Beyond his incredible force as an entertainer and philanthropist, Michael Jackson is one of the most crucial fashion icons of our time. Countless celebrities and fashion designers have replicated Jackson’s distinct looks. Many people in general, fans or not, probably don’t even realize that they own pieces that were inspired by the legendary star.As his ex-wife Lisa Marie Pressley wrote on her myspace.com blog, "mediocrity was not a concept that would even for a second enter Michael Jackson’s being or actions".Michael Jackson/VogueClad in glitter and often outrageous silhouettes, her statement proved more than accurate when it came to Michael’s wardrobe. He never failed to appear larger than life in performances, music videos, and red carpets.Chris Brown, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake and Usher are just a few notable celebrity fans of his personal style today, with hair cuts, clothing, dance moves and more inspired by the star.From the days of Jackson Five until the 80s and 90s, Michael’s original swagger was on a level that we may never see again in our time.When he first broke out on the scene with his brothers, he rocked a huge afro and bell bottom pants – the epitome a 70s child. Later on in the 80s, he introduced multiple trends that have been constantly regurgitated and updated until present day. Take the red leather jacket he wore in the "Thriller" video, which has been re-created by designer Margiela at approximately $600 retail. Pharrell in Margiela’s jacketIn the 90s, his style was evidently inspired by the military, although he gave it his own shimmery twist of course. The marching band jackets he donned are now making a huge comeback with the help of designer Balmain. You can spot them on the backs of Rihanna, Beyoncé and more.Speaking of Balmain, Michael was recently spotted rocking a crystal-encrusted top by the designer. Although it is a fall 2009 piece, there is nothing new about seeing him in something like this; Michael stayed true to his eccentric style, and it obviously didn’t phase him that this top was designed for women.We never saw Michael jump on anyone else’s style wagon. He wore one of his signature marching band jackets as recent as last year, at his friend Christian Audigier‘s 50th birthday.There is a reason Michael Jackson’s death shut down Twitter and slowed down the entire internet last week…Most can agree that there has never been a single person who stirred up so much passion across the globe with music, fashion and good deeds.   Just a handful of images to illustrate Michael Jackson’s impact on artists of today:  RihannaWilly Wonka   Chris Brown Usher 

I’m going to take a moment and keep in so real, I’m not sure how people will take this admission. I own a Michael Jackson jacket.    That’s right. I own a Michael Jackson Jacket. Remember when 50 Cent said, “I’ll leave you like them Michael Jackson jackets – with all them zippers.” That’s the kind I have. My Michael Jackson jacket is a replica of the one that the megastar wore in the “Beat It” video, one of the many singles from the Thriller album. Michael rocked his coat as a red leather, zippered up fashion monument for the ages. For those that may be clueless or simply don’t know, Thriller (109 million sold) is the greatest selling album of all time and will most certainly remain such. Forever is why I still own that Michael Jackson jacket. The music, the legacy and the culture that was created around MiJac is one that will never ever, ever go away. There are some that will attempt to detract or derail his legacy because of scandal or his eccentricities, but that’s and impossible feat, even to the casual listener. When I was a child, my school had a Michael Jackson contest. It didn’t require you to dance or anything, but you did have to come to school dressed like the King of Pop. And, that’s what I did. I don’t really recall if I had the coat first and then entered the contest or the other way around, but I put on a white church glove and ended up winning the contest. It was fun and I still get jokes about it to this day from my brother. That was the power of Michael Jackson though. He started on Earth, but he soon soared. His trip took him above the clouds, beyond the stars, further than the only celestial bodies we view with a telescope.  At the age of 50, he’s traveled longer distances than any single entertainer that we have witnessed to date. To those of us that were kids, young adults and adults, we bore witness to that brilliant light he radiated as he ascended into a universe of his own. There are others that only know some public construct known as “Wacko Jacko,” and that’s a dishonorable term and a testament to the nastiness of the human spirit. Michael was that cartoon on Saturday morning, that disco guy that was “off the wall,” that ultra kid that was reared at an early age to be the larger-than-life personality that was endeared by adorning fans worldwide. There are too many memories, but one of mine is when he did the Hip-Hop-inspired moonwalk at the Motown 25 Anniversary. I know they say it was all father Joe Jackson, but there was some divine intervention with Michael Jackson. The truly interesting aspect of Michael Jackson, for me, is that I never wanted to be him. I never had a drippy curl or some of the other aspects of the King of Pop. Honestly, my father was my standard for being a man. I was always into hardcore Hip-Hop music, such as Run DMC, who even jabbed at Michael for being on the softer side of the music. In fact, my father never was a huge fan of Mike, because he had a penchant for the gruffness of one of MiJac’s influences – the late Mr. James Brown. But, the music, the style and the peoples’ love of Michael Jackson carried on with the force of tougher men. Through all the changes in music, all the younger talents, and even through the scandals of the 90’s, I held onto the Beat It jacket. It remains a reminder of a glorious day gone, but one that we’ll all hold onto. I was really confused about my feelings upon hearing Michael Jackson died. Death is so readily dished out that it’s easy to become desensitized to it. Not Michael. His passing felt like a family member died suddenly, tragically. To me, it’s very close to the way I felt when Jam Master Jay of Run DMC died. After the news broke, all my friends and family called, IM’d, twittered, facebooked and any other means to reach me to express their sadness over the death of the King. But even before this day, Michael was being transferred from generation to generation. When I hear Rihanna’s “Please Don’t Stop The Music,” I make certain the kids in my family hear the original, “Wanna Be Starting Something.” In fact, I had them listening to all of Michael’s solo material before he died. If you look at Ne-Yo, Usher, Justin Timberlake and so many others, you are looking at Michael Jackson. I suppose it’s about time to re-discover his records with the Jackson 5, the solo ones, the unreleased old songs and hopefully the new music that lives in vaults somewhere. And in my personal vault, in the closet in a guest room, lives a red pleather coat with zippers that don’t even zip. What is supposed to be chain mail on the shoulders is merely painted plastic that looks like medal. The pleather is old and pealing, but its still there. Man, Michael Jackson was the man and I don’t need any fancy words or descriptions to say that any more clearly. Shoot, I wish this jacket still fit. I’d rock it right now like it was nothing. Rest In Peace, Michael Jackson…Forever starts now. “Beat It” “Motown 25”

That Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which just opened this week, is a narrative and conceptual mess is neither surprising nor the greatest of its blames. That it is, at critical moments, visually incomprehensible—and this from someone who considered the faceted clatter of the first film’s shifting multiplanes, at moments, symphonic—is the least of its faults. That it endorses crude racism, however, serving up, not one, but two near-buckdancing, shiftless Black stereotypes—the sambots, as one reviewer adeptly punned, Skids, top and above right, and his twin (get this), Mudflap—reveals not only how clearly insulated the white people who work at Paramount and for director Michael Bay appear to be in their racial supremacy, but how out of touch they must be with developing, changing American and world tastes in entertainment. (That’s without even getting into what will surely be Afrocentric outrage at key scenes of desecration.) Here’s my prediction: Transformers: ROTF will do huge first-week numbers, based on awe-inspiring trailer footage, then rapidly descend in flames from orbit, as people share with friends that the film is a stinking, heaving pile of constipated rhinoceros feces. Let me put it this way: I saw it on a massive, five-story high Imax screen with a crowd of expectant, excited, average New Yorkers in their 20s and 30s. The biggest response that night was for the Imax trailer which precedes the showing of each film. Throughout the entire movie, no one cheered, no one gasped, no one did much of anything. There were a few laughs, but even the small number of guffaws we heard for ROTF’s desperately unfunny, jive-talking duo seemed concentrated to a few hillbillies strafed over and behind my right shoulder. Remember Jazz, right, the windmilling, beatbox-blaring Autobot from Transformers? You may, or may not, because, though a groan-inducing aspect of the first film, he wasn’t continuously on screen. As escorts of Shia LaBeouf’s and Megan Fox’s lead characters, Skids and Mudflap seem to be everywhere, bantering, fighting each other…sheesh. The only thing they don’t do is shoot craps and eat chicken with watermelon. At one moment, even, LaBeouf’s character asks the two if they can read a robotic script that will reveal crucial information. “Uh, we don’t do too much readin’,” one drawls. Nail. Coffin. I’m guessing somewhere at Industrial Light & Magic, the almost utterly white special effects firm for ROTF which typically does such mind-boggling work, there’s a gag reel of the gold-toothed Skids pulling a 40-ounce from his Chevrolet Beat cooler as Mudflap nervously fingers a switchblade. Like, to which part of the car, into which Skids transforms, does a gold tooth conform? Of course, ILM is also the company that, a decade ago, gave the world Jar Jar Binks, in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Ironically, however, in comparison, Skids and Mudflap make Jar Jar Binks look like Gandhi. Which means that we’re going backwards, not forwards, in the depiction of ethnicity in films. But it bears ongoing repetition: ROTF’s sloppy boilerplate is not the key way race is conveyed in movies, anymore. The predominant way people in Hollywood both reinforce and refine white supremacy is by the manner least commented upon, but most obvious, once you notice it: Their relentless focus on white people, right, emphasizing them, accentuating them, centering them in everything that is meaningful and important, and mostly including Black people so they can serve as on-ramps for white people’s planetary self-absorption; their 20-20 navel-gazing. (Of course, this is supported by an entire infrastructure of white movie executives, financiers, critics, and others.) By filling movies with white people, telling stories through white characters, making them diverse in mode, occupation, and outlook, especially when compared to non-white characters—by projecting them as dominant when they are, in fact, recessive; most humans are brown females—an understanding is rendered: White people are the smartest, most beautiful, most important beings of which we know. This understanding, in entertainment, serves an understanding of white people in all areas of activity by people: economics, education, labor, law, politics, religion, sex, and war, as that understanding, in those other areas, serves each other area. Indeed, this aspect of race is so foundational that, like water to a fish, it typically doesn’t seem worth noting, because it’s omnipresent. Transformers: ROTF irritates, then, because, as well as maintaining film history’s pallid hue, and serving race that way, it goes an extra, unnecessary step to nastily reinforce what white media say, wordlessly, already all the time: White people are the smartest…. Or, as Salt from Salt ‘n’ Pepa once said to me of an increasingly trifling boyfriend, “‘You’re already being mean, but now you’re just being cruel.’” You know those really offensive Warner Bros. cartoons, like 1953’s Southern Fried Rabbit, right, with scenes so vile that, when they show them today on TV, they edit the repulsive parts out? If there’s any justice in the world, and that’s doubtful, a future, more enlightened generation will one day digitally erase Skids and Mudflaps from every RAW file of footage, deeming them too retrograde for an ethnically sophisticated and interconnected world. The movie, of course, already a noisy jumble, wouldn’t miss a thing.That imagery so out of date can be built into a piece of entertainment so technologically advanced should tell us that there is something about racism that has nothing to do with how educated white people are, or even sophisitcated they become. I don’t want to get all corny and say that, like Optimus Prime, humans need moral heart transplants, so to speak, but, actually, I think the leader of the Autobots might be on to something. “We don’t read.” Originally published on HarryAllen.info.

Brave the wind in style with this season’s nylon stylish windbreakers.If you’ve been killing the cardigans and hoodies, a windbreaker is a stylish way to change things up this season. They give you an effortless breezy look as they provide you with just enough warmth for summer nights, with some being waterproof. Pick one with or without a hood that can be dressed up to achieve the runway look below, or go casual and pair it with jeans and sneakers. Nas in Complex Many come in punchy colors and glossy finishes that you can dress up or down. Crispy Clean Windbreaker by Artful Dodger Windbreaker by Patrick Ervell Flight Control Windbreaker by Artful Dodger Abstract Jacket by Nikita Ape Head Mac by Money Clothing Jelly Belly Track Jacket by Rocawear Images: Swife Life, Hypebeast

“I’m Ready to Die, Tell God I Said Hi”  – Notorious B.I.G.America is known for many things but breeding martyrs isn’t one of them. Sure we have innocent people lose their lives everyday. Good people, be they parents, honor students, teachers. Thing is, they lose their lives by a stray bullet, jealous exes, hit and runs, swine flu. When they die we say, “What a shame” and keep it moving. But how would be respond if those deaths were because they stood up to a gang, drug dealers or dirty politicians?Would we march the streets with a poster of their face and bury them as heroes? Would we celebrate their lives and the sacrifice they made? Have you noticed that Americans don’t throw around the word martyr nearly as much as they should. Not everyone’s life should be in vain.  I guess we are just too damn hard to impress. I do recall folks trying to call Tupac and Biggie martyrs. I wouldn’t go that far. We’ve become accustomed to death but senseless deaths. What about taking a bullet or blowing yourself up for something you believed in? Why aren’t more of us heroes in death?These questions came to me after witnessing the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, an Iranian woman shot down in the street by a sniper’s bullet. If it had not been for the blurry video clip (which has been broadcast all over the world) we wouldn’t have known her name. She would have been just another body in the death toll. Instead there is a massive viral movement springing from her death. It wasn’t her intention to die that day. Yet her death is now the example of just how dire the situations is in Iran. Once you put a face to a blood stain it becomes all the more real.For over a week Iranians have been protesting the outcome of the presidential election. Millions have risked their lives to take to the street and be heard knowing at any moment their government could order they be shot, gassed or arrested.In 2000 many Americans were in arms about the Bush vs. Gore election outcome. Yet we only bothered to protest from the comfort of our living room couches, cursing at the TV screen or with a lower head in disgust as we went to work the next day.When did we move from a country that walked out, went on strike, protested, rioted to silence?Seems like the only Americans still taking it to the streets and dying for what they believe in are gays and lesbians. The rest of us have tuned out, medicated by a world of TV, entertainment gossip and social networking. Oh, and for the record signing a petition online is not protesting! It’s a kind gesture but really you can do better than typing in your name for cause X and hitting submit.Neda’s death for something she believed in got me to thinking of martyrdom and the desperation for change a person must feel in order to lay their life on the line.When I hear the word martyr I think of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Joan of Arc–people whose lives were ended by an outside force because of what they believed in and fought to accomplish.Then you have martyrs who are celebrated for killing themselves and others–the “enemy”–by taking their own life.  Muslim suicide bombers are celebrated in their countries as martyrs fighting in the Jihad. Think of how much faith they must have to strap explosives to their bodies and detonate it with the hopes of being rewarded in the afterlife. I still marvel at Japan’s Kamikaze pilots who said f### it and just crashed their whole planes into U.S. military ships and aircrafts during World War II when it became clear they were losing the fight.We are faced with social injustices everyday in the U.S. How do you speak out? We march for a couple hours. Call up Al Sharpton and get him riled up. Hold candlelight vigils. Most times we simply do nothing. The X Fact(her) is a weekly column that appears on 99problems.org. Started on Inauguration Day 2009 by the League of Young Voter’s Education Fund, 99problems.org is a non-profit initiative that aims to keep young people engaged in the political process through activism and community involvement. Please visit 99problems.org to find out how you can get involved right now! For more on Chloé A. Hilliard visitwww.chloehilliard.com

