THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD

Jeremy Deller's 'The History of the World' (1998). Check out an excellent profile of the UK artist and his playlist selection for Herb Sundays here.

REAL LIES - LATE ARCADES

 

Monday morning mood music.

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How Mundane Gossip Took Over the Internet 

From podcasts brimming with everyday scandals to entire investigative news stories, the banal and downright dreary has become the internet's favourite flavour of tea - always lukewarm, never piping hot. (The Face)

Sports Banger: How Jonny Banger Became London’s Coolest Professional Provocateur 

The designer has come a long way since his debut ‘Free Tulisa’ cult t-shirt - and his ravey show caused a commotion at London Fashion Week. Joe Bromley meets the man behind the mayhem. (Evening Standard)

All Aboard the Wild Ride That Is Francis Bourgeois 

On the record and off the tracks with the world’s favourite trainspotter... (Gentleman's Journal)

Personal Space With Josh Itiola 

Talking prized possessions with the multi-talented engineer turned Vitsoe planner. (SSENSE)

20 Years of Grime 

Chantelle Fiddy, one of the first writers to document grime in mainstream music and style press, celebrates the lasting impact of the genre, and asks: where does the scene go next? (TRENCH)

Bigger Vision: Joy Orbison Is Ready for the Next Step 

13 years into his career, Joy Orbison feels like he's just getting started. The London DJ/producer on dealing with hype, coming into his own as an artist, and pushing things forward. (Mixmag)

Hip-Hop Fish Feud: Can McDonald’s Survive Pusha T’s Single-Verse Scud Missile? 

In an advertisement for Arby’s, the rapper takes aim at the Filet-O-Fish with the explosive 'Spicy Fish Diss'. (The Guardian)

Introducing: The Gourmand 

Does your friend know far too much about sous vide, Japanese knives and the hottest small plate restaurants in town for their own good? (VICE)

From Socks to Sushi Rolls - Japan’s Superior Convenience Stores 

The main reason for the superiority of konbinis is the fact that they elevate the mere notion of convenience. (sabukaru)

Mark Suciu on the Poetry of Skating 

Thrasher’s 2021 Skater of the Year is perfectly suited to reveal skating’s relationship to writing, history, and embodied practices. (032c)

Metta World Peace on Wanting to Sign With Pacers or Pistons in 2009, Growling Monkeys in Panama Jungle 

In advance of Beyond the Edge, the all-time stopper talked to CBS Sports about his playing days, his coaching career and more. (CBS Sports)

The Enduring Mystery of  “Jawn”, Philadelphia’s All-Purpose Noun 

According to experts, it’s unlike any word, in any language. (Atlas Obscura via 1440 Daily Digest)

iPod Modders Give Apple’s Abandoned Music Player New Life 

By modifying old hardware with modern - and often more colourful - components, listeners create their dream iPods and kick their Spotify habits. (Wired)

What Colour Are Your Thoughts? 

If you could see your thoughts as colours, what hue would they be? (Monster Children)

Drive and Listen

The sights and sounds from streets around the world. (Drive & Listen via 1440 Daily Digest)

BEABADOOBEE - TALK

HASSAN RAHIM

New visual-heavy interview with Hassan Rahim for Japanese online publication Nigh Magazine. Check it out here (desktop viewing is highly recommended!).

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Virgil Abloh’s Commandments for Hacking Creativity 

In ode to the late fashion trailblazer’s genius, we asked four collectives touched by Abloh’s vision to pick one of his strategic hacks and tell us what it means to them. (Dazed)

Skiifall on Growing up in Montreal and Virgil Abloh’s Lasting Influence 

The 20-year-old rapper was listening to Selena Gomez and One Direction before discovering hip-hop. (i-D)

Harajuku Street Camo: The History of WTAPS 

The Japanese fashion world has always been different from the rest, starting from the concepts of its origin to the birth of the various brands. 

