Beyond Urban Branding

One of the true queens of fashion has passed. VOGUE: O ne of the five formidable Fendi sisters (Paola, Anna, Franca, Carla and Alda), who inherited  their family's fashion house  - has died in Rome, aged 79. FULL STORY  Many people forget that the Fendi brand permeated Hip-Hop heavily in its formative years. Rap  icons EPMD had a dancer named FENDI.... A lot of people forget that in the early rap days, a lot of rappers were teamed with dancers, and DJ's as crews to help get the party going. Fendi was a Hip-Hop dance pioneer. He was not a bboy. I am not a dance historian but his moves seemed to be a blend of strutting, locking and a little vogue dancing. Here is a slightly grainy clip FENDI DANCING

Great new Gatorade Ad using 93 Til Infinity classic by Souls of Mischief. I was truly happy to see this ad. Anyone who was a part of Hip-Hop in the 90's totally loved 93 Til by the groundbreaking Souls of  Mischief crew from Oakland.  WATCH  Original 93 Til Video  Now, super real crate diggers (people who study the root samples of Hip-Hop classics) might wonder, where did Souls get the beat from. Well, here it is Billy Cobhams Heather .  The reason ads like this work is because it get adults who grew up on Hip-Hop as well as old school jazz heads who appreciate the stylings of real keyboard players.  I wonder who got the check? Souls or Cobham ot did they split it. I gotta call Tajai from Souls. I'mma try to get an interview. 

E-40 has always been a giant in my heart. I'm from The Bay Area. But it has taken time for people to acclimate to his level. Now he is seen as a futuristic mogul OUTSIDE of Hip-Hop. In his latest genius move, Drive Time Credit Company uses his classic Choices and re-raps the lyrics. This one caught me off guard and I was happy surprised. Original E-40 Song Choices