“Could you riddle me this—you pay for the Range but take the Isuzu?/ You do if the music you coppin’ is doo-doo/ I got a bridge out in Brooklyn to sell to you/ ‘Cuz ya’ll cool with being bamboozled/” —Marco Polo & Torae (Feat. Saukrates & S-Roc), “Crashing Down,” Double Barrel, 2009. “We’re trapped, and moving round in circles, like it’s chap stick/ And that’s the same encircled way of thinking that we chat with/” —Lupe Fiasco Feat. Matthew Santos, “Shining Down,” Lazers, 2009.     To say much of what makes Hip-Hop headlines nowadays is distressing should constitute an understatement. Tales of stabbings, suicides, homicides, petty beefs, murder convictions, and other unremarkable incidents press out daily Hip-Hop news briefs. Rappers and their fans seem to care less about misrepresenting a culture that gave life to a generation, that redefined the worth of a people, that added a new note to musical history. In the name of keepin’ it real, foolishness goes unchallenged. More pernicious, I think, are the news sites that present these stories ad infinitum, refusing to hold accountable those artists whose behaviors reflect poorly not only on other artists but the Hip-Hop community at-large. In a sense, the rappers are giving a free pass, giving more exposure, and granted more access to exhibit their lack of home training. But rappers are hardly the culprits. Behind every one of them, are a set of corporations upon which they depend—for survival, publicity, recognition, etc. It’s worth noting that many of these corporations, which today take such great interest in Hip-Hop music, once derided it as uncouth and unfit—music-wise. Many of them only recently began to see the commercial value in Hip-Hop and, right on cue, set up shop in our communities to expunge as much revenue as possible from this multibillion dollar venture. As such, surprise should be out last reaction when they disrespect and degrade our artists. Corresponding incidents are abundant, such as Cleveland Rapper Kid Cudi being tasered, earlier this year, reportedly for wearing Nike sneakers at a Reebok event, and DJ legend Jazzy Jeff being kicked offstage, earlier this month, for playing Hip-Hop music at a club gig. Another sobering reminder of corporate America’s abusive relationship with Hip-Hop was highlighted when Detroit MC Invincible’s latest video single, “Ropes,” was accepted then rejected by MTV’s standards department. Why? “Suicidal Undertones” Any true Hip-Hop fan is aware of Invincible’s pedigree. She’s no lightweight. Very few Hip-Hop artists can manifest the ingenious degrees of wordplay and linguistic dexterity she so effortlessly wields. No doubt. Her debut classic, ShapeShifters, released last year, put to bed all cynics. In fact, none other than NY’s own Hip-Hop Queen, Jean Grae, described her in these elegant terms: “Invincible is a problem, always has been. Wonderfully humble, a humanitarian, an amazing and caring person just in general. All that and she’ll rip your mic to shreds and then set it on fire. … She’s a true lyricist.” Apparently, MTV thinks Jean Grae is wrong. Or maybe MTV simply sees Invincible—and her message—in accurate light—“a problem.” “Ropes” is a song featured on ShapeShifters, but just now getting the light of day it long deserved. In true Invincible fashion, it confronts the crisis of mental health and its effects on the younger generation—head-on. No holds are barred. In March 2009, mtvU, the “College Music, Activism, Shows and Activities On Campus” channel, accepted Ropes to be shown on its network. Soon after, however, Invincible was contacted, notified that it was rejected because, “Unfortunately the Standards Department decided on passing on the video, citing how its suicidal undertones would be problematic on the channel it was accepted for.” Invincible responded to the ice-melting logic of MTV in her special way. Speaking into a camera outside MTV’s headquarters, she said the following: Now, in my eyes, what I see [as] problematic, is that nobody wants to talk about this issue of mental health in our community. I mean, I’ve been affected by it, my family [has been affected by it], even some of my favorite Hip-Hop artists [as well]. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for people our age in this country. So, everybody knows somebody that’s been affected by it, even if it’s secondhand. Now, on that note, everybody knows it exists, but nobody wants to touch it with a ten-foot pole. So, I wrote this song to open up the conversation; I made this video to open up this dialogue…. How are we ever going to solve this issue, if no one wants to talk about it? Her minute-long homily would serve as the intro for “Ropes.” If MTV’s “activism” channel refused to accept a single by an activist who is actively campaigning against the tragic consequences of mental health neglect in the college-age community, how much less interested are other mainstream networks like MTV2, VH1, and BET likely to be? It’s hard to imagine that MTV has ever rejected a video for its “violent undertones,” or its “misogynistic undertones,” or its “materialistic undertones,” or its “homophobic undertones.” In truth, one need not imagine, for it’s never happened. More appalling, of course, is that if “Ropes” was written and performed by a commercial artist, say a 50 cent, Lil’ Wayne, Jay-Z, Drake, Young Jeezy or T..I., MTV’s response, and consequently the public’s, would have been quite different. I can already see the Grammy nods, the media blitzkrieg, the speaking events, lined-up to celebrate Hip-Hop’s interest in an issue so afflictive of the younger demographic. After all, suicide is ranked the third leading cause of death among those 15-24 years old. Better yet, this incident is further proof of a seismic shift in Hip-Hop consciousness within the last decade. It bespeaks of a generation engineered to respond more favorably to sneaker commercials than notions of agency, media literacy, and critical citizenship. MTV’s response is a microcosm of the terrible disaster media consolidation has wrought on Hip-Hop. In Ropes Feat. Tiombe Lockhart, Invincible makes it personal, […]

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Here’s a message to the Iranian Youth…Hip Hop is with you. We understand that what is going on in Iran is not about what America wants. We understand that this is not about the dictates of those who have a particular foreign policy agenda to push that at the end of the day may be calling for Iran to be destabilized. Hip Hop is with you above and beyond a rap song, a dope video or meaningless swagger. Hip Hop is with you beyond a slogan or a shout out. Hip Hop is with you beyond the ignorance of some of our artists who wanna brag about having ‘Arab Money’.  Hip Hop is with you by honoring the 5th Element-Knowledge. Hip Hop is with you in solidarity and hoping to uplift our collective humanity. We understand that what we’re seeing in Iran is a student movement, a women’s movement and other reform movements that have been simmering in Iran for some time. We can trace some of this back to 1999 when we here in the US were watching our own Presidential elections between George Bush and Al Gore which was tossed into dissarray  while students in Tehran University were out in the streets of Iran getting killed and student organizers were being snatched off the streets never to be seen again.  A few years ago I met students who had been jailed and beaten up by the Iranian government for protesting. They had a lot of heart. They were at a conference on censorship in Beirut in spite of knowing that their speaking out could get them serious trouble again. What were seeing our people who feel that there should be more personal freedoms, where women don’t have to cover up, be searched and beaten on the streets. What we’re seeing are folks who want to have more then just state run press.  Part of the fights that students were dealing with in ‘99 was the shutting down of a newspaper.  Most of us don’t even blink an eye when our own newspapers and radio stations are hijacked.  What we’re seeing don’t want to adhere to long standing traditions and they’re challenging long standing traditions which has been inspired by the Western education and understanding that many have received outside the country and from understanding the world is much smaller place. Before CNN started talking about Iran, many of us ignored or didn’t even know about the student & woman’s movements in Iran. We spent more time focused on the drama between 50 Cent & Rick Ross.From this day forward we’ve got to do better… Sadly most of us never pay attention to foreign affairs unless it shows up on CNN.  Hence when there were no lights cameras and action and Iranians were demanding certain changes most of us were concerning ourselves with 50 Cent vs. Rick Ross. Most of us were talking about Chris Brown vs. Rihanna. Do folks know any of the movement leaders?  Do we know the name of any of the student organizations?  Do any of know about the jail time that many have endured to speak out? Is this really about them backing the opposition candidate Mir Hussein Moussavi or is about stepping to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei? How many of us know the role the president plays in relationship between the Supreme leader? Let’s use this opportunity to embrace Hip Hop’s 5th element and do the knowledge.  Part of that knowledge means for us to start listening closely and resist framing the story so it fits our own limited parameters. When we say things like most of the people marching are middle-class what exactly does that mean? Is it the same thing as middle class here in the US? Are the people marching Muslim or Christian? Are they westernized or traditional? Is Iran a modernized country or does it fall into a stereotype where it’s underdeveloped with folks riding camels through a desert?  Folks better think again and note that in many regards we here in the US may actually be behind. I said this in my last essay-Are the Protests in Iran Real or a CIA backed Exercise? this is much bigger than the two leaders. They happen to be stepping stones and stops along the way to something much larger and much more deeply felt.  How about this folks… if we’re gonna wear Green in solidarity with the Iranian people and their struggle, how about stepping our personal game up? If we’re gonna wear Green and say we want change how about committing ourselves to stay up on foreign news long after CNN stops covering this? How about making Iran, Darfur, Congo and Haiti which just experienced a horrific blood bath two days ago between funeral marchers and UN Peacekeepers, be a topics we tweet about and comment on via Facebook? Can we make a promise amongst ourselves to educate ourselves each day on a variety of foreign issues? If we can’t do this at the very least take down our Green avatars and stop bullshitting ourselves and disrespecting the people who are out on those streets not just in Iran but all over the world really risking getting their heads cracked. There’s no excuse for Iranian people to know more about President Obama’s policies then we do and they live in Iran. If we’re gonna wear Green, let’s not do this part time. Let’s not be casual trendy observers. This struggle in Iran is not going to be over and neatly wrap up at a particular time and date like a television show. It’s gonna be on going.  If we’re gonna wear Green to show solidarity, how about taking it a step further & educating ourselves on US Foreign policy-For example, what’s the real motivation behind Senator John McCain and the GOP in condemning Iranian leaders? Is it really to support the student & women’s movement or to merely use them? If we want change in Iran let that change be right here at home. If we want to […]

