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So, it appears that you don’t need tons o’ booty on southern mixtape covers to be recognized! (or maybe you do?) Recently the mixtape cover I designed for The League of Extraordinary Gz debut was nominated for a Southern Entertainment Award. Looking at the competition, I’m not sure how to feel, but I gotta say that the design for Concealed Weapons stands out and as the sole Texas based competitor in the category I’m pretty sure we can get the whole state behind us and win the award. What yall think?

Follow the Southern Entertainment Award Voting link and scroll down to “BEST ART/GRAPHICS ON A MIXTAPE” and vote for league of extraordinary gz – concealed weapons.

Truthfully, looking at some of the other nominees I can pretty much point out each and every thing I find wrong with design in hip hop music right now. (I would post pictures, but most are NSFW) No offense to other artists or designers, but I’m personally tired of the pen & pixel derived design for rap music. I understand influence and current trends, but when everything starts looking the same I personally think it’s time to switch it up a bit. Anyone agree with me?…maybe I’m the only one. I’ve worked with a few independent artists in hip hop in the past and anyone I work with in the future will have to agree with me. (That is unless you have a huge budget and want to give me a lot of $$$$$$)

Either way, I’m happy to be nominated because my competition consists of Usher, Trey Songz, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and others so if I lose maybe I can have a dance off with Usher, challenge Ricky Rosé to a hot dog eating contest and take Nicki Minaj out for ice cream or something. Now that’s BAWSE!

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J Dilla – Donut Shop

As part of promoting their double vinyl + slip mat collaboration with the J Dilla Estate and Serato, Stones Throw has released the digital versions of  Donut Shop tracks. Best of all, they are free! This fresh set of donuts from the legendary J Dilla includes instrumental version of Mos Def’s “History” and Q Tip’s “Move”.

Yo! Check out the sugar coated Studio No. 1 (Shepard Fairey and co.) designed packaging for the double vinyl + slipmat version of Donut Shop! It includes the six J Dilla tracks, 2 sides Serato Control Tone (for use with Serato Scratch Live DJ software), and 2 donut slipmats. Looking at these, I see I could have probably added some sprinkles to a donuts inspired design a did a few years ago. Blast!

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Soft Serve – A Summer Mix

The homie Chop Steak drops another mix just in time for the first weekend of summer! A smoothed out mix with the feeling of a cold creamsicle on a hot summer day. Oh yea!

Tracklisting

1. Goapele – Different f. Mos Def
2. Petey Pablo – He Spoke To Me
3. Beatnuts – Get Funky
4. Bishop Lamont – Right
5. Dilated Peoples – Worst Comes To Worst
6. Q-Tip – You
7. Zion I – Boom Bip
8. Freddie Gibbs – Ghetto
9. Redman – Tonight’s Da Night
10. Foreign Exchange – Raw Life f. Joe Scudda
11. Pete Rock – Queen f. AG
12. Common – Real Nigga Quotes
13. Johnson & Jonson – Told Me
14. People Under The Stairs – Days Like These
15. Cam’ron – Like Shiiit
16. Pharcyde – She Said (Jay Dee Remix)
17. Ludacris – Good Relationships f. Snoop Dogg & Nate Dog
18. The Game – Old English
19. Lil’ Wayne – Mo’ Fire
20. Three 6 Mafia – Da Summa

Artwork by The Honest Ape

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Data Howler – Estate/Black Swans Single

I have to say Data Howler’s drastic change in artistic direction is not so much unexpected, but certainly surprising. According to Objektiv One Data Howler, the identity shift for both music and graphic design projects comes after a revelation six months ago and basic boredom with the genre he was slowly becoming popular in. Either way, the two new tracks from the newly dubbed Data Howler give listeners a quick glimpse into what the artist is now about. I personally hope he does not completely abandon hip-hop, but go explore a bit and come back and switch it up for everyone. Either way, check out his new tracks as Data Howler.

I was down in Austin for SXSW this past March and was kicking it with The LOEGz, who I’ve been doing some work for. The group was one of the openers on the Best in Texas Showcase, which had a Paul Wall and Chamillionaire reunion as the headliner. Somewhere between acts, Houston hip-hop legend Michael 5000 Watts threw on one of the Concealed Weapons t shirts that I designed, which had a bunch of people running to the merch table to buy them up.

At this point, I had left the backstage area and had gone off to trying to get into another showcase, so I never saw this happen. I did look up some video of it…pretty crazy feeling to see one of my designs on a legend. Dope stuff!

Dj Nick Nack has released a limited edition full digipack of his latest album, Dearly Departed. Only having 100 printed up, it is a “high quality matte lamination with spot UV and includes real vintage photos.” Each album also comes with a download coupon. The album is a dedication to Nick’s sister, who was killed in a car accident in 2004.

Correction: 1000 of the CDs pictured here. The “limited edition” copies are the same + signed + hand numbered + include Nick Nack’s previous release “Improving Silence”.

From CrowdControlRecords.com

Dearly Departed” is the follow up full length album to Nick’s highly successful “Improving Silence”. This new album can best be described as a combination of psych rock and funk. The result is a sultry, soulful downtempo instrumental sound that is sure to move you whether you like hip hop, soul, rock or downtempo electronica. DJ Ayres summarizes best by saying, “I would put this album in the same category as DJ Shadow – Endtroducing and RJD2 – Dead Ringer.”

The Check out pictures of the actual packaging designed by Dj Nick Nack after the jump and peep the video promo created by Nick Nack.
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This would be an awesome way to boost productivity. Not sure if it will show up on CS5, which is being released on April 12. The way they use it for the panoramas is quite amazing. Wow!

So sorry everyone, not much time to post recently. Too much going on! Anyway, today I couldn’t stop listening to this new song from The Gorillaz, so I created the image that popped into my head after listening to the song for a while.  I focused on these verses:

And if the whole world is crashing down
Fall through space out of mind again
Where the emptiness we leave behind on warm air rising
Lose all the shadows far away

and where Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon comes in:

Little memories, marching on
Your little feet, working the machine
Will it spin, will it sore
My little dream, working the machine

This is basically what I do with most music based projects, focus on several words, instruments, noises or verses and put down what I see in my Ape head. Anyway, enjoy the song and check out the full album, it’s dope! You should expect more SXSW posts in the coming days. Peace.

To most of my readers, I don’t even know what to tell y’all about J-Dilla that you may not already know. Personally he’s one of the biggest influences and even though my taste in music keep changing, there’s nothing like putting on some headphones and listening to Welcome 2 Detroit while I go off on a digital canvas.

I created this wallpaper back in 2006, which evolved into a tee shirt mock up which I never got printed up. Truth be told I posted the design up somewhere and got a cease and desist order from Stones Throw in 2007…but that’s another story for another day. RIP J-Dilla.

From the Haiti Poster Project Website:

“A collaboration of artists and designers from around the world, benefiting victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Moxie Sozo, the organizer of the 2005 HURRICANE POSTER PROJECT, is teaming up with Josh Higgins, the organizer of the 2007 SO-CAL FIRE POSTER PROJECT to produce the 2010 HAITI PROJECT.”

The deadline for entries is March 17th, with the goal being to raise $1 million dollars for Doctors without Borders. Check the Haiti Poster Project website for more information.

If I can get some time, I’ll try to put something together for this and see if I can get the printing donated. Looks pretty cool, if any of my readers submit anything, put a link in the comments section.