Royal: Issue 9 - Blacksmith

Today more than ever independence is a strong and powerful ideal.We live in a time overwhelmed with density and saturation.The lust to consume everything in sight has become a self manufactured poison that causes blindness, apathy and eventually, cultural breakdown.With this being said - it has always been the responsibility of the youth generation to rebel against the rooted establishment.

Rebellion is often funded by those we are rebelling against. Seemingly natural revolts are nothing more than carefully constructed marketing campaigns. - now enter the independent brand. The “indy� - the last great hope for freedom and innovation...The birthplace of true movements almost always comes from the fringe, outside the popular opinion and status quo.This issue is dedicated to independence. From fledgling media companies, to artists, poets, writers, athletes, entertainers and visionaries.These people dont punch a clock and wait around for corporate promotions and vacations - they have blazed their own paths and continue to push limits, while inspiring us to push ourselves. Lets investigate how some of these upstarts and mature brands do what they do and hold sway.

Enjoy.

David Gensler

ISSUE 9 volume two Collisions, Culture & Capitalism STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS: Publisher : The KDU Editor-In-Chief : David Gensler Creative Director : Aerosyn-Lex Director of Photography : Kareem Black www.kareemblack.com Design Contributors : Electric Heat, Neuarmy, Faceless Art, Black-Marmalade, Justin Maller, Matei,Valp, Piratebot, PJ Richardson, nonTYPE, Chuck Anderson, No Pattern.t Photography: Matt Salacuse, Brooke Nipar www.salacuse.com www.brookenipar.com

Royal Magazine Trust theKDU. Advertising: ads@theroyalmagazine.com Press: press@theroyalmagazine.com Submissions: submissions@theroyalmagazine.com All content copyright protected by THE KDU, Inc. and the artist or author.

Printed by proof 7 a division of NY Print NY www.proof7.com 1.212.965.0988 Royal Magazine is a fully independent publication not affiliated with any other publication of like or similar name.

European Editor: Steve Vogel Contributing Writers: Saya Oshima, Christine Su

Business Acceleration: David Howitt, Ken Barker The Meriwether Group www.meriwethergroup.com

Contributing Editors: Josh Cooper, Jenna Rivers Sir Laurence N. Chandler, Jesse Cooper, Emily Tippins

Apparel Printing: Quist Industries, Redhook Brooklyn www.quistindustries.com

General Counsel: Abel Pierre, Esq. Telephone: 347-701-7238

Fine Print Consultant: Howie Paster, Alpine Creative Group www.alpinecreativegroup.com

SPECIAL THANKS: Sharon Gensler, Josephine and Mark Rivers, Brian Collins, Howie Paster, Ed Cooper, Koan Baysa, David Last, Lisa Sanders-Blackwood, Lori Greenberg, Susan Kirshenbaum, Todd Lowe, Ben Velez, Rebecca Diaz, David Howitt, John Hoekman, Melissa “40” Meister, Nicole Rice, Kevin Garnett, Talib Kweli, “E”, Midori, Corey Smyth, Rasheed Young, Roger Brown, Arden, Sarah, Kato, Holly, Chimay, Haji, Puddy, Mrs. Turtle, Elvis Snapper Presely, Pattie Hanna, Jeffery Manage, Kit, Myles, Rich, John, Jen and Mike Pops, Jamil, Rueben, George and all the bagel shop crew, Eva Grajver, Emily Atari, Yitz Rosen, Dom Gravis, Tripp, Piney Kahn, Ben at Krew, WRG mag, Scott Melker, James and Taj, Jason Campbell, Josh Rubin and Josh Spear —Thanks and Praise to la familia Mestrovic, Saya and the Oshima clan, to Graphic Havoc GHava, razor-sharp nonTYPE, heavy in them streets HOODBORN & James James.

Diplo, Mad Decent Records, Tokyo Fam - Yoshitaka Kogure, Dense, Clever & La Foret. That Hotbwoy Ron, Young Hov, Lynnette Astaire, Black Mandrews and our Down South Fam’ 407, 305 to the death, viva Argentina and anyone we missed... you know you are in our hearts - and special thanks to all the advertisers, sponsors and especially the entire global KDU global family. One True Love.

WWW.THEKDU.COM

ROYAL GLOBAL MEDIA

IN THIS ISSUE Corey Smyth Talib Kweli Blackstar Jean Grae SAS Marc Ecko M-1 Livingroom Johnston No Love Lost Common Questlove Mark Gonzales Monihan Monihan MC Paul Barman OUR MEDIA featuring

...

Current TV Daily Candy MissBehave Theme Staple IdN

Josh Rubin powerHouse Piers Fawkes Beautiful Decay Dork Mag 9714

Playtimes Dave Ireland Weekly Drop Slam X Hypebeast Habit

WWW.THEROYALMAGAZINE.COM WWW.BLACKSMITHNYC.COM No part of the Royal may be reproduced in any form by any means without prior written consent from the Editor-in-Chief. All content copyrighted by The KDU Inc. and the artist or author.

THE NEW

BLACK

We just covered Corey Smyth and Blacksmith music in issue 7 - in the six months since that issues released they have turned some hot new energy into a full fledged movement. So we decided to team up and jointly produce a special edition of the Royal - focused on showcasing the full scope of the Blacksmith brand, some close friends and other independent brands we admire and respect.

What roll do you see independent media playing in the future of Hip Hop? Indie Media is the Backbone at this point.

Without Indies, most Majors would be nothing. Majors are just a shell of what they use to be. Indies get the music at its core. In a nut shell people are usually introduced to most things (music, films etc.) at a grass roots level and when it’s not done that way there is no foundation for projects to stand on. So the future and present are being brought to you at some way through independent media.

Where do you personally get your information from? What forms of media?

Any favorites?

Internet, magazines, and word of mouth. I live in a community that’s pretty well informed and constantly sharing information. There is always someone telling me to check something out. That's the way I stay current...I've never been able to figure out how people just search the web all day. So I make sure I have people around me who have mastered that shit..

When you see information on blogs, does it hold the same weight as say other forms of media such as TV or print?

No. I’m not a big blog reader. I don’t trust them. Blogs are hype. I’m into facts; give me facts, fuck the fluff.

Jumping to the topic of Hip Hop..

Where is hip hop right now?

Where is it going?

Hip Hop is on the same path it’s always been on. Looking for new ways to be heard and respected. Hip hop’s fighting the good fight...but not winning every battle.

In terms of markets around the globe, where will hip hop have the biggest impact in the next 3 years?

Maybe China...But Hip Hop is affecting the whole world. What in the world is not Hip Hop. Show me something that is not Hip Hop and I’ll show you how it is. From all the types of music, to people and dress codes, Ralph Lauren, Versace, they all take something from Hip Hop. You can’t go anywhere without Hip Hop. There’s Tupac 101 classes at Universities!

Blacksmith is more than a name, concept or just another brand. It’s a movement of like-minded individuals I’ve met throughout the years. These artists, producers, staff, friends, and family have not only shaped and molded the identity of Blacksmith, but have also played part in shaping mainsteam culture. I'm very proud to have been allowed to participate in their individual growth and success. The power behind the movement is individuals knowing and doing what they do best. I have always been amazed by the concept of networking.

It’s an asset which goes far beyond a hard work ethic and vision. You have to touch the proper people and that has been part of what I’ve been able to establish since Œ91.

This has allowed me to begin Blacksmith as a management company and grow into film production, soundtracks, and we’re just at the start of launching the Blacksmith Music. We’re tapping into all media outlets worldwide.

So I want to thank the artists for being the voices and faces that allows this to exist.

They are inspirations to me and I hope that I inspire them the same. It seems like 15 years is a long time, but we’re just at the beginning.

www.blacksmithnyc.com

COREY SMYTH . Eve r o n t h e G r i n d

TALIB

KWELI

Few individuals command more respect while maintaining such a humble presence.

Talib Kweli is hip-hop’s gentleman poet. With sharp wit and an eloquent flow he has defined and redefined the modern state of hip-hop. Pay attention as he gives you a reason to Listen.

TALIB KWELI . Word fo r Wo rd

When I first got into hiphop, you had to buy vinyl even if you werent a dj, it was the only format the real shit came in. I used to take a dollar van with Juju and Rubix to Beat Street and dig thru the white labels.

You could find out what was fresh by listening to Red Alert or Marley Marl on weekends, maybe Ralph McDaniels would have a video, but you had to search for it.

You spent money on hiphop because you supported the culture, and you listened to an album to find something that fit you.

As hiphop has become more corporate, the artists with major label deals have to make product that feeds the machine or sit on the shelf. The artists have lost faith in themselves and the people have lost faith in the artists. The industry is devouring itself. It’s almost like a record deal is the worst thing a foward thinking artist can have now. When I was on Rawkus, they bought into a movement that was being established by MCs like Mos Def and Jean Grae and creative entreprenuers like El P and Kalodge Projects. They won because they put out vinyl, and my generation ate it up like crack in 86.

Rawkus allowed the pure artist to connect with the pure audience. 8 years and 3 record deals later, that movement still exist, and my contemporaries have become the vanguard for hiphop that matters, but there is no flag to wave.

This is where Blacksmith music comes in. People know me for my complete participation in this culture. They know about Black Star and Reflection, they know about Okay Player and Spitkicker. I find myself in a position to really tie all of this positive energy in together with Blacksmith Music, and I’m going to take advantage of it. There is a driving force in the music that I get to see from traveling.

We are not all the same, but we all have the same passion. I can smell it, taste it, I

feel it slipping thru my fingers like grains of sand. I am going to build a house, a mansion, a castle, and show that we are all kings and queens in this game. I am going to take what i’ve learned from seeing this game from top to bottom, and i’m going to create that which we all know is needed..

Blacksmith is the music, it is the movement.

Talib Kweli BKMC, challenge me.

U n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e M ove m e n t Ever since emerging as a member of Black Star in the late 1990s, Talib Kweli is one of the few artists making commercially viable music that matters. The Brooklyn bred rapper’s hard-hitting music has been able to educate and entertain simultaneously. So it is no wonder that at the peak of their fame, both Jay-Z and 50 Cent named Talib Kweli as one of their favorite rappers.

With Ear Drum, his first album released on his own Blacksmith Music and his sixth album overall, Kweli has delivered his career-defining work, a polished collection showcasing his advanced lyricism and his penchant for picking music that resonates long after the song ends. “The image of the ear and of the drum are powerful enough by themselves, but when you put them together, it’s an instrument that’s in your body that helps you hear,” he explains.

“They’re also two very simple, yet powerful words. I wanted to focus on finding a sound that makes you move, and that’s where the word ‘Ear Drum’ popped in my head.”

Throughout Ear Drum, Kweli delivers powerful music that sparks your intellect and makes your body move. He teams with Reflection Eternal partner Hi-Tek on “More Or Less.” Over pounding drums and a minimalistic groove, Kweli makes

brash declarations on how to improve music specifically and American society in general. “A statement like, we need ‘more rap songs that stress purpose/With less misogyny and less curses/Let’s put more depth in our verses,’ I haven’t made bold, blatant statements since that like ‘Manifesto.’ There are fans of mine that really appreciate those statements because there are times when those statements need to be made.”

An equally bold Ear Drum moment comes on “Country Cousins,” which features Kweli trading verses with UGK and Raheem DeVaughn. Over a soulful beat accented by brassy horns, Kweli, Bun B and Pimp C talk about the reality of their experiences growing up in New York and Texas, respectively. “People have the perception of what an East Coast artist sounds like, who he’s supposed to be listening to and what he likes, and what a Down South artist sounds like,” Kweli explains. “There’s preconceived notions and that’s really what the song with Bun and Pimp C is about, the preconceived notions between East Coast artists and Down South artists.”

Throughout Ear Drum, Kweli makes a point to explore new topics, collaborate with a variety of artists and rap over distinctively innovative production. It is part of Kweli’s growth as an artist and as a person. “We need to challenge our audience but we also need to challenge ourselves to know that whatever our new experiences are, we can write about them, be creative and bring that to an audience without them feeling alienated,” he says.

Long-time Talib Kweli followers will say the same thing about him. Since his stellar debut with Mos Def as Black Star, Kweli has been one of rap’s most exceptional and consistent artists. Released in 2000, Reflection Eternal, the RIAA-certified gold album with Hi-Tek, was one of the most acclaimed albums of the year. In 2002, smash single “Get By,” the biting political commentary “The Proud” and the insightful examination of America’s gun culture on “Gun Music” made Quality a landmark recording and Kweli’s second

gold album. Subsequent recordings in 2004 (The Beautiful Struggle) and 2005 (Right About Now) solidified his status as one of rap’s most talented and important voices.

Now, after establishing himself as a rap visionary, Kweli along with long-time manager Corey Smyth launched Blacksmith Music. The pair signed an exclusive deal with Warner Bros. to market, promote, and distribute the music of Blacksmith artists.

Following Kweli’s release on Blacksmith/ WBR there will be a new solo album from Jean Grae, the critically acclaimed South African-born female rapper who is among the most respected female rappers in the history of the genre. Rolling Stone called her “the best kept secret on New York’s indie hip-hop scene,” while XXL, Spin, Village Voice, URB and others have labeled her an artist to watch. Strong Arm Steady, a forthcoming Blacksmith/WBR release, is a super group whose members are platinum rapper and Pimp My Ride host Xzibit, Los Angeles underground star Phil The Agony, lyrical assassin Krondon and San Diego rap pioneer Mitchy Slick. Strong Arm Steady has been one of the few West Coast acts to build a rabid fanbase through mixtapes.

Kweli hopes Blacksmith will create a movement with Jean Grae and Strong Arm Steady, much as his own music has.

“With Blacksmith, I want it to be a flag that everyone can wave,” he says. “I want to be packing shows and I want people to feel like they were up on Jean Grae and Strong Arm Steady before anybody else was.”

In the mean time, the lyrically and soncially potent Ear Drum demonstrates that strong, powerful messages can serve as the backbone for music at its best. “The vast majority of my subject matter focuses on black self-love, black self esteem, black self worth,” Kweli says. “That translates to other communities because if you’re a human being, it doesn’t matter what color you’re talking about. You’ve been through some sort of struggle and you can apply it to your own life.”

Especially after listening to Ear Drum. www.myspace.com/TalibKweli

TA L I B K W E L I by E l e c t r i c H e a t

TALIB KWELI by NeuA r my

REBORN

ETERNAL I said one, two, three - Mos Def and Talib Kweli... still the best alliane in hip hop...

I m a g e s by E l e c t r i c H e a t

QUEEN

GRAE

This goes out to my Brooklyn Crew! Jean Grae is hands down one of the realest people we know. She’s the proof that talent, beauty and persistence is a lethal combo.

Currently in studio preparing her new album, Jean took a few minutes to graciously share a piece of her mind with the Royal.

J EAN GRAE . In Her O w n Wo rd s

What are some of your favorite lyrics of all time?

Anything Pharoahe Monch said on the Extinction Agenda album. Don't make me pick just one.

See, I looove words. Like, I would enjoy cuddling a bunch of words and stroking them gently and - well, you get the picture.

I don't mean that I love when people throw a whole word jumble in a song for no good damn reason. Many are guilty of this. It stinks, it's boring and it's wack. Stop it you guys. That whole, "my lyrical miracle, reeses pieces, thesis, paraplegic catharthis..no.

You stop it. Right now, before I make you a paraplegic. That being said, I appreciate WORD PLAY, wit, sarcasm, phrasing, rhythm. There's a few people who are incredible at this there stuff: Jay, Eminem, Blackthought, Andre 3000, Pharoahe.

Ah, so let’s get to Pharoahe. This isn't a, "tell me about your favorite emcees" bit, so I won't. All I'm saying is, Extinction Agenda (whole damn album). That man molested sound, timing, phrase, pronunciation.. shit I had no idea you could ever do. He abused the words. He touched them in bad places until they cried out in shrill tones for adults. I was mesmerized. I kow-towed to the speaker. It was delicious.

I hit that damn rewind so much my tape popped. Then I bought another one and popped that one too.

I miss having the "rewind-factor" nowadays.

People rewind for you. They just say the damn word over again. Sigh. Amateurs. I remember us discussing songs like, "Yo! You heard what that nigga just said!?!? Oh SHIT!!! Bring that shit back!" I truly love artists who make me rewind. People who aren't afraid to think. It doesn't have to be a page out of the encyclopedia combined

with a thesaurus and a rhyming dictionary. I do not want to listen to your interplanetary galactic themed raps, complete with vortex's and such. When Jay says something silly and clever as, "If you grew up with holes in your za-pa-tos"...Pronouncing it "zah-pahtoes" instead of za-pah-tos. (Duh.. Spanish for shoes) It makes me giggle.. He didn’t have to say it in Spanish damnit. It wasn't calculus, but it was smart and clever. I love that. I've got too many lines that I love. I can't put all of them down, even that one right there was something real recent, cause if I start listing all the others, this will be the nerdiest article ever. Yeah, so that’s me.

I'm a word lover. Sounds dirty huh? I like it.

"Git out ah toahwn yeyoo werrrd loverrr!" the angry rednecks will yell at me... And I'll run, run away with my popped cassettes and yell, "Buuhht I luuhve theyum!"

Oh, and... you guys, don't tell Pharoahe any of this. www.myspace.com/JeanGrae

J E A N G R A E by N o Pa t t e r n

S T RO N G A R M S T E A DY by NeuAr my

“KLACK� sawed off shotgun shoot thru ya shoulder blade / bitch made niggaz get hit wit a hand grenade / blow up ya escalade / then i hit the road and im back in da hood lookin 4 something to smoke / every time i use the element of surprise / wit a gun big enough to make a elephant hide/i elevate my living by hustling crack addicts/get locked but when im released im back at it / see Mitch know the time he fronted me the Birdie / an Phil got the customers coming to get it early / we came a long way from police chasing us / for dope in our socks an angel dust / yeah klack for my strippers in clubs shaking they tities / this mack will have ya running the city like p diddy / ill bank you coming out the side of ya mouth / we the reason why you stay in the house...... dizzil

Better education for the kids, better places to live, better opportunities for me to give more, live more, better blues, good news, hood news ,tie your shoes, easy on the booze, i don’t want to loose ,choose to, learn more, i just want to burn more, light a match to the turmoil till we earn more, concern y’all hypocritically gotta get at you, issues again the pistols are the pen again ..... All i want for christmas is bush’s head attached to a pig - on a silver platter candy apple fake wig, forgiveness, emptiness to be fulfilled, million dollar record deal advance that’s in the can. Move’em like duran duran from fan to fan,posted up sitting on the block like hand to hand,Strong arm laced us with the cut, yo mitch slick what’s up? you and kron got your boy on one...