The Loots was launched in 2006 by Aaron Whatton and Lee Wilkie.  <BR. The duo once worked for Mark Ecko Enterprises and designed for brands like Akademiks, Mecca, and Stash House. Using various pop culture references, the New York based brand boasts bold tees jackets, hats and more. The Loots is also an international hit, especially in Asian countries like Japan and Hong Kong. Like Butter Tee by The Loots Kiki recently visited The Loots showroom and got a sneak peak of their upcoming collection, as well as an exclusive interview with co-founder Lee Wilkie. Check out the interview below where Lee discusses the meaning behind The Loots’ name, provides advice for budding designers and more. DrJays.com’s Kiki and EMitts with The Loots’ Lee Wilkie AllHipHop.com: What’s is the meaning behind the name of your brand, “The Loots”? Lee: The name “The Loots” stems from it’s literal definition which is anything taken by deception or a collection of valuable objects. AllHipHop.com: On your site, it mentions that you draw inspiration from various musicians, painters and more. Who are some of the most influential artists to you? Lee: We collectively have a very broad range of artists that inspire us, but definitely Ralph Lauren, our friends at Wu-Tang, Frank Lloyd Wright, The Cohen Brothers, Will Ferrell, The Neptunes…the list goes on. AllHipHop.com:  How is the brand persevering in this economy? Lee: We are making more specific items that move even when people can’t spend like the used to. Tees are always a staple, and we’re focusing on accessories like hats and belts. AllHipHop.com: What do you think differentiates The Loots from the many other streetwear brands out there now and coming up? Lee: Well we are a lifestyle inspired brand that truly reflect the essence of what we do. We digest all the cultural moves and trends we see and use them to make relevant and innovative pieces that make people say “Damn!”. We also make music and art with some of the world’s most interesting people, which contributes highly to our swag! AllHipHop.com: Any tips for kids who are interested in starting their own clothing line? Lee: Yeah, wait a few years before you go starting the next BAPE out of your mom’s pantry. A lot of the big dogs in the industry are falling hard so it’s evening out the playing field for newcomers. But as far as starting anything new, I would seriously wait and see who is still around when the smoke clears to get an idea of what products are going to work. AllHipHop.com: Any new exciting news, events or collaborations coming up? Lee: We are constantly blessing artists like Cam’ron, Fabolous, The GS Boys, The Pack, Prodigy, and more for up coming videos and interviews. We also have a new collab with New Era for our Fall 09’ collection, as well as a headphone collab with Aerial 7. Prodigy in The Loots AllHipHop.com:  What is the concept behind your spring 09 collection? Lee: Our spring/summer collection is loosely based on vintage sports and movies from the 80s and 90s. The subject matter is sprinkled with everything from toys to Spike Lee movies. Stay tuned for new gear from The Loots, and check out some of the goods currently in stock on DrJays.com:   MJ Tee by The Loots Hover Tee (Glow in the Dark) by The Loots The Good Kush Tee by The Loots

“You know what’s my true love? THAT N***A S**T” -Big Pun The late Big Pun is a great artist that had one song that has bothered me for years. The song was simply titled “N***a S**t.” I was just unsettling to me that a Puerto Rican rapper with such respect for the game would extol “n***a s**t” as his true love, especially with all that there is to like about Black people. Then I thought about it and realized that…everybody seems to love that “n***a s**t.” How do I know this? Just look at the headlines – “Young Jeezy Not Stabbed; 3 Others Were At Party With Ludacris, Estelle, JD.” Well, at a party with such a wealth of talent and actual wealth, why would three people be stabbed up in the V.I.P. section? If they are a V.I.P., why are they stabbing people? That’s that “n***g s**t.” We talk about how we hate it, but we secretly want to see some real good, juicy, ignorant “n***a s**t” to go down to give us all a reason to shake our heads side to side in utter shame. We need something to converse, right? I do it to from time to time. But, here is the problem. That “n***a s**t” is fare too often synonymous with Hip-Hop music and culture. God bless the dead, but Dolla’s slaying – however tragic – was not because he was a rapper. It was over some “n***a s**t” as far as I can tell from the reports. AllHipHop.com and other media report on these incidents, but outsiders take these write-ups as a factual statement about the Hip-Hop Nation. (Like, Bill Clinton getting his d**k sucked in the White House wasn’t deemed political s**t, was it?) We, as a community, don’t help matters. There just doesn’t seem to be any expulsion policy in Hip-Hop (unless you snitch). But, foolishness seems to be rewarded. You can really come up off of “n***a s**t” these days. MC Hammer has a reality show that’s catching a bit of flack for not having enough drama. What they mean is “Hammer, we would like more ‘n***a s**t’ if you don’t mind.” Diddy’s “Making The Band” series gave us plenty “n***a s**t” and so have others like shows from Flavor Flav and Keyshia Cole. (No shots to Diddy, Keyshia or Flav. To the credit of Rev. Run, he’s made a franchise off showing some functional familial interactions.) So-called “n***a s**t” is nothing exclusive to Black people and crude, uncouth behavior exists in all races color and creeds. It’s also not a wholly Hip-Hop phenomenon. We don’t have a name for boorish White people called “Honkie s**t” or complimentary insults for Asians called “ch**k s**t.” “I love mayonnaise sandwiches, yo! That’s that ‘Honkie s**t, son.” SMH. Finally, this opinion pieces is no disrespect to Big Pun, because everybody loves that “n***as s**t.” I just wish they loved Hip-Hop and Black people just the same. (One love to Big Pun. Please don’t make it seem like there is anything but love for the late, great Christopher Rios. R.I.P. to Dolla.) PS: Here is some really good “n***a s**t” I just saw in the rumors section: video platform video management video solutions free video player Good Guy aka Everyman is a columnist on AllHipHop.com and his columns appear every Thursday or when he sends them over. Of course his views are not necessarily that of AllHipHop.com.

