Will You Sign My Yearbook?

Ask any Ad man the key components to good advertising and surely one they mention is striking emotion through relatability.

Remember on the last day of school when everybody received their yearbooks and ran frantic through the halls stopping at every person they saw asking them to sign it? "H.A.G." (Have A Great Summer!) in rainbow markers adorned every page while teachers and best friends touched on inside jokes and personal well wishes as summer began. Once your crush made their mark the pursuit was over.

British menswear label Brutus captures the nostalgia and excitement this moment brings in its latest campaign shot by Lydia Garnett in the Isle of Wight on the eve of summer break. Instead of signing yearbooks best friends Brody, Jody, and Katie write their cheerful messages on each other's shirts-- uniform short-sleeved button downs crafted by Brutus. The concept featured in Accent Magazine highlights the brand's timeless aesthetic it has represented for 50 years in its garments (and is smartly debuted just in time for back to school).

Observations Prompted by Roy Wood$

I was listening to Roy Wood$'s Exis project and found my thoughts venturing toward the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.  The OVO Sound member has an appropriately placed endorsement by the boss man in the catchy track "Drama", but other songs on the LP caught my ear in an unsuspecting way.  The singer/rapper from Toronto has the trademark melodic [lullaby] flow that is apparent in other artists under the label, like PND and the excommunicated The Weeknd. He elevates this trope a notch with the heavy-breathed passion and intensity Michael exuded. Songs "All of You" and the chorus of "Go Go Go" particularly seemed like derivations of his iconic sound that for a minute I thought I was playing "Jam". 

Hip hop and pop are essentially cousins.  When Michael Jackson was at the height of his career recording platinum record after platinum record (Off the Wall, Thriller, etc.) hip hop was in its infancy.  Rap groups like the Sugarhill Gang and Run DMC were just starting to enter and sort of popularize the movement.  Their impetus was the celebration and lamentation of the streets and the hustle, setting hip hop down a raw path that could be revered for its honesty and loathed for its commercial sell-outs.  As hip hop has expanded into different sub-genres, we've arrived at the point where both rap and pop have begun to intermingle, culminating with Taylor Swift inviting the likes of Fetty Wap to play his hits at her shows.    

Whether it was Roy Wood$ intention to utilize Michael's eccentricities, it's interesting to listen to how sounds and genres morph and influence future sounds.  When you think about it, the intersection of hip hop and pop was inevitable.  Artists run in the same crowds; Madonna dated Tupac,  Ye and Hov are 03's Bonnie and Clyde—some have connected and collaborated.  It was bound to happen.  The difference is it's 2015 and the young singer-songwriters who are entering the industry are millennials, so they grew up listening to not just Nas, Biggie, or Mos Def, but also Michael Jackson and even Nirvana--artists who helped revolutionize the sounds in music we hear today.  

Teyana Taylor drops The Cassette Tape 1994

The 90s vibes are quite apparent in Teyana Taylor's The Cassette Tape 1994.  The five song project plays with sounds that epitomize the decade in which R&B and hip hop became the center stage of popular culture. Boom bap production, riffs and melodies that were championed by the likes of Janet Jackson and Aaliyah, while also sampling the classic "Poison" all round out this nostalgic mixtape.  Listeners are also privy to a single feature on "Who's Gonna Make it Home" in which boo/Cleveland Cavalier shooting guard, Iman Shumpert, showcases his emcee skills, kind of resembling an Andre 3000 flow.  Production of the mixtape stems from G.O.O.D music founder Kanye West, Sham "Sak Pase", and others.  The tape is available for download now on Audiomack.

Supreme Fall/Winter 2015

1990s remain the golden era of popular culture thanks to the rise of hip hop, skateboarding, Michael Jordan, and hubs like New York City. What is left from the era is honest artistry catered to lifestyle sensibilities commenting on urban landscapes. Clothing brand Supreme thrives off the influence the '90s provided adding the year's vintage aesthetic to every collection. Fall/Winter 2015 is no different as team skater Sage Elsesser in the brand's latest lookbook presents the cool range. Heavy outerwear is taped for necessity featuring varsity jackets, parkas, quilted flight jackets, and the Supreme/Schott® Hooded Shearling. Cold weather staples are also included like flannel and wool shirts and crewnecks. While Supreme's new lookbook showcases the diverse collection, Fall/Winter 2015 also houses a bevy of headwear and casual pieces such as denim, overalls, and sweats. Peruse the lookbook above and check out the offering in full here. Supreme Fall/Winter 2015 hits its New York, Los Angeles, and London locations on August 20 and Japan August 22.

50 Cent - 9 Shots

News broke rapper, actor, entrepreneur 50 cent filed for bankruptcy-- his lavish lifestyle only for "entertainment" he said to a Manhattan Supreme Court earlier this summer. Borrowed cars and jewelry tied together Curtis Jackson's popular act. Financial pressure comes from a court ordered $7 million payment in damages to a woman named Lastonia Leviston, as well as a failed headphone venture costing him $18 million. Fees of $25 million and a true net worth of only $4.4 million have 50 in deep water.

Lengths people go to when in need of money range from the creative to the dangerous. Curtis Jackson is now a man who needs money. Luckily, he is also 50 Cent, an artist with a unique passionate sound product of his native South Jamaica, Queens environment. While he is in a different place then he was at the beginning of his career he has felt money's strain before that birthed his "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" work ethic. 50's current situation forces him back to his musical roots in his latest track "9 Shots" accompanied by retro sounds and cinematic music video expressing how one's environment factors in their means of handling desperation. Enjoy the production above.