NBA Wishes You A Merry Christmas

     Nothing beats good holiday marketing as it plays with our emotions and drives us to go spend money we don't have on stuff we don't need….but it sure does feel good, doesn't it.  The NBA is as much part of Christmas day as it ever was, as we always look forward to primetime matchups all day pitting the leagues best players against each other.  Lately, the trend has been seeing what special holiday make ups are on the players feet as special Christmas editions have graced Lebron, Kobe, Melo , CP3, and Kevin Durant's feet on that day.  This year, the NBA and Adidas have rolled out solid color holiday jerseys that will be showcased on Christmas as well.  To get ready for the holiday, they rolled out this commercial with Dwight Howard, Melo, Joe Johnson, Russ Westbrook, and D. Wade dribbling a familiar tune while wearing these Christmas Day jerseys.  Pretty cool stuff none the less.

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer x DMX

     Tis the season for Christmas music and we're no strangers to hearing our favorite artists cover the holiday classics.  Well add DMX to the list as he gives good ole Rudolph some new street cred with his rendition.  Fantastic stuff from the Darkman, come on come on! 

"10th Anniversary" UBIQ x New Balance x Mitchell & Ness

    Has it been 10 years already?  Seems like yesterday when Ubiq opened it's door in center city Philadelphia.  A sneaker haven, urban wear boutique was born and has been providing the tri-state area with nothing but the best in not only footwear and urban clothing, but great events that include top name musical talent, clothing labels,  and historical athletic legends. It has become a staple of the city and a marquee location to get your Jordans and the very limited releases of most brands.  I've been to many events and all have been awesome and top notch.

     Which brings us to Ubiq finally releasing their very own collaboration with New Balance to celebrate the store's 10 anniversary.  Starting off with the New Balance classic 574 model, black leather and suede cover the upper while the white outlined, orange "N' gives it enough to standout.  The black and orange colors are the original store colors along with the local favorite hockey team, the Flyers.  A grey suede backtab finishes it off with hints of grey and white on the heel and sole.
     It's really a great looking sneaker and the leather and suede feel and look great.  Kudos to Ubiq to keeping the idea simple and straight forward, especially in an era where new collaborations come out every weekend with every variation thought of and sometimes too much.  I'm sure this will be the first of many collabos between these two brands (1600, cough cough), since these have sold out and were only available in store.  Hopefully you were lucky enough to get your hands on a pair, only 48 pair were produced.  Yup, 48, that's called limited.  Also, Made in the USA.
       Too cap it off, local legendary brand Mitchell & Ness contributed on the anniversary celebration by  producing two very limited snapbacks.  In the matching black and orange colors and repping the ol' 70's Flyers team, the Broadstreet "Bullies", the caps have the traditional script and 5 gold stars sewn on the sides.  That's too represent their status in the game.  One cap has the regular adjustable snapback, while the all suede cap  has the leather strap.
     Here's to Ubiq, an all around class act shop that elevates the culture and looking forward to another 10 years.

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Kanye On "Cruel Summer"

     As the much anticipated "Cruel Summer" album dropped   This is a great introspective video of Kanye discussing his thought process while doing this collaborative album with his GOOD Music labelmates.  It's inspiring to see an artist continue to strive to be the best regardless of any previous successes.  We could all take some of the energy and determination in our lives and professions to be the best at what we do and proud of what we can accomplish and create.  
     The album is fantastic, especially with each artist striving to provide their best talents so they can hold their own amongst each other.  The label's roster includes Big Sean, Pusha-T, 2Chainz (TityBoi), Teyana Taylor, Common, Kid Cudi, Cyhi The Prince and John Legend.  The album has a ton of guest artists and producers, all listed in the video below.  Some highlights are the verses by Wu vets' Ghostface Killa and Raekwon, they are some of the best of the album.  The Dream and yes, even Ma$e, dropped a smooth verse on "Higher" which is a great song.  Hov kills it, so does Yeezy on "Clique" which was produced by white hot Hit-Boy.
     Mr. West's work rate has been roaring since his brief hiatus after his mother's passing and the quality and creativity hasn't been better.  MBDTF to Watch The Throne to Cruel Summer along with touring, designing, and everything else he does, (and Kim), it's great to be a fan and enjoy the art.
   

Puma Clyde X UNDFTD Ballistic

     Here are some pics of an early year release collaboration between Puma and Undefeated.  The contrast of materials between the ballistic nylon and suede toe and heal is a great look.  The PumaClyde is a very simple and popular silhouette for Undefeated to add their own flavor to it.  It was released in numerous pastel colors, including this yellow.  Comes with both yellow and white laces.

More pics after the jump

"Pyramids" - Frank Ocean x John Mayer

     Maybe it's just being at the Made In America concert a couple weeks ago, but as music progresses, it's the creativity of new sounds combining that still allows for new sounds and voices to reach different people and get them to appreciate it.  More so with different genres experimenting with each other and getting more comfortable crossing lines and trying new things that nobody would have thought of.  Frank Ocean doesn't necessarily have a "different" sound, but at the same time, he definitely has a voice and is creating music that is "different".  I've been listening to his album, Channel Orange, all summer and the songs and lyrics vary musically.  Not sure too many other artists will have guests spots from Earl Sweatshirt to John Mayer, let alone pull it off with great success.
     One song that found itself on repeat is Pyramids, specifically the second half of the 8 minute audio movie.  The words, electric synths, and repetitive bass paint a picture of images while you find yourself bumping it at a high level like any other hip hop banger, but as smooth as any R&B hook.
     Director, Nabil, who just came off of doing the video for Mercy, laced Mr. Ocean with a video that leaves you wondering if you drank the Absinthe with him as he goes through his desert ride to the "Pyramid".  After having some adult fun, John Mayer, makes an appearance with a guitar solo to close out the video which goes back to my first point where fans of both artists will probably be exposed to something they wouldn't have listened to before.  Both artists released fantastic albums this summer that pushes audio entertainment in a great direct direction, so might as well enjoy this video entertainment.  Was hoping he made an appearance with Odd Future at the MIA concert, but no luck.
(You can read my review on John Mayer's album here and Frank's mixtape from last year here.)

Nike LunarFlow Woven QS

     This Quickstrike came out this past spring but has a look that can be great in any season.  Nike has used the LunarFlow silhouette in a few different materials while this mixes a suede like leather with an eye-catching woven upper.  The intertwining of the different colors definitely gives the runner a unique look worthy of a couple stares, including your own.  The lunarlon sole and Nike + enabled sole round out the comfortable functionality of the trainer.  Other colorways are available, along with some exclusive colors from Atmos.  Big shout to KicksDeals.com and Extra Butter for a great deal on these and great customer service.

Antracite / Bamboo / Black

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