Music Theory: Kid Cudi

-Kid Cudi's long-awaited album Man on the Moon: The End of Day dropped today, and after a few listens I must say I am quite impressed. I've slowly become a fan of Cudi's introspective lyrics and wholly unique approach to hip hop, but some people are apparently hesitant to jump on the bandwagon. The Washington Post sees Cudi as a mediocre Kanye clone: "Signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music imprint, Ohio rapper Kid Cudi has ripped off his label owner's formula."
-Of course, had they done their research, they would know that Cudi is quite the opposite. Most know that Kanye actually hired Kid Cudi to help write four songs on his 808s and Heartbreak album (including my two favorites, "Welcome to Heartbreak" and "Paranoid"), and many speculate that Cudi's mixtape actually inspired Kanye to do the album in the first place. BET's Rising Icon special (above) features some solid performances as well as some insight into Cudi's much-publicized issues, and is a must-watch for anyone who is not yet familiar with his work. more

Design Major: Clipse x KAWS?

Clipse x Kaws-ReUp Gang Blog 4 from ReUpGangRecords.net on Vimeo.

-If you follow this blog at all then you're probably aware that we are huge Clipse fans. Listen to the verse at the beginning of this video, fuck. The KAWS reference, talking about the signature X's on the eyes. I don't even know what to say, it's just mindblowing. So, we already saw the Kanye x KAWS album art, and in this video Pusha seems to be assuring us that the album art on When the Casket Drops will be from KAWS, I can't wait.

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School Supplies: Kanye x LV

-Normally I group my sneaker coverage together, but as an unapologetic fan of all things Kanye, I gave this one its own post. Check out what Yeezy had to say about the shoe in this Dazed Digital interview. more

Report Card: Class Act 3.9's

-Everyone has been doing their best of 2008 lists and were a little late (although Sydney did hers in a timely manner,) but at least it's still January so here are my picks. I would have to agree with Tim's choices of Copeland's latest and the Neil release so I replaced them on my list with other notable 08' discs.

-Underoath, Lost in the Sound of Separation:

This is the first Underoath album I've liked since They're Only Chasing Safety, but I can't really put my finger on why. I think Aaron Gillespie's experience making his own album aided their structuring. "Too Bright to See, Too Loud to Hear" is pure genius.

-The Knux, Remind me in Three Days:

I was a little late hearing about The Knux, but better late than never. With off-the-wall beats that are a little less refined and a little more rock-influenced than The Cool Kids and other hipster-rap duos, this was easily the best hip-hop album of 2008. Nas, Lil' Wayne and The Game all could have made this list though.

-The Classic Crime, The Silver Cord:

You might find this to be an odd choice but I am standing by it. The Classic Crime's first release, 2006's Albatross, was hit or miss but it contained two tracks that I rarely skip in shuffle. The new album is a much more complete and refined offering. This band could easily be on mainstream radio.

-Kanye West, 808s and Heartbreak:

Although a lot of bands have been doing similar music for a couple years, Kanye is a badass for bringing it to the mainstream and facing all the critics with a genuine fuck you album.

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Professors: KAWS x Kanye

-There has been a ton of discussion and dissent ever since the first track, "Love Lockdown", from Kanye's impromptu diversion 808s and Heartbreak leaked over a month ago. We've resisted commenting on the album yet because we still aren't quite sure how we feel about it. On one hand I respect the man for going Sarah Palin on the industry and doing his own thing, especially since he promised to still put out a radio friendly album in June. On the other hand, most of the tracks sound pretty similar and the fact that this album was made in a hurry is definitely evident. "Heartless" and "Coldest Winter" are solid tracks though, and "Welcome to Heartbreak" is straight-up amazing.
-Adding to the hype around this album, urban-art goldenboy KAWS has lent has employed his signiture style to create this limited edition album art for the disc. Even if you don't love this album, at least you'll have some fresh KAWS art popping up on your iPod every once in awhile.
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Dress Code: The PNW Resurgence

-Back in 2003, a Gawker blurb predicted a massive hipster migration from Brooklyn to Seattle: "It won't be long until kids in post-Williamsburg Brooklyn will be glomming up all the Patagonia pullovers they can get their pale white mitts on." According to Selectism, that prophecy will be eerily fulfilled by a new Patagonia for Urban Outfitters collection, featuring both full-zip and pullover fleeces in a variety of colors.

-The streetwear market has been flooded with classic Northwest gear lately, to the point where the Louis Vuitton Don is dressing more like Paul Rudd circa 1994. Companies like 10 Deep and Stussy are pumping out overpriced flannel, and for all we know it won't be long before Andre 3000 changes Benjamin Bixby to Eddie Vedder. Those of us who grew up in the Upper Left know that one must look no further than Value Village or dad's closet to find any of this stuff. Still, we don't mind the attention.

