L&F: It's A Lifestyle

I Know Nothing

2010-02-25T20:05:00.003-05:00

When you want something wanting it is good but it isn’t enough to just want it because there are a million other people, all better than you, who want the same thing. You have to love it, you have to work hard for it and then just when you feel like you can’t go any more and you need a break, you have to work even harder! It is not enough for you to say that you love it because words can be negated, ignored and fall on deaf ears. You have to prove that you love it. During this process you may question your motives for running yourself ragged and working your fingers to the bone but trust me, “every dog has his day”. Every question or concern you have now will be answered in time. No one has all the answers but if no one ever tries no one will ever find out. So never give up and never give in.

Life is a love story.

Photo credit: Ashton Gooding

-SoHo

My Aura

2010-02-18T15:01:00.001-05:00

Inventory/ Wool & The Gang Party

I keep smiles on the faces of those around me, even if you’ve only been around me for five minutes.

Je t’aime de belles fleurs!

-SoHo

The Agytators!

2010-02-16T20:24:00.007-05:00

While meditating the other day these two very special individuals came to mind, Melly Shabazz and Coco Black (seen above from left to right). There once was a time when this combination went by the name “The Agytators” and rightfully so. They didn’t quite fit any mold nor did they sit comfortably in a box created by society but judging from their names you could tell that they never intended to fit in. Regardless of the powerful, semi controversial names and their outspoken appearance, these two produced some of the best work the internet has ever seen forcing those that may have initially questioned them to respect them. As sad as I was to see them go their separate ways, I know that every thing happens for a reason and no matter how the situation may seem at first, always remember: progression requires change. I just wanted them to know that “The Agytators” were apart of what made 2009 such a great year.

Blessings to those beautiful souls.

-SoHo

The Sole of the City

2010-02-16T19:28:00.006-05:00

I came across this picture and found it completely appropriate for the energy in the air this month. This is the latest installment from the good brother Bizz, showing his love and appreciation for his gear. When I first saw this picture I laughed but then I looked closer and realized that this was a picture of perfection. Every trainer is parallel it’s pair and every pair is pointed in the same direction. The hats in the center of the heart are also perfectly aligned and at the very core of the heart lay three NY fitted hats symbolizing his love for his hometown.

Well done Bizzle.

-SoHo

A Tread

2010-02-15T13:12:00.005-05:00

Watching this video evoked genuine emotion and was the sole cause of the maniacal grin that dragged itself across my face. I love to see people dress well and take pride in the way they dress. In a time when so many others lay down their own personal style for fear of persecution or ridicule, it is refreshing to see some embracing their difference; being thy self. What touches me more than the dress code is the science behind the styles. I personally believe that there is a science behind my style, every look is well thought out even if it was just thrown together. There is always an inspiration, a motivation and an aspiration behind every outfit that I wear and it is always 100% me. It brings me great joy to know that there are those whom share this idea.
SOURCE

-SoHo

The Theophilus Complex

2010-02-15T12:27:00.003-05:00

I always enjoy getting the updates on Theophilus London because it is always something interesting, whether it be a “Hum Drum Town” video or a song with Mark Ronson; a song that I had on repeat for three days straight (literally). Theo has an amazing spirit that he is very in touch with. You get to really see his essence when he performs his songs. When he is on stage staring into space, seeing the visuals that his mind projects and the strings to one of his songs begins he completely drifts to another world, it is definitely something that you would want to experience at least once in your lifetime. What is not a widely known fact is that Theo is just as eccentric offstage as he is onstage, so it’s good to see that eccentricity and mystic energy translate through this photo shoot for ComplexMagazine.

-SoHo

Once Upon a Time

2010-02-13T17:48:00.003-05:00

I went rummaging through my laptop, came across these pictures during my search. These pictures have to be at the very least two years old. Viewing them today helped me realize two things: 1) My personal style has grown by leaps and bounds from this time and is now light years away from where I was at the time this picture was taken. 2) I look exactly the same today as I did then and that is exactly the same way I looked three years ago. In summation it is reasonable to conclude that I will never look my age, which is a very good thing.

Some people don’t fancy having their picture taken but I don’t mind because pictures show you exactly where you were and what you were doing at that time in your life. If you are observant you might be able to see what your beliefs were at that time.

Photo credit: Bridget Sweeny

-SoHo

La croissance d'une fleur

2010-02-12T18:00:00.006-05:00

There once was a girl, there is always a girl. Have you ever noticed that? In every story, every fable, every religion, every ambition and never far behind every ambitious man you will find a girl. Often times you will find a woman but I suppose every woman is still a little girl at heart. HEART! The heart is such an interesting specimen and an even more interesting idea in a conversation with a woman. We all have hearts but there is something very special about the hearts of women, something that will not be found in textbooks or laboratories at medical school. The hearts of women is born light, little girls seems to float as they walk full of joy and blinded by bliss. They carry this jubilee with them for as long as they can and they keep it close to their heart. As they grow older and begin to see the world for what it is they pick up some weight and unlike the male of the species whose weight rest on his shoulders, women place the weight in the strongest part of their body, their heart. By the time women get to college they become experts in gathering, storing and releasing weight from their hearts as they have had much practice doing so in high school. (Those that skipped out on those classes may find life a bit more challenging.) By this point and time in their lives women have come to expect certain things from men, non of which are good things but over time women have become tolerable. More important than their toleration for the ignoramus, indifferent, indecent behavior of the men they encounter is their understanding of such behavior. Not only do women go through situations but they also learn, they adapt and they continue moving. However in all of this learning and adapting to the male species it may seem that the women aren’t learning at all due to their knack for making the same “mistakes” time and time again but what the male species is incapable of comprehending is that what he sees as a mistake, women understand as a necessary proceeding because to women it is better to have loved and lost than to have never known love at all. The ability to undergo a lifetime of heartache, suffering, humiliation, disappointment, detachment and disrespect is what makes the female heart so special.

Je t’aime de belles fleurs!

-SoHo

Last Night

2010-02-12T10:28:00.001-05:00

Ideeen Collection Showing from Jason Burke on Vimeo.

The happenings of last night is still a blur to me but one thing I do remember is the reception of the new collection from Ideeen shown at the Ideeen pop up store (32-36 Little West St. NY NY). I was impressed with the presentation of the collection, I believe that clothes are often overlooked or underappreciated due to the way they are presented so what a great idea to have some beautiful women come in and display the clothes in a manner that a patron might want to wear them. This method reveals things that a hanger can’t like how the clothes sit and move on the body. Models, music and open bar, can you think of a better way to spend a Thursday night?

-SoHo

The Best Duo Ever!

2010-02-10T19:26:00.003-05:00

Photo credit: Erick Arc Elliot

-SoHo

Broken Bells - The High Road

2010-02-10T19:10:00.001-05:00

The High Road

Broken Bells | MySpace Music Videos

A good friend of mine impressed upon me the fact that I should watch this video and I must say in my honest opinion I like it. I see this video as one continuous mental trip with two guys walking down a highway for whatever reason, they might not even know why, it’s not important. What makes it interesting is what they encounter along their highway journey. The more you watch and analyze the video the more you realize that the highway is a metaphor for life.

Enjoy the highway, enjoy life.

-SoHo

Mental Preparation

2010-02-10T18:29:00.001-05:00

Snow Day B from Jason Burke on Vimeo.

