TheGRkid on NSB

Nike SB Blue Lobsters

http://n-sb.org/1783/shellfish-from-smurfville/style/  Trying to promote a dedicated blog member..hit the link and then press the swag button to vote these best of the week...Blue Lobsters are always dripping Swagu; they are one of my favorite kicks of all time.

Entourage, The Gang Back Together?

Entourage Cast

The first episode of season eight of the wildly popular series Entourage aired last night on HBO. This will be the final season of the show based loosely on the life and career of Mark Wahlberg although a movie is likely to ensue. Season Seven ended showing Vince fighting Eminem and ending up in the hospital with face bruises and cocaine possession charges, but now it seems after three months of rehab he has put the bad habits of Season Seven behind him. It looks like Vince's entourage is back living together since Johnny Drama foreclosed on his condo and Eric and his fiance broke up, but everyone is still busy with their own problems.  Do not expect to see the carefree lifestyles of the first few seasons. Things appear to be looking up for the Chase brothers though, with Johnny starring in his own  network show and Vince's career being revitalized for the second time, but don't be surprised to see some plot twists from the writers. Grenier did tell "People Magazine", "We all end up in a very good place, but were completely transformed", when speaking of the season finale. Could this be the best season yet? Tune in to see the epic final season Sunday nights at 10:30 on HBO.

Thanks to http://www.2dopeboyz.com/ for providing an episode link.         

Remaining 2011 Releases I'm Looking Most Forward To

The Vans California Era Wingtip "wool" is one of the cleanest sneakers I have ever seen. Vans has already released a few Era Wingtips in full leather or suede, but there is currently nothing quite like these on the market. They will be releasing three colorways this fall - Tan, Pack Black and grey. My only concern with these is the wool will get dirty easily, but if sprayed with some ultra protector they should probably be alright. Keep an eye out for this nice sneaker/dress shoe hybrid in the upcoming months. There is no official release day yet.

 The Nike Air Yeezy 2 is for sure one of the most highly anticipated sneaker releases for the fall season. A lot of hype and rumors surround this shoe but not many definite answers as to when and where they will release or how much they will retail for. There are supposedly going to be five colorways of the Yeezy 2, Three that will be releasing in the US, but there is no conformation on the exact colorways yet. In a documentary about Kanye and Jay's upcoming album there was a screen shot of a Pink/Black colorway, but any colorway is still all speculation. Regardless of that fact I am determined to get my hands on a pair of Kanye's second signature Nike model. I missed out on the original Yeezys and I don't have the kind of money to drop on LV Dons or Jaspers, so this is my best option to rock some kicks designed by Ye himself. If these release at Burn Rubber I'm planning a twenty-four hour camping trip in Royal Oak. Stay tuned for more news on a release date, hopefully the first colorway will release sometime this fall.

   The Air Jordan V Retro "Metallic" is a great colorway of one of my favorite shoes from the original Jordan series. The Jordan V could possibly be my second favorite shoe ever created by the great Tinker Hatfield (After the IV), and these are one of the better colorways to date. They were retro-ed back in 2007, so it does seem a little soon for JB to bring it back again, but I'm not complaining. Expect to see these at retailers in August, but do not count on them to be on the shelves for long.  

Photo Blog: Senior Pictures First Take

I was doing some photo editing this afternoon and thought I would post some pictures. These are a few of my favorite shots from a photo shoot I did in Cleveland at the beginning of July. The shoot was for my cousins senior pictures, but I doubt these will make the final cut, just a few I liked.

Janoski's Now Available at Nikestore

The Nike SB Zoom Stefan Janoski can now be purchased at Nike's online store. A few weeks ago we saw Janoski's  appear on the Nikestore, but were promptly removed as if they had only been posted as a workers error. It now looks like they might be on the site to stay, at least the Navy/white mid colorway is. Earlier today all black mids and canvas black lows were for sale, but now have either been pulled or have sold out. The first time I saw SB's available at a retailer other than a skate shop was this past winter at the Nikestore in Santa Monica, but it looks like Nike is now trying to broaden their market even more by encompassing  their online sector. As a SB enthusiast I don't necessarily like this move by Nike. Because I live in the city of Grand Rapids which is home to Premier, one of the top SB accounts in the nation, it has never been difficult for me to get my hands on the best Nike Skate shoes as soon as they release. For those who do not live in a city with a SB retailer this might be a great option for purchasing skate shoes and apparel though. My only concerns are that the SB line will become too mainstream and the sales at local skate shops might be hurt by the availability at the online giant. As long as Nike continues to keep quickstrike releases to a limited number of SB accounts I won't be all that mad though. Any input on the situation?..leave a comment

