Chanel Iman's Got The Jazz w/Arlenis Sosa Peña

This month Chanel Iman provides a double dose of Jazz era inspired editorials in both Harper's Bazaar and MM Italy. Her spread in MM Italy, "All That Jazz," (shot by Alexi Lubomirski) is simple and playful but it's more VH1 jazz light than mood shifting, body grabbing JAZZ. In it Iman is every bit cute, child-like and airy. The fashions are nice and the mood is fun but what's missing is depth and power.





Where Iman and fer fellow model cohort, Arlenis Sosa Peña, find the real rhythm and feel of jazz is behind the lense of famed photographer, Peter Lindbergh. His Harper's Bazaar editorial, "Fashion...And All That Jazz," best capture's that 1940's era of music. Lindbergh uses some of Harlem's famous jazz spots such as the Lenox Lounge and the Cotton Club as a backdrop as both Iman and Peña provide beautiful portraits of the women of that era. Displaying her ability to meld herself into seemingly any character Iman channels the late Billie Holiday and eerily resembles the chanteuse in a few of the frames. Peña reminds me of many a young female jazz fans of that era. Young, sweet and sultry.

This jazz concept may have seen the lenses of too many photographers in its time but both Iman and Peña handle it well and deliver a moody and stunning range of images.

















"All That Jazz"

"Fashion...And All That Jazz"

Last Offence = MY Hip-Hop

Being a HUGE music fan I come across artists and music that represent various facets of my personality all the time. But on occasion I come across certain artists that I feel represent ME and what I believe in. In a way they feel kindred to me and they inspire me. Rapper, Last Offence (Lasto), is the newest artist to be added to that list and he has quickly earned a place amongst my upper echelon of favorite artists.

This N.Y. emcee (by way of St. Louis, MO and recently L.A.) is part of the newer generation of openly gay rappers making a name for themselves in the hip-hop scene. Within the last year this former film-maker to be has released an EP, Run A Lap (a good head start for this new emcee), and more recently a mixtape, Not For Non-Profit , one of the best hip-hop recordings I've heard all year.

Not For Non-Profit is a melting pot of lyrical braggadocio, clever word-play, social commentary, revealing lyrics and sex.

When it comes to talk of sex Lasto both simmers and turns up the sexual heat with songs like "Wet Dream", "Back it On Up" and "On Top." The former is an exceptional blend of 90's hip-hop flavor and sexual come-on's that finds Lasto and fellow emcee, Nano Reyes, boasting that, "Any dream about me is a wet one." The song "Back It On Up" is a banging club track that has Lasto and his fans heading straight to the wild side of the dance floor as the Jay-Z sampled chorus instructs listeners to, "Back it on up/Back it, Back it on up/Back it on up like a U-Haul truck." However, on the latter track Lasto ditches his sexual commands, preferring instead to seduce over a softer middle-eastern inspired beat as he asks, "Why are you here?/You should be living in my bedroom...I Won't stop till I get up on top/Won't stop till I get up on top."

But lest anyone start to think that Lasto is a common whore he makes it abundantly clear that getting at him is no easy task. Over the synth flares, gun cocks and sirens of "Don't Go There" Lasto declares, "Yeah I'm into these nuts and ball sacks/That's common knowledge now/But I ain't no slut, ninja/Calm it down."

Besides being someone with a healthy sexual appetite Lasto is also a slick and witty emcee who's fully aware of his talent, and rightfully so. On the dirty-south inspired track "Fresh As I Wanna Be" Lasto comically boasts that, "I'm tight, tight, tight dawg/Like a gerbil's coochie." The song "They Don't Like Me" (Which seriously reminds me of The Karate Kid) finds Lasto cleverly professing his lyrical might on an even grander scale as he proclaims that, "Whatever god you believe in/You can believe in this fag."

Putting aside his own vanity Lasto also puts a lyrical mirror to the world around him and skillfully tackles a number of social issues affecting the gay community. On "Here & Now" Lasto blends observant and reflective lyrics with a blazingly powerful horn-driven beat as he sounds off on the effects of the Down Low; "The DL epidemic the way that it hit those black men/I feel I need to scream it out/Like fuck me from the back end."

Lasto dives even deeper into conscious waters on the anthem "Who We Are," covering topics such as Matthew Shepard, Harvey Milk and marriage equality. While the guitar driven beat may be a little too VH1 light for my tastes the lyrics are enough to carry the song as he asserts that "You will not treat me like you better no more/You will not treat me like a leper no more."