-SoHo

Mental Over Everything!

2010-02-10T17:48:00.003-05:00

Mind, body and soul are connected. To keep your body in shape, you must keep in your mind in shape and vice versa, they are co-dependent for survival. All day yesterday everyone was talking about the snow praying that it never came but I looked to the oncoming snow with anxiousness and anticipation. When I woke up to see that it did snow and it wasn’t stopping I was happy. What most looked at as a day off I saw it as an opportunity to push my body. So on a day when no one wanted to go out, I suited up to run.

-7 blocks to the track

-10 laps around the track

-7 blocks back home

-I made it back in one piece.

Mind over everything!

-SoHo

Style is Forever

2010-02-10T16:49:00.001-05:00

Style is Forever from Jason Burke on Vimeo.

-SoHo

The King

2010-02-05T16:26:00.002-05:00

The hardest working man in entertainment; forever! James Brown has earned an undisputed spot as my favorite entertainer of all time.

-SoHo

Concrete Conversations

2010-02-03T17:03:00.004-05:00

I appreciate having been blessed enough to be able to be able to speak with Dr. Phil on a personal level. There are many people that you will come across in life that are in love with the sound of their own voice and few who actually make sense when they speak but every once in a while you’ll get a chance to have a conversation with the kid that didn’t really want to speak most of the time and came off a bit sheepish and you’ll ask yourself “what was everyone else talking about?” What I appreciate and respect about “Lockness” the most is that he always speaks from his heart. It is as if he doesn’t know how to do anything else. That is truly a noble quality.

Much love to the good Dr. Phil.

-SoHo

You've Got Mail.

2010-02-03T16:20:00.003-05:00

MCM releases the best lookbooks.

SoHo

Bliss

2010-01-31T15:57:00.001-05:00

Genuine:

Sincerely and honestly felt or experienced. D: actual, true. 2: free from hypocrisy or pretense: sincere.

SoHo

Le Jardinier

2010-01-31T00:00:00.002-05:00

Les femmes sont les fleurs du monde.

SoHo

Alive & Well.

2010-01-30T23:40:00.001-05:00

Life devoid of laughter is death.

SoHo

I'm an Artist

2010-01-30T23:16:00.002-05:00

My body is my canvas.

Most people wear clothing to hide their insecurities and they are only insecure about what they see as their weak points. We are all born different, so I say embrace your weird and wear it proudly because after all that is what makes you special.

SoHo

True to the Craft

2010-01-30T14:34:00.003-05:00

I play this game on a higher level.

SoHo

Often Enough I Think...

2010-01-29T13:33:00.002-05:00

I often sit and reflect in objects that aren’t reflective at all. I usually project my thoughts onto a wall. When you think about something its one thing but I turn those ideas in physical things so I can mentally manipulate them. If you can turn every thought or idea into a physical representation it makes it much simpler to understand. Last night I found myself reflecting in this wine glass. While everyone else was either eating or talking or a strange combination of both, I was thinking. I thought about life and the lives of those around me and as I twirled my wine in the glass I realized that life itself is like a glass of wine. It’s complex but yet smooth, sometimes it’s full bodied and fruitful while other times it is medium bodied but tasteful. However in the end, the glass of wine is always empty and all of the wine is gone.

At least you can say you had a good meal.

SoHo

Team Blackberry

2010-01-29T12:35:00.003-05:00

SoHo

Hitmen

2010-01-28T15:01:00.002-05:00

DRE Day from Jason Burke on Vimeo.

Hermés, Lanvin, Junya Wantanabe, Dres Van Noten, Raf Simons, Goyard…

SoHo

Brooklyn Nights

2010-01-28T14:15:00.002-05:00

Last night I spent some time with Demetri, Juice and our brother from across the pond, Luke. We talked, watched ‘Harlem Nights’ and had some laughs. The best things in life have nothing to do with anything that you work your whole life for but everything to do with those who were there with you the entire time.

SoHo

Flatbush Ave.

2010-01-28T12:37:00.003-05:00

During my travels yesterday I was halted and captivated by this piece. I first walked right by it but was pulled right back to it. Something about it called me and told me “pay attention.” The artist didn’t sign it and there is no record of it online so I have no idea who designed it but it is a depiction of two figures completely cloaked in cloths that not only wrap around the circumference of their bodies but also extend to meet above in the middle of the piece above a very detailed circular object.

SoHo

Beauty Grows

2010-01-25T12:39:00.003-05:00

Begonia

genus in the Begoniaceae flower plant family.

Women are the flowers of the world.

SoHo

P's Theory

2010-01-24T10:08:00.001-05:00

SoHo

Initiating Contact

2010-01-20T20:55:00.003-05:00

(click to enlarge)

This is only a fraction of what is going on. Right now you all have no idea but everything in its time.

"Meetings in wide open space, broad day light. My minds shine is the sun, the rest shine hallway lights. See me through my number, I'll read you my prophecy. Handshakes for all to see, you'll get lost if you follow me. Hidden messages in the lingo, loaded w/ secret codes. They say you'll die if you speak it, but I'm just thinking though..."

SoHo

Are You Ready?

2010-01-20T18:05:00.002-05:00

The Gathering from Jason Burke on Vimeo.

This is far from over.

SoHo

Great Odens Beard!

2010-01-19T10:52:00.004-05:00

“Have no fear for atomic energy, none of them can stop the time.” Bob Marley

As our hero’s stand prepared to face the next challenge that arises, they spot something on the horizon. Something threatening enough to get the attention of the entire League of Justice; but what?! What is it that our hero’s saw that had them at a stand still and did they ever face it? This and more in the next episode…

SoHo

Baby Look Back

2010-01-18T10:40:00.003-05:00

1982 Porsche 928

V8 engine, rear wheel drive, 5 speed manual transmission, and standard turbo s type braking system. In 1982 this car may have been a force to recon with but only on the open road, good luck trying to beat the Porsche 911. In races people that vote for the underdog are wise. Some feel sorry for the underdog and root for them through their compassion, while others relate to the underdog and understand that we are all underdogs at some point and time in our life and yet we make it through. So in the end it is the will of the driver that determines the outcome of the race, no matter what position he begins in or the circumstances he face along the way. If you remain as focused as you began you will come out on top.

SoHo

Classics Never Die

2010-01-18T02:23:00.003-05:00

1967 Ford Mustang

In 1967 the curvature of the body and the other minor additions to the design played a major factor in why the consumer responded to the vehicle so well. The Shelby version, released the same year was an even bigger hit. Today the fact this you can still find owners with the vehicle in such good condition is amazing.

SoHo

The Definition of Classic

2010-01-14T01:02:00.001-05:00

1957 Type W121 Mercedes 190 Sedan

I’ve had this picture in iPhoto for a little over a week now and I’ve looked at it everyday and everyday I’d say “one day I will share you with the world.” I’ve been feeling rather bored with the current state of affairs and I am very tempted to shake up the etch a sketch but I have some things in line like skates and I need them to go according to plan so I won’t do that however I do think another road trip is on the horizon. True happiness comes from within but is only realized on the open road, far from anything that reminds you of home; living in America.

SoHo

Recreation

2010-01-08T12:30:00.002-05:00

Gamer Tag: SoHo_B

Team of Choice: Portland Trailblazers

Who’s Next?!