Camo: Not for Urban Dwelling Civilians

Kanye west-with respectable Camo

Lupe Fiasco - with a style failure here

Despite what GQ or any other fashion blog or magazine might tell you, wearing camouflage print is not and never will be stylish. Please leave the camo wearing to the brave men and women who protect this country or those who choose to partake in bow-hunting. Recently we have seen big names in hip-hop adorning this ridiculous attire, which goes to show even the most hip of individuals can make a fashion mistake once in awhile (or for Drake just about everyday). Lupe, stop the foolishness and try not to "Dumb Down" the style sense of America's youth, it's just abysmal. One of the worst designer pieces I have seen is a camo tie made by David Hart & Co that comes with a $125 pricetag; I find it hard to believe any of these ties will sell at all, you would have to have more money than brains to even think about wrapping that around your neck. You would also have to be an idiot to think that wearing it to an interview for a job in corporate America would help your chances of getting hired.  I will have to admit top designers such as Louis Vuitton, Prada and Michael Bastian have made clothing items and accessories with camo print that look halfway respectable, but personally I will never be willing to drop $950 on a LV bag just to look halfway respectable. Kanye West does somehow make the camo look work in the above picture, but my guess is he dropped four digits on that bag and lets remember he is Kanye Mother F***ing West. So remember, baggy cargo pants might be a fashion disaster, but baggy cargo pants with green and brown splotches all over them is..... Unforgivable.    

My Three Favorite Kicks to Rock this Summer

The Nike Zoom Stefan Janoski is a a hybrid skate sneaker and boat shoe that can easily be dressed up or down. Wear them to the beach or for a night out on the city. They come in a multitude of colors if you want to go with something flashy or subtle and materials including leather, suede and canvas. Nike has been releasing boatloads of colorways and now has a Janoski mid option that looks great with shorts. Available at your local SB retailer.                                                                                                                               

The Pro-Keds 69er is a classic kick that has been updated for comfort and style. It is now available with or without the rubber toe depending on which material the shoes are made from. Leather 69er's usually come with the rubber toe while the canvas and wool versions do not. Buy these now at pickyourshoes.   

Van's Era is similar to the Authentic, but is a little more beefed up with padding, so you can wear them comfortably without socks and not hurt your achilles. This is a great, durable sneaker thats fit for skating or just  wearing to look fly. Plenty of different colors available at Vans.com.

With summer comes warm weather, but you can stay cool with these three lightweight low-top sneakers. By having a pair of Janoski's, 69er's or Era's in your closet you will be ready for just about any summer situation. All three have relatively small price tags, so feel free to beat them up, wear them to the beach without socks and not worry about the foul smell or getting them scuffed. 

The Hundreds Cooks up Something Sweet for the Summer

The Hundreds breaks the ice on a completely new design for their footwear lineup with the Mint n' Chip Scullys - releasing in limited quantities this Sunday. The Scully's design is average at best, but this colorway and the marketing for their release is genius. Only one-hundred pairs of these have been manufactured, so don't expect to get your hands on a pair unless you're willing to wait in line for at least a couple hours, or you have a fast internet connection to try and pick them up online before they're gone. The Hundreds will be offering free ice cream throughout the day at their four locations. Although I'm not too fond of mint chip these are my favorite ice cream inspired kicks to date. Hopefully management at The Hundreds will decide to cut the Skully after this release and not create more colorways because the silhouette is not all that original and new colorways could not even compare to this one. More information on the release is available at http://thehundreds.com/. Good luck to everyone looking to cop a pair this weekend. Wish I could make it out to Santa Monica for the release event.
  
