I was peeping over at my boy and new loop contributor Galac’s site and spotted this jem.

More to come from my friend and your new homie Galac, stay tuned!

Enjoy!

Damn, Drake doesn’t want any of Beans. That being said, Sigel your better than the wrongs that have been done to you. I hope after the your next album “Closer” that you bury the demons of the past.

Available at loop mid July.

Dee & Ricky, the New York based fashion design duo, have lent their trademark retro style to the latest edition to the G-Shock Family, the GA110DR-1A. This limited edition chronograph perfectly pairs an extra-large analog/digital with the Dee & Ricky design sensibility seen on fashion runways and metropolitan sidewalks worldwide.

The GA110DR-1A uses rudimentary building blocks as a starting point, the design draws on primary colors to mimic the appearance of a toy watch. Like the duo’s signature Lego®-based designs, all the details pop against the black backdrop. A never seen G-Shock technique combines contrasting LCDs, gear-shaped hands and other parts to create a distinct multidimensional effect exclusive to the GA110DR-1A. To further customize the timepiece, the Dee & Ricky logo appears on the band and the engraved backcase features the Dee & Ricky caricature.

“Better watch us like this Dee & Ricky G-Shock,” said Dee and Ricky Jackson.

“G-Shock is pleased to collaborate with the fashion brand, Dee & Ricky,” said Shigenori Itoh, Vice President of Casio’s Timepiece Division. “As the first brand to customize the new G-Shock GA110 model, Dee & Ricky create a fusion of cutting edge G-Shock technology and fashion-forward style that will surely make this watch a collectors’ item.”

Remaining rooted in G-Shock technology, the Dee & Ricky X G-Shock is JIS Class Level I magnetic resistant to protect against the effects of magnetic fields often found in airport metal detectors. Additional GA110 features include shock resistance, 200M water resistance, Auto LED Light with Afterglow, 48 City World Time, 1/1000th Stopwatch with speed indicator, and 4 Daily Alarms and 1 Snooze Alarm, Auto Calendar and Hourly Time Signal.

Available at loop in July 2010,

About Dee & Ricky
Hailing from Staten Island, Dimitrious and Ricky Jackson are the 22-year-old twin brothers behind their eponymous accessories line Dee and Ricky. Completely self-taught, they picked up their design smarts watching their grandma behind her sewing machine and watching the fly stylish money makers run the streets and began customizing their own pieces in the 9th grade.

The brothers went on to create a hugely popular collection of Lego accessories, and while attending a function in the Hamptons in the summer of 2007 were spotted wearing the new designs by stylist Jason Preston. Preston in turn introduced them to designer Marc Jacobs, and a meeting at MJ HQ was quickly scheduled. Within days Dee and Ricky were hard at work designing a full range of Lego accessories for the Marc by Marc Jacobs spring ’08. Their signature belts and heart-shaped brooches are currently sold in boutiques across the globe including Colette in Paris and Kid Robot in New York and have been worn by an endless list of high-profile celebrities, the likes of Kanye West, Beyonce. Nigo Murakami and MIA.

LOS ANGELES — The love you take is equal to the love you make, and that is not a saying ever related to Kobe Bryant. He has struggled through the latter half of his life to make his own way, as a wingman refusing to attend college, as a scorer stubbornly dueling with Shaquille O’Neal for control of the ball, as a star who didn’t know how to be liked. Never did he imagine his savior would be Ron Artest.

“He trusted us and made us feel so good and he passed me the ball,” Artest said as he celebrated the Lakers’ 83-79 victory over the Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, and his astonishing role in it. “He never passes me the ball! And he passed me the ball. Kobe passed me the ball, and I shot a three.”

He made that three to open a 79-73 lead with 1:01 remaining on a night when he scored 20 points to carry the Lakers. Artest needed 18 shots for those points on the same night when Bryant (26 points overall) was going 6-of-24 and committing four turnovers and missing all six of his threes. So here is the surprise twist to the Lakers’ anticipated 16th championship — Kobe Bryant was Mr. Nervous, and Ron Artest was Mr. Steady.

“I just wanted it so bad, I wanted it so, so bad,” Bryant said as he sat with his pretty young daughters, Natalia and Gianna, in their matching rhinestone Lakers dresses.

His struggles have defined Bryant in ways that Michael Jordan never experienced when he was on top, and that trend continued into this night. The Celtics were trapping him and deflecting his passes and forcing him into corners where he had no other choice but to launch impossible jumpers. For more than three quarters, the Celtics controlled Bryant and therefore controlled the game.

