THE FIRST. vol. 1

Ahh, Mr. West is in the buildin'...children...laaaaadies. and THIS time, he's bearing gifts! Or, maybe a box of coal? =/ Kanye just recently held a listening party in L.A. for his new album entitled "808's and Heartbreak", and the reviews are everything but coexisting. From the things I've heard, this is going to be one of those cd's that you either hate...or love. Stepping outside of his box filled with 70's samples, he's using light drum patterns and simple beats to put together an album unlike one we've ever heard from the midwest mogul before. The most astonishing asset added to his list of smash hit "must have's", would have to be the infamous vocoder (affectionally known as the t-pain voice thingy). But will this transition make or "break" him? When talking about the people who actually make the vocoder work for them, Kanye's name is often the first person mentioned. "Other than T-Pain, I think Kanye does it the best." says music lover Rodney J. And honestly, I'd have to agree with him. But there's one catch, folks. Kanye's whole album is covered in synthesizer juice. That's right, every...single...song, which leaves lots of Kanye fans in suspense, as well as dissapointment. "Honestly, I don't think I can really sit down and listen to a whole kanye album with the voice effect. It's not like he can really sing, so I mean, what?" says fellow Ye fan. But not to fear, kanye kiddos! He won't be singing the whole album. Many of the songs will include verses that'll remind you of Ye's verse in "Put On", where although he used the synthesizer and is singing a tad bit, he's still rapping enough to let Chris Brown keep his day job. Will we be pounding the new LP in our speakers like 808's? Or will the new cd cause heartbreak everywhere? We'll find out soon! Moved up from it's Dec. 16th release date, "808's and Heartbreak" is scheduled to be released this month. -BUTTA.

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It's been a few years since we've had a hit single from Mr. Marshall Mathers. Honestly, I almost thought he was dead. But behold, folks! A new single! I, for one, absolutely love it. October 16th, on a satellite radio show entitled "shade 45", slim shady invited the world to listen to his new single during his "party" for the release of his new book "the way I am" which went on sale Tuesday, Oct. 21. His funny antics, catchy rhymes, ill beat and overall eminemness makes this song a definite banger! -BUTTA.

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Ladies, WHY does it seem like all of the wonderful shoes are always so overpriced and expensive? Well...that's because they are. We all know places you can get cheap cute shoes from, but lets be honest. Isn't it fun viewing $89576.99 shoes, just because? Take a look at this month's top 4 pocket breakers. Worth Every Penny.

4: L.A.M.B Nayutas [$374.00]
3: Marc by Marc Jacobs [$624.00]
2: DSQUARED Flash2 [$592.00]
1:...

Yes, that IS a gun you see on the heel of that shoe. Women's shoes are becoming more innovative as the days go by. I must say, Chanel has made me proud to be a female with these, [wipes tears away]. Although the price has not been released yet, lets think realistically. They're by Chanel, they're new releases, and the only celebrity owning them at this particular moment is Madonna. It's safe to say that these are the most beautiful [and expensive!] pair of shoes we're telling about this edition! -BUTTA.

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What makes the shoe perfect? Really, that’s a term of relevance and what it means to you. I know a few of you may disagree on the shoes that I’ve picked this time around. That’s fine and dandy. Allow me to give you a clear insight into what I see in these kicks. As the wonderful shoe-loving person that I am, I choose shoes solely on appeal. Take the Clae’s for example, they’re plain, simple, and pretty much an every occasion shoe. Who doesn’t need something they can throw with every outfit on the go? Simply put, these shoes have been chosen for their simplicity, color ways, and downright popularity. Nothing more, nothing less.

4: Clae Romare Lo
3: Nike Air Max 90
2: Nike SB Dunk High Pro
1:...

Ah, you know me so you figured that my number one pick would be a pair of nikes, huh? Wrong! I’ve decided on these extra spiffy pair of Supras for one reason: They’re fly. With the mesh of three warm tones, how can you go wrong? The patent leather red accent on the back of the shoe gives them a noticeable flare that automatically holds your eyes as hostages of fashion. A classic look with a 2008 feel. What a merge of yesterday and tomorrow. An ingenious design and color way makes the Supras an unarguable pick for my top shoe this issue. -JAY.

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The purse, [excuse me, bag] has always been one of the most feminine/talked about/looked at assets to any attire. Betsey Johnson has dedicated almost her whole career in fashion to the making of gorgeous, slightly expensive, yet still affordable, sometimes gaudy bags. ?Her style is a mixture between Barbie and 1940's cowgirl with a dash of 80's flash. A survivor of breast cancer, Betsey reminds us that fashion doesn't always have to be so stiff and mundane. She puts the fun back into style and delivers a fresh line every season. She doesn't only design purses, though. Her clothes are just as hot as her bags. Her site, http://www.betseyjohnson.com, is where her clothing can be found. Below you'll find a few of my personal favorites that make great additions to any outfit. Whether you're going out painting the town or just out to dinner with that special guy [*cough* or girl], these purses will definately draw attention! -BUTTA.


wait. now it's the men's turn!