SoHo

Get Em'

2010-01-07T16:13:00.002-05:00

The Dasher Man: Love Game from Jason Burke on Vimeo.

Her influence is far and wide.

SoHo

Vibration Produces Sound

2010-01-06T16:16:00.002-05:00

Favorite Track: Alibi

The latest album from the rock band, 30 seconds to mars has been the theme song to my life for the past two weeks. I’ve listened to it when I wake up, on my way to work, at work, on my way home and right before I go to sleep. After this two week period of critically analyzing this album I deduce this album is phenomenal. Do what you must to hear it because it is definitely worth it.

Favorite Track: Traduction

The current state of the rap industry is sick, it has a lingering chest cold that could possibly progress into something more severe if the issue is not addressed sometime soon; this mixtape represents the medicine. To be completely honest with you this is the best mixtape that I have heard all year. Most of the production is so good that it feels like an album but don’t take my word for it: www.theloveinus.com

Most music is heard, these compilations are felt.

SoHo

Paid The Cost

2010-01-05T12:57:00.001-05:00

“Own boss! Own your masters, slaves, a mentality I carry with me to this very day.” Shawn Carter

America is designed in a way that money is an eminent part of survival. Having it doesn’t allow you as much as people believe that it does however not having it drastically limits you. When you move from not having it to having it, it seems like a weight has been lifted off of you shoulders hence the feeling of money granting a better life. Quite honestly money is just a tool however when living in a major city the importance of that tool is magnified. There are no natural resources, no fruit trees in the park to go pick, no wild animals to catch, kill and cook so if you wish to eat, you have to pay. I’ve come to the understanding that when Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 slavery changed it’s clothes. In it’s original form in America slave masters were of European descent in the modern form of slavery the masters are still of European descent; don’t believe me? Just take a look at the money and smile because that is your new master.

You are powerless without the money so you devise a plan to get the money, then you work hard to carry that plan out to the smallest detail and you get the money. However this is just the beginning because then you have to do it again, better than you did it the first time and each time you set your sights higher than before. Soon you even forget why you are doing this, all you know is that it must be done. Even after you get the money you are not done because you will always want more, it will never seem like enough. After you purchase what material goods you desire and pay all bills, you need more to repeat the process and you slide into a never-ending cycle.

You wanted the money so that you can have certain freedoms but the irony of it is that you have become a slave to money.

SoHo

Peace King

2010-01-01T10:41:00.003-05:00

Ancient Hittite Hieroglyphs; Karkemish

When the confused lead the blind we both walk off the cliff.

SoHo

The Numerical Equivalence of Self

2009-12-31T22:05:00.006-05:00

The Nation of Gods & Earths

- In the twelve jewels of Islam #7 is food.

- #7 is on the Universal Flag of the nation

- In Supreme Mathematics 7 represents Allah (God)

- There is also an 8 point star on the flag

- The 7^th point represents “Actual Facts”

Science

- Only 7 distinct objects in our solar system can be seen with the naked eye: the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus & Saturn.

- 7 represents a neutral PH level

- The atomic number of Nitrogen is 7

- There are 7 colors in the rainbow

Christianity

- 7 days of creation

- The 7^th day is the Sabbath

- 7 Virtues

- 7 Deadly Sins

- 7 Churches of Asia

- 7 seals to be broken to unleash 7 plagues to end the world.

Islam

- 7 doors to hell

- 7 fires of hell

Judaism

- 7 candles on the Menorah

- 7 days of Passover

- The Israelites marched around Jericho for 7 days and 7 times on the 7^th day.

- The walls of Jericho fell on the 7^th day.

I was born on the 7^th day of the 8^th month in the 88^th year. The number 8 is the symbol of infinity. It appears 3 times in the date of my birth symbolizing the “Trinity of Infinity.”

You won’t know where you are going until you know who you are.

SoHo

Nice!

2009-12-31T11:53:00.002-05:00

I get the most interesting emails. This particular one is from Ray; he said he came across this on his journey somewhere in between New York and Virginia.

SoHo

The Revelations of Åten

2009-12-28T11:33:00.002-05:00

Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt

Akenaten, Nefertiti and their children

1353 BC -1336 BC

- Akenaten ruled as Pharaoh of Egypt.

- Went against traditional Egyptian polytheism (many gods)

- Declared Aten (Sun God) the most powerful of all the Gods

- The first introduction of henotheism (one main God & many other supporting gods) in Egypt.

Sunday is really named “Sun’s Day” because its original purpose was to be a day of observation dedicated to the Sun God. Now it’s a bit easier to understand why Sunday is viewed as a religious day in most modern day religions and despite the fact that the Egyptian people weren’t too pleased with Akenaten’s new religious direction, he must have had some fans somewhere because Sunday is still viewed as a religious day, implying that Aten is the most powerful God.

You already know the answers you seek; you just don’t remember that you know. What you are in search of is the right questions.

SoHo

The Way, The Truth & The Light

2009-12-25T23:50:00.002-05:00

“I’m cool in my afterlife if I’m reading these chapters right” Shawn Carter

The Bible

One of the most controversial books ever written and one of the most disputed stories ever told. Scholars have been trying to come to a unified understanding about the scriptures and their correct interpretation. Most of the people that aren’t religious weren’t raised in religion. Most of those who were raised with a religious backing usually stray away but always return to their upbringing in times of need.

If you can correctly interpret the verses in the bible you would have learned the key to living: long, happy, healthy, wealthy & wise. There is only one problem. The accepted version of the bible is missing some books. The bible is the greatest story ever told and the main character in this story is Jesus Christ, however there are many years of his life missing from the bible, 18 to be exact. Those missing books are the key to understanding the connection between mind, body & soul, the earth and the universe in respect to the countless other universe, the key to the lock on our full brain ability and transcending the physical.

You already know the answers you seek; you just don’t remember that you know. What you are in search of is the right questions.

SoHo

Inner Peace

2009-12-25T21:28:00.002-05:00

The Temple of Kukulcan, Chichén Itzá, Mexico

You already know the answers you seek; you just don’t remember that you know. What you are in search of is the right questions.

SoHo

Happy Holidays

2009-12-25T10:37:00.001-05:00

I send you all energy in the form of sunlight. The best gift you can give is love, oh beautiful love! Share your love with the world.

SoHo

We Are Your Friends: Squeaks

2009-12-23T00:57:00.002-05:00

Vintage Squeaks from Jason Burke on Vimeo.

SoHo

The King of The Lava

2009-12-19T00:20:00.002-05:00

“Of course it’s the boss, Tony Danza stanza, Springsteen of sixteen’s.” Wasalu Muhammad Jaco

John Joseph Gotti Jr.

There once was a man that brought style to organized crime. The media gave him the name “The Dapper Don” he was never seen out of dress code, which for him meant a tailored suit. His brother Gene once asked him who got the most of his money whether it was his bookie or his tailor? Gotti replied, “I’m split right down the middle.”

In nature you will learn that even an animal with a bad public image like a wolf has rules and carries out day to day activities in an organized fashion.

SoHo

The REAL Reason

2009-12-18T11:17:00.000-05:00

“No revolutionary gets old or so I’m told, you get left full of bullet holes when you tell the people go free; it’s just a matter of time before they try to take me.” Nasir Jones

John F. Kennedy

- We are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy.

- It is a system, which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines: military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations.