On one of the mixtape's most introspective tracks, "Not Whining," Lasto waxes poetic over Kanye West's "Say You Will" beat about his presence in the hip-hop world. In it he admits, "Ninja I'm not whining/The game don't want me/Won't pump me/No tender feelings/None of those warm fuzzies...the game don't love me." What would come to many as a crushing realization about the music industry's homophobia Lasto takes in stride and counters with an iron will and unstoppable sense of destiny; "But I've invested in this/See if you die and you just let your destiny sit/And you don't fulfill it/Fuck was you talking about, Willis? Why was you here for, homie? This is not a game." That type of strength and honesty is what makes both him and his lyrics so endearing and allows him to adeptly take Kanye's beat and create something equally as moving as the original, if not better.

Not For Non-Profit succeeds in lyrics, diversity, production and wit. To put it simply, it's dope and to speak simply of Lasto, he IS hip-hop to me and his voice is worth being heard. I, and now hopefully all of my readers, impatiently await his full-length album, Rap's Misfit. Until then I bow in his honor, give him my personal stamp of approval and formally "ride his dick."

You can download both his EP and mixtape from his myspace page http://www.myspace.com/whoislastoffence

Check out a video of his show from this years Mondo Homo Festival in Atlanta with fellow emcee, TwiZza

Side Lipton ~ *That's me laughing and screaming "YAES!" after TwiZza cups his tidday.*

Still don't think he's dope? Well here's a video of Lasto in a freestyle word game with fellow emcees Medino Green and Rowdy Raz.


*Lasto comes in at 4:22*

Bry'Nt - Porn Star II: The Director's Cut

Bry'Nt's new mixtape Porn Star II: The Director's Cut has finally been released online. Here's just a taste of what Bry'Nt's giving you this go 'round.







Download the entire mixtape for free from his myspace and let the eargasms begin ;-]

http://www.myspace.com/bryntmusic

Eve - Me N My

Eve has leaked a new song titled "Me N My" from her upcoming album Flirt. On the track Eve abandons any typical hip-hop sound and instead decides to dive deep into the musical world of underground raves, techno/electronica and U.K. dubstep. The bass thumping Salaam Remi & Benga beat (which samples Benga's song "E-Trips") is filled with synth riffs, rattles, claps & flares reminiscent of the underground dance scene from The Matrix: Reloaded. Any club kid or rave junkie worth their weight in X-pills and pacifiers is at least going to wiggle their hips as Eve beckons "Just dance/Come on/Dance/Come on."

Besides attempting to incite a critical dance riot Eve also praises herself and her female friends with the chorus line, "Me and my bitches up in the club/Me and my bitches up in the club/Acting like we hot posin up for thugs." The praise becomes all too provocative when she begins to rap, "Never knew a bitch like you could dance/Never knew a bitch like you could dance/Dance/Come on!" It's all at once crude, unexpected and enticing...in a butch way.

Is the song a hit? Maybe. But it is an intruiging venture into the dance world for Eve and I'd love to see it put into video form. Check out the song below.


Eve - "Me N My"

Gracie Carvahlo: Brasilia's Grace

Continuing in my love/coverage of Brasilian models another of the country's star models is making waves in the fashion industry. Signed with Marilyn Models, 18 year old Gracie Carvahlo is already a top model in South America and is slowly making a name for herself here in the Northern hemisphere. She may not be booking as many blue chip jobs as her Brasilian counterpart, Raquel Zimmerman, but she's quietly booking gigs that most models would kill for. This Fall/Winter season the avian-like beauty's already booked campaigns for DKNY Jeans, Victoria's Secret and Kenneth Cole and shots for GAP, EXPRESS and BCBG Max Azria should be coming out soon.

Last year the girl was hailed as the next big thing out of Brasil after having walked in nearly every major designers show during Rio and São Paulo Fashion weeks. This past season she arrived in New York and Paris and walked for major designers like Stella McCartney, Kris Van Assche, Ralph Lauren, 3.1 Phillip Lim and her current employer BCBG Max Azria. Just this summer she walked for Diane Von Furstenberg and Jason Wu's Resort shows. This girl's clearly got next and Brasil's presence alive and well in the fashion world.

Chanel Iman & Jourdan Dunn VOGUE for the Young Gurls

These two look as cute as a fuckin' button together in this preview of their new editorial for next month's issue of Teen Vogue. I know this page of the editorial is dedicated to t-shirts but I love those short shorts and I DEFINITELY need to get my hands on those brazalete's (bracelets) for the new school year.

Lady GaGa Penetrates (Hee Hee) The High-Fashion World

Looking at these pictures from W magazines August issue it's clear that Lady GaGa's influence has begun to seep onto the pages of high-fashion magazines. Editor and stylist, Alex White, takes the GaGa aesthetic and melds it onto one of, if not THE, top models of the world, Raquel Zimmerman. Photographers Inez & Vinoodh capture the moody magic of this doppleganger as she gives her best GaGa chic inspired pouts and poses. "That's FASHION honey!" Check out the rest of the GaGa inspired editorial below.