HUGE update as I haven’t had time 2 post in the past 24 hrs… which is like a year or 2 in the world of the blogs. Hope u beared through and can see the boatload of NEW trax and vids featuring Lauryn Hill above w/ the feature track - a long, nice soulful song that was previously unreleased! Down below, a bunch of big names including a few trax from LL Cool J’s upcoming album, Exit 13, and trax f/ 50 Cent, Young Jeezy, Ciara, T-Pain, Donnie Klang, & MUCH MORE! Don’t forget 2 check out the ultra-fresh video from the U.K.’s Wiley f/ Kenna and a nice Daft Punk sample! And Consequence fans have GOT 2 scroll down as well. Enjoy!
James Grady is back with some fresh art work! Some GWHH exclusives; The paintings below glow in the dark, and just read for yourself what James has to say about each one. They are all heavily influenced from his life and the city of the CHI of course. I’m really lovin’ the color, depth, & composition of ‘em all; the large format of these paintings also adds to the overwhelming effect when viewing them head on. Props James G!
REBEL LEADERS
Hmmm…where to start?? I wanted to roll with an Indiana Jones theme…the whole jungle look, but with my twist…but I also wanted to use Chicago as the jungle or concrete jungle. Ummm, i replaced natural plants with the piranha plants from Super Mario, and the sunflowers designed by Takashi Murakami…I put a spin on them by adding the ray ban wayfarers. I put those flowers on there because when I was 4 or 5 my great grandmother had a dancing/singing sunflower that wore black wayfarers…so I guess putting those flowers in there was like me paying homage to my great grandmother (r.i.p.) The colored lines on the top are the routes of the Chicago “L”…I just dissected them a bit. Ahhh, yea..in a sense I wanted this to represent my life from age 13-17 where I was sort of a rebel, so I use the “Rebel Leaders” design…Thanks to Rajah for letting me use his design and to Ty for letting me use his store’s logo…appreciate it….so yea, the “L” and the
Rebel LDRS is my shout out to Chi city..yessurrr. “Some say it’s an exit and some say it’s an entrance” - Lupe Fiasco …I thought of that line when I decided to do the subway look…with the doors dividing the two worlds…like on the “outside” u see the subway stop environment, but on the “inside” u see this Nintendo-ish environment…but there’s no actual subway, so are you exiting one world and entering another?? Or is there no exit…just an abyss of different entrances…Oh yea, it glows in the dark too.
Mercury Tears
This painting glows in the dark too…inspired by “Mercury Tears” by Chromeo and “Something About Us” by Daft Punk, and the story goes a lil’ something like this….
So Astroboy says:
“I dont want to be with anybody at all
I dont want to be seen with anybody at all
The world is much to big for me to handle alone
But I dont want no friends, I want to stay on my own
The planets turning but I cant stand still
The clock is ticking but I cant stop time
And all I want is to be by myself
Do you think thats a crime”
After all that is said his lady friend counters him with this:
“It might not be the right time
I might not be the right one
It might not be the right time
But there’s something about us I’ve got to do
Some kind of secret I will share with you
I need you more than anything in my life
I want you more than anything in my life
I’ll miss you more than anyone in my life
I love you more than anyone in my life”
Last Living Souls
Painting inspired by “Last Living Souls” by the Gorillaz and “Ben” by Michael Jackson. This painting is 3ft x 4ft, and it glows in the dark. Ok, so the world “ended”, and I’m in search for a friend…I find a robot, and he and I build a real good relationship as friends…he protects me and what not. The color blocks are in the original Lego Block colors and represent the building blocks/foundation of a relationship (honesty, loyalty, etc)…the Clocks read 10:30 and 11:00 because “they say relationships only last 30 minutes long” (Lupe).
Astro Boy Realistic Drawings
My “Astro Boy James” character drawings are done in a realistic manner, and when viewed in person they evoke an eerie but humorous feel (or so I’ve been told) because of the human-like details structured in cartoon contours. The drawings have a strong emphasis on fashion (high-end and urban), pattern, and the contrast/juxtaposition of negative and positive space.