- Its preparations are concealed, not published.

- Its mistakes are buried, not headlined.

- Its dissenters are silenced, not praised.

- No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed and no secret is revealed.

- I am not asking your newspapers to support an administration but I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people.

So what does this mean?

Upon his inauguration the President had become aware of the existence of secret societies and just how influential they were in America at the time. It is safe to assume that he was approached about joining seeing as every President before him was a member of the order & this is how he responded. This ladies and gentlemen is why he was systematically removed by process of assassination.

We stand to learn so much from the human body. When you eat something that doesn’t interact well with the rest of your body you will get early signs whether you break out in a rash or the gases in your stomach start to bubble; you may even regurgitate but one thing is for sure, that article of food that isn’t cooperating with your body will be removed one way or another.

SoHo

What We Talking 'Bout?

2009-12-17T12:41:00.003-05:00

“Out in Iran the election is fixed... Teach the youth for what lies ahead; teach the truth.” Shawn Carter

George W. Bush Jr.

- The idea is to help change the Middle East.

- The main reason we went into Iraq was because we thought he had weapons of mass destruction.

- In a part of the world that has so much resentment, so much hatred, that people came and killed 3,000 of our citizens.

What did Iraq have to do with the attack on the World Trade Center?

- Nothing!

- Nobody has ever suggested in this administration that Saddam Hussein ordered the attack

- Nobody has ever suggested that the attacks of September the 11^th we ordered by Iraq.

So what are we talking about?

When people see this video and read this post they are going to say what the media has conditioned their minds to say: “Bush is an idiot”, “Bush has been lying to us all along”, etc. However think about this for a second: George Bush Jr. was the President of the United States at the time of this press conference and as the President you can no longer be viewed as anything but that. Therefore it is impossible to view anything he says or does as his own independent thoughts or actions but more as the thoughts and actions of the entire government at the time. As president he gets prepped for these press conferences meaning his team of advisors go over (give him) the answers to the questions that they think he is going to be asked.

Nature has a lot to offer to an observant person. You may find a bear print and know that there is a bear in the area but knowing why that bear is in the area would be much more valuable information.

SoHo

A Child Shall Lead

2009-12-16T21:32:00.001-05:00

“Put me anywhere on God’s green earth, I triple my worth.” Shawn Carter

Damon Williams

- 14 years old

- Starting point guard for his high school basketball team.

- Owns shares in companies across the board

- Has already accumulated $50,000

I don’t know about the rest of my followers but he’s pretty much got me beat. At 14 I was concerned with a couple things: women, basketball, passing my classes & my friends. A professor told me once you’ll only be as good as your father was and at first that bothered me because my father always pushed me to be better than him but I understand what that professor was saying. You will only be as good as you know you can be. Damon’s mother used her own missteps to teach Damon the right approach to Life & Finances. I’d say he’s got the hang of it, wouldn’t you?

The things that you desire in life are all at your fingertips. All you have to do is will them to you. Understanding this concept is one of the initial stages to learning the language of the universe.

SoHo

Foresight.

2009-12-15T01:34:00.001-05:00

“You swear men dogs like Reservoir & I was Mr. Pink” Kanye West

12:45 AM

-Just getting home from work

1:10 AM

-Text conversation w/ Coolness P about L&F and such.

1:15 AM

-Thoughts of going through the kitchen cabinets and mixing whatever I find there with the contents of the refrigerator to concoct something edible.

1:30 AM

-Play ‘Kingdom Come’ Jay-Z

-Create this blog post

I’ve already made the necessary adjustments to the situations around me in my mind but it takes time for these mental actions to take effect in the physical realm.

SoHo

I Think Thoughts

2009-12-11T13:01:00.002-05:00

I’m constantly questioned about my source of motivation and my answer is always “nature”. I understand why people wonder what inspires me but I always wonder why they themselves aren’t inspired. We all get to a point on the path of attaining knowledge where you ask yourself “what is it all worth?” and all sorts of ideas run through your mind. Will I get married? Do I want children? Where will we live? Do I want to get serious now? Is the goal that I’m aiming for even the right thing for me? These questions and so much more circle your mind and no matter how much you try to evade these thoughts they always fight their way back to the front of your mind. They pop up when you are at work, the commentator talks about it during the game, the words float in your cereal and soup until you are convinced that you are going out of your mind.

When I feel like this I turn to a natural force to think and find my peace. I think in a tree, I sleep in the clouds, I dance in the rain; I love the rain. Something as simple as walking in the park can be helpful to me but that’s just how I find my peace. We all have to find our own peace b/c this world we live in is out of balance so there is no external peace. Don’t kill yourself; just find your inner peace.

SoHo

I Wonder...

2009-12-07T09:17:00.002-05:00

Heath “The Joker” Ledger

There once was a time when even madmen dressed as gentlemen. I wonder if these times of which I speak will ever return.

SoHo

Cocktail Killer

2009-12-07T08:23:00.002-05:00

Last night I was introduced to Polyvore by one of L.I.M’s (Laboratory Institute of Merchandising) best & in the same instance challenged to a showdown. Through Polyvore you can create sets of outfits, putting together pieces drawn from their seemingly endless library of articles of clothing beginning with nothing more than a clean slate and a Polyvore search engine. For some strange reason the young lady that challenged me felt assured that she would win; big mistake.

The way I won is simple, men get dressed for women and women get dressed for men so naturally women know what they like to see men in and men know what they like to see women in.

Care to make your own Polyvore design? Click Here

SoHo

The Foundation

2009-12-06T08:32:00.000-05:00

I commend all of the single parents that do everything in their power to give their child the best opportunity to succeed. I respect those that do without so that their children can have. I honor every sacrifice made so that your child can have a future that you could only dream of; however it is not enough.

Children are taught by the words, ideas and actions that they internalize. So if a child watches a family on tv consisting of: a mother, a father, a son, a daughter and a dog in a three story house he may start to wonder why he/ she doesn’t know his/ her father, mother works so much that he/ she is always with his/ her aunt, lives in a project building and the only pets the family has is the roaches that they all have become accustomed to seeing. As time goes on these thoughts don’t go away, they harbor and grow into bigger ideas. Eventually the child comes to realize that most of the images depicted on tv aren’t real therefore categorizing his/ her earliest memories of a family as fiction and internalizing his/ her own situation as reality and sadly this creates a cycle until someone breaks the chain; will it be you?

“The most important thing that a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” Theodore M. Hesburgh

SoHo

There Once Was A Man...

2009-12-04T16:00:00.001-05:00

This is a businessman.

He will do anything necessary to protect the interest of his company. Some may not agree with his methods but that is of little or no importance to him because his methods got the necessary results. Whether it is verbally abusing the president of the major label that is backing your independent label or crashing a press conference between the heads of the companies responsible for your record companies distribution, marketing and promotion its all fair in business because your primary concern is your company; not how people feel about you. Business is a game of cutthroat with the number one rule being: “Do whatever you determine necessary to get ahead.”, so expect to be backstabbed.

It’s a real shame the way his situation with RocaFella ended but perhaps he forgot the number one rule in business.

SoHo

Bow Tie B (2 Yrs Old)

2009-12-02T22:06:00.005-05:00

Everyone reaches a point and time in their life where they have to seriously ask themselves: who am I? I say if you can’t figure out who you are, look to who you were for clues.

I was a happy child.

