FRIENDS WITH YOU

This place looks awesome, check out their site if you are familiar with Vinyl Toy culture you should recognize their work.

The dynamic duo of Sam & Tury, aka: FRIENDS WITH YOU have just seen the grand opening of their very own custom-built playground, “Rainbow Valley” in Miami at the Aventura Mall. Since the pair spend all their free time at the mall as it is (the Orange Julius in the food court is a favorite hang spot), the site seemed perfect for this interactive wonderland to come to life. We love its close proximity to the ever-chic OG Sears…

info from Supertouch

Stussy 2007 - still bringing the heat

Stussy is a founding father of Streetwear and is still bringing dope designs each season. I think it's pretty rare for a company to stay this prevalent, and this cutting edge after so many years. I was recently looking through some vintage t-shirt books at the old Stussy stuff from the 90's and I saw some designs that were way ahead of their time, some that could have been mistaken for new designs as well. I used to rock Stussy hard when I was a kid, along with Op (Ocean Pacific) and a few other brands I cannot not remember (probably for good reason) but Stussy is the only one keeping up with the trends, and pushing them forward. Pictured here is the Spring 2007 line up for Stussy. Check your local Streetwear spot for the latest threads.
info from Big Mag and Hypebeast

West Indian Girl

West Indian Girl was introduced to me by a couple of friends, and the first time I heard their music was at a live show at Molly Malone's in LA. They are native (now) to LA and do a decent amount of small shows out here on the west coast. They are signed to Astralwerks, but are not that electronic. I would describe their sound as cooled out drug rock with an electronic touch, the Doors meets Zero 7 or something. They have one debut CD and a remix CD out now, both which are solid the whole way through and can be copped here. I got to see them again last night at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, which was a bigger venue than Molly's but still small. They had a nice visual going on behind each song, and they sounded great, except for the encore which consisted of a bad cover and a very self indulgent solo by the female singer Mariqueen Maandig. Her presence on the album is more of a back up singer than a lead, but I have a feeling her strong vocals will play more of a roll in their new album. I would their albums are dope, but their live shows will make you fall in love with their sound.

11 Spring Street - GO THIS WEEKEND!

I'm sure all New Yorkers have seen the famous graffiti covered building on Spring and Elizabeth, it has been sold and the new owners will be completely restoring it, removing all the graffiti from the outside of the building. For the past two months street artists from all over have been preparing a show covering all the walls of the inside of the building. The show opened a half an hour ago, and is running till this Sunday only. If I were back in NYC I would be there, but I urge anyone who can make it to check it out. As of Monday the doors will be sealed and the art will be covered by drywall, serving as a way to preserve most of the art (which is pretty cool). The show will be open today and this weekend from 11am - 5pm each day. Read the NYtimes article here, and check out some dope photos here.
info from NYtimes and Supertouch.

The set I should own...

This is something I should have, but do not. The kicks sold out in my size... damn this is such a dope combo. But you can go to Adidas.com and cop any of the limited edition NBA superstars. They are available for all teams, though I haven't seen the fitteds anywhere yet.

Kazbah - online underground

Karmaloop (based out of Beantown - check their store on Newbury) is already a dope online shop to get new underground and overground streetwear, but they have recently introduced Kazbah, which is even more underground, I guess. They have some brands I have heard of and some I have never seen, and its a good place to see more cutting edge graphics in the Streetwear market today. Check it out.

Not Vegan, or Kosher...

Kid Robot is releasing two new dunnys that are pretty hilarious. I think I may have to get me a Rib Eye.

Russell Simmons vs. Blood Diamonds

A week after returning from a fact-finding mission for his Simmons Jewelry company, Russell Simmons is facing criticism from film director Edward Zwick.

Zwick, who helmed the new Leonardo DiCaprio movie Blood Diamond, implied that Simmons is merely a public relations puppet for diamond companies.

Simmons’ recently returned from a trip to South Africa and Botswanna after being invited by the diamond industry's Diamond Information Center.

The mogul concluded that the sale of blood diamonds has dropped to less than 1%, since the Kimberley Process was introduced in 2003 to prevent the trafficking of the illegal diamonds.

During the Blood Diamond premiere in Hollywood, Zwick noted Simmons’ figures and questioned his support of the diamond industry in general.

"I find it embarrassing for Russell Simmons," Zwick told the New York Daily News. "That's a funky number. That number comes from diamonds that are mined in countries that are 'war-declared.' Conflict diamonds are also mined in countries where there is not a 'declared war.' If you want to know about conflict diamonds, you don't go to Botswana and South Africa. You go to Sierra Leone and Angola. … Russell Simmons is being embarrassed."

Simmons has responded to Zwick’s comments and maintains that the film will scare people away from purchasing legitimate diamonds. The mining process of the precious stones have become profitable industries in some African countries.

“This is the arrogance of Warner Brothers pictures," Simmons told AllHipHop.com. "They were selfish self-centered, greedy and hurtful to the indigenous people of Africa. This messaging should have been changed after Nelson Mandela and other African Presidents asked Warner Brothers to change it. Period. I am going to continue to focus on the positive that can come out of this dialogue and work to help empower black Africa.”

Simmons was referring to a letter South African President Nelson Mandela authored, reminding Warner Brothers that some African countries were relying on the stones to rebuild their war torn countries.

The Hip-Hop mogul’s review of the experience came across as positive as he concluded that the diamond business has been a plus for poor residents whose lives have been improved.
Article from Allhiphop.com by Nolan Strong

Egyptian History Rap

I am by no means a fan of T.I. but this is a quotable if I have ever seen one...