Marlon Raichel is the Founder/CEO of Sneaktip, one of the hottest emerging brands on AllHipHop.com’s partner site DrJays.com. A Coney Island, Brooklyn native, Marlon’s lifelong involvement in sneaker culture saw him spend the majority of his time (and money) searching New York City and beyond for the freshest kicks. He turned this passion into a lucrative business with Sneaktip, which began a few years back with a successful run of t-shirts. They’re now about to launch their exciting cut & sew collection for Fall 2009 (including jackets, pants and more), hitting DrJays.com in September. video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsfree video player 99 Problems Tee by Sneaktip (worn by rapper Nipsey Hussle) J Father Retro 5 Raging Bull Tee by Sneaktip Don’t Hate The Player Tee by Sneaktip

Straight up, I propose that Hip-Hop adopt a universal Emcee or Rapper’s License that consists of a series of tests that a rapper must pass to enter this thing we have created. Why? For just about every job, you need to fulfill certain requirements to become a master of that trade or to practice professionally. For example, to be a doctor or lawyer, you must go through extensive schooling, college and other higher education. Doctors don’t want some fool in the operating room and patients don’t want to be sliced by an amateur! To drive an 18-wheel truck, you cannot just jump in the seat of the big rig. Who wants a guy that drives a Jetta to suddenly switch to a Mack Truck? Even basic things like flipping burgers, require a period of training. Hip-Hip is most compared to sport, because of the fierce level of competition. I remember how Kimbo Slice was treated when he walked off the Florida streets as a ‘hood legend into the sport of professional Mixed Martial Arts. He had raw talent, but he wasn’t quite ready for the big time. (He’s training for the UFC now, but had to go back to basics after a terrible KO loss.) I feel like a lot of rappers are like Kimbo Slice, only most are less talented. They need training to be emcees and we need to collectively lobby for this new Emcee/ Rapper’s License for all artists claiming to be artists. Now, this isn’t some old head, purist jibber jabber. Nor is this some backdoor way  to discriminate against a particular region of rap. Everybody would be judged in their own area, by their criteria. This is simply a theory for quality control in Hip-Hop. Everybody gets better with my proposal. Sports figures like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Julius “Dr. J” Irving practiced hours and hours and hours before and after they stepped on the court as professional ball players. How well would they fare if they didn’t put in so much work before the game? They would fare about the same as most of you rappers floundering around the internet trying to get “on.” It would also keep very person with some money from strolling up in the game and stinking it up. It would seem that people forget that there are some universal principles to success that don’t change even though the times do. The universal Rapper’s License would force people to adhere to rules and set standards. It would keep “unsafe drivers” off the road. If your stage show is weak, you fail and must go back and step it up. If your flow is trash and your “teacher” doesn’t think you are ready, you must return to the basement (or wherever you practice). Get it right! When your baby sister beats you in a rap battle your license may get flagged as somebody forbidden to freestyle. Only after you pass the series of tests and read certain texts can you be allowed to rap professionally. Here is a confession. I failed the written part of my driver’s exam. I failed again. I finally buckled down and studied and was permitted to drive. Since then, I’ve never had an accident to this day (Knock on wood), because of the skills my dad showed me on the road, and the stuff I learned in driver’s ed. The point is, most music genres require you to have a number of skill sets to be accepted. Even though Britney Spears can’t sing, her stage show is reportedly crazy. She knows better than to bust out an acapella like Aretha. Lenny Kravitz was heavily criticized, but he can play that guitar. He went through the fire and came out on top, some 20 years later. The same applies to the greats of rap. Those that established a rock solid base are still here decades later. We need that universal Rapper’s License asap. Until then, here are some tips for your aspiring rap artists. I also recommend you study the other elements of Hip-Hop like Graffiti, B-boying, DJ’ing and even peripheral elements like fashion and beat boxing. 1) Practice over and over and over and over. I recommend practicing at least one year intensely before even doing so much as a talent show. 2) Learn how to perform in front of a crowd. KRS-One and Busta Rhymes are two of the best live stage show and they will always have an audience because of it. A lot of other great rappers don’t have any more streams of revenue, because they are wack in concert. 3) Have a good team. I don’t mean your “mans” either. I mean have a strong team of diverse, skilled individuals that can market/sell/promote your product once it gets to that level of quality. 4) Know the in’s and out’s of technology. Just because you now can get on youtube and spit doesn’t mean you should. Protect your image, because your career depends on it. Learn how technology can work for and against you. 5) Know your history. Like I said, this isn’t some purist rant. But, to know the past is to learn from it. Rappers of old have made strides and mistakes. It would be good to know this. Mike Tyson didn’t just pop up and turn into a champion boxer, he used techniques from everybody – Ali to Liston. Chuck Creekmur is the founder of AllHipHop.com, a cultural critic, public speaker and has a really bad messiah complex.

Editor’s shameless plug: Follow AllHipHop.com at http://twitter.com/allhiphopcomForget CNN, Fox News or even BBC. People are turning to Twitter to find out what is going on in Iran. Since the June 12th presidential elections resulted in what many consider to be the rigged re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, citizens of Iran have taken to the streets and most importantly the internet to seek justice. The use of social media has had such an impact that Youtube and Twitter are taking great steps to assure that folks reporting from Iran are spotlighted. Twitter pushed back a scheduled maintenance update that would have shut the site down for one hour until the wee ours of Iran’s Wednesday morning (2pm Pacific time here). Perhaps more impressive than Iranians use of the web to capture their frustration with the system is what they are accomplishing during this movement without social media. Text messaging and cell phone service has been shut down by the government since Election Day. Internet access is touch and go. Still, without the technological luxuries that we can’t live without, an estimated 1 million supporters of Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi rallied Monday. The world watches, intrigued by the many possible outcomes of the civil unrest. We hear from the people there, we see their anger and sorrow. We applaud their courage. Still, there isn’t much the world outside of Iran can do to rectify the situation. This isn’t a problem that American can step in and mediate. Our comments on videos showing the police beating non-violent protestors will do nothing to stop future attacks. Nonetheless, we are glued to the action for several reasons. As Americans we are puzzled by the idea that an election can be outright corrupt. Sure we had our first real taste of an Election Day C-O-N-spiracy in 2000 and the suspect ballot counting in Florida. The drama of Bush vs Gore had America holding its breathe. Now imagine if every election was like that. On election day, you’d be beaten on your way to vote by henchmen hired to keep you away from the polls. How would you react if you were told upon arriving to vote that there were no more ballots and to go home? Not to say this doesn’t happen here, but not on the level it happens elsewhere. The power of the vote is what some Iranians was hoping would swift their country into the modern era. Presidential hopeful and main objector to the election’s outcome,Mir Hossein Mousavi ran on the platform of more personal freedom for citizens and women’s rights. President Ahmadinejad’s four year reign has resulted in loads of controversy from his disdain for America to Iran’s nuclear weapon program and his push for more Islamic state. Can the outpouring of protest lead to a reversal in Iran’s election results, or at least a recount? Would this even be a topic of conversation if it had not been for the people of Iran taking to the internet to be heard? The news in Iran is government controlled so any news of unrest, protest, deaths, etc would’ve been swept under the rug. What if Twitter and social media had been around during other closely watched but not fully covered from the ground events? Would JFKs killer been found, twitpic’d as he ran from the grassy knoll? Would Rosa Park tweeted “I’m not getting up” before she was removed by police? What video clips would have come out of Vietnam, South Africa, the 1965 Watts riots? What we are witnessing is historical. Powerful world events are no longer lost in the fine print of newspapers or collecting dust in textbooks. They were watchable on cell phones, interactive on live feeds and in message boards. No other time has the saying “power to the people” rang so true. Regardless of whether the ballots are recounted and a new president is elected in Iran the events that have transpired, the ground swell of unity and defiance of a corrupt system is enough to encourage oppressed people everywhere. And people said you couldn’t change the world with 140 characters or less. – CHThe X Fact(her) is a weekly column that appears on 99problems.org. Started on Inauguration Day 2009 by the League of Young Voter’s Education Fund, 99problems.org is a non-profit initiative that aims to keep young people engaged in the political process through activism and community involvement. Please visit 99problems.org to find out how you can get involved right now! For more on Chloé A. Hilliard visitwww.chloehilliard.com