SoHo

What Mean the World to You?

2009-11-29T19:43:00.002-05:00

This is what happens when it takes you a week to go through your blog emails. Well at least the one's with attachments that you don't feel like opening on your blackberry; you miss out on good videos like this. I send much respect to everyone that worked on/ in this video for the presentation of the RockSmith Holiday 09 collection.

SoHo

Behind The Scenes: Great Scott

2009-11-27T12:21:00.006-05:00

Phil might try to sue me for this but...

Madbury Coming Soon!

SoHo

Thank You

2009-11-27T11:35:00.002-05:00

No matter how the holiday originated or why it is popular it has definitely become a time that brings family together. People make plans a month ahead on where they are going to eat and how much they are going to eat. You seek out cousins that you honestly can't stand any other time of the year and embrace uncle's that can't even remember your name or how your related all to eat more than you thought your stomach could hold and past out not too long after the utensil's are down.

Striped bass based in paprika and old bay seasonings sautéed in a soup of cooking oil, onions, scallion, red peppers, green peppers, tomato's, thyme, scallion and garlic, on a bed of cilantro, on a very low fire.

Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving Day feast.

SoHo

Attention to Detail

2009-11-25T21:08:00.004-05:00

This picture is genius.

With that idea out of the way I just want to welcome Eric Koston to the Nike team, it's a great company to work for and it is only a matter of time before the people outside of the street wear/ sneaker culture realize that Nike runs the world. While half-heartedly watching the Orlando Magic string along a game against the Miami Heat and searching for some new content to be content with I stumbled onto the Hypebeast site where I caught a glimpse of this picture.

Watching the video interview with Koston one theme remained constant in my mind "this guy really appreciates a good trainer". A lot of people that are fans of good trainers are only fans of the way the trainer looks and disregard the way it wears, the level of comfort or the craftsmanship that goes into the complete production. To me it's the little things that make the trainers really good. However when you take someone that really appreciates the minor details that go into the creation of a trainer and give them the opportunity to design trainers that person is going to put together some great trainers.

source

SoHo

The Classics

2009-11-23T15:14:00.002-05:00

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel

There was a time when men dressed as men.

SoHo

The Good Fellas

2009-11-23T13:35:00.004-05:00

photo credit: Cre

When I saw this picture I thought back to when I first became aware of the existence of these two very individual individuals and the whole Award Tour movement. The year was 2005, Demetri and I went to the same school and his fly gear was getting him a lot of recognition and forced on lookers to compare him to people two grades ahead of him. Juice was infamous at that time for being a free spirit. He basically did what he wanted to, when he wanted to & regardless of what you think of him he demands your respect. P & I didn't formerly meet up with these two and the rest of the crew until 2006 at a fashion show in Brooklyn due to the fact that there was a mutual friend at the time doing everything in his power to ensure that we all never became friends.

It's been three years and some months since the first time I met these guys and what I must say that it was a beautiful day in space when we all met because it was like we all instantly became family. I can go weeks without talking to Juice but when we link up again something happened to one of us that the other completely understands and we just happen to be building on the same ideas. Demetri and I think so much alike that I can almost predict his moves. More recently I've been calling him my nephew due to a situation I had to help him out of in which I impersonated his uncle.

They say blood is thicker than water but I believe when you actually choose the people that you want to consider family it is a stronger bond than the family you are born into.

"No man alive can divide this family." LaRon James

SoHo

Style Doesn't Fade

2009-11-22T13:34:00.002-05:00

featuring: Reezy

Cool is determined by someone who was cool enough to do something not already considered cool.

SoHo

Kicking & Screaming

2009-11-21T22:25:00.002-05:00

Life is a road. On this road you will encounter many potholes some of which can seriously damage your drive and possibly sidetrack you. This can cause stress so intense that you feel like the walls are closing in and you are sitting in the corner just watching everything in the room fall apart. You feel compelled to do something for your survival but you feel completely helpless; so what do you do?

You scream.

There is nothing wrong with screaming. From time to time we all need to scream, so scream & let it all out.

SoHo

C.R.E.A.M

2009-11-20T15:52:00.000-05:00

E-Money Lopez

You win.

SoHo

Create a Pattern

2009-11-20T09:39:00.004-05:00

When it comes to style Michael and I took two different roads however we always seem to end up at the same gas station so to speak.

When people started saying that the BBC/ Ice Cream and Bathing Ape trend was over I asked Michael if he was going to stop wearing it and he laughed. He laughed so hard it made me laugh because at that moment we both realized that for him it was never about the fact that everyone else liked it, he wore it because he likes it.

SoHo

The Ripple's in Life...

2009-11-20T09:31:00.003-05:00

When you drop a stone in a serene pond it creates a ripple effect on the water that can go from one end of the pond to the other if the force of the stone is strong enough. A collective of the ripples then create a pattern. A similar thing happens when you wear certain clothing. You create a ripple in the sea of people that are dressed a like. In a group effort to be so different we have managed to look more alike than ever before. So when someone different actually appears that presence is much like that stone in the pond causing ripples to go through the stagnant sea.

I like to look at clothing as an expression of the person wearing it. You can tell whether the wearer is really into style or if the article of clothing was just purchased because everyone is wearing it just by paying attention to small details. You can tell if someone really cares for a certain clothing line or if they just want to wear it because everyone else thinks it’s cool.

SoHo

Spread Love...

2009-11-18T20:16:00.004-05:00

The coolest people that you know play in the city but they live in Brooklyn.

Love is necessary for anything to positively progress.

There is love in Brooklyn.

SoHo

The Movement

2009-11-17T00:05:00.004-05:00

Some say they are down for the cause but they don't even know what the cause is. What are we fighting for and whom are we fighting? These questions never get asked so no one really has the answers. There is nothing wrong with standing up for what you believe in but be sure that you know exactly what you are getting involved in.

SoHo

Perception Is To Perceive

2009-11-15T23:37:00.004-05:00

The art of perception is to perceive.

I am mastering the art of perception. When is a tree not a tree? When you realize that it is a man. Life is built on the foundation of perception. What happens as opposed to what doesn’t happen doesn’t matter because what ever you think happened, happened. Whatever you see your mind perceives as REAL unless you’ve trained your mind to think outside of the constraints of the five senses. The beauty in photography is perception. Politics is perception. Life & death is perception. So it is safe to say we are what we perceive because perception is the basis upon which everything that you internalize is born. Art is perception.

SoHo

The Naked Truth

2009-11-15T12:44:00.004-05:00

When I came across this picture I was moved for a couple reasons. My first reaction was am I seeing what I think I'm seeing? Are my eyes deceiving me or is she completely naked? Upon enlarging the picture my mind was reassured of what my eyes were viewing; the model in the picture is completely naked. Then I let out a laugh that would have scared anyone within earshot of my genuinely maniacal howl. What I realized in my second thought was something that most people wouldn't this picture is deeper than your mind would first conceive.

