…but yeah so uhh I got a Tumblr… !flouph with me…

http://livefromnowhere.tumblr.com/

Of all the critique that is sent this guy’s way, it’s funny how this got ‘Ye upset….

So if you don’t know what Scott Schuman does…kill yourself, first…… then find out.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, now here’s what happened, in brief:

Kanye and his wiz were doing what they do in Parie …

and Scott was doing what he does in Parie…

They took this photo…

The sophisticated fat cat creatives responded…

Kanye caught feelings because, you know…. their opinion seems to matter.

WHEN IT’S ALL SAID AND DONE, REMEMBER THE FEARLESS, REMEMBER THE DREAMERS, REMEMBER THOSE WHO REPRESENT THE GHETTO…THE FAIRY TALE OF NOTHING TO SOMETHING. I’M BRIEFLY SADDENED BY NEGATIVE COMMENTS, BUT I HAVE TO REMEMBER THOSE PEOPLE ARE SCARED, INCAPABLE OR JUST PLAIN IDIOTS. WE ARE THE FUCKING ROCK STARS BABY. NO COCAINE, JUST LIFE MY NIGGAS!! NO COCAINE, JUST LIFE! IT’S FUNNY TO ME WHEN FASHION BLOGGERS DOWN OUR OUFITS AND THEN SUPER JOCK OUTLANDISH SHIT ON THE RUNWAY BUT THEN THEY DRESS MAD PRUDE AND DON’T LIVE FASHION. WE LIVE IT MAN. FUCK THAT, WE LIVE IT!!! WE LIVE IT SO HARD PEOPLE LIVE THROUGH US! WE REPRESENT YOUR INNER SPIRIT!! THE CHILD IN US ALL, THE BRUTAL HONESTY, THE NAIVETY, THE BRAVE WARRIOR, THE ADRENALINE THAT ALLOWS A MOTHER TO LIFT A CAR IF HER CHILD WAS TRAPPED UNDER IT! REMEMBER, THERE WAS A TIME WHEN EVERYBODY DISSED MICHAEL JACKSON EVERY CHANCE THEY COULD. IMAGINE THE PRESSURE OF BEING A TRUE ICON. VERY FEW HUMAN BEINGS ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO TAKE CONSTANT HATE!!! IF WE DON’T DO WHAT YOU FEEL IS THE SHIT, YOU BEAT US UP VERBALLY AND MENTALLY, LIKE A CATHOLIC SCHOOL TEACHER BEATING A CREATIVE STUDENT INTO SUBMISSION. I CAN HEAR YOU SCREAMING ‘COLOR INSIDE THE LINES!!!’ WELL FUCK YOUR COLORING BOOK, COLOR BY NUMBERS APPROACH TO LIFE. AT THE END OF THE DAY WHO ARE WE HURTING??? OH “THE NEW BLACK???” SINCE BARACK IS PRESIDENT BLACKS DON’T LIKE FUR COATS, RED LEATHER, AND FRIED CHICKEN ANY MORE?! WHEN YOU TRULY UNDERSTAND CULTURAL SETTINGS, BOUNDARIES, AND OUR MODERN DAY CASTE SYSTEMS, THEN YOU CAN FEEL THE GLORY AND PAIN FROM THE DAYS OF KINGS IN AFRICA TO THE NEW KINGS OF THE MEDIA. LET THE BALL PLAYERS DANCE AFTER THEY SCORE! IT’S LIFE MY NIGGAS, IT’S LIFE! REMEMBER CLOTHING IS A CHOICE. WE WERE BORN NAKED!!! FRESH IS AN OPINION, LOVE IS OBJECTIVE, TASTE IS SELECTIVE, AND EXPRESSION IS MY FAVORITE ELECTIVE. NO MORE POLITICS OR APOLOGIES!!!

Scott got aggy too, because..you know…he’s a fat cat creative.

I actually shot this in Milan a few days before I shot Kanye in Paris . Like any artist I follow my inspiration and lately I’ve been feeling for portraits. I think it started with that “Red on Red” portrait in Sydney. Right now I love the idea of a dramatic face surrounded by an equally dramatic fur…a very modern John Singer Sargent vibe.

