The Sydney based artist has carved a specialty out for himself by drawing hip-hop heroes on to skate decks, occasionally doing doubles and then meeting up with the artists in question to present them with the artwork. Particularly nice are the time-lapse videos he posts of his creations coming together.

 

GZA piece timelapse. @therealgza • • • #wutang #wutangclan #wu #oldirtybastard #raekwon #mastakilla #ghostface #ghostfacekillah #rza #gza #inspectahdeck #ugod #methodman #mef #skate #skateboard #artistic #artist #acrylic #art #draw #paint #painting #portrait #hiphopart #masterpiece #artwork #hiphop #rap #oldschoolartgallery

A post shared by Van der Meer Designs (@damovdm) on Oct 27, 2017 at 2:08am PDT

Posca art at it’s absolute finest. We’ve embedded just a few of our favourites below, but make sure you follow him to stay on top of new works as they appear. And if you’re in to it you might also like checking out Maccy’s Hip Hop Skateboard Deck Collection which we posted about back in 2012.

A Tribe Called Quest

 

 

A post shared by Van der Meer Designs (@damovdm) on Aug 8, 2017 at 9:15pm PDT

Notorious B.I.G.

 

A post shared by Van der Meer Designs (@damovdm) on Mar 9, 2017 at 8:57pm PST

Pete Rock & CL Smooth

 

A post shared by Van der Meer Designs (@damovdm) on Mar 10, 2017 at 3:16pm PST

Wu-Tang Clan

 

A post shared by Van der Meer Designs (@damovdm) on Nov 1, 2016 at 2:55am PDT

Slum Village

 

A post shared by Van der Meer Designs (@damovdm) on Apr 15, 2016 at 8:17pm PDT

De La Soul

 

A post shared by Van der Meer Designs (@damovdm) on Nov 16, 2016 at 11:49am PST

MCA

 

A post shared by Van der Meer Designs (@damovdm) on Jun 3, 2015 at 11:55pm PDT

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Lappin, as you can see, is perfectly on point with the unfiltered visual trends that have been driven by social media across the last 12 months. It’s a style that continues to disrupt brand identities as they continue to ride photojournalism aesthetic in an effort to stay connected. And with this style in mind it’s no surprise that the self-taught filmmaker was recently tapped for the Converse x JW Anderson campaign. Expect to see him working with more and  as 2018 unfolds and these brands rely

But the real treat in Lappin’s portfolio is a project consisting of a series of shorts from modern day Israel. Love The Time was originally commissioned by Nowness for inclusion in their Scenes series, with an initial five-minute cut titled One Night In Israel uploaded to the site in November last year. In his own words, Lapin aimed to capture to complexity of growing up in Israel in as honest way as possible. Skating, smoking and making music in an environment that most of us really know very little about, it’s an engaging watch that blends familiarity of growing up set against a distinctly historical, politically complicated and incredibly beautiful setting.

Late December the film was uploaded again, as a Director’s Cut feature with the new title Love The Time and a duration stretching out closer to eleven minutes, taking you deeper in to differing youth cultures that have arisen from modern Israel.

via Nowness

British-based filmmaker Yoni Lappin’s raw, philosophical journal charts the languid and contrasting experience of growing up in modern Israel. “Israel is a complex place with so many different viewpoints and interpretations,” Lappin explains: “I felt this was a story I needed to tell, to capture something honest.

Growing up with the internet in a diverse and historic country, the youth captured in the director’s journey includes the Arab Trap Rappers PNGWNG CRU, the Jerusalem Skater Girls (J.S.G.), and clubgoers at a heady, pulsating night in Tel Aviv. “You are seeing these people come together not only to show their appreciation for the sound that is raising them, but are also creatively beginning to interpret it in their own way,” the filmmaker explains.

Skating, rapping, and partying become an outlet for self-expression beneath the region’s fierce sun and amidst its political complexities. London-based Lappin continues: “Originally, this film was simply about youth culture in Israel—but it moved me far more profoundly than I had thought, documenting an exciting young generation—all from different backgrounds, with fresh ideas, empowerment, and an intense energy.”

