MUSIC NEWS: DR. DRE / Jermaine Dupri: Mariah Carey Knows What She Wants | Larry King Now | Ora.TV / Pioneer DJ DJM-S9 Official Introduction

Who in the world has better ears than Andre Young? Throughout his many incarnations, the common thread in Dr. Dre’s career has been his ability to hear things differently from everyone else, and his certitude that millions of paying customers will want to hear those things too. Paradoxically, he’s been both prolific and patient: It doesn’t seem like he’s ever stopped working, and yet somehow 16 years have elapsed since his last solo LP.
For much of that time, he’s said, he was working on a solo record to follow up 1992′s landmark The Chronic and 1999′s lushly raucous 2001. The project — which grew increasingly mythical as time passed — consisted of a title, Detox, and little else. Now, with scant warning, Dre’s solo return is upon us, with the twist that it isn’t Detox at all. Maybe it’s marketing: How could anything meet the wild expectations tied to that name? Or maybe the dream of Detox paralyzed Dre, and the only way to free himself was to set his sights elsewhere.
So he set them on his past. Compton is a companion piece to the new N.W.A biopic, and the album’s backward gaze is evident from the intro, where narration from an old TV documentary describes how Dre’s California hometown went from black-middle-class idyll to a crime-ravaged “extension of the inner city.” Dre reminisces over past indignities (“Face down on the pavement with the billy clubs . . .”) and glories (“. . . Now it’s ‘Fuck Tha Police’ all up in the club”) — but this is no dusty museum tour. Compton contains some of his most ambitious, idea-stuffed production ever, combining the layered bombast and narcotic ooze of his catalog’s peaks with a bunch of bold new tricks. On standouts like “Talk About It” and “Genocide,” Dre and his co-producers manage insane juggling acts between throbbing funk bass, jazz trumpet, extended high-hat solos, acoustic guitars and irresistibly pounding drums. Lyrically, Compton is not only vibrant but full of an indignation that suggests world-beating success has done little to lessen the vitriol that fueled Dre back in N.W.A. On “Issues,” co-starring Ice Cube, Dre declares, “Fuck money, that shit could never change me.” The line seems at once boastful and true, for better and worse: The track ends with a jarring fantasy about a woman’s violent murder.
Throughout, Dre’s rhyming (aided as always by co-writers) is impressive. He trades his familiar stentorian boom for double-time syncopations, hoarse snarls and even bursts of song — Eminem and Kendrick Lamar, both of whom cameo, clearly rubbed off on him. The latter in other ways, perhaps: This is Dre’s most explicitly political album, featuring lines from him and guests that evoke police violence, particularly the killings of Michael Brown (“Blood on the cement, black folks grieving”) and Eric Garner (“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe”). He’s still full of contradictions — on “Animals,” he calls himself a “product of the system, raised on government aid,” but on “Darkside/Gone,” he raps, with palpable disgust, that “anybody complaining about their circumstances lost me, homey.” It adds up to an album by turns confounding and enthralling. It’s no Detox. It’s something realer, and better.
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/dr-dre-compton-20150806#ixzz3i5Z4Q9NQ
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KICKS: Nike SB Stefan Janoski Max "Checkered"/ adidas Originals 2015 Summer Pro Model/ Nike KD 8 "Suit"/ adidas Originals Stan Smith CF "Night Brown"/ Nike Air Tech Challenge III "Radiant Emerald"

Nike Skateboarding drops another colorway for skate legend Stefan Janoski‘s signature shoe with the Stefan Janoski Max “Checkered.” The low-top holds a Black/Black-White colorway which renders the classic sneaker in a finely woven Houndstooth upper with black embroidered detailing throughout. It’s made with a one-piece breathable synthetic constructed upper, a white, lightweight Phylon midsole, an EVA foam sockliner, a Max Air unit under the heel, and solid rubber pods with a herringbone traction pattern. The trademark “For Daily Use / Stefan Janoski / Nike Skateboarding & Co.” emblem is emblazoned in white on the black tongue patch. You can purchase the Nike SB Stefan Janoski Max “Checkered” now from Sneaker Politics for $110 USD.

With the astronomical ascent of the Superstar on everyone’s mind, here adidas pays homage to its oft-neglected sibling silhouette: the Pro Model. Recently revitalized via a limited collaboration with Big Sean around this time in 2013, here the Three Stripes rolls out two crispy colorways of the silhouette, which are detailed with your choice of either subtle or bold touches. Pick your poison: the Pro Model “Tomato Red” features a tonal premium snakeskin leather throughout the upper, complemented by a suede interior and sidestripes. Elsewhere, the black drop features a murdered-out smooth leather upper, complemented by a black rubber outsole and classic shell toe. Interested parties can pick up both iterations at retailers such as Bows & Arrows now.