Most of the time you hear Chris Brown’s name lately, it’s still in regards to his drama involving ex-girlfriend Rihanna. Chris Brown But we would like to take a quick breather from that situation and ask you what you think of his style game. DiscussionsView Results   Most recently at Pleasure P’s album release party, wearing a G-shock watch. Speaking of Rihanna, it seems like they both own their style now versus when they first came out on the scene.   Breezy a few years back Their looks got a lot edgier – Rihanna with her wild black hair and haute couture wardrobe, and Chris with his many tattoos, recent mohawk hairdo, etc. He’s obviously into skate/street wear, being spotted in brands like Sabit and Money Clothing.   He cleans up when it comes to court dates and red carpet time, usually wearing suits with personality.      Images: Bossip

“F**k College; I’m about street knowledge,” a friend once said to me. I smiled, nodding approvingly, before adding: “I feel you, man..” We exchanged daps, unifying our indifference to higher education.. Soon after, the conversation dissolved into something less meaningful. That was two years ago, at a lunch table. Today, things have considerably changed. While I still hold certain conspiratorial views concerning the influx of big businesses into the College field, I hesitate to discard the progressive possibilities of a College education. For instance, conspiratorially speaking, I find it interesting that the Pell Grant, which many students believe to be government subsidies, are really financed by the high interest made from the same student loans they are being taxed at draconian rates—talk to me Sallie Mae!—for.  I might also have a problem with the increasing levels of racial segregation and class exclusion used to determine student enrollment; but I’m not yet resolved to bashing everything College-related.    In spite of my mild change of heart, reconciling the promises with the realities of College is a task I find daunting. We often hear of the goodness of a College education—“it will set you on the path to achieving your dreams”—but anyone aware of the great costs most Universities demand, and the lackluster values they promote, should understand why many Black and Brown students might share similar viewpoints.     Renowned educators Henry Giroux and Susan Giroux tackled, with great success, this contention in their seminal text, “Take Back Higher Education.” “Since their appearance in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, American colleges followed the traditions established by Oxford, Cambridge, and the continental universities in the preparation of their overwhelmingly white male student body for law, ministry, medicine, and politics.” [Giroux, Henry; Giroux, Susan. Take Back Higher Education: Race, Youth, and the Crisis of Democracy in the Post-Civil Rights Era. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004 (1st ed.), p. 144.] In “A Crisis of Affordability: How Our Public Colleges Are Turning into Gated Communities for the Wealthy” (Alternet, April 2009), Investigative Reporter, Andy Kroll, writes about the growing disparities in College affordability for Black and Brown students. He speaks of the drastic increase in tuition, nationally, as intentional. Big businesses, Andy argues, have no problem aiding and abetting the rich in reaching their goals of transforming Colleges into educational “gated communities”—reserved only for the privileged, elite, and powerful.     A great question was once asked: If there’s such a thing as “under-privileged,” why not, in like manner, “over-privileged?” The answer: Because those within the culture of power can’t afford the risk of being branded greedy—even though that’s essentially what they are. Kroll justifies his contention with some grim statistics. Utilizing data issued by The Education Trust, he writes: [S]tate flagship universities and a group of other major research universities spent $257 million in 2003 on financial aid for students from families earning more than $100,000 a year. Those same universities spent only $171 million on aid to students from families who made less than $20,000 a year. Similarly, between 1995 and 2003, according to the report, grant aid from the same public universities to students from families making $80,000 or more increased 533%, while grant aid to families making less than $40,000 increased only 120%. At this, only a fool, or a greedy capitalist, would fail to connect the dots: There is an ongoing drive to strip low-income families, disproportionately Black and Brown, of the privileges a College education provides. These students are asked to rely on street knowledge, told to depend on the underground economy of drug paraphernalia, and expected to end up serving life sentences in the lower bunk of a prison cell. That’s the live designed, and set up, for them. And still, we—society—see no wrong in blaming them for falling into traps created before they could recite correctly the alphabets.     Anyone familiar with the prison system can attest that in no other places are there more geniuses, scholars, and orators than the penitentiaries. Many of them, lacking a High school diploma, go on to earn College credits while incarcerated—a testament to their intellectual discipline. They are the victims of capitalism let loose, run amok, and operated unchecked.   Of course, in any dialogue concerning the merits and benefits of a College degree, the impact of the current economic crisis must be addressed. With unemployment skyrocketing in communities of color, students with Bachelor’s can often be found working shifts at Burger King, with those earning their Master’s managing at McDonald’s, and even Ph.D.s confirming your Papa John’s Pineapple Pizza order. This analysis isn’t meant to disparage the good that some Colleges do; rather, it is constructed to surrender a wake-up call to those whose hopes and dreams are forever invested in the piece of paper received after years of endless study in University libraries—an exercise only yielding disappointment in the long-run.     Depending on academic certification over intellectual exploration is a recipe for failure. There are no other ways to put it. The gifts of intellectual curiosity, critical reflection, self examination (introspection), and independent reasoning that start at the moment of conception (some medical scientists believe it comes long before that—when a fetus first hears the heartbeat of the mother), can provide far better guidance than a school curriculum, no matter how progressive, is able to.      The high costs of higher education nowadays should irrefutably validate this assertion. Colleges now charge students for just about anything—printing papers used for assignments given by Professors (employees of the school!)—without any moral justification.  The great 19th century scholar Henry David Thoreau addressed this crisis in more provoking terms: I cannot but think that if only we had more true wisdom in these respects, not only less education would be needed, because, forsooth, more would already have been acquired, but the pecuniary expense of getting education would in a great measure vanish. … Those things for which the most money is demanded are never the things which the student most wants. [Thoreau, Henry David. […]