(sabukaru)

Drake’s Progress - The Making of a Cult Menswear Brand 

How a traditional tie maker became the tailor for today. (FT)

When Dap Met Gap: Dapper Dan on Taking His Vision Global 

Collaboration is fashion’s new normal, but few moments of brand synergy are as compelling as Dapper Dan’s partnership with the Gap. (Vogue)

All That Glitters Is Jacob & Co.: A History of the Jeweller to the Stars 

A dive into the history of Jacob Arabo, an émigré from Soviet Uzbekistan who conquered the New York Diamond District. (Highsnobiety)

The Deaths of the Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac, Through the Eyes of the People Who Covered Them 

Twenty-five years ago, Biggie Smalls was killed in Los Angeles, marking the end of the most violent chapter in hip-hop’s history. For the writers and editors who covered his and Tupac’s lives and music, the tragedies stick with them to this day. (The Ringer)

The Search Continues: Reflecting on 20 Years of N.E.R.D.’s Debut Album 

Two decades after the release of the U.S. version of N.E.R.D.’s classic In Search of... (aka the better-known second version of the album) we revisit its unique creation process and lasting legacy with Chad Hugo, former managers, and other players involved in the genre-dodging classic. 

(Pigeons & Planes)

Brandy’s Third Album, Full Moon, Inspired a Generation of R&B Experimentalists 

In 2002, Full Moon was released to a mixed, critical reception. Twenty years on, we look at how the album influenced artists such as Rihanna to Jessie J, Kehlani and Jennifer Hudson. (Crack)

What Lies Beneath Hip-Hop's Swagger 

Hip-hop's battle-ready swagger is thrilling and joyous. What sits behind it is more complex. (NYT)

The 10 Worst Albums Produced by Rick Rubin

We’ve collected ten examples of when Rick Rubin was unable to elevate albums to be anything but mediocre. (Far Out)

The Best Memes of 2022 (So Far) 

All together now: UNCUT JAAAAAAAHMS. (Thrillest)

MICHAEL C. THORPE

Solid Space is the new exhibition from New York-based artist Michael C. Thorpe (aka @iversonsdurag). Through the use of bright colours, organic shapes, and meandering quilting patterns, Thorpe explores the limitations of both social constructs and textiles. He combines fabrics, imagery, and language to evoke alternative perspectives on the human experience, while referring back to the quilting tradition of his mother’s family and the rich history of African American quilting.

More here.

THEY HATE CHANGE - FROM THE FLOOR

Read an interview with the Tampa rap duo here, courtesy of The Line of Best Fit.

ENUMCLAW - 2002

Monday morning mood music.

THEE ALMIGHTY & INSANE

A selection of “compliments cards” from Brandon Johnson’s book Thee Almighty and Insane: Chicago Gang Business Cards from the 1960s and 1970s. Inspired by outlaw motorcycle clubs, street gangs in Chicago made business cards displaying their symbols, nicknames, territories, and enemies as a means to assert their pride, for recruitment, and to serve as general tokens of affiliation.

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How Memes Changed the Rap Game 

Making memes was once a fun way for fans to make light of artists and cultural trends, but it’s turned into a focal point of marketing rollouts for almost every rapper and pop star. (Complex)

A Guide to Drake's Library 

If you're not up on what Drake's reading, it's too late. (GQ)

Drake's Radio, Ep. 13: Walter Schreifels 

With his latest Quicksand album Distant Populations out now on Epitaph, we asked Walter to curate a special playlist of some of his favourite songs. (Drake's)

How to Produce a Killer Fashion Show Soundtrack 

The Autumn/Winter 2022 shows featured a host of great music and original soundtracks. Vogue Business lifts the lid on some of fashion’s leading music directors. (Vogue Business)

Spring/Summer 2022 - The World's Borough (Aimé Leon Dore) 

Is George Costanza Aimé Leon Dore’s Muse?

Aimé Leon Dore released their new spring/summer lookbook yesterday. Many of the shots look oddly familiar, such as how they dressed Big Body Bes in a black velour tracksuit. “Hmm,” I thought. “That looks like something George Costanza would wear.” (Put This On)

Meet Violet, the Progressive Global Skate Crew 

The international collective, led by Bill Strobeck, represents an evolution in skateboarding. (i-D)

Take a Dive Into Issue 5 of Good Sport Magazine

The Melbourne-based publication investigates the multi-faceted place of sport in society, seeking to create and disseminate new dialogues. (It's Nice That)

It’s Showtime! 