Back on May 6 of 2014, Kevin Durant accepted his very first MVP award. Dressed in a bold, color-shifting suit, the OKC star delivered a sincere speech that resonated with fans across the globe — and ultimately launched countless “You The Real MVP” memes. As a nod to KD’s attire that day, Nike is set to drop a “Suit” edition of Durant’s signature KD 8 later this month. Decked out in a knit upper of purple and red, the kicks are set off with bold lime green accents throughout as the hue hits everything from the branding and Dynamic Flywire to the rubber outsole and full-length articulated Zoom Air cushioning.

The classic adidas Originals Stan Smith silhouette gets a leather makeover in a luxurious brown patina. The regular lace enclosure is replaced with three Velcro straps in this model, all covered in the same brown leather and perforated with the recognizable but discreet Three-Stripes. An untreated effect gives off a raw aesthetic, which is perfectly complemented by the crisp white heel tab and sole. Head over to Allike Store to purchase the pair, which retails for €90 EUR (approximately $100 USD).

In honor of the 25th anniversary of the original Air Tech Challenge, Andre Agassi’s Nike Air Tech Challenge III has made a return in its OG “Radiant Emerald” colorway. Debuted on the court by the tennis star back in the 1990s, the design opts for a combination of both smooth and perforated leather, pairing a predominately white aesthetic with a neoprene collar, Volt accents and hits of the Radiant Emerald” hue throughout. Retailing for $120 USD, the retro kicks can be picked up now via nike.com.

TV: Trailer: Season 2 EMPIRE

                 

The biggest show of the year returns with a vengeance. EMPIRE Season Premiere SEPT 23 at 9/8c on FOX!

How the Timberland Boot Became an Icon of Hip-Hop Style

Timberland’s 6″ Work Boots – known as Style #10061 to the brand’s employees or by their street monicker “Timbs” – have come a long way since their release in 1973. Originally designed as a hard-wearing boot for New England construction workers, the six-inch high waterproof nubuck shoe has become synonymous with hip-hop style, appearing on the feet – and in the songs – of everyone from Notorious B.I.G. to Kanye West.

The story behind the brand’s popularity in hip-hop circles is a strange one; Timberland never intended for their boots to be worn by rappers, and found the association so far removed from their blue-collar roots that they at first tried to distance themselves from their new-found “urban” audience. But like so many brands who found popularity in places they didn’t know existed – Converse, Dr. Martens and Vans, to name a few – the subculture association has become such a large part of the brand’s identity that today that it’s hard to imagine them without it.

In the early ’90s, when Timberland was serving its core customer base of blue-collar workers – who adored the brand’s boots for their hard-as-nails construction and superior waterproofing – the company noticed a strange thing happening in New York City. The Big Apple’s hustlers, rappers and scoundrels, miles away from Timberland’s rural heartland and oblivious to the brand’s blue-collar reputation, had become obsessed with their boots.
As consumer journalist Rob Walker reports in his book Buying In, “the legend goes that the first ‘urban’ buyers of Timberland boots were New York drug dealers – guys who had to stand on the street all night and needed the best possible footwear to keep them warm and dry.” Ever keen to enhance their hustler credentials, the city’s rappers followed suit, and soon the boot was everywhere; on Tupac’s feet, in Biggie’s lyrics, on Wu-Tang’s feet and in Mobb Deep’s artwork. Rap magazine Vibe reported that “everyone from thugs to step teams were stalking, walking in their six-inch construction boot,” as they “stood up beautifully to urban elements like concrete, barbed wire, and broken glass.”
As a brand priding itself on its rugged, salt-of-the-earth roots, Timberland actively tried to distance itself from this new-found street cred. Timberland’s CEO Jeffrey Swartz (and grandson of the company’s founder Nathan Swarz) told The New York Times in the early ’90s that “If you want to buy us and you are not our target customer, we don’t have a point of distribution that speaks to your lifestyle.” That didn’t deter any of the boots’ fans though, as trekking to backwater New England towns to cop Timbs became part of the experience; a pilgrimage of sorts.

Of course, things are a little different today. Timberland, realizing that there was nothing it could do to deter a demographic hell-bent on appropriating the brand’s boots for themselves, soon embraced the hip-hop association. The brand has since hooked up countless rap artists with boots (like the ones worn by OutKat’s Big Boi on the cover of Speakerboxxx), expanded their collections to include more ‘urban’ oriented product (pink Timbs, anyone?) and collaborated with tons of streetwear brands; including Supreme, Black Scale, Ronnie Fieg, Billionaire Boys Club, Stussy and many more.
Shop the latest gear from Timberland here.

NEW MUSIC: The Game Feat Drake – 100 / Future – Kno The Meaning / Alicia Keys – 28 Thousand Days

The Game joined forces with Drake to release the official visual for his latest single called 100, which is produced by Cardo and Johnny Juliano.


Future keeps the momentum going and unleashes a new visual for the heartfelt record called Kno The Meaning, which is produced by Southside and directed by Vincent Lou Film.


Alicia Keys is ready to make her return, as she decides to unleash her brand new single titled 28 Thousand Days. She is currently working on her next album, which is set to be released later this year.

Serena Williams Stars in New York Magazine