Friday, November 28, 2008

Lord Help Me Out Now... It's a Black Friday- The Black Friday Nike Air Force Ones.



Some people buy computers and flat screens at 4 am. Others buy sneakers. I got home at 7 am and wasn't capable of an in depth rundown of the craziness that ensued several hours earlier thus the earlier blurb. It wasn't that crazy, unless your definition of crazy falls under hitting a sneaker store in the wee hours of the morning to cop a pair of super limited kicks that had been kept under wraps until the minute they were released. No pics were available, only rumblings of certain materials and colors. In this world of illuminati internet and the need for info NOW I'm impressed they were able to keep this sealed tight. It was sort of a throwback pre triple w days when you'd hit a store and be surprised by what stocked the shelves. Minus the 4 am release and wristbands being released on Wednesday to guarantee your pair. Maybe I'm stretching the similarities, but the element of surprise always makes things more enjoyable.



On to the shoes. These shits are dope- and I wasn't thinking I'd dig them. I had access to them so I made the trek downtown on some sort of gamble. Worst came to worst I'd unload them. But I was pleasantly surprised. Pony hair. Who the fuck has pony hair uptowns? I do. Aside from a pair I've only seen pics of years ago, this is the only pony hair joint ever released. And it works, especially in black. The sheen adds a lot of flavor to these, no other color would have worked. The back panel and swoosh is constructed with a ridged silver material. It shines but doesn't provide any hologram visuals. Kix in the City characterizes it as lenticular, but there is no 3D illusion. Who cares. Jeans will most probably be covering it. Unless the skinny jeans bandits are rocking them. As if the pony hair and silver teflon didn't cause your jaw to drop, it's the midsole that really gets the fresh treatment. How Fresh? So fresh. Black iridescence. With the proper light you see the sparkles shining. Busy P's lowered about 300 notches.




I forgot to mention that these were designed by DJ Clark Kent. My true heads know Clark from his production days, while these new youngins only know dude cause he owns a million pairs of sneakers. He gets more props from these cats for wearing an exclusive sneaker than for producing several tracks on "Reasonable Doubt" (Brooklyn's Finest, Coming of Age, Cashmere Thoughts), Jr. Mafia's I Need You Tonight and Player's Anthem, Rakim's Guess Who's Back, Canibus' How We Roll and a slew of other joints. Give the dude props for creating some hot shit, not for wearing a one of one. It's gotten so out of whack that at the Busy P release at Mercer St. people literally were bowing in reverence to him. Hop off, seriously. Back to the buttahs- this is my first customized box. Fuck it. I just like seeing my name but not on some narcissistic shit, just some I'm the man shit. Now I got to keep them. I haven't been this excited to wear a pair of sneakers in a long time. OoooooooooooooWeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.



These sold for $150, and in keeping with Black Friday price slashes, these supposedly would retail for $300, based on the "Supreme" tag and the materials used. So look at that, I got a bargain. A shirt- kind of dope- and a mixtape were supposed to come with the kicks, but they ran out by the time I reached the register. Following the Mercer Street release, the kicks were being released at Concepts in Boston at 10 am and then the Shoe Gallery in Miami at 8 pm. Clark was to appear at each release. Talk about crazy.



Here's a pic of the line at approximately 4:30 AM outside of the Nike Sportswear Mercer Street store. This was the only spot to release these in NYC. I had a great chai blackberry tea there and some nice chocolate donuts. Next time I hope they have hot chocolate.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

HowFresh Gets High, High, High...



With Air Force 1s that is. I'm an athlete. I don't partake in the devil's vices.

Peep the new buttahs- the Stashes- black reptile on the front and back panels with a nubuck toe box and mid panel- spray can caps printed on the mid panel and ankle strap. Clean colorway- not far out like some of the other shit dropping like...




...These- the Safari Army Green and Gold joints. Army green safari print (textured suede like leather) cover the front and back. Army green patent leather laces the middle and a goldish leather toebox and gold safari print ankle strap finish it off. Personally, I don't understand the patent mid panel. I vehemently despise patent leather. Never liked it and never will. Too stiff and too flashy for me- plus it looks like plastic. The sole could have been tweaked a little better too. It's too dark down there. Army/olive green is a dope color, but gets lost with the black midsole. Maybe a gold/gum outsole would have popped it better. I've never been a fan of the round laces either, but that's easy to switch up. Nike I'm available if you need some freshness. How Fresh? True true.









It's the biggest night of the year so I hope everyone gets busy and has a safe one. No DWIs though. Jake is everywhere- thought I was going to get a ticket a little while ago heading over the Broadway Bridge. I had that open grate to play with so I got my Andredi on and Jake was sitting in a nook on the other side- I passed, their lights went on, I shit my pants, and they passed. Close call.

Monday, November 24, 2008

I Like Bialys, Fuck the Bagels.


Bagels take all the spotlight. Bagel and butter, bagel and cream cheese, bagel and lox, pizza bagel, bagel chips, etc. But what about the cuzzo, the little quiet dude that doesn't need to shine, that doesn't need that glossy finish- that doesn't need the hole so that people can run in and out all day. Whoa.

It's time the bialy gets its due. Granted the bialy isn't as versatile as the bagel, but a warm bialy fresh out of the oven runs laps around a fresh bagel. The soft toothy dough with the light sprinkle of ground onion in the middle crater can create zen-like peace unattainable in most corners of the universe. Throw a little butter in the mix and let that bitch breathe. And I'm not even going to delve into whitefish on a bialy. That shit should be illegal.



