Stussy has teamed up with London-based Champ Magazine for a Stussy International Tribe photo shoot directed by Art/Director Matthew Williams. This special spread features Stephane Ashpool which is the founder of boutique Pigalle, and co-founder of Pain O choKolat crew.

Well we know very well Matthew Williams by his work ethic who has worked with the likes of Kanye West, A$AP Rocky for some great pieces of Art. And Monster like Lady Gaga/Haus of Gaga and currently works for Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio (London). Charaf Tajer the founder and owner of club Le Pompon (Paris) and is also part of the Pain O choKolat crew. Tom Guinness the British stylist and Fashion Director of French fashion magazine, L’Officiel Hommes.

Photography by Matthew Williams

One of Banksy’s pieces in Australia was recently destroyed in the Prahran suburb of Melbourne. The Parachuting Rat was in the way of workers fixing up a local cafe and the above happened. The Australian news reports that this is the third Banksy piece lost on the continent in the last two years.

Watch the video below of a Bansky fan from the building discovering the destruction.

Source: HYPEBEAST

When it comes to Skateboard P’s portfolio, the Neptunes producer is definitely a “jack of all trades,” making his mark in music, design and fashion. In his most recent venture, Pharrell has partnered up with the United Entertainment Group to launch the “i am OTHER” Media Group. It’s described as “a content-driven property that spotlights new musicians, filmmakers, designers, artists and innovators through online, mobile and retail channels, TV shows and films.”

Stay tuned for future sightings.

Source: GLOBALGRIND

Sony Pictures has tapped its Oscar-winning “Social Network” scribe Aaron Sorkin to adapt “Steve Jobs,” Walter Isaacson’s bestselling biography of the late Apple co-founder. Scott Rudin will produce with Mark Gordon and Guymon Casady. Published late last year, “Steve Jobs” was Amazon’s best-selling book of 2011, selling more than 2.2 million hardcover copies.

“Steve Jobs’ story is unique: He was one of the most revolutionary and influential men not just of our time, but of all time,” said Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment. “There is no writer working in Hollywood today who is more capable of capturing such an extraordinary life for the screen than Aaron Sorkin; in his hands, we’re confident that the film will be everything that Jobs himself was: captivating, entertaining, and polarizing.”

This will be an epic movie. Stay tuned for more info.

What better way to start your “May 24″ LONG weekend than download the NEW Mixtape “Decompression” from our good hommie and Toronto RedBull Mix Champion – DJ Mensa.

In Mensa’s words this is a mix in exploration for gearing down and intended for the remains of the day.
Made of instrumentals, quirky re-edits and balladeering rappers.

DJ Mensa presents DECOMPRESSION
Please ENJOY responsibly.

To DOWNLOAD ‘DECOMPRESSION’ click HERE.

Visit http://www.djmensa.com

Back in the 80s, one of the status symbols that were prominent in that era was the German automobile Mercedes-Benz. Celebrities, socialites, and even rappers were spotted in and around the vehicle with the three-pointed star.

Mercedes-Benz is still a status symbol today, and Mercedes-Benz Japan is bringing over the legendary photographer Ricky Powell to Tokyo for the Retrospective 1961 – 2012 Exhibition to coincide with the launch of the new G-Class. Powell will also be present at the exhibition for the World Famous Ricky Powell Slide Show. Mercedes-Benz Connection in Roppongi will host the week-long event from early next month.

7-8-1 Roppongi
Minato-Ku, Tokyo Japan
Exhibition Dates: June 7th, 2012 (Thursday) – June 15th, 2012 (Friday)

Source: FRESHNESSMAG

When she’s not Twitter beefing with T.I. and Lil Kim or getting crowned a fashion icon by high-end designers like Alexander Wang, upstart artist Azealia Banks is still making some provocative music. This morning (May 11), Banks, as promised, dropped a new track entitled “Jumanji” with production from weirdo-electronic composer Hudson Mohawke and Nick Hook from the group Cubic Zirconia.

The track is a bouncy, tropical exploration with Banks’ rapidfire, high-attitude rapping at the forefront. The Harlem native shouts out her hometown over production that’s basically a fanfare for the beginning of summer with steel drums, gigantic timpani hits and some large, explosive bass.

“Jumanji” is the first preview from her upcoming Fantastic mixtape, which is set for release this summer. Banks has her long-awaited 1991 EP coming out within the month and is also working towards her much-anticipated major label debut, entitled Broke With Expensive Taste, which has been scheduled for a release this fall.

Listen below. ENJOY.

Source: MTV

Before the sold out shows, before MTV, and even before the culture of hip hop had taken mainstream root, Brooklyn-born photographer Lisa Leone was carefully documenting the burgeoning movement of musical community through the lens of her camera. “THEN” is a new solo show from Leone featuring those deeply personal photographs of pioneering names like Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, Wyclef Jean, A Tribe Called Quest, and of a time before hip-hop became what it is today.

Each evocative photograph and respective interview captures a unique interaction between Leone and her subject, depicting growing up in Brooklyn on the very cusp of a cultural revolution. The exhibition will be showing at HVW8 Art and Design Gallery in Los Angeles, starting on May 11.