STEADY!!!!! “ ALL I WANT” FRom the forth coming album “ARMS and HAMMERS”

S TRONG ARM STEADY by Danimal

MARC

ECKO

“Crawl. Walk. Run Bitches!!!! Process young Tatooine leader.” Marc Ecko’s ingenuously ejecting words of advice for new brands in search of, following in the success of the Marc Ecko blueprint.

This self professed Star Wars aficionado, entrepreneur, CEO, and mogul, currently convenes on top of a lifestyle empire that includes everything from 12 Ecko Unlimited brands such as Ecko Red, G-Unit, Zoo York, a men’s lifestyle magazine Complex, Ecko TV, Ecko Gaming and some other top secret projects that “seriously, if he told us…he’s might just have to kill us.”

All right, so he probably wouldn’t kill us but this 36-year-old Jersey boy, who began his business making T-shirts in the basement of his parent’s house, might just charge us though. Marc Ecko is the mastermind of an enterprise that last year alone, reported billings of over $1 billion and there are no plans on stopping either.

Moreover, even with all those millions, you won’t find this urban magnate dancing with models and popping bottles like some of his other counter parts, instead Marc is an unquestionable family man, who’d rather be behind the scenes stacking up his empire. Especially with the ever-changing urban fashion/cultural environment that’s seen other huge brands come, explode and disappear, Marc’s enterprise has somehow managed to stay afloat and survive successfully. We managed to pry Marc away from his chip stacking to pinpoint how exactly Marc Ecko Enterprises has been able to accomplish such a feat, continue to grow and amass even more chips.

What are you personally looking for these days to find inspiration?

I’ve been designing and restoring a lot of real estate lately—learning how my brand needs to express itself in spaces. From residential spaces to retail, there’s a unique circle of design amongst these old school architect types. It’s been really inspiring, and has made me a bit more constraint and mature about design. I’m geeking out on it.

My favorite magazine right now is “World of interiors” out of the UK. Amazing.

Also, I spend a great deal of my time in developing new intellectual properties for gaming and entertainment. And I’m working on projects that won’t reveal themselves for 2 or 3 years, which has made me a lot more measured and patient.

And, I love to travel. Traveling is one of the greatest benefits in my gig. But I’m not a pig about it. I like to take it in like the locals would.

My kids are also a major inspiration. I love my kids so fucking much.

What are your thoughts about the market being extremely saturated with new brands at the moment — When is too much simply too much? And do smaller brands weaken the overall health of the industry or improve upon it?

I don’t believe the market is saturated with new brands. In actuality, the market place is dominated by brands that are 20 years or older—the same ones we’ve all known.

Despite the success of the street wear and “urban” market…when you add us all up, we still aren’t as big as Nike…or a conglomerate like Liz Claiborne.

I think it’s a perception and “awareness” thing. The by-product of the 80’s and the slivering of media culture (100 plus cable channels, the rise of the internet, etc.) taught the consumer that there are options; more “specific” options to your taste…than let’s say just ABC or NBC…or Coke and Pepsi…or Polo and Levi’s. The consumer, and this niche phenomenon, has made us aware of what was once considered the “fringe” players. The 90’s was all about rewarding and acknowledging the fringe… and seeing how disruptive they could be to the bigger machine. Welcome to hip-hop.

So how much is too much? I don’t know.

There are anomalies to the rules. I am not clairvoyant, so I won’t dare answer. But I will say, that despite not graduating college…I learned one thing in Business #101 and the rules of “supply and demand”. It’s “too much” when it’s on the shelves, but folks ain’t buyin’ it.

Smaller brands are great for the market.

That is what America is all about. A dollar and a dream. Today, more than ever, the under dog has a great advantage as culture has embraced the pirate. At the end of the day, the most significant trends are driven from the street up. The smaller, more nimble brands shake shit up and disrupt the static. They usually are born from something close to the street. If they disrupt with enough of a swagger and their own “brandable” hand-writing…then they won’t be “the small brand” for long.

So what mistakes do new brands make most often?

Mistakes are like birthmarks. We all have them, and they all are unique to the individual. I know I can say that my mistakes, and the lessons I went on to learn from define who I am today as a businessman.

The greatest practical mistake brands make, is not running a real due diligence on le-

gal, trademarks, accounting, etc. That’s nuts and bolts stuff. But the killer is young folks inability to keep emotions out of the business. That doesn’t mean don’t be passionate. It means don’t be an emotional retard and make stupid mistakes based on making yourself, or the “collective” ego feel better.

Be conscious. Sober. Call shit on yourself.

Look in a mirror, at all of it…the ugly unruly bits, and assess “What is it that I can do better? With more purpose? More efficiency? Smoother? With less distractions?

Most cats get so hyped on their first taste they loose sight of the long distance play.

It’s sad. Sort of like that dude we all went to High School with who still 15 to 20 years after he did it, relishes on his one big game.

Then with so many different brands touching so many facets of the market – how do you decide where to go next?

Everything has to be strategic. You can’t

just wake up one day and whimsically decide you want to be in this business or that.

You need a vision and game plan that’s at least 4 years out with big hairy goals. If the work we are doing during the day isn’t getting us one step closer…one rung up the ladder…we are wasting our time. It’s that simple.

There was a phase where for 2-years, I made decisions with my ego, and not my brain. Then you wake up one day asking yourself “what the fuck was I thinking?” I learned the hard way. Which is usually the best and only way.

Inside the Marc Ecko Enterprise organization, is there one thing that fuels success and innovation?

OF COURSE! It is a magical pill that we make everyone take on the first day of work. Not! There’s no one-way to slice success or innovation. That said there are an array of values and beliefs that are roadmaps and the underpinnings of it. Honesty.

Good communication…even if it will hurt your feelings. Having a sense of urgency… as someone is probably hungrier and faster than you are. Don’t get gassed…you are as good as the sum, not the parts…one good move doesn’t constitute a “great stride”.

Be knowledgeable and conscious of DATA, DATA, and DATA. Just because you say, “it’s so”, doesn’t make “it so”. Prove it. Quantitatively.

on my radar today. But a private island and hotel on the other hand...

With that all said and done, what’s next in terms of the market… where is street culture, urban culture, mash culture heading?

What’s next? I’m not sure about the street/ urban culture but I’m making sure that I stay inspired to get up every morning. Making sure that my team and the hundreds of folks that bust their ass for me everyday are hyped and want to get out and destroy.

Making sure we are informed. Clean air.

That’s what is immediately next. Seriously, if I told you…I’d have to kill you. Okay maybe not “kill you” as in gun and murder Samuel L. Jackson style. But I just might charge you and start something else.

Absolutely start something else indeed. Spoken like a true business savvy man. It is Marc’s consistency and relentless pursuit to build not just a business but a lifestyle that has empowered the Ecko brand to transcend from unmistakably being another urban fashion brand to a brand that’s publishing magazines, creating TV shows and building buildings to name a few. With a business vision that’s evidently hell-bent on taking over the world, the Marc Ecko brand came, stayed and is even more than ever looking to conquer and destroy— which is exactly the way Marc wants it.

Do you consider the Ecko to be similar to a brand like Virgin? Can we expect to see Ecko Airlines or wireless services in the future?

While there’s a lot to be said of the Virgin model, I do see, and have plans for extending the brand into non-endemic places.

That said, I don’t necessarily think that it’ll all happen under one brand name. I may engage new businesses with new better-positioned brands and brand concepts that fit the plan. Some may happen under the Ecko umbrella. Some may be less direct, like my magazine Complex. An airline? That’s not

www.ecko.com www.complexmag.com

Marc Ecko on Independent Media: Every generation has yielded a disruptive, creative moment that “Pops Culture.” Historically its been the manifestation and messages of the artist. John Lennon. Andy Warhol. Stanley Kubrick. In the early 80’s it was Iggy Pop or Grand Master Flash. It was punk. It was hip-hop.

Today, the most disruptive voices are no longer the artists voices being piped over the corporate airwaves. Sorry Kanye. Its not Eminem...or Jay-Z...or Gwen...or Angelina...or Brad. Its the voice of the pirate. The pirate has become the producer.

That indy punk “f-the-man” message is no longer a hook in a song. Its real. Its scary. Its hungry. Its Godzilla, and he’s knocking on the door, un-invited, ready for dessert. But, like our political enemies today...you can’t see him. He’s in the shadows. He operates in a clandestine web of “bit-torrents” and “freeware”.

Gil Scott Heron was right. The revolution won’t be a TV broadcast. But it will be broadband. The chickens have come home to roost. Old, grown-ass-men, corporate giants...are scrambling in the speculation.

From Rupert Murdoch to Sumner Redstone.

“They shook, there ain’t no such thing as half way crooks.”

Azureus. Torrentspy.com. Senuti. VLC media player. It’s the democratization of media culture.

X-men 3 opens friday night. Download it for free Saturday night.

Blogs are the tip of the fucking ice-berg. It’s not the “independent rant” or the “streets” ability to keep big media honest that defines this moment. The ipod is brilliant, but its just one channel on a billion channel box.

It won’t define this moment either. Piracy will. Piracy has been the revolutionary voice of the independent. It’s as american as apple pie and Frank White.

On being independent and privately owned: So what. I’m independent. What is independence besides a state of mind. It is

definently not a motif. It’s not a font. It’s not a T-shirt graphic. It isn’t defined by how many desks are in your office either. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a measure of how “rock ‘n roll” you are. Apple is a publicly held megabrand. And as far as I can see, they are as indy as Juxtapose magazine. They are doing what the fuck they want to do.

Since when is moving the needle a bad thing? Sure, I’m as sick of white head phones as the next dude. But blame that on the competition. They’ve been asleep at the wheel and uninspired. G-d doesn’t punish pretty. Steve Jobs and Apple are very pretty.

On complex mag and being the “biggest in our domain”: I refuse to do anything small. Frankly, at 350k circulation, Complex is too small for my liking. I rhetorically ask my friends and peers out there in the publishing business all the time...”why bother doing all that heavy lifting per page...for only 100,000 eyeballs when you can work just as hard for 1,000,000 to see????”

Since when is under acheiving cute.

That’s why I push us to do more. Urgently.

What? I gotta’ be fat and have grey hair to want to think as big as Rupert Murdoch?

90 percent of the worlds designers, design for 10 percent of the worlds population.

50 percent of that 10 percent represent the wealthiest people in the world. That’s plain obnoxious. It’s ivory tower 1990’s bullshit.

It’s antithetical to the human condition. We want to be informed, and do better. All of us.

That desire transcends racial and economic boundries. Don’t believe me? Go deep into the most communist parts of China and peep all the fake Bapes and Goyard wallets.

And that’s in a place without “free press”.

The people want design and good content.

I have an amazing, inspired team...and ulimately that is why the book is working.

That and the fact that they are emotionally mature about running the business responsibly is the key to success. Doesn’t sound that sexy...but the truth never is.

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CORNERSTONE One of the pioneers of modern celebrity marketing, as well as an innovative publisher, Rob Stone takes a few minutes to shed light on his success - past, present and future.

What was your first big account and how do you see Cornerstone’s growth since then?

A chance reading of an article in 1998 led me to Darryl Cobbin, then brand manager for Sprite and marketer of the year. The article credited Darryl with taking Sprite from nowhere to #2 behind Coca Cola.

I remember always being impressed with Sprite and feeling it embraced me, my culture and my generation. It wasn’t talking at me, but rather it was walking my walk with me. It was in the article that I found out, that DC, as I now call him, was the man behind the brand. What started as an introductory call from me to DC, lead to Cornerstone’s first corporate client with Sprite in 1999. Now 7 years later, DC is the CMO of Boost Mobile, a Cornerstone client and a great example of how Cornerstone maintains relationships, over delivers on our promises and crafts unique campaigns that embrace the consumer.

Since our work with Sprite we’ve seen tremendous growth in our corporate clients.

We currently handle campaigns for Microsoft, Boost Mobile, Diageo, Coca Cola Company and Nike. I’ve always said the strength of Cornerstone is in our people.

We train and develop talent from within starting with our college program and continuously empower young adults who not only understand the culture but live it. Our staff has grown from 10 in 1998 to over 100 full time with offices in NY, LA and Chicago. The FADER Magazine, FADER FILMS and FADER LABEL is a whole other story.

You have helped form many musicians careers. Whose career do you see yourself having made the most impact? Which musician has had the most impact on you?

There have been many artists that we’ve worked with at Cornerstone and many artists that we consider part of our family.

The beauty of our company is the breadth of artists that we work with. Current artists that we’re really proud to be associated with are: Gnarls Barkley, Ice Cube, Gorillaz, Foo Fighters, Outkast, The Killers and Kanye West.

Puff and B.I.G.G.I.E. are the musicians that had the most impact on me. I was 24 when I was a vp at Arista Records which had a joint venture with Bad Boy. Back then it felt like everyday we were breaking new ground. Seeing Puff mix art and commerce and being around BIG and experiencing his creative genius and professionalism helped me set the bar at the level I needed to get things done. The stakes are high and you have to always be at your best.

You have Fader Magazine, Fader Label, Fader Films, where else are you looking to extend the Fader?

We’re currently working on a FADER TV pilot, FADER AWARDS and new film projects.

www.cornerstonepromotion.com www.thefader.com

A LIVE M-1 Where is the state of hip hop.

I mean shit …the state of hip hop is where the people are at. It is what the newest thing is that’s on the minds of the people today.

The freshest new idea-that’s gotten corrupted by the greediest corporations.

Where’s it goin.

Wow…Not forward…not forward... it’s finding anyway it can to stare reality in the face. Its goin around, and under and over the top but won’t look at reality dead in the face. Hip hop’s worst nightmare is reality.

The more we can fantasize; the better we are. And the better hip hop is for America.

What other mc's do you hold in high regard?

I like a lot of brothers’ styles. Then, you have the ultimate styles. I have to rank it but I’m not so discriminatory that I can’t see certain people’s style and see that is official. I have my peers that I respect and I do business with. I respect 50 cent, I respect Young Buck... I like too short. E 40s new album… Then you have that class that set the standard. My highest regards go to certain people. Krs1. rakim. They will never be dethroned. Chuck. Last poets. Those are the people who carved out a dent in history. You wonder sometimes, with the music some of these dudes make now, will it even make a dent? Sometimes this shit is stronger than I think...

Hell I never thought a motherfucker would remember me.

Do you plan on living in America for the rest of your life? Are you proud to be an American right now?

I have a 5 to 8 year plan and my plan is to be out of America. It actually began with the birth of my daughter. Ultimately, I want to get back to the birthplace of humanity and civilization…. And that’s Africa. And in no

consecutive part I’ll probably see Europe on the way. There’s a more direct relation with Europe. I don’t know where my relatives are really from in Africa. In Europe there’s a direct line I can follow. In the US I don’t know how stable the government is going to be much longer.

The government is fragile right now and if you want to insure you will be around for a hundred years you have to have a relationship with the land. We are consuming not producing. And that don’t mean I won’t be coming to America.

But it definitely means I’m trying to move the base. I’ll be here dropping albums but it will be a beautiful thing to drop worldwide.

From the outside lookin in it’s a whole different point of view.

How often do you still freestyle or get in ciphers?

Ahh man…I haven’t done that in fucking probably about five years!.. Free styled in a group of motherfuckers? I mean not publicly- amongst my peers tho. Some rapping ass niggas always rapping and shit.

I was in LA at the Key Club and seen krs1.. he jumped down. he jumped on the stage.

Goes into the freestyle shit..it’s goin.. goin.. its goin ….it gone!! take the chain…we sittin there buggin!..he came outta nowhere.. tell the dj to put wheels on the records.. freestylin bout dead prez….wilding!!..i was so tempted to jump in…krs 1 is a master freestyler.. my partner stic can freestyle his ass off tho…I like to think before I speak.

What's a minute worth to you?

A minute. Is priceless..in my life… I get to waste it!...but no one else gets to waste my precious minutes. I mean a minute right now there’s so many things I can hear in a minute. .i can hear the perfect minute… I can I discuss the master plan.. I can record a song. I can hear my child telling me a new word.. I cant get none of that back…

LIVINGROOM Johnston With a persona drenched in swagger befitting a modern urban myth — there is none other than our charismatic friend Mr. Livingroom Johnston. Extra thanks goes out for this exclusive pencraft.

This is how Livingroom did it up until now, and then some.tIn February of 2004 I said to fuck with working for people. To fuck with submitting shit to magazines and getting a goddamn mother fucking run around. I had been writing for years. In the early nineties it was the spoken word scene. It was good but wasn’t no money to be made in it. A few rose to the occasion and made off well. That didn’t include me. Boosting, jacking, etc. Then man up and get a job… didn’t work.March 3rd 2004 I left my flat in Fort Greene with a briefcase. Twenty five hand made books I had copyrighted and put together with my hands and with the help of a copy shop for the binds. That was my ‘fuck you’ to formal publishing. By the end of the night that briefcase was empty. Then I reprinted several times and wrote another one. And began working on another one. People were, and still are loving it.

