I got the pleasure of taking pictures of one of my many muses: Charity. Even the name is iconic.

More of the look underneath the hood…

It’s hard to think about the thrills of sunshine and warmth, as each day adds on another layer of clothing to our crisp white tees, but Rye Rye rewinds us back to the pleasures of only a month ago with her video for “Sunshine”. The first single from her upcoming album Go! Pop! Bang! is a laid back as a summer day. Miss Fuck-Google-Ask-Me (aka M.I.A.) hook is reminiscent to the good ol’ Arular days of 2004. The star of the show, though is Rye Rye. The Baltimore rapper is here for a gold time, interchanging from a platinum blond wig to her natural cropped hair cut while, as she raps about snatching unsuspecting boys from their hater girls.

*Check 2:19 for an explosion of androgyny courtesy of the asian girl.

Catch the video after the jump…

Go! Pop! Bang! will be released in January 2011 under N.E.E.T./ Interscope.

“The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization.”

African American fashion is evolving into a new phase. Call it the Obama effect or Rosewood Movement, but lately there’s been a change across  the sartorial landscape. Men are replacing gold chains for bow ties. Instead of wearing white Jordans, guys are satisfied slipping on a pair of oxfords. The Brooklyn Circus and the gents at The Street Etiquette are major forces in creating this dapper change.

Here they showcase “the Black Ivy” style.

Check Out: The Brooklyn Circus, Unabashedly Prep,  and Street Etiquette

Since SeptemBRRR 28 is almost upon us, a slew of leaks from The Appeal: Georgia’s Most Wanted have hit the interwebs. An initial blog post and personal favorite is “Haterade.” In it Gucci says to his haters, “I’m not listening. I’m not interested. My attention only focused on what I get.” Pharrell’s spaceman footprint is all over this record and Nicki Minaj is surprising effective, displaying a serious, toned down persona.

Download \”Haterade\”

Watches. Timepieces. Nowadays, time can be found anywhere: on  your iphone, on your personal computer, on a wall, on your microwave, etc. Watches have become more of an accessory than a tool. The “Infinity Piece” a watch designed by Levi Maestro and Shayan Afshar gives a futuristic tone to the modern timepiece.

In one more day summer will be over, which means that the days will get shorter, the nights will get longer, and the weather will get colder.  An added benefit of this seasonal change is that we can go back to layering pieces once again.  Don’t take it the wrong way, I love my summer days of wearing absolutely nothing but shorts, but having an oxford with a camel colored crew-neck sweater and a jacket on top makes my heart warm.

As far as jackets go Henri Lloyd has done it again with their Barton Button. What I enjoy about the brand is that obviously fashion is important to them, but so is being practical. The dark navy outer lambswool is the perfect color for fall, but will also keep you warm when you’re running those holiday errands

Check out the Barton Button or more looks at Henri Lloyd.

Before we talk about the content,  can I just say the visionary who thought up the two covers is genius. Not only am I in awe of Kid Cudi’s “breaking into a nebula” shot, but the Rosewood styling is crisp. Nicki Minaj’s shot is minimalism at its best. For someone who usually wears pink and green wigs and outlandish outfits, it is nice to see a somewhat toned down Nicki.

Sidenote: She keeps getting gorgeous everyday (#groupietalk).

Complex also posted the interviews with both artists, where Cudi talks about his former cocaine habit and goes a bit in on Wale. Here is a short snippet.

Speaking of Wale, when you hit that fan at your show last December, he came out with a line about it ["Throwin' 'round wallets like the dude that Kid Cudi hit," from "Thank You Freestyle"].

Kid Cudi: It wasn’t a shot, it’s just a simple-ass rhyme by a simple-ass rapper. You can’t let that shit faze you. That’s one of those raps that just shows the world that you wack. Why would you even use that as a metaphor? Everybody think they Hov. Niggas ain’t got the magic like they think they do; there’s only a couple of wizards in this game. I’m a wizard and I know it.

Are your peers not seeing that?

Kid Cudi: The last album, I let people dis me, throw out those jabs in their verses and have their little slick remarks. This time around, I’m not fucking around. I have no time to think about other niggas. These other motherfuckers like feeding off another nigga’s energy, so they mention their name. You hear me talk about niggas? I don’t even talk about Kanye, and that’s my homeboy! They talk about Kanye like they’re bosom buddies with this nigga. Talking about “I be in Hawaii”—man, shut the fuck up, why you got to tell everybody everything? Then people like Wale get mad that ‘Ye ain’t give him no beats—’Ye ain’t give you no beats because we ain’t fucking with your raps. It’s not a conspiracy theory. We don’t fuck with you musically, so we’re not going to provide music for you. The shit is a service, it’s a quality of a certain standard. Niggas are just so thirsty it’s ridiculous. I’ve been eating humble pie forever, and people still call me an asshole. These people don’t know my fucking life—now I’m going to give them something to talk about.

What does it take to win an election? Is it charisma? Creating great policies for change? Honesty? All of the above? This is the season where hundreds of possible candidates are debating this question. While all of those factors are important, according to D.A. Pennebaker’s 1993 documentary “The War Room”, what matters the most is the caliber of people associated with you that has the biggest impact.

“The War Room” follows two important figures in the 1992 Clinton campaign as they figure out how maneuver the campaign away from distractions such as sexual scandals, the candidates past, and regular politics. George Stephanopoulos, Clinton’s communications director, handled how information would be told and distributed throughout the media. His role is often seen tied in with James Carville, Clinton’s lead strategist, whose knowledge about the “political game” is often frightening.

Through viewing the movie, one realizes the mechanics of a political campaign. For instance, the strategies that make up rally signs is not a topic that you would see on CNN, but it holds a lot of importance. Varied homemade signs, made from poster paper, markers, and anything else you can find in your arts and crafts bin, shows the emotional closeness that a voter has with a particular candidate. On the downside, varied signs could also show disunity amongst the people. While on the other hand, machine manufactured posters and signs display unity, but lack imagination and heart. Every single action– the little things, as well as the large (i.e., Gennifer Flowers) — is crucial to the well-being of the campaign.

What initially struck my attention was how young everyone was. George Stephanopoulos had just turned 30 when he joined the campaign, while Carville was 46. Regardless of their youth and slight inexperience, their passion for what they believed Clinton would do once elected president pushed them to succeed. It shows that drive and determination can go a long way.

Watch a preview of the documentary after the jump.

Side by side, Marc Jacobs Spring 2011 collection is similar to his Fall 2009 collection. The colors that he uses for both are highly saturated to an extent that it can be overwhelming to the eyes. While for Fall 2009 his palette of colors consisted shades of black, purple, and blue, his 2011 Spring line is reminiscent of a mixture of fall foliage and blossoming spring flowers. Speaking of flowers, they tend to appear in almost every piece as some sort of ornament.