Props to theGRkid for telling me about these fresh joints

Nike Designers Choking Like Lebron in The Finals

It is now clear that the "South Beach" colorway has been taken way too far. Nike should have quit while they were ahead, if they ever were ahead. The whole concept is almost as big a joke as the Miami Heat winning seven or eight championships like Lebron claimed they would. Lebron will never be the player that MJ was and his shoe game will never even compare to that of Jordan's. It was a shame to see this colorway on Jordan  sixes and sevens (No hate towards Nike in that respect because they were customs though). I hope to see these on the shelves at the Tanger Outlets, so I can pass on them even if they are only ten dollars. Unfortunately, bandwagon riders and hypebeasts will probably scoop these up as soon as they drop.  

New Summer Trend: Cycling Caps

Over the past decade we have seen the rise and fall of quite a few different trends in warm weather head wear. First came the trucker hat made popular by Ashton Kutcher, but worn by everyone from the traditional redneck truckers to tennis star Andy Roddick. Then the fitted hat gained popularity around 2005 and continues to be worn by major league ball players, rap artists, suburban kids and many others. Last summer we saw the return of snap-back hats that were popular in the late 80's and early 90's. While fitted caps and snap-backs can still be worn with great style today, these trends have been killed by frat-bro types that tend to add an essence of douchebaggery to the once pure look. It is now time to move on to something new, something that is currently not even on the radar of the best dressed Americans, the cycling cap. Cycling caps have never really caught on here in the US most likely because cycling is not much of a mainstream sport; they are more popular with the European crowd, a group that could teach us all a thing or two about style. Spike Lee's alias "Mars Blackmon" can be seen wearing a vintage cycling cap in some of the Air Jordan commercials shot in the early 90's but it is no wonder that the style never caught on because Mars was see as a nerdy character. Also, the commercials used the catchphrase "its gotta be the shoes", stressing MJ's high flying antics and footwear not the hat spike was wearing. Yes, the cycling cap may be a little nerdier than traditional baseball hats, but that is what style has come to today, so embrace it. Go grab one of these hats and take a style risk, I guarantee you will not be laughed at, and you will be on the cutting edge of a new trend. These hats are cool for anyone with good taste even if you don't ride a Schwinn Varsity to work. Hats are available at many fine retailers including Bike Nashbar for dirt cheap prices. Get yours in time for the Tour de France or whatever other activity you like to do in style.      

Field of Dreams, Theophilus London

This song didn't make the cut for the album, but will be seen on his mixtape this fall. Download Field of Dreams

Big Sean is Finally Famous

Last week the highly anticipated debut album from Detroit native rapper and MC Big Sean released. Sean was signed by Kanye West to G.O.O.D Music in 2007 and promised an album release in 2009, but difficulties with Def Jam forced the album's release to be pushed back numerous times. After more than a week of listening I have come to the conclusion that Sean and the G.O.O.D Music team have produced a solid debut album that is enjoyable to listen to over and over, but that's not to say it is flawless by any means. The album has a similar style and flow to his two most recent mixtapes Uknowbigsean and Finally Famous Volume 3, but lacks a major element that made those projects great. On Uknowbigsean Sean created his signature "supa dupa flow" which he later stopped using after it became popular and over used by other rappers including Drake, Nicki Minaj and Lil' Wayne. Sean is an innovator and trend setter, so it is understandable for him to move away from this, but at the same time it's disappointing. Overall the album does what it was designed to do, sell well and have hits suitable for the radio. His first single, My Last featuring Chris Brown, reached the number one spot on the billboard rap chart and songs Marvin & Chardonnay and High have become radio hits. The album has features including Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, John Legend, Wiz Khalifa, Chiddy Bang, Pusha T, Rick Ross and The Dream. Having these heavy hitters on the album can only be positive, they helped the album sell and Sean held his own on the songs, dropping verses with better punchlines that his features in most cases. As an avid Sean fan I will not say I enjoyed the album more than his mixtapes; it was different and saw the release of more club banger's than slow jams, but this is expected from a large commercial release. I look forward to seeing Sean continue to grow as an artist and produce more GOOD music. Go out and support Sean by buying his album Finally Famous available in stores and on itunes.