#this is just a love letter to stormzy | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

toldbytendo · 2 months ago

Text

𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑆𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒: 𝑇𝘩𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑧𝑦’𝑠 𝑀𝑐𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑑’𝑠 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑙

I have eaten McDonald’s since the genocide began. I have ordered Domino’s since the genocide began. I have used CeraVe since the genocide began. I am writing this post from an iPhone 12, a device made from cobalt likely mined by Congolese children. I am complicit. We all are. That is not in question. That is not up for debate. There is no moral high ground here.

But there is a difference—an enormous, fundamental, grotesque difference—between the inconvenience of consumer guilt and the deliberate, fully conscious, fully calculated decision to align yourself with the direct benefactors of a genocide for personal financial gain.

Stormzy made that decision. And it’s vile.

I can acknowledge my complicity and still recognise the gulf that exists between being trapped in a system and actively upholding it. Between occasionally failing a moral test and deliberately erasing your morality altogether for profit. Because what he did wasn’t passive. It wasn’t unthinking. It wasn’t some absentminded moment of hypocrisy. It was intentional.

Stormzy chose to sign a contract with McDonald’s.

Stormzy chose to create promotional content for McDonald’s.

Stormzy chose to withdraw, erase, and archive his public support for Palestine so that McDonald’s could justify paying him.

Stormzy chose to accept blood money.

And the most sickening part? He built his brand on justice.

This isn’t just about Palestine anymore. This is about the complete disintegration of the values he claimed to stand for. Because his brand—his entire persona—has been rooted in activism, in speaking truth to power, in standing against injustice. That is what made people believe in him. That is why he became more than just an artist, why he was uplifted as someone who wasn’t afraid to stand against the status quo.

But now we see the limits of that morality. Now we see that the words meant nothing when the bag was big enough. Because if you can loudly, unequivocally stand with the oppressed—but only until McDonald’s offers you a cheque—then what were those words ever worth? If your support for Palestine disappears the moment you can profit off its erasure, then what does that say about your integrity?

If your stance against oppression does not extend to the most urgent, glaring, undeniable genocide of our time, then does it extend to the Congo? Sudan? Ethiopia? Or are those causes also disposable the moment a corporation comes knocking? If your moral compass can be swayed by a McDonald’s sponsorship, then it was never a compass to begin with. It was a branding strategy.

And that is what makes this so much worse. Because ordinary people—people with no net worth, no public platform, no wealth, no access to power—have tried. Have written letters to MPs. Have donated what little they could. Have spread awareness at the cost of their own mental health, their own peace, their own timelines being filled with horror and grief. Because they couldn’t bear to ignore it. Because the suffering of innocent people meant more to them than their personal comfort.

And yet, here is a multi-millionaire—a man with more financial security than most people will ever have in their lifetime—deciding that he still needs more.

For what?

Stormzy’s net worth is estimated to be around £26 million. That is generational wealth. That is more than enough money to live a life of ease, to invest, to secure stability for himself and his loved ones for decades to come. And yet, somehow, it still was not enough.

And what does that say? What does it reveal?

That the hunger for wealth is never satiated. That greed has no limit. That capitalism is a force so all-consuming, so deeply entrenched in the psychology of self-preservation, that even those who have spent years speaking out against its evils will still bend the knee when the price is high enough.

What Stormzy did is not an anomaly. It is a reflection of the very system he claimed to oppose.

And the reaction to this from so many Black people has been disappointing in ways I almost don’t have the words for. Because I have seen countless people reduce this to a race issue, as though the criticism against Stormzy is simply an attempt to tear down a Black man. As though his betrayal of his own professed values should somehow be excused because of the racial dynamics of the industry.

This is not about race. It is about power. It is about influence. Jeremy Corbyn—one of the most consistent voices of moral resilience in British politics—called on Stormzy to drop this collaboration. Not because Stormzy is a Black man. Not because he is an easy target. But because he has influence. And he has used that influence to do harm.

That being said, his Blackness is absolutely a factor—but not in the way his defenders seem to think. Because what does it say about Stormzy, as a Black man, that he was so willing to sell out in this way?

What does it say about his so-called integrity, about his professed values, that he—a man who has spoken at length about standing with the oppressed—did not see the struggle of the Palestinian people as worthy of that solidarity the moment it conflicted with his financial interests?

Because if oppression matters to you, it matters everywhere. If you believe in justice, you believe in it consistently. If you claim to stand with the oppressed, then you stand with them even when it is inconvenient. Even when it costs you something. Even when the alternative is lucrative.

Because that was his opportunity. That was his moment to choose principle over profit. To reject what is, undeniably, an incredible opportunity and reaffirm his support for the people of Palestine. To remind people that influence matters. And that he would not use his influence to funnel money into the hands of those funding genocide.

Instead, he made a different choice. One that cannot be excused. One that cannot be defended. One that lays bare what we always knew deep down but were reluctant to admit:

That celebrity activism is performative. That human beings will always choose self-preservation over integrity. That power will always reveal the truth about a person.

And the truth about Stormzy? Is that when faced with the opportunity to uphold his values, he chose greed instead.

And it’s impossible to ignore the timing of it all. In the UK, the cost of living crisis is so severe that nearly half of low-income households are skipping meals because they cannot afford food. Energy bills remain unmanageable for many. Families are drowning in rising rent prices. People—real, everyday people—are struggling to survive. And they are still choosing to boycott.

Ordinary people, who are living paycheque to paycheque, are making the conscious effort to reject companies like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Coca-Cola because they cannot in good conscience continue to support those funding genocide. These are not wealthy individuals. These are people who will feel the absence of convenience, who will have fewer options, who will have to make adjustments to their already difficult lives in order to stand in solidarity with the oppressed.

And yet, a millionaire—a man whose financial stability is secured—could not bring himself to do the same.

With great power comes great responsibility. And time and time again, those with influence—the ones who could be making the most difference—choose instead to neglect, abuse, or ignore that responsibility when it suits them. They speak when it is easy. When it is palatable. When it is good for PR. And the moment it requires something of them, the moment it might cost them something, they fall silent. Or worse, they sell out.

It is beyond shameful. It is beyond disappointment. It is simply a reminder.

That we should never, ever place faith in celebrities as moral figures.

Because power will always reveal who they truly are. And who Stormzy is, when it really counts, is a man who chose genocide money over justice.

#stormzy #mcdonalds #all eyes on palestine #free palestine #activism #anti capitalism #fuck capitalism #anti imperialism

1 note · View note

thedreadvampy · 4 years ago

Text

I think I mentally divide my music tastes into

Dad's music: stuff that's deeply familiar and comforting because my dad kept a few CDs in rotation in the car or burned them for us as kids (Nina Simone, Leonard Cohen, Harry Nilsson, Quilapayun, Pink Floyd, Colosseum)

Teen Bullshit A (the Kerrang! Years): stuff I was very into as an Alternative Kid between 2001-2011 (Green Day, MCR, P!ATD, Sex Pistols, Ramones, Oomph!, Rammstein, Disturbed, Fear Factory, Slipknot, Stone Sour, Cruxshadows, Infected Mushroom, System of a Down)

Teen Bullshit B (the Steampunk Phase): stuff from when I was trying to develop my own music tastes through the medium of wearing a lot of waistcoats and top hats (Abney Park, Professor Elemental, Pocketwatch, Voltaire, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing)

Accidental Perfection: Bands/artists I encountered and feel in love with while at friends' gigs/because they're friends/on the Fringe/opening for a band I liked (the Mechanisms, Porcupine Tree, Reeder, Sithu Aye, Vienna Ditto, Laurie Black, the Creative Martyrs, Reesha Dyer, The Indelicates)

Sam music: for some reason even though Kofi is a musician I literally meet through music, Sam's the one of my partners whose musical taste I've absorbed wholesale (Kate Nash, Stan Rogers, Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bitter Ruin)

CHUNES!!!!! artists that were so ubiquitous in the clubs I hit in my early 20s that now they're indelibly burned into my music tastes (Icon of Coil, DMX, Covenant, New Model Army, Nine Inch Nails, Eurythmics, Drowning Pool)

Songs About Survivorhood: this is like the most coherent genre it's Angry Trauma Songs About Not Coping (Sia, Kesha, Kate Nash, Bitter Ruin, Vienna Ditto, P!nk, Jessica Law, Amanda Palmer, Vienna Teng, Depeche Mode)

Politics bangers (MIA, Tech N9ne, Janelle Monae, Stormzy)

Smoooooth (Gotye, Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz)

JUST MAKE ALL THE NOISE YOU CAN IN MY EARS (Borgore, Da Octopusss)

I'm gay (MIKA, Queen, King, La Roux, Robyn, Letters to Cleo, Scissor Sisters, Lizzo, the Killers)

Greatest hits: I heard this song too many times and now it lives in my head forever. it is probably the only song by this artist I will ever listen to (this is like half my library and includes but is not limited to: top 40 hits, soundtrack songs, 80s classics, club bangers, wrestling entrance themes and TV theme music)

35 notes · View notes

jessyurahara · 5 years ago

Text

MLQC- Reaction to MC that’s into Grime/ Favourite Grime Song

So, no one has ever asked for this, like ever, but I feel like someone out there might also be a massive Grime fan as well. So for those who either ain’t from the UK or ain’t that versed in music, Grime is a UK type of rap, least I guess that’s the best way to explain it!

Kiro

Kiro, would be the most supportive about it, when he walked in on you just going along with the lyrics he stood in the doorway watching you as you went along with the music, waiting for the song to end, with a large grin gracing his lips, he’d laugh at you slightly, while crossing the room and gathering you in his arms, chucking to himself with his arms still wrapped around you while you hide your face in his neck, slightly embarrassed as the next song would play behind you, and taking a step back, with that same cheeky grin lining his lips, he’d look at you with those piercing blue eyes softly asking ‘Do I get another performance?’.

Does Kiro have a favourite Grime song, if he had to choose anything he would have to go for the one he walked in on you sining the first time ‘Man Don’t Care by JME’, just because of the memories it brings back, and even if it isn’t something he wasn’t into, he’s more than happy to support you.

Gavin

Gavin, couldn’t quite believe it when he found out you were into Grime, it seemed to completely contrast you, and yet he couldn’t think of anything more precious then you trying to act like you were hard with Grime playing in the background, the first time he’d heard you listen to it, you’d been working in your apartment, and he’d heard it playing, and leaning in the doorway, he’d watched for a moment, as you typed away at your PC, murmuring along with the words, you looked so focused and yet as the music played you were quite happily muttering along, and going back to what he was doing, he found himself shaking his head, a smile gracing his lips, muttering to himself ‘She’s lucky I love her’.

Gavin, and his favourite Grime song, well, it’s an awkward one, because it took a while for Gavin to actually admit that he’d seen you listening to it, and then when he did, he noticed you were listening to it all over, it was no longer like it was a big secret, and as he got more and more used to hearing it he found that his favourite was ’Shut Up by Stormzy’, why? Because he enjoyed watching you when you listened to it.

Victor

Victor thought you would never surprise him, and then one night while you were taking a shower he heard the beat ringing out from your phone, and for the first time he found himself surprised by you, as he heard your voice going along perfectly with the music, to begin with he’d thought maybe it was the radio, but from the way in which you were perfectly going along with the lyrics he knew differently, Victor knew you, and the music didn’t match you as a person, and yet as he watched you, he couldn’t help but smile softly, deciding to stand in the doorway and scare you when you exited the shower, he leaned back against the door frame, his arms folded across his chest, one hand in his pocket as the other combed through his hair for a moment, he just chuckled deeply ’She never fails to surprise me’.

Grime and Victor, and picking a favourite? That’s like mixing oil and water, it’s not even close to his style, but as you spent more time around him, he got more used to it playing around him, and though he still couldn’t handle the harder beats at times, and the harsher vibes of some of the music, he found himself getting more and more used to it, especially after watching you, vibing softly in the corner, so he found himself not hiding at much, often trying to zone out the music, but if he had to choose something, ‘Theresa by DTG’, because it was softer than most of the other things you’d choose, but what Victor doesn’t know is that would fall more into UK rap than Grime, but sometimes you’ve got to give the man something.

Lucien

Did it surprise Lucien when he caught you listening to Grime? He’d love to lie and say no, but it really did, it wasn’t like he caught you actually listening to it, it was when your ring tone went off, and all of a sudden the room was filled with the energetic beats. He gazed curiously over you as you picked up your phone, walking into another room, talking softly as you took the call, he felt the shock evaporate within a moment, of course you’d like something harder, everything about you screamed that you were softer, so it shouldn’t have shocked him that when it came down to your music you went for something a little bit harder, and still sat down, a curious sale gracing his lips, he was more than ready to question you as you ended the call, a soft blush on your cheeks, ’So, what song was that?’.

Lucien, got used to the Grime as you started to slide it into your daily life, your playlist transferring from the pop music you’d been playing around him over to Grime almost permanently, but he wouldn’t quite say that he had a favourite song, if anything despite how much he loved you he often tried to zone out from the music, it wasn’t his style, but he found himself watching you, the way you enjoyed the music, sometimes finding a smirk gracing his lips at how silly you looked while you found the beat, and one of the times he found himself watching you closest, the way you moved and got down with the music, with the words skipping past your lips was when you were listening to ‘Thiago Silva by Dave and AJ Tracey’.