Marion “Pooch” Hall is best known for his role on the recently canceled TV show, The Game. He played Derwin Davis, a rookie for the fictional San Diego Sabers and boyfriend of Melanie Barnett (Tia Mowry).The Game became the number one comedy on the network in its second season, having three million viewers. It was listed in the Top 10 TV programs among African Americans by Nielson Media Research in 2008. Pooch Hall and Tia Mowry on set As the network moved its focus to hour-long shows like 90201 and Gossip Girl, The Game was canceled after three seasons to the disappointment of many loyal fans. Cast of The Game Although Pooch’s popularity peaked with The Game, the 33 year-old actor began his career in New York over 10 years ago with a small role in the feature film, Lift. He has since starred in films like Blind Guy with Jane Seymour and Steve Tobolowsky, Hood of Horror with Snoop Doog and Jason Alexander and more. Currently living in L.A., Pooch was born and raised in Massachusetts where he played football, ran track and boxed. He won the Southern New England Golden Gloves in 1994. We recently asked Pooch how he’s dealing with the cancellation of The Game and also found out about his style game, including what makes a woman’s style stand out from the rest. Check it out: AllHipHop.com: Is your personal style similar to what we’ve seen on Derwin? Pooch: Kind of. Derwin started off basic on the show, like jeans, t-shirt and Timbs. I like dressing like that sometimes because it shows that you’re not trying to stand out, you’re not afraid to be plain, which can sometimes come off as sexy. As my character got his endorsement deals and started making money, his style got a little more edgy and advanced. I started to incorporate a lot of the stuff I wore on set in my regular life. AllHipHop.com:Tell us three essential pieces that you have, or plan on having in your closet this summer? Pooch: I’d say a pair of True Religion jeans, pair of retro Jordans and a white Members Only jacket (see below) Nylon Jacket by Members Only Rainbow Billy Bootcut by True Religion AllHipHop.com:  You have many female fans; can you give them a couple of tips on how they can stand out from the rest? Pooch: Don’t try too hard. If something is meant to be, it will happen. Girls should wear classy clothes that compliment their body type and complexion. Pay attention to colors, certain ones can make your complexion pop. With that being said, when you look in the mirror and like what you see, it gives you confidence to go out and own whoever and whatever! AllHipHop.com: You’ve described working on The Game as going ‘to the playground every day’, referring to the comfortable relationships you had with your costars. Is it scary to get out of that zone now that the show is canceled, and are you afraid you may not find that chemistry again with costars? Pooch: It is scary. I’m not going to bullsh*t you; we had a beautiful thing on The Game, it was family. But that’s life. I love life and to be able to do something you love and get paid for it? That’s a dream come true. I’m a positive person, I believe in putting out good energy and treating people with respect. And love is an important key to life and success. You get what you give. I take that with me in life and to the next project as well. AllHipHop.com: Were you surprised about the show coming to an end? How are you handling it? Pooch: I was surprised at first but my agent said ‘that’s showbiz’. During the three seasons we did on The Game, I made a name for myself where people in and out of the industry know me. I recently did a movie for Spike TV, played Chrisette Michele’s love interest in her new video and have met with three major producers. The next move is important, I’m looking over movie scripts now and weighing my options.” AllHipHop.com: There was a post on ConcreteLoop.com where the writer was obviously angry about the fact that The Game was canceled, stating “I guess picking up Tyra’s show (American’s Next Top Model ) meets [CW’s] black quota for the season”. What are your thoughts on this? Pooch: It is what it is…I support The CW. They allowed me to have a network home for three years. I mean some shows don’t make it past 12, sometimes six episodes. We did three strong seasons – that’s huge. You can’t concern yourself with what the higher ups think or do. You as an actor still have a job to do for the network and the fans. Every day was a blast. No complaints whatsoever. Thanks again to everyone there! AllHipHop.com:  What are some of your future goals and plans when it comes to your acting career, both short and long term?  Pooch: I’m chasing a career similar to Will Smith and Heath Ledger (R.I.P.). I see myself doing the things they do and did. That’s my long term goal. As for short term? I want to get better every day at life and continue meeting beautiful people. I love learning because I know its going to help me be a better person as well as an actor.   AllHipHop.com: You’ve mentioned your personality is very similar to Derwin’s. Do you feel more comfortable playing roles similar to your own character or do you prefer challenges that take you completely out of your character? Pooch: Great question. Derwin and I are similar in a lot of ways. We’re both athletes and both good guys trying to the right thing, but we mess up occasionally. We aren’t perfect, we as people mess up all the time. It’s about learning from your mistakes. I’m building as an actor, so I love being challenged. I welcome all sizes, shapes and colors […]

“Bill Gates don’t dangle diamonds in the face of peasants when he’s Microsofting in the place” -Andre 3000 on “Red Velvet” by Outkast I’ve seen some clownish, buffoonish activity in my day, but T-Pain just took the cake, ate the cake and sh***ed the cake all over the internet earlier this week. OutKast recorded a song called “Red Velvet,” where the legendary group chastised the Hip-Hop baller that blings a bit too much in hard times. T-Pain recently took to the stage a concert with a pendant that said, “BIG ASS CHAIN.” Mind you, the chain that held the big a** pendant was actually pretty small, but that’s beside the point. I have to ponder what he was thinking when he bought it. He offered the following insight: “10lbs. 197kts. Very very real I don’t know what fake feel like.$410,000. Hola señor recession proof. With 32 cars.Oldest child 5 and already got 4 million in her own account.I dont do dumb s**t like this till I know the fams good. So don’t judge me frm what I buy.Judge me frm what I do.Cuz it’s so many artists that put themself before their family.but thanx yo.” – T-Pain I have to disagree with him, except with the part about it being “dumb s**t.” At least he knows! JUST because you are rich doesn’t excuse you from irresponsible behavior as a citizen. Sure, T-Pain is fully allowed to do whatever he wants with his money. I REPEAT T-Pain is allowed to do with his money however he so pleases! But does that mean we have to accept it as a societal norm or something we strive to do? No. We are in a recession and everybody I know is feeling a steady pinch from the economy. Furthermore, it is actions such as this that have gotten Americas in this current quandary – reckless, thoughtless spending. Those that don’t have it are doing everything to get by. Those that do have should have some sort of innate desire to help those that don’t, even if it’s a minor gesture like Diddy shunning ice in these trying times. T-Pain could have change lives with that money -that $410.000 – which was spent on the silliest object ever. A chain. Oh never mind the notion that people died over the creation of such a gaudy piece of junk. Never mind the fact that it is something straight out of a CB4 parody. Never mind the fact that, in this writer’s opinion, the big a** things is just corny! Imagine, if you can, T-Pain dividing that 410k and giving it to needy college students. Or inner city schools in need of an after school program. What about families where one or both parents has been laid off. How about a self-serving business in the hood that mploys people and also put money back in T-Pain’s pocket? Wake up. Pain gave over 410k to a jeweler for a chain, which is highly likely not worth the purchase price. Again that’s his prerogative as a seemingly grown a** man. I suppose, I take objection to the message it sends to all, regardless of race, creed age or background. It seems that we remain hung up on the same, old foolishness. It seems like people, often times Black men, feel compelled – almost possessed – to demonstrate their value or worth through external adornment. “Hey look at me, I’m worth more than all of you, f***kers! I have bigger, shinier stuff around my neck.” And whether or not this hunk of junk is real or not, there’s going to be some wanna-be MC father of 3 in the ‘hood or ‘burbs that is going to emulate T-Pain. This is the same dude that has 30-inch rims, as his kids need a better education or vitals for survival. There have been a number of T-Pain activity going on in Hip-Hop and it just gets worse when the peasant rise up. The chain snatchers got Yung Berg in Detroit and took his colorful Transformer chain on a world tour. They got 50 Cent on stage at a concert in Africa. They jacked Sean Kingston when some fool sent his jewels through the mail. And the stories go on and on. Oh, remember when T-Pain himself got his chain snatched a few years ago. People are starving out here and they no longer have the same love and respect for their artists. “Keep bragging.” -Ad lib on OutKast song. I don’t know about the rest of the readers, but I feel disrespected as a member of Hip-Hop right now. I don’t hate T-Pain, but I certainly wish he had thought a lil’ more about the type of energy he puts out in the world. Hell, I know his kids are straight, but why not keep them “straighter” instead of foolishly spending huge sums of money on a “big a** chain pendant.” I don’t hate the guy, I just want to see him do better, as most of us strive to do. Is that too much to ask? Probably, yo. I wish I had all the money T-Pain had. I’d probably do some stupid s**t like try to save the world. Good Guy aka Every Man is a columnist on AllHipHop.com and his columns appear every Thursday or when he sends them over. Of course his views are not necessarily that of AllHipHop.com, but secretly wish we had a big chain.