My man Jest over at ALIFE was like Liv’ I have a project. Then bang… the Frank 151 Wu Tang ALIFE issue featured Livingroom Johnston, 6 pages with a two page photo spread. I still didn’t give a shit. That wasn’t paying my rent.During this time I had got a call from the Propeller Heads music group’s Alex Gifford. The wall of sound record label was doing a ten year anniversary album. So… I did a song titled: Johnston Strut Pt. 1. it’s the first song on the second C.D. A few more magazines got at me. I figured if I put it down the way I wanted it would work for me. Because I work for me - and only me. There was only one magazine I was interviewed for that I didn’t write my damn self - in third person. Because I gave a fuck about myself enough to figure - if I got scratch for publishing my own books then I would get the scratch for each and every word in any magazine written about me. And people respected that. When a rat is pushed in a corner it will scratch and bite back and people love the sounds of it. Human beings are sick like that. I still wanted to do something. I wanted to write and not let mother fuckers see me sweat. I am a good listener. So… when Monihan Monihan introduced me to David Gensler of the KDU, I was pleased and thankful he invited me into his lab. David put down some heavy words of advice that I took for me and only me. He’s a stand up solid dude. Game is to be sold and not told. But David saw some potential and gave Brother Livingroom some advice and I ran with it.

A year after I put out my five pocket sized novels a movie producer contacted me. His name is Reuben Cobia. He produced a documentary titled: LAY DOWN OLD MAN, about the Crips and Bloods, staring Greg (batman) Davis and T Rogers. And a film titled: 5up 2down, starring Kirk Acevado, Isaach De Bankole, Andre Royo and Paz De La Huerta.

Reuben’s film won a special jury award for cinematography this year. With that I was like, you know what? I think I’m going to get down with this cat. Reuben came straight up and down with no strings attached. The hustle didn’t stop there. We went over more paper work and I adapted the five novels into one screen play. Cool. That one is in the bag. The movie should be going into production soon. At the same time I wrote another novel. This one is titled: ‘I DON’T WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW’ through Magic

Propaganda Mill and No Surrender Press.

Still grinding with the hand made books. People liked the line drawings on the covers.

So… another idea popped into my head. I began painting on wood and canvass. People took to it and gave me money for it. People I actually love and care about. Initially I didn’t think it was right to take the money. Because I didn’t consider myself an artist. Then it had to settle in my head, YOU ARE WHO YOU THINK - OTHER PEOPLE - THINK YOU ARE. You tell a cat you ain’t shit and they believe it. You tell a cat you the baddest mother fucker in the world and you get what comes with that. Love and hate.

Part of the love is that I have been writing a fiction column for Mass Appeal magazine for a minute. You couldn’t find another Brother in this scene getting away with that like Langston Hughes - if you looked high and low. That’s love right there. Last Christmas I had exhausted my bankroll and Jean Grae and Gida came to the lab and dropped a couple of coines on my table for a few paintings, again, that’s love right there playboy/girl.

Last Summer I went to a BBQ at Jean’s flat and met Murs. He was in the process of putting together an album produced by Ninth Wonder. Murs had an idea. He asked if I would write a book that goes along with the album. I got excited and wrote it too long so they put it up on his Murs316.net website. You can read it there. It’s called STRANGE THINGS. That was a good look. That, along with the rest of the grind did something for Livingroom Johnston’s self esteem. That’s real right there. See? With that understanding of the fact people appreciate what I do I set up a PAINT SHOW at Halcyon shop in Dumbo Brooklyn. My first PAINT SHOW with a video instillation by Monihan Monihan, projected onto the wall out across the street. The PAINT SHOW was hosted by Jean Grae on the microphone. It was a good turn out. Three hundred plus people came out to see Brother Livingroom. The show came close to selling out. Good shit.

Hate? I’m not putting the energy out there in the universe. My true friends still call me.

Some got envious and I let them get in the wind. On with their lives. May GOD bless them. I don’t have time for bullshit politics. This one said this and that one said that. Let em’ say what they want and I’ll keep on working. A Soul Brother putting a stamp on the world, who will be remembered for putting in over a hundred percent hard work in and out.

I have a Fort Greene camp now. It consists of Brian Grosz, Brian Sats, Tauc, Ralph that owns the corner store, Mathew Robinson, Shannon, and a few others. We support each other by going to each other’s shows and buying things from one-another to keep the bread broken in full circle in the neighborhood. It’s good to have a team, where people work independently and come together when the time is right.

Here’s an excerpt from a story titled: Sticks, Stones and Rocks.

Yesterday I walked out of the Swedish restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan with their money and mine. The owner was a Swedish woman by the name of Hanna, whom was a severe alcoholic. She would come in between four and five in the afternoon and sit out on the patio and drink beer, while eating pounds of olives until closing time, with here friends. The joint closed at four in the morning. Veronica had a husband who was just as bad with the drinking as she was. He would come in and fuck with the staff.

He left me to keep to myself. As a Soul Brother working in a joint like that he got the

message as soon as I was hired six months ago - that I wasn’t to be fucked with. My name is Harlem Farfromsquare. That said enough to a cat like that. Hanna’s husband was named Gregory by whoever named him it. It made no difference to me. At ten forty five I went toward the kitchen door, where behind it was a flight of steps that led to the basement. Gregory was in there shouting at the kitchen staff. Oswaldo and Tobac.

Gregory had been giving them shit since before I even got the gig. I guessed Tobac had had enough because as I was about to enter into the kitchen when he turned on Gregory with a frying pan full of hot grease and doused him with it. I slid out the door and watched through the small round window, as Gregory screamed bloody murder and Tobac kicked him in the guts. Gregory fell down the stairs and broke his neck and died. I saw the twitch. That’s what led me to split with their bread and mine.

I got a yellow cab on Canal Street, over the Manhattan Bridge and left on Myrtle Avenue where I got out and went into a pool hall/ restaurant. The tables were set up in the back behind where the bar was. A cat by the name of Cards was at a table with one of his wives.

He wasn’t a polygamist. He was a gentle man aof leisure like Livingroom Johnston’s older brother Roskoe Jenkins. Cards was good with the cards, where he got his moniker. He was in a white tailor made suit. His coattails reached the floor. His wife wore a white dress that exposed her whole back. Cards was sitting with his back to the door, which wasn’t a good idea. He and his wife were deep in a large bowl of crawfish. I peered in and noticed Luther was in there. He was his usual self. Half drunk and my height with a missing tooth in the front. Except mine wasn’t missing. “What’s up Luther?” I gave him a pound hand shake as I approached. There were two cats playing on the pool table. Luther had his name written on the chalk board. His was the only name.

“What’s up Harlem? How you been?”

“I been good.” I wrote my name on the board with the chalk and went and got a beer.

The shorter of the two cats sunk the eight ball and turned to Luther, “Hey man. We gotta go. The table is yours.” He handed Luther the stick and walked out with his buddy. Luther racked up, “Harlem you break.” “Cool.” I chalked a cue stick and broke, sinking three balls.

Two stripes and a solid. “Nice!” Colby Shaw said. I didn’t notice him walk in the joint.

“Colby you just got here?”

“Naw Harlem I been in here for a while.”

Colby was about six foor three inches tall. He was a grisly brother who in his prime was a boxer. “Yall want a beer?” Colby offered. “Sure,” I said. Luther nodded in agreement.

Colby went over to the bar.

“It’s your shot Harlem,” said Luther.

I shot. Sunk a stripe. When I set up to take another shot the taller of the cats who had just left re-entered into the joint. He had his hand at his waist. I sensed something was off.

Colby was waiting for the bartender’s attention. The bartender was a slow fuck who held onto a bad attitude for no apparent reason.

The cat walked up behind Cards who shouldn’t have had his back to the door. Cards was wiping his hands with a cloth napkin. ‘BANG!’ it was a single shot that plastered Cards’ brains and blood onto his wife’s white backless dress. She screamed the scream of a woman who was sitting across from her husband eating crawfish and his brains got blown out and slapped her in the face.The shooter nodded at me. He didn’t see Colby Shaw who hauled off with his boxing skills and knocked him out before he got out the door. “Harlem you see this shit? Ha, ha, ha, ha!” Shouted Colby. I looked around the joint. Everyone except Colby and I were on the floor. Under the tables and shit. Luther was beneath the pool table. “Yeah… let’s be out.” We breezed out the joint to the Café Habana Outpost and got some beers and sat out at a table.

“Colby…”

“What’s up Harlem?”

I smoothed my hand over me face.

“That was the second mother fucker I saw get murdered in cold blood today man.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“No man. I ain’t kidding you!

Not at all. That was the second cat man!”

“Damn. You must be bugging right now Harlem.” Colby drank out of the plastic cup made out of corn.

“I’m not sure. I seen a lot of shit go down in my life. Even participated in some grimy activities. You know the drill.”

“Yeah. That’s why I knocked that mother fucker out. Who knows who he would have turned that gun on. It could have been any one of us.”

“I agree,” I said.

Lopeti walked up to the table and patted me on the back. He was the manager of the Habana Outpost. “Harlem are you all right?

You look a little distressted.”

“I’m cool man.” I got up from the table. I needed to be alone for a while and get my head together.

I said good bye to Colby and went home.

CHAPTER TWO Today I got up out of bed at noon on the dot and went out and got a turkey sandwich and a sixpack of tall boys. I never drank in the morning, except for the day I made for a failed suicide attempt.

I finished the sandwich and cracked a can, sipped. From the corner of my eye I was a single White female walking up the block in my direction. ‘Watch this bitch smile at me.’ I thought. And by the time she was five paces away she did just as I had assumed.

Smiled at me, showing a full mouth of teeth. I laughed out loud. She stopped. In front of me. “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing. Go on. Don’t let me keep you from wherever it is you need to be.”

‘I don’t have a special place to be. I just moved around here and was doing a little sight seeing. That’s about it.”

‘What is it about me that draws all these White women’s attention? And I’m one of the more angry types of Brother.’ I laughed

again. This time on the inside.

“You want a beer?” I offered.

‘Sure. What’s your name Mr. Beer Offerer?”

“My name is Harlem.”

“Harlem?”

‘Yeah. Harlem. Jazzy right?”

I wanted to call her a stupid bitch.

“I’m Joli.”

“Like Angela?”

“Yeah. Like Angela,” she said.

We each drank three beers. I got up off the stoop, “Wait right here. I’ll be right back,” I jogged up to the corner bodega and copped another sixpack. Joli wasn’t there when I got back. I shrugged my shoulders and sat on the stoop, cracked the lid on one of the tallboys and looked up. Joli was across the damn street. She waited for a few cars to pass and came beck to where I was sitting.

“What was that about?” I asked.

“I just wanted to see what the expression on your face would be when you returned and I was not there.”

‘This bitch must have issues. Like she’s into being dominated or something.

Homie don’t play that shit.’

“Joli?”

“Yes Harlem?”

“You want to come upstairs for a little while?”

“Sure.”

We went into the building. I walked up behind her and watched her ass all the way to the third floor where my room was. We entered. She looked around then we got down to business.

I held the door open for her to leave.

“Joni…”

“Yeah?”

“I have to admit… that was the easiest piece of pussy I think I ever got in my life.”

“You’ll get over it.” Joni descended the stairs. I took a shower and lied on my bed.

‘What a crazy life I have man… shit.’

CHAPTER THREE Livingroom came to visit me. He was getting out of his shell a little bit. He never

usually left his basement flat.

I opened the door. It was somewhere around four in the afternoon. Livingroom was in a Maroon pair of gators with a brown pair of slacks on to match his brown button down and Kangol hat.

“Harlem what it look like man?” Livingroom crossed the threshold. He had a small bottle of whiskey.

“First thing is I ain’t drinking none of that.

I been drinking way too much lately. You know what I mean?”

“I know what you mean,” he replied, “So what else is going on?”

“Just a couple of dead mother fuckers and a Dove stopped by and gave me some ass.”

“You and them Doves man. You need to get over that shit. That’s a bad look for you man, seriously.”

“Whatever man,” I said.

“So… who’s the dead mother fuckers Harlem?”

“First one was at the restaurant. Hanna’s husband was fucking with the kitchen staff and one of them went ballistic and threw hot grease on him and kicked him down the stairs and he broke his neck and died.”

“As well as he should have,” Livingroom cut me off, “Who was the second cat?”

Livingroom poured himself a drink stood over by the window.

“That cat Cards. He was with one of his Ribs at Sharks. Some cat blew his fucking brains out.”

“As well as he should have!”

Livingroom cut me off again.

“Why is that Liv’?”

“Cause’ that mother fucker thought he could be out on the strip slapping other pimp’s Ribs like they were in his stable or something. You dig it?”

“Yeah I dig it Liv’.

What are you up to today anyway?”

“Leon done went and got his dope fiend ass locked up again.”

“So what? He’s always in and out of the system. What difference does it make to us?”

“Get off that bullshit Harlem! Leon is one of us. And that’s that. You don’t flush a twenty year friendship down the drain like that.”

“Yeah but I know there’s something in it for you Livingroom or you wouldn’t be talking about Leon at all.” I placed my hands in my pockets and began pacing back and forth.

“There’s a catch. Lemme get a cigarette Bruzz.” I gave him one and my lighter, which he put in his pocket after he lighted his cigarette.

“What’s the catch Liv’?”

“I had met this cat who wasn’t the smartest apple in the bunch. I pulled that old scratch the lines off the Tylenol pills and sell it for extacy pills.”

“Yeah? And what happened?”

“The dude figured it out and came back to this one bar up the block from me.”

“Was he pissed?” I inquired.

“Naw,” Said Livingroom, “he wasn’t pissed.

He was a cop and guess what?”

“What?”

“The fucker is crooked. He and his partner got me on tape from an automobile they had parked on the street.”

“Shit! So what you want to do about that shit?”

“I gotta get these mother fuckers off my back Harlem!”

“Yeah….You do… and how do you plan on doing that shit?”

“I need some bread.”

“You know I ain’t got no bread man. Shit.”

“I know you ain’t got no bread man. Dig it,” Livingroom scratched his head, puffed on the smoke.

“Dig what Liv? Dig what?”

“I’ll bail Leon out. I spoke to this cat named Joseph on my block. He owes me a favor.”

“A favor for what?”

“For not fucking his bitch when she wanted to cheat on him and threw the pussy in my direction.”

“Okay,” I said, “that’s kind of weird.”

“Joseph said that he got some crack and weed and shit. The whole deal. He has a delivery service and he said that I could run a few bags if I ever needed some scratch.”

“Livingroom you ain’t no goddamn drug dealer!”

“Exactly Harlem. That’s why I’m going down town Brooklyn and bailing Leon ass out. He’ll owe me a favor for that one.

See?”

“Yeah. I get it. And I also know that if you told your Brother you needed the bread you would be in a world of trouble right?”

“Yeah. Harlem you know I would. Come on man. Let’s go.”

Livingroom and I went to down town Brooklyn and paid Leon’s bail. Leon was happy to see us. We waited for three hours for him to be released.

When Leon exited the building the two cats that were at the pool hall were behind him. The shooter was there too. I whispered to Livingroom that was the dude.

“Harlem I don’t give a fuck about that shit.”

He said. The cats didn’t remember me. Or if they did they didn’t say anything because the didn’t know me.We were walking down the block towards Jay Street. When Livingroom ran down the datails to Leon about the favor needing to be returned.

CHAPTER FOUR I had suggested Livingroom play the old switch the envelope jux on the crooked cops. He said he was already all over that one. Leon was strung out on dope but he knew better than to fuck with Livingroom’s money.

Three days went by. Livingroom had collected the money from Leon and gave him an extra day’s worth of work. Leon was happy with it and went on about his business.

CHAPTER FIVE I got out of my flat early in the day. I went over to my friend A.C’s apartment and borrowed a video camera. He was sipping on the syzurrip. Then I went over to Livingroom’s flat. He was in there at the table with his older Brother Roskoe Jenkins.

“What’s up fellas?” I asked.

Roskoe was about to leave. He took a step toward the door as I entered into the tiny flat. “Ain’t nothing Harlem. Just checking

in with you cats. I gotta split man.”

“All right Roskoe. See you later.”

Roskoe stopped at the door. “Harlem you heard about Cards right?” “Yeah,” I said, “And I bet you copped his stable.”

“You damnned right.” The diamond in Roskoe’s gold tooth damn near lit up the room. “What’s the video camera for?”

“Oh nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Um…..”

Roskoe gave me an untrustworthy smile.

He then left the flat.

“Yeah Harlem… what’s the camera for?”

“To film when Leon gives them the fake envelope.”

“Cool, cause I was going to buy one.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

OMAR VEGA/ NO LOVE LOST

Give us the full background.

My brand is a reflection of my background.

I’m a native New Yorker, born and raised in the Bronx, using this medium to reflect on things I’ve done in my life ranging from playing Man Hunt, climbing my neighbor’s garage roofs with my friends; thinking it was some sort of “secret passage way”, stealing my mother’s car to front like I was doing the dam thing at the young age of 15-16, getting drunk with friends and shorties and waking up like….”whoa, ummm, good morning baby” (what the fuck is this bitch’s name again?!) giving her a lil kiss while I’m waiting for something to jog the memory, fuck around; she / they were probably going through the same thing “What’s this dude’s name?…fuck! I swore I wouldn’t do this again.” lol I fucking love this shit called life, things like that or throwing eggs on Halloween at other kids we didn’t like, or going bombing with friends, running from police, for whatever reason, that’s what this lines paying homage to. What I thought would be endless nights of hanging out getting shit faced and loving what it was, cause that’s what is, and what I always wanted it to be, and thankful that I had the chance to do the damn thing with my friends, you know? From tripping on shrooms, watching my home girl spin around in a giant kaleidoscope she made of glass, while she’s naked wand a friend photographs the moment of motion, to waking up in Vegas, in a coworker’s home waking up from a night of “whoa be easy” I’m reeking of vodka, and Newports. Or other nights with the echoing effects of ex flowing through my head, with the smell of roaches still in the air reminiscing on the days of traveling from the “BRONX” to Harlem / and lower Manhattan through out my youth, to go to school, or just hang out and do a bunch of nothing special, just as long as it was with people. I knew they valued me, just as much as I did them. I also love cartoons, loved Ninja Scroll, Akira, Fritz The Cat, Cool World, Rodger Rabbit, Tom and Jerry, Silver Hawks, ThunderCats, Voltron, Robotech, and early Warner Brothers, to Looney Toons… Teen Titans, The Grim Ad-

ventures of Billy and Mandy, this line, is a reflection of that, and those days when I didn’t have to be responsible, and letting the you and the people who care to pay attention know that without preaching, “I hear ya, I’ve been there, am there, and do the damn thing as long as you can cause I am.” That’s what’s up.