Back to MLQC Headcannons

Headcannons/ Love Letters/ Stories/ Drabbles

#mlqc #mlqc headcanon #mlqc fanfic #mlqc kiro #mlqc gavin #mlqc headcannon #mlqc victor #mlqc lucien

4 notes · View notes

calm-and-wine · 5 years ago

Text

RULES: SPELL OUT THE URL OF YOUR BLOG AS SONGS AND THEN TAG AS MANY PEOPLE AS THE NUMBER OF LETTERS IN YOUR TITLE 🎶

Thank you lovely Rory @verorax for the tag! This is gonna be fun, so let’s go:

• C - Cherry by Harry Styles

• A - All Too Well by Taylor Swift

• L - Love it if we made it by The 1975

• M - Meet me in the hallway by Harry Styles

• A - Audacity by Stormzy

• N - Nightcall by London Grammar

• D - Deja vu by J. Cole

• W - Writer in the dark by Lorde

• I - I miss you by blink-182

• N - New Angel by Niall Horan

• E - Everybody by Mac Miller

As always, I don’t know much people on here, so I’m just gonna tag @icanseeyourholo and @fromherlips if they want to do it!

3 notes · View notes

yeah-another-aesthetic-blog · 5 years ago

Photo

Goodbye to the Decade: Aesthetic Series

3) Songs

After the series and the books, in this week here are 9 fragments of songs that I liked this decade, since I know that there aren’t so many spanish speakers between you, here is a translation of what the central song says “If there is nothing left to talk about, if there is nothing left to shut up, how can it hurt so much?” is Diciembre by La Oreja De Van Gogh

Like the previous posts in the series a keep reading it’s here, because warning here is the full list of all the songs that I have from this decade, and when I say all of them I mean all of them.No Particular order in them. Congratulations if you make till the end, if not, well I can’t blame you xD

Mirrors by Justin Timberlake 2013

Radioactive by Imagine Dragons 2012

Demons by Imagine Dragons 2012

Counting Stars by OneRepublic 2013

Really Really by Winner 2017

Russian Roulette by Red Velvet 2016

Troublemaker by Troublemaker 2011

Mean by Taylor Swift 2010

Better Than Revenge by Taylor Swift 2010

We Are Never Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift 2012

I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift 2012

All Too Well by Taylor Swift 2012

Shake It Off by Taylor Swift 2014

Blank Space by Taylor Swift 2014

Bad Blood by Taylor Swift 2014

Look What You Make Me Do by Taylor Swift 2017

You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift 2019

Paper Rings by Taylor Swift 2019

The Man by Taylor Swift 2019

Closer by The Chainsmokers & Halsey 2016

Sad Girls by Melo Moreno 2018

Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish 2016

Bellyache by Billie Eilish 2017

Hostage by Billie Eilish 2017

My Boy by Billie Eilish 2017

Bad Guy by Billie Eilish 2019

You Should See Me In A Crown by Billie Eilish 2019

My Strange Addiction by Billie Eilish 2019

Ilomilo by Billie Eilish 2019

Pump Up Kicks by Foster The People 2010

Burn by Ellie Goulding 2013

Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars 2010

Talking To The Moon by Bruno Mars 2010

The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars 2010

Grenade by Bruno Mars 2011

Locked Out Of Heaven by Bruno Mars 2012

When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars 2012

Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson 2011

Stitches by Shawn Mendes 215

Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes 2016

Señorita by Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello 2019

Born This Way by Lady Gaga 2011

Blow Me (One Last Kiss) by P!nk 2012

Elastic Heart by Sia 2013

Cheap Thrills by Sia & Sean Paul 2016

Up In The Air by 30 Seconds To Mars 2013

Gangnam Style by PSY 2012

Daddy by PSY 2015

Voodoo Doll by VIXX 2013

When Can I See You Again by Owl City 2012

Uza by AKB48 2012

Love Me Harder by Ariana Grande 2014

Into You by Ariana Grande 2015

Side To Side by Ariana Grande 2016

Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande 2018

Love The Way You Lie by Eminem & Rihanna 2010

The Monster by Eminem & Rihanna 2013

Hotter Than Hell by Dua Lipa 2016

Only Girl (In The World) by Rihanna 2010

Rude Boy by Rihanna 2010

All Of Me by John Legend 2013

No Need To Talk by C-Luv 2014

Papercut by Zedd & Troye Sivan 2015

Misery by Maroon 5 2010

Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera 2011

Payphone by Maroon 5 2012

One More Night by Maroon 5 2012

Lucky Strike by Maroon 5 2012

The Man Who Never Lied by Maroon 5 2012

Animals by Maroon 5 2014

Maps by Maroon 5 2014

Sugar by Maroon 5 2015

Lips On You by Maroon 5 2017

Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots 2015

Ride by Twenty One Pilots 2015

Heathens by Twenty One Pilots 2016

Chlorine by Twenty One Pilots 2018

Teenage Dream by Katy Perry 2010

Firework by Katy Perry 2010

Corazón En La Maleta by Luis Fonsi 2014

Lego House by Ed Sheeran 2011

Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran 2014

Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran 2017

I Want You To Know by Zedd & Selena Gomez 2015

Burning In The Skies by Linkin Park 2010

Waiting For The End by Linkin Park 2010

Iridescent by Linkin Park 2010

The Catalyst by Linkin Park 2010

Lost In The Echo by Linkin Park 2012

In My Remains by Linkin Park 2012

Burn It Down by Linkin Park 2012

Lies Greed Misery by Linkin Park 2012

I’ll Be Gone by Linkin Park 2012

Castle Of Glass by Linkin Park 2012

Victimized by Linkin Park 2012

Skin To Bone by Linkin Park 2012

Powerless by Linkin Park 2012

A Light That Never Comes by Steve Aoki & Linkin Park 2013

Guilty All The Same by Linkin Park 2014

War by Linkin Park 2014

Wastelands by by Linkin Park 2014

Until It’s Gone by Linkin Park 2014

Rebellion by Linkin Park 2014

Final Masquerade by Linkin Park 2014

Darker Than Blood by Steve Aoki & Linkin Park 2015

Nobody Can Save Me by Linkin Park 2017

Good Goodbye by Linkin Park & Pusha T & Stormzy 2017

Talking To Myself by Linkin Park 2017

Battle Symphony by Linkin Park 2017

Invisible by Linkin Park 2017

Heavy by Linkin Park & Kiiara 2017

Sorry For Now by Linkin Park 2017

Halfway Right by Linkin Park 2017

One More Light by Linkin Park 2017

Sharp Edges by Linkin Park 2017

50 Ways To Say Goodbye by Train 2012

60’s Cardin by Glen Check 2011

Paint It Gold by Glen Check 2013

I’ve Got This Feeling by Glen Check 2013

Ain’t My Fault by Zara Larsson 2016

Oh Nana by K.A.R.D 2016

Solo by Jay Park 2015

Mommae by Jay Park & Ugly Duck 2015

Me Like Yuh by Jay Park & Hoody 2016

All I Wanna Do by Jay Park & Hoody & Loco 2016

Teardrops by Emmelie De Forest 2013

Calm After The Storm by The Common Linnets 2014

Tonight Again by Guy Sebastian 2014

Golden Boy by Nadav Guedj 2015

Goodbye To Yesterday by Elina Born & Stig Rästa 2015

Heroes by Måns Zelmerlöw 2015

Alter Ego by Minus One 2016

Occidentalis Karma by Francesco Gabbani 2017

Fuego by Eleni Foureira 2018

Bboom Bboom by Momoland 2018

Cool For The Summer by Demi Lovato 2015

Solo by Clean Bandit & Demi Lovato 2018

Busted by Electroboyz & C-Luv 2013

MaBoy 3 by Electroboyz & Nana 2013

Lo Malo by Aitana & Ana Guerra 2018

My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) by Fall Out Boy 2013)