Gowhere? Remix - Full CDQ Flanger Version Gowhere? Approved!
its been a long time guys, but Ive been real busy traveling, but I’m back and I’m back with a joint that I mixed up last night.. Daft Punk and Kanye West “STRONGER”(Flanger Remix). Its only right cuz GLOW IN THE DARK TOUR is coming up! Enjoy some Old School Daft punk with some new school Kanye.
Stay tuned for MORE updates 2 come… I actually missed Kanye’s performance, but its off da hook (comin’ back from another T’Wolves game! :D)… Props 2 To Jr. for the find! Jyea!
Update: 01.11.08 - Here’s some more vids f/ Alicia Keys @ the Grammys!
CONGRATS 2 GWHH’s favorite artist LUPE FIASCO for his 1st Grammy Award as he won the Best Urban/Alternative Performance Grammy for the song “Daydreamin’” f/ Jill Scott! I’m very happy for Lupe and it’s just awesome 2 see him get awarded and recognized for his great music! And hopefully there will be more 2 come for Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool next year!
In accordance with KanYe’s performance of “Stronger” (which was really sicko) here’s a tribute to the original movie that the track and video was based from: AKIRA!!
The film Akira is a 1988 Japanese animated film co-written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo based on his manga of the same name. The film is set in a neon-lit futuristic post-apocalyptic Tokyo in 2019. Much of the film was adapted from the manga read, and is considered one of the greatest animated films ever made. Check it out!
If you get the Honda Fusion, you can buy a mod for it, and install it yourself to make it “Akira-esque”, which is super dope (like the one above). I’d love to see one in tha Chi flyin’ past the AIC on Michigan Ave! Ballin’
I’ll keep it short & sweet cuz I’m reaaal sick, but also cuz I don’t wanna take 2 much room from the other great updates for 2day below! Anyway, Francisco is an up and coming R&B singer who is beginning 2 make some noise in the mainstream as well as on the summer hit - Kanye West’s “Stronger”. Def an interesting RMX that you can DL above! Also, check out the NEW Bryan-Michael Cox produced track (B. Cox joint) from another up and coming R&B artist - Sammie! Enjoy!
*****Max G. Interlude*****
Hey, just wanted to add on this track to Tibs’ post. Check out the new track from Trey Songz and Lil Wayne - “Can’t Help RMX”. It’s really hot. PZ
More Kanye as you can DL the original version of Kanye’s no. 1 hit “Stronger” by simply clicking the divShare logo in the preview! It has an entirely new first verse and really shows the edits and progression of the song to the final product that we all know on the radio and on Graduation. I also thought I’d pass this along straight from Kanye West himself (he blogs like us!) - it’s the making of the “Good Life” video. A very interesting video and my boy Lupe makes a couple funny random appearances. Check it out below!
Props to Heartbeat Da Producer for this one…
He made an album with Lupe Fiasco & Common over Daft Punk classics!
This is one of my favorite track from the album.
Still can’t get enough of the soon-to-be NUMBER ONE ALBUM IN THE COUNTRY? (that’s right, 50!) Well, below are the samples from Kanye West’s Graduation (thanks to my fellow blogger Gowhere for some of the tracks)! You know Kanye brings it on the beats with samples from some various genres of music and this is no exception. If you’re a fan of rock, r&b, hip-hop, or just a huge ‘Ye fan like us, then you’ll enjoy the variety of songs that ‘Ye sampled and they’ll be a great addition to your music library.
You can now preview songs off the blog with one click (the divShare media player) and still click on the link to DL the song straight to your iTunes or other media player of choice!
My personal favs… Daft Punk, Labi Siffre “My Song” sooo good, Steely Dan - the “Champion” sample is ridiculous, and can’t go wrong w/ Michael Jackson haha.
Lauryn Hill “World Is A Hustle” - MORE
Ballin’
