This past weekend Nike Basketball brought us to LA to check out the All-Star footwear, hit the Celtics vs Lakers game (still mad the Lakers lost!) and hit the Nike Vault for a surprise panel with Kobe and director Robert Rodriguez. They discussed The Black Mamba film, how it came about and Kobe’s acting skills.
Looks like a pretty dope production, excited to see the full length film.
I was out in LA with Nike and to get a peek at what they have coming up for NBA All Star releases (you won’t be disappointed) as well as a sit down with Kobe Bryant and director Robert Rodriguez onThe Black Mamba film project. Going to post a video but in the meantime here’s the second trailer for the movie.
This week, we had the chance to document a limited media preview event for the Air Jordan 2011. Jordan Brand’s Senior Footwear Designer, Tom Luedecke, walked us through the specs and fully detailed the new technology found in the sneakers. Watch the video to find out what role Goldschläger had in the process as well. Also check out the photographs below that detail the finalized Air Jordan 2011 model along with the prototypes that predated it.
The Bawse just dropped a video for his “Devil in a New Dress” verse but no Yeezy. Hoping this is just the Teaser and they make a full video, we’ll see.
LTD Magazine stopped by the Jacob K. Javits center last Friday to check out the New York City stop of the International Motorcycle Show. For those who couldn’t attend, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a highlight reel of what you missed.
London born creative force, Fats Shariff aka Fatsarazzi and swedish brand WeSC have linked up to created a limited capsule of goods. The small collection consists of headphones, a baseball jacket, photo album and will be on sale at retailers like Colette in Paris where an exhibit of Fats’ photos will also be on display from 1/31-2/26. Enjoy a couple images of the jacket and headphones below.
Acclaimed artist, typographer, educator, creative professional etc… Kevin Lyons is teaming up with legendary store/gallery/cultural museum Colette to host his first solo exhibit. Lyons will be showing a collection of original paintings, prints and vinyls. Exhibit will be running January 31-February 26.
To celebrate their 20th Anniversary, DJ Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito will be doing a live show for one-night only in NYC on February 10th. The event will be set like their infamous 89Tec9 radio show on WKCR and will also include some surprise live performances. If you’re in NYC and love hip hop, this is one that should not be missed.
Thurs, Feb 10th
at Le Poisson Rouge – NYC 158 Bleecker Street 10PM / 21+ Tickets: Le Poisson Rouge
Breaking the Swagtastic Legion of Doom off with more Based God footage from the Highline Ballroom performance in New York City. This video consists solely of Lil B’s most entertaining talking points from that night.
Brandon McCartney a.k.a. “The Pretty Bitch,” b.k.a. Lil B, is the new “nigga ya love to hate!”, word to Ice Cube. Despite this, he has a strong fan base within his tween & teen target demographics as evidenced by the tens to hundreds of thousands views for every video he has uploaded onto YouTube, his 100,000+ Twitter followers and his sold out shows. He is constantly interacting with the “Based community” via these social networking platforms and has even written a book based solely on text messages and emails written to his fans. Despite all of the negative criticism, Brandon’s marketing strategy, albeit strange and sensational, has been working for him, though it remains to be seen if this can be translated into long-term success. Regardless, he has garnered the attention of major publications, label executives, and has helped bring you to the LTD Magazine website today.
What was experienced at the Highline Ballroom concert can’t wholly be explained through the highlight reel video. Lil B had a capacity crowd at this show yelling for him throughout the duration of the opening act. I saw people right next to me literally bowing down and praying for him to get on stage. I was almost struck by a man jumping off a banister because he was just, well, that hyped. Once Lil B took to the stage and began to perform his discography, excuse me, collection of not yet mastered, nor mixed, mp3 files, the crowd erupted. The floor shook from the entire venue getting based & cooking all at once to his music. Swag t-shirts, cooking utensils, (yes, spatula’s were seen) and master chef’s hats all contributed to the cacophony. The crowd did not lose its intensity throughout the duration of the show despite having his “avant-garde” ambient rap records interspersed within the set and speeches whose topics ranged from how much of a pretty bitch he is to preaching on spreading positivity.
I haven’t seen this much crowd control and overall energy exuded by fans at a rap show in years. I give Lil B his due respect for this. He has the allure that every rapper, whether it be new-age or golden-era, wants to have in the sense of being in control of their fan-base throttle, both online and at live shows. He had the entire front row reaching out towards him, caressing his legs and all throughout the entire show. At one point, his fans were testifying to the fact that they would sacrifice their entire families for Lil B to fornicate with in order to prove how much of a fan they were. I left the show with a sense that I had just seen the modern day Jim Jones, not the Diplomats affiliate but Capo of the Peoples Temple, the cult leader behind The Jonestown Massacre. Instead of Flavor Aid, there’s a euphoria of being “Based” and he chooses to replace the cyanide with industrial sized vats of “swag”.
Lil B is a well calculated business man, regardless of what you may believe. Despite the maniacal mixture of ignorant music and abrasive statements, what is publicly apparent does not make up the breadth of what he has going on intellectually, strictly in a business sense. His shock-rap and supporting antics have landed him in a plethora of discussions on the Internet and has translated into the tangible world where he is being sought out by fans, music media and executives alike. This article goes without even touching upon the possible issues that have caused for Lil B, or his fans, to behave in the manner that they do. It also does not discuss the quality of the music or the authenticity behind his statements of positivity. I will leave that for everyone else to discuss. Just know that Lil B put on an insanely energetic performance. He is going to be around for a little while so you might want to make an attempt at understanding the appeal or preventing the based cult from fully formulating. This might all be a charade or maybe his intentions are good in which Lil B is in the same boat as The Animals & Nina Simone in being misunderstood.
Our guide to the best boutiques around the country and the world. Map your cross-country sneaker roadtrip or just find a hookup for when you hit the tarmac in a new city.
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