There is a Chanel bag covering the head of the model and she is in heels however that is all she is wearing. So rather than explain what I think about this picture I'll ask you this: when you buy high priced, high fashion articles of clothing what are you really buying into?

source

SoHo

Harsh Reality Inside of Reality

2009-11-13T19:49:00.003-05:00

I don't want to go to jail, especially not outside of US borders. This is supposed to be rehabilitation? No wonder why, when prisoners are finally released they can't be "regular" productive citizens. The laws of the outside world don't apply to them anymore. They have no sense of humility because they have come to know fighting & homosexual acts as nothing more than a day to day activity. Being imprisoned is equivalent to being enslaved. You are striped of your rights as a man, you are cut off from the outside world (95% true in the prisoners situation), the rules that you once lived your life by have now gone out of the window & once your mind is exposed to that kind of living there is no turning back. Who wants to take a wild guess at the ethnicity of the majority of the inmates in the US prison system?

SoHo

The Man in the Mirror

2009-11-13T10:34:00.005-05:00

Narcissism

Derived from the name Narcissist which is drawn from a myth that dates back to 36 BC. Narcissus was a man well known for his good looks. He was so absorbed by his own features that he couldn't appreciate anyone/ anything else around him. As a result for his unique situation the gods cursed him. He fell in love with an image that he saw in a pond, what he didn't realize is that the image was a reflection of himself. He was so wrapped up in his image that he couldn't leave the pond. He eventually fell in the pond and drowned. When he died the pond wept, when questioned why, the pond said that he looked deep into my eyes but he never got to appreciate my true beauty.

Freud believed that narcissism is a necessary aspect of every human beings. It feeds and fuels the ego and provides a source of aspiration to live. Basically you love yourself so you will do any and everything necessary to preserve your life. I say it only becomes dangerous when you are in the extreme's of narcissism and you have lost an appetite for life outside of yourself.

SoHo

It's a Lifestyle: Denim

2009-11-13T09:04:00.003-05:00

I've been living in these denim's for some time now and everyday they get that much better. I'm not careful with anything that I wear because I think when you really live in your clothes you leave your special imprint on them. No one else can put on these jeans and be comfortable in them because they have adjusted to my body. The most recent change is the hole in the back left pocket. It happened because my relatively new wallet has an emblem on it that rubs against the pocket when I sit down; over time the hole was formed.

Make your jeans YOURS.

SoHo

Peace To A King

2009-11-13T08:19:00.004-05:00

Photo's by: Melinda Griffith

For this part of the shoot I was channeling my favorite member of the Wu Tang Clan. Peace to the King Russell Jones better known as the "Ol' Dirty Bastard". Funny fact about myself is when I first heard "Brooklyn Zoo" as a child I thought it wasn't in English. Now I can't stop playing the song. When he got signed to Roca Fella records under the alias "Dirt McGirt" I was happy because Kanye was doing his beats and he had an all star cast and crew backing him so the album was going to be amazing but unfortunately he died in a manhattan studio from a drug overdose and the album was never completed. I still have the newspaper article written on him that was published the day after his death.

SoHo

I Will Not Rhyme On Tracks

2009-11-12T07:04:00.004-05:00

"I am not the son of cha clack clack! I am before that, I am before. I am before before, before death is eternity, after death is eternity, there is no death there is only eternity & I'll be riding on the wings of eternity like YAH! YAH! YAH! cha clack clack; GET ME THE FUCK OFF THIS TRACK!" Saul Williams

SoHo

Justin Blaze vs The Alchemist

2009-11-11T12:56:00.002-05:00

You may be the Alchemist but quite frankly you can't fuck with Justin!

SoHo

The Gift

2009-11-11T09:17:00.006-05:00

(clears throat)

Words.

So many words come to mind that group together like constellations of stars that form the signs that we all happen to coincidentally be born under. The same signs that will then determine our demeanor & assist others in identifying our character before we even learn our ABC's.

The same words that are uttered by a man half the stature that his intellect boast but twice the man that his stature presents. Similar words to the words that may have previously fallen on death ears that might have been reborn had he mustered up enough courage to wear a different tie to the party... WORD!

My words slide out of the small part in my lips and float slowly through the air as if they were being usher into your earlobe by the melodic rhythm of life and life itself seems to sway to the notes that I spoke into existence. Those words slip into your ear, are processed by your brain and slip you into a trance that makes want to do nothing less than slip your under garments off. Those same words are the words that get processed by your brain and make you want to slip your hand in your bag and draw your can of mace. Those just so happen to be the words that make you hate me but not so much because you hate me but rather because your words say you hate me but truth be told, words may lie and you just hate to love me. These words grouped together to form a main idea in this thesis of a life that we are active members of determine whether we speak for the next month or not. These words are our navigational system because without these words we would just wander aimlessly. These words are the best damn words you have heard in a long time. These words are our judgement, our jury; with these words I am god.

What is it about the fusion of my eyes with your eyes that allows for the perfect atmosphere for my conscious to generate such words to implant in your brain that in turn cause you to elicit a response that is so monumental in the progression of our existence that it can only be compared to moving mountains with MY OWN BARE HANDS...

Why do my words make you smile?

SoHo

Where's SoHo

2009-11-11T09:06:00.004-05:00

(click to enlarge)

I attended the York University halloween party the day before halloween. I went dressed as this guy, I'm not sure if you are familiar with him, a couple hundred people think he's cool but I don't know; he's usually referred to as SoHo B. Can you find that guy in this picture?

SoHo

REAL Rap

2009-11-09T10:27:00.003-05:00

"I aint vote for Obama, I don't mess with politicians.

They crooked as they come, if you only payed attention, you would see the bailout was government spending your hard earned money buying all these corporations, leaving you in debt to be a slave to the nation, but they don't tell you that; they keep it secret like the masons." CURT@!N$

SoHo

Perception Based Truth

2009-11-09T10:05:00.005-05:00

ideas from "The American President"

People want leadership, in the absence of genuine leadership they will listen to anyone with a microphone. They want the truth, they are so thirsty for it that they would crawl on their hands and knee's through the desert and drink a gallon of sand.

However they won't drink the gallon of sand because they are thirsty but rather because they don't know the difference.

SoHo

Happy Your Day!

2009-11-09T09:09:00.005-05:00

Good Morning

Hey you! Yeah you! Good morning, glad you woke up this morning; aren't you? Today is a special day, haven't you heard? I'm sure you've heard so you must have forgotten but today is your day. No, I'm not making this up and I can prove it. This is how it works, it's rather simple so please try to keep up.

What ever you usually do, do the opposite of that. Where ever you usually go don't go unless you absolutely have to. If your safe, take risk. If you are a risk taker, take more risk; you'll be fine. Whatever thoughts usually cross your mind will still cross your mind but today you will embrace those thoughts.

Have you gotten the picture yet?

Today you will be you! Well not you but YOU! The YOU that you would be if you weren't inhibited by your morals, standards, ideas, ideals, thoughts, etc. (Wait rewind) That's what you think holds you back: your morals, standards, ideas, blah, blah, blah, blah. What really holds you back is what others think of you. You are completely absorbed with the opinions of others and that is what prevents you from being who you really want to be but not today because today is YOUR DAY.

HAPPY YOUR DAY!

Some People Are Fish

2009-11-06T14:38:00.004-05:00

When its cold outside and you don't necessarily have to go outside, I say don't go. No matter what you decide to do with your free time when you stay in one thing is for sure; you are going to get hungry. Then the fun starts all over again because you quest for food turns into a scavenger hunt. You raid the pantry and find the box of cereal that can do nothing more than motivate you to find a bigger score. So you check the fridge and find that your refrigerator is dealing with the same problem New York is facing: overcrowding (man do I miss that second fridge). So now that you have found the food there are only two more steps: prepare and enjoy.

