Muffin Milk‘s Creative Director/Lead Designer ThirdEyeTrue aesthetically stitching together styles on styles, and as a street artist he is tried and true, spray-painting street brilliant pyramids and the all seeing eye across the urban jungle of New York City. Open your eyes and take a closer look at some of his street work below.

When the fandemonium hit the fan, and every stan had their say, Twitter was filled with a bevy of tired AARP inspired insults. Forbes Magazine’s Liz W. Garcia’s put it best, “But in spite of the fact that Madonna is 53 years-old and lept from a kneeling position to standing, over and over whilst wearing spike heels (go ahead, try it, and when you’re done icing your knees, read on) and keeping pace with her twenty-something backup dancers, the focus was on her age.”

Why does this matter? It probably doesn’t. But for me it poses a legitimate question, how old is too old for pop music? A question seemingly only coerced on to pop and hip hop artists. You don’t see anyone begging U2 or Bruce Springsteen to sit down and get off the throne. Even though they should, no one tells Steven Tyler or Mick Jagger to act their age.

“…Once you reach a certain age you’re not allowed to be adventurous, you’re not allowed to be sexual….I mean, is there a rule? Are you supposed to just die?”
- Madonna at 34, defending herself at age 53.

Pop stars have a tendency to die very young or grow old very slowly. The parallels between Madonna and Jay-Z are uncanny. Both have made a career out of being cool. Both have a strangle on the music scene of their respective genres, and both are unwilling to past the torch to their younger contemporaries. As long as you got moves like Madonna, or wordplay like Jay-Z you should keep on rocking, keep on rocking. Our king of pop may be dead, but our Queen is well and alive. 90′s babies may be born this way, but legends like Madonna, legends like Jay-Z basically raised them. Jigga said it best, Bye-byes are not for legends.

“Fear not death, I’ll be alive for a million years, Bye-byes are not for legends, I’m forever young, my name shall survive.”
- Jay-Z on “Forever Young”

Watch This Space: Because I’m not young enough to know everything. But I know, today’s pop starlets always become ghosts of pop past. Now that’s a bit reductive.

I stumbled on the work of 17-year-old painter AJ while cruising through Tumblr recently. What the New Jersey based artist lacked in age she made up immensely in talent. Her work, which she documents with process shots she posts to Tumblr, is vibrant, poised and refined. It’s as if she’s possesd with an old soul. She coy-fully says she’s “no artist” but hopes she can “learn to be one.” If you ask our opinion she could give us a pointer or two.

“Counterculture vs Over the Counter Culture”
- STEVE OKLYN

Culture wars and Street Art go hand in hand. Not Vogue is unapologetically dressed but all the rage. And they say this is the coldest Wintour ever. Gaddafi taught me. When a counterculture has something to say about an omnipotent over the counter culture, they take it to the streets. Remember, the latest isn’t always the greatest.

Using computers and a boyish sense of mischief, Milo creates space age bachelor pad rap songs for kids who think Spock > Kirk. Or for the kids who even catch that reference. He’s been called the champion of Nerd Hop, consistent creator of auditory Art Rap, we’re not concerned with the genre, we just admire the work he’s putting out there. Art Nouveau recently caught up with the 20-year-old emcee for a riveting conversation that covered everything from Nas’ Illmatic, his admiration for Schopenhauer and his upcoming project Milo Takes Baths.

Art Nouveau Magazine: You’re currently based in Wisconsin, How’d you end up there? What’s the indie rap scene like there?

Milo: As a kid, my Pops moved around a lot– my parents are divorced, so I’ve lived in Illinois, Maine, New Hampshire, and finally Wisconsin. The indie rap scene here is nonexistent and of course when I go on record with that statement I will receive a barrage of dudes ready to impale me, but it’s the truth. The scene here is pretty static, and it seems like the same set of dudes have a monopoly on what goes on here. That being said, I don’t really participate much in it. As a student it’s infinitely more convenient for me to by-pass the local drudgery and politics and shoot songs online before I dip to my Asian Philosophy course.

“Nas’ Illmatic is the greatest rap album of all time. That’ll probably be my #1 lyrical inspiration. Nas is not my favorite rapper by any means, nor has he ever been. But Illmatic is a perfect album, flawless, his style on that album is beyond me still.”

AN: Your real name is Rory Ferreira, but you perform under the nom de plume, Milo. Where did the name come from?