How did you get started in the business?

I’m a 2nd generation visual artist. Both my parents painted, drew, and sculpted. My older brother used to create comic books with our neighbor growing up. Later he was bombing the trains and shit with his friends, and I caught the bug later on and started doing my thing in school yards, or on mail boxes, phone booths, etc. Back then, while my boys thought, I was crazy, while my mother fed our desire for art, buying us pads, markers, crayons, what ever she could afford, while exposing us to exhibitions that she and her friends had put together. So on one level that would truly describe that the idea of design, the understanding of illustration as more than a childish medium of expression, which it’s still is how the majority of western civilization perceives the practice. My family embedded my interest in art in me “early”. This interest in design was genuine, and I believe it showed, which is why I was so young when I acquired my earlier jobs. For example, I met this dude “elf ” at “The Door” (a alternative educational spot / youth center, to say the least).

After I dropped out of H.S., he put me on early. I think I was only 16 then. Later that year this woman Sofia gave me my first industry job at 16, or the summer I turned 17, drawing these characters that the art department used in an Ad for Atlantic Records. After the experience of handing over artwork to another artist, or art director just to have them use it as a “color form” and plop it wherever they liked, I decided to go back to school and take my interest in art more seriously. I figured they needed me to design something they couldn’t execute on their own for whatever reason, so if I learned what it entailed to handle their responsibilities, then I’d be that much more

pattern for this pant, a cad to describe the application of the trim, and hardware to the pant, break down of washes, choice of dyes, yarns, etc. Truth is time will tell. If anything please trust in that.

So you recently ventured out on your own to launch No Love Lost. Tell us your thoughts on going Indy and what NOX is all about.

valuable to the game / process. So I went to SVA, and got focused. I became a sponge.

And once I completed of my education I started my mainstream adventures.

You have worked with a ton of companies and experienced a million fads and trends - what are some highlights. Give us the good the bad and the ugly.

Loved the rebirth of denim, always loved denim, always will...so I see the rebirth of denim as the good…The bad, I don’t really feel biting off of lines that aren’t available to your target audience, or consumer. I guess that’s the artist in me, I mean anyone could have the same idea, that’s a coincidence, but out right shopping in Europe, or Japan, and coming out here to the U.S. and knocking off a design is wack. I haven’t put together any cut and sew for my line yet.

Its only screen printing. So to the person who’s just learning about me may ask what the fuck does this dude know about what it takes to develop a pant for example, a

Yes Sir!… I’ll admit I’m nervous; I don’t have the protection, or filtration of someone else’s company, or vision to shield me from the public’s opinion, or manipulate my ideas. Which has yet to be proven to be a “bad” or “good” thing. But that selfimposed question aside, this has been the most fun I’ve had in my life. The brand’s name is a testimony to my past in this game called life. My first season is all about “sex, drugs, and rock and roll, with a lil’ twist by me…” This entire season was developed by me visually. Friends have given me some cool subjects, or concepts, or just inspiration for this season, these people either held a mirror up to me, or out right said some out landish shit, that I just had to use, cause it spoke to me so vividly. I had to illustrate the comment, or quote / statement, and I would like to take this chance to thank them, Dan Jebbia, Joe Thompson, Alejandro Taveras, Jose Radrigez, Greig Bennett, Dagan Ryan, my brother Sergi Vega, my dude Brown Bag Eddie, my man RED, if I forgot anyone I’m sorry. At this point, I’ve been working for almost two months straight; eighteen-hour days so cut me some slack. So what this line’s about is a venue to express mine or some friend’s feelings for a few seasons, and see how many people relate, while showcasing my ability to use Adobe Illustrator. This is a line owned by an artist, and welcomes artists to come and use this venue to express themselves through whatever medium of they’re choice. But don’t be mistaken, no toys allowed. I’m running a business here, not a soup kitchen.

So the marketplace is REALLY crowded right now. There is a sea of brands that seem to be clogging the system. Who do you think is doing things right?

Tuff one… cause I know for a fact that there are some really talented people out there, who work for some brands that don’t allow them to develop hot shit. That’s an obvious clog of the system to me…then you have dudes who aren’t caged by the mainstream like in4mation, Clientele (though I developed / executed the later stuff after Scott from MIKE, it mostly was conceived by Joe Thompson so I admire his taste / ideas, and or vision), HUF, UXA, BODAGAN, SITUATION NORMAL, Neighborhood, RMC (Red Monkey co.) to name a few are all dope to me. I’m a production geek, and please keep that in mind when I mention other brands. I may be cool with some cats I’ve mentioned, but in no way does that sway my opinion, or does that imply that I dig everything done by any company. What I’m saying is all of these brands have either used unique, interesting, techniques, either by use of inks, discharges, embroidery, washes, dyes, trim, just plan sick imagery, clever concepts behind a design, or choice of fabrication. As far as “clogging” the system..

I couldn’t say, cause it’s a matter of taste.

The brands I just mentioned may seem whatev to someone else but I just know what I like and will stand by it. But if you need a brand I’ll say “NO LOVE LOST,” cause I’m trying to do what no one does anymore: all original art, 100% of the time, with a concept behind every piece, and a fresh twist on visualizing it. No knock off ’s ever… unless they begged to be knocked.

For example, I have a shirt that says “legalize crime” in my line; the statement actually advocates the theft of the idea, which to me is poetic justice. I stole it from some flick I saw last month, and I did only cause the statement is self-conveyed. So yeah…

I guess I’m a hypocrite. So shoot me…

Street Culture is now a truly global thing. Outside the US, Japan and Europe, where do you see things happening next?

Korea, no question… I can’t say why, but that’s what’s up. If that’s old news, then whatev. But I noticed a lot of Korean buyers floating around downtown these days.

And if they’re just getting on, then their buying life’s longer. But then again who knows. I could be way off…

N o L ove L o s t

COMMONs Stoney Island’s Finest. Repping from the South Side of Chicago – been around since them Jeep Beats and still spitting the uncommon truth.

What is your favorite Common Album?

I would probably have to say “Like Water For Chocolate”. It was just a fun time. I was just in a good spirit and time. Music was inspiring and it was my first time I could say I really had a record playing on the radio.

What is the best verse you’ve written?

One of my best verses would be in the song called “Hungry” on “One Day It’ll All Make Sense” If there was no Hip-Hop, what genre of music would you be doing?

I would want to sing soul music. Like D’ angelo and Bilal and cats like that. I still wish I could do that. I always wanted to be soulful singer like those cats.

Who was your inspiration as a rapper?

Honestly, when I first started there were these cats called The Bondhill Crew. They were from Cincinnati and I knew them so it made it seem like I could make it. I loved Africa Bambaataa, LL Cool J, Run DMC, but what really made me want to make music was Rakim and when I heard “Paid In Full”.

out in March. It has Jeremy Piven, Alicia Keys, Ray Liotta, Andy Garcia, Taraji Henson.

What do you see is the difference between making films and making records?

A song comes from you. It’s your creative baby. With roles, they give you the subject matter. It’s like you’re given a song to write about. If he’s a dude from the south, you have to be him. If he’s a psychopath, you have to be him. A song is your creation.

Between Good Music, Blacksmith Music, Spitkicker and Okayplayer where do you see these units going? And where are we taking the music?

Progressing. With independent businesses like Blacksmith, Okayplayer, and Spitkicker, following that is everlasting. They expand beyond music. The creative minds within these companies are people who go out and seek good materials and everything around them is quality. We don’t care about what’s on the radio or in the videos. I know we have established a following forever.

If you were a superhero which one would you be?

Black Superman

I see you’re getting into film work.

What upcoming projects are you working on?

I’m doing this movie “American Gangster” directed by Ridley Scott, he did “Gladiator” and “Blade Runner”. It’s with Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. It’s about this dude from the 70’s who deals heroin, his name is Lucas Frank, and this cop is trying to bring him down, he’s played by Russell Crowe. “Smoking Aces” is coming

What’s going on with the Bulls?

What happened?

Give it 3 years. We’re gonna be in the playoffs. And Chicago was represented in the championship this year anyway Dwayne Wade’s from Chicago. But what’s up with the Knicks though?

(C.Smyth) No Comment...I’m the one asking the questions here!

my gang is crazy, they our killers

MARK GONZA -LES/ SK8R POET ARTIST Mark Gonzales has been pushing limits and innovating since before GOD made computers, and The DEVIL made blogs. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not ramble on and on with some some ass-kissing nonsense and jump head first into some Poor Manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Poetry.

www.myspace/Anjulie

MCPAUL BARMAN WRITES EVERY DAY He works with his ( and yours ) favorite artists in hip-hop and film. MC Paul give us a few exclusive lines and in the process manages to rhyme Bill Moyers with Lawyers; heatrocks !

Soundtrack to Tinkin’s ‘Because Washington is Hollywood for Ugly People’ . 8.13.06 silence = death violence = sex scientific meth id, ego, superego wherever we go we gotta plant a flag like Stratego old men against stem cells will use them themselves juice the youths, live to 112 there’s something new under the sun old folks now outnumber the young Robert J Lifton deciphered the system for indoctrination this is his listin: isolation hunger fatigue stress fear/love relationships unperceived threats violence, both physical and mental objects: commerce, converts and teaching disciples that’s the nuts and bolts of cults we’re kept from being adults you can play it safe and pray to save so many jewels it’s Plato’s cave if you don’t share they’ll raid your grave makin waves don’t raise your wage sometimes rich folks behave like slaves this is Now with Bill Moyers first thing we do is kill lawyers not all viewers are skilled voyeurs all kinds of folk need signs of hope read between the lines of coke we need media literacy immediately to teach the kiddies plopped in front of the tv to dispel the mystique parents, watch with your seeds and speak a critique

is there a laughtrack? product placement then ads after that? is violence the only graphic act yet sex jokes are constant? how do advertisers influence content? do plotlines defy common sense? do couples always have the same spat? who’s it aimed at? it’s stealing kids from a candyshop the warfront’s antipropaganda and if pbs shifts then they can’t be stopped that’s a liberal willing to listen to fibs of glib feds who will literally kill every kid in the world it’s poetry a moderate will hang you from a lowa tree you’re current event’s actors teach history backwards start with today you can get to yesterday afterwards it’s good to see Tinkin simplify every ho hopes her pimp’ll die the chimp up high is an empty vessel like when you set a place for Elijah but if you cut off his head it regrows on the Hydra therefore to succeed we need community with you n me 1 an 1 is 3 now that’s some real deal pimp shit for these limpdick pinpricks you only win it for a minute until we instill kinship incest drove that thin chick to skinflicks watching her perform makes you complicit it’s supply and demand a line in the sand friends are enemies when it’s ‘better them than me’ a friend is family only after amnesty you’re land. I’m sea. we make clay to build fantasy

November 19, 2006

By MC Paul Barman Special thanks: Michael Quatro Eleven score and decade ago founding fathers brought forth on this continent now laid so low from cold south to hot north

a nation conceived in freedom and dedicated to the thought that comman men can lead when the monarchy can not

Now we engage in civil war testing whether we can endure we meet at a battlefield where corps from both sides lost more than twenty thou'

What does defeat teach when blood meets root of Wheat and Peach Oil slicks the beach A speech can't fix the breach anyhow

Though we writhe in pain let's not die in vain Greater tasks remain for our sons from this field overrun with friendly cow

Young hearts unloved are evil Brains unused become vestigial All people are equal Gettysburg Address the sequel www.myspace.com/paulbarman

Transparency is fueled by the rapid development and dissemination of information. Media is now, more than ever, an individual term. The days of the corporate communication giants have come and gone. The future will be defined by independent media. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take a look at some of the more interesting and innovative voices redefining how and why we connect.

THE

NEW TV Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one thing to launch an independent print publication, or an online zine/blog.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an entirely different game launching a nationally broadcast television network.

The stakes become even greater when you completely reinvent how content is developed by allowing your audience to become the producers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; mix in some politics and a strong social consciousness and what do you get? Current TV.

Technology has allowed brands to develop at unprecedented rates due to the instant access to highly targeted global consumer groups. Do you think that this has helped create stronger or weaker brands?

The Internet has helped separate the brands that get it and those that don’t in a much faster and publicly visible manner. It makes brands focus less on their reach and more on their relevance to their customers.

What do you think the effect of a supersaturated media landscape will be in the next ten years? How will it affect brands and various markets they target?

Filtering and customization will become more and more important. The audience will connect with those brands they have a deeper, more meaningful relationship with, and rely upon the media’s knowledge of their preferences to help bring order to the information chaos.

Do you think blog media makes it too easy for companies to market their brands? Does it take the challenge of out of marketing and ultimately design? (due to some blogs’ obvious favoritism towards some brands – due to advertising relationships or simple brand loyalty) The transparency of blogs actually creates a challenge for brands, and bloggers themselves. If a blog appears overly commercial, it runs the risk of ruining its credibility. Authenticity and relevancy are key for brands to get mileage out of blogs.

Do blogs create a hyper competitive landscape for traditional media like print or radio? Or do they help to legitimize these traditional media channels?

Traditional media and new media are definitely competing. The peer-to-peer communication of blogs and online outlets is becoming more trusted, and traditional outlets are trying to become more relevant,

especially to young adults. At the same time, blogs don’t have the wide reach of traditional print and broadcast. It will be interesting to see how the new and old media evolve together.

Marshal McLuhan theorized that the meaning of information is altered by the speed in which it is developed and delivered. Do you think we are becoming addicted to the moment – due to the speed online media feeds us information? And what effect will this have on how we assign value to brands, objects, experiences and even relationships?

Good question. The speed with which we receive information definitely impacts our expectations from our media sources. Information is currency, and those who have it have an advantage over those who don’t.

I’m not sure that a brand will be worth any less because of this factor. The value of a brand, experience or relationship is based upon the quality, usefulness and appeal of that product, moment, or person.

As an independent media outlet, what roll do you personally see yourself playing in the development of your target culture?

Current is here to help democratize television & other forms of digital media by empowering our audience.

We ask our viewers to participate in the conversation by creating content and voting or “green lighting” what goes on our network. Right now 35% of our content comes directly from our viewers. The “pods” (non-fiction 5-8min docs) themselves are easier to produce and therefore will allow more access to communities and cultures that have not had the resources to participate before. Our job is to keep our ears to the culture and let them know we’re out and are supportive. From there, the culture has to step up and create. Never before have the people within a culture had a greater opportunity to shape the public’s perception of their culture.

Current is the brainchild of former Vice President Al Gore and entrepreneur Joel Hyatt, and broadcasts into 28 million U.S. homes

Headquartered in San Francisco, the networkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programming slate is smart, bold, authentic and fresh.

What are the greatest challenges you face being an independent media outlet?

Gaining awareness and distribution. The two are tied together, so it’s a bit of joint process. The more heat you have with viewers, the more advertisers and distributors will support you. Current is one of the fastest growing networks in television history. We started broadcasting last August in 20 million households, and less than a year later Current is in almost 30 million homes, and the more our distribution spreads, the broader the awareness among our audience, advertisers, and other MSOs. How do you feel about News Corp. buying Myspace? Is a good sign that “Big Media” is beginning to see the benefit of new forms of organic media? Or do you see it as just another over-inflated deal fuel by fear or ignorance?

I think we’ll only see more of these sorts of deals happening as online video becomes more popular. The trick will be keeping things relevant as more and more companies rush to buy real estate on the Internet.

Do you believe that more collisions will happen between different forms of media – i.e. blogs venturing into print or Mysapce launching a radio station or TV channel?

Absolutely, but I’m not sure you’ll see online outlets going in “reverse” and turning into traditional media. These sorts of “collisions” will hopefully lead to convergence between the old and new media.

Who do you think is pushing things to the next level? (media wise) For the past year, the industry has been talking about user-generated content, and Current has been leading that movement as the first television network dedicated to viewer created content. We think this is the next level, opening up the television medium to make it a participatory process with its viewers. Current is the collision of traditional and new media.

Moving onto something more specific about the content we cover… where do you see the Global Street Culture market headed? Over Saturation kills… just simple economics… Over Exposure also kills… do you think as more and more media outlets cover more and more brands… things will continue to grow or eventually implode?

I think that street culture will always continue to evolve and change no matter what brands do. That’s the beauty—the streets will always run themselves, and brands will have to work to keep up. It keeps us all on our toes. www.current.tv

just like

CANDY

There is nothing wrong with addictions. Every morning millions awake to indulge in their morning cup of Joe and a sweet serving of the latest fashion, style and trends. Daily Candy is the 900 lbs candy coated gorilla of the online fashion scene... Lets see what Founder and Chairman, Dany Levy has to say about Indy Media.

Technology has allowed brands to develop at unprecedented rates due to the instant access to highly targeted global consumer groups. Do you think that this has helped create stronger or weaker brands?

independent media outlet. You get to create it all. It allows for a high level of creativity and teaches you to balance creativity with plain old common sense if you want to stay afloat. It’s all about balance.

I think, to a certain degree, brands are technology agnostic. Put simply, either you have it or you don’t. Period. Technology has definitely allowed for more brands to reach the consumer, but the glut of brands out there now only makes the good, lasting ones stand out all the more.

Do you believe that more collisions will happen between different forms of media – i.e. blogs venturing into print or Myspace launching a radio station or TV channel?

What do you think the effect of a super-saturated media landscape will be in the next ten years? How will it effects brands and various markets they target?

Four words: Survival of the Fittest.

As an independent media outlet, what role do you personally see yourself playing in the development of your target culture?

I see DailyCandy as a filter for the consumer. It weeds through the glut of information out there and delivers one targeted, short, simple tidbit each day aimed at keeping readers “plugged in” without their having to weed through all the schlock out there.

