The time has finally arrived.
2DopeBoyz and Rocksmith NYC is proud to present and debut the inaugural release of our first capsule collection: DopeHouse. After many teaser images and previews, today is the day we happily present our first foray into a new world. We hope that our fans – old and new – enjoy what they see, and maybe cop a beanie or two.
Check it all out – and follow the link to purchase – down bottom.
By now, some of you may have heard the Hot 97 fuckery that went down a couple of days ago. If not, let us catch you up real quick. Hot 97′s program director Ebro, while on Peter Rosenberg’s The Realness, took shots at artists like Flatbush Zombies, Joey Bada$$ and Sean Price whom he considered “minor league” rap. Ebro further ranted on, saying these artists are “Still on the come up. We put em on Peter Rosenberg’s Real Late Show until they make it to prime time.” Sean Price, who is by no means “on the come up” (Heltah Skeltah, anyone?), is not one to bite his tongue, and took to Twitter to express his sentiments on the subject:
Months in the making and after years of cultivation, 2DopeBoyz, in conjunction with Rocksmith NYC, is proud to present and debut the inaugural release of our first capsule collection: DopeHouse.
Inspired by our West Coast roots, the forthcoming line will consist of a pair of t-shirts, a beanie and a snapback hat that accentuates and is influenced by 2DBz’ California-reared lifestyle, highlighted by the B/W snapback with a unique gold-colored underbrim.
Set for release on Tuesday, December 18th, each piece of the capsule collection will drop in limited quantities. So once they’re gone, they’re gone party people.
Speaking of party, for those residing in the Tri-State Area, 2DopeBoyz and Rocksmith will be celebrating both the holidays and the release of the DopeHouse capsule with a holiday party on Tuesday, December 18th, at Manhattan’s Happy Endings, hosted by DopeHouse model Alexandra Estevez. More details to come.
Head down bottom to, at long last, take a look at what’s to come. The 2Dope family is ecstatic to bring this to the masses, and we hope you are just as excited as well.
CONTINUE READING
Model: Alexandra Estevez. Click to enlarge.
For those who follow me on my sporadically-updated the Twitter account, you may have seen this message in May…
(2)dope… clothing? maybe.
— Meka (@MekDot) May 30, 2012
Well since then I’ve been working on bringing the 2DBz vision into reality, and after many months of designs, planning, plotting, scrapped prototypes and the like the dopehouse has teamed up with Rocksmith to launch our inaugural capsule collection, DopeHouse. What you are looking at right now is simply a small preview of the official announcement, as well as the official debut of the DopeHouse snapback cap, which will be available in limited quantities on December 18th on Rocksmith NYC. Check back here this Monday (December 10th) for the official announcement.
For years now, the question posed in the title has been asked over and over, and rightfully so. We all know Khaled and his infamous adlibs, his keen ability for gathering a medley of his favorite artists for posse cuts, and marketing himself by attaching his name to some of the biggest commercial hits, but really, what is the exact role he plays in Hip-Hop? Well, Complex sat down with Khaled to inquire within.
Khaled gets to talking about conceptualizing records with Ross. “I’m coaching. Him and me talk about what we’d like to do. Then he goes and writes the most phenomenal shit ever. But you have to understand, I give him the biggest speech ever before I give him the record. And I always have a hook on the record already, so when guys hear it they’re like, ‘Wow.’” It’s just a vibe. But if I’m in the studio with Ross, I never have a problem with his verses.”
See, Khaled’s not just some loudmouth yapping over the hottest record in the club. He’s the reason the record exists. If music were sports, he’d be a general manager, coach, and player all in one.
“I lay puzzled as I backtrack to earlier times. Nothing’s equivalent to the New York state of mind.”
“They askin’ how he disappear and reappear back on top? Sayin’ “Nas must have naked pictures of God or somethin’.”
“Suspect niggas don’t come outside. You might get your wig pushed back tonight. Said I deserve my respect. Brains don’t matter if your wig get split on some 3rd eye shit.”
I will be the first to admit that the notion of an elite group of men cloaked in secrecy controlling the music industry was inconceivable, despite knowing the unethical practices that go down behind the “iron curtains” of the executives who “run” this shit. Industry Rule #4080. You know the rest. A week ago, I stumbled upon an article that changed my outlook on this topic just enough to make me take a couple of steps back and rethink. The article, titled The Secret Meeting that Changed Hip-hop and Destroyed a Generation may read as a complete, tin-foil conspiracy theory at first glance, but take a closer look at the timeline of Hip-Hop along with this meeting, and it makes sense.
DJ Eclipse has been an even busier man as of late, what with touring overseas, working on the new La Coka Nostra album and now managing Rasheed Chappell. Still, he found some time to take out of his busy schedule to hook the dopehouse up with another editorial.
DJ Eclipse: It’s been a couple months since I made a post. Been busy working on some albums as well as touring. I knew I had to write something for 2dopeboyz, but I honestly couldn’t think of anything interesting I wanted to say. Well, this week we lost another member of our Hip Hop community…and now I have a lot to say.
Many of you may not be familiar with I.G. Off (I.G. Off & Hazadous), but he was one of the nicest, both in terms of personality as well as talent to come from our scene. He lived for Hip Hop. He rocked at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe amongst many local freestyle veterans. He was a staple in NYC college radio making appearances on WNYU, WKCR & WBAI to name a few. He put out some banging joints with DJ Spinna on Beyond Real Recordings. His rhyme partner then, Hazadous, was nice too, but I.G. was more the one to do the politicing. He had a gift for gab and was just as dope as Craig G or Supernat when it came to “off the top” freestyles. AND he was from Queens.
“Mos Def, I’ll have a n*gga bury ya carcass, for a Kool G and I’m not from Rawkus…”
There was a point in time when I, along with many other rap fans, thought that Rawkus Records was an indomitable force to reckon with within this volatile music industry. A powerhouse of a record label that soared over the terrain of both indie and majors, and to think, Rawkus was also an indie label in it’s early years. Established by childhood friends Brian Brater and Jarret Myer in 1995, with $10K from their combined savings account, the two Brown University graduates struggled with brand identity, putting out a variety of music genres that ranged from drum-n-bass / jungle to rock and other forms of electronica. Luckily for the two, they were friends with creepy media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s son, James. Brater and Myer drew up a business plan that eventually landed them some financial stability with the help of James Murdoch, and the label would go on to sign their first Hip-Hop act, Company Flow, despite slight uncertainty from the group.
Co-Flow (El-P, Mr. Len & Bigg Jus) had already recorded an EP which would later become the full-length album, Funcrusher Plus. The former EP (Funcrusher) was released on indie label Official founded by El-P himself, with 8 Steps to Perfection already getting steady burn on the streets of underground NYC. With “Murdoch money” now on the tables, Co-Flow signed to Rawkus and recorded a few more tracks to officially lengthen Funcrusher Plus from an EP to a 19-track-deep LP. Graff heads welcomed End To End Burners as an anthem of sorts, and the streets immediately embraced Rawkus & Co-Flow and cosigned the rawness of the album which was as cold as the steel blade of a loose box cutter sliding across skin. Ah, I can still recall hearing the unorthodox flows and screwing up my face and nodding to the idiosyncratic beat of The Fire In Which You Burn, like “What?!”