Centuries by Fall Out Boy 2014

Immortals by Fall Out Boy 2014

Closer by Oh My Girl 2015

Control by Halsey 2015

Graveyard by Halsey 2016

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart by Backstreet Boys 2018

Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man 2017

Venus by Hello Venus 2012

Do You Want Some Tea by Hello Venus 2013

I’m Ill by Hello Venus 2015

Wiggle Wiggle by Hello Venus 2015

La La La by Naughty Boy & Sam Smith 2013

Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay & Beyonce 2015

Love Myself by Hailee Steinfeld 2015

Female Robbery by The Neighbourhood 2012

Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood 2013

Cry Baby by The Neighbourhood 2015

Daddy Issues by The Neighbourhood 2015

Go Crazy! by 2PM 2014

Playboy by EXO 2015

Monster by EXO 2016

One Woman Army by Porcelain Black 2014

Need You Now by Lady Antebellum 2010

Just A Kiss Goodnight by Lady Antebellum 2011

Little Apple by Chopstick Brothers 2014

Handclap by Fitz And The Tantrums 2016

Hann by (G)I-DLE 2018

Youngblood by 5 Seconds Of Summer 2018

Easier by 5 Seconds Of Summer 2019

Teeth by 5 Seconds Of Summer 2019

Pretty Woman by Hebe Tien 2015

Fiction by Highlight 2011

Good Luck by Highlight 2014

Impermeable by Ha*Ash 2011

Lo Aprendí De Ti by Ha*Ash 2014

Peligro by Reik 2011

Que Ganó Olvidándote by Reik 2016

Spanglish by Reik 2016

Ya Me Enteré by Reik 2016

Barbie De Extrarradio by Melendi 2010

Canción De Amor Caducada by Melendi 2010

Lágrimas Desordenadas by Melendi 2012

Cheque Al Portamor by Melendi 2012

Tocado y Hundido by Melendi 2014

Otro Lío De Melendi by Melendi 2014

La Casa No Es Igual by Melendi 2016

Sor María by Maná 2011

Mayday by Oran-G 2011

Mi Novia Se Me Está Poniendo Vieja by Ricardo Arjona 2011

Lo Poco Que Tengo by Ricardo Arjona 2014

La Niña Que Llora En Tus Fiestas by La Oreja de Van Gogh 2011

Cometas Por El Cielo by La Oreja de Van Gogh 2011

El Primer Día Del Resto De Mi Vida by La Oreja de Van Gogh 2013

Estoy Contigo by La Oreja de Van Gogh 2016

Diciembre by La Oreja de Van Gogh 2016

Verano by La Oreja de Van Gogh 2016

Camino De Tú Corazón by La Oreja de Van Gogh 2016

Intocables by La Oreja de Van Gogh 2016

No Vales Más Que Yo by La Oreja de Van Gogh 2016

Cuando Menos Lo Merezca by La Oreja de Van Gogh 2016

Mi Pequeño Gran Valiente by La Oreja de Van Gogh 2016

Siempre by La Oreja de Van Gogh 2016

Bang! by After School 2010

Love Love Love by After School 2010

Someone Is You by After School 2010

Let’s Step Up by After School 2011

Shampoo by After School 2011

Virgin by After School 2011

Play Ur Love by After School 2011

Dream by After School 2011

Are You Doing Ok? by After School 2011

Funky Man by After School 2011

Into The Night Sky by After School 2011

Hollywood by After School 2011

Wonderboy by After School 2011

Lady by After School 2011

Ready To Love by After School 2011

Love Letter by After School & Son Dambi & Minhyun & Baekho & Xiyeon 2011

Rambling Girls by After School 2012

Broken Heart by After School 2012

Just In Time by After School 2012

Gimme Love by After School 2012

Miss Futuristic by After School 2012

Tell Me by After School 2012

Rip Off by After School 2012

Flashback by After School 2012

Eyeline by After School 2012

Wristwatch by After School 2012

8 Hot Girl by After School 2013

First Love by After School 2013

Dressing Room by After School 2013

Time’s Up by After School 2013

Love Beat by After School 2013

Heaven by After School 2013

Crazy Driver by After School 2013

Shh by After School 2014

Rock It! by After School 2014

Week by After School 2014

Dress To Kill by After School 2014

Ms. Independent by After School 2014

Triangle by After School 2014

Yes No Yes by After School 2014

In The Moonlight by After School 2014

Spotlight by After School 2014

Lucky Girl by After School 2014

Shine by After School 2015

Magic Girl by Orange Caramel 2010

Aing~♥ by Orange Caramel 2010

One Love by Orange Caramel 2010

Bangkok City by Orange Caramel 2011

Shanghai Romance by Orange Caramel 2011

Close Your Eyes by Orange Caramel 2011

Funny Hunny by Orange Caramel 2011

Yashashii Akuma by Orange Caramel 2012

Bubble Bath by Orange Caramel 2012

Milkshake by Orange Caramel 2012

Lipstick by Orange Caramel 2012

Lamu No Love Song by Orange Caramel 2012

Dashing Through The Snow In High Heels by Orange Caramel & NU’EST 2012

Cookie, Cream & Mint by by Orange Caramel 2013

Tenshi No Wink by Orange Caramel 2013

Red Shoes by Orange Caramel 2013

Catallena by Orange Caramel 2014

So Sorry by Orange Caramel 2014

Cried Uncontrollably by Orange Caramel 2014

Abing Abing by Orange Caramel 2014

My Copycat by Orange Caramel 2014

The Gangnam Avenue by Orange Caramel 2014

Tonight by Orange Caramel 2014

Reminding Me by Shawn Hook & Vanessa Hudgens 2017

Lay With Me by The Phantoms & Vanessa Hudgens 2018

Y by MBLAQ 2010

One Better Day by MBLAQ 2010

Running & Running by MBLAQ 2010

Sad Memories by MBLAQ 2011

Stay by MBLAQ 2011

Cry by MBLAQ 2011

Wish You Hadn’t by MBLAQ 2011

Mona Lisa by MBLAQ 2011

I Don’t Know by MBLAQ 2011

Baby U! by MBLAQ 2011

Again by MBLAQ 2011

It’s War by MBLAQ 2012

Hello My Ex by MBLAQ 2012

Run by MBLAQ 2012

100% by MBLAQ 2012

Sexy Beat by MBLAQ 2013

Smoky Girl by MBLAQ 2013

R U OK? by MBLAQ 2013

Celebrate by MBLAQ 2013

Pretty Girl by MBLAQ 2013

Dress Up by MBLAQ 2013

No Love by MBLAQ 2013

Broken by MBLAQ 2014

Be A Man by MBLAQ 2014

Key by MBLAQ 2014

Because There Are Two by MBLAQ 2014

Mirror by MBLAQ 2015

Hey U by MBLAQ 2015

I Know U Want Me by MBLAQ 2015

Tea Party by Kerli 2010

Army Of Love by Kerli 2011

Zero Gravity by Kerli 2012

The Lucky Ones by Kerli 2012

Last Breath by Kerli 2012

Sugar by Kerli 2013

Savages by Kerli 2018

Legends by Kerli 2019

Oh! by Girl’s Generation 2010

Run Devil Run by Girl’s Generation 2010

Hoot by Girl’s Generation 2010

Mr. Taxi by Girl’s Generation 2011

Trick by Girl’s Generation 2011

Paparazzi by Girl’s Generation 2012

Flower Power by Girl’s Generation 2012

Animal by Girl’s Generation 2012

Mr. Mr. by Girl’s Generation 2014

Lucifer by SHINee 2010

Sherlock by SHINee 2011

Dazzling Girl by SHINee 2012

Dream Girl by SHINee 2013

View by SHINee 2015

Dark Star by Jaymes Young 2013

Two More Minutes by Jaymes Young 2013

Moondust by Jaymes Young 2013

Running On Fumes by Jaymes Young 2013

As Long As You Love Me by Jaymes Young 2013

Habits Of My Heart by Jaymes Young 2014

I’ll Be Good by Jaymes Young 2014

What Should I Do by Jaymes Young 2014

Sugar Burn by Jaymes Young 2017

Black Magic by Jaymes Young 2017

Infinity by Jaymes Young 2017

Paradox by Jaymes Young 2019

Bonamana by Super Junior 2010

Boom Boom by Super Junior 2010

My Only Girl by Super Junior 2010

Shake It Up! by Super Junior 2010

My All Is In You by Super Junior 2010

Good Person by Super Junior 2010

No Other by Super Junior 2010

Perfection by Super Junior M 2011

Off My Mind by Super Junior M 2011

Mr. Simple by Super Junior 2011

Opera by Super Junior 2011

Feels Good by Super Junior 2011

A-CHA by Super Junior 2011

Sexy, Free & Single by Super Junior 2012

From U by Super Junior 2012

Butterfly by Super Junior 2012

Break Down by Super Junior M 2013

I Wanna Dance by Super Junior D&E 2013

Mamacita by Super Junior 2014

Evanesce by Super Junior 2014

Shirt by Super Junior 2014

This Is Love by Super Junior 2014

Can You Feel It? by Super Junior D&E 2015

Devil by Super Junior 2015

Magic by Super Junior 2015

Black Suit by Super Junior 2017

Love Song by Rain 2010

Hip Song by Rain 2010

Same by Rain & C-Luv 2010

Busan Girl by Rain 2011

30 Sexy by Rain 2013

La Song by Rain 2013

Marilyn Monroe by Rain 2013

Baby by Rain 2013

Superman by Rain 2013

Face by NU’EST 2012

Action by NU’EST 2012

Not Over You by NU’EST 2012

Hello by NU’EST 2013

Beautiful Solo by NU’EST 2013

Sleep Talking by NU’EST 2013

Good Bye Bye by NU’EST 2014

I’m Bad by NU’EST 2015

Overcome by NU’EST 2016

My Heaven by NU’EST 2016

In Fact by NU’EST 2016

R.L.T.L (Real Love True Love) by NU’EST 2016

Love Paint by NU’EST 2016

Look (A Starlight Night) by NU’EST 2016

Just One Day by NU’EST W 2017

Where You At by NU’EST W 2017

Paradise by NU’EST W 2017

Good Love by NU’EST W 2017

With by NU’EST W 2017

I’ve Been Happy Till Now by NU’EST W 2017

Dejavu by NU’EST W 2018

Signal by NU’EST W 2018

Polaris by NU’EST W 2018

YlenoL by NU’EST W 2018

Gravity&Moon by NU’EST W 2018

Shadow by NU’EST W 2018

Bet Bet by NU’EST 2019

Bass by NU’EST 2019

Different by NU’EST 2019

Universe by NU’EST 2019

Shining Diamond by Seventeen 2015

Adore U by Seventeen 2015

Jam Jam by Seventeen 2015

20 by Seventeen 2015

Fronting by Seventeen 2015

Mansae by Seventeen 2015

OMG by Seventeen 2015

Rock by Seventeen 2015

Pretty U by Seventeen 2016

Nice by Seventeen 2016

Healing by Seventeen 2016

Simple by Seventeen 2016

Boom Boom by Seventeen 2016

Highlight by Seventeen 2016

My I by Seventeen 2017

Clap by Seventeen 2017

Sweet Dream by MFBTY 2013

The Cure by MFBTY 2013

Angel by MFBTY 2014

Buckubucku by MFBTY & EE & Dino-J & RM 2015

Bang Diggy Bang Bang by MFBTY 2015

Fly Like An Eagle by MFBTY 2015

Forever Love by Min Kyung Hoon 2019

My Everything by Han Seung Hee 2019

Take Out My Heart by Jung Dong Ha 2019

Empty by JYJ 2010

Be My Girl by JYJ 2010

Get Out by JYJ 2011

Mission by JYJ 2011

Only One by JYJ 2013

Back Seat by JYJ 2014

Letting Go by JYJ 2014

Baboboy by JYJ 2014

Valentine by JYJ 2014

One Kiss by Jaejoong 2013

Mine by Jaejoong 2013

Kiss B by Jaejoong 2013

Just Another Girl by Jaejoong 2013

Good Morning Night by Jaejoong 2016

Drawer by Jaejoong 2016

Love You More by Jaejoong 2016

Love You To Death by Jaejoong 2016

Welcome To My Wild World by Jaejoong 2016

All That Glitters by Jaejoong 2016

Tarantallegra by Xiah & Flowsik 2012

Incredible by Xiah & Quincy 2013

OeO by Xiah 2015

Stylo by Gorillaz & Mos Def & Bobby Womack 2010

On Melancholy by Hill Gorillaz 2010

To Binge by Gorillaz & Yukimi Nagano 2010

Detroit by Gorillaz 2010

Doncamatic by Gorillaz & Daley 2010

DoYaThing by Gorillaz & Andre 3000 & James Murphy2012

Ascension by Gorillaz & Vince Staples 2017

Strobelite by Gorillaz & Peven Everett 2017

Staturnz Barz by Gorillaz & Popcaan 2017

Moments by Gorillaz & De La Soul 2017

Submission by Gorillaz & Danny Brown & Kelela 2017

Charger by Gorillaz & Grace Jones 2017

Andromeda by Gorillaz & D.R.A.M 2017

Busted And Blue by Gorillaz 2017

Let Me Out by Gorillaz & Mavis Staples & Pusha T 2017

She’s My Collar by Gorillaz & Kali Uchis 2017

We Got The Power by Gorillaz & Jehnny Beth & Noel Gallagher 2017

The Apprentice by Gorillaz & Rag’n’Bone Man & Zebra Katz & Ray BLK 2017

Out Of Body by Gorillaz & Kilo Kish & Zebra Katz & Imani Vonshà 2017

Ticker Tape by Gorillaz & Carly Simon & Kali Uchis 2017

Time In A Tree by Raleigh Ritchie 2018

Inevitable by Dulce Maria 2010

Luna by Dulce Maria 2010

Dicen by Dulce Maria 2011

Antes Que Ver El Sol by Dulce Maria 2014

Te Quedarás by Dulce Maria & Frankie J 2014

Cementerio De Los Corazones Rotos by Dulce Maria 2014

O Lo Haces Tú O Lo Hago Yo by Dulce Maria 2014

Un Minuto Sin Dolor by Dulce Maria 2017

Rompecorazones by Dulce Maria 2017

No Sé Llorar by Dulce Maria 2017

Catch Me by TVXQ 2012

Humanoids by TVXQ 2012

Something by TVXQ 2014

The Chance Of Love by TVXQ 2018

Something by Girl’s Day 2014

Bubble Pop by Hyuna 2011

Make It Happen by Namie Amuro & After School 2011

Hands On Me by Namie Amuro 2013

Neonlight Lipstick by Namie Amuro 2013

We Don’t Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth & Selena Gomez 2016

Attention by Charlie Puth 2017

How Long by Charlie Puth 2017

Done For Me by Charlie Puth & Kehlani 2018

The Way I Am by Charlie Puth 2018

LA Girls by Charlie Puth 2018

Slow It Down by Charlie Puth 2018

Empty Cups by Charlie Puth 2018

I Warned Myself by Charlie Puth 2019

Mother by Charlie Puth 2019

Cheating On You by Charlie Puth 2019

Candy by Robbie Williams 2012

We Are Bulletproof Pt.2 by BTS 2013

No More Dream by BTS 2013

N.O by BTS 2013

If I Ruled The World by BTS 2013

Coffee by BTS 2013

Attack On Bangtan by BTS 2013

Boy In Luv by BTS 2014

Just One Day by BTS 2014

Tomorrow by BTS 2014

Spine Breaker by BTS 2014

Jump by BTS 2014

Miss Right by BTS 2014

Danger by BTS 2014

War Of Hormone by BTS 2014

Let Me Know by BTS 2014

Cypher Pt. 3: Killer by BTS 2014

Blanket Kick by BTS 2014

2nd Grade by BTS 2014

Look Here by BTS 2014

I Need U by BTS 2015

Dope by BTS 2015

Boyz With Fun by BTS 2015

Converse High by BTS 2015

Run by BTS 2015

Butterfly by BTS 2015

Whalien 52 by BTS 2015

Ma City by BTS 2015

Baepsae by BTS 2015

House Of Cards by BTS 2015

Fire by BTS 2016

Save Me by BTS 2016

Young Forever by BTS 2016

Boy Meets Evil by BTS 2016

Blood, Sweat & Tears by BTS 2016

Begin by BTS 2016

Reflection by BTS 2016

MAMA by BTS 2016

Lost by BTS 2016

Cypher 4 by BTS 2016

Am I Wrong by BTS 2016

21st Century Girl by BTS 2016

Wings by BTS 2016

Spring Day by BTS 2017

Not Today by BTS 2017

You Never Walk Alone by BTS 2017

Serendipity by BTS 2017

DNA by BTS 2017

Best Of Me by BTS & The Chainsmokers 2017

Dimples by BTS 2017

Pied Piper by BTS 2017

MIC Drop by BTS 2017

Go Go by BTS 2017

Fake Love by BTS 2018

134340 by BTS 2018

Paradise by BTS 2018

Love Maze by BTS 2018

Airplane Pt.2 by BTS 2018

Anpanman by BTS 2018

So What by BTS 2018

Idol by BTS 2018

Persona by BTS 2019

Boy With Luv by BTS & Halsey 2019

Mikrokosmos by BTS 2019

Make It Right by BTS 2019

Home by BTS 2019

Dionysus by BTS 2019

Do You by RM 2015

So Far Away by Suga & Suran 2016

Daydream by J-Hope 2018

Comeback Again by Infinite 2010

Waste It On Me by Steve Aoki & BTS 2018

Be Mine by Infinite 2011

Paradise by Infinite 2011

The Chaser by Infinite 2012

Safe And Sound by Capital Cities 2013

Wake Me Up by Avicii 2013

Sparks by Hilary Duff 2015

Aquí Voy by Jesse & Joy 2011

¿Con Quién Se Queda El Perro? by Jesse & Joy 2012

Decidiste Dejarme by Camila 2014

Saturno by Pablo Alboran 2017

Jenny Of Oldstones by Florence + The Machine 2019

¿No Podíamos Ser Agua? by Maldita Nerea 2011

En El Mundo Genial De Las Cosas Que Dices by Maldita Nerea 2011

Dear Future Husband by Meghan Trainor 2014

NO by Meghan Trainor 2016

12 notes · View notes

scraemes · 6 years ago

Text

( PARK JIMIN. AGENDER. ) Aleksander’s coven is intimately familiar with SUWON YI, a dedicated Death Dealer for the coven. HE is a 750 year old vampire known throughout the New World Coven for being DARING + GENEROUS. However, those who are familiar with them also know that they are very DECEITFUL - CANTANKEROUS. They’re known for being the CHAMELEON. Though they are technically disbanded, they are still dedicated to their cause.