What are the greatest challenges you face being an independent media outlet?

One of the greatest challenges being an independent media outlet is that there are no set rules, no roadmap, no preset formula. You figure it out yourself. You build it yourself.You don’t have some “suit” breathing down your neck, telling you what to do. But that’s also the beauty of being an

One word: Yes. I hate these types of questions – but who do you think is pushing things to the next level? (media wise) There’s a time and a place for “pushing things to the next level.” There’s a time for caution and there is a time for taking risks.

You have to go with your gut on this one and never let your “big ideas” get the best of you. Sink or swim, pal.

Moving onto something more specific about the content we cover… where do you see the Global Street Culture market headed? Over Saturation kills… just simple economics…

Over Exposure also kills… do you think as more and more media outlets cover more and more brands… things will continue to grow or eventually implode?

Ultimately the consumer will decide. It really is all about the consumer. At DailyCandy we listen to our subscribers daily.

We take their feedback to heart. The customer is king, regardless of platform. www.dailycandy.com

MISSBEHAVE So, is Missbehave like a female Maxim but without the cheese and mild porn?

Please tell me we are not going to see semi nude spreads of male graffiti artist and thug rappers…!

Missbehave is like Maxim only in that we are unabashedly who we are. Maxim succeeded in legitimizing the power of the lad mag by being completely honest about what motivates them—tits, ass, espionage, beer and the ilk. Missbehave as an independently published niche magazine and as visually stunning as a semi-nude trapper with the slight swell of man bosom would be, we can’t thrive always pandering to the most predictable lowest common denominator.

But, like Maxim, we strive for honesty and present organic interests. We’re a little bit spastic and not fearful of getting marginalized for being so. Our front of the book section is called ADHD, not because we find humor in the slender attention spans of the Ritalin dependant but because there is so much we’ve been aching to talk about—Rare sneakers, Hello Kitty Murders, Karl Lagerfeld, the random portions of bible scripture on Forever 21 bags—all of these things warrant mention. We can be a little meat headed and we’re not too cool to exhibit enthusiasm. Try and call us ditzy, we’ll cut you.

Considering there are more females then males on the world… and it is a fact that they spend more money on shopping and ultimately influence more trends – why is there not more media dedicated to females?

Exactly. A title like Missbehave is long overdue. The heart of Missbehave is comprised of Samantha Moeller, Mary H.K. Choi,

Sally Thurer and Brooke Nipar. The four of us are all voracious magazine mavens and at some point we realized that there was nothing aimed at us that we wanted to read.

We’d all worked at or for Mass Appeal over the years, which is amazing in its freedom, but we all had great ideas stymied because they were deemed too “girlie” for the readership. See, that’s the rub. Many of these downtown, urbane titles—MA, Fader, Vice—though not exclusively “for men” have that male slant. Now, there’s no reason why one gender should monopolize reporting the goings on of this, lovable, fetid clusterfuck of a scene.

For this ver y reason we’ve had a tremendous reception from our adver tisers. A number of cool guy brands launched stand alone girls lines but before us there was no forum to present it. I think too many people assumed that the ladies were sated by reading the guy books which we may have been in the genesis of the genre but it’s been a decade now and we merit our own magazine.

That being said, we're not overtly feminist.

It's not this issue that's at the cornerstone of everything we cover. I will gladly overlook gender empowerment if an article has a valid point, is truthful and hysterically funny. Also we're not immediately going to chronicle everything because "it's by a girl." You gotta have more than boobs and a hobby to get into Missbehave.

NYC is obviously the capital of media and global street culture… there are a million perks to living and running a business here, but there are also a ton of headaches. The politics can become overwhelming.

If there’s a shotgun wedding and some club footed children in our future, you’ll be the first to know.

What is the short term and longterm plans for the Miss Behave brand?

Will you stay focused on the US market or immediately begin reaching other markets?

How do you avoid the drama and stay focused on building a successful business? (Or is the drama just fuel?)

We don’t relish headache and there’s always fine lines between politicking, tunnel visioning, selling out and winning. We refuse to get mired in scene points or any other completely tedious high-school modes of thinking. That part’s easy. It’s trickier navigating between friendship and business because so frequently in New York the two are incestuously intertwined but we’ve got checks and balances. So-and-so’s BFF’s hideous clothing line will never get past all four of us to get shine.

The core Missbehave squad has such divergent interests, friends and allegiances so we call each other out on flagrant behavior.

Our first loyalty must be to the longevity of the magazine.

So being the sister magazine of Mass Appeal… will the two publications ever breed and develop a magazine targeting the children of our generation?

Like a Mass Behave or something…

Damn… that is actually a good idea.

What will the children read! ? ! ? ! ?

Breeding with brother. Classy. As of right now there is no MA, Mb progeny planned.

We’d love to go global. Manifest destiny is a beautiful thing. We are still a fledgling enterprise, our preview issue launched in February and the premiere will be dropping first week of August. We don’t want to dilute ourselves by panning out too far and blurring our vision before we’ve even solidified what will win over our domestic readers. We do have a West Coast editor and a Japan editor to spearhead any features in their respective locales but for right now credible, quality content is our main focus.

We’re still being printed on the lush, thick, gorgeous paper that Mass Appeal is lauded for and we hope that we’ll be as wildly collectible but we’re at a $3.99 price point.

We have Nelly Furtado on the cover, who might get pooh-poohed for being far too successful since she’s perched at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard but she’s wearing Jeremy Scott and being ridiculously frank.

It’s a balancing act that we have to master before we get ahead of ourselves.

We have a circ of 75K and though we’re quarterly this year, we are definitely coming out hard in ’07 and going bimonthly.

Ask us again next year, we might conflagrate like bird flu. www.missbehavemag.com

THEME One of our favorite magazines â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an elegant and truly beautiful showcase of design and Asian Culture. In the last year New York based Theme has become an instant classic.

Technology has allowed brands to develop at unprecedented rates due to the instant access to highly targeted global consumer groups. Do you think that this has helped create stronger or weaker brands?

Most products tend to speak for themselves.

Technology may make it easier for brands to get the message out there, but whether it sticks or not is not a function of technology, it’s a function of a good product released at the opportune time.

For instance, Theme is a printed magazine (and always will be because we’re both designers and we like nicely printed magazines), but the web can help promote Theme much more rapidly. To do this successfully, we are finding ways to leverage the medium. We wouldn’t dream of just copying a printed magazine online for example.

We look at technology as just giving us a larger palette to play with. I imagine we can do some really great things with distributing content on mobile phones that we can’t do through a printed magazine.

And we’re working on some great content for thememagazine.com that’s different from the printed piece, but in a complementary way.

Technology in the end is just a tool for getting our ideas across. It’s the ideas that matter. Brands with substance that find ways to leverage technology in smart ways will become stronger for it.

What do you think the effect of a supersaturated media landscape will be in the next ten years? How will it affect brands and various markets they target?

We’re not futurists—people like Bruce Sterling spend years writing books on the subject. But we have some words of caution. Don’t jump on every media bandwagon. Get excited by new technology, but experiment before you commit. And most importantly, find people to work with who

are the best at what they do. A friend once said, “‘A’ people hire ‘A’ people and ‘B’ people hire ‘C’ people.” If a brand is confident, then they’ll find the right people to work with that can help evolve their brand. That means people who are constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

As an independent media outlet, what role do you personally see yourself playing in the development of your target culture?

To quote Jello Biafra: “Don’t hate the media, become the media.” We are our target culture. We are our target audience. It’s an interesting place to be, because we’re shaping culture, but we’re also educated and entertained by it. But most importantly, we’re changing the way people talk about culture outside of the United States. Theme is timely. It was born out of a need to present contemporary Asian culture in a global context, not as something exotic or “other,” but as an increasingly present force in contemporary culture. You see its influences in fashion, in film, in language, in design. We make Theme not just for Asians, but also anyone who is interested in contemporary culture. And contemporary culture is eclectic and global just like our readers.

The renowned creative director, John C Jay, who is one of the members of our advisory board put it best when he said “reading Theme is like going to the best kind of dinner party—where you might meet an avant garde artist from Seoul (via London), sitting next to a 19-year old cross-dressing DJ from the back woods of Indonesia.”

What are the greatest challenges you face being an independent media outlet?

Money. Advertising. Ads help fund all the things we want to do and keep us independent. We try to find brands that are a good fit for Theme because the wrong ads will start to degrade the quality of the magazine.

We’re publishing a book with the photographer Michael Jang next year, and we’re continuing to expand our consultancy. Jug-

gling the many projects we have going on at one time is a huge challenge. We need 2 more of us to get through the pile of shit still begging for attention on our desks.

Do you believe that more collisions will happen between different forms of media – i.e. blogs venturing into print or Myspace launching a radio station or TV channel?

The fact that Rupert Murdoch bought myspace is a good indication that big media is banking on it. But keep in mind that producing compelling content for radio, TV, or a magazine is a pretty structured process.

You have to go on air or go to press at a certain time. Blogs and social network sites tend to have a more organic, bottom-up way of generating content. So when that collision happens, one has to experiment with the right mix of the very different ways of creating and publishing content.

There’s a lot to be learned from the social networking pull of community sites and the immense pleasure to reading quick updates on a blog. For us, these will be central parts of our online presence. We’re redesigning the site and navigating a tricky path between Theme produced content and the reader participation. One part of our website will be user submitted content, curated by our editors. These submissions will fit into a theme, which will change on a frequent basis. Another part of the site will be a blog collective where some of the people who lead the most interesting lives in our network will blog for us. Time will tell what portion of Theme’s online content will cross-pollinate into the sphere of Theme’s printed pages.

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NOvEMBEr 9, 1989 “WOrLd WATcHEs THE fALL Of THE BErLIN WALL”

DrESS By HaaT, PaNTS By aSHLEy TyLEr

AUGUsT 14, 1945 “JApAN fOrMALLY sUrrENdErs TO THE ALLIEs”

SHIrT By ME WOrN, MESH DrESS By aSHLEy TyLEr, EarrINGS

By SaraH FOELSKE, SCarF By aSHLEy TyLEr

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Don’t hate the media, become the media We are our target cultureplace to be, because we’re shaping culture We are our target audience

In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Mongolian peoples conquered all of Asia, the Middle East, and Russia, a feat Mongol troops performed mainly on horseback. According to legend, they honed their equestrian skills in part by organizing polo matches.

Polo disappeared from the Mongolian landscape for many years, before being reintroduced in 1998. It became a hit, not unexpectedly, in a country of only 2.8 million people but nine million horses. Mongolia’s international polo debut is looking imminent with the likes of Colonel Raj Kalaan—a luminary in the polo world—training its teams.

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It’s interesting because we’re shaping culture, but we’re also educated and entertained by it.

91 91

JOSH RUBIN There are so many trend reporters that simply search the web repost everything and anything they can get their hands on... few are in the trenches truly searching for what’s next... Josh Rubin is a seasoned design and marketing professional that has set the gold standard for daily trend monster traffic sites.

Technology has allowed brands to develop at unprecedented rates due to the instant access to highly targeted global consumer groups. Do you think that this has helped create stronger or weaker brands?

Technology has given us faster and easier access to a broader range of brands allowing us to identify niche brands that best suit our interests. So technology has helped strengthen these niche brands. Though global brands are typically watered down, (and thus weakened in my opinion) technology Twenty-two points, plus tripleword-score, plus fifty points for using all my letters. Game's over. I'm outta here. has helped the more savvy ones identify trends and create product that satisfies an increasingly fickle market—thus creating a bigger gap between the strong and weak global brands.

Do you think blog media makes it too easy for companies to market their brands? Does it take the challenge of out of marketing and ultimately design?

(Due to some bands obvious favoritism towards some brands – due to advertising relationships or simple brand loyalty) Just because there are over 45 million blogs doesn’t mean anyone is reading them. Developing audiences has become more difficult and getting stories to trickle up to the more popular blogs and traditional media outlets is not as simple as it used to be. Fortunately, as it has been since the dawn of media, content is still king. And more fortunately, a blogger is a blogger because he/she wants autonomy and their audience develops based on trust. If a blogger favors advertisers, their audience sees right thru it and turns their backs.

Do blogs create a hyper competitive landscape for traditional media like print or radio? Or do they help to legitimize these traditional media channels?

Despite their popularity, blogs still serve a very small portion of the global media consuming population. For the moment we are not competing with traditional media.

What we are often doing is feeding it— Cool Hunting regularly has stories picked up and elaborated in newspaper, magazines and TV. As an independent media outlet, what role do you personally see yourself playing in the development of your target culture?

Many Cool Hunting readers have told us that we’re their little secret. They tell us not to grow or advertise or promote ourselves because they don’t want anyone else to have us as a source for inspiring things.

They are the ones in their circle of friends who are always talking about the newest, coolest, latest, greatest whatever and they get that content from us. Our readers are influencers so we’ve unintentionally carved out a layer for ourselves in the product adoption pyramid between the mavens and the influencers.

What are the greatest challenges you face being an independent media outlet?

It’s both the greatest challenge and the greatest benefit for us right now—we’re all doing everything; researching, writing, editing, designing, developing, selling ads, chasing money. It has been an incredible learning experience, turning a hobby in to a business.

How do you feel about New Corp. buying Myspace? Is it a good sign that “Big Media” is beginning to see the benefit of new forms of organic media?

Or do you see it as just another over-inflated deal fuel by fear or ignorance?

It’s a good sign. Anyone who couldn’t see the value of user-generated content before this deal certainly is considering it now. In addition to opening the eyes of big media, they’ve potentially bridged user generated content directly to major media outlets— it’s not a stretch for them to take someone’s video on Myspace and put it on TV. I hate these types of questions – but whom do you think is pushing things to the next level? (Media wise) I see mobile devices as the next level and content driven MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) like Helio or ESPN Mobile as the ones who can develop and deliver desirable, usable and appropriate media to these devices.

Sure, ESPN Mobile is off to a slow start but they have the right idea.

Moving onto something more specific about the content we cover…where do you see the Global Street Culture market headed? Over Saturation kills… just simple economics… Over exposure also kills… do you think as more and more media outlets cover more and more brands… things will continue to grow or eventually implode?

I see it headed toward simplicity. There are too many logos and too much over-styling in street targeted products. The savviest consumers are already fighting back against that for a more ‘understated chic’ style and that will inevitably spread to the masses. The challenge for street brands will be to finally develop some differentiation through color, material and fit as opposed to just slapping a logo on a boxy t-shirt.

powerHouse There’s something significant about books. They are direct cultural artifacts linking the present moment to both the past and the future. At the dawn of the launching of a new cultural magazine ( powerHouse magazine ) we spoke with Miss Rosen of powerHouse books about their thoughts on media.

Technology has allowed brands to develop at unprecedented rates due to the instant access to highly targeted global consumer groups. Do you think that this has helped create stronger or weaker brands?

marketing. Put things where people do not expect to find them. Assume nothing is at appears. Trust that personal taste is as diverse as the human palette. Expect the unexpected, as my favorite ad of all time (for Charivari) so aptly put it.

By creating highly targeted niche groups, brands may create a core audience that follows them religiously, strengthening their reputation among a select group whom the brand views as powerful. There is a certain elitism that comes with this approach, creating a public perception of the brand’s value which is heightened by it exclusive status. This is interesting only for immediate results but not long term survival. From an evolutionary perspective, preaching to the converted (to mix metaphors badly) is not particularly dynamic if one’s interest is to be truly innovative. Overall I think this is an anti-Darwinian approach to marketing—the potential for extinction is heightened by the hyper selection of the target group. So let’s say what we have here is the potential for strong brands with short shelf lives.

To that end, powerHouse strives to be inclusive, not exclusive. To make you feel as though you are part of the picture, down with the scene, up on the latest. Because we’re not about being cool. We don’t pose.

We don’t profile. We don’t pretend we’re bigger, badder, better. We are the opposite of cool—we’re red hot. We’re passionate.

We love what we do and we want you to love it too! Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you do—if you are checking out our books you will feel it too: Love.

As an independent media outlet, what role do you personally see yourself playing in the development of your target culture?

Moving onto something more specific about the content we cover… where do you see the Global Street Culture market headed? Over Saturation kills… just simple economics… Over Exposure also kills… do you think as more and more media outlets cover more and more brands… things will continue to grow or eventually implode?

We don’t target culture. What powerHouse Books/powerHouse Magazine does is cross markets and synthesize cultures as a reflection of human experience. Can you put yourself into a marketing demographic and fit comfortably? Not if you have any level of complexity, contradiction, or integrity. I firmly believe, having come to all of this with absolutely no idea what I was doing, in a counter-intuitive approach towards

What are the greatest challenges you face being an independent media outlet?

Too much to do, too few hours in the day?

You know, challenge is where it is at. Can we do this? Can we really do this? We believe we can. So we do. And that is all.

They will grow wv they explode and what will be left with be the bare bones, where it all began. Because only the true school is down for life.

powerHouse Magazine, Issue 1: No Sleep ’til Brooklyn, distributed by powerHouse Books, © Joseph Rodriguez.

powerHouse Magazine, Issue 1: No Sleep ’til Brooklyn, distributed by powerHouse Books, © Thomas Roma.

NO Sleep til i

A powerHouse Hip Hop Retrospective The Inaugural Exhibition and Event Series at

The powerHouse Arena, to Celebrate VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2006

,

October 13 November 19 , 2006

The powerHouse Arena :: 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, New York 11201 :: For more information please call 212-604-9074

Bob Adleman, Charlie Ahearn, Patti Astor, Janette Beckman, Peter Beste, Le Bijoutier, BLADE, Boogie, Martha Camarillo, Henry Chalfant, Vincent Cianni, Claw Money, Martha Cooper, CYCLE, DAZE, Martin Dixon, DR.REVOLT, ELLIS G., Ruediger Glatz, Delphine Fawundu-Buford, Carol Friedman, Hamburger Eyes, Lisa Kahane, KEL 1ST, Brian Kenny, Seth Kushner, LADY PINK, Maripol, Slava Mogutin, NATO, Charles Peterson, Mark Peterson, Ricky Powell, Doug Pray, Rokafella, QUIK, Lee Quinones, Carlos “MARE 139” Rodriguez, Joseph Rodríguez, Thomas Roma, Jamel Shabazz, STAY HIGH 149, Peter Sutherland, TEAM, TOOFLY, Craig Wetherby, Michael Wong, and David Yellen Featuring

powerHouse Books

Photograph by Boogie

37 Main Street Brooklyn, NY 11201 tel 212 604 9074, fax 212 366 5247 e-mail info@powerHouseBooks.com www.powerHouseBooks.com

PIERS of PSFK PSFK has single handedly reinvented how marketing, design and brand management professionals get their daily fix. Lets talk to the man that made us realize just exactly how boring Ad Week and Ad Age really are.

