Special thanks to the entire StyleLikeU team for the terrific feature! What an honor. So far, the reactions have been nothing but great. So surreal since it’s usually me interviewing others. Look for updates this week on Smoke & Mirrors for more clothing credits and behind-the-scenes pics. View the entire post here and make a comment MF!
THE-DREAM WEEK on Smoke & Mirrors kicks off today…
expect unheard tracks, new videos, album analysis + more.
If you haven’t already – cop LoveKing now!
In J.Cole‘s first official video since his Roc Nation/Sony Music co-sign, he plays something of a messiah; turning the hood into a flame-ridden epoch, led in part by what looks like the lyricist’s graduating class. The clip gives Drake a run for his 463,000 first-week sales, although I doubt Cole will debut to numbers as grand come time for his album release this October – especially since people are likely still wondering who dat? Let us review.
While the fashion industry offers you options for their Pre-Spring/Resort season (I’m still waiting for a better term for the made-up retail season), they’re doing themselves a slight disservice by placing Fall to the side. Who can remember what they did last weekend, let alone last fashion week? That’s why S&M‘s here to remind you of the items ready to hit stores in the next month or so. Jackson and I have whittled down Candy Pratts Price’s F/W 2010 accessory report (corresponding with the 10 best F/W 2010 collections posted) and added some lust-worthy pieces from Luisa Via Roma’s inventory to create four separate lists. But don’t call them it lists – they da shit lists. Our choices prove once and for all that opposites do, in fact, attract. We did both come to a mutual agreement on one thing – the handbag of the season (above)… hailing from the inimitable house of Celine. (Click to enlarge images)
You know hip hop has changed when you listen to Drake. He’s unequivocally ushered in hip hop’s post-Kanye, Twitter landscape; a place where the internet plays as much an influential role as it did the first time you could download Eminem alongside Morissey free of charge via Napster. He’s used the internet as a source of promotion (So Far Gone mixtape is the most downloaded in history and spawned his overnight success), artistic tapestry (see his own blog), and open-source playpen (how else would he have found Francis & The Lights?) unlike those before him. He’s grown up with a post-racial, post-college-radio ear (he’s half-white and Jewish on his mother’s side) that’s as much influenced sonically by Eminem as Morissey, as much hip hop as easy-listening; a desegregated sense of freedom and willingness towards genre eclecticism that came with the advent of digital music piracy. He’s the mixed result of desensitized racial and social boundaries, an affluent suburban upbringing, dorm rooms, and fast fame. He’s an artist that’s broadened hip hop’s tense with unsuspectingly genre-defying, self-pondering narratives that could easily make any emo collegiate jealous.
His first-ever commercial LP, Thank Me Later, is a devoted introspective debut. An album that track-by-track expands to immerse you. From first listen, you can tell it’s important – and not because Pitchfork told you so. The first song, “Fireworks”, plays like a continuation of Alicia Keys and Drake‘s duet, “Unthinkable,” atop echoing drums. How many of our parents’ marriages lasted?, Drake asks in the song’s final verse. It’s a generational question that wouldn’t of sounded so real had it come from the corner. What would have ultimately come across as pussy, is in Drake‘s case real. He can play both Jay and Sade. “Karaoke”, produced in part by Francis & The Lights, is a sublimely delicate listen to which Drake flexes his lightheaded melodramatic croon. Perhaps the most solid track on the album, it isn’t something you’re apt to find on just any hip hop LP (scratch that – 808′s and Heartbreaks tried and failed), moreso a track off of Phil Collin‘s Face Value. It’s here, where Drake finds solace – part-sung, part-rapped, the song is a testament to his talent and versatility. The Aaliyah-sampled “Unforgettable” is another gem, even if Drake is outversed by his feature, Young Jeezy. The Jay-Z-assisted “Light Up” sounds akin to The Roots’ politico raps, but becomes very much Drake’s own when a somber subtly-sung, lo-fi chorus kicks in. The disc’s most ill-fitting tunes come shockingly from the most veteran producers – Swizz Beats and Kanye West. “Fancy” sounds like an outdated Blueprint flashback and “Find Your Love” goes in the wrong direction entirely. The album’s greatest heights are achieved when Drake lays his soul out to dry amongst the most ambient of backgrounds (produced by Boi-1da, Omen, and 40) reminiscent of Boards of Canada and the xx. There are even portions where he sounds partially submerged. Listen to The-Dream‘s triumphant duet, “Shut It Down” (above) or “The Resistance”, to hear what I mean.
