Support Union in their pursuit for the championship!! Vote here. Deadline tonight!!!

Frank Criscione is a designer and artist here in Boston. He is a man of many talents. One of them is finding new uses for the old and unused. Perfect example… His Tupp A Lamps, which he makes out of salvaged retro Tupperware. If you like the shapes and colors of retro Tupperware, then you’ll love these.

Frank: “Plug in to enjoy a warm retro glow”.

They’ve been profiled in a few publications here in town and are on display at Anthropologie, 799 Boylston St. Boston, MA.  They’re also available for purchase at Oak on Newbury St. in Boston, at Artifaktori in Davis Sq. Sommerville, and at Framers’ Workshop in Brookline. If you aren’t in the Boston area but want one of your own, you can visit either one of these sites:

http://www.oakboston.com/catalog/ 

http://www.artifaktori.com/

Or you can email Framers’ Workshop at frameboys@gmail.com and place an order there.

And keep checking back here, for more from Frank.

Speaking of Royce (previous post), my Russian brother Marlon has just informed me that his brand Sneak Tip has collaborated with the rap super group Slaughter House for a tee release. Slaughter House is comprised of Joe Budden, Royce 5”9, Crooked I and Joell Ortiz and has become the best thing to happen to Hip-Hop groups since the Wu-Tang Clan.

Not only does each emcee hail from a different city but they also are arguably four of the best rappers in the game today. Imagine the original 1992 Olympic Dream Team but replace Jordan, Magic, Bird and Stockton with Jump Off, Nickel, Block Obama and Ortiz. Yeah, that hectic. The shirt is crack.

If you’re from Boston, you probably know Antonio Ansaldi. Even if you aren’t from Mass., you might know about Antonio. But if you are from elsewhere in the world, and don’t know, meet Antonio. Antonio… World. World… Antonio. A local clothing designer, Antonio puts out quality street wear. His hoodies (pictured here) are standard issue in Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan. In fact if you walked down the street in any of those neighborhoods during the colder months and didn’t see at least three of them being rocked, I’d really be surprised. Just wanted to show you folks some of his product, but if you stop in here on a regular basis, you’ll see a lot more of him. The man is a talent, a pioneer in Boston, and is Butcher’s Block family.

Antonio’s website will be launching soon at www.antonioansaldi.com, but if you go to the site now, you can redirect yourself to amazon.com where you can buy his products until the site is up. Or, if you’re here in the Boston area, you can visit his store at:

501 B Washington Street, Dorchester Cenetr, MA. 02124      (800) 424-3374

You’d have to be in a coma not to realize that Detroit is the source for some of the illest Hip-Hop today.  I say “today” because it has gotten to the point where you can’t front on what their doing “today” but do the research because the “D’s” yesterday is just as crazy! Get it?

Elzhi, Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Royce 5’9″ and the late great Dilla (bow down) are some of my favorites.  To be 100 percent with you, I don’t think of it as “Detroit” rap (or try not to… but its hard not to because of how ill everything is).  I hate that shit when people grade you on your category… “it’s dope for Detroit” type shit. The way I see it, the names I mentioned are some of the best in Hip-Hop in general and happen to be from Detroit. Detroit just has a higher rate of quality lyricists and beat makers right now… hahaha. Either which way, Detroit is on fire and as a fan I hope it continues.

I met the homies Rick and Ro on the trade show run and we clicked instantly. Rick looks like Large Pro and has a knack for having his New Balance game on par! Ro (Octane) just happens to be a prime example of that Detroit fire and has just released a video for his joint “Leave Me Alone”. Word is Ro and Elzhi just finished a joint that I know Ro will send me as soon as its mixed!!!

They are partners in the Detroit sneaker and clothing boutique, Burn Rubber, which is holding down Detroit in a major way.

Peep Burn Rubber’s  upcoming G-Shock release and Ro’s new video below. Big shout to Rick, Ro and the whole Burn Rubber Crew.

I think people don’t really realize how far Kanye has gone in a short period of time and how much he has accomplished since his introduction into Hip-Hop*. For the “heads” that look at him now and dismiss him as a pop act, do your math because dude has done enough in the Hip-Hop world to earn the right to “auto tune” it up.

He has earned the right to stop wearing baggy jeans and fitteds to explore the fashion world.  Kanye has moved from  the “on the bench” producer to “starter” to “star player” to “coach” then “team owner”, all while gaining the respect of the leaders in design to the point where he is creating original models for LV and Nike. Not collaborating on the existing Air Force 1 for a color up with a logo but designing brand new shoes. It’s funny… how many “street” rappers reference Louis Vuitton and Nike in their anthems?

Kanye designs for them.

Ye has done what we all wish we could.

*See Dead Prez “Bigger than Hip-Hop Remix” produced by Kanye on the their debut album Lets Get Free (2000).

Chedda asked me if I was going to Block Certify the Yeezy’s and I didn’t have any plans to but when they were in front of me I realized that beyond all the blog hype and release date mystery, there is a brand new shoe (with retro influences…. but new) that was dope. All you super serious sneaker kids stop frontin.

Available 4-4 at Concepts, 37 Brattle St., Cambridge, MA 02138

Get there early because they are guaranteed to fly.

I was recently blessed with a few new pieces of art from 2 people in my inner circle.

First is this…..

This was done by Admen. These paintings are a hot item in and around this area, and I consider myself lucky to be one of the chosen few lucky enough to get one. Admen is known for his work with the can, and more so now for what he does with a canvas. This kid has a tremendous amount of respect for the art form, and culture. His work is well thought out, creative, and most of all from the heart. I can honestly say when you get a piece of his work you are getting all he had to give on that canvas. Thank you to Admen for the amazing work.

The next piece I got was this….

This is from my daughter Madison. This is something that will be hanging in my home for as long as I live.

How much is this worth?? Shiiiit, going to have to ask Check. It’s his lucky chip and it seems to be working.

A couple years back, I worked for a few weeks on the national casting search for Max, in Where the Wild Things Are. The classic Maurice Sendak book was getting made into a feature film, and I was fortunate enough to do some initial auditions of young child actors here in Boston. None of the kids here in the Boston area got the part, but I’ve been waiting ever since to see the trailer. Well it just hit the web, so I thought I’d post it. So here it is. Now if we can just get some more Chris Van Allsburg books made into movies.

OTHER SIDE OF THE GAME – Big Shug – behind the scenes short from Peter Dudgeon on Vimeo.

Here’s a short behind the scenes look at Big Shug and his newest album, Other Side of the Game, that I put together for when the album released this past November. For those that don’t know, Big Shug is a local Boston legend, and part of the Gang Starr Foundation. You may know him from the track Militia off of Gang Starr’s album Moment of Truth. Check out the EPK and if there are any of you out there who haven’t heard the song Militia, I posted the video for it below. Enjoy, and keep checking  in here for more info on Big Shug.