Milo: Pulling out my government name! Okay, I can dig. Rap names are important. Without breaking into a really long treatise on language and how it maps the human reality, let me say that anyone who is trying to create realities should really think about names. Milo comes from The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster which is a neat book that you read once every 8 years or so and have a nice introspective moment to. Milo is this sort of every-person character who finds all the things boring. He’s taken on this adventure of wicked tasty wordplay and comes back all the better for it. I feel like Milo.

AN: Tell me about your project I wish my brother Rob was here. What was the initial story behind it?

Milo: A friend of mine drowned in a public pool this past Summer. I was working on a tape prior to that, and when it happened I couldn’t really find anything substantial I could do to make my world feel better. So I scrapped the tape I was developing and started working on this one, which I sort of co-opted the name from Del’s debut cut. All the recording, mixing, and mastering was done by myself in my room at school… and it was pretty rushed. I found the beats online, mostly through forums, and they were ones that typically rap dudes had shimmy’d away from. Which made them instantly attractive. I tried my hardest to double and triple credit the producers I borrowed from or edited from, but it’s surprising how many people think I produced the mixtape. If I had it would have cost you the big bucks– like, General Tso’s Tofu money.

AN: Were you surprised with the initial support the project has received?

Milo: Overwhelmed would be the word I’d use. Especially when the emails started pouring in. Reading about cats the world over who had dealt with a lot of the same mental blocks I have, or social stigmas and how these people felt equally neglected by contemporary music. The blog stuff is cool, and obviously that’s how people find out about the tape. I’m eternally grateful to those taste-makers who gave my tape a chance and subsequently set pace for other blogs to catch up. But really, the most significant and surprising aspect of this project has been the individual interaction with other *nerdy* people.

“I think there is definitely a place for nerdcore, and I love a lot of the stuff coming out of that camp, but there also needs to be a place where we can genuinely express the frustration of always being at odds with the majority of the people around us without making appeals to cartoonish behaviors.”

AN: What’s your definition of NERD hop?

Milo: See, that was the first genre I was operating under. But now, I’d say it’s more like self help hop/computerized soul folk. Which are two titles a pal of mine sent me from an art exhibit in Chicago. Anyway, Nerd-Hop is similar to nerdcore but instead of making caricatures of nerdiness or awkwardness or intelligence I feel like nerd hop is a more genuine depiction. But I don’t mean to pick on my brothers operating under the nerdcore moniker, which is why I’ve since graduated into the aforementioned two. I think there is definitely a place for nerdcore, and I love a lot of the stuff coming out of that camp, but there also needs to be a place where we can genuinely express the frustration of always being at odds with the majority of the people around us without making appeals to cartoonish behaviors. Pardon me if that in anyway comes off as egotistical. I’m not saying I’ve perfected what I’m talking about, but I am aware of what I want to do and am trying to achieve that. No shade on anyone else’s marmalade.

AN: You are a DIY advocate with a strong focus on computer driven work, how do you juggle wearing multiple hats and taking care of your craft?

Milo: To me they are all part of the same craft which is this quest to find Truth. I’m from a heavily video game influenced generation, obviously, and especially within MMORPGs such as Ultima Online, the quest never ended. It was indefinite. I think that the DIY aspect comes out of that because it gives me an opportunity to be more honest. When I’ve been in studios with other people, I feel myself conforming and that’s not at all what I want for Milo projects. Eventually I’d like to get to the point where a Milo tape is completely done in-house by myself, but I need to hone my beatsmithy before that point. To recap: I’m not convinced that there are multiple hats and crafts, it all sort of falls under this umbrella of trying to find genuine, honest expression that doesn’t sell itself short. Now I’m going to pull my head out of my own fancy-aesthetic arsehole, so to speak.

AN: Who are some of your lyrical inspirations?

Milo: Great writing. I read a lot of philosophy and I tend to be long winded because of that. Schopenhauer is a tremendous lyrical inspiration. He’s prone to really wicked and wild analogies. David Foster Wallace’s eye for seemingly mundane detail, that’s a major inspiration. Nas’ Illmatic is the greatest rap album of all time. That’ll probably be my #1 lyrical inspiration. Nas is not my favorite rapper by any means, nor has he ever been. But Illmatic is a perfect album, flawless, his style on that album is beyond me still.

AN: What’s next for you?