I bet you thought I only made pancakes.

SoHo

None Above Natural Law

2009-11-04T19:35:00.002-05:00

"Making music is art, it doesn't change who you are as a person. It doesn't mean you're entitled or you're above the law. You still treat people as human beings. It doesn't change the laws of the universe. Life has a balance and for every action there is a reaction. So if you put negative energy in, negative energy comes back to you. You have to live your life within the laws of the universe and I haven't lost sight of that." Shawn Carter

source

SoHo

The Next 5 Miles

2009-11-04T18:27:00.003-05:00

The start of a race and the end, the first and fourth quarter; that's how I play. What about the middle ground? What happens when your on a path chasing a clear dream and you wake up? What do you do when everything that you once worked so hard for is out of sight? How do you maintain the course? How do you even find the course? When you start working towards a goal every step closer to success comes with a new level of comfort. A comfort that was previously unknown to you, making it easier for you to rethink why you are working so hard in the first place. If you engage the comfort and become comfortable you will stop working towards your goal. In the childhood story of the tortoise and the hare, the hare was so far ahead that he felt comfortable and decided to rest a while in his comfort. He never imagined that his little break would grow into a full on sleep that almost cost him the race. Remember this when you think of taking a break, resting or stopping because you'll find yourself sliding back down the same mountain that you worked so hard to climb. Wonder how it will feel when you are standing in the same spot that you started the trek.

May the force be with you.

SoHo

You & I Both...

2009-11-02T16:10:00.004-05:00

Approach you with my eyes closed, your breathing heavy, your body temperature is rising, your almost ready. Open my eyes wide & dive inside yours, you belong to the city but your mines behind closed doors. Swept you off your feet, you would have fallen for my charm but I held your stamina up with my energy. Deep inside the fox hole I massage your soul, I pull you close to me, whisper in your ear "let it go" & watch you lose control... WOAH!

I think you need a break, I see it in your face, your about to break but I promised I would you give you more than you could take, your core starts to quake, your leg starts to shake, your nails in my back, your screaming my name! Your stuttering words, all you can say... gator... gator. You want that gatorade? No more holding back, I'm about to give you all, then I pause for just one thought: How sturdy is that wall? Thought lost, socks off, now we will never fall. The bed's dead, the rooms a mess, everything is on the floor but we don't even notice we are caught up in the storm. You didn't know secure until you were in my arms. Your body told your mind it felt love in my palms & your eyes told me "I want you to hold me". Lost inside a pleasure we are having fun, I know a place that we can go (whispers in your ear) "Baby just cum". The volcano explodes, the hurricane came, you lay there froze, your so amazed. You want to take pictures but your in a daze, DAMN what a day, MY what a night, BEAUTIFUL girl, o what a LIFE! I watch the sun rise, your gone before I yawn twice...

This was just a dream it was all in my mind.

SoHo

Anyone Have The Time?

2009-11-01T12:06:00.003-05:00

A non spatial continuum in which events occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future.

I think we have all been mislead about time. As a child the way you are taught to understand time is through the design of the clock. In the early stages they show you a clock with two hands and the instructor manipulates the hands of the clock, stopping on particular times that are easy for you to understand. There are only two hands on these clocks that you are taught with, the minute hand and the hour hand, so does that mean that as a child seconds don't exist?

Seconds don't exist to a child.

As we get older the clocks that we see get more intricate. Bigger faces, beautiful trim, life size grandfather frames, elegant hands and so much more get added to the original clock that we first learned to tell time with as a child. However there is one substantial difference in the clock; the second hand. Once we get past the age of 5, the second hand becomes real to us. Is it that we better understand time now or is it that time has somehow grown with us? Has time expanded to include seconds or have the seconds always been present? Somehow these new clocks always remind us of the first clock that we learned on so we will always be able to tell the time no matter how different they look.

Our minds are conditioned to think a certain way from infancy.

Daylight savings time is a blatant manipulation of time for the economic profit of the government, America isn't the only country that follows this setting the clock back/ setting the clock ahead process. Remember the initial definition of time? "apparently irreversible succession" doesn't it strike you as odd that the English definition of time uses the word "irreversible" but yet we set our clocks back for an extra hour of sunlight?

What is the connection between the clock and time itself?

The clock is a tool, a man made device that stems back to the beginning of time. When the clock was first created man used the positioning of the sun to determine what time it was. What does the sun have to do with time itself?

Forget Everything You Already Know!

Time is independent. Everything else is affected by the existence of time. The planets in our solar system orbit the sun in a matter of time but the time they take to orbit the sun doesn't determine time itself. Therefor the time it takes our planet to spin on it's axis doesn't define time itself. Truth is no man has ever completely understood time. Time is a natural force of the universe and the key to comprehending the idea of time is understanding yourself and nature itself. Technology has created this idea that we can manipulate the forces of nature but in actuality it has kept us further from the truth than ever before. We aren't living off of the natural time of the universe but rather by an artificial man made time. The reason we can actually manipulate this time is because it isn't real.

Space, Time, Nature & God

SoHo

Jay-Z: The Godfather

2009-10-31T01:44:00.005-04:00

"The Michael Corleone of the microphone/ The Michael Angelo of flow/ I paint pictures with poems..." Shawn Carter

I find it comical that we are in this situation yet I am not surprised. P and I often speak on the fact that most people don't understand Jay-Z so it always amazes us how much people like him. Recently the jigga man has been brought to trial on all sorts of charges from his marriage and thoughts of children to his affiliation with the free mason society. Earlier today a 7 minute track by Beanie Sigel entitled "What you talking bout?" was the hot topic on twitter. The tweeters thoughts varied, from why Sigel was saying these things about Jay-Z to why Jay-Z would do these things to Sigel. In order to understand the situation you must first understand the man involved, that man being Shawn Carter and in order for one to understand Shawn you need to decode the messages in the lyrics of Jay-Z. They are two very similar individuals but as any dictionary will tell you "similar" is not "identical". If you don't believe me google images of "Jay-Z" then google images of "Shawn Carter" you will see that completely different sets of photographs will show up for each respectively.

If you have followed the career of Jay-Z as long as I have think back to his first album "Reasonable Doubt", to me the album cover is foreshadowing what is to come from Mr. Carter. The shot seen above includes Dame Dash and Kareem Burke the co owners of Roc A Fella records but the shot that was selected for the album cover was a solo shot of Jay-Z. The theme for the album and those to follow are obviously very heavily influenced by 'The Godfather' trilogy. This movie in combination with: 'Scarface', 'Goodfella's' and a bit of 'Casino' are the keys to understanding the rhymes of Jay-Z and the mind of Shawn Carter. The moves that led to the break up of "The Roc" would have been predictable if people were more observant. In the first installment of "The Godfather" three important things happen to allow Michael Corleone, the youngest out of three brothers and a sister, to become 'the godfather'. The first being the murder of his older brother Sonny, then the death of his father and finally the extermination of three don's and a major player from Las Vegas. These men that were murdered under Michael's orders were men that worked with his family in the past that he saw as threats to the survival of his family. Once these men were strategically taken out of the picture Michael Corleone received the title of "Capo di tutti capi" or Boss of all bosses. There was no one left to stand in his way and his family was now the strongest with him as the sole controller.