a dumbass biography. tldr below.

first, he’s a fisherman in jeolla. it’s late goryeo, but the suwon of mud, huts, and nets doesn’t know this. the country’s in chaos with mongols and famine bearing on their necks and all he’s ever known is the emptiness of land and the bounty of a peaceful ocean. ( lies start simply here. yes, to the tax collector, they’ll collect more tomorrow. no, to his mother, you don’t need to worry. i love you, he says to a farmer’s daughter, i’ll love you forever. yes, to his sister, i’ll stay here. ) when generals ride through their coastal town, suwon’s one of the first to volunteer for the ranks. ( i want to protect my country, he says before making his mark. it’s not a total lie, though he’ll never admit it. ) he doesn’t know how to read letters on a page, but he knows how to swing a sword. fishing’s made his shoulders stronger than others and he’s quickly ushered up the ranks to a position of relative privilege. a general refines how he reads people and soon, suwon finds himself in the ranks of a golden company pushing the mongols back, back, back.

second, he’s a vampire. after years of fighting end in a tentative peace, suwon returns home and finds his home devastated. not mongols. a different breed of creature. suwon goes searching for whatever ripped the harbors and huts to shreds and finds a band of paler faces with fangs and brilliant blue eyes. one is his old general. his world’s expanded in a single night and suwon’s given a choice: join, or die. it’s the second easiest decision he’s ever made. he feels more powerful than ever before and he follows the troupe north to the lycan horde. he helps the slaughter. suwon journeys west and doesn’t look back. they’re an old coven, and he never feels home with them. he feels his best with a weapon in his hand fighting an enemy with a face, and soon he’s heading his own army and chasing lycans throughout the continent.

third, he’s a wanderer. suwon rested in a deep sleep for a few centuries and when he wakes, the world’s entirely different. his old coven’s a shadow of what it was, and there’s a flourishing industry in the west. suwon finds himself in england on the cusp of a new century and, lethargic, abandons his old post for something quieter. it isn’t that years and years of war have made him a pacifist ------ he’s just tired. he plays with the idea of starting his own family, gains a partner and a few fledglings, learns how to teach and care than kill and refuses the call of covens that ask for his help with lycans in the city. it never feels right. not fully. but there are moments he appreciates. theater and music, lights and laughter, card games and shopping. his world slows down and it’s lovely until it’s not. after decades, he finds himself standing in an empty house, alone, holding a carnaged body and wishing he could cry.

silver finds itself back in his hands. fourth, he’s a punk with a plan. a rebel with a cause. he likes living with the living, he finds, that constant burst of fresh air making him feel alive again and helping lead him to the tunnels where the lycans lay, and he follows unexplained deaths to every corner of europe and asia before stepping foot in the states just as the new world coven makes a truce. suwon doesn’t like it. not at all. no one’s ever knwn peace and he doesn’t understand why vampries and lycans think it’s possible. the new coven’s a weakness to be exploited, and so he finds himself here, in the city that never sleeps. a soldier with a death wish, maybe, wondering when a war’s finally going to steal his soul back to hell for good. or maybe he’s fighting to protect them all ------ he’s seen the devastation beasts have, tasted the pain himself over and over. suwon doesn’t trust them. and he won’t rest until they’re gone.

tldr ; fought the mongols, old school soldier. joined a coven out of spite and revenge and was an elite death squad member. hardcore grudge against lycans. slept for a few centuries, woke up in the 19th. tries and fails at a family before totally rides the vibe of the times and hangs out with the young’ins. becomes a death dealer in the old coven. travels all over the world and came to the states to be on the front-lines for when this peace business goes south. which it will. obviously.

a few dumbass statistics.

western zodiac sign : aquarius. element : air. sexuality : pansexual. personality type : entj - a. “the commander.” alignment : lawful neutral. height : 5′7. body type : athletic. hair color : dark grey. eye color : brown / bright blue ( after feeding idk i can’t remember how it works in the underworld verse ). skin tone : golden.

a dumbass playlist.

prblms - 6lack. if we were made of water - banks. russian soul - skott. badbye - rm, eAeon. ghost - halsey. hold on, we’re going home - lykke li. angel - massive attack. energy - avelino, stormzy, skepta. m.a.a.d city - kendrick lamar. sicko mode - travis scott, drake. money - cardi b. blood in the cut - k. flay. lonely soul - unkle, richard ashcroft. hollow moon - awolnation. paint it, black - ciara. desire - meg myers. closer - nine inch nails.

some dumbass aesthetics.

gucci loafers. catnaps. a low chuckle against your neck. silk on skin. mouth full of white lies. open collars. heavy sunglasses and sparkling ears. rumble of the metro in the dark. burning neon bulbs. sly grins. humid summer nights. dangling cross earrings. a fresh manicure and flashing rings. loaded silver bullets. old war stories. smooth skin in candlelight. blood-stained lips. miniature tattoos. homesickness. ancient grudges.

dumbass headcanons.

hair color changes all the time. still has battle scars from his time in the goryeo militia. pierced ears -- need i say more. obsessed with the lost boys and has very strong feelings about the ultimate trio that could’ve been david, michael, and star. flat-out tells people he’s a vampire because he’s too old to be fucking with anonymity. knows four languages fluently, but can curse in twenty. can barely read in any language. fuck walking, he’s always taking the public transport. hasn’t paid for a drink in a hundred years. the last book he read was fifty shades of grey. before that, it was animal farm back in 1947. gucci shades, valentino sneakers. has a rug made of lycan fur he only brings out to piss people off. dated michaelangelo before he was famous. does one good deed a month, like run for charity or donate yeezys to goodwill. raised buddhist and still kind of affiliated.

some not dumb connections.

sired vampires. a sire. former fledglings. fellow soldiers. trained death dealers. unfortunate run-ins. lycans related ( familial, platonically, or romantically ) to ones he’s killed. allies who are also openly anti-peace. suspicions who are openly pro-peace. a lycan he let free before the peace, for reason tbd. old friends. former lovers. a death dealer he goes on patrols ( ? ) with. neighbor who’s room is next to his at the coven’s headquarters. a new vamp who’s bringing him to the 21st century. a vamp he’s bringing to the late 20th century. a lycan who’s really testing his patience. a lycan who’s really going to make him question what he thinks of the world. gaming partners at the local arcade. competitors. someone who annoys the shit out of him. a bad influence. a good influence. a distant relative.

note : suwon is freshly arrived in new york city, but has been on the continent for about a year.

#underworldshqintro #i'll keep editing this i'm sure #but ey !#i'm rel #here's su

11 notes · View notes

greenbravery · 7 years ago

Text

plots i want;

pen pals - they meet online in a forum about a certain fatal illness their parent/guardian has and exchange addresses to send things back and forth to brighten their day. the worst happens with both pals at different times and they are there for each other throughout it all. this would just consist of letters back and forth until they finally meet. birthday girl - based on birthday girl by stormzy. camille goes out to a classy club/bar with her girls on her birthday they have a booth to themselves but she isn't feeling it. a guy sees her and sends a few bottles her way, after wrangling a name out of the waiter that brought the bottles and a point into the direction of where said gentleman is she goes over to his booth and asks for a dance as a thank you for making her day. church - given camille's family background i'd love to play her as the rebellious preachers daughter who corrupts pretty boys behind the pulpit during mass, or in the confession booth, or in the pews, or even better-- putting the baptismal pool too better use. [ every day would be sinday, ha! ] galway girl - based on galway girl by ed sheeran. on a visit to ireland a guy meets adventurous irish camille who is spontaneous and completely shakes his world. she’s crazy and quirky and unpredictable. and he is more than amused- oh hey! and she has an accent.

#▾ ⌁ ѕтσρ ωєαяιиg уσυя ωιѕнвσиє ωнєяє уσυя вα¢квσиє συgнттα вє » ᴡɪsʜʟɪsᴛ «#. ' { dm me if you're interested } ' .

2 notes · View notes

sorrellab · 4 years ago

Text

𝙴𝚟𝚊𝚕𝚞𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

My initial thoughts when starting this project were to research designed album covers to gather inspiration and thoughts on what my final album cover could look like. I looked at online images using a combination of Pinterest, Tumblr and Google images taking inspiration from graphical design and fine art ones. When looking through these designs I chose my favourites and added them to a mood board that I could refer back to at a later date as I progressed further through this course. I feel the selection of album covers I have shown different styles and techniques used to create them for example the fine art styles of Billie Ellish and Lorde covers compared against the type design of Ariana Grande and Doja Cat. Once happy with my research and mood board design I continued to do further research into Artists that have designed album covers of their own.

My first artist Kate Gibb has designed album artwork for various artists but has a longstanding relationship with The Chemical Brothers, her designs are very colourful, and I love the composition of the designs. My second artist Matt Maitland worked with artists such as Michael Jackson and Galantis, his designs very fantasy/space inspired using layering and collage is very eye catching and inspiring. Third artist is Roy Lichtenstein using an iconic pop art style of design which is very recognisable, I love his cover for The Fratellis it suits the genre and the band as a whole. Fourth artist is Jimmy Turrel a famous graphic artist and video director. His style of work using a combination collage, screen print and sketching. The bold bright colours really stand out and the tears in the paper from the layering of materials and often repurposes found images and graphics from different eras.

My fifth and final artist I chose to research is Banksy. I chose to look into Banksy because, I like his overall style in his prints and his message in the current climate. He uses his platform to send messages and promote certain subjects his most recent design being in support of the NHS. His use on stencils and spray paint create a eye catching combination, I like his technique used to create the album cover for Blur and his design worn by Stormzy to wear at Glastonbury.

After researching my five artists I decided to uncover more information about The Recycled Orchestra of Cateura a Paraguayan musical group, which my final outcome from this project is intended for. I looked onto their website to learn that the group use instruments entirely made out of garbage and that Cateura is built on top of a landfill site. Favio Chavez the groups creator began using the rubbish to create instruments for the children in the nearby neighbourhoods. I found this very inspiring and due to the current climate with Global Warming I think it’s a great idea not only to recycle but, doing it in such a creative way. Looking into the band this way I can get a feel of the kind of print I’d like to create that would suit the targeted audience and The Recycled Orchestra as a whole.

Reviewing all my gathered research for this project I was confident enough to start working on some experimental designs and tasks set by my tutor. The first task to create collage design ideas in reference to Jimmy Turrel and his work. Selecting my favourite Stevie Nicks I gathered images from Pinterest to digitality manipulate then print to add to a collage design. Using materials from my home such as train tickets, receipts, newspapers etc I collected and ripped them to create raw edges. I created 3 A3 style pieces using various images and materials combined, my favourite design is the second collage I made just due to the overall composition and images used. I was more confident heading into collaging this piece due to my first design being more trial and error but overall, I liked how the 3 designs turned out. Although using the same techniques as Jimmy Turrel wasn’t enough and I didn’t feel like my designs referenced his enough which is why I did some further development and digitally edited images using Photoshop Camera, my favourite collage to intensify colours and to create similar compositions. Following on from the collage I created some type designs inspired by Jimmy Turrel using the same effect I did on the collage piece.

Looking at logos and type design I researched an artist called Alan Kitching who is one old the world’s most foremost practitioners of letterpress and typographic design and printmaking. I like how bold his designs are and the use of capital lettering in most of his designs, I also like how the type is printed and the background is white. It creates a crisp letter shape which is also eye-catching. I designed three different type design using stamps, ripped paper and washy tape and red acrylic paint which is my favourite print. I spent the most time on my last design and how it references Alan Kitching really well although my design is inverted with the background having colour and my text being white.

My third artist experimentation were logo designs inspired by my chosen artist Banksy. Initially I wanted to reference this artist by using real spray paints and stencil designs then upload what I’d created and then edit further digitally like I have done in previous experiments. Although I would have loved to have done this, the cost and also the space I currently have at home wouldn’t have allowed it. So instead, I used the initial digital logo I designed with spray paint lettering and an application called Painter to add more spray paint and watercolour effect brushes to create my desired effect and I’m happy with the outcome I created. If I had longer on this project, I would’ve love to use spray paint and stencils in real life.

My final experimentation task was to research and reference the artist Andy Welland. A visual artist using bright colours and experimental compositions. To reference his work, I used an app called Adobe Draw to create 3 separate designs. This was definitely my favourite experimentation task I had a lot of fun using this app and the use of colours and a sporadic composition. My favourite design is my second once I created, I feel this because, I became more confident using the app making use of layers, in app shapes and colour themes. If I were to create another design, I’d definitely incorporate image layers to add texture and depth. I enjoyed using the app so much I further developed my Alan Kitching research creating digital designs referencing him.

Looking into different artist styles benefited me within this project as applied some of these experimentations and references into my final outcome the Album Cover. Before creating final, my design dabbled with Canva creating 2 initial designs using my imagery taken at The Kelvingrove Bandstand. My tutor set us a task to gather images throughout the project initially I took photos of items you see every day to reference ‘The beauty in the Mundane’. These initial photos were taken on my daily walks and commutes. Whereas with the Kelvingrove Bandstand I felt related almost too well with the next task referencing words set by my tutor which were chorus, orchestra, piano, music, note, conductor, concert, jazz and loud. Although I took these words to literally, I like how my images turned out with the composition, depth of field and viewpoints from where they were taken.