Technology has allowed brands to develop at unprecedented rates due to the instant access to highly targeted global consumer groups. Do you think that this has helped create stronger or weaker brands?

There’s a mass of information about consumer, cultural and business trends that many businesses never had before. There are so many nuggets of inspiration available – just check PSFK and the like. Data has become democratized. The advantage for a brand is that less time is needed to find information – but the challenge remains the same: it’s how you interpret then act on those insights that really matter. Now I think about it, maybe the more information available to brands, and the more bad decisions they will make. I’m not too sure brands are ready to handle so much data – and I feel agencies just cherry pick and pitch the latest cool idea to their clients for their own agendas.

What do you think the effect of a supersaturated media landscape will be in the next ten years? How will it effects brands and various markets they target?

In terms of input into a corporation, there’s an executive role within brands that needs to be created that handles the mass of insights and digests them appropriately/correctly. Information will continue to be democratized. Many of the trends and research companies will be harmed by this freedom of information because they will fail to adapt (If your trends / research agency does not have a blog today, then doubt their future).

In terms of output, the rise of community and the power that grant the individual

will have enormous impact on consumers’ relationships with brands. There won’t be some sort of return to equality between brands and consumers. Technology allows consumers to have so much power that the relationship between consumer and brand will be like master and slave.

In terms of media, tools like Digg, del.icio. us and Marktd.com are only a beginning.

Every blog will have a Digg-like voting mechanism that will allows every blog article to be ranked by popularity and cut by user and reader tags - and we’ll be able to access this information from our desktop. Tomorrow, I’ll be able to look up the most popular articles on sneakers as judged by the blogosphere from my In-Box, then cut this data by most ‘fucked-up’ article as defined by reader tag. Digg, in its current form, has limited shelf life. It spends too long trying to protect its features – when all along it should be trying to spread its voting application to each and everyone of us Indie Publishers.

Do you think blog media makes it too easy for companies to market their brands? Does it take the challenge of out of marketing and ultimately design?

Brands (and old school publishers) still view blogging as custom publishing. They see blogging as a cheap exercise where you just hire a writer. They have no comprehension about the importance of the network in the role of blogging. Brands need to work with bloggers not try to replicate them – you don’t see Coke trying to publish a newspaper - so why should they run a blog? Brands should consider making programs with blogs in the in the same way an advertiser would work with a magazine.

Do blogs create a hyper competitive landscape for traditional media like print or radio? Or do they help to legitimize these traditional media channels?

trying to challenge the way things get done in media and trends reporting – but apart from that, we don’t see ourselves as influencers of culture – just observers.

In many ways, blogs do exactly what traditional media does – a high concentration of aggregation mixed with a small amount of original reporting and opinion. But the difference is that blogs operate in transparency & community: blogs mash up content from many sources and point to the references openly and solicit response. Mainstream media has always presented stories as gospel – even when, in fact, they’re reading yet again from a corporate press release. The complete lack of transparency and readerinvolvement in traditional media will be its undoing.

What are the greatest challenges you face being an independent media outlet?

Marshal McLuhan theorized that the meaning of information is altered by the speed in which it is developed and delivered. Do you think we are becoming addicted to the moment – due to the speed online media feeds us information? And what effect will this have on how we assign value to brands, objects, experiences and even relationships?

We will be able to select the level of information that we are comfortable. Some folk will want to subscribe to 1000 RSS feeds so that they don’t miss a thing, others will rely on guides – human led (like PSFK.com) and community led (like Marktd.com). Others will keep reading the newspapers they’ve become accustomed too.

As an independent media outlet, what role do you personally see yourself playing in the development of your target culture?

The turning point from old to new media has already passed. I’d like to think that people would look back at the work my peers have been doing over the last 2 to 3 years, which will be looked upon in the same way as the punk movement of the 70s in music. I’m just having fun talking about things I’m interested in. And so are the other writers. Take it or leave it. Yes, we’re

Advertising agencies. Some of the most influential people in modern popular culture read sites like PSFK – and even contribute to them. However many ad agencies want to buy space at rates they would buy on a bland section of Yahoo. There’s no support.

American Apparel’s long-term commitment to Coolhunting.com is a great example of a way brands can get involved with Independents. To be honest, when it comes to this new generation of media, I don’t quite understand the role of ad agencies beyond that of a graphics-production shop.

How do you feel about New Corp. buying Myspace? Is a good sign that “Big Media” is beginning to see the benefit of new forms of organic media? Or do you see it as just another over-inflated deal fuel by fear or ignorance?

We all understand the importance of making money in this space. There’s nothing wrong with new media going corporate as long as it doesn’t make the new media turn old tricks – selling of personal data, obtrusive advertising, etc. Transparency and respect is essential. Murdoch has been pretty open about his intentions thus far. The risk for him is not that kids will be scared by some corporate machine but that the landscape will change again and MySpace tomorrow becomes as relevant as Friendster is today.

Do you believe that more collisions will happen between different forms of media – i.e. blogs venturing into print or Myspace launching a radio station or TV channel?

PSFK provides inspiration to its readers.

We provide this mainly though blogging because it’s the most effective tool to distri-

bute ideas. As the technologies behind radio, TV/video become more democratized, then we’ll explore those mediums. What you have to remember is that we should be giving content in the way the reader wants it. Some want RSS, some want a podcast, some want a shiny PSFK magazine they can leave on the coffee table or swat flies with.

The more interesting collision is the mashup of ideas.

I hate these types of questions – but who do you think is pushing things to the next level?

The BBC David Gensler Sascha Cohen Graham Hill Craig Newmark Peter Rojas Piers Fawkes!

Who is NOT doing it right?

I hate new media that just replicates old media. New media should be embracing the community and playing off it – but you keep seeing similes of old media on the web. This happens in trade press publishing – too many Advertising blogs like AdRants are just clipping services of mainstream press – no leveraging of the network, no inspiration, and no education. They tend to view their industry in a 2 dimensional way, when professions slip into one another today.

I also hate new media that just doesn’t compete with old. Thank goodness Nick Denton of Gawker Media dropped Sploid, the tabloid blog. Sploid was appalling. Sploid thought tabloid journalism was about being snarky - they didn’t have a Scoobie. If you want to go up against the best journalists in print media, you better be shit hot yourself.

Of course, I think the medium is perfect for rant and rave current news – but right now, you might as well subscribe to the RSS feed of The Sun newspaper in the UK. No gossip blog comes near.

Moving onto something more specific about the content we cover… where do you see the Global Street Culture market headed? Over Saturation kills… just simple economics… Over Exposure also kills… do you think as more and more media outlets cover more and more brands… things will continue to grow or eventually implode?

The fear is that with all this cultural information, we will all subscribe to this homogenous ‘cool’. I’d like to think that the vast and varied amount of cultural stimulus will actually stimulate us and we will be able to rob, borrow and mix ideas that we would never have been presented with.

Independent Media is just one example of this trend in motion – but it’s going to happen across every aspect of our lives– I hope– from architecture, to food, to entertainment, to work and to politics.

OF THE ARTS Hands down the most overall improved magazine this year. Beautiful decay has always been a strong independent voice for Art, Design and Culture - but in the last 12 months - the physical book itself has become a sought after, stunning artifact for Mash Culture.

Technology has allowed brands to develop at unprecedented rates due to the instant access to highly targeted global consumer groups. Do you think that this has helped create stronger or weaker brands?

Technology had been a huge factor in the success of Beautiful/Decay. We couldn’t do what we do without high speed internet.

We would not have been able to build an internationally distributed magazine and a clothing line if we couldn’t communicate between our offices in New York and Los Angeles. We also wouldn’t be able to penetrate the global marketplace without our website, where we publish content (Anthology, News Feed), sell products, and communicate with the community of creative individuals who identify with the Beautiful/Decay brand. In our case it has helped create a strong brand , but technology also causes dilution of quality.

Now you can buy all the tools you need to record an album, publish a blog, build a website, edit a movie, etc. for a couple thousand dollars. This creates an atmosphere where less and less people are satisfied with being fans; everyone wants to create. Empowerment and inspiration aren’t bad things, but if you don’t have to truly be dedicated to a craft or culture to participate in it, it devalues the work of those who have. As a media outlet we are faced with the daunting task of trying to wade through every would-be artist/designer/ musician who feels like they should create something just because they have the tools to do so, not because they are necessarily skilled or committed.

What do you think the effect of a supersaturated media landscape will be in the next ten years? How will it effects brands and various markets they target?

The internet has completely changed how people do business. Just in the last year we have seen a significant change in how companies brand themselves. It used to be corny or unprofessional to have a myspace page. Now you see major record labels pushing their bands myspace page. Larger corporations are starting to see how effective grassroots marketing can be. In ten years there moght be even a bigger surge of alternative promotional outlets for brands such as more advanced blogs and interactive websites such as Myspace.

Brands will have to step up what they offer.

You can't just be a run of the mill t shirt line with a outdated website. You will have to offer consumers a reason to visit your site and keep them there.

Do you think blog media makes it too easy for companies to market their brands? Does it take the challenge of out of marketing and ultimately design?

Brand loyalty is dead. If you don’t consistently offer high quality/well designed products you will be left in the dust, for the most part. The exceptions to the rule are the blog-based brands. Many brands seem to create interest purely on what's posted on their blogs. It's an effective tool but has its drawbacks.

At a certain point there might be a backlash from consumers to all the new brands that are popping up with blogs. At the end

Technology has allowed brands to develop at unprecedented rates due to the instant access to highly targeted global consumer groups. Do you think that this has helped create stronger or weaker brands?

Technology had been a huge factor in the success of Beautiful/Decay. We couldn’t do what we do without high speed internet.

We would not have been able to build an internationally distributed magazine and a clothing line if we couldn’t communicate between our offices in New York and Los Angeles. We also wouldn’t be able to penetrate the global marketplace without our website, where we publish content (Anthology, News Feed), sell products, and communicate with the community of creative individuals who identify with the Beautiful/Decay brand. In our case it has helped create a strong brand , but technology also causes dilution of quality.

Now you can buy all the tools you need to record an album, publish a blog, build a website, edit a movie, etc. for a couple thousand dollars. This creates an atmosphere where less and less people are satisfied with being fans; everyone wants to create. Empowerment and inspiration aren’t bad things, but if you don’t have to truly be dedicated to a craft or culture to participate in it, it devalues the work of those who have. As a media outlet we are faced with the daunting task of trying to wade through every would-be artist/designer/ musician who feels like they should create something just because they have the tools to do so, not because they are necessarily skilled or committed.

What do you think the effect of a supersaturated media landscape will be in the next ten years? How will it effects brands and various markets they target?

The internet has completely changed how people do business. Just in the last year we have seen a significant change in how companies brand themselves. It used to be corny or unprofessional to have a myspa-

ce page. Now you see major record labels pushing their bands myspace page. Larger corporations are starting to see how effective grassroots marketing can be. In ten years there moght be even a bigger surge of alternative promotional outlets for brands such as more advanced blogs and interactive websites such as Myspace.

Brands will have to step up what they offer.

You can't just be a run of the mill t shirt line with a outdated website. You will have to offer consumers a reason to visit your site and keep them there.

3. Do you think blog media makes it too easy for companies to market their brands? Does it take the challenge of out of marketing and ultimately design?

Brand loyalty is dead. If you don’t consistently offer high quality/well designed products you will be left in the dust, for the most part. The exceptions to the rule are the blog-based brands. Many brands seem to create interest purely on what's posted on their blogs. It's an effective tool but has its drawbacks.

At a certain point there might be a backlash from consumers to all the new brands that are popping up with blogs. At the end of the day you can't feature the same pair of Nikes on 100 different blogs and expect people to care. You have to give people some substance. Unfortunately a lot of blogs function more as teenage diaries rather than communicating anything intelligent or meaningful. I think in a few years consumers will be able to see through a lot of it.

Do blogs create a hyper competitive landscape for traditional media like print or radio? Or do they help to legitimize these traditional media channels?

Blogs don’t threaten traditional media channels, except in the case of actual news.

When it comes to information about world events that truly effect our lives blogs are a powerful check against the media oligopoly but when it comes to pop/consumer/lifes

84, cibachrome print, 27 x 27 inches (framed), Edition 10/25

tyle media it doesn’t stand on its own.

To “traditional” media outlets and even well-established commercial websites a blog is a tool that is easily integrated to compliment its other content.

Humans have the need to hold something tangible in their hands. That is why people collect our magazine. People don't do this because the images aren't available on the web.They collect them because they like the idea of sitting down on a couch or a desk thony Hernandez and physically flipping through the pages. sy of Christopher Grimes Gallery Intelligent brands will offer the public several options. Most publications these days have a print and web component. That definitely is the case for Beautiful/Decay. In the last 5 years we have slowly built our web presence to a point where we get close to 50,000 unique visitors a month. Many of

these people are also avid fans of the print publication. I don't think many of them choose one over the other.

As an independent media outlet, what roll do you personally see yourself playing in the development of your target culture?

Beautiful/Decay's goal since the very start has been to document the convergence of emerging art, design, fashion, and music.

Over the last 10 years we have transformed from a black and white photo-copy zine to a internationally distributed publication that has repeatedly broken fresh artists and designers before they were the talk of the town. We have carved out a niche for ourselves in the marketplace, by creating a product that appeals to a community that didn’t have a forum until we developed it.

Beverly Hills #14, 1984, cibachrome print, 27 x 27 inches (framed), Edition 10/25

Just look at our advertisers to see the difference. Many of the galleries, record labels, and apparel companies that advertise with us don't have a big marketing plan that involves multiple media channels. They create advertising directly for our publication and readership. In each issue you can find ads from leading museums such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art right next to ads by some new clothing line that is about to release their first line. You won't find that in many books these days.

You can also see the same pattern in our subscribers. Just the other day we got a new batch of subscription cards and were shocked to find such a wide range in reader ages. On the same day we had a 15 year old, a 35 year old and a 57 year old subscribing.

To us that is absolutely amazing. Being able to break down age barriers while maintaining your original focus is powerful and we're very lucky to be able to have that

sort of appeal.

As our brand grows and matures we are hoping to branch off into different creative ventures, like Beautiful/Decay Apparel, our artist t-shirt line that we recently launched.

With this project we are able to collaborate with many of the artist that we have featured in the past to create a premium tee shirt line with a emphasis on the creativity and quality that our readers have come to expect from Beautiful/Decay.

What are the greatest challenges you face being an independent media outlet?

Like any other publications we face the dilemma of large printing costs. Publishing a magazine is not cheap. Many people have the idea that the publishing game is fun and easy. That is the furthest thing from the truth.

We have struggled long and hard to stay true to our mission and not bend to the pressure of being simply a marketing vehicle or glorified catalog. It has taken the last 5 years to make people understand that we are truly doing something different. It is a risky proposition to create a magazine that doesn’t neatly fit into the categories that ad agencies create. You run the risk of just being another “fringe book”. It would be real easy to feature every company who has a marketing budget, because that is a pretty persuasive pitch when selling ads, but we have employed a different tact. We have consistently produced a quality product with or without huge corporations.

Because we don’t rely on them we have slowly started to make larger companies and agencies understand that they need us if they want to communicate with the demographic we have developed.

How do you feel about New Corp. buying Myspace? Is a good sign that “Big Media” is beginning to see the benefit of new forms of organic media? Or do you see it as just another over-inflated deal fuel by fear or ignorance?

News Corp’s purchase of Myspace is a blatant move to capitalize on a vast network of individuals who have voluntarily explained their likes/dislikes, ethnicity, age, marital status, education, etc. It’s like a living breathing mega- focus group. It is the ultimate advertising tool. For better or worse they grant you “free” space to create a PROFILE for yourself in return they have gained huge insight on how to more effectively sell you products and generate ad revenue.

Some think this is a good thing, but you can’t ignore examples like Yahoo’s assistance in the arrest of Chinese dissedants or the ever-present justification of the supposed “War on Terror” as an excuse to invade the privacy that we thought the Constitution protected.

I hate these types of questions – but who do you think is pushing things to the next level? (media wise)

As far as print media goes we really respect what Lisa at Bidoun magazine is doing. She is truly filling a much needed gap and helping expose creative middle eastern designers, artists, and thinkers. Youtube.com is changing how people relate to and access video. Google has created new paradigms for accessing information and selling products. Apple has changed the way we think about accessing music and now TV/video.

Who is NOT doing it right? (I am sure most of you are too politically correct to start some media beef… but GOD I would love to hear someone go off about something juicy.

There are plenty of brands out there that are lacking. Most publications have turned into vehicles for selling product. The substance is traded in for fluff material in order to satisfy advertisers. This problem isn't just the publications faults but it also lays in the hands of advertisers. Many brands that advertise still think that more is more.

They just want to shove their products down peoples throat. That theory may work in the mainstream but it doesn’t seem to be effective to the niche tastemaker demographics. Taste-makers love discovering brands and products on their own.

Moving onto something more specific about the content we cover… where do you see the Global Street Culture market headed?

There will be some backlash from consumers. It's inevitable. The best way for brands to protect themselves from this is by putting out a superior quality product that has lasting power. The brands that will last are the one’s that actually have a clear vision and plan. Because the blog has created a channel for creating buzz so easily every Tom, Dick and Harry thinks they can create a successful brand because they know its easy to draw the attention. The buzz can only last so long if the design isn’t inspired and the quality isn’t high.