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Design Major: NYC Spring 09 Band of Outsiders

-I've been a fan of Band of Outsiders for a few years now, and this show certainly met the expectations of an avid fan. The collection had a modernized 50s feel to it, with elements of The Beach Boys or a mid-90s high school ska band. What makes a label like Band of Outsiders important is their ability to appeal to the young man who wants to highlight his youth and his knowledge of classic style.
-Photos and analysis of our favorite looks from the collection after the jump.

-I've never been a fan of knit ties, but what can you do? Notice the Band for Sperry Top-Siders we posted about a while back.

-Casual DBs everywhere this year? A look I think we'll see a lot on the street if someone starts making affordable blazers.

-This look is where I thought ska band. I really like that checkerboard bow tie and the tux pant.

-Word. If you know me, you can probably tell why I like this. Except those hats. Fuck hats, get over it, it's not 1940.

-Who doesn't love madras?

-Word. Cardigans and shorts are a great way to ride the seasons.

-De Stilj, yeah? The yellow jacket with that shirt, I wonder if it was a direct Mondrian reference or just coincidence.

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Music Theory: Pharrel Nose No Boundaries

-I usually don't get this pumped but this is the sickest shit ever. Firstly, the video is by Hype Williams and it's characteristically bananas. It's 8-bit Nintendo themed so of course I love it. But more importantly, it's Yeezy, Pusha-T and Lupe on the same track. And it's about one of my favorite things in the world - bitches shovelin snow. The one weak thing about it is that the only version that seems to be on the web is this edited one. They edit out the word coke, wtf? Lupe's verse is the best, but check that Kanye "She stopped drinking diet Coke, she on that coke diet."
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Faculty: Inspi(red) by Spike

-I found this announcement of a Spike Jonze x Eric Koston x Girl x Product Red skate deck oddly enough not on any of the skate sites I check daily, but on Kanye's blog. Seeing this really made me sit back and ponder the incredible career of Spike Jonze.
-I first became aware of Spike Jonze after seeing Being John Malkovich, which has become one of my favorite films of all time. What makes that amazing is that lately, as I've gotten back into skating, I've been watching Lakai's Fully Flared almost daily. Since it's debut last year, Fully Flared has been widely hailed as the greatest skate video of all time. And guess what? It's directed by Spike Jonze. When I first saw BJM I had no idea that Spike was already an underground hero for classic music videos such as "Sabotage" by The Beastie Boys or Weezer's "Undone." Although my co-editor disagree on the merits of Jonze's lackluster follow-up to BJM, Adaptation, I'm blown away by the fact that a man can shoot skateboarding in hi-def, and turn the choppings of hours and hours of slamming and sliding into cinematic genius with the same ease and attention to detail as his feature films.
-I guess what I'm trying to get at is that, in a youth culture in which the optimum goal is to be able to sustain yourself whilst doing that which you love, there seems no greater role model than Spike Jonze.
-Oh yeah, he also helped create Jackass, one of the most influential television programs of our era.
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Podiatry: Be Kanye/Nas/Ken Griffey Jr.

-While many assumed the above product to be responsible for Nas' startlingly Kanye-esque photo shoot, a Complex interview later revealed that his colorful outfits were simply a one-time tribute to the man who singlehandedly "saved rap".
-As it turns out, Nas won't be betraying his roots any time soon. His signature Filas are set to drop shortly, according to Hypebeast. The self-proclaimed "Nikehead " chose to go with the brand that defined his younger years as a tribute to his late best friend Ill Will.
-Never one to be outdone, Kanye is also harboring a much-hyped signature shoe. The Air Yeezy is one of Nike's custom celebrity ventures, and unfortunately there is no public release date in sight. We are digging their slight resemblance to a Northwest classic we haven't seen in 10 years.
-We have a big week ahead of us, filled with new music, more kicks, and some features that don't involve Nas! Stay tuned...
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Music Theory: Defending the Title