Having my images, experimentations and experience with Canva I felt confident enough to create my final outcome my Album Cover. Already using my first hand images in 4 initial design already with my final cover, I wanted to create something different but, still use elements from these designs I liked with my final outcome. I liked my images facing the bandstand and of the seating area but, didn’t want to incorporate them as images having done this prior. I decided to print the image and draw over details using fine liner pen then uploaded it into Photoshop Camera to apply the yellow artist effect. Using letter frames on Canva to reference Alan Kitching I added the image to each individual letter to create the type for The Recycled Orchestra. I then added different paper elements and ripped effects to elevate the recycled/rubbish aspect to keep in reference to my intended audience.

Overall, I like both my front and back covers for my album covers. Throughout this project I’ve become more confident in both my analogue and digital designing. My chosen artist was Banksy but, I felt when using his using logo style which my imagery they weren’t very complimentary of each other whereas the type design referencing Alan Kitching I much preferred. I’m glad I looked at my different options and experimentations first as my initial album designs look very different to my final outcome. The overall composition to the design I’m very happy with I feel a little more shadowing around the title would help it stand out more but other than that the colours and different textures applied make all together an eye catching design.

#BM_HNDCPM1

0 notes

deadcactuswalking · 5 years ago

Text

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 27th October 2019

Top 10

For the fourth consecutive week, “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I reigns at the top of the UK Top 40, which is still impressive to me as I see little appeal in the song but it is starting to grow on me a bit. I could see myself finding this pretty damn good in the foreseeable future, but for now I don’t really have a strong opinion on it, and my opinion could sway either way by the end of the year.

Yeah, this is a pretty slow week, as you can tell by our top 10, at least the top half. “Ride It” by Regard featuring Jay Sean is a non-mover at the runner-up spot.

“Circles” by Post Malone has a new peak at number-three, up one space from last week.

Up three spaces this week into the top five at number-four is potential future #1, “South of the Border” by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B. I hope this doesn’t hit #1 but I feel like it’s inevitable.

“HIGHEST IN THE ROOM” by Travis Scott is surprisingly stable at number-five.

Lewis Capaldi’s “Bruises” has a single push up three spaces to number-six.

“Outnumbered” by Dermot Kennedy has an unexpected one-space fall down to number-seven, probably thanks to the rise of “Bruises” and “South of the Border”.

I guess our first interesting song of note here is “Buss Down” by Aitch featuring ZieZie, as the song enters the top 10 after a three-space boost to number-eight. It becomes Aitch’s fourth UK Top 10 hit and ZieZie’s first ever. Congratulations, even if I’m not a fan of the song.

“Be Honest” by Jorja Smith featuring Burna Boy is down a space to number-nine.

Oh, and a shocking nine-space increase for “Memories” by Maroon 5 leads it to #10, which astonished me. Regardless, it’s Adam Levine’s eleventh UK Top 10 success with the support of his “band”, and I can’t really complain. The song’s inoffensive.

Climbers

There isn’t much here to care about, in fact there’s barely anything notable here. MEDUZA, Goodboys and Becky Hill are up 18 spaces off of the debut with “Lose Control” at #15, which was unexpected, but when the chart is weak and stagnant it’s not really a surprise that uninteresting songs will have success: see “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi hitting #1 in the US. Elsewhere on the chart, “Playing Games” by Summer Walker with an extended version featuring Bryson Tiller is up six positions to #24 out of nowhere, and “Graveyard” by Halsey is up seven spaces to #29 for whatever reason and I’m not exactly ecstatic about that, the song’s pathetic.

Fallers

Our climbers seem pitiful so there must be a lot of fallers, right? Well, no, it seems relatively quiet here too, although arguably our biggest news here comes from the collapse of Harry Styles’ lead single “Lights Up”, which I found to be very disappointing and increasingly dull, down eight spaces off of the #3 debut to #11, which is pretty concerning for Harry’s new album roll-out. Also within the top 20 is “Take Me Back to London” by Ed Sheeran featuring Stormzy and remixed by Sir Spyro featuring Aitch and Jaykae, slowly making its way out, down five spaces to #19 this week. Speaking of smash hits exiting, “Senorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello is down seven spots to #34 as well, and off of the debut, “47” by Sidhu Moose Wala, MIST, Steel Banglez and Stefflon Don, has taken a massive plunge down 21 spaces to #38. Other than that, there’s nothing to discuss here.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

There are some notable drop-outs here, most importantly “RAN$OM” by Lil Tecca finally exiting from #40, although I feel this might return to the top 40 sometime soon. These are pretty premature dropouts I’d like to say, although I may be underestimating the song’s longevity on the chart as these weeks do start to blend together. “How Do You Sleep?” by Sam Smith is out from #39, and thanks to streaming cuts and dumb UK chart rules, “Both” by Headie One is out from #13, but that’s all as there are no returning entries.

NEW ARRIVALS

#40 – “The Last Time” – The Script

Produced by Danny O’Donaghue, Jimbo Barry, Mark Sheehan and Samuel Tsang – Peaked at #1 in Scotland

The Script are a boyband turned semi-serious pop rock band, and I have no interest in them, but they’re always just... there, but I guess that also means that I have no complains towards them either. Using that flawed logic, I should be very excited for this new lead single and their eleventh UK Top 40 hit, but hence as the ancient scriptures foretold, I don’t care at all about this new single and there’s not much quality here to care about in the first place. This has actually been out for a while, and I understand how long it took to catch on as it’s not very unique, with some nondescript guitar behind Danny O’Donaghue’s pretty decent voice but not a particularly impressive showcase of their talents, especially since all of this instrumental sounds like a reverb-drowned FL Studio project file, yet the drums feel intrusive more often than not and the sequencing is off around the chorus, even if the section where the drums come in is kind of cool and reminiscent of the arena rock feel they really wanted to go for... but then O’Donaghue goes for a butchered triplet flow in the bridge... and, yeah, this isn’t good, but I don’t think it’s all that bad at least, it’s just I’m finding it difficult to write the description here, since there’s nothing out of the ordinary here for typical 2010s pop-rock. It sure is listenable, and I guess that’s better than it could be.

#33 – “This is Real” – Jax Jones featuring Ella Henderson

Produced by Jax Jones, Mark Ralph and Tommy Forest

Alright, this is pretty routine for us at this point. Jax Jones has a new single, it’s his eleventh to hit the UK Top 40, and it features a performance from Ella Henderson, who I personally haven’t heard of since “Ghost”, which is a pretty awesome song... but I’m still not excited for Henderson nabbing her sixth UK Top 40 hit, as I know she’ll make sure her performance is as generic as possible for another house-pop song. I’m actually pleasantly surprised here, since she didn’t, really. In fact, despite her vocals being heavily-processed, she does remind me of a 90s house diva, and I’m half-expecting her to belt “You’ve got to show me love” in the chorus, the beat on the other hand is nothing really special but the keys here are pretty nice and do a good job at elevating the beat with its cheap snare crashes to something that sounds pretty uplifting. The chorus and drop here are really joyful, actually, it sounds pretty fun and... that’s all I have to say. The post-chorus is a tad annoying though, but this isn’t bad at all and I’m glad Ella Henderson is back at least.

#30 – “hot girl bummer” – blackbear

produced by blackbear and fmid

this song is already at a higher peak in the uk than “hot girl summer” by megan thee stallion, nicki minaj and ty dolla $ign. disgraceful.

oh yeah, i’ve ditched the capital letters this time. blackbear doesn’t need to put in effort, so i don’t think i need to. this song is a pathetic attempt from a talentless hack and nobody to capitalise on a genuine movement. but who cares about the politics and morality of the song’s existence purely to parody the #hotgirlsummer hashtag? let’s talk about the music. okay, it’s garbage. it’s a hot mess. blackbear appropriates the movement for a bitter kiss-off anthem, which he commands you to “throw a tantrum” to, even if this is far from danceable, in fact it’s a really mopey and slow song that somehow exceeds three minutes, which is impressive for blackbear, i guess. last time i talked about him was when “do re mi” featuring gucci mane was somehow a hit in 2017, and surprise, surprise, it’s equally terrible, but it at least has a memorable hook. here i’m left with very little to like. blackbear’s vocal performance, whilst heavily auto-tuned, is longing and desperate, making his posturing sound really sad, especially with the fake finger-snaps, vague “atmospheric” trap beat with a simple, lazy 808. throughout the song, blackbear just demeans this woman for three straight minutes, it’s really cruel but his emotionless triplet flow over this childish bells and synths as well as an out of place choir sample, makes there no excuse. Even with songs i don’t like that tackle this topic and vibe, like “i fall apart” by post malone, he doesn’t take the time about how he has drip or how you can’t “fit him in a trojan”. he has an actual bridge that doesn’t feel awkward going into that final chorus. he sounds, you know, awake, and has a lot of passion in his voice that makes his equally bitter and cruel lyrics sound meaningful, when they’re really not, but it at least adds substance and perhaps even context to the narrative. whilst on “hot girl bummer”...

got an emo chick that’s broken

..what. yeah, skip this song – it’s a pretty dreadful attempt at capitalising on a trend by promoting awful, worthless trap-rap, yet somehow it charted in the top 40, his first song to do so in the uk. again, disgraceful.

Edit: listening again that choir sample is even more egregious. like really what was the point of that?

Conclusion

I guess “This is Real” is somewhat decent in comparison to pop-rock fluff and... whatever that last song is, so Jax Jones and Ella Henderson get Best of the Week here, while blackbear definitely gets Worst of the Week for “hot girl bummer”, which just makes me sick every time I hear it. Follow me on Twitter @cactusinthebank for more musical ramblings and I’ll see you next week!

0 notes

movietvtechgeeks · 8 years ago

Photo

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/chance-rapper-gets-honored-bet-awards-plus-winners/

Chance the Rapper gets honored at BET awards plus winners

Like many awards shows, the 2017 BET Awards had its technical issues and was very long, but Chance the Rapper enjoyed the evening, taking home not only the best new artist award (beating out 21 Savage, Cardi B, Khalid and Young M.A.) but also the Humanitarian Award. "I just love everything about him," BET Networks' president Debra Lee said prior to presenting Chance with the award, making him the youngest recipient yet. Before Chano came onstage, a video played detailing his efforts in Chicago to better education and funding in the public schools and his nonprofit Social Works. A special message from Michelle Obama then played after, in which she told the audience she and Barack have known Chance since he was "a wee little baby rapper." The show's performances and special moments made up for having to stay up late on a Sunday. CHANCE'S GOOD WORK At the tender age of 24, Chance the Rapper was honored as a humanitarian during the BET Awards on Sunday for his work in his hometown of Chicago, with accolades from the Obamas to Kendrick Lamar. Former First Lady Michelle Obama delivered a taped message for the rapper, saying he was an "outstanding role model" she and her husband, former President Barack Obama, had known since he was a "wee little baby rapper." Lamar gave him a shout-out later on as well, saying Chance was just getting started. Chance acknowledged that the honor felt early in his young career. But he said, "My God doesn't make mistakes. And I like to think he puts this immense pressure on me to see how I react. " His wide-ranging speech, which he said was off the cuff, called out several institutions, including the federal government, the Chicago public school system and the judicial system. But he ended by saying he wanted simply to be a better father and person. "I am a good man, and I will be a better man," he said. MARS' LATE RECOGNITION Bruno Mars had a big night with his first-ever BET Award for best male R&B/pop artist, which seems a little late in coming for a star whose been putting out multiplatinum albums and hit singles for years. The singer though was grateful to the network for giving him his first-ever award, a Soul Train honor for the collaboration he did with B.o.B "Nothin' On You." "Ever since then, BET has shown me nothing but love and support of my career throughout the years," Mars said in his acceptance speech. Mars, who was nominated for four awards that night, kicked off the show with an energetic and fun performance of his song "Perm," with his band the Hooligans, all performing and singing in perfect synchronization. THE FEUD CONTINUES Remy Ma ended Nicki Minaj's seven-year winning streak for best female hip hop artist at the BET Awards and further extended a rivalry that has been going on for years. Ma took home the award at the end of the four-hour award show in one of the night's most anticipated award announcements. Ma, who served six years in jail for a shooting, thanked God and named two correctional facilities in her speech and told others that they can come back. "It's hard, but you can do it," Ma said. "You can make mistakes and come back." In March, Ma released the diss track "Shether," which was hostile toward Minaj and earned praised from critics and rap fans. Minaj never officially responded to the song, and she wasn't at the BET Awards on Sunday. Ma ended by quoting from one of her songs with Fat Joe and walked away with the award high in her hands. '90s NOSTALGIA PARTY The BET Awards paid tribute to two '90s era groups with extended performances of soulful, harmony-laced R&B. The all-female quartet Xscape, featuring LaTocha and Tamika Scott, Kandi Burruss and Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, reunited at the award show with a medley of their hits including "Just Kickin' It," ''Understanding" and "Who Can I Run To?" A lifetime achievement tribute to New Edition came in a three-part performance with help from the actors from the BET biopic about the band. It started with the child actors singing "Candy Girl," later followed by the older actors for some of the band's hits apart from the group, including BBD's "Poison" and Ralph Tresvant's "Sensitivity." Finally, the real group, clad all in white suits, hit the stage to sing together again with the finale for all the singers and actors together on "If It Isn't Love." THE SISTER ACT Beyonce was the leading nominee of the night with seven, but she was not in attendance. She reportedly had her twins earlier this month, but she hasn't publicly commented on it. Still, Beyonce had words to share when she won the viewers' choice award through a young duo, Chloe x Halle, that the pop star asked to pick up her award. "This has been a journey of love, of celebrating our culture, honoring the past, and approaching the present and future with hope and resolve," Beyonce said in the letter. Her younger sister, Solange, also picked up the Centric award and celebrated her birthday after turning 31 on Saturday. "My armpits are sweating so much right now," Solange said. POLICE VIOLENCE Some of the artists reflected on police violence against blacks during the awards show, which came just days after a police officer in Minnesota was acquitted in the shooting death of Philando Castile. Solange had a moment of silence for "the lives of our brothers and sisters that we have lost due to brutality and violence," during a presentation to honor activist Tamika Mallory. "Black-ish" actress Yara Shahidi, who won the young stars award, noted in her acceptance speech that the night was also the birthday of Tamir Rice, who was 12 when he was shot in Cleveland in 2014. "So in the midst of this celebration, I'd love to honor his life," Shahidi said. Actors from the upcoming film "Detroit" also listed names of black men and women killed by police and others, including Castile.