Hold on, tell me you see this. Now, I’m not one of the men for those “man bags” or whatever they’re called these days. I usually leave those kind of things to Lupe and his GoYard, or Pharrell and his Birkin bag. Wait, how could I forgot the infamous man bag carrying Kanye West? Regardless, this bag is insane. Adidas seems to be making their way back into the hip-hop world with the retro look. The leather bag hits for a pretty penny, though. Doesn’t it just make you want to have something important enough to put in it? I don’t think it will ever be as popular as a Louie bag or any of its high classed competitors, but it hold its own. The engraving of the old school leaf and classic Adidas lettering gives this leather bag its sex appeal. Yes, it’s quite sexy. - JAY

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Out of all the stupid videos I've encountered on "Duh Tube", this is definately one of the best. It's not new, it's not enlightening, it's almost a waste of 2 minutes and 16 seconds. But it's funny as hell. Watch it. "Million Dolluh Strong". -BUTTA.

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Let’s talk about the recession. No, not the Young Jeezy album, but the hard economic truth about what’s going on in our lives. It’s been hard for everyone, including myself. I’m sure you’ve seen your families and friends struggle just to make ends meet. On the bright side, economic experts say a recession only lasts for a year or so; although this has felt like an eternity. We’ve experienced job loss, gas prices soaring through the roofs of our cars, and food costing more than our damned refrigerators. As the young hip-hop culture, what do we do to stay afloat and make sure we don’t get lost in the mix? I will give you three easy to follow tips to make sure that you survive the recession

Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses:
I understand that you like to look fly and spend a few hundred dollars on a pair of outrageous Red Monkey jeans or an Ed Hardy t-shirt. I mean, that’s fine, but you have to consider the flip side of things. If you spend $350 on those jeans, will you have gas in your car to make it to work or class for the rest of whenever? There are plenty of economic friendly options you can choose and still look fly. Mostly every outfit provided by me in this issue of the magazine can be purchased for a reasonable amount of money; although reasonable is only as relevant as your income.

Find other ways to spend your extracurricular cash:
“I hear all of the females are at this club tonight”, Darren said as he went on to tell me that it costs $35 for a ticket to get into the place. Now, you tell me, is $35 worth going to a club just to look at a few pretty girls that you may or may not talk to? You can easily put that money to some good use. There are plenty of women at the movies these days. The average U.S. movie ticket costs anywhere between $5-$9; depending on where you live it may be more. Okay, let’s say you’re not a movie person. There are tons of other places you can go to enjoy yourself and meet new people. Pick up a hobby and try bowling. Believe it or not, there are some pretty fly women found in bowling alleys. Trust me. I mean, you can always hang out at the mall… That’s free.

Drive less or carpool:
I don’t know about you, but I live in the weather unforgiving state of Michigan. Here, you can have a great day and the next you’re bombarded with a foot of snow. It’s the perfect time to sit around and get familiar with the OnDemand movies. Watching movies as opposed to wasting gas? How great. Let’s say you don’t have the luxurious discomfort of being snowed in and your friends have decided to go out for the night. Why drive in separate cars? If your friends are anything like my friends, they all like to look nice and ‘stunt’, so they want to pull up the place in their fly ride. First impression or a few extra dollars in your pocket? Money it is.

Seriously, there are a dozen other ways to save money during this time. I suggest that you find out what works for you and stick to it. Our parents used to always tell us that money doesn’t grow on trees. I’m positive that they were right. It’d be pretty nice it did though, huh? - JAY

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From exposing his hate for "dark butts", to getting jumped in Detroit for his transformers chain only to see it appear in numerous myspace photos, to getting slapped by the "Hi Hater" hand, Chicago rapper Yung Bird, [I mean...Yung Berg ;)] just can't seem to get a break! With such a bad year, I guess it's only right that he takes his frustrations out on something or...someone. But, why Ne-Yo? In a recent interview with radio personality Big Boy, singer and songwriter Ne-Yo explains that if he could smack anyone, it would be Yung Berg. Not a good look, Ne-yo. Little did the singer know that Yung Berg would fire back with some exclusive pictures that could end his whole career. Or, atleast the part of it that deals with him and his obsession with the female race, lol. Take a look at the video. Was Yung Berg wrong for doing this? Or did Ne-Yo have it coming? Let's watch the video and decipher the outcome after:

After watching the video, I've come to my decision. As much as I love Ne-Yo and his music, and as much as I despise Yung Bird, I have to say that kudos need to be given to Mr. Sexy Lady. Admit it, even though you hate Yung Berg, you laughed at the video and applauded him for diggin up that dirt. 4/5 kudos to YUNG BERG!. I'm so sorry Shafe. So sorry Shaffer! -BUTTA.

