Just when you thought UK hip hop was no more. You remember Homecut (a.k.a Testament, Andy Brooks) exists…

This incredible specemin of human talent has been on the scene and making waves since I can remember Leeds even having a scene. Vibing with the likes of KidKanevil (manifested DOPE), the lovely Corinne Bailey Ray, Andreya Triana and a personal favourite, Soweto Kinch (who we had the pleasure of seeing at last years Garforth Music Festival) in the latest of his musical ventures, Homecut is really making moves and proclaiming a message that illuminates the reality of life. DEEP. In fact, I feel bad that I havn’t caught up with this man’s live performance of late. THE SHAME.

Ironically, this cheers me up every time.

Believe.

Just got a nice little mailer from our footwear friends over at Volta. Last week they opened a DOPE pop up store in Soto with a party to remember, heck, even the Police made a guest appearance! The whole shenanigans was for the launch of their latest creation….

the STRADA

DOPE right? I’m even gonna throw a lil bonus pic of the STRADAs being complimented by some nice selvage denim…you know i’m obsessed with the stuff…

Volta have a totally sick site too, always a bonus. I usually skip over those boooooooooring site intro’s but this one for some reason I watched twice….heck yeah I like it. Sorry for the partial agression, it’s hard not to be when Drake - Over is on in the back.

Believe.

EASILY the dopest find this week!

I love it when a brand totally speaks my mind as a physical and fashionable manifestation that i’m gonna wear. This needs to be added to my wardrobe…now.

Limited Edish prints, quality manufacturing, dope designs and just a real brand…I can’t really hype it any more.

Here’s what they have to say…

WWW.PAPERPLATESCLOTHING.COM

“IN A NUT SHELL, PAPER PLATES CLOTHING IS A MESH OF HIGH-END QUALITY MIXED WITH PLAIN AND CLEVER DESIGNS. WE LIKE TO THINK OF OUR PRODUCTS AS MORE THAN PHYSICAL THING; IT REPRESENTS A “HUNGRY” LIFESTYLE. THIS SITE WAS CREATED TO TAKE YOU THROUGH THE JOURNEY OF A BRAND, THAT PLANS TO LEAVE ITS MARK IN CULTURE. HERE AT PAPER PLATES, WE PROMISE TO DROP CONSISTENT HOT SHIT AND KEEP EVERYTHING LIMITED. WE EMBRACE THE RED CUP AFFAIRS, LOCAL CELEBRITIES, FLY GUYS, AND GALS, FIJI WATER DRINKERS, MERCEDES BENZ DREAMERS, AND VIP SOFA SITTERS. CHECK ON US DAILY, WE’LL KEEP YOU POSTED ABOUT FUTURE RELEASES THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE ONLY HERE.”

BELIEVE.

I was gonna hit you all up with a few select items from what ans is offering us this summer….but i thought what the heck, let me just show it all.

BELIEVE.

Who loves Superdenim?

I do! That online store is one of the dopest niche stores around and they’ve just settled down into a sweet little bricks and mortar location situated in the heart of York, just around the corner from the Minster. Now there’s tons of hype around what the boys are doing there on forums already, but we’re real buying fans here at RISE and we wanna’ say our piece too!

Hide and Seek brands like Studio D’Artisan, The Real McCoy’s and Mister Freedom are just some of the brands we’ve been dying to see stocked on UK shelves more frequently and we’re excited to see what else The RS is looking to bring in.

Go see for yourself!

The Rugged Standard

First Floor
19 High Petergate
York
YO1 7EN

You really don’t want to miss this!

Believe.

I have been told and witnessed the truth in the flesh that Scouting For Girls’ have a new single ‘This Ain’t A Love Song’. The single is out on 29 March, just ahead of their new album ‘Everybody Wants to Be On TV’ on 12 April. BOOYA.

If that isn’t enough the guys have also made a series of Scouting for Girls TV ‘webisodes’, where Roy, Greg and Pete give news bulletins on their new single, album and their charity London-Brighton bike ride for WellChild.  It’s fun and will bring a smile to your face.

Check out a couple here:

Episode 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2cl7TySuag

Episode 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzKXSW6cKlI&feature=channel

For the naive, in 2008 Scouting For Girls became the biggest selling new British band of the year. Having toiled for ten years unsigned, the boys sold over 900,000 records of their eponymous number 1 debut album, and were nominated for three Brit Awards (British Breakthrough Act, British Single and British Live Act) to become the UK’s most successful new pop band.

Fronted by exuberant showman Roy Stride, Scouting For Girls quickly became renowned for their contagious piano-led pop songs (She’s So Lovely, Heartbeat, It’s Not About You), that connected with a huge audience and reaped multiple sell-out tours. Those live shows grew as Scouting For Girls mania gripped, buoyed on by huge radio support, and venues were upsized across the country and sold out just as quickly. By the end of 2008, they had performed to hundreds of thousands of fans, and outsold bands twice their size in the live arena.

The initial recordings of their forthcoming second album Everybody Wants To Be On TV were ruthlessly scrapped after the Brit Awards in 2008, when the band decided it needed re-writing and re-shaping. Whole tracks were dropped in Roy Stride’s mission for a collection of perfect pop songs. The resulting album, produced by Andy Green at Helioscentric Studios in East Sussex, is unshakeably bold and confident, a genuine step up in sound that loses none of the band’s early charm but builds and expands upon it as infectiously as only they know how to be.

It is a welcome return by this everyday trio, writing a bright new chapter of British pop for 2010.

www.scoutingforgirls.co.uk

Believe

Know this guy?

Lets indulge if not!

Amar Dehal IS Electric-Press. Based in Newcastle Upon Tyne (near my end of things) he supplies our UK needs by bringing across all those Limited Edish and exclusive brands you’ve seen and “wondered where is that from?”

Most of the items stocked on the site are not readily available in the UK, on the high street or online for that matter. Most of my brands originate from America with a few home grown British ones and a handful from across the Globe. It all started with a desire to see us kids wearing what were missing out on from across the globe. He’s not about the mass produced or plain tees or plain canvases and labels their wearers as vacant as their tees and so goes for the bricks and mortar approach stocking brands such as Terratag, CTRL and Kid Kandi.

We ALL HATE delivery charges don’t we? I see Electric Press as a solution.

We ALL know that “everybody wants what nobody has”

We ALL need to sketch over to Electric Press.

Believe.

…..and say “BRO, Where did you get that from?”

The usual answer is RISE! No lie. I don’t know how many times people have expressed their desire to get the RISE or DIE crew neck sweat but it seems the tradition has no passed over onto our newest selection of tees (if I may humbly say so).

After receiving my 3 personal favourite pre-releases I threw one on my back and the other in my Eastpak and trotted of back to Yorkshire collecting comments from train passengers, shop owners and a guy in the local Chinese. If this was a game, I’d be winning!

(photo courtesy of my twitter @AllThingsCommon …shame plug)

Turkish cotton, sick attention to detail, slim fitting extended length tees with a nice sleeve length….mmm.

I hear were near sold out too…..

SO CAN WE GET UP FOR THIS OR WHAT?

Believe.