We see bagel stores throughout the city. More so in Jewish neighborhoods, this used to be a Jewish city- shout out to the tribesmen and women. But where is a bialy store? Unless your already hip to the game, the sole creator of the mighty bialy rests on Grand Street right off Essex. Kossar's Bialy is the name and dough and onions is the game. The store's been operating for more than 70 years- at this location since the early 1960's, and not a damn thing has changed- that becomes evident the minute you walk in. Nothing fancy, shit, no atmosphere at all- aside from the beauty of bialys and ovens, a true step back into the Old World. Just an open area with the counter on the left. Racks of bialys behind the counter and racks of other items by the window- pletzels, bulkas, sesame sticks and bagels- yes bagels- I've never tried them but the website swears they're delicious.



An old plastic menu board rests on the wall displaying the several items they sell. On the other side is a fridge or 2 selling snapples and various spreads such as whitefish salad. It doesn't get more bare bones, but it doesn't get more delicious.

Bialys cost 90 cents. Dozens are treated the old school way and given the baker's dozen love- 13 for the bakeaphobes.

Bagels, I still love you.

Kossar's Bialys
367 Grand Street
New York, NY 10002
877-4-BIALYS
Info@kossarsbialys.com
www.kossarsbialys.com
Sun-Thurs 6am - 8pm
Fri 6am - 3pm
Closed Saturday

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Mm, Mm, Mm...


Awwwwwwwwwww yeah, I'm with this, I'm just gonna sit here laid back to this nice mellow beat, ya know, and drop some smooth posts, cause it's 2008 time to set it straight, knowmsayin and ain't no half bloggin', word, I'm ready...


Wow. 20 years ago Long Live the Kane dropped and changed the landscape of the burgeoning genre known as rap. Nobody was fucking with Kane, nobody. Rakim was Rakim, but Kane brought that swagger and braggadocio on a completely new level. His word play and machine gun delivery set a standard that few artists have been able to emulate. That's why 20 years later King Asiatic Nobody's Equal is still relevant.

And now it's time to celebrate. Tomorrow night, November 14th, the 20 year anniversary jumpoff will be jumping off at BB King's on 42nd Street. Tickets are running low so try to scoop them ASAP.

If you haven't seen him in recent years, don't think he lost a step. Dude puts on a better show than 95% of today's crop of artists. Showmanship at its finest. And best believe NYC will come out to celebrate this milestone feat. The Diabolical Biz will be in attendance along with Mr. Cee, Kane's original DJ. I'm sure tons of surprise guests will be in attendance to show their respect and admiration.

I might even bring my Bar Mitzvah board to have him sign the photos. Real talk on the photos, fake talk on getting an autograph.

For more info or to buy tix click HERE.

I hate to brag but damn I'm good, And If keyboards were a gun I'd be Clint Eastwood, and if blogging was a game I'd be MVB, Most Valuable Blogger on the QWERTY or if blogging was a school I'd be the principal, aw fuck it, HowFresh is invincible...


Saturday, November 8, 2008

Black Moon and Smif N Wessun Perform Their Classics at Knitting Factory Tonight, 11/8- No Tix? No Worries, Live Stream.



That's right. Enta Da Stage and Da Shinin' will be performed tonight at the Knitting Factory as a Tribute to the Classics. And classics they are. The bad news is that tickets are sold out (this is a makeup show from 9/26 - the show had to be postponed due to Buckshot's health issues), however the GOOD news is there will be a live stream of the concert at www.duckdown.com and www.thatshiphop.com. Another bit of bad news is that a live band will be accompanying the Duck Down crew- bad news to me at least. Regardless, this would have a been a dope show to hit. Knitting Factory is such a small, intimate venue, and to see some of hip hop's greatest albums performed in such a setting would be a real treat. So if you're not catching the Jones v. Calzaghe fight, tune into this at 9 pm.

If you need to polish up on your Black Moon/Duck Down history, check the brief bio below. Spotted over at Grandgood.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Sneakers & Drugs Don't Mix- Busy P Air Force 1.



Thursday, 11/30/08, 4 pm, marked the release of the Busy P Nike Air Force 1 at the Nike Sportswear store on Mercer St. Eager little snearkerheads had been lining up nights before to ensure they would be one of the few people to put rainbows on their feet. Wristbands were given out that morning to those in line so chaos wouldn't ensue as the clock reached 16 hours and so that Mercer St. wouldn't become a sneaker covention. I happened to stroll by a little after 5 pm and walked out with a pair close to 6:30. All in a hard day's work.

As part of the 1World pack, Nike has chosen individuals over the globe they consider "influencers." Most recently ?uestlove from The Roots created an air force 1 (wack) and the graf artist Krink has an Air Force 1 (dope) dropping shortly. Busy P is a French DJ/prodcucer and founder/owner of Ed Banger Records who has worked with Daft Punk and Cassius, along with a slew of other house artists. I personally don't care for his shit, but I'm sure some pill poppers do. You be the judge HERE. Keep it on for more than 2 minutes and your brain can't take it. Especially on a Sunday evening after a weekend of imbibition.

Busy definitely took creative control to the next level with this one- something I complement. The left sneaker is considered the "Craziness Side" while the right sneaker is the "Reason Side." I'm hoping that deep inside his noodle he was playing a joke on sneaker enthusiasts and creating something that most people would consider ugly, and that's being polite. Even if that's not the case, I'll believe it is.









Here's an image of the throng of people outside 21 Mercer just as the doors opened. Props to freshnessmag.com for the photo.