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So like, Mick Boogie, Terry Urban, and about 48975435 producers came together to produce this masterpiece that, to say the least, was way overdue. Thanks to illroots, we're able to share this here genius ass mixtape with you 1st and 15th readers. For those of you that were up on "The Grey Album", a mixtape which blended songs from Hov and The Beetles together [DJ DANGERMOUSE], this mixtape is a tad bit like that. But because there are so many different producers involved, all of the songs are a lot different from each other and all have their own flare. This mixtape is DEFINATELY worth a good listen. The midwest has done it again! Click Here to download it! -ILLDIVIDUAL

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Outfit 1:
So, as we prepare for the winter months and bask in the beauty of fall, we also need to prepare our clothing. This Nike inspired outfit is the perfect way to stay warm and look pretty damned fly doing it. At the crown, we have a classic New Era 59Fifty New York Yankees fitted cap. Now being a king, we need the perfect standout robe. Nike SB has given us just that. The collared wool baseball jacket is nothing less than amazing. From the SB patch to the Nike stitching on the sleeve, we couldn’t find a better way to bring in the cold. Draped over our chest will be the LRG’s own splash of style into the mix. The red just looks well with the rest. On to the jeans, also provided by LRG. The great thing about them is the green finally gets involved and sets off the whole outfit. Now, my favorite part, the shoes. Nike and Pharrell have collaborated and made the perfect shoe to go with this king’s ‘fit. They come with two sets of shoe strings, one red and one gray. If you want to interchange them from the red to gray you won’t go wrong because the gray is brought out in the jacket around the upper sleeve and pocket trim.

Outfit 2:
My second outfit is more of an ‘on the go’ look. Nothing really special, you know? It’s just something that you throw on and still look nice on what we call an ‘off day’. Just as the first outfit, the hat is provided by New Era 59Fifty and graced with the LRG logo. The shirt may look plain, but don’t let that fool you. Sean Jean knew just what they were doing when they designed this long sleeved shirt. It’s something that you can absolutely wear with everything as an undershirt or a main item. Who doesn’t want something universal these days? Now, let’s take a look at these slick jeans provided by Sean Jean as well. I’m really into the stonewashed look this fall, so of course I’d show it off to you. The jeans are also universal, so you can mix and match them with anything. Hey, just when you think everything will be extra-regular, I hit you with these Fall Brownie low-top Air Force 1’s. The flannel on the backside of the shoe jut gives it that extra kick. I’m going to let these shoes speak for themselves. This outfit may be a little too brown for you, but a woman in the mall told me she loves to see men in brown during the fall. Oops? Did I just give away my secret?

Outfit 3:
Are you looking for the perfect merge of hip-hop and prep? You’re probably not, but I do have just the look for the idea. The Canterbury Rugby shirt is a great look this fall. It’s sleek and not too busy. I know you dudes like the whole “rock star print” shirts -- too bad. This is something nice, preppy, upscale, and pretty much a universal occasional shirt. The stripes are just like the icing on the cake. Now with the jeans, I wanted to give you a little more form fitting style with a little hip-hop baggy. These Edwin blue jeans does just that. They’re really plain, but also standout’ish. The perfect oxymoron. On to the shoes. This is the first time a pair of Adidas shoes have really caught my eye in a while. So plain, but so right! The blue goes perfect with the rest of the outfit. I’d be proud to wear this, even if it doesn’t go well with a fitted. I guess that’s just my style evolving. -JAY

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Now, I recently saw this movie. As kiddy as it is, I must admit that I enjoyed the flick. If you’re into true facts, then this movie isn’t the one for you. There are a lot of impossible things that happen throughout the whole film. I won’t give any away because it’ll ruin the movie. The visual effects are stunning though. It’s best to watch this movie with a great sound system. All of the sudden noises and thumps made me jump a few times. I hope that you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. I’d only suggest this film if you have some type of inner child in you.

Other new released DVDS include: Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, Hell Ride, Tinker Bell, Death Defying Acts, Red(2008), The Incredible Hulk, and The Strangers. -JAY.

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We are all saddened by what's happened to the Hudson family this past week. Our prayers are going out attatched to our deepest condolensces.