PLAY Times is as collectable as the toys they cover; each cover is a unique collabo

PLAY TIMES Do you think blog media makes it too easy for companies to market their brands? Does it take the challenge of out of marketing and ultimately design?

It is much easier for companies, especially new ones to market their products via these blogs. All they need is to send a simple email with pictures of their products and some description. It takes away the hassle of employing PR agencies to market the products for you and I think that it really does take the challenge of design too as everything could be right there in the blogs.

Do blogs create a hyper competitive landscape for traditional media like print or radio? Or do they help to legitimize these traditional media channels?

I think blogs really created some tough competition for the traditional print media to stay relevant with the times. Some or most blogs report what traditional print media refuses to report or have no knowledge of.

As an independent media outlet, what role do you personally see yourself playing in the development of your target culture?

I think as an independent media outlet here in Singapore, we play an important role in spreading this toy culture that most Singaporeans see as child’s play. Everything is so intertwined in the toy design and collectables culture that we really want to get the word out to people that there is more to this culture than dolls and action figures.

What are the greatest challenges you face being an independent media outlet?

Legitimacy and credibility were the greatest challenges when we first started out

early last year. We came out of nowhere and we put out this new magazine about toy culture, art and design, which was quite unheard of in Singapore but we managed to pull through every month with really interesting content that people from outside the culture would want to read too.

How do you feel about New Corp. buying Myspace? Is a good sign that “Big Media” is beginning to see the benefit of new forms of organic media? Or do you see it as just another over-inflated deal fuel by fear or ignorance?

I did read in an interview in BusinessWeek that the MySpace bosses, Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson really want MySpace to be like a lifestyle portal like MSN and Yahoo. To do this they need a hell of a lot of capital and I think News Corp has the ability to help MySpace do it. I think that MySpace is a really big ad and marketing cash cow with close to 14 million visitors a month. You do the math. News Corp made a very smart move. I just hope that they will leave MySpace as it is and just support it as needed.

Do you believe that more collisions will happen between different forms of media – i.e. blogs venturing into print or Myspace launching a radio station or TV channel?

Well, Billy Corgan did debut his new record on Myspace so that’s a start of what’s to come in the very near future. We have some bloggers who regularly contribute to the magazine (www.vinylpulse.com) and in Singapore the local spreadsheet, the Straits Times had just ventured into the blogosphere with its own blog (www.stomp.com. sg) where they get readers to contribute contents ala ‘citizen journalism’ but some

critics have argued otherwise so we just have to wait and see about it. And yes, I think alternative media will coexist alongside traditional media maybe sooner than expected.

I hate these types of questions – but who do you think is pushing things to the next level?

The Weekly Drop is totally pushing the notch up. Who would think that there would be an online radio show focusing on street culture? Beinghunted is next on my list, they were one of the first ones to start the online street magazine trends and they’re still in my bookmarks list. Another one would be MagWerk.

Moving onto something more specific about the content we cover… where do you see the Global Street Culture market headed? Over Saturation kills… just simple economics… Over Exposure also kills… do you think as more and more media outlets cover more and more brands… things will continue to grow or eventually implode?

I think that right now, the market is just filled with too many copy cat brands. They’re just too many ‘bedroom’ t-shirt brands out there now. Most of these brands are just rehashing old graphic concepts and selling them. While I don’t see anything wrong with that but a little innovation from them wouldn’t hurt too. I think the consumers are smart enough to know what’s what.

I think for the time being, things will just stagnate for a bit while all these brands just come up with stuff until they over-saturate the market. Only those who stepped up a notch and break away from the current trends will make it. Then we will see a new revolution in the culture. www.playtimes-magazine.com

DAVE IRELAND Our hats ( and Kufis ) off to David Ireland & Posse for Ten successful years of Independent Media.

BPM is celebrating it’s anniversary in style with the release of a special edition of the magazine. The Royal fam would like to congragulate Dave and his team and wish them much continued success.

Technology has allowed brands to develop at unprecedented rates due to the instant access to highly targeted global consumer groups. Do you think that this has helped create stronger or weaker brands?

Without question this has created a more level playing field for all the independent brands out there. Just as the Internet has done for music, it’s now doing for fashion and lifestyle products. This has made the choice more democratic and in that model I like to think the cream rises to the top, but with all things hip there is always a certain level of hype behind it. Those who are masters of hype and image will always be the winners no matter what platform.

What do you think the effects of a super-saturated media landscape will be in the next ten years? How will it affect brands and various markets they target?

That’s simple really, Econ 101 and the simple supply and demand principle. This basic paradigm will always dictate the market place and where there is too much of anything, companies will fail. It’s a cyclical balance that affects everyone and street brands are suffering through the bad part of the cycle right now, although I see a faint light at the end of the loom.

Do you think blog media makes it too easy for companies to market their brands? Does it take the challenge of out of marketing and ultimately design?

(Due to some bands obvious favoritism towards some brands – due to advertising relationships or simple brand loyalty.)

Blogs are just a new form of editorial medium, and yes they can be very powerful to

brands that know how to use them. I think there will always be pop hype brands that will do well. Unfortunately most people don’t latch on to good design they latch on to hype. So blogs have nothing to do with any kind of degradation in brand integrity or quality, it’s just an outlet. Crap is still crap- blogged or advertised… and the savvy consumer knows this.

Marshal McLuhan theorized that the meaning of information is altered by the speed in which it is developed and delivered. Do you think we are becoming addicted to the moment – due to the speed online media feeds us information? And what effect will this have on how we assign value to brands, objects, experiences and even relationships?

Yes, I think the moment of anticipation is moving a little bit too fast for everyone’s own good. We are becoming ravenous consumers and not appreciating what we have before we are off buying another pair of sneakers or limited edition widgets. Information and consumerism is an addiction for many. While that’s great for the economy and the people selling toys and sneakers, it creates a hollow experience with the product. So many great products are seen as commodities and never appreciated for their intrinsic value.

I love to buy sneakers, open the box and rock them until they are tattered and ready for the shoe dump, then on to the next pair.

I understand the collector’s mentality; I just think sometimes our peers forget why they bought cool sneakers to begin with.

As an independent media outlet, what roll do you personally see yourself playing in the development of your target culture?

I like to think of my staff and I as quality control. We try to prevent the garbage from getting to the public.

How do you feel about New Corp. buying Myspace? Is a good sign that “Big Media” is beginning to see the benefit of new forms of organic media? Or do you see it as just another over-inflated deal fuel by fear or ignorance?

I think Rupert is a smart fella and his acquisition of Myspace was a very smart move, at least in theory. I personally believe that it was far too much money to spend on a property that was not really proven commercially viable at the level it needed to be for a profit. But I’m pretty sure that this wasn’t a 5-year business plan and more of an investment in the bigger picture of new media at News Corp.

Do you believe that more collisions will happen between different forms of media – i.e. blogs venturing into print

or Myspace launching a radio station or TV channel?

Yes, it’s the logical growth of a media brand to diversify its assets with other media brands. It’s how you make money in the business. Hence this fundamental law will create the likes of media weirdness for years to come until we all communicate through a series of high pitched squeaks or telepathy.

I hate these types of questions – but whom do you think is pushing things to the next level?

I think all media outlets are rushing towards this goal of reaching “the next level’ and no one has gotten their yet, but that will change soon. I think Imeem is a community to watch as they have the right ideas in place. Myspace has been a big step forward in this journey to the perfect media/community environment. Soon though.. very soon.

It is not often something comes along that is original and unique. In a sea of ultra hipsters trying their hardest to be silent observers - lets dig into some loud mouth kids from Massachusetts that have cut out a nice little niche for themselves by combining old school radio interviews, new technology and some classic New England attitude

What do you think the effect of a supersaturated media landscape will be in the next ten years? How will it effects brands and various markets they target?

ROB: This has been a current topic lately.

A lot of people say “Hypebeast” is killling the game, updating every 5 minutes. I think those are the people that can’t keep up… I say “UPDATE MORE”!!!! when I’m done reading a feature I want to hit “refresh” and see that I missed 9 more posts… a wise man once said “I want the pie to get bigger… cuz then my slice gets bigger”!!

JEFF: Major changes have already begun across all markets and it will only become worse. More ad dollars are being spent on marketing than ever before. This has all been said before. Its not new. This change affects many things including the time to life a product has both in development ad externally on the sales floor. You only have to look at the unbelievable amount of clothing brands to pick this up.

As for the Hype thing, I think there are valid arguments against the 5 minute blip that aggregations sites bring. Imagine being a designer, working your ass off for months, only to see your product be a blip in a screen for a moment. this definitely affects how designers and production houses do their work.

But at the same time, without these aggregation sites, most buyers wouldn’t not have as easy a time finding product.

Finding the balance between the two is something I would love to see accomplished.

Not many sites pull it off well.

Do you think blog media makes it too easy for companies to market their brands? Does it take the challenge of out of marketing and ultimately design?

ROB: oooooooooooo, your trying to get me to talk shit on that one! Its blatantly obvious when a blog talks about the most elite products, then posts some

“mar yhadalittlelambXmyfir sttee-shir t” garbage and unfortunately some people fall for it.. I was gonna say kids, but when I see a 40 year old dude with Heineken dunks and a baby milo shirt.. I don’t know… it makes me REALLY want a baby Milo shirt.. can I borrow yours Dave? I got my name on the list at some hardcore punk show!

JEFF: I think its pretty clear that in our game, you need to present yourself at a level different from competition which goes beyond design. We’re talking about using blogs/videos/Myspace to build up an appeal and rep which will lead to brand loyalty, even if its acute.

Do blogs create a hyper competitive landscape for traditional media like print or radio? Or do they help to legitimize these traditional media channels?

ROB: It definitely legitimizes the new methods, and give the “old school” way a run for their old ad dollar. But I think our current generation converses in their own language. Why would I listen to Rush Limbaugh on the radio when I could give a fuck about anything him, his oxycotin habit, or $30,000 chair have to say. I can click on my 20 favorite blogs and get real opinions from real people, or disgustingly jaded views from asilentflute.com!

JEFF: To answer this question you only need to look at how often blogs and personal journals are used in generating news buzz and “newsworthy” stories in traditional media.

Do they legitimize old media? No. They offer old media a new outlet for finding “newsworthy” stories; usually at no cost to the old media papers and radio. Its basically a free ride for them and trust me, they will ride it.

What are the greatest challenges you face being an independent media outlet?

ROB: The best part about being independent, is not having anyone tell you

what to do, how to spin it, what to edit.

I assume outlets like Myspace started the same way, but when kids start committing suicide, raping, vandalizing, and spreading their love for emo music rules have to be made, and censoring begins. But until then I suggest getting a tattoo of a Eskimo baby... and r****g. Oh, and join a gang.. strength in numbers!!

JEFF: The biggest challenge to new media is integrity and content control. I am all for the free press but straight up libel and misinformation on the web is a huge stumbling block in bringing new media to a level of respect and prominence.

We’ll eventually remove the fat from new media as it matures in the years to come.

How do you feel about New Corp. buying Myspace? Is a good sign that “Big Media” is beginning to see the benefit of new forms of organic media?

Or do you see it as just another overinflated deal fuel by fear or ignorance?

ROB: Companies would NEVER have an open forum for their customers to talk.

We’ll use Ford as an example, you think everyone is pleased to be paying $500 a month for an SUV that breaks all the time, you ever see happy people waiting in the parts department… sure a lot of people are happy with their vehicles, but if one person freaks out in a forum saying how shitty their experience was that might make me buy a Chevy. Well, now if your company does NOT have a forum, it looks like you have an inferior product, or you are scared. Every company will have their own “media” venue. It will be as common as the sales department.

JEFF: News Corp saw 3 things in Myspace: 1. Massive user base 2. a website that is ranked in the top 5 of all viewed websites consistently and 3. an opportunity to advertise and inject various types of content into a community of people so convinced that the quantity is better than quality.

Why have 5 close friends in a circle when you can just link up with 5000 people who want to be your friend? In many ways, they saw sheep for better or worse.

Do you believe that more collisions will happen between different forms of media – i.e. blogs venturing into print or Mysapce launching a radio station or TV channel?

ROB: I hope so!!! WeeklyDrop needs to have a few hours either every night or on your commute to work.. why listen to some retards talk about last night American idol, when you can listen to retards talk about how bad your choice in style is!!!!

JEFF: Its inevitable.

I hate these types of questions – but who do you think is pushing things to the next level?

ROB: Media wise… CliquenMove.com (CNM) Is fucking nuts… remember when you would find an extra guy in Mario Bros. or a hidden door in Zelda…. Finding new info on their site is just like that! Or at least years or strategic planning makes it seem that way. Putting a blog on your site is old hat now... but if The Hundreds weren’t the first... the were the BEST, keeping up to date with Bobby Hundreds and Co. happenings can keep you months ahead of the game…. I saw a shoe on his site last October.. that shit STILL hasn’t come out yet!!

JEFF: Flickr’s photo sharing site is simply the best public clearing house of photography. Hands down. My secret site for finding the best new product shots.

Flash based voicemail systems. Why call a number when you can just hit a web page and leave a voice message.

And always newstoday.com

for the latest interviews check ­– www.weeklydrop.com

Who is NOT doing it right?

ROB: If your not original they why bother?

JEFF: See Rob’s answer.

Moving onto something more specific about the content we cover… where do you see the Global Street Culture market headed? Over Saturation kills… just simple economics… Over Exposure also kills… do you think as more and more media outlets cover more and more brands… things will continue to grow or eventually implode?

Look back to style in the 1920’s. Whether you were a homeless bum or related to Vanderbilt, a suit and tie was the norm.

Children playing in the streets wore suits and ties. As our workplaces and learning places get more chillaxed we will wear what we want. As our parents die, or we become in control we will rock Tee shirts, jeans, and sneakers to everything. Suits will

be like costumes, you’ll see more “power suits” in pornos then in real life. Didn’t Louis Vuitton have a graffiti artist design some of their stuff? I bet we’ll be seeing a lot more Gucci zip front hoodies, Armani cargo shorts, and vice versa, Nike made a suit, whats stopping alife or UNDFTD from making a gangsta funeral ensemble?!

JEFF: If you view street as an ideal, then the only thing that will change are the defining components of street. Same will hold true for brands. I personally think 80% of the brands will live an acute life while the other 20% will mature and move onto a new definition of hri brand which may or may not hold true the ideals of street.

But seriously, what the fuck is streetwear anyways? I have yet to meet a single person to actually put it into concrete terms for me. I guess that’s how it should remain.

We here at the ROYAL feel fortunate to be surrounded be true vangaurds in the worlds of Media & Communications. We wanted to make sure that everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voice was heardâ&#x20AC;Ś

OUR MEDIA/ With A Quick -ness

What follows are the words, thoughts and beliefs of many of those who are actively shaping the way we all perceive this world around us. Read on for further enlightenment…

SLAMXHYPE Technology has allowed brands to develop at unprecedented rates due to the instant access to highly targeted global consumer groups. Do you think that this has helped create stronger or weaker brands?

As far as the word ‘brand’ goes it has definitely strengthened what most people would consider branding. I don’t however agree it brings about any higher level of respect for any of the brands out there, it merely gives the consumer a broader knowledge of more brands. The internet has created a source whereby its easier for the consumer to learn faster and in turn more.. In some cases of course that has a detremental affect.. but in most its great!

What do you think the effect of a super-saturated media landscape will be in the next ten years? How will it effects brands and various markets they target?

I think the most obvious movement that has already started to occur is that trends move a lot quicker now. The media saturation has meant that new brands, trends and products are more easily entered into the market place…and in turn leave the market place smoothly sometimes too, the cycle seems a little more rapid, basically as news travels quicker.

Do you think blog media makes it too easy for companies to market their brands? Does it take the challenge of out of marketing and ultimately design?

Yes and No. Obviously this is a hard qiuestion for me to answer..but.. at the same time..Its something that’s been on my mind a lot lately. Companies have definitely gotten complacent… There’s no reason why companies shouldn’t use blogs, quite the opposite, the reaon blogs work so well, is that they are updated so rapidly that the cosumer is made to check back continuously, printed magazine, readers tend to read once then leave, meaning ads or advertorial have a much shorter lifespan. The reason I say companies have gotten complacent in their approach, is that in my experience, companies or new brands would send me an email requesting I help them out in a friendly manner, these days people just expect that we will post their product without any respect. If they act like this with blogs, I can only imagine how little respect they show their general PR. Do blogs create a hyper competitive landscape for traditional media like print or radio? Or do they help to legitimize these traditional media channels?

They are definatley creating a competitive environment. As I said Blogs have the capability of sharing newer and faster information and as advertisers realize the affects of this and blogs take a step in the direction of commercial success it will impact even more on traditional media types.

As an independent media outlet, what role do you personally see yourself playing in the development of your target culture?

Simply providing the resources for the culture to develop.Allowing a platform for those who wish to take advantage of it, can grow.

What are the greatest challenges you face being an independent media outlet?

Time. Slam X Hype is completely free, So it is done in everyones free time. This makes the challenge increasingly hard as we grow. Keeping up with the continued growth of the site is a harder and bigger prospect than anyone thought.

that comes about. I think on a micro level things have and will continue to burn out, but as they do something new will come about, as the current consumer moves on, we’ll see a new consumer take their place.

I am beginning to doubt now that this will ever implode…

Do you believe that more collisions will happen between different forms of media – i.e. blogs venturing into print or Myspace launching a radio station or TV channel?

I have no doubt that this will happen.

Everyone wants to grow. Straight up. My dream for Slam X Hype from Day one was to create a printed magazine. As one form of media grows, they tend to look for further growth opportunities.. its simple business nature to want to continue and push the barriers outside your own comfort zone.

I hate these types of questions – but who do you think is pushing things to the next level?

There are a lot of people doing really great things. To me people like ‘The Weekly Drop’, and Honeyee are at the top of the list as far as pushing the boundaries, they have both found new mediums to better express the culture…and…Beinghunted in my opinion is as close as it gets to professionalism, I think what Joerg has done with BGHD is the stand pont that a lot of internet media are challenging themselves to reach.

