adidas Top Ten...re-issue of a classic!

Where you you in 1979? I was in Bristol, England playing Top Trump Horror Cards in the school yard. I should've been noticing that adidas released its Top Ten basketball sneaker! :)

Now, in 1979 I was 'yeh-high' and wasn't playing basketball of any sort. But, today, I recognize the dope, old skool design. (Actually, adidas' website pointed out the finer details of the shoe!) The pivot point might look like a circle on the rubber sole, but it was a big deal on the ball courts in the '70s!



I got my "lifestyle" snakeskin Top Tens about a decade ago. I still haven't worn them. Now adidas has released a whole Top Ten collection with a vintage feel and a contemporary twist. Check out the Top Ten sweatshirt. Nice, but not as cool as my retro '80s My Adidas Run DMC sweat!

Strike a pose  Along with this Top Ten re-release adidas has a competition tied into a cool mobile photo app. You can win the chance to shoot the next catalog. The app runs in your phone's web browser and lets you take a pic and then add a custom filter. Check out my effort below!

Crazy edits! Brian Williams raps "Rapper's Delight!"

You have to love Jimmy Fallon for bringing the old skool hip hop flavors to mainstream!

Jamel Shabazz: Street Photographer documentary presented by Charlie Ahearn

If you're in New York this Monday 10th, February, then head on down to The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. Charlie Ahearn is presenting his film, "Jamel Shabazz Street Photographer" and doing a talkback session. See below for the screening details.

The first time I saw Jamel Shabazz's book, "Back In The Days," was in a store called Apartment on Crosby St. in New York set up by Design Group. The concept was everything on display was for sale. And everything on sale was set-up in someone's (stylized) apartment. In the 'living room' was a coffee table with Jamel's book, alongside a classic boombox. This was retail staging at its extreme!

Since then, I've met Jamel a couple of times, both in galleries. Once at Dazed and Confused in London and again many years later at the Scion Gallery in Culver City. (R.I.P.) So, I guess I was sleeping when I missed writing about Charlie Ahearn's documentary about Jamel back in 2011 when the project was completed. You can never tire of hearing Jamel's story about why and how he captured these street portraits. His photos document urban life, hip hop fashion trends that is so real you feel like a voyeur transported back in time...Back in the days!



Check out Jamel's work at his website and buy his books on Amazon - he even has his own page.

Join director Charlie Ahearn (Wild Style) for a talkback with Jamel Shabazz
Monday, February 10, 2014, 6:30-8.00p.m. EST
FREE - Register here.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Langston Hughes Auditorium (partially accessible to wheelchairs)
515 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10037
+1 212 491-2200

Subway
2, 3 to 135th Street

MTA Bus
M7 M102
to 135th Street

Driving
FDR Drive to Harlem River Drive; Harlem River Drive to 135th St.; two blocks west; Interstate 87 (Major Deegan Expressway.

Tats Cru's BG183 solo show opens tomorrow...LES

My hip hop journey has led me to seek out the original influences of the culture...breaks, radio mixes, graffiti...One fascination for me has been classic 80's hip hop fashion. This the subject of BG183's solo show aptly named, "Fashion," opening in New York's bOb Gallery Wednesday evening.

Fat gold chains, Puma Suedes, Cazals...all that good stuff. For more on BG183 and Tats Cru check out my interview for the "Art in the Streets" edition of Unleashed Magazine in 2011 for my article entitled, "Branded Street Art."

bOb is a bar/artspace that has invited curators to present some interesting graffiti-related shows in the past. In recent years it has exhibited Claw Money (NYC,) Shiro (Japan,) Girls on Top (UK,) Abby, (NYC,) Andrea von Bujdoss (NYC,) and Erotica67 (NYC.) Check out the website for more info.

(A bit of trivia: in the past, another Tats Cru member, Bio, has also shown at this space.)

"bOb Bar NYC is a hip-hop oriented lounge, bar, and gallery located New York City’s Lower East Side, which showcases the work of both local and international artists. Over the past twenty years, bOb has featured exhibitions by a wide array of artists from around the globe, including Futura 2000, Seen, Lee Quinones, Jose Parla, Rey Parla, Rostarr, Che Jen, Kostas, David Ellis, Bäst,  Bio, Ewok, Shepard Fairey, Anarkia Boladona, Shiro, Pesu, Clawmoney, Abby Tc5, Girls on Top, and Queen Andrea." bOb website.

bOb Gallery
235 Eldridge Street (between Stanton and Houston)
New York, New York

Wednesday 5th February, 7-10pm

Directions: F train to Second Avenue.