They were running their offense through Rajon Rondo to shoot 58.8 percent, while holding the Lakers to 14 points in the opening period. They led by nine going into the second quarter and by as many 13 in the third. They were cutting backdoor for layups and dunks — including several finished behind the defense by Kevin Garnett on lobs from Rondo — and their team defense was having a quicksand effect on the defending champs. The harder the Lakers tried, the more they sank behind.

“You feel the excitement, you feel the moment,” acknowledged Pau Gasol, who should never again be called soft after fighting through a 6-for-16 night to ultimately create 19 points, 18 rebounds, four assists and two blocks while controlling the paint at both ends. “You’re shooting the same way you would shoot in any other game, but the shot goes off a little different, probably because of that excitement, that tension, anxiety of wanting to do so well and wanting to make every shot.”

He was speaking for himself as well as for Bryant. Maybe that was a new thing for Gasol, to be able to relate to his famously difficult teammate. But then he had to know how much this series meant to Bryant. As much as Kobe insisted over the last fortnight that he didn’t care about beating the Celtics, on behalf of the Lakers’ franchise and to avenge his own Finals’ Game 6 loss at Boston by 39 points exactly two years ago to this very same night — as much as he claimed to not care, no one believed him.

“I was lying to you guys,” Bryant told reporters. “When you’re in the moment, you have to suppress that because if you get caught up in the hype of it all, you don’t really play your best basketball. But you guys know what a student I am of the game. I know every series that the Lakers have played in, and I know every Celtics series, I know every statistic. It meant the world to me, but I couldn’t focus on that. I had to focus on playing.”

This has been a miserable year for Bryant, who promised to spend the summer ahead dealing — whether by surgery or rest and rehab — with his broken right index finger, which was wrapped in tape all season, and his swollen knee that was drained before the conference finals against Phoenix.

“I’m obviously going to have to look at the knee and figure some things out,” he said. “I can’t play a whole entire season the way it is now. Same thing with the finger. Without the tape, I can’t grip a basketball.

“What drove me nuts and made this even sweeter was everybody kept talking about, ‘He’s old, he’s old.’ I was hurt. I drained my knee, and all of a sudden reeling off 30-point games and everybody said how young I looked. I was hurt.”

The lessons of Bryant’s self-imposed problems over the years have taught him how to fight. Is there a more ruthless combatant in basketball? Since their Finals loss two years ago, the Lakers have conformed to his personality by learning to do whatever needs to be done. In this case, that meant instantly trying to correct their mistakes by following up their missed shots for 23 offensive rebounds and a crucial 53-40 rebounding advantage overall. Had the court been filled with water, they would have been splashing around their board like sharks fighting over supper.

Of course, the Celtics badly missed 6-foot-10 center Kendrick Perkins, sidelined by a knee injury in Game 6; but for 29 minutes, the Lakers had to do without 7-foot center Andrew Bynum, limited to six rebounds and two points by his own torn meniscus. They dominated the most important category of this Finals thanks to Gasol, whose 18 rebounds included nine offensive tallies, and the 6-6 Bryant, who contributed 15 rebounds.

“I had to do something,” Bryant said.

And now for a few words about Artest. May we have a show of hands from everyone who believed he would be the death of the Lakers when they signed him last July? He was brought in to neutralize the best scorers, and with the help of trapping teammates, Paul Pierce was indeed held to 5-of-15 shooting in Game 7. But Artest astounded everyone, himself included, by going a combined 13-for-29 for 35 points in Games 6 and 7, elimination games for his team.

“Ron Artest was the most valuable player tonight,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said proudly, for he helped turn Artest into a productive member of the community. “He brought life to our team, he brought life to the crowd.”

“I’ve got to thank my doctor,” Artest said of his psychiatrist. “She would come and help me relax in these moments, because usually I’m not good at these moments, and I know that about myself. I needed some type of way to relax during these moments. I missed a couple threes that I was wide open that I wish I would have went down, and I trusted everything she told me as far as relaxing. And bam! The big three goes in.”

Jackson has now won 11 championships, more than any franchise other than the Lakers and Celtics. The Lakers now stand one title short of the league record, Boston’s 17, and they have a peaking team that could win at least one or two more. They won this one, in part, from the familiar formula of a big three by Derek Fisher midway through the fourth that tied the score at 64-64, making everything seem easier for L.A. on its way to scoring 22 of the final 37 points.