2017 BET Awards Full List of Winners:

- Video of the year: Bruno Mars, "24K Magic"; Beyonce, "Sorry" - Best male R&B/pop artist: Bruno Mars - Best female R&B/pop Artist: Beyonce - Best male hip hop artist: Kendrick Lamar - Best female hip hop artist: Remy Ma - Best new artist: Chance the Rapper - Album of the year: Beyonce, "Lemonade" - Best group: Migos - Best gospel/inspirational award: Lecrae - Best collaboration: Chance the Rapper featuring Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz, "No Problem"; Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert, "Bad and Boujee" - YoungStars award: Yara Shahidi - Viewers' choice award: Beyonce, "Sorry" - Centric award: Solange, "Cranes In the Sky" - Video director of the year: Beyonce and Kahlil Joseph, "Sorry" - Best actor: Mahershala Ali - Best actress: Taraji P. Henson - Best movie: "Hidden Figures" - Sportswoman of the year: Serena Williams - Sportsman of the year: Stephen Curry - Humanitarian award: Chance the Rapper - Lifetime achievement award: New Edition - Best international act, Europe: Stormzy, England - Best international act, Africa: Wizkid, Nigeria

Movie TV Tech Geeks News

#BET #Chance the Rapper #Featured #Michelle Obama

1 note · View note

supremewave-music-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Does the Grammys have a race problem?

Following on from the 59th annual Grammy awards, many people took to the internet in rage about Adele’s 25 album beating Beyoncé’s Lemonade to the Album of the Year award. Adele, who was already having an emotional night, was overwhelmed and unaccepting of the decision.

“I can’t possibly accept this award,” Adele said. “I'm very humbled and very grateful and gracious, but my artist of my life is Beyoncé.”

Adele also spoke about the huge cultural impact the Lemonade album has had, and also the cultural impact it has had on her personally, saying "The way you make my black friends feel is empowering, and you make them stand up for themselves,".

Many people believe there is a race problem among Grammy voters; a black artist hasn’t won Album of the Year since 2008 when Herbie Hancock won with River: The Joni Letters.

Speaking to Pitchfork, the president of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow, said he doesn't “think there’s a race problem at all”.

“Remember, this is a peer-voted award,” he told the publication. “So when we say the Grammys, it’s not a corporate entity - it’s the 14,000 members of the Academy.”

He then continues after stating that the outcome of the award is due to the thousands of people who vote, “We don’t, as musicians, in my humble opinion, listen to music based on gender or race or ethnicity. When you go to vote on a piece of music - at least the way that I approach it - is you almost put a blindfold on and you listen.

“It’s a matter of what you react to and what in your mind as a professional really rises to the highest level of excellence in any given year. And that is going to be very subjective. That’s what we ask our members to do, even in the ballots.

“Now here’s the other interesting part of the process, and we stand 100 percent behind the process: It’s a democratic vote by majority. So somebody could either receive or not receive a Grammy based on one vote. It could be that tight.”

Stormzy, a British Grime artist, has previously spoken his thoughts on the lack of diversity at the Brit Awards, suggesting this may be an industry wide issue. He said this to BBC Radio One

“It was such a great year for grime and underground music. I thought maybe this year it might get celebrated. You know when you've got that little bit of hope and that little bit of faith, and then they didn't. I thought it was such a shame. It's just a matter of breaking the doors down and carrying on."

Going back to this year’s Grammys, Solange Knowles has joined the debate, which is being discussed by both black and white artists, calling on those angered by the result to: “Create your own committees, build your own institutions, give your friends awards, award yourself, and be the gold you wanna hold, my Gs.” Solange, who is Beyoncé’s sister, won the best R&B performance award at the Grammys for Cranes in the Sky.

We believe Solange Knowles has a strong point and feel it would be fitting to end this article with the following quote:

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Do you think the Grammy has an issue with diversity? We would love to hear your thoughts!

SupremeWave

#Grammys #grammys so white #diversity #Adele #beyonce

1 note · View note

talhaghafoor2019-blog · 6 years ago

Text

One Year Since Chester Bennington’s Death And Linkin Park’s Music Helps Us Deal With The Loss

Chester Bennington died one year ago today, July 20, 2017, found at his home in Palos Verdes Estates, California after taking his own life.

The music industry and beyond switched its default setting to mourn once again, as tributes for the 41-year-old dad of six flooded social media.

We all knew the music of Linkin Park – the band Chester fronted for years – resonated with an army of disenfranchised outsiders, but the outpouring of grief was overwhelming in scale.

Getty

From the moment Hybrid Theory exploded onto our Walkmans with the opening bars of Papercut, we were hooked.

Each song is a three-minute ball of nu metal energy; a heady cocktail of hip-hop, modern rock, and atmospheric electronica, punctuated with instrumental experimentation, which was like sweet musical nectar to our adolescent ears.

The six-piece painted pictures of dark places which piqued some listeners’ curiosity to the depth of the human condition, and simply reminded others of their own struggles.

Hearing Chester brazenly scream ‘shut up’ at the world in One Step Closer felt euphoric to hoards of youths like us, who felt they hadn’t quite found their own voice yet.

The debut album quickly garnered mainstream success in a way never before achieved by an alternative metal mash-up.

Hybrid Theory was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2005, making it the best-selling debut album of the decade, as well as one of the few albums ever to hit that many sales.

But with great songwriting comes great pressure, as UNILAD Sound discovered:

Linkin Park took their responsibility to fans seriously, and created music marked by a perpetual sense of honesty. Honesty about struggling and, as they put it, dancing with demons.

Chester had been sexually abused as a child, went through the strain of his parents’ divorce at just 11, was bullied at school and eventually turned to drug and alcohol abuse.

To overcome addiction and emotional trauma, he started writing poetry and music.

You can find out how others cope with their own cases of child sex abuse below:

One year after his suicide, it’s natural to read into the award-winning song lyrics written by Bennington and his bandmate Mike Shinoda.

Dr Arthur Cassidy told UNILAD this type of ‘parasocial interaction’ between rockstars and their armies of supporters occurs when ‘fans know lots about their pop singers and rappers but the celebs know nothing about their fans’.

This idolisation can create a lot of unrealistic expectations and put pressure on public figures who are – let’s remember – humans with vulnerabilities and mental health stressors themselves.

Listening to Chester, immortalised in his music, can’t bring back the frontman.

But, today, let’s stick on Hybrid Theory or Meteora and appreciate how he can still help fans deal with their own grief, sadness and struggle.

Chester’s earlier piercing vocals – the perfect foil to Shinoda’s low-key licks – are spiked with anger and frustration, but singing along to the epic choruses brings catharsis, whether you can hit the high notes or not.

Sometimes, Chester’s words are ragged with emotion, screamed through gritted teeth. Often, in the bridge, his melodic vocal captures a quiet pain, selflessly showing his own vulnerability to help others put words and metaphor and tunes to their own.

Getty

Over time – and six further album releases – Linkin Park’s raw anger matured and became more nuanced, as did their ability to layer sounds and create walls of sound, both on stage and in the studio.

The final album almost reads like an acceptance letter, an ode to the trials and tribulations of life, which can make you that little bit stronger when you have a support network.

Now, the Linkin Park back catalogue helps us grieve one year later and carry forward the messages of unity and inclusivity Chester championed throughout his life.

Chester began his musical career with Grey Daze, a post-grunge band from Phoenix, Arizona, who recorded three albums; Demo in 1993, Wake/Me in 1994, and …no sun today in 1997.

Then he joined LP – founded in rural LA by Shinoda, Rob Bourdon, and Brad Delson – where he worked hard beyond their musical output to support fans and his show business peers.

Their rap metal style welcomed more diverse collaborations, ushering in Projeckt Revolution and the likes of Cypress Hill, Adema, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and later Busta Rhymes, Pusha T and Steve Aoki, to bring members of different musical tribes together on tracks.

Jay Z has famously paid tribute to Chester a number of times since his death, performing the Grammy-winning Numb/Encore from their collaborative 2004 album, Collision Course, on stage to emotional crowds.

All the while, Linkin Park were accepted by the rock’n roll’elite, winning countless awards during their run and playing on the same stages as the likes of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Placebo and Deftones.

Meanwhile, the band founded a charity called Music For Relief, which staged fundraising events for the victims of over 20 natural disasters, and still works hard to help those hard up today.

We are deeply grateful to every person who donated in any amount to @MusicForRelief's One More Light Fund in honor of @ChesterB 's birthday. Together, you raised more than $90,000 to shine a light on mental health. Thank you for making this possible!

— Music for Relief (@MusicForRelief) April 9, 2018

In 2013, Chester fronted Stone Temple Pilots – a band he cites as an early musical influence – for two years before leaving to focus solely on Linkin Park.

Their last album, released in May a few months before Chester’s death, was received badly by the old vanguard of Linkin Park fans, some of whom unjustifiably said the band had ‘gone soft’.

While tracks like Talking To Myself and Battle Symphony have a more mainstream electro vibe, in hindsight, the new sound marked a moment of acceptance for Linkin Park by the pop culture jury.

Yet, they weren’t forced to change to achieve global success and recognition.

They grew and used their own progression and creative talent to break through barriers, and break the mould of what music critics think matters.

Collaborations with Stormzy, Pusha T and Kiiara show the band were moving forward towards the future of alternative metal, its chameleon-like changeability, and how young artists could take up the baton.

A post shared by LINKIN PARK (@linkinpark) on Jul 20, 2017 at 3:49pm PDT

Shinoda, who has since confirmed LP will continue, said of the title track:

was written with the intention of sending love to those who lost someone. We now find ourselves on the receiving end.

In memorial events, art, videos, and images, fans all over the world have gravitated towards this song as their declaration of love and support for the band and the memory of our dear friend, Chester.

We are so very grateful and can’t wait to see you again.

Chester is remembered in his latest solo project, Post Traumatic, as well as through the , set up by Music For Relief, which aims to shine a light on mental health matters.

Chester’s wife, Talinda Bennington, also initiated a movement called 320 Changes Direction, in honour of her husband to help break the stigma surrounding mental health.

She encouraged other public figures to post to social media saying, ‘I am the change’:

Today we honor the life and music of @linkinpark’s @ChesterBe. @TalindaB joins me on @Beats1@AppleMusic to talk #320ChangesDirection alongside a special Playlist made by @mikeshinoda. 10 am PT. Be the change. https://t.co/Urz4A9nnO3#IAMTHECHANGE#MakeChesterProudpic.twitter.com/vDindLb4bB

— Zane Lowe (@zanelowe) March 20, 2018

Just days before Mental Health Awareness Week here in the UK, Talinda called out the media for perpetrating the stigma of suicide in the language used to describe Avicii’s death.

Today, across the world, fans will show there is no shame in depression or poor mental health, having organised meet-ups and tribute nights to Chester, celebrating his life.

Talinda compiled a list of events and shared it online for those interested:

With the one year fast approaching, there are so many beautiful memorials planned all around the WORLD in honor of Chester. I wanted to share them with you. ❤️

https://t.co/cwboB8Jxbt

— Talinda Bennington (@TalindaB) July 3, 2018

Meanwhile, the fans of Linkin Park and Chester have found other more permanent ways to honour his memory – and his creativity and love for body art – in thousands of memorial tattoos.

While the alternative ink is a fitting tribute, there’s no better way to show respect and love for Chester than reaching out to someone you think might be struggling too.