This is a plot that Jay-Z knows all too well, his songs are sprinkled with the ideals from the depicted mafia lifestyle and even specific terms. In a 1997 freestyle done for the "Bad Boy Mixtape Volume 3" Jay-Z says in the first line "Roc A Fella's Capo unflappable" now for those of you whom don't know the word "capo" is short for caporegime which is a high ranking ''made'' member of a family. Owning this title grants you certain privileges, for one you can't touch a made man without an approval from a boss; so your basically bullet proof unless someone has the resources to handle being the target of an entire family. A capo is head of his crew and has some influence in the organization or family however he is not the boss. As a matter of fact the Capo is under the underboss whom is second in charge only to the boss. Jay-Z knowingly admitted in his '97 freestyle to being third in charge of the Roc A Fella family, however as his popularity grew and the family ventured into new avenues he realized that he would always be in that position unless he took action. When Dame brought on Cam'ron and Dipset as the newest members to the Roc, that was a very pivotal point and could possibly being viewed as the move that led to the separation. The problem Jay-Z faced with having Dipset on the label is the fact that he wasn't in control of them. Cam'ron was not a soldier, he was a leader and if you pay attention to everyone that was previously signed to the Roc they are soldiers. If Jay-Z said shoot, they shot. If he said take this bullet for him, they did it without question. This is the point when Jay-Z realized that he had to up his position in the family and there was only one way to do that; eliminate Dame. The tragic assination of the Notorious B.I.G was like the death of Michael Corleone's father, I believe that B.I.G played that role to Jay-Z. I hear a lot of Biggie's lines in J's rhymes but I see it more as the knowledge that B.I.G left him with that he is passing on, just as Michael Corleone passed on the knowledge that his father left him with. So now with Dame out of the picture & Burke continuing to play the background Jay-Z is now the "Capo di tutti capi". Doesn't every other rapper respect him as the best rapper alive? Isn't he the most revered rapper alive? Kanye West refers to him as "the god of rap". Lil Wayne was content with being second on MTV's best rappers of 09 list once he found out that Jay-Z was number one. Oh and think about this for a second: How relevant is Dame Dash? How relevant is Jaz-O? How relevant is anyone else that got dropped from Roc A Fella records?

I understand everything Jay-Z does including the things he has been accused of by Beanie Sigel in this new track because I have seen the aforementioned movies (Godfather, Scarface, Goodfellas, Casino) and I see what power did to those characters, he is not exempt and he knows that he is not without fault. As he said in a freestyle over Kanye West's track "Grammy Family" "I got my face to the ceiling/ got my knee's on the floor please Lord forgive him/ has he lost his religion is the greed gon get him/ he's having heaven on earth will his wings still fit him?" Do I agree with all of Mr. Carter's decisions? No. However I can say that as long as a man is aware of the mistakes that he has made, he can learn from them. I hope that after reading this everything makes that much more sense.

"I'm spiteful/ If I don't like you I'm liable to buy you and drop you." Shawn Carter

SoHo

Can You Feel Me?

2009-10-28T15:14:00.001-04:00

"Don't hold me down, just let me fly. Don't kill me now, just let me die." Gunplay

SoHo

New Post Coming Soon

2009-10-28T13:52:00.002-04:00

I'm in love with life simply because I am alive. I'm not a hard man to please. I promise you are going to love the pictures from the Madbury Club shoot. I guarantee your going to love everything that everyone around me is doing and I am sure that you will not know what I am doing until I am done but right now I am tired.

Good Day.

SoHo

Pack It Up Father

2009-10-25T04:27:00.003-04:00

The bag that you see above is a creation by two stylish young men out of Jersey. No one is better suited to tell their story than they are so I suggest you take the time out to read their site: Herds of the Fathers

I got a chance to speak with Tobi, one half of the design duo about everything that came to mind during an amazing photo shoot with Phil that the world will get a chance to marvel at shortly. After speaking with the young man I felt compelled not only to take this picture (they just happened to be standing like this; seriously) but also do this post because I feel like the direction of their blog and the motivation behind the creations are positive and long story short we are on the same wave length when it comes to the way we view fashion, style and some other things that I can't really focus on right now because Nas 'The World Is Yours' is playing in the background and now I'm getting a call from a very attractive young lady; peace and much love to ya!

SoHo

Coolness P in BkC

2009-10-23T19:19:00.002-04:00

When you wear clothes its not just the fact that you like that particular article of clothing but its also a matter of you showing your level of respect for the brand. I like this article of clothing and I respect your brand enough to give you my hard earned money in exchange for this product. So this is P showing his respect for the brand The Brooklyn Circus.

150 Nevins St Brooklyn, NY 11217-2349 - (718) 858-0919

Open Daily 12pm-7pm

SoHo

The After Party

2009-10-23T18:57:00.002-04:00

I was attending a Knick pre-season game the night of this party but as I watched this video of what happened after the party I was in complete shock; I don't think I moved until the video ended.

SoHo

We Made Magic

2009-10-20T16:54:00.002-04:00

(click to enlarge)

I was thinking to myself the other day, there are many people with nice cameras and very few 'photographers' now that the true photographer's don't even want to be addressed as such just so they don't get mixed up with the rift raft. Personally I know some good photographers and not just people that play with lighting but I'm talking about some chicks that can kill you quick with a big gun (capture amazing shots with a nice camera). One in particular came to mind and I actually kind of miss her work. I don't see as much of it nowadays as there used to be and I feel like it needs to be seen so keep your eyes locked b/c in the near future there will be a reintroduction.

SoHo

Diamonds & Maybach's

2009-10-20T15:36:00.002-04:00

Rick Ross & Triple C's In Studio from Jason Burke on Vimeo.

"I don't have a twitter but if I did I would wake up 5 in the morning everyday and twit all my bitches this..." Rick Ross in reference to the song 'What I Do It For'.

SoHo

Monday Night Football

2009-10-20T11:25:00.002-04:00

If you ask me to forecast what a Monday night would look like I'd probably picture a beautiful young lady laying in my arms after hours of 'extra curricular activities' or even a three hour long conversation with a beautiful out of towner, who's voice alone gives me enough motivation to pack my bags for another trip.

However what I often forget is that my life is random to say the least so in short my Monday night was spent watching a rapper who made his way into MTV's top ten list & his crew tear up a manhattan studio while playing tracks from their upcoming compilation album. I'm working on the video as well, nothing special just a little something before the album drops.

Stay Tuned

SoHo

This Is Art!

2009-10-18T15:19:00.005-04:00

featuring: $hellz

photo credit: Synkami Diablo

Mixed feelings from most? Maybe, but most never get genius until years later when what that person did finally becomes acceptable. Upon first sight my reaction... WOW! Possibly even a couple laughs until I got to this picture and I froze. I was stopped dead in my tracks and captivated for God only knows how long by this shot. It's perfect. However it was much more than the fact that it was perfect that held my attention, I wanted to understand why I thought it was so perfect? How is this shot any different from the rest? Then it hit me, this is a natural shot. A moment in life captured, very different from a picture. Most pictures are posed people, held in time and reviewed in frames of existence but this photograph is what every photographer tries to do in every shoot; make it look as natural as possible. Except for in this instant there was no effort, it just is. I can mentally see the motions a second after the picture, they might not even had been ready for the shot but just then... a flash!

Cheers to perfection.

SoHo