Regarding the Kanye shot. Yes, Kanye is having a tough time right now but I think that makes the portrait all the more moving.
For those of you that think the Kanye shot was a celebrity grab and a change in direction for the blog, go check the archives. I’ve shot Kanye about ten times over the last two years and his inclusion hasn’t changed anything in this blog (if anything it enriches it with a wider stylistic offering).

Is Kanye a Sartorialist? Who is? I wrote in my book that I appreciate and relate to his struggles to find is own style vocabulary. Haven’t we all gone through that? Am I a Yohji or an Armani was mine. I know Kanye a little bit and that portrait captures something in him I haven’t seen before. Whether you like him or not is up to you. That shot is just a simple portrait of a man in a difficult moment in his life and as a artist I would be crazy not to react to that moment (especially if it falls within a mood I’m feeling). I love the contrast that these two portraits create. And lets be honest, we can’t assume that this woman is any more or less refined or graceful than Kanye. I think the not really knowing makes portraits all the more fascinating

I wish I had more to say about this lovely woman but she spoke almost no English. My good friend Renata (who you’ll see in another shot very soon) was the person who really helped make this shot happen. I love the calm poise of this shot even though there are about two hundred people right behind me moving out of a fashion show very very quickly.

And now everyone knows…. and knowing’s half the battle.

I resent a couple things about myself.  Aside from my inability to truly revel in the nostalgia associated with 70′s and 80′s soul samples {my mom, for whatever reason, was heavy into Olivia Newton John when we first arrived in the states…..or at least that’s all that my brain and the contents of my pops’ old trunk will tell me} my only other regret lies in the predisposed auditory bias when it comes to the …..how you say…West Coast Rap Offerings.  Basically, it’s not my fault that I don’t really !flouph with a lot of those people or their so-so raps.  I attribute my disenchantment towards the West directly to my phobia of ‘Regular Rapper’ rap–the genre most prominent on corners along Broadway {any Broadway} and usually accompanied by a line of questioning that usually begins with the ritualistic opener, “Excuse me…You listen to Hip-Hop music, fam?”  I already am averse to East Coast so-so raps, so unfortunately, by not being burdened by the possibility of encountering West coast so-so rappers in my day to day, I have at the same time alienated my frame of reference from some really great shit.

The “Holiday Weekend Mixtape Release” thing that these rap guys have been showing their affection to as of late, is cool.  The “Holiday Weekend Mixtape Release Pumpfake”, however, is a serious detriment to the innanets ecosystem.  At this point, I think Jay Electronica and Just Blaze’s Unicorn Opus, Act II might just drop on February 29th for all I know.  It’s not so much the unmet promises or the label-less delays that really ruffled my swagscarf.  I’m dissapointed that the  collective, for whatever reason, did not use an opportunity to grab its legions by their protruding corneas and have them place a branding iron on their foreheads Aldo Raine style and pledge their allegiance by spending the 13-day weekend beating off to {insert whatever was supposed to be the supreme banger on Act II here}.

But I digress….

Blu is one of the nicest rap guys I have heard in a while. He is probably one of the only West Coast dudes that I wholeheartedly enjoy everytime out.  I still think the J&J album was one of the first times in like 10 years that I actually really was aggravated by an emcees superior skill set.  It’s like Blu is TOO nice for his own fan base.  You know how I know?  … Because when he decided to realease his newest oldest project theGodleeBarnes(lp) as a no tracklisthavin, uncut,  single mp3, I got extremely resentful when I came to the realization that I was going to be spending my weekend listening to an hour long, notacklisthavin, uncut, unmastered, single mp3……….because I knew it would be dope.

And after a weekend straight of Calified soul and this twit-rant turned tracklisting, the one long mps3 thing is actually refreshing….it’s like a real “MixTAPE” …but in mp3…..

…hmph..

…well at least it wasn’t lost in the land of make believe and actually came out….

I would have streamed the whole damn thing, but why would I do that to myself?….

Blu – theGODleeBarnes(Lp) Originally snatched from the Nahnce {<—- that was a good one huh?…get it? West Coast…Nonce?…Nahnce?….man whatever..}

And here’s a brief Azulito interview discussing the moniker and things of that nature…

I mean c’mon now……….I’m sayin.