How the team behind Winning Time brought prestige TV and basketball together to retell the glitzy, highly dramatic tale of the Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s. (The Ringer)

TikTok Is Being Investigated for Impacting Kids' Mental Health 

While all platforms are far from healthy, one in particular is being examined for its impact on the mental health of our youth: TikTok. (Paper)

NFTs Are Just the Latest Example of Rich People Loving Ugly Shit 

Fabergé eggs, bright yellow cars, monogrammed airplanes, the list goes on. (Novara)

The Dupe Killer: Tracking Copies With AI 

Deloitte’s artificial intelligence tool is watching design infringements for some of luxury’s top brands. (Vogue Business)

Dr. Bronner’s, the Soap Company, Dips Into Psychedelics

Under the leadership of the founder’s grandsons, the company has become a big financial backer of efforts to loosen government restrictions on illegal drugs. (NYT)

JAWNINO - IT'S COLD OUT

EAST BROADWAY BREAKDOWN

Christopher Wool's book East Broadway Breakdown consists of 160 black and white photographs, all taken at night on his walk between his home in Chinatown and studio in the East Village of NYC over a two year period (1994 to 1995).

(Via Leo Fitzpatrick)

KEHINDE WILEY

A selection of images from artist Kehinde Wiley's 2009 book Black Light, featuring models wearing aNYthing product.

Check out more of Wiley's large, vibrant, highly patterned paintings here.

DENZEL CURRY - ZATOICHI (FEAT. SLOWTHAI)

Drum ‘n’ bass rap is back!

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The Annotated jeen-yuhs: The Stories Behind Part 3 of Netflix's Kanye Doc 

The final act features a fractured, distant view of Kanye that can be downright alarming at times. (GQ)

Vince Staples Makes Magic 

If Vince Staples wasn’t an artist, he’d be a boxer. He weaves his way through conversations with gentle jabs at the industry and its obligations, then lands haymakers about trusting his intuition. (032c)

Dweller: Forever and Always 

The New York City festival's revelatory third edition signaled its nationwide reputation as an essential meeting point for anyone invested in Black electronic music's past, present and future. (Resident Advisor)

The Last Crates: Numero Group's Rob Sevier

From Emmylou Harris to Moodymann to recordings of the Rarámuri, his picks and the stories behind them are deep, vast, and fun. (Ghostly)

The Photographer Celebrating London’s Council Houses 

From Brutalist blocks to Modernist towers, Jack Young’s new book featuring portraits of 68 of the capital’s most revered council house schemes recasts these buildings in a new light. (Huck)

Zora J. Murff Is Using Photography as a Tool for Liberation

True Colors, the photographer's expansive new monograph, is a personal exploration of Blackness in America. (i-D)

The Red Clay of Central Africa 

This week, a dispatch from Our Man in West Africa. (Racquet)

Sam Keller on His Humorous Artworks Made From Fast Food 

The New York-based artist has built sculptures out of Cheetos and the White House made entirely out of McDonald’s french fries. (It's Nice That)

Mike Mills, Self-Archivist 

Tyler Watamanuk on Mike Mills as a careful cataloger of his own wide-ranging oeuvre. (Dirt)

Digital Piss

Artist Tyrrell Winston on Throwing Fits. (Spotify)

Perfectly Imperfect #157: Patrik Sandberg 

Patrik Sandberg drops in to tell us about shoegaze anti-hits, Hollywood tell-alls, his 1999 BMW 323i convertible in black, and more. (Perfectly Imperfect)

Meta Memphis

The little known story of Memphis’s second coming. (Pin-Up)

Six New Brands I’ve Been Watching 

For the past few years, I’ve been doing annual roundups on new brands I find to be interesting. To be sure, not all of them are new - many have been around for years - but they’re new to me. (Die, Workwear!)

How the Podcast Dewy Dudes Took the Training Wheels off Men’s Skin Care 

Beauty is no longer just about looking pretty - it’s about expressing an identity, even if that identity is a gigantic dirtbag. (GQ)

ALAIN LEVITT

Dive into some early aughts NYC nostalgia courtesy of Alain Levitt.