So we went and found this huge tub of magazines that date back to like 1996 to find an image for this one.

(Sometime the Internet just doesn’t get it.)

We were looking for an image of a girl and a guy, per the request of our client. We obviously didn’t find one we liked.

But they were happy at the end of the day, which is all that matters. What made us ecstatic is we got to use a new picture of DJ Hector. Yaaaay!!! Nothing against the old one Hec, but the upgrade is always a good thing. Ask Jay Z.

One snag when we got to the finish line though. Fancy was originally decked out in red. However, for some reason when you upload red on black to an email program, it bleeds.

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July 8, 2010 will go down as a historic day. Catastrophic and historic just the same.

On one hand, you had basketball’s most talked about player finally decide where he wants to play next season. On the other there was Oscar Grant – a 22 year old Black man from Oakland that died senselessly at the hands of Johannes Mehserle - a 27 year old officer.

The decision in the O.G. case represented a lot of things. Above all, it was a chance for the justice system to finally get it right on the big stage, as people from coast to coast weighed in.

With an example like Rodney King (who survived his attackers) before him, it seemed simple. With all the camera angles and interpretations we watched over a year and a half ago, it seemed… easy. But it wasn’t. The verdict proved to be yet another reminder that we still live in a corrupt system which empowers irresponsible people. (continue reading…)

This isn’t the final, but it’s pretty close to it. A true labor of love, considering the changes we went through to satisfy our client and the filmmaker…

After all was said and done, everyone was ecstatic with it though.

There are a number of other reasons why this particular DVD hit home for us, none of which we’ll get into.

Just happy that we have the opportunity to express our emotions through our work.

Compare it to your favorite R&B singer’s latest song. Part of the reason why you like it is because he/she pours so much of his/her own life into it, that you take ownership too? Well, there’s a similar line in this product for us.

Knowing it will be on shelves forever means even more.

A couple other subtle changes on the front cover, but none that would make it a totally different piece. It’s pretty much intact.

Be sure to peep the other versions we flirted with before deciding on the one you see up top and let us know which one you prefer.

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BOSSES WILL BOSS
WORDS: N. ALI EARLY

E-40’s been in the game a long damn time. He’s sold millions of albums, an anthem or three on every one; been major and taught most of your favorite rappers how to get down independently – by observation of course, cause we all know the game is to be sold, not told.

He’s a self made millionaire and an example of what to do & how to do it. He’s initiated an energy about slang that had never been seen or heard of before him – even in the Yay. He’s hands down the most charismatic rapper in Hip Hop and has more born swag than your favorite emcee could ever dream. He’s done laps around dozens of one hit wonders and is signed to his son’s label, whose beats he now spits over.

Still he wants more.

“It’s gon’ be a marathon, not a sprint,” says 40, confident and ready for his second turn at full independence. “I’m in it for the long run and it’s going to be nonstop.”

If it wasn’t for his departure from Warner Brothers, which proved to be a great short term fit with Lil Jon and Co., we might not know 40 still had it in him. But here he is; back in the thick of it, handlin’ his alongside the youngstas.

“It’s independent’s day,” he says with an obvious smile. “It’s like, fuck double platinum. I’m tryna go double profit. It ain’t about first week sales or none of that. When I was independent if I had sold 12,000 the first week, I was happy. And we just kept milkin’ it until it became 100,000 and from a 100,000 to 150,000. That’s why I say, ‘the grit don’t quit.’”

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Tha Hip Hop Doc & Dee-1 Present: My Life Is In Your Hands

Since establishing themselves as a formidable rap duo in 2008 with the infectious group collabo, State of Emergency, Louisiana bred emcees H2D AKA “Tha Hip Hop Doc” and Dee-1 continue their mission sans the assistance of the Legion of Health. My Life Is In Your Hands, a decidedly more conscious and introspective stare into the lives of successive generations, provides Doc and Dee the opportunity to make good on a more personal community building initiative. Needless to say, they nail it by delivering inspiring rhymes over equally impressive beats.

A gift even, My Life Is In Your Hands, represents the lecture your son or daughter never knew was coming. Thankfully, it’s one that won’t fall on deaf ears given its platform, clever wordplay and contagious soul riffs. The message is simple, but not too overbearing. “If my life were in your hands, would you do right by me?”

Inclusive of strong choruses, lifelike skits and suggestive material, which offers how life’s pendulum might turn in an instance, “I’m Too Smart For That,” sets an untroubled tone that makes for easy listening… and learning. (continue reading…)