Moving onto something more specific about the content we cover… where do you see the Global Street Culture market headed? Over Saturation kills… just simple economics…

Over Exposure also kills… do you think as more and more media outlets cover more and more brands… things will continue to grow or eventually implode?

Every week I think to myself that maybe its about to end, but then I am pleasantly surprised by a new product, brand or movement. Of course there are an enormous amount of. Well,…less than innovative brands coming onto the scene, but this just seems to overshadow the goodness

STAPLE Technology has allowed brands to develop at unprecedented rates due to the instant access to highly targeted global consumer groups. Do you think that this has helped create stronger or weaker brands?

The answer is pretty obvious, When a sports league like the NBA expands or increases teams, does the competition get better or worse? Most experts will say the latter.

I think it’s the same in our industry.

What do you think the effect of a super-saturated media landscape will be in the next ten years? How will it effects brands and various markets they target?

I think it will lead to the downfall of “traditional” media outlets. Not to say you’re gonna see the end of CNN. But a lot of the middle of the road media i.e., local evening news, smaller newspapers, some magazines, etc. will not survive.

Do you think blog media makes it too easy for companies to market their brands? Does it take the challenge of out of marketing and ultimately design? (due to some bands obvious favoritism towards some brands – due to advertising relationships or simple brand loyalty) I disagree. Brands and companies still must realize that design, form and function are necessary to be competitive.

Do blogs create a hyper competitive landscape for traditional media like print or radio? Or do they help to legitimize these traditional media channels?

I believe they are competitive. If blogs increase, television and especially Radio will decrease.

Marshal McLuhan theorized that the meaning of information is altered by the speed in which it is developed and delivered. Do you think we are becoming addicted to the moment – due to the speed online media feeds us information?

And what effect will this have on how we assign value to brands, objects, experiences and even relationships?

I think the longterm effect of this will be a value placed on “patience”. Eventually, people, brands and companies will tire of this uber-fast consumptive society.

As an independent media outlet, what roll do you personally see yourself playing in the development of your target culture?

Nothing. I’m not exactly sure why my blog has become something of interest to others.

I simply chronicle what I do and see and experience.

What are the greatest challenges you face being an independent media outlet?

I suppose having nothing to talk about.

Haha.

How do you feel about New Corp. buying Myspace? Is a good sign that “Big Media” is beginning to see the benefit of new forms of organic media? Or do you see it as just another over-inflated deal fuel by fear or ignorance?

It’s absolutely nothing new.

Do you believe that more collisions will happen between different forms of media – i.e. blogs venturing into print or Mysapce launching a radio station or TV channel?

So long as there is money to be made…

I hate these types of questions – but who do you think is pushing things to the next level?

Steve Jobs Who is NOT doing it right?

Radio. Day after day, I see radio as an antiquity. Obsolete and useless. Internet Radio had potential, but the old school parameters of traditional radio have infected internet radio. Its sad.

Moving onto something more specific about the content we cover… where do you see the Global Street Culture market headed?

“Too many MCs, not enough mics.”

DORKMAG Technology has allowed brands to develop at unprecedented rates due to the instant access to highly targeted global consumer groups. Do you think that this has helped create stronger or weaker brands?

Overall, technology is good for brands and culture. The access provided by independent niche media is powerful. But, it’s the spectators that pose some dangers – the folks that stand on the margins of movements and may not understand the context. With technology, anyone can become an expert and speak on topics that haven’t been researched. Unfortunately it’s usually the spectators that become the overnight experts. In our opinion that’s what breeds the exclusive; gatekeeper mindset found in so many of our media markets attached to consumerism. There is a constant need to belong, to be “authentic” and pass judgment rather than just observe. If there is

any short-term danger posed by technology, it’s this intersection. But in the longterm, great movements can withstand the din of these opinions. The dedicated brands will last.

Moving onto something more specific about the content we cover… where do you see the Global Street Culture market headed? Over Saturation kills…Over Exposure also kills… do you think as more and more media outlets cover more and more brands… things will continue to grow or eventually implode?

Over exposure and saturation does kill. It’s not natural. Look at the dot-com boom.

Whenever the masses get a hold of something, assign it an inappropriate value, and then realize its real value.. the effect can be devastating. I think we’ve been watching that happen to Hip-Hop and it will eventually happen to the Global Street Culture market. But, all great movements can survive these things. Rock survived. Post Modernism survived. Skateboarding survived. The Internet survived. Shoot, even individuals have survived over saturation – look at Mariah Carey. It can be done.

Do blogs create a hyper competitive landscape or do they help to legitimize these traditional media channels?

There is some competition, but the news outlets that master all of the media channels are the ones that are really winning. We don’t see it as blogs versus print, or radio versus television. Rather all these channels provide means to reach different folks who are within the same zones of interest. For instance, you can have 20,000 unique people coming to your site everyday and still be unknown. You could distribute 5,000 copies of an indie-mag and only reach folks in Paris and New York. But if you master both these fields, it’s more effective. Some folks don’t believe the web. They say anyone can have a website. Meanwhile, others live on the web because they love the real time instant information. A good example of someone who is beginning to master all of the channels at an extremely high level is

the New York Times. They’ve been a great print publication, but now their web game is out of this world. Their influence continues to ascend because of their mastery of these different channels.

What are the greatest challenges you face being an independent media outlet?

As an independent media outlet, our biggest challenge is mastering all the various medial channels. We started on the web because it’s a great place to develop a relationship with your readers. There’s instant feedback. We’ve been able to shape our voice, develop our perspective and demonstrate a commitment to our audience rather quickly. Our next goal is to take that to print, then to film and so on. Utilizing all the media outlets well is our biggest challenge.

As an independent media outlet, what roll do you personally see yourself playing in the development of your target culture?

James and I want to create a reliable source of inspiration that’s grounded in art, the places we live and the people around us.

We want folks to take ownership over their own movements - independent of any categories or labels.

I hate these types of questions – but who do you think is pushing things to the next level?

The New York Times, Wired Magazine, Dwell Magazine, RES Magazine, Brown712, Engadget, Being-Hunted, Evil Monito, Sneaker Freaker, you guys and anyone else who is valuing the independent voice.

highly targeted global consumer groups. Do you think that this has helped create stronger or weaker brands?

I think the brands that have come about in this technology age and certainly the ones that use technology to their advantage are generally stronger brands for it. There are many creatives out there who have wonderful ideas targeting discreet audiences who may not have felt that they could compete in the vast consumer marketplace through the endorsement of a handful of very powerful media outfits. Now many feel empowered by technology to reach their desired audience and to promote their efforts.

What do you think the effect of a super-saturated media landscape will be in the next ten years? How will it affect brands and various markets they target?

The backlash to the saturated media landscape has already begun. People feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information out there and have turned to hand picked sources that in their estimation cover the bases of their interests. Keeping up with everything that’s printed, video-ed, etc is virtually impossible. The result of this is that for huge brands they have more outlets to reach audiences, particularly when they want to market to a target audience. For smaller brands, there are more opportunities for them to reach their targets as well.

Before, if a brand wasn’t able to pay the multi-thousand dollar rate for an advertising insertion in a major consumer publication, they simply weren’t in the game…and of course these outlets were not so keen to cover them due to their lack of clout.

Do you think blog media makes it too easy for companies to market their brands? Does it take the challenge of out of marketing and ultimately design?

Jason Campbell | JC REPORT Technology has allowed brands to develop at unprecedented rates due to the instant access to

Blog media is an attractive outlet for companies wanting to get to the diehards in the vertical of the desire. As for taking the challenge out of marketing…marketing is a

challenge full stop. Simply because you get your product/service in front of someone doesn’t necessarily mean they fully embrace your aim. In blog media, you’ve simply cut out some of the excess.

Do blogs create a hyper competitive landscape for traditional media like print or radio? Or do they help to legitimize these traditional media channels?

Blogs are straight up competition. It’s a new area for placing advertising dollars which one would assume is taken from the budget of traditional media and blogs are usually operated by upstarts.

Marshal McLuhan theorized that the meaning of information is altered by the speed in which it is developed and delivered. Do you think we are becoming addicted to the moment – due to the speed online media feeds us information?

And what effect will this have on how we assign value to brands, objects, experiences and even relationships?

Quick access to info cannot be discounted and we expect today’s brands to be reflecting that in the company mantra. As for growing addicted to getting info quickly, there’s nothing wrong with that. Why be at the mercy, say, of print media that takes 3 months to bring a profile to an audience— through online media that info would have already been consumed, synthesized and disposed of.

What are the greatest challenges you face being an independent media outlet?

While a section of the fashion establishment has been quick to the take and fully embracing of new media, other segments have not been as fast moving as they should be and still keep new media outlet on the fringes—a move that may come back to haunt them. Fashion advertising online I think should be more prevalent. All the mainstay fashion brands should develop rich media ads for websites, etc. It’s certainly a big part of the advertising future.

How do you feel about New Corp. buying Myspace? Is a good sign that “Big Media” is beginning to see the benefit of new forms of organic media? Or do you see it as just another over-inflated deal fuel by fear or ignorance?

News Corp buying MySpace is a shrewd move and was inevitably in the sense that traditional media had to recognize rosy forecast of new media outlets such as MySpace and wanting in is the nature of capitalism.

As an independent media outlet, what roll do you personally see yourself playing in the development of your target culture?

I think my work as the founder and architect of JC Report has played a tremendous role in the development in consuming fashion content on line and educating the target culture that it’s a qualified supplement/alternative to traditional media.

We’ve seen the significant growth in our subscriber base since our inception 4 years ago to support this.

Kevin Ma / HYPBEAST Technology has allowed brands to develop at unprecedented rates due to the instant access to highly targeted global consumer groups. Do you think that this has helped create stronger or weaker brands?

I think that the internet has created stronger brands. This is because of the faster and easier exposure. Just like listening to mu-

sic or watching tv, the more you hear or see it, the deeper the image is set into your mind.

What do you think the effect of a super-saturated media landscape will be in the next ten years?

Saturation will be definitely happening but I think media will evolve like it always does. Thus brands will have to change in order to keep up and survive.

Do you think blog media makes it too easy for companies to market their brands?

Moving onto something more specific about the content we cover… where do you see the Global Street Culture market headed? Over Saturation kills… just simple economics…

Over Exposure also kills… do you think as more and more media outlets cover more and more brands… things will continue to grow or eventually implode?

Just as you said, it's simple economics, when there is no marginal revenue to be earned, people will move onto something else.

Street Culture will change, it will evolve but people will always need clothing, music, art, etc.

Does it take the challenge of out of marketing and ultimately design? (due to some bands obvious favoritism towards some brands – due to advertising relationships or simple brand loyalty) Blogs definitely made it easier for people to see what various brands are doing. However, it does not take the challenge out of marketing because brands need to cleverly use this newer form of media wisely otherwise it is very easy to ruin their own reputation.

Do blogs create a hyper competitive landscape for traditional media like print or radio? Or do they help to legitimize these traditional media channels?

Blogs are just another form of media that has surfaced because of technology. Does it obsolete traditional media channels? Perhaps.. but it is an inevitable thing.

As an independent media outlet, what roll do you personally see yourself playing in the development of your target culture?

I don't see myself as playing any role. I just do what I think I should be doing.

What are the greatest challenges you face being an independent media outlet?

The greatest challenge of running a blog is financing and surviving the first year. Another big challenge is to keep doing the same thing every single day. It seems like a never ending process.

Chris Ng / IdN MAGAZINE What is the role of independent media in global mash culture? (i.e. design culture, street culture, entertainment... I am looking for something about the importance of having an independent voice - speaking to the global creative class... something in those lines. But what it means to you guys.)

The independent voice should idealistically be a representation of an opinion; be it the context of the reporter, the editor or the organization itself. Opinion alone merely reflects on likes and dislikes of individuals, thus revealing issues such as emotions and lifestyles. There are no creditability in opinions, nor they ever intended to be informational or factual.

In the context of global creative and

entertainment cultures, opinions have somewhat became the voice of the mainstream. Unlike current affairs where facts are along the lines of who, what, when and where; the independent voice on the other hand, are highly perceptional and opinionated.

So, how important can these random and opinionated voices be? For a start, it sets the phases for the global creative movements. Distinct lifestyle patterns have always existed in different creative circles, weather it be graffiti, vinyl toys, skate, hip hop or punk; it is the voice of independent media that exposes these habits and voices it out as the “creative-cultures”.

Take the vinyl toy phenomenon as example; it could well be started of with collectors of Star Wars and GI Joes, and their stories being exposed on independent media. The lifestyles and habits of these individuals are seeped into the public and slowly became the “popular-culture” it is today.

The independent voice plays its roles to place a relatively undiscovered creative culture into global movements; but by all means not setting the standards. In the superficial level, independent media is important for its continuation in feeding our generation with much depended alternative lifestyles; but then again, isn’t it the case that repercussions are always the stories behind every stories?

Just a thought…

Peace + Praise to everyone that participated .

140°

in the

SHADE

Welcome to the newest member(s) to the KDU Family, 9714. Hailing from the United Arab Emirates.

This creative collective is acting as a bridge, colliding ancient tradtion with cross-cultural modernism.

Let’s hear a little bit about 9714, their designs, aesthetics and life in Dubai.

Tell us everything we need to know about 9714 in the UAE . . .

9714 (Shehab Hamad, Ben McDonald, Raad Haider, Saira Mehar, Mike Ross, Mina Eltaieb) 9714 is a multi-disciplinary collective devoted to the promotion and marketing or brands through music, events, art and all other forms of multimedia. 9714 have become regarded as a market leader in the region through their creative concepts, and execution of events and media campaigns for a growing list of well established global brands and venues. Their client list includes Absolut, Carrera, DKNY, Bacardi, Heineken, Hyatt Hotels, Intel, BMW/ Mini... with many more in the pipeline.

9714 also manages a club called iBO which is the only venue in Dubai representing a more alternative/independent music scene.

In two short years 9714 has transformed a seemingly dead space into one of the most highly regarded clubs in the region.

Kitsch 22 (Shaz Sheibani, Shehab hamad, Saadia Zahir, Mike Daniel, Raad Haider) Kitsch22 is the exclusive Middle East distributor and brand development agency for a collection of fashion forward brands appealing to the younger and trendier crowd.

Offering a complete range of services to its brands and clients, Kitsch22 acts as the local office - opening markets, merchandising, providing marketing support and consulting. Working out of Dubai, the world’s fastest growing business and tourism hub, Kitsch22’s team of stylists and marketing professionals work to educate and challenge regional buyers about elements of style that are just being discovered here, and that the new generation are increasingly hungry for.

5Green (Shahi Hamad, Shehab Hamad) A concept store that celebrates the rush of modern urban living. Emerging from the drawing board of award-winning local architectural practice DXB-LAB, with identity and graphic design by London’s KoderCraft and 9714’s exclusive design team ‘OverKill’, Five Green has earned the reputation of being a fashion-forward boutique and a showcase for challenging art/music/ performance/life. In its first two years, the gallery at Five Green hosted some exciting art exhibitions including the late Paul O’Flynn’s ‘Angels Everywhere’ photography collection, an installion by Surface 2 Air & several Lomographic exhibitions and events as well as a Paul Frank retrospective.

OverKill (Raad Haider, Manabu Ozawa) A design house/team born out of a desire to break the rules and set new standards for art and design in the region. OverKill challenges what currently governs the overall aesthetic of Dubai and the rest of the middle-east and the art and style which has been so prominent. 9714/OverKill are also actively involved in promoting art and design thru such avenues as setting up school programs and offering internships to young artists in order to get their work out wherever possible, at the same time providing insight and experience into a potential career in design. We love what we do.. we come correct.. seen!

All of these ‘sister’ companies are working closely together to create a significant legitimate scene in the region.. one that will hopefully meet the expectations and serve to educate the influx of people visiting and moving to this part of the world. www.9714.com

Give us a run down on who you are?

I’ve lived in Lagos, London and now New York. I Studied law and architecture for a time. Loved Hip Hop from the jump.

Marking paper with lead from the first time I heard nursery rhymes in primary school. So I suppose I’m an African with a British leanage complemented by an American finish.

Hip Hop is globally known as a New York thing that has infiltrated all parts of the world. What is the Hip Hop presence in Lagos? Is there a large native scene or is it mostly western imports?

Hip Hop is huge. The MTV Awards gave a lot of aspiring heads a destination. It’s apparent they have something possible ands heads are trying to get there. There are many artists already doing their thing. Kids are spitting verses, in there own tongue. It’s really a beautiful thing. Western imports stay pertinently rocking. There’s an insatiable love for Hip Hop 24/7.

How did the culture of Lagos shape your identity and style or music and lyrics?

Lagos is the fastest paced city I know.

Anything can happen in the city it often does.

Lagos is rough for many people and the quickest thinker often lives to try another day. But amidst all the hostilities, you can experience the most beautiful things. The rhythm in nearly everything you experience. I love that place, and it’s going to get better.

I put all the inconsistencies in my music.

I go for broke when I step. It’s the only way to survive back home.

If you had to define your style, how would you do so?

I’m walking the walk so I’m talking the talk.

You are involved in many other creative endeavors. Where do you pull your inspiration?

That is a big question. I would say from anywhere and from anything. Even things I don’t like help give clarity to things I do like. I always challenge myself and try.

That’s the way I find out.

What is your ultimate goal with your music?

To stimulate thought, innovate and still keep em rocking.

ITS ALL ABOUT THE CEREMONY distinguishing

THEM FROM THEIR ENEMIES about the hate the shame the date the name the hat the hair the clothes they wear about what to say and

HOW TO PRAY how many times a day and what it should be and how all other religions

misunderstood thee

HOW IT IS

how it was

AND HOW IT

SHOULD BE

The only difference between Fame and Infamy is perspective.

- THE KDU

Brand Strategy / Design / Management www.thekdu.com

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svsv.net

www.blacksmithnyc.com