I’m sayin…. it’s like if you haven’t at least hopped on someone’s gift subscription by now…and you’re like… 22 ..nah like…25 at least…..i’m sayin…

…It’s like you could get a subscription for like 12 cents an issue or something like that…

…i’m sayin..

…you might as well get one now while they are still cheap…

… because who knows how much an issue will cost once Gentleman’s Quarterly is the only form of printed content left….

……..and you know it will be, right‽

…i’m sayin…

Yes I spent my Sunday listening to Gucci Mane, watching football, and ripping and converting this to Vimeo…. and you’re all welcome.

and here is the Quicktime…

Comments to come as soon as I finish this Burr…

The story surrounding this piece’s completion, which was first referred to as a follow up from the alt-pop-art-hop besties’ first collaboration “Flashing Lights” and the accompanying visual to “See You In My Nightmares“, was released to the ‘nets attention at the suprise screening of the short at the Los Angeles Film Festival back in late June. {remember this?…of course you do}

And then there was nothing for four months.  Understandably, “808′s and Cudiflow” has been given an extremely segmented {or as ‘Ye would say, “normal”} promotional push.  So when I heard that Dtrain FX, the VFX house that should also be celebrating with Spike Jonze come Oscar time due to the response that the visually amazing “Where The Wild Things Are” will garner his weekend, was releasing the short in celebration of them being actual geniuses…I thought it serve as a perfect companion visual to WTWTA {kinda like what “Hotel Chevalier” was to “The Darjeeling Limited“} while also giving Kanye yet another bookmark in today’s pop-culture RSS Feed…

I also just watched “Where The Wild Things Are”, and ultimately understand how this was a perfectly conceived cobranding effort from both these dudes.  Both offerings bring the psyche back to the meddling, insecure, ego-driven,  impulsive, easily-influenced, 8 year old in all of us.  The timing and the writing is refreshingly vulnerable.  It’s like little kids television for adults…  Good shit guys.

Why won’t Kanye just let Spike be great?… I mean I can’t front though… I’m only a customer. I’ve already pre-ordered both of Kanhenny’s books… *Yooj shrug*

Glow In The Dark – Released October 20th

Kanye West x Bill Plimpton – Through The Wire – Released November 1oth

Ping respect back to UHTN, Nah, and The Older God for forcing me to class up this post for the visitors. And of course ‘Ye for allowing me to be great.

This is like a dope episode of a Dick Wolf TV Show….

Anyhow, This is what it is thus far…

FTC Publishes Final Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials

Changes Affect Testimonial Advertisements, Bloggers, Celebrity Endorsements

The Federal Trade Commission today announced that it has approved final revisions to the guidance it gives to advertisers on how to keep their endorsement and testimonial ads in line with the FTC Act.

The notice incorporates several changes to the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, which address endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and celebrities, as well as the disclosure of important connections between advertisers and endorsers. The Guides were last updated in 1980.

Under the revised Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect. In contrast to the 1980 version of the Guides – which allowed advertisers to describe unusual results in a testimonial as long as they included a disclaimer such as “results not typical” – the revised Guides no longer contain this safe harbor.

The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. Likewise, if a company refers in an advertisement to the findings of a research organization that conducted research sponsored by the company, the advertisement must disclose the connection between the advertiser and the research organization. And a paid endorsement – like any other advertisement – is deceptive if it makes false or misleading claims.

Celebrity endorsers also are addressed in the revised Guides. While the 1980 Guides did not explicitly state that endorsers as well as advertisers could be liable under the FTC Act for statements they make in an endorsement, the revised Guides reflect Commission case law and clearly state that both advertisers and endorsers may be liable for false or unsubstantiated claims made in an endorsement – or for failure to disclose material connections between the advertiser and endorsers. The revised Guides also make it clear that celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media.

The Guides are administrative interpretations of the law intended to help advertisers comply with the Federal Trade Commission Act; they are not binding law themselves. In any law enforcement action challenging the allegedly deceptive use of testimonials or endorsements, the Commission would have the burden of proving that the challenged conduct violates the FTC Act.