You can check some of the ink designs out below:

Arm still a little swollen and my hand as well but guess it’s ok now. Time to post a pic in my feed 4 days past. Watch my story to see more if you’re interested 🔥

A post shared by 🌙💀🦋 (@jasminlivingthings) on Jan 29, 2018 at 3:31am PST

amazing ♡ great artwork by @babichtattooart • #chestertattoo #chesterbenningtontattoo #linkinpark #chesterbennington #wemissyou #potd #tb #art #beautiful #love #tattoo #artist #artistsoninstagram

A post shared by Chester Bennington Fans (@chesterbenningtonfans) on Dec 3, 2017 at 7:40am PST

Memoriam tattoo … 😶 #memoriam #memoriamtattoo #linkinpark #riptattoo #chesterbennington #chesterbenningtontattoo

A post shared by Astrid Köpfler (@astridkoepfler) on Jun 24, 2018 at 10:43am PDT

Homenaje de Vani 💕🎤

A post shared by Fresia Tatuajes (@fresia.tattoo) on Jan 9, 2018 at 4:31pm PST

This means so much to me. This man and this band have helped me overcome some of my darkest days and will continue to be my therapy for the rest of my life. This will be a reminder of that and to #makechesterproud ❤️ Now, time to start saving for my portrait piece! 😉😄 #LP #LPtattoo #LPfan #LinkinPark #LinkinParktattoo #ChesterBennington #ChesterBenningtontattoo #music #musicislife #musicistherapy #fuckdepression #clubtattoo

A post shared by Ashley (@shleebers) on Oct 1, 2017 at 9:44am PDT

Linkin Park is hands down my all time favorite band and made a huge impact on me in my life. When Chester passed, I wasn't expecting it to hit me as hard as it did. So when Chester passed, I wanted to do a memorial tattoo for him. So I got this today. Still have the shading to do. Really happy with how it's turning out. Thanks @gabslopez2u #tat #tats #tatted #tattedup #tattoo #tattooart #tattoosocial #tattoos #tattoosofinstagram #tattooed #tattooedandeducated #tattooedandemployed #inked #inkedup #linkinpark #linkinparktattoo #lptattoo #chesterbennington #chesterbenningtontattoo #calftattoo #pain #painful

A post shared by RJ Clark (@welcome.2.my.life) on May 30, 2018 at 6:00pm PDT

All those years ago, at the turn of the millennium in 2000, Hybrid Theory left us with a High Voltage closing sentiment, as Shinoda spits, ‘From now to infinity let icons be bygones’.

Even though Linkin Park shunned labels, thrived on authenticity and embraced difference, funnily enough, the band which so dismissed the need for idolisation by way of their own uniqueness, made Chester an icon of kindness and inclusivity.

In the end, that’s all that really matters.

Getty

RIP Chester.

You can speak to someone confidentially about your mental health and wellbeing by calling one of the following numbers: Samaritans – 116 123 , Childline – 0800 1111 (UK) / 1800 66 66 66 (ROI),  Teenline – 1800 833 634 (ROI).

If you have a story to tell, contact UNILAD via [email protected]

This content was originally published here.

0 notes

recentnews18-blog · 6 years ago

Photo

New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/arachnids-in-the-uk-recap-spiders-invade-sheffield-in-a-scary-funny-doctor-who-romp/

'Arachnids in the UK' recap: Spiders invade Sheffield in a scary, funny 'Doctor Who' romp

Jodie Whittaker in Doctor Who: Arachnids in the UK (BBC)

The fourth episode of Doctor Who S11 has landed. Here’s everything you need to know about ‘Arachnids in the UK’:

What’s it about? The Doctor brings Graham, Yaz and Ryan home to Sheffield, only to find the city overrun by giant spiders – and a blowhard American business tycoon whose similarity to a certain US president is entirely intentional.

Verdict: Given Doctor Who’s track record of turning everyday objects into the stuff of nightmares, it’s surprising the show hasn’t done more with spiders over the years. After all, with even the word enough to send some people scurrying for the hills, it feels like half the work’s already done.

‘Arachnids in the UK’ more than makes up for the oversight, however: it may be a shockingly poor pun, but it’s a terrific Doctor Who story, mixing big scares with big laughs and plenty of feels.

In many ways, it evokes the the contemporary, urban milieu of Russell T Davies’s watch – especially the scenes set in and around Sheffield’s Park Hill council estate, where we meet Yaz’s family for the first time. But in Hallowe’en week, Chris Chibnall pushes the terror further than Davies was comfortable with: make no mistake, these oversized arachnids – some the size of vans – won’t do anything to help spiders stage a PR fightback. (Though it does address the age-old jibe about them not being able to get out of the bath in somewhat spectacular fashion.)

Chris Noth as Robertson in Doctor Who: Arachnids in the UK (BBC)

Not all the meanies in the story have eight legs: Chris Noth’s Robertson, a blowhard business tycoon with presidential ambitions, is terrific panto villain (if you can call a character based on the current leader of the free world a panto villain, which you absolutely can). We get the measure of him right off the bat with his brutal dismissal of Yaz’s Mum (“You’re fired” being a less than subtle nod to Donald Trump’s former job on The Apprentice). This is a man who expects the world to jump to attention at the snap of his fingers, which makes it all the sweeter when the Doctor bowls in and takes command, reducing Robertson to the role of emasculated bystander.

It’s a very funny episode, full of moments of charm for Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor. I loved her awkwardness in Yaz’s flat (“Am I being weird?”) and her baffled response to being asked if she and Yaz are seeing each other (“We’re not, are we?”). There are plenty of emotional beats, too. Graham’s return home is deeply moving (“I’ve got so much to tell you”). And the Doctor has never looked more lonely and vulnerable than when struggling to say goodbye to her friends – and rarely more excited by anything in the universe than the giddy thrill of “tea at Yaz’s”. It’s delightful stuff.

Director Sallie Aprahamian’s CV includes a fair chunk of children’s TV, and she’s clearly enjoying being let off the leash here: parents can expect plenty of requests to sleep with the lights on this week, and no doubt the odd damp sheet too. Aprahamian’s vision is well supported by the show’s new FX house, Double Negative, whose CG spiders are of the Hollywood quality you’d expect from the digital boffins behind Blade Runner 2049.

How gorgeous, too, is the TARDIS’s kaleidoscopic tumble through the time vortex – surely the most stunning in-flight sequence we’ve ever seen in Doctor Who? (And one that put me in mind of Miguel’s journey into the candy-coloured Land of the Dead in Coco.)

Falling out of that polychromatic lightshow onto the streets of Sheffield is a beautiful example of how Doctor Who juggles the fantastic with the domestic. It’s also a reminder that being British is key to the show’s USP: audiences are hardwired to expect this sort of stuff in New York and LA, so it’s glorious to see giant spiders creeping and crawling over South Yorkshire. And fighting said critters with a blast of Stormzy is another very British – and quite brilliant – touch.

Story Continues

Sheffield is a fine city, of course, but by the end of this episode, Graham, Yaz and Ryan have decided they want more. They’ve had a taste of life with the Doctor, and now they’re hooked. But she can’t guarantee their safety. “When I pull that lever,” she tells them. “I’m never quite sure what’s going to happen.” And neither are we. That’s the magic of Doctor Who in a nutshell.

Doctor Who: Arachnids in the UK (BBC)

Doctor’s notes: The Doctor used to have a sister. She’s worried she might be socially awkward in her new body. Or maybe she’s just nervous.

Fellow travellers: We meet Yaz’s family: mum Najia, sister Sonia and dad Hakim (who is lovely, but makes terrible pakora). Yaz hasn’t met anyone special because she’s “married to the job”. Ryan gets a letter from his dad, and is annoyed by its reference to Graham as not being “proper” family. Is he slowly warming to the idea of him as his granddad? Graham has started talking to Grace. By the end of the episode, all have decided they want to swap Sheffield for adventures in space and time.

Isn’t that…? Chris Noth (Robertson) is best known for playing ‘Mr Big’ in Sex and the City, along with roles in in Law & Order and The Good Wife. Shobna Gulati (Najia) has been a mainstay of British TV for 20 years, most famously as Anita in Dinnerladies and Sunita in Coronation Street.

Location, location, location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, 2018.

Scary monsters: Giant spiders, mutated by “a soup of toxic waste” beneath Robertson’s hotel.

Quote unquote: “Something’s wrong with the spider eco-system in South Yorkshire.” The Doctor

“In the end, every living thing has the same instinct: to come back home.” The Doctor

“You can’t be President if you fire Yaz’s mum.” The Doctor

Shobna Gulati appears in ‘Arachnids in the UK’.

“I want more. More of the universe. More time with you. You’re like the best person I’ve ever met.” Yaz, speaking for every viewer there.

Gadgets and gizmos: The psychic paper is back, showing the Doctor to be a “crisis investigator”. Which is pretty on the money, actually.

Best bit: In an episode packed with scares, laughs and high-octane thrills, perhaps the most affecting moment is the Doctor’s response to the simple offer of staying for tea: “Definitely, yes I would! I love tea. Tea at Yaz’s? Amazing!’

Worst bit: The Doctor’s solution to Sheffield’s spider problem seems rather effortless, and brings the story shuddering to something of an abrupt halt.

Scariest bit: The Doctor, Ryan and Jade exploring Anna’s flat is deliciously creepy. Monsters literally under the bed – what could be more Doctor Who than that? Anna’s body covered in cobwebs is also a memorable image (was anyone else reminded of Robert Smith in the video for The Cure’s Lullaby?).

Funniest bit: “Are you Ed Sheeran? Is he Ed Sheeran? Everyone talks about Ed Sheeran round about now, don’t they?”

Huh? The story is predicated on rather a lot of unlikely coincidences: Of all the cities in all the world, the spider infestation just happens to be Sheffield, Yaz’s mum just happens to be working at the hotel, and their neighbour at the testing lab. What are the odds?

Back in time: Grabbing vinegar from the kitchen cupboard to fight off a marauding monster in a flat feels like a deliberate nod to Jackie Tyler melting a Slitheen with a jugful of acetic acid in 2005’s World War Three.

Next time – ‘The Tsuranga Conundrum’: Injured and stranded in the wilds of a far-flung galaxy, The Doctor, Yaz, Graham and Ryan must band together with a group of strangers to survive against one of the universe’s most deadly – and unusual – creatures.

youtube

Shobna Gulati praises Doctor Who‘s “truly inclusive” cast

Doctor Who ‘Rosa’ recap: an emotionally-charged instant classic

Jodie Whittaker’s Yorkshire accent baffles American subtitler

Source: https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/arachnids-uk-recap-spiders-invade-sheffield-scary-funny-doctor-romp-195341574.html

1 note · View note

fashiontrendin-blog · 7 years ago

Text

The Complete Story Of How Hip-Hop Changed The Way We Dress

https://fashion-trendin.com/the-complete-story-of-how-hip-hop-changed-the-way-we-dress/

The Complete Story Of How Hip-Hop Changed The Way We Dress

In 2002, stylist Rachel Johnson walked into a Burberry store in New York to request some clothes for a photoshoot. Her client was Ja Rule, then promoting the follow-up to his Grammy-nominated, triple-platinum album Pain is Love. It was the kind of exposure that brands generally love, but Burberry refused to help.

“They didn’t want him to wear their stuff,” Johnson later told Newsweek. “People have this stigma with the urban community.” She bought it anyway and after she draped her client in the brand’s house check, his fans did too. A few months later, Burberry sent Ja Rule a letter of thanks.

A decade and more on, the brand has a different stance on hip-hop style. It’s dressed Skepta and Nicki Minaj and recently collaborated with Chinese rapper Kris Wu. Like the rest of the fashion industry, Burberry coincidentally overcame its distaste for rap just as rap became the loudest sound on earth; in December, Nielsen research found more people listened to rap than rock for the first time. Now it’s brands like Burberry that come knocking, and rappers who rebuff them.

“With hip-hop being the de facto sound of youth and rebellion, a lot of the prominent artists – be it Beyoncé or Kanye West or ASAP Rocky – are now like, ‘Why am I giving people free press?’” says Jian DeLeon, editorial director at Highsnobiety.

Luxury logos have always been signals of success hip-hop, but rap’s explosion has shifted expectations. “They understand that they are now brands and they understand the power that their brands have. They’re not just using it to promote these symbols that they’ve made it. They know that they’ve made it.”

Ever since DJ Kool Herc’s first block parties, hip-hop has been a voice for the marginalised. Its look mattered as much as the sound, partly as an expression of self-identity, partly as shorthand for success. For those pioneering black artists who grew up amid crime and violence, whose music helped them transcend their place of birth and their lack of opportunities, European luxury brands were the original flex; a middle finger to a society that had written them off and a diamond-dripping, mink-trimmed embodiment of the American Dream for the people who bought their records.

Run DMC, 1985

True Street Wear

Rap is arguably music’s most entrepreneurial genre, obsessed with graft and hustle, status and the path up from the streets. No other sound has focused so much on starting from the bottom, perhaps because no other music has been so dominated by artists who started life at the bottom. The uniform of rock was stuff that would frighten fans’ mothers; for rap, it was clothes that backed up your bars.

Rap’s first commercial flush put its stars in financial reach of luxury, but they were still locked out by geography and race. Their focus on the grittier sides of street culture made brands wary. Biggie might big up Louis Vuitton, but its customers were white, old and didn’t want their couturier draped across an ex-drug dealer.

They were even less comfortable about selling to actual drug dealers, the only other people in Harlem in with the cash to afford them. They refused to wholesale there and made their Fifth Avenue stores as unwelcoming to young black men as possible. That inaccessibility made luxury even more covetable. So Harlem’s tailors figured out a workaround.

