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.
Not to be confused with anything Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey related, the self-proclaimed “Afro-slash-pop” group, Fool’s Gold, is picking up much traction these days. The five-piece sonance collective showcased their cultured sound while headlining for the long anticipated Red Hot Chili Peppers 2011 European tour. Given their take on African music, indigenous yet á la mode, Fool’s Gold is beginning to accumulate a reputable character and cosmopolitan fan base all the same. Despite the fact, a notable sculpting of their signature sound has materialized throughout their chronology since 2007; Fool’s Gold to Leave No Trace, these guys have attained a collaborative nirvana through positive narcissism in a euphonious self-realization.
Atlanta based rapper Rome Fortune, real name Jerome, has been rapping since he was in high school. “I thought I’d take the JE off as Jerome reminds me too much of the fake pimp on Martin,” he explains. Seven years later the 23-year-old originally from New York is just days away from unveiling his collaborative project with producer Childish Major entitled VOYEUR set for release next week.
Once upon a time, two star-crossed lovers meet and make beautiful music together. They share these 60’s-tinged melodies with their friends and before they know it, fame and popularity is birthed. They’re on NPR, Nylon Magazine and even Vogue talking about their trippy music that was just a haphazard, little project to get away from the boredom from film school. Now they live as 21st Century’s John Lennon and Yoko Ono, without those pesky other insects, side-by-side with label-mates like Lily Allen, Ke$ha and Beyoncé.
There’s that “aha” moment after some time of listening to tracks, watching videos, going to shows, reading interviews, following an artist on Twitter, Facebook and whatever social network that suits your fancy where you start to “get” them. I caught glimpses of this feeling while watching the Los Angeles based emcee Def Sound breeze through his charismatic verse on the standout track “Quicksand” from J*DaVeY’s recent mixtape “Evil Christian Cop: The Great Mistapes.” Rapping lines like “paintbrush lust…yeah we paint pictures,” paired with allusions to Salvador Dali and Picasso turn the dance floor at The Masquerade in Atlanta to Art History 101. And I can’t be mad a bit.
Everything in fashion comes in waves. It’s only a matter of time until the new “it” girl looks like a roaring 1920’s flapper and before the 6 month interval is over, there will be another outcry of the obnoxious 1980’s or the lavish 1970’s and so on and so forth. Those trends are cute, but hardly any style statement curdles society’s blood like androgyny
It’s hard to imagine what the modeling industry would have been like without Pat Evans. Blazing an anomalous trail in a staunchly conventional industry, Evans was the first model to subvert that convention by atrophying one of the most prized signifiers of beauty and femininity: her hair. “Me and Grace Jones were ahead of our time,” she says with an air of certitude that can only come from that of an undisputed iconoclast. With over two decades in the modeling industry under her belt, it’s safe to say that Evans has seen and done it all. Her resume is impeccable: she has graced the pages of top magazines, ripped the runways at the world’s biggest fashion capitals donning haute couture from the most celebrated designers of our time, and was a stylist and make-up artist for icons such as Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson, Aretha Franklin, and Isaac Hayes. Respect her swag.
Williamsburg is quite a contradiction. Despite the small town Main Street aesthetic of the Brooklyn neighborhood, it has become a catchall hipster haven for art school dropouts, transient scabs, and self-absorbed bohemian types in above average tax brackets ravenously gentrifying the area. Yet with the social discrepancies whirling around him, Chaz Bundick seems pretty indifferent. It’s possible that his high-energy performance to a throng of sweaty revelers at New York’s nightlife stalwart Webster Hall the previous night has left him a bit lethargic. Or maybe he’s simply got music on his mind. “I’m seeing lots of influence from trance and house,” he says as a car whizzes by blaring the latest from Rihanna’s canon of hits. At 25-years old, he’s developed a keen sense of musical trends. He’s well aware that the times they are a-changin’. “People are getting more used to it on the radio, it’s becoming more normal to hear four-on-the-floor beats. Even hip-hop artists are using those beats. That’s helping people open up to electronic music.”
George grew up in south London. He de-constructs the world around him in a non-conformist way to produce art that shows the necessary truths of our society. He is heavily influenced by the experiences of his travels, which he uses to develop an abstract and objective view of his surroundings. It is often this ‘distance’ that becomes the subject and inspiration for many of his pieces. Check out An-Mag.com’s interview with George below.
I was never a fairytale type of kid. Sure, I enjoyed Brandy and Whitney Houston’s rendition of Cinderella, but there was something so unbelievable and tragically unappealing about those ‘happily ever afters’. That was until, ironically, I grew up. With all the troubles of today, fairy-tales provide a type of relief from the world that can suffocate us with tragic endings. The bad guys die, the prince is charming, and the princess always comes out unscathed. Those are just well-written daydreams from far, far away. Nothing is that peachy, but I decided every writer should get a chance to compose his or her own fairytale.
When I speak with Coco, one half of twin sunglasses designer Coco & Breezy the twin sisters are in the midst of preparation for the upcoming debut of their new line. When we last caught up with the duo, a year ago, they were at the starting point. Vogue features later, runway shows in New York and Paris later, everyone wants to be on Planet Coco & Breezy.
Langston Hughes alluded to a dream shivering up when deferred, like a raisin in the sun. More inspirational is what happens when a dream isn’t deferred, but taken with all seriousness. Nobody personifies that more than designer, Stevie Boi. Once a freelance model in New York, he took his dreams in his own hands and planted the seeds that resulted in a phenomenal sunglasses line called SB Shades. Superstars like Lady Gaga, Fergie, Jeffree Starr and more have all been caught rocking his shades and Stevie Boi is now branching out to accessories and anything else he can harvest in fashion. Now, that the seed of a dream is blossoming so quickly, it’s a wonder how I got to catch up with Stevie Boi and talk Grace Jones, style, and copycats.