The Commission vote approving issuance of the Federal Register notice detailing the changes was 4-0. The notice will be published in the Federal Register shortly, and is available now on the FTC’s Web site as a link to this press release. Copies also are available from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,700 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Betsy Lordan
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-3707

STAFF CONTACT:

Richard Cleland
Bureau of Consumer Protection
202-326-3088

What’s an FTC?

Sponsored by the Alphabet Boys Blog.

And just like that, blogs are the new ghettos of America.

Who says dreams don’t come true?

We can see now how YouTube can serve as a beacon of light for little boys whose only waking thoughts revolve around one day meeting their Rap superheroes… Or, in the heart of this week’s Wednesday’s Child, Dante, Rap supervillains.

Dante is a lively, smart, fun loving kid that enjoys playing the drums, playing the rhodes, playing the bass, playing the crowd, and playing himself…{||}.  These qualities, along with Dante’s submission video, were brought to the attention of DOOM, the New York-bred, under bridge-dwelling, creator of the new form of performance art that cult members fans have grown to call ‘Binge Rap’.  DOOM had a couple of minutes to spare while on his zero-city tour, so he decided to stop by and spend time with his biggest fan, little Dante.

Dante and DOOM spent the day reciting Posdnous lyrics, synchronizing their day-glo G-Shock watches, debating on who was the coolest member of Full Force, deciding on which one of the lovelies from Twerk Team they wanted to make their main squeeze, and discovering that they were both allergic to purple Jolly Ranchers.  Dante even mustered up the courage to play DOOM some cuts from his latest album, The Ecstatic. DOOM said it sounded familar.  Good times.

Lastly, right before they went to meet Puff and Jay Electronica at the mall, the two discussed possibly working together in the future.  They juggled some concepts, including creating Hip-Hop’s first 34 track, 17 minute album.  Some of the possible project titles they thought up were:

Definitely Villains

Mostly The Vile Voices

Hear No Evil, See No Evil

These two are going to be friends for a long time, I just know it.  And all this because little Dante just wanted to let his villain know how he felt… a real tearjerker if  I ever seen one.

This week’s Wednesday’s Child was brought to you by the generous folks at Pigeons & Planes

Now its ingrained in your psyche.  Its processed into your culture…and all of a sudden, you gotta respect it.

And it doesn’t take much.  No math.  No science.  You just get caught sleeping.  At one point in its seemingly meaningless existence, you allow the ash from your teetering blunt to overstay its welcome just long enough to fall on a small—yet prominent— corner of your galaxy.

Now you have to change….damn.

But just as your focus turns towards your saran-wrapped stash of wholesale conformity… it happens.  The zen moment.  That’s when you realize that, as much as you can appreciate the ease and lack of thought required to still stay relevant with the current sensibilities of society, you no longer have to compromise with aesthetics when considering practicality and function as clear priorities. Plus…after a good run…you just think shit got old.

Now anyone who understands the strength of street knowledge can and will understand the swear jar of intention that will be this blog.  By no means am I an expert on anything.  I actually think this will be as consistently inconsistent as the bottom drawer of the dresser. Think 4 parts life, 5 parts history, 6 parts influence, 2 parts inspiration, 3 1/2 parts sweet vermouth, and 1 part that water from Tuck Everlasting.  Chilled. Straight. In a tumbler.  You know…the classics.  That old guy shit.  That shit you order from the fine bartender so she consciously shows you a little more respect than the E&J’rs.  That shit that’s gonna still work either way…today, tomorrow, or next tomorrow.

…shit… I don’t know what I’m talking about…

…but when in doubt, I’m siding with the classics…all day.

Gangstarr – 24-7, 365

I am a Hype stan.  I will tell you that 10 out of 10 times.   You are going to see alot of some of the same !nughs around here because I simply don’t have time to deal with wild nonsense.  …I wish i did at times…it might be theraputic…but, alas…nope. So I stick to what i know, and I know i like this shit.

I will expound on my straightup father complex with these two within the scope of this post as steadily as need be.

I will also from henceforth be supporting anything Puff puts out in regards to this union.{……..yes hetero}

I still kept the trailer for the archives.