For all my late-90′s memory lapse-rs, Elite Gymnastics is here to remind you of the charm that was Baz Luhrmann’s “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” – the oddly fantastic Coppertone rant that when placed over a Pure Moods-y backtrack became an international Billboard blockbuster. Elite’s version may in fact be more comical than Baz’s – speaking on everything from Jim Jones, stretch marks, and cough syrup to frozen foods and techno crowd caveats, all atop Boi-1da-like drums.
10. Marios Schwab / Fall 2010 / London Fashion Week Schwab examines his Austrian heritage with a little yodel-ay-ee-oooo.
9. Burberry Prorsum / Fall 2010 / London Fashion Week You gotta love human teddy bears. Plushy love.
8. Balmain / Fall 2010 / Paris Fashion Week
Stop hatin’ on Decarnin. This Prince-fused collection is like a dream come true for me. The only problem is I’d have to find it at a Ross For Less to afford it.
7. Haider Ackermann / Fall 2010 / Paris Fashion Week
Word on the street is Janet‘s been shopping Haider‘s latest for herself and backup dancers. World tour costumes, perhaps? I could totally see it.
6. Neil Barrett / Fall 2010 / London Fashion Week Britain’s answer to Alexander Wang gets his girl spot on – and by the looks of her gloves, bitch came to fight.
5. The Row / Fall 2010 / New York Fashion Week The Olsens grew up for their first NYFW showing ever, creating one of the more unique takes on American minimalism post-Calvin Klein.
4. Emilio Pucci / Fall 2010 / Milan Fashion Week Peter Dundas’ latest silhouette is funky, flared, and fringed. Pucci’s never looked so perfect.
3. Gareth Pugh / Fall 2010 / London Fashion Week The gothic avant-guardian only gets better with time. Pugh‘s neoprene-backed leather jackets are arguably the season’s most unsung hero.
2. Balenciaga / Fall 2010 / Paris Fashion Week Call it ‘retro-futura’: the melding of new-age materials with yesteryear’s aesthetics. Think peculiar color pairings, 50′s kitchenware/home good motifs and 60′s Pan Am graphics done in techno fabrics. Count on Ghesquiere to push us forward by referencing the past.
1. Dries Van Noten / Fall 2010 / Paris Fashion Week Dries provides the most pristine print and color pairings of his career. Sophistafunk, ladies and gentlemen.
View Da Shit List (Accessories) F/W 2010 here. Honorable Mentions: coming soon
View last season’s selections here.
photos courtesy of style.com & (#2) dazeddigital.com
Francis & The Lights is Drake’s slow song secret weapon. Track 2 of Thank Me Later stands as proof. The little-known NYC band, led by Berkeley-bred “Francis Farewell Starlite” (who has a voice that lands him sonically between the lines of Adam Levine and Phil Collins), creates lush synth-laden compositions worthy of Human League. The fact that Drake is a fan and has commissioned them to open for him on tour speaks volumes to both artists’ versatility. Francis’ Cantora Records debut, It’ll Be Better, positions them as something of a second coming of Spandau Ballet, Peter Gabriel, or ABC. With the kind of sheeny pop songwriting Hall & Oates once pioneered, F&TL appeals to even the most discriminating ear with their self-proclaimed obsession with simplicity. Their most inspiring read? Strunk and White’s Elements of Style – which eased them into “doing things simply and omitting the needless.” (Village Voice, Feb 25 2009) If Private donned fancier rhythms and kicks than once before, Francis simplifies those 80′s eccentricities in their refusal to be categorized. Perhaps this is the reason for Kanye and Drake‘s devotion: just as “Darling, It’s Alright” is Bryan Ferry, “Going Out” (especially it’s opening few bars) is as much KCi & JoJo. You can stream their entire album here.
World Premiere: “Make-Up Bag” – The-Dream (Feat. T.I.) Louis, Prada, Hermes, Fendi, Valentino – hell, they all make plenty.
If my proposed solution to The-Dream’s latest lady drama didn’t appease, try his new video on for size.
Smoke & Mirrors’ curated list of highlights from the F/W ’10 collections in stores soon
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Vol. 1
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Vol. 4
Vol. 5