Milo: Finishing up my next mixtape, Milo takes Baths. Which is me rapping over only Baths instrumentals that I pilfered off the Internet. I’m hoping it makes me more friends than enemies. After that? I’m not too sure. I’d like to get more heavy into production, but it’s difficult because in Northern Wisconsin there are no notable beatsmiths to learn from. So I’m watching a lot of YouTube tutorials and whatnot, making slow but steady headway. This is all still pretty new to me. Trying to open dialogue with some label folks, and balance a decent GPA, basically.

AN: Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Milo: As banal as it is everytime I read this when some other person says it: support weirdo creations. Keep it funky at all times.

Dear Society,

The idea of being defined by others rather than one self seems to permeate our culture. Parents have desires for who we should become, friends have preferences for how we should act, and society as a whole determines if our way of life is acceptable or not. This could include anything from occupations and life long dreams to small habits and personal quirks. But there is also an alternative that exists within the true self. In this photographic series, I aim to collaborate with my subjects and encourage them to react to this contrast by placing their opinions directly onto the negatives of themselves. Additionally, I am creating diptychs to reinforce this dichotomy between the imagined self and the true self, and provide a visual representation for the conflict itself. My hope is to invite the viewer to become more comfortable with the conflict within them, and more accepting of the person they dream to be.

Sincerely, Emily Detrick

Greg Mike took to his blog to announce the recent completion of his latest mural. Known for his collaborations with brands such as Freddy Jones and artists like Donnis, this time the Atlanta based artist and designer collaborated with New Belgium Brewery for a vibrant mural outside their space in the Little Five Points area of Atlanta.

I wrapped up collaboration mural with the folks from NEW BELGIUM BREWERY today in the Little 5 Points district of Atlanta. I have always been a fan of their beverages so it was great when they reached out and wanted to collaborate on a piece in my hometown. – GREG MIKE

Greg also hinted at an upcoming video depicting the process of the mural. Can’t wait to watch, until then take a closer look at images of the final piece below.

The tracks are set to be released via Daz’s upcoming imprint I-Kue Recordings. Sniff, Sniff, no time for cries. Go ahead, indulge and get all the way into this one.

Download: Young Jeezy – I Do (Sammy Bananas Bootleg)

Are you ready to JUMP?

The Perfect Cherry Blossom is a symbol for flourishing spring and peace, but also the name of one of the most advanced and violent Japanese Bullet Hell Games. A video game made by gamers for gamers from a time before the gaming industry turned into a home entertainment device. Artists Keiichi Tanaami and Oliver Payne explored this game in their latest series of work.

In the films by Keiichi Tanaami pop culture from east and west meet. Abstracted, post-traumatic impressions from the Great Tokyo Air Raid are combined with LSD fantasies and aesthetics of consumption merge with hallucinatory erotic desires. Tanaami is one of the most influential Pop Art artists of post-war Japan. His work had a great impact on a younger generation of artists working with pop aesthetics in Japan and abroad like Oliver Payne.

In Oliver Payne’s collages stickers of Japanese Bullet Hell Games are arranged on torn out pages of an ancient Greek sculpture catalog. Payne transforms the violent imagery of these videogames into psychedelic explosions of color. Greek statues serve as a background and a reminder of the fantasy worlds produced in Japanese arcade games, which often picture rural Europe. Sounds of an arcade field recording give a notion of manic playfulness towards the exhibited works.

The arcade has traditionally represented an idea of a “third space” for teens. Too young to go to bars, adolescents have so few places to hang. I like places like that — skate spots, graffiti halls of fame, arcades. Slightly sketchy places for teens to kick it. The arcade industry is on the way out and they really wont be around for much longer. I think places like these are important to document. An aural representation of them makes the most sense to me as the “noises” they create have these completely inimitable and unique quality. Nothing but an arcade sounds like an arcade — a completely deafening cacophony of bleeps, bangs, teenage yells and deposited tokens. It’s a noise that I can hear many bands aspiring to capture — but always falling short of the mark. Perhaps due to the fact that they don’t spend hours playing in arcades.

 Another motivating factor for the recordings is that it poses the question: Why are arcade on the decline? Why have they they been shutting at an alarming rate? The lazy answer is that home consoles such as the PS3 and the XBOX360 are so good that they have brought arcade quality to the home. But arcades are still in full force in Japan. So why can the west no longer profit from dedicated gaming rooms? Oliver Payne