Yet what defined the Lakers in this Game 7 was a series of advances that have been under way since 2008 — Gasol’s toughness, and their team defense that held Boston to 19 field goals in the final three quarters, and Artest’s reliability, and Bryant’s need to rely on others. The last was fulfilled when he decided to not do it by himself and left it up to Artest to finish what they started at training camp last fall.

And so now Bryant was left to reflect on his fifth title, which equals the achievement of fellow Laker Magic Johnson and leaves him one short of Jordan’s six with more years still to be contested. What does this latest championship mean to him?

“Just got one more than Shaq,” he said, and he grinned back at the laughter that filled the room. “You can take that to the bank. You know how I am. I don’t forget anything.”

Some things change. Others never do.

Read more: HERE

Shad and K’naan Team Up for Fall Canadian Tour.

Hip-hop faves Shad (pictured) and K’naan have blown the minds of more than a few Canadian hip-hop fans by announcing that they’ll team up this fall for a five-date tour through some of Canada’s major cities.

Shad is on his own headlining tour of small-town Ontario at the moment and will appear at a number of Canadian festivals later this summer, while K’naan is prepping for a number of Canadian festival appearances on the West coast before embarking upon a headlining tour through Europe. The two will join up in Vancouver in September and will trek through Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg on the way to their final show in Toronto on October 1.

In case you haven’t yet picked it up, Shad is the cover star of Exclaim!’s June issue and is supporting his new album, TSOL. K’naan, who recently took some heat over his controversial partnership with Coca-Cola, graced the cover of Exclaim! in February 2009.

Shad & K’naan Tour dates:

9/25 Vancouver, BC – Malkin Bowl
9/27 Calgary, AB – MacEwan Hall
9/28 Edmonton, AB – Edmonton Event Centre
9/29 Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre
10/1 Toronto, ON – Kool Haus %

Source: Stephen Carlick – Exclaim!

Many people thought that if the Cleveland Cavaliers would win the NBA Championship this season, that it could salvage LeBron James’ career in his home state.

Now, we may never know what could’ve been.

With a 94-85 loss to the Boston Celtics Thursday night, the LeBron James era in Cleveland may be coming to a close. And while many Cavs’ fans will point to a lack of effort or motivation for James, you can’t hide the fact that he was nursing a sore elbow…on his shooting arm.

Either way, with a disappointing end to their 2009-10 season after sincerely trying everything to make him stay (most notably the additions of Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, Shaquille O’Neal and Antawn Jamison), LeBron may be thinking it’s time for a change.

And much like when the Cavaliers decided to get O’Neal after a Conference Finals loss to Dwight Howard’s Orlando Magic last season, James may point to his team’s problems in their most recent series loss.

One of the main areas that plagued Cleveland against the Celtics was the team’s defense. Playing against Doc Rivers’ defensive-minded Boston team, the Cavs gave up 93, 104, 95, 97, 120 and 94 respectively. This, mind you, was a team that averaged just under 100 points per game (99.22) in the regular season, with obvious number padding coming from games against weak Eastern Conference bottom feeders.

till, LeBron was forced to guard the best player on the floor for Boston, Rajon Rondo, despite Rondo being a point guard and observantly quicker than James.

But even with the bum elbow, none of his teammates (most notably Mo Williams) could step up and play defense and once again LeBron found himself having to do it all on both ends of the floor.

James though, may find out that he can’t win a championship by himself, and with a lackluster performance out of many of his teammates, he may decide to find a team with much more of a defensive game plan with solid young pieces surrounding him.

Enter the Chicago Bulls.

Defensive-minded ever since their inception when they chose a young Jerry Sloan (who would go on to be named to six NBA All-Defensive teams) with their first pick in the 1966 expansion draft, LeBron would easily fall in love with the passion that’s been shown by gritty defenders Kirk Hinrich and Joakim Noah.

And let’s not forget to mention his open affection towards the city and the team that’s already in place in Chicago.

“It’s an awesome city. Great restaurants, great shopping,” LeBron said after a playoff game against the Bulls in the first-round this season. “I have nothing bad (to say) about Chicago, and I’m not saying that because of what (Joakim Noah) said about Cleveland. I’m dead serious. We all love Chicago.”

And even before that comment, James spoke about young Bulls phenom Derrick Rose after a game in December.

“He’s a great point guard. He’s a great player,” James said. “I love watching Derrick play, man, he’s unbelievable. All he’s going to do is continue to get better — with every game, with every practice.”