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Monkey Marc’s managed to kick it up another level again with his dubs. Two digi-dub (still like the word, don’t hate) instrumentals – ‘Post Traumatic Dub’ and ‘Deception Dub’ – with crazy depth and layering; tight production drawn from pure Casio bounce that will make you obsess over 8-bit vibrations all over again. 

The second 7inch in the Jahtari floppy disc series sees the return of Monkey Marc from the red sands of the Australian outback to his solar powered studio inside a shipping container on a Melbourne junkyard.

Cooked up between old school samplers, obscure synths and tape delays the cuts on this double-sided disc come right from the edge of an abysmal echo chamber: cavernous reverbs, the extra-lush keys from an Emulator III and Monkey Marc’s huge MPC 3000 sound that’s entirely his own.

Limited to 300 copies!

So much love goes in to Jahtari, which is why we’ve continually dipped in to their releases for the last decade. And while the music is front and centre the floppy disk aesthetic they’ve pulled out for this series is heat in itself.

Monkey Marc, it turns out, is not only Australian, with solar-powered studio made from a shipping container, but has been kicking around in my record collection for a number of years now. Most notably as part of Combat Wombat who’s Unsound $ystem LP came out on the mighty Elefant Traks back in 2005 and surprised me when I saw it was worth around $200 on Discogs (not that I’d sell). The last fifteen years has seen involvement with indigenous community workshops which you can check out here: https://www.monkeymarc.org/desert-workshops

Big ups all involved.

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I love Behind The Beat. And given the amount of homes I regularly find it in – propped up in a record room, bedroom studio or sitting beside Dust & Grooves on the family bookshelf – I know that I’m not the only one who’s been keenly waiting over a decade for this to drop. Rashid’s photo book threw new light on just under thirty beatsmiths including Cut Chemist, Chief Xcel, Farma G, Dilla, DJ Shadow and the recluse king of the beats Madlib.

And while studio pics are something to be flouted nowadays, any thoughts that it might just be watered down shots of guys in front of laptops are quickly thrown out the door with the previews below. The new lineup is equally as great as the first one, and Rashid’s access comes via his reputation and dedication to shooting the best. Flying Lotus, Just Blaze, El-P, Oh No, Kenny Dope, Waajeed, Oddisee and DJ Format among them, it’s set to be another hardcover masterpiece.

Shipping out October 13th post- launch party at Rap Cats in LA where Raph will be signing books and prints. Get down if you can, and if you can’t get on the pre-order as this is first edition material.

The post ‘Back to the Lab: Hip Hop Home Studios’ by Raph Rashid appeared first on AWKWARD MOVEMENTS.

Shot by the late great Shaun Bloodworth – who needs no introduction as a proper gentleman and one of the most talented photographers we’ve ever seen –  some of the images were used for a limited Bleep release, photographing producers from around the world.

Something about the LA cats in particular, this period of time in their lives and the street scenes they were shot in, really makes them stand out from the rest.

The portraits at some point became the property of PYMCA – the Photographic Youth Music and Culture Archive – who maintain a truly inspiring archive “sourced from all over the world, documenting the lifestyles, fashions, hairstyles, music and subcultures of young people from the 1940s to the present day”.

Owner Jon Swinstead seems to have since handed over reins to a much larger corporate, but has since founded Youth Club who operate in a similar vein, celebrating and sharing youth culture.

In order left to right, top to bottom – Dam Funk, Ras G, NoCanDo, Tokimonsta, Teebs, Jneiro Jarel, Daddy Kev, Daedalus, Gaslamp Killer, Matthew David and Flying Lotus.

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Not just a store name, Pocket is in fact the designer and illustrator who’s love of Japanese culture and old games influenced his creations. The shirts were printed locally in Brunswick, Victoria and sold exclusively online in limited runs. As a result most of the designs have disappeared from his store once all sizes are sold, and when the shop closes for good it will be the end of another legacy. I wish I’d screenshot a few of the shirts and such over the years as they were bang up our alley.

There is a little silver lining in that Pocket is clearing stock, with 75% off everything in the store. Promo code ‘ENDOFADREAM’ in the checkout for that epic saving.

