Brother Dante Yasin Bey Smith with the Power To The People Piece

This guy doesn’t need any introduction.  One of my favorite artists, and someone I consider a friend.  Do yourself a favor and go see Free Man of Color at the Lincoln Center.

J. Cole with the Power To The People Piece

Caught Emcee, J.Cole at a EA Sports party a lil while back while with the homie Emeka. I just listened to his Friday Night Lights mixtape for the first time a couple of days ago.  One thing is for sure,  J.Cole rap’s his face off.

Amber Rose has become an international style maven, and muse of sorts.  Although her real talent is yet to be seen, she has managed to carve out a piece of legitimate celebrity for herself.  Before we hate, which we have all done, myself included…let’s remember that Amber was not the first woman to rise in notoriety because of who she dated.  There are countless women in history that came to public attention because of the men who loved them, or used them as a source of inspiration.  I am sure Yoko went through her share of hatred, for rising to fame because she was attached to John Lennon.  Regardless to how you may feel about modern celebrity , one thing you cannot deny is, the woman [Amber] has striking beauty, and a great sense of style.  She recently was spotted wearing the AFRICA PIECE, on consecutive days during London’s Fashion Week.  I am not sure who gave it to her, but I am happy she chose to wear it.

The great thing about the collaboration I did with GoodWood NYC is it has taken on a life of it’s own.  I can honestly say, that I have created something which has become so desired that it is bootlegged on the streets of New York.  I have been fortunate enough to give the Africa out to some influential people, but it always feels great to see it pop up on people I didn’t personally give the piece to.  Below is a shot of me and Amber last year when she taped a segment for Persona Magazine at Prohibit NYC.

I have photographed this brother a couple of times in the Lower East Side since moving to New York, not sure of his name but he is always a willing subject. I caught him in front of Santos singing out loud before the Smokers Club Tour. I always bless him with a few bucks for letting me capture his presence.  He is proof that perception defines reality, he appears to be homeless but he never appears to be in a bad mood. He has reminded me on some of my more stressful days, that it ain’t so bad.

This might be the only type of New York haze I enjoy, NY summer sunsets.  The sun fueled film, that covers the sky after the heat has been trapped between multiple layers of smog is honestly, magical.  This isn’t a one time phenomenon here in New York, when its hot this happens all the time.  I can’t front, NY Summer 2010 has been pretty amazing.  Despite the personal up and downs I have been blessed, today I feel good.

Aariona Chalom Johnson aka Chalom Infinite.  The Coolest Kid Ever.

Lower East Side. Manhattan. New York City. August 2010.

Coney Island has an interesting history , and is one of the most unique places in America.  Being from the West Coast , growing up taking trips to the Venice boardwalk you tend to believe there is no place on earth like Venice.  Let me correct myself , there is no place on earth like Venice, Los Angeles… but visiting Coney Island can give you a clearer understanding of the energy Venice has.  I went for the first time on The 4th of July, I needed to see a beach.  There has never been a central manager or operating company for Coney Island, which seems to be be prime real estate for corprations looking to create an entertainment destination in Brooklyn.  The parks and vendors are all individually operated, giving it an common man sort of appeal.  The beaches are split as I was told by a native New Yorker, “in two sides, one side is Russian the other side,,,ehh, more Urban, ya know?” Right.  So naturally, I started on the “urban” side, where there were thousands of children, mothers, families, aunties, boyfriends, gangs, weirdo sideshows, fried food stands, high-fructose corn syrup ,frozen beverage dispensaries, funnel cake ….way to much going on.  There was literally a traffic jam of people on the boardwalk, some families opted to set up a blanket, radio, cooler, etc,, right on the boardwalk instead of just venturing 50 feet out onto the sand.

Also noticed an exceptional number of women walking around with pythons, mostly those lil cute lesbian chicks, and a couple huge butch girls.  Is it me or is it ironic that lil lesbians are walking around with snakes around their neck.  Okay, maybe it’s me.  Then I ventured over to the Russian side where there was a much different tone, much more quiet.  The boardwalk on this side was covered with restaurants that serve traditional Russian food and beverages.  Nice, guess I’m getting old cause I felt more comfortable on the Russian side. Here are some flicks of the day…

The Wonder Wheel..

On some Venice shit….

Helado

Pork station….

Hazy Sunday..going into a beautiful sunset

Told you…