grand mothers was prepared for a flood of epic proportions. In front of every single cool-guy store from Soho to South Korea, jeans and khakis were rolled up past the ankle. Well excuse me for saying but the last time I checked, when it was hot out it just made more sense to wear uh… shorts but I suppose cuffing those 300 dollar Japanese selvedge jeans in tribute to Noah, Noah’s arc, and the unforgettable flood is a good look as well.
Other news in style? Jeff Staple kicked some dust off of New Balance and did a damn good job with those Staple joints. Yeezy’s were everywhere- that was fun while it lasted. More or less everyone jumped onto the whole boat shoe thing, maybe there’s a reoccurring naval theme here I’m missing?

OH YEAH! Please. Please. Put the G-Shocks down and back away slowly. OK? Did I hurt feelings? Ok I apologize I’ll tone it down, just stop flaunting the thing around. You’re wearing a 10 dollar piece of plastic that you and everyone else in the room has on so just at least for my sake don’t wave the thing around in my face. I’m happy you got the all-white version too brother, well done.
(Casio did throw a dope event this summer though, kudos to them for that.)

Defining Moment: Michael Jackson’s Passing.
I happened to be standing on the side of a river on the outskirts of New York City when I heard the news. Doubtless you remember where you were standing as well when the tragic word arrived that the King of Pop himself had passed on. Completely unexpected and occurring immediately before a massive return to the stage, Micheal’s death at the very least made you replay Thriller in appreciation for a master of all things music. Unfortunately speculations on whether his death was a homicide clouded the real coverage, and some of the tribute performances at his funeral were uh- questionable to say the least but at the end of the day it was at least possible to sit back and realize how immense an impact this man had on the entire world. There are pop stars and than there is Michael Jackson, I don’t think there will ever be another. Rest in peace. (Also have to take a moment to say rest in peace to Senator Ted Kennedy, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays, and our own DJ AM.)

In Conclusion
Well I could go on and on down the list. We left out the Eagles picking up Michael Vick, the disappearing act of Lemaur and Dauley and the omni-present rain we experience on the East Coast but it’s time for me to go play some ball outside. Anyway, what do I even know about any of this right? My summer consisted of endless afternoons spent in the city, mountain ascensions and cliff jumps. Next summer we conquer the world, I’m trying to take a trip down under to Australia, international fam-a-lam shout and holler at me.

Heres to Summer 2009, I had an amazing one. Hope that the same went for you blokes. Drop a comment, tell me what I left out.

Stay Safe,
Phil.