Store: http://pocketdesigns.com.au

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pocketdesigns/

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Came across this shot of A Tribe Called Quest, which is ripe for over analysing. Every time I see images of Phife Dawg and Q-Tip together on stage I can’t help but clock the clashes in personal style that seem to resonate from their unique makeups and, most importantly, in parallel with their differing lyrical deliveries.

You could talk for hours on almost any aspect of Tribe: the consciousness of Native Tongues, the jazz influences, the record collections, Phife’s illness, Tip’s ghost producing, Jairobi’s culinary skills, Ali’s vegetarianism, Seamans furniture and so on – and the impact that each one of these had on the universally-loved group. So the way they present themselves is really just one small element of the inimitable chemistry that occurred when ATCQ came together, but an observation nonetheless.

Taken in Newark, New Jersey two years ago, the two distinct styles of the Tribe MCs is patently clear. If you’d grown up on the records and this was the first time you’d ever seen a photo of them you’d know instantly who was who. The polished lyrical confidence of Q-Tip aka Kamaal The Abstract and the no-bullshit swagger of Phife Dawg – “the five-foot assassin with the roughneck business” – wasn’t an act or an image decision. Pure authenticity. It’s even possible that these differences were nothing they ever discussed in the decades they were together.

Looking back through the gallery below a pattern emerges. Phife Dawg’s well known love of sports sees him constantly changing from hockey to basketball to baseball jerseys and often matching caps, while Tip moves with fashion from a lanky boulevard teen in a collared button up to Herbie Hancock glasses, a leather jacket and a designer dashiki. These were guys coming up in a scene where Run DMC dressed in sync, Das EFX always threw down in puffer jackets, The Jungle Brothers had matching Hawaiian shirts, Public Enemy were militarising and The Beastie Boys, who constantly changed their image, consciously constantly changed their image.

As well representing the way their lyrical techniques differed (and flowed together) the style differences also came through in their solo projects. Q-Tip evolved to take on the role of band leaders of old, suited up sharper than his backup dancers, conducting like James Brown his live soul orchestra throughout tours off the back of The Renaissance.  Phife’s solo outing – the criminally underrated Ventilation – was straight rhyme business, recorded while the man himself was scouting for basketball teams.

If you isolate these differences you could argue it’s incredible that the two came together with such success. But as childhood friends they did come together, along with Jarobi White and Ali Shaheed Muhammad who’re not to be overlooked, and  created some of the most influential music ever heard.

RIP Phife Dawg.

The post The Style Of Tribe appeared first on AWKWARD MOVEMENTS.

Lists of things to buy and check out are always good provided they come from the right people, and Jimmy Monsta Funk is still top of that list. He’s dropped some proper heat on us this year and we’re still sitting on about six hour of mixes comprising of wax from 2015 that’ll be up shortly.

A lot of good pieces in here I missed the first time around including the Junjo reissue and the Shabaka And The Ancestors LP. Keen to dig in properly in the coming weeks and see what else we slept on.

5 Documentaries Of 2016
Inside Obama’s White House
Koko: The Gorilla Who Talks to People
Planet Earth II
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
What Happened Miss Simone?

20 Tracks To Check From 2016
808 State – In Yer Face (Bicep Remix) [Feel My Bicep]
Adesse Versions – Push It Along EP [Heist]
Byron The Aquarius – High Life EP [Sound Signature]
Damiano von Erckert – California [DVE Records]
Floating Points – Kuiper [Pluto]
Jack The Mack – Jack The Mack 3 [Unknown Chicago]
Mall Grab – Menace II Society [Unknown To The Unknown]
Marcel Lune – Sketches EP [Local Talk]
Mark Flash – Audiofluid EP [Underground Resistance]
Mella Dee – Deep Soul EP [Dext Recordings]
Ninos Du Brasil – Para Araras [Hospital Productions]
No Question Asked – Validation Of A DJ [No Questions Asked]
Prince – Chelsea Rodgers (DJ K disco funk re-edit) [Pantone Music]
Rising Sun – Trilogy EP3 [Fauxpas Musik]
Samo DJ & Tzusing – Hollabackboi [Public Possession]
Save! – Darkness In The Middle (I:Cube remix) [Les Disques De La Mort]
Stojche – Asset 005 [Tangible Assets]
Swindle – Works Haffi Run (feat Ghetts) [Butterz]
Timeline – Forever Forward EP [4evr 4wrd]
Truncate – Wave 1 [Truncate]