Created by 26 year-old Leah McSweeney, Married to the Mob is a cutting-edge streetwear line for women. Kid Sister in the Lady Miss Cardigan by Married to the Mob As stated on Married to the Mob’s official website, the line is a tribute to the MOB, “‘The Most Official B######’ who through the ups and downs and highs and lows never failed to have Leah’s back.”   “Design inspiration for the label is literally up from the streets of New York and its clubs, secret hang-out spots and smoke-filled parties, making MOB equal parts chic, smart-mouthed, and definitely not-to-be-messed with.” Leah’s funding for MOB came in a very unusual way. In 2005, a year after Leah started the line, she got into an altercation with a male police officer in NYC. The officer beat her so bad, she was left with a broken tooth and black eye. Leah took it to court, won the settlement, and invested the money into Married to the Mob. She eventually designed a tee that featured her mug shots on it. MOB is now flourishing with a full collection of tees, denim, knits and more, while Leah has become well known as a true NYC hustler. Leah McSweeney Beyond her business success, she is also a mother to baby girl Kier who just turned 2 years-old. MOB has successfully collaborated with Reekbok, Nike and other brands, creating exclusive gear that flew off shelves. Limited Edition MOB x Reebok x Colette sneakers sold out instantly when released in Summer 08 DrJays.com’s Boss Lady interviewed Leah in Married to the Mob’s NYC showroom, touching on everything from Leah’s violent life-changing altercation with a cop to the concept behind the edgy brand: video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsfree video player Look out for an exciting contest with the brand coming soon, and get your MOB gear on DrJays.com: Shiny Kiss Hoodie by Married to the Mob 24th Street Jean by Married to the Mob 1982 Crew by Married to the Mob

Everyone wants to be a journalist but very few know what the real job of a journalist is. It’s not about two hour lunches, corner offices or red carpet events. Calling yourself a journalist isn’t all about entertainment journalism or blogging about your favorite rapper. Journalism is a thankless job. You will not make millions, no one really knows your name nor will they value your work. Everyday around the globe a journalist is killed, kidnapped, tortured or exiled for doing their job. Right now, two American journalists are sitting in a North Korean prison, sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for of all things, crossing the into the country’s border with on assignment. Laura Ling and Euna Lee work for former Vice President Al Gore’s San Francisco-based Current TV media venture. North Korean guards arrested Ling and Lee near the China-North Korean border on March 17. The two were reporting about the trafficking of North Korean women at the time of their arrest, and it’s unclear if they strayed into the North or were grabbed by aggressive border guards who crossed into China. A cameraman and their local guide escaped. Details of their arrest are sketchy since the media of North Korea is government controlled. Monday, after a five day trial the two women were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for “hostility toward the Korean people.” You may be thinking, 12 years for that? In order to understand the absurdity of North Korea’s verdict, you need to understand the country that is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Following War World II, Korea was split into two occupied zones. The north was occupied by the Soviet Union. The South as occupied by America. In 1950 the two sides began a war for total control of the region resulting in the Korean War. Three years later a truce was drawn but on May 26, 2009 North Korea withdrew from the truce. North Korea is a loose canon. It is a communist dictatorship masked as a democratic state. It’s current leader is Kim Jong-il, the son of the country’s one and only president Kim Il–Sung who passed away in 1994 but was proclaimed the “Eternal President”. Freedom of expression is outlawed in North Korea including culture, religion or speech. Anyone who speaks out against Jong-il and the government is swiftly imprisoned and never heard of again. Here’s an interesting look at life in North Korea: Some are hinting that the imprisonment of Ling and Lee isn’t just about the ladies crossing a border. It’s no secret that Americans in foreign land are highly prized chess pieces. Usually, American politicians go over and mash out a deal to release the Americans or get a lighter punishment. There’s no word on who, if anyone, President Obama plans to send over and work thing out. The Taliban has captured Americans in an attempt to get people released from Guantanamo Bay. Earlier this year Somali pirates held and American captain ransom. There is a possibility that Ling and Lee’s sentence was so severe in a passive aggressive attempt to stick it to South Korea and its ally the United States, which are pushing for U.N. sanctions to punish North Korea for its latest nuclear blast and barrage of missile tests. In case you didn’t know, North Korea hates America and all countries that associate with us. For years, they’ve been illegally building nuclear weapons and recently started testing them. By hell or high water, North Korea’s goal is to become a dominate world power. Political ploy aside, should these two women who were doing a job they love have to suffer for this? Would you want to be a journalist if it meant every story you covered lead to your possible death or arrest? Would you rush to the comments section of your favorite website if you know your views would be held against you by the government? Well, the growing popularity of citizen journalism and blogs in oppressed countries is resulting in just that. Journalists needs to receive the same respect as a firefighter, solider, cop, doctor. A journalist has the ability to saves lives, make change, heal wounds. Dare I say it, being a journalist, a real journalist is one of the hardest jobs in the world. – CH The X Fact(her) is a weekly column that appears on 99problems.org. Started on Inauguration Day 2009 by the League of Young Voter’s Education Fund, 99problems.org is a non-profit initiative that aims to keep young people engaged in the political process through activism and community involvement. Please visit 99problems.org to find out how you can get involved right now! For more on Chloé A. Hilliard visitwww.chloehilliard.com 

Rocksmith Tokyo is Japanese street couture blended with New York City swagger.  The brand launched with The Lifestyle Entertainment Company in 2002, on the Tokyo club circuit. Rocksmith has since partnered up with the NYC based Kilo International to take it worldwide. Jay-Z in the Notorious 81 Tee by Rocksmith   AllHipHop.com recently got a chance to find out more about Rocksmith through an interview Erik Marino, a partner in the company – check it out below. AllHipHop: – Rocksmith originated as a streetwear brand in Tokyo, Japan. Japanese streetwear can sometimes be very “out there” compared to more the more conservative American style – what do you think helped Rocksmith translate to the U.S. with such success? Erik – Being a music/lifestyle driven collection relates to like minded individuals. The brand is not held to national borders because the design mimics the rebellion of a subculture. Technology made it possible. In the same way that it spread music worldwide, it spread Rocksmith. It also helps that half of our team is based in NYC. Diddy having a good time in his Rocksmith tee AllHipHop:- Can you give us a sneak peek into the Fall 2009 collection? What are some of the concepts behind it? Erik – This fall is titled “Flashback to the Future.” We draw inspiration from the primary colors and mood of the 90s but present it in a futuristic manner. We had fun with this delivery. We holed up in the design studio, cranked the “Funk Flex 90s mix”, drank mad Redbull and went in. The graphics are straight conversation starters. Our goal is to make the clothing that will get the ladies to comment. Then you’re in, game begin. Call us matchmakers. AllHipHop:- What are some of the most exciting and successful collaborations you’ve done up to this point? Do you have any coming up? Erik – In the past we have collaborated with many of our friend brands like Undercrown, Masterpeice, Swagger and Crooks & Castles, primarily because it was fun.We did a tee collaboration with The Source Magazine as well, this sick Eazy-E stained glass window design that David Banner rocked in a video. Last week we dropped a two tshirt set collabo with Black Star (yup, Mos Def and Talib Kweli) to commemorate their reunion concert on May 30th. We have a few things cooking with Manhattan Portage, Salomon Snowboards and some more music related stuff. AllHipHop:- In a time where the economy is in a rough state, how is Rocksmith coping in the U.S.? Being worldwide, where is the brand most popular? Erik – In the U.S. we are doing good. Rocksmith is about the party, the good vibe, and that’s what people want to feel right now. We keep the brand select and the items limited so people know that they will be unique in our clothing. If we were a super corporate company I’m sure the economy would be hurting us more than it is. Japan and USA are where Rocksmith is most popular but the brand has serious momentum in Europe right now. AllHipHop:- Tell us about your new premium denim line. Erik – The denim we are dropping this delivery is next level with some experimental concepts mixed in like aluminum washes. We are offering our widest selection to date, from raw to washed, slim to relaxed fits. In teaming up with one of Japan’s premier denim houses we were able to really bring a high level of quality at good prices. Be on the lookout for the “White Leather Mixtape” this fall as a denim signature. Rocksmith is now available on DrJays.com – check out a few of the latest styles: Notorious 81 Tee by Rocksmith Street Dreams Tee by Rocksmith Rok Tee by Rocksmith