The guys down at Bored of Southsea have revived a classic 70’s t-shirt this week, orginally worn by legendary Radio 1 and 2 DJ’s including heavyweight Tony Blackburn (pictured below).
The ‘Seaside Special’ pays homage to the classic British music show Top of the Pops that for whatever reason is sorely missed in the UK thesedays. Maybe this will help revive it. Back in the 70’s this show went on the road and was filmed in a big top in a number of British Seaside resorts including Torbay, Blackpool and of course, Southsea. So this retrospective t-shirt comes with a lot of local history and pride.
The new design comes freshly printed on a t-shirt and crew jumper with the Bored flag logo on the back and are £20 from their website.
This news has tempted me to search through old photos of Southsea Skatepark jams, where Bod Boyle, Steve Schneer and many others ripped the vert ramp apart back in ’89. There’s so much history down there, celebrate with Bored and buy one today.
Crayon Skateboards have informed us today that they have retrospective video clips of their first 3 pro team riders scheduled to run every Monday. The archived footage filmed over the years of Korahn Gayle, Dan Wileman, and Chris Jones will be released weekly from this Monday, June 27th, so check www.crayonskateboards.com for the 3 forthcoming videos and enjoy this teaser for now.
Thanks to the rise of blogs, there are so many rappers that have peppered the web in the past few years yet it’s nigh on impossible to keep track of them all. So we have decided to give you guys the heads up on rappers that are coming through that you definitely need to keep an eye and ear out for. Sometimes all it takes is that one track to hook you, getting you to press the rewind button so you can learn all the words straight away and sometimes it’s more of a slow burn, letting the music wash over you, submersing yourself into it before something clicks and you declare yourself a fan.
The list below is by no means gospel, but amongst all the names that you’ll be hearing sooner rather than later, there are some rappers who stand head and shoulders above the rest, and they can be found here. You won’t see any mention of the likes of Tyler the Creator or Jay Electronica because they’ve already grabbed the mainstream’s eye but hopefully there will be someone below that will get you interested!
So, without further ado, here is a list of the top five rappers you need to get into:
Yelawolf is certainly the best new rapper out there at the moment. He’s not hit the mainstream quite yet, but with the ink drying on his contract with Eminem’s Shady Records it can’t be fair off if the talent he showed on his Trunk Muzik mixtape [and it’s re-released with additional track half-brother Trunk Muzik 0-60] is anything to go by. He can switch up to double-time at the drop of a hat or he can run it slow like he does on Pop The Trunk below. Lazy journalists will no doubt refer to Catfish Billy as “The New Eminem” but pay no attention to that, he’d much rather rap about Chevys and getting drunk than murdering his Baby Momma. Alabama is well and truly on the map thanks to Yela. Get involved.
Already one album down, Fashawn is working hard on mixtapes having recently released Higher Learning 2 and Grizzly City 3 before releasing his sophomore effort. The Fresno MC might not be the brashest of rappers, but his smooth flow and beat selection are top notch. His debut Boys Meets World featured production by Exile, who provided the perfect backdrop for Fashawn to go in over, from sunny melodies to songs about suicide. If he continues the way he’s going, like he has over J. Cole’s beats, there will be a hell of a lot more people smiling their way down the street. If the track below doesn’t get you bouncing, you’ve got no soul.
Maryland’s Phil Ade has burst onto the scene in the past couple of years through his stellar Starting on JV and The Letterman mixtapes, showcasing his ability to rap over a diverse selection of beats before his Twitter-friendly #PhilAdeFriday tracks, which were released for free through the social networking site every Friday came to prominence at the start of 2011. He’s now put them into a mixtape of their own, with some tracks featuring him rapping over famous beats from the likes of Ice Cube and Mobb Deep and will be dropping his new album A Different World on July 12th. Check out the track below for some early LL Cool J influenced shit.
LA’s TiRon is another rapper who gives the listener a big beaming smile, he just seems to be having so much fun when he raps and it’s that infectious positivity that grabs the listener. From songs declaring his love for food or trainers to tracks discussing the importance of having a Wingman when trying to bag a chick at a party, TiRon [and his running mate Ayomari] delivers perfect call-and-response style tracks which bump along nicely whether you’re in the mood to get hype or whether you want some beats playing whilst you’re cleaning your flat. The track below is a perfect example of what to expect from the guy that brought the world his MSTRD and Ketchup mixtapes as well as T&A, the prelude to the debut album Sucker For Pumps which is a collaborative effort with Ayomari.