"T.I. was asked about Nas' whole "hip hop is dead" mission statement, and his reaction was....

-"I know cats were going to ask me about the lil title thing and all, I dont think he was directing that at the south, It's just his opinion, he has a lot of clout, so I can respect his opinion, but as far as the music thing goes now, I dont care about Nas, I just do me, but if he is coming at the South, then he's making a huge mistake, we control hip hop right now, he'd lose a lot of respect from his fans out here, he's smarter than that, he should just play his position, keep making his Egyptian History rap while we make our money."
info from kid kalig (good lookin out homie)

Young Jeezy was recently on Monie Love's radio show, questioning how real she was and how much street cred Nas had. I think they are missing the point, and are only further proving Nas' point; Hip Hop really is dead, and if you listen to Nas' album you will find he is trying real hard to kill it.

It's All Good by Boogie

It's All Good is a book by photographer Boogie, who spent the last four years imersing himself in the crack houses of Bushwick Brooklyn and the projects of Bed Stuy and QB. The pictures are raw and real and it is astonishing that this native Serbian, now residing in Brooklyn himself, could get so accepted into all of these peoples worlds. I just got my copy of the book last month and it is worth picking it up. Plus it is supporting an independent art book co. called Powerhouse Books, which is also located in NYC. You can see a small preview of the book here.

GONZ! - dope tees and more

GONZ! is one of the most interesting lines I have seen in a while, it was started by the Freshjive guy and makes intersting use of some 80's style graphics. While their tees are my favorite, they have some other nice gear as well.

Oh, I'm getting these!

Rasa Music have created the Ferrari of headphones with these incredible Swarovski encrusted set that'll set you back $2500. info from cool hunter

Banksy in London

Banksy is the cliche artist to talk about right now and some of his pieces sell for hundreds or thousands of $'s, but he is a great street artist who always pushes the envelope and makes statements in clever ways. If you are not familiar with his work just google him and you will see what you have been missing. The artist is most likely in his 30's and is British. That is basically all that is known about him as he remains anonymous. Check out his latest work here
info from Supertouch

The Royal Magazine now Online! and FREE!

The Royal is a magazine put together by the very talented people at the KDU including an aray of designers, photographers, and other artists. I used to pick up free copies at random boutiques in NYC, but now everyone can get there hands on the latest issues (8 & 9) in PDF format. Plus you can read 1 - 7 on their website in a Flash Player format. The issues seem to have much more content now that they are online.

Lil Wayne is an idiot

Lil Wayne will be in the next issue of Complex and he has some choice words for Jay-Z...

He had some words for Jay-Z:
“I don’t like what he’s saying about how he had to come back because hip hop’s dead and we need him,” he says. “What the fuck do you mean? If anything it’s reborn, so he’s probably having a problem with that. You left on a good note, and all of the artists were saying, ‘Yo, this is Jay’s house. He’s the best.’ Now he comes back and still thinks it’s his house. But we fucked bitches in your bed already. It’s not your house anymore and I’m better than you.”

We asked if he thinks he’s better than Jay-Z:
“Who don’t? [to friends in the background] Ay-yo, am I better than Jay? [friends laugh and nod]. I ain’t got nothing to do with who he is. I’m better than him, though. I’m 24 years old… The dude’s like…? It’s scary. I’m 13 years deep with five albums and 10 million records sold.”

There is no way he is better than Jay-Z or half of the MC's still spitting today. He also had some choice words for The Clipse...

On Pharrell and the Clipse:
”I don’t see no fucking Clipse. This is a fucking legend you’re talking to right here. How many years them niggas been around? Who the fuck is Pharrell? Do you really respect him? That nigga wore BAPE and y’all thought he was weird. I wore it and y’all thought it was hot. What I gotta go in the store and say, ‘I like these colors but I can’t buy them because other rappers wore them?”

The Clipse had this to say...

“Wayne, you sort of copying The Clipse right now,” Pusha T told DJ Derrick Da Franchise. “I think he made a bad judgment call and just decided to take a swipe at us…maybe he’s got an album coming out. This is a small thing to a giant, he’s just acting out.”

"If anything, I am upset about him using the F word before my name, being as though he likes to sit around and kiss men. If you gonna kiss men, you can't even use them words in conjunction with The Clipse, Pharrell, or any of the [Star Trak ] family. He's definitely acting out right now. Jay-Z? Do what you gotta do. But involve The Clipse? You don't want to do that. I already don't look at him like a G. He aint nothing like me."

oooooh, take that.

I Heart Tripods...

This blog is awesome, and definitely worth checking out. Plus it is raising money for a little dog with bone cancer. Check out the site here and you can read her blog here
-info via cool hunting

Car + Celly = Asshole

This is a message to everyone who drives while dialing, texting, emailing, reading, writing, or just plain holding the phone: 1. You drive like crap. 2. You are putting everyone including yourself in danger. 3. You are a fucking asshole and I hate your guts.
To be continued...

The Intro...

Welcome to the beginnings of Scatterbrain Magazine, this is only a beta version and is not final by any means. We just wanted to get this Mag started asap so we are starting with a simple blog format. Please check back often for the latest news in music, art, and streetwear. Plus there will be some great Opinion pieces by yours truly, Mr. Me Too. I have chosen this name because of the negative connotation that comes with it, my opinion pieces might offend many, and I saw the moniker very fitting. Politics is something I try to stay out of and follow so it many pop up as a topic at some point. Since this is just simple blog format I am categorizing each post so topics are easy to find as things are archived. Thanks for stopping by and checking out the mag, I hope you enjoy all our correspondents opinions.