Do The Right Thing – Bill Nunn, 1989

The go-to was Dapper Dan, born Daniel Day, a haberdasher who would import bootlegged fabrics or screen-print logos onto luxury leather, then turn them into one-of-a-kind, street-inflected pieces like oversized bomber jackets and fur-trimmed coats. His clothes weren’t the copies of runway fashion you find on eBay; they were unique, hand-crafted and often more expensive than the originals. Particularly if you wanted something you’d never find in Fendi, like a parka with bulletproof panels, or hidden stash pockets.

“Dapper Dan has a term for what he did in the 1980s: ‘blackinize fashion’,” says Rachel Lifter, assistant professor of fashion studies at Parsons School of Design. His clothes embodied street culture and the needs and wants of people who were young and rich, but locked out of the things enjoyed by young, rich, white people. “He drew on a long legacy of black style as both a form of self-realisation and a statement of political-aesthetic resistance.”

Day defined hip-hop style for a decade – oversized, influenced by sportswear as much as luxury tailoring and designed to make sense in the street. It was clothing infused with swagger and for a rapper on the up-and-up, copping a Dapper Dan was a sign you’d made it.

“Rappers have always liked fashion and fashion for the longest time didn’t want to speak to that audience because it felt like it might have hurt the integrity of the brand,” says DeLeon. “[In Dapper Dan] they found someone who understood them, what their needs were and who spoke the same language.”

His creations appeared on album covers, red carpets and heavyweight champions – Mike Tyson commissioned a jacket with ‘Don’t Believe the Hype’ embroidered on the back before a 1988 title fight. Lawyers noticed (Tyson brawling outside Day’s store at five in the morning didn’t help). By the early 90s, Dapper Dan had been sued out of existence.

Mike Tyson with his Dapper Dan “Don’t Believe the Hype” jacket

The Evolution Of Hip-Hop Style

His demise coincided with rap’s toughening up and a shift in style to something more authentic. Rappers were also tiring of luxury’s knockbacks. When the Wu Tang Clan launched its own brand, Wu Wear, a generation of artists realised that they could control what they promoted and how they were rewarded.

They turned rejection into a statement of intent, creating clothes for fans who, like them, were at best only ever endured by the establishment. Like their music, their clothes reflected reality. The Wu Tang uniform of baggy jeans, baseball jackets and Timberlands was what you wore if, like them, you had an FBI file thicker than Crime and Punishment.

“You had the rise of so-called urban fashion,” says DeLeon. “You had Sean John by Diddy, Wu Wear. You had a lot of labels being started specifically by rappers who saw this gap in the market that was essentially, ‘Alright, fashion brands won’t speak to our listeners and to our audience, so let’s create something that’s authentically of that world.’”

As well as clothes, they launched their own drinks and cigars, sick of the tepid reception they received from brands who were happy to reap sales from their products appearing in rap videos, but still wanted to keep the rappers at arm’s length. “If Courvoisier or Moët won’t co-sign these rappers,” says DeLeon, “then why don’t they just start their own businesses and use their platform to promote their own products?”

Top: RZA, Pharrell Bottom: Dapper Dan, Sean Combs

Then came Pharrell. As N.E.R.D. turned the urban music technicolour, Pharrell gave hip-hop style new notes – skate, Japanese streetwear, punk. He created a world in which Kanye West could rock a backpack and pink polo and still outsell 50 Cent.

“There was this shift from a hive mind mentality of style toward a championing of individuality,” says DeLeon. “That’s what actually helped propel a lot of the fashion and style paradigm forward.” Pharrell fomented the environment in which Young Thug can wear dresses, Lil Uzi Vert can rep Gosha Rubchinskiy at the Grammys, and still feel part of the same movement. After Pharrell, hip-hop style lost its consistency, but it found its voice.

As rap climbed the charts, it lost its outsider status. Its biggest artists displaced pop stars, then became pop stars. Now, any rapper with an advance in their pocket could buy as much Fendi as they liked. Get on Spotify’s Rap Caviar and Louis Vuitton would probably send them a sack of clothes to wear on Instagram. “Luxury brands have woken up to a reality in which rappers are dominating the cultural conversation,” says Christopher Morency, editorial associate at Business of Fashion. Brands either get on board, or get left behind.

DeLeon cuts rap fashion into two eras: before and after Pharrell. If clothing had previously been about affiliation, now it was about knowledge as well. Those old markers of success, stripped of their exclusivity, were replaced by something more nuanced. Gucci and Louis still got their props (it helps that both rhyme easily) but now, Jay Z was namechecking Margiela. In 2015, ASAP Rocky devoted an entire song to Raf Simons.

Top: Jay-Z, Kanye West Bottom: Stormzy, ASAP Rocky

“When Rocky says ‘Rick Owens, Raf Simons, usually what I’m dressed in,’ [on ‘Peso’] it really a marked shift towards new, younger rappers understanding the importance of cultivating a really unique [approach to] fashion,” says DeLeon. “It wasn’t just about going in and getting the gaudiest shit possible. It was about understanding composition, nuance, and the overall appeal of the designers.”

The Life Of Abloh

Among the first rappers to pop up on fashion week’s front rows were ASAP Rocky and Kanye, artists who’d championed the interesting and esoteric from the outset and who made fashion an integral part of their identity. They opened the doors to true collaboration between brands and artists – two-way communication in which the tastes of the trendsetters inform what comes out of the atelier.

In 2016, ASAP Rocky became the first black face to front Dior Homme, but the campaign was about more than a luxury house chasing relevancy. “The relationship between [at the time] Dior Homme creative director Kris van Assche and Rocky dates back many years,” says Morency. “It was Rocky who gravitated to Dior Homme at first, not the other way around.”

From a standing start, fashion has entered into a deeply symbiotic relationship with rap. In the last two years, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Saint Laurent have all released rap-fronted campaigns, part of a move to woo younger shoppers as their existing audience greys out.

“The new luxury consumer is Millennials and Gen Z,” says Morency. “By 2025, they’ll account for 45 per cent of the global personal luxury goods market. Luxury brands will have to embrace rappers if they want any credibility with that generation, but it needs to be authentic.”

For anyone interested in fashion, this is all good news. Hip-hop is the most creative movement in music and its attitude to boundaries has crossed over into our wardrobes. The elevation of streetwear, the mashing of high with low and the move towards genderless fashion can all be attributed, in various ways, to what rappers are wearing right now.

That cultural shift has also propelled Virgil Abloh to the top spot at Louis Vuitton, where he’s become the first black designer to helm a major luxury house. His roots in rap are inarguable and he brings to fashion a true sense of how street culture and high fashion intersect. Through his own brand, Off-White, he’s also helped black designers shake off the assumption that they only make ‘streetwear’.

Virgil Abloh and Kanye West at the Louis Vuitton SS19 runway show

“Streetwear has for some time served as a label through which the fashion industry can read blackness,” says Lifter. She points to Public School co-founder Maxwell Osborne, who in Sacha Jenkins’ rap-fashion documentary, Fresh Dressed, railed against how automatically the label was applied. “Our last design job was at Sean Jean under Puffy,” he says. “So I think when we started Public School it was automatically [considered] a streetwear brand – ‘you’re in this box’ – and I was like, ‘No, that’s not what we’re doing.’”

By challenging perceptions of what rappers wear and what black designers create, these artists force society to rethink what black art looks like, says Lifter. “They’re in different ways expanding how blackness can be represented in editorials and campaigns, performed within music videos and cover art, and materialised through new collections.”

For now, the brands are happy to help. Head to Gucci’s website today, and you’ll find a capsule collection, designed in collaboration with Dapper Dan, that recreates his most famous pieces. This year, Gucci even set Day up with a new shop in Harlem, stocked with exclusive (and heavily monogrammed) fabrics, so that he could kit out a new generation of rap royalty.

Dapper Dan x Gucci

The hook-up seemed partly an apology. A year earlier, Gucci debuted a note-for-note remake of a jacket Day made for Olympic sprinter Diane Dixon. The only difference? Day’s bootlegged Louis Vuitton logos had been usurped by Gucci’s interlocking Gs. Cue social media uproar, a reach-out from one designer to another and, a few months later, a Dapper Dan-fronted Gucci ad campaign. The bootlegger, now bootlegged, was back. But the style he’d created had never left.

7 Seminal Hip-Hop Looks & How To Wear Them Today

Run DMC and My Adidas

Run DMC, 1987

Hip-hop’s early years looked not all that dissimilar to now – big trainers and head-to-toe tracksuits. The music was brewed in b-boy culture, where sportswear the go-to because it was perfect for breakdancing. Run-DMC were the look’s biggest proponents, immortalising their favourite brand in ‘My Adidas’. After three stripes’ execs caught a Madison Square Garden performance in which fans all raised their sneakers on cue, Run-DMC earned an unheard-of million-dollar endorsement deal.

How to wear it now: Verbatim – the tracksuit look’s back and pairing an Adidas two-piece with a pair of Stan Smiths looks as good now as it did then. Just lose the jewellery and Kangol.

Adidas Originals

Black Consciousness

Public Enemy, 1988

In the late 80s, artists like KRS-One and Public Enemy coupled their anti-government, anti-police stance to a rising strain of black nationalism. They introduced traditional African clothing and references to their wardrobes – sportswear in red, green and black, beaded jewellery and kufis, paired with the military fatigues of the Black Panthers.

How to wear it now: Unless you’re black and looking to rep your cultural history – don’t. White guys in dreadlocks and dashikis are the worst kind of cultural appropriation. If you are, then it’s about mixing traditional African clothing with streetwear, or try embellishing military jackets with pan-African patches. For an elevated take, look to British designer Grace Wales-Bonner, whose clothes are like a wearable thesis on African history.

Wales-Bonner Spring 2019 Collection

Dapper Dan

Dapper Dan with LL Cool J, 1986

The Harlem tailor who dressed every 80s rapper that mattered, his creations are immortalised on the covers of Eric B & Rakim’s Paid in Full and Follow the Leader, as well as Salt-n-Pepa’s Icon. “Hip-hop was all about sampling, re-discovering old funk and soul records to flip into something new and fresh,” says stylist Chris Tang. “Dapper Dan applied those same methods to fashion.”

How to wear it now: You can do so literally, if you’ve got a few grand spare, by picking up something from the Gucci capsule collection. If not, think cut-and-paste. “Dapper Dan created these outlandish pieces using the iconic monograms,” says Tang, “then applied them in a way these fashion houses didn’t think to do at the time.” Echo him by going luxuriously logo mad – Fendi on Louis on Gucci on Chanel.

Dapper Dan x Gucci

Lo-Life

Lo-Life Crew

In the early 80s, Ralph Lauren marketed its Polo brand as the uniform of WASPS – wealthy, white guys who weekended on their yacht. But its exclusivity had an unintentional effect on hip-hop style. “The Stadium collection enticed the black and latino community all over the US,” says Tang. “The infamous Lo-Life gang became notorious for stealing large amounts of Polo clothing from department stores.”

How to wear it now: “In 1994, Raekwon wore the Snow Beach windbreaker, which earned it its stripes within hip-hop culture,” says Tang. Ralph Lauren wasn’t pleased about it at the time, but has since re-released the collection, as well as a CP-93 America’s Cup capsule, another favourite of the Lo-Heads.

Ralph Lauren Limited Edition Polo Stadium Collection

Hardcore

Straight Outta Compton, 2015

While New York was going big on fur and luxury labels, in LA, NWA stuck to a utilitarian uniform that reflected their sound – black jeans, white tees and hometown baseball caps. They were also big on athletic wear – coach and baseball jackets (often with the Oakland Raiders logo emblazoned on the back), topped off with gold chains as thick as your arm.

How to wear it now: bar the sagged, baggy jeans, everything else in NWA’s look has been reanimated by the 90s revival. Just keep away from costume by losing the Raiders logos, and maybe think dad cap rather than flat peak.

Hood By Air SS14 Backstage

Pharrell Brings East To West

Pharrell Williams

When it seemed every rapper was shilling their own, uninspired fashion label, Pharrell blew apart what hip hop style looked like. In large part that was thanks to his embrace of Japanese brands, particularly A Bathing Ape. “It introduced flamboyant camo print hoodies, rare Bapte-sta trainers and limited silk screen T-shirts,” says Tang. “The idea of a collector’s item and high price point made many people see the brand as something covetable. It was the start of luxury streetwear.”

How to wear it now: Bape’s lost its lustre, after an aggressive expansion stripped it of exclusivity. But Japan remains a hotbed of American-influenced, luxury streetwear brands. As well as OGs like Undercover and Neighbourhood, look to the likes of Wacko Maria, Sasquatchfabrix and Cav Empt, who offer modern spins on hip-hop silhouettes.

WACKO MARIA Spring/Summer 2018 Collection

Kanye Reinvents The Sneaker Game

Kanye West in Yeezy

Kanye West has spent most of his career complaining that he’s not taken seriously as a designer, and while his first attempts at high fashion bombed, with Yeezy he’s become a model for the kind of power and influence rappers can have over fashion and, more importantly, business. Before Kanye, rappers were lucky to be paid to wear a brand’s clothes. Now, they’re at the controls.

How to wear it now: The Yeezy look is all about mixing high and low fashion – a hoodie with a tailored overcoat, trainers with slim-fit jeans. He’s been instrumental in elevating streetwear into something that can be worn anywhere. So, do.

Yeezy show, New York Fashion Week AW16

0 notes