-As my esteemed colleague so boldly pointed out a few days back, 80% of today's hip hop is in the beats. Everyone is taking their shot at "A Milli", and most of them are upstaging the supposed "best rapper alive" and calling his self-anointed title into question. In reality, the title was never really Wayne's. According to Kanye West (and, more importantly, us), Nas is not only the best alive, but the "best rapper of all time".
-While Kanye himself is famous for bailing on college, Nas dropped out of 8th grade, seemingly heeding Mark Twain's advice to "never let schooling interfere with your education". His independent study of historical and religious texts earned him a spot as the one of the foremost street critics of all time. In the same manner that Jay-Z became the CEO, Nas has become the hip-hop equivalent of a tenured history professor. Untitled is both a lecture on U.S. race relations and a retrospective look at his illustrious career. He quotes James Baldwin, "throws molotovs" for Emmett Till, and continually examines the history of the album's original title, Nigger. The title was eventually changed, but the controversy was discussed by everyone from the corner to Congress. The record is saturated with political and cultural criticism, and even the discussion of Nas' favorite pastime brings out the claim, "I burn so much trees I keep environmentalists angry". According to Nas, "the people will always know what the real title of this album is."
-The first track on Untitled, "Queens Get The Money", is essentially the Anti-"Milli"-- a raw, stripped piano riff over which Nas unleashes some of his best flow since Illmatic. "One Mic" was our generation's introduction to Nas, so we've never doubted his ability to rip up a low-key beat. This simplicity was the basis for East Coast rap, whether in RZA's production of 36 Chambers or DJ Premier's work on Nas' own "NY State of Mind".
-As Untitled progresses, we begin to see more of the radio-ready pop production that has defined the later stage of Nas' career and brought on some harsh criticism. "Make The World Go Round" with Chris Brown and The Game (and production by the latter) is truly the album's guilty pleasure. It's reminiscent of Kanye's "The Good Life", and just as catchy. It's also fuel for the critics' fire.
-Nas made the best rap record of all time when he was 19 years old, and since then he has been hounded for not living up to the high standard set by Illmatic. This has been an unfair demand from the beginning. Nas isn't a teenager anymore, and while Jay-Z is working with Chris Martin and Mobb Deep has been demoted to 50 Cent's entourage, Nas is continually plagued by allegations that he alone "fell off". Realistically, along with Ghostface Killah, he is one of the only original east-coasters to remain relevant. While his approach has changed a bit, the self-taught Street's Disciple is in no danger of losing his title.
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Music Theory: For the Visual Learners

-I don't even know why I did this, but I put together a little diagram (aka resized 6 photos) of the tunes I'm digging as of late, complete with super mini-reviews. Click to make it bigger.

-I've been listening to Emarosa's first E.P. for awhile now, mainly because they use a microKORG, the greatest instrument ever invented. The new album, Relativity is really, really good. If you like Circa Survive or Saosin, but you know, you're sick of Anthony Green's ridiculous whine, check this disc out.
-The KiD CuDi mixtape has been buzzin lately and I heard about it from my guy Yeezy, it's dope. Nuff said.
-The new Ratatat, LP3 is fucking nuts, game over status, ridiculous, amazing. I read somewhere that they recorded in some southern 70s style studio with analog gear, and you can definitely hear the groove vibe on this one.
-I've talked a lot of shit about Girl Talk in the past, mostly because I could do what he does if I had the time and money, but I'm starting to come around. Not only to I give props for going the Radiohead route and releasing a digital album, after checking out the complete list of insane samples, and reading a bit about this album, I give props to a budding musical genius. But not too many props.
-Rising Down, The Roots' latest disc, is kind of old, but I just got it (finally) and it may be the best Roots disc ever. Everyone loved Game Theory but I didn't really like it. This album has great beats, and great collaborations, including a track featuring Saigon, the Entourage alum and undisputed most underrated rapper in the game.
-The Cab is gonna blow up soon. Check out "High Hopes and Velvet Ropes." It might be the first radio hit not from Akon and T-Pain to artfully (and subtly) use autotune. more

Visual Communication: Word(le) Up

-The other day Gawker had a blurb about this site, Wordle, which turns text you copy and paste into a box into something they call a 'word cloud', with words that appear most often in the text appearing more prominent in the cloud. Gawker used it to examine how repetitive their page was, but we found a better use for the site, measuring the cliche-ness of your favorite emo songs!

-See it's fun! This one (above) is Mayday Parade's "If you wanted a song written about you." More by us after the jump. Go to Wordle and do you your own and upload and put it in the comments section. (Note, you have to click 'save to gallery' before it will give you the code you can copy and paste into a comment. Do it! Now!



-This one's a classic, Dashboard Confessional "This Brilliant Dance." We made a music video for this song in video productions, fuck I wish I still had it. It was edited on linear! Before computer editing! Crazy.


-I wanted to a see a little bit of a darker song so this is A Skylit Drive's "My Disease."
-I really hope people do this, I want to see some fun shit.