Ohio rapper Stalley could have been a high-standard basketball player before injuries curtailed his sporting career. But the NBA’s loss is hip hop’s gain. He has got a fantastic flow, progressing from a backpacker delivery to straight up fire and back again with consummate ease and his beard shouldn’t be underestimated. His latest mixtape Lincoln Way Nights (Intelligent Bass Music) is the best example of why he’s such a competent and impressive MC, showing his dexterity over a number of different styles whilst all the while maintaining his own voice across the entirety of the 16 tracks. Check out Hercules below, the beat will get you immediately and once that’s hooked you’re in.
Emerica just released Heath Kirchart’s Stay Gold B-Side and it’s a beast. The amount of dedication that goes into his skating is phenomenal as you will see from the street footage on this edit. This is followed by a session at Bob Burquist’s mega ramp where you can really get a feel of just how hard it is to skate. Stay with it.
Overall, this is one of the best B-Sides from Stay Gold. If you missed it, read our interview with Heath and enjoy this footage.
40 skateboard decks designed by artist Damien Hirst are about to go on sale in his store at his Other Criteria store in London this week. A further 200 decks will go on sale on July 12th between 6pm-8pm.
Produced in collaboration with Supreme in 2009, each custom printed skateboard deck has a signature stamp and features an iconic Hirst design print.
The hand-decorated decks will be priced at £1,200 inc vat, the larger batch of 200 will be £480 inc vat.
If you are viewing this from France, the collection will also be on show at the exhibition Public Domaine – Skateboard Culture – at La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris from early July until August 7th 2011.
Other Criteria is based at 14 Hinde Street, London, W1U 3BG.
Buckinghamshire skater Alex Decunha has joined up with Jart Skateboards this week. The Quiksilver sponsored mini ripper has attended pretty much every skate event and has never been afraid to mix it with pr riders all over the country from the age of 7.
lWere you a fan of Cheese and Crackers? If so, the buddy trio made up of Daewon Song, Chris Haslam and Cooper Wilt from camp Almost return for another sesh, this time at the mini ramp in Hollywood Park in California.
When it comes to the essential North American Hardcore Punk recordings, The Adolescents debut album is easily a requisite. Originally released in 1981 (on Frontier Records) these kids from Orange County, California totally nailed the pent up teenage angst of living in a conservative and sterile environment where they felt total alienation. The snotty frustrated message they unleashed in those songs has persisted in connecting with subsequent generations of outsiders, and remains as fresh and relevant sounding 3 decades later.
The bands subsequent history has been a turbulent ride of bust ups, break ups, make ups, line-up changes… and occasional new recordings… the last full length being 2007’s very credible “O.C. Confidential”…. and now the long threatened new album has finally landed. And was it worth the wait? Oh yes!
Original singer and bassist Tony ‘Reflex’ and Steve Soto are still firmly at the helm. Clearly, they are no longer adolescents, and the subject matter of their latter day material is reflective of that; with families of their own, the politics at the forefront of their consciousness are more global than personal. Their Governments war fuelled agenda does not rest well with the modern day Adolescents and forms an overriding theme to a big chunk of the songs (“Wars Aren’t Won, Wars Are Fought”, Peace Don’t Cost a Thing”, Babylon by Bomb”, “One Nation Under Siege”) but there’s a constant theme of hope and belief that this world could be a better place. And California might brand itself as the ‘Golden State’, but the barrelling “Serf City” paints a different picture, of a place that’s politically and socially stagnant…. “stare down the mighty coast, as you dive in to the pills, take another ride… it’s a roller coaster thrill”.
Tony’s pipes sound mighty good for a guy that’s been hollering his lungs out for over 3 decades! And the songs are awash with the bands signature surf laden hooks and loaded with a rush of fancy rocking rifs that will be sure to satisfy dedicated OG’s and groms alike… my wife just called out “this sounds like The Adolescents”… sure does…!!
The guys down at Bored of Southsea have revived a classic 70’s t-shirt this week, orginally worn by legendary Radio 1 and 2 DJ’s including heavyweight Tony Blackburn (pictured below). 