20 Albums Of 2016
Achim Funk & Mr. Nylson – The Bridge To Yesterday [Newtold]
Anohni – Hopelessness [Rough Trade]
BadBadNotGood – IV [Innovative Leisure Records]
Black Milk & Nat Turner – The Rebellion Sessions [Computer Ugly]
Danny Brown – Atrocity Exhibition [Warp Records]
Family Atlantica – Cosmic Unity [Soundway]
Floorplan – Victorious [M-Plant]
Ital Tek – Hollowed [Planet Mu]
Kaytranada – 99.9% [XL Recordings]
Kendrick Lamar – Untitled Unmastered. [Top Dawg Entertainment]
Mr. Lif – Don’t Look Down [Mello Music Group]
Oliver Coates – Upstepping [PRAH]
Omar-S – The Best! [FXHE Records]
Saul Williams – Martyr Loser King [Fader Label]
Shabaka And The Ancestors – Wisdom Of Elders [Brownswood Recordings]
Skee Mask – Shred [Ilian Tape]
Steven Julien – Fallen [Apron Records]
The Invisible – Patience [Ninja Tune]
Trim – 1-800 Dinosaur Presents Trim [1-800 Dinosaur]
Yussef Kamaal – Black Focus [Brownswood Recordings]

5 Top Reissues
Henry “Junjo” Lawes – The Evil Curse Of The Vampires [Greensleeves Records]
Massive Attack V Mad Professor – No Protection [Virgin]
Peter Thomas & Mocambo Astronautic Sound Orchestra – Space Patrol (Orion 2016) [Mocambo]
Studio Pressure – Jump [Certificate 18]
The True Underground Sound Of Rome Featuring Stefano Di Carlo – 1991 – 2016 Secret Doctrine [Male Records]

Exhibition Of The Year
Stay. Now. Then: Housing Questions and Answers for 99 years at ArkDes Stockholm
http://www.arkdes.se/articles/bo-nu-da-bostadsfragor-och-svar-under-99-ar

SEEING DJ JOHN COLLINS FROM UR AND EDDIE FOWLKES DISCUSSING TRUMP ON CHANNEL 4 NEWS UK

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Looking back at the records and tapes I shouted at last year and it’s pretty spooky how many artists and labels came back again. Maybe I’m getting old, not playing out as much and listening at home instead, or maybe it’s just the couple of big boxsets breaking the record budget, but the most noticeable shift was towards albums over singles. For whatever reason the music that really stuck with me this year were completed pieces start to finish, showcased by the likes of Lone, Trim and Black Merlin exploring different concepts and vibes for a whole LP, still made up of individual tracks.

The master of this seems to be Seekersinternational and there’s no denying the impact that he had on our bank account this year. There’s knowledge and history in those recordings, and Seekers have taken all the influences upon them to craft their own presence across multiple sub-genres. 2016 was the year of more people hearing the Seekers own sound across a number of labels, each one carrying it’s own heat.

On a similar tip, the #BokehThread incident occurred too, and restored my faith in getting sent new bits to listen to. Big ups all involved there, especially Miles and the Bokeh Recordings camp themselves who also took up a fair bit of our listening time across the year and undoubtedly our  most hit label, and always reliable.

7s, 10’s, EPs and 12s
Healing Force Project – Gravitational Lensing EP [Firecracker Recordings]
Kaiju – Burn Down Babylon [Deep Medi]
Beatrice Dillon / Karen Gwyer – Curl / Common Soundproofing Myths [Alien Jams]
Copeland & Gast – Sisters Of Control [All Bone]
Porter Ricks – Shadow Boat EP [Tresor]
Lemme Kno ‎- UNTHANK009 [Unthank]
Brassfoot – Realms [Apron]
Lee Gamble – Chain Kinematics [UIQ]
Seekersinternational – TrustInDigikal / IfUWantMe [Bokeh Versions]
Don’t DJ – Gammellan [Berceuse Heroique]