-Kanye and T-Pain, the underrated "Good Life"
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Design Major: Paris Spring 09 Louis Vuitton

-I've been surprised by LV menswear in recent years. I, like most people, associate LV mainly with leather goods, but a few years of solid collections are moving the label beyond the iconic luggage. However, this photo of Kanye, taken by The Sartorialist Scott Schumann outside the Louis Vuitton show in Paris, might be the best thing to come out of the Spring 2009 offering. The collection didn't show me anything that hadn't been done before, but I still managed to select a few looks I could see myself referencing this upcoming spring.
-Also notice that Yeezy is rocking one of those ill Marc Jacobs Lego pins. Oh and on the same note, Hypebeast had a little Kanye x LV rumor today.
-As always, photos and analysis of our favorite looks from the show after the jump.


-Yeah see, nothing special right? But I like how it makes you think about working sporty pieces like a hoody into a more elegant look.

-Same thing here, the feeling I got was luxurious sport.

-I used to hate short-sleeved button-ups but they've been growing on me ever since I saw how fresh Ryan Gosling rocked them as a drug addled middle school teacher in Half Nelson.

-I mean, things like this are definitely good looking pieces, but for the price you would pay for this suit you could get something with much more character. I also really don't like that there is not any cuff showing beneath the sleeve of the jacket. At least 1/4 inch, kids.

All photos by Alessandro Lucioni via men.style.com
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Dress Code: Clear the Streets Out

Most streetwear brands start innocently enough. Some enterprising kid snags a pirated copy of Photoshop and his parents' plastic, throws an ironic pop culture icon or some HUGE BLOCK LETTERS on a shirt and hits the streets to promote. This is a time tested method through which some of our best young designers find an audience (remember Jack Black's biography of Stussy in Orange County?). The problem is, even Cobain's 'Corporate Magazines Still Suck' shirt ended up on the cover of Rolling Stone. Example: LRG's eco-hood designs were fresh before Zumiez turned them into the new Element. Since Rob and Big, 'limited release' Rogue Status tees are showing up on everyone and their bodyguard. Why are these companies getting stale? It all lies in the age-old belief that a brand name alone can keep you steezin'.
Here at CA, one of our core beliefs is that if it's not your style, then it's not style at all. The best streetwear companies are those that remain a source of creative designs that strike personal chords with customers. Last week, I ran across a particularly ill shirt from Akomplice:
I had never heard of the brand, but it caught my eye since I've been down with Spike and Scottie for as long as I remember. Their catalog revealed a few more gems, including shirts dedicated to the two baddest men of all time: Keyser Soze and Spud Webb.
Our advice is, dig deeper. Instead of going to the mall, hit up Goods or Laced Up in Seattle, or Locust in Bellingham. Like Plato said, "Know Thyself. And for fuck's sake stop buying shirts with cartoon characters on them. That shit is played." more

Dress Code: Shutter to Think

We at CA have never been shy about our admiration for rap genius/professional egotist Kanye West. His debut was earnest and refreshingly self-deprecating, and he has yet to put out a disappointing record. That said, those plastic Stronger glasses have quickly become the most contrived and obnoxious fashion accessory in recent memory. Apparently, Gawker agrees. They publicly called out some of the worst offenders, including a certain serpentine nightlife photographer.
If you happen to disagree, you can snag some on Kanye's website. I squint a lot and I'm not that into Daft Punk, so a while back I bought a solid pair of Von Zipper Rockfords ($50-$70, vonzipper.com). They are similarly shaped, pretty affordable, and they come with actual lenses. You decide.
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Plagiarism: The Queensbridge Dropout

While we have always been quick to denounce anything with Marc Ecko’s name on it, we were caught off guard upon discovering Complex, his surprisingly stylish monthly buyer’s guide. We were yet again thrown for a loop by this month’s feature on Nas. The true best rapper alive modeled a colorful mélange of everything from Uniqlo to Yves Saint Laurent in an attempt to promote his controversial new album, N, which drops July 1^st. Everything about the shoot was fresh, except for the tiny, nearly unnoticeable fact that Nas looks EXACTLY like Kanye West. The glasses, jeans, and even the jacket sleeves are all eerily reminiscent of the Louis Vuitton Don. Is this a washed up veteran’s attempt to revitalize his career by biting the style of rap’s biggest superstar? Or is it just “your favorite MC, still making some mean cash?” We’re stuck, feel free to comment. more

MultiMedia: Homecoming

-We're bored here with rain killing our snaptime , but weve got some really great stuff coming up as soon as it gets sunny later this week.

-So anyway, this is Kanye's video for Homecoming, which I think may be the most stylish music video in the last 8.7 years. There's not much I could add about Kanye, he's been a style icon since the first time he stepped into the public eye.

-Going decidedly un-hip-hop in this video with the scarf/vest combo Kanye raises it to another level. We're not big Chris Martin fans, but what can you do? The video overall is shot incredibly well. Directed by Harold "Hype" Williams




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