HVW8
661 N. Spaulding Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
United States

Source: HYPEBEAST

Here’s a preview of our next release by Toofless, “Perspective” Feat. Capone of Capone-N-Noreaga produced by the Dub Poets Collective.

28-year-old Feras Ibrahim is a UAE-based rapper of Sudanese origins. His hip-hop expression started to materialize at age of 17 after being inspired by acts such as Mos Def, Nas, Lost Boys, Wu Tang, Jehst, 9th Wonder and Talib Kweli. Formerly part of the renowned, forward-thinking and socially conscious hip hop collective ‘Diligent Thought’. Feras Ibrahim is now working on an experimental EP with DPC, Feras also performs regularly and is a vital member of Employees of the Month.

Dub Poets Collective (DPC) employ scores of international, musical and social influences fused into their heartfelt productions. Their music has been featured on many albums, mixtapes, television, documentary films, and major radio stations across the world. ENJOY.

To check out more music by the Dub Poets Collective click HERE.

Atlanta-by-way-of-San Diego spitter Ev4n Holt caught our attention back in February with “Streets Keep Callin’,” a fiery display of technical skill. And since then, he’s been wrapping up his latest project, the newly released x. Evan Holt EP.

It features the 20-year-old rapper flexing a laid-back, albeit attention-demanding, flow over production from buzzing producers Thelonious Martin and WhoAreI. The latter especially shines on standout track “Strangs,” a lovelorn storytelling joint with a cool, NYC vibe. Holt’s also jacked some beats on here, including Mobb Deep’s “The Releast” for “Streets Keep Callin’.”

If you have been looking new, honest, and raw to listen to these days, x.Evan Holt is most certainly for you.

(DOWNLOAD Link)

Source: COMPLEX

Last night while the glitterati of the fashion world were at the Met Costume Gala, Paris-based graffiti writer Kidult prowled the streets of SoHo finding his latest target. Kidult is notorious for vandalizing boutiques, blasting their storefronts with fire extinguishers filled with paint. Past victims include Christian Louboutin, Hermes, Celine, Kenzo, Louis Vuitton, Agnes B. and Supreme.

Marc Jacobs retail associates were shocked to find the word “ART” written across the store this morning and quickly scrambled to wash it away. Known for their social media saavy, the official Marc Jacobs twitter tweeted a photo with the caption “Art by Art Jacobs” not knowing it was actually the handiwork of Kidult, who tweeted a photo of his own with the caption “I did some ART?”

Filmmaker Ruth Hogben collaborates with award-winning musician Kanye West to create a film for his single Lost in the World. The song, which features Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, is taken from West’s fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Hogben’s piece breaks the mould of popular rap aesthetics while still celebrating the extraordinary talent that has made West a modern icon.

Rihanna recently passed by the studio of Terry Richardson. The famed New York photographer of course took the chance to shoot a nice impromptu spread of the singer, who in return did some sexy poses for him. All in all a nice series of images that is certainly worth checking out. Check out the series of pics click HERE.

Since Facebook has bought Instagram for nearly a billion dollars in cash and stock, many users, bloggers, economy experts have thought Instagram could build its first real photo camera. ADR Studio imagined the Instagram icon becoming a real life digital instant film camera – the outcome is the Instagram Socialmatic Camera.

Socialmatic is the first Instagram photo camera, with a lot of amazing features:

- 16 GB mass storage;
- Wifi and Bluetooth;
- 4:3 touchscreen;
- 2 main lens, first for main capture, second for 3D filters, webcam applications and QR Code capturing;
- Optical zoom;
- Led Flash;
- Internal printer to make your Instagram photos real;
- Paper cartridge with Instagram Paper Sheets;
- Dedicated 4 colors ink tanks;
- InstaOs 1.0, which put together Facebook and Instagram App feature;

Take your shoot with Instagram Socialmatic, make your photo cool as you want and share it directly on Facebook.
If you want, you can print it directly on Instagram Paper Sheets, thanks to the internal printer.

At the moment Instagram Socialmatic is only a concept. Stay tuned if this becomes a reality.

Maurice Sendak, widely considered the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century, who wrenched the picture book out of the safe, sanitized world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark, terrifying and hauntingly beautiful recesses of the human psyche, died today in Danbury, Conn. He was 83.

Sendak was known in particular for more than a dozen picture books he wrote and illustrated himself, most famously “Where the Wild Things Are,” which was published by Harper & Row in 1963, and later was turned into a live action film in 2009 by critically-acclaimed filmmaker Spike Jonze. A must read for children.

In light of the recent Avengers Movie release it is incredible how little one needs to perfectly understand a visual message. That principal is once again shown in this new series of Minimal Superhero Posters by art student Calvin Lin. From Hulk, Spider-Man, Batman to Captain America, Iron Man and others, his series of images does not only look great but every poster is also 100% clear, without ever showing too much.

To get more info and check out his gallery click HERE.

With the passing of Adam Yauch (MCA) this morning, we also say goodbye to the original Beastie Boys, and lose a cornerstone of hip-hop. Not just of music, but of culture, of broken barriers, of human rights awareness, and of mind blowing music videos.

Here are some of my personal favorite Beastie Boys vids, mostly from their earlier days – back when they were reckless and spirited

RIP.