LPs
Al Dobson Jr. – Rye Lane, Vol. 2 & 3 [
Black Merlin – Hipnotik Tradisi [Island Of The Gods]
Dan Melchior – Plays ‘The Greys’ [Ever / Never]
Floorplan – Victorious [M Plant]
Sleaford Mods – Live At SO36 [Harbinger]
Lone – Levitate [R&S]
African With Mainframes – KMT [Soul Jazz]
Seekersinternational – LoversDedicationStation [Bokeh Versions]
Seekers International meets MX 7 – Inna Dancehall Showdown [ICS Library]
Rashad Becker – Traditional Music of Notional Species Vol. II [PAN]
Howlround – A Creak In Time [Psyche Tropes]
GH – Housebound Demigod [Modern Love]
Shinichi Atobe – World [DDS]
Ibrahim Alfa – Hidden By The Leaves [Workshop]
Kassem Mosse ‎– Disclosure [Honest Jon’s Records]
Trim – 1-800 DINOSAUR Presents Trim [1-800-Dinosaur]
Dog Chocolate – Snack Fans [Upset! The Rhythm]
Andy Stott – Too Many Voices [Modern Love]

Cassettes
The First Baboon Civilization – The First Baboon Civilization [Moontown Records]
SeekersInternational – RaggaPreservationSociety EP [Diskotopia]
Stretch & Bobbito – Radio That Changed Lives: 11/02/95 [Stretch & Bobbito]
Aquadab & MC A ‎– All Over There [Bokeh Versions]
Abu Ama ‎– Arabxo Ishara [Bokeh Versions]
Ras G – The Gospel Of The God Spell [Street Corner Music]
Ras G & The Koreatown Oddity – 5 Chuckles – InTheWrld ‎[Leaving Records]
Damu – Off The Spectrum [Keysound]

Best Reissues / Compilations / Super Expensive Boxsets
Count Ossie / The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari – Grounation [Dub Store]
Gas — Box [Kompakt]
DJ Guy – Structures & Rhythms 94-99 [Organic Analogue]
Sun Ra & His Solar Arkestra – I Roam The Cosmos [Art Yard]
King Geedorah – Take Me To Your Leader [Big Dada]
Various Artists – Magnetophonics – Australian Underground Music 1978-1984 [Vinyl-On-Demand]
Various (Adrian Sherwoord) – Sherwood At The Controls Volume 2: 1985-1990 [On-U Sound]
Steve Reich – Drumming, Six Pianos, Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ [Deutsche Grammophon]

Essential Book Buys
Here’s hoping you didn’t sleep on ‘313ONELOVE‘ by Marie Staggart. There’s something moving about the A4 sized hard cover book and the way it’s been lovingly crafted. Despite this social media age, it feels like Detroit techno hasn’t been watered down by the people that make it. From the fans perhaps – with ‘Detroit’ continuing to appear in too many press releases from records all over the world – but not from the artists themselves. This book is that extra dimension to the original scene that many didn’t even realise was missing, and worthy tribute to the city and artists who birthed and built techno as well as those carrying it on today.

On the other side of the spectrum comes This Is Grime by Hattie Collins. A scene that’s built itself up from London youth centres and artists connecting directly with followers and contemporaries. The originators come together to tell the story of how Grime formed and grew to what it is today. Kano, Dizzee, JME, Wiley, Novelist, Terror Danjah, Jammer, Crazy Titch – the list goes on and on of those in conversation with Collins, the job’s been done properly. Stunning photos too.

Watch and Rewatch
With release dates being different in countries and all that, the two documentaries that I repeatedly rinsed the most this year were actually released in 2015.

Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives and Wall Writers: Graffiti In It’s Innocence (along with Invisible Britain worth saying) were the films I carried house to house to share and insist on making people watch. Links above give a better run down, but you can check the trailers below.

The post Keith P Tops Of 2016 appeared first on AWKWARD MOVEMENTS.

For those who might not be tuned in to Mt. Druitt News on Facebook you may’ve missed them posting this battle between a graffiti writer and the council worker responsible for this particular patch of building maintenance. Start on the top left hand corner then scroll along the gallery.

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