All that praise still can’t bring any certainty to LeBron James’ status for next season, which has been more up in the air than George Clooney. And while the Bulls are going to be a very attractive team, they won’t be the most financially prominent for the young star. That benefit lies with his current team, Cleveland, who can offer him a longer contract and a larger raise using the NBA’s “Bird rights”.

Still, LeBron has mentioned that it’s not about the money and has even said that he’s not looking for anything long-term. All he cares about is winning, and who could blame him?

With ringing endorsements from every big name in the business, not to mention his own clothing line, it’s not like James is strapped for cash. And with all of the constant comparisons to Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, he’s still marred by one category: Championships.

If he truly feels that he could have a better shot at winning somewhere other than Cleveland, then he’ll probably move. A team that can offer him a hefty paycheck while still having the talent-level to contend for championships now and into the future is the Chicago Bulls.

Whether he makes the move to the Windy City or not will be determined this summer (or fall). As for now, all Chicago fans can sit back and watch their Blackhawks (along with offseason free agent acquisition Marian Hossa) go for the Cup, and dream “What if?”

By: Josh Herman

We often like to introduce you to the people making our favorite produce. Angelo is one of the people making Supreme one of our favorite brands. Photography, art direction and marketing are his specialties, but ‘whatever it takes’ feels like a better job title.
As popular as Supreme is in our world, there aren’t many names that you can tie directly to the brand, without personally knowing them. The tightly knit family works hard to keep things cohesive and at the highest quality possible, from the collection, to the last look book to the marketing and collaborations. We wanted to dig a little deeper to find out more about the process behind the scenes of one our times most special brands.

Angelo Baque is one of those guys you’ve probably seen around different blogs, maybe in London or Paris, but most likely New York. He lives and breathes New York, and so does Supreme – so it only makes sense he’s one of the guys keeping the brand on point season after season. Photography, art direction and marketing are Angelo’s specialties, but ‘whatever it takes’ feels like a better job title.

You’ve grown up in different boroughs around New York, but always in New York. Does that make you feel like more of an insider or outsider in today’s global ‘scene’?

Without a doubt it makes me feel like an insider. Not to come across as a jaded or asshole New Yorker but everything starts here and trickles down to the rest of the world. All eyes are on NY when it comes to fashion, art and music. Being born and raised in NY always gives me a sense that I have an extra step.

Read the full interview here

Writer
—Ryan Willms

Photographer
—Rafael Rios

Source: Inventory Magazine

When Gary Chang spoke at the Simplicity Symposium at Arts Electronica curated by John Maeda last year, people were amazed by his life story growing up in Hong Kong in cramped conditions and how as an architect these experiences have shaped his interest in creating living and working spaces. Gary founded his company EDGE in 1994, and quickly gained a reputation for his dedication to work and award-winning multi-disciplinary designs. In 2003, the company was renamed EDGE Design Institute to better describe its mix of research-based and commercial activities.

His own apartment in Hong Kong which he once lived in with his whole family has now become a testing ground for him to experiment with ways of making reconfigurable spaces. Ultimate spatial flexibility is created through the multiple operations of the partitions. lighting. and mobile furniture. All the mundane necessities of bachelor life – books. CDs. clothing, pictures. stereo, videos are stacked on a chrome factory shelving system and hidden discreetly behind floating white curtains. the central space becomes the actual space for living, working, eating, sleeping, chatting, dressing and reading. Blue fluorescent tubes are carefully placed to wash the floor with an unearthly glow, while bright up-lighting articulates structural members. the main aperture of the front window offers views to the world beyond whether the actual view out of the window, or through the large scale movie screen to the fantasy world of Hollywood, the real world of news, or the electronic world of internet.

Puma partners with The Fuse Project to redesign it’s packaging, taking an environment friendly approach.

The Fuse Project explains:

By providing structure to a cardboard sheet, the bag uses 65% less cardboard than the standard shoe box, has no laminated printing, no tissue paper, takes up less space and weighs less in shipping, and replaces the plastic retail bag.

The cardboard structure is die cut from one flat piece of material and has no additional printing or assembly, thus it can be returned to the stream faster and more efficiently. The structure was created with four walls that taper in to allow for secured stacking, another important element left over from the original shoebox.

The bag is non-woven which means less work and waste (it is stitched with heat). It protects the shoes from dust and dirt in the warehouse and during shipping. The “clever little bag” is an iconic brand element upon leaving the store as it replaces the plastic shopping bag, and it is also used for shoe storage in travel suitcases. The bag is made of non-woven polyester consisting of recycled PET, and eventually is also recyclable.