Talib Kweli, Curren$y and Kendrick Lamar: Push Thru

With a lot of hip-hop getting dark and dirty these days (see A$AP Rocky, OF, Kanye) it's real nice to get a breath of fresh air. This track feels really nice and airy, despite some pretty mean vocals from the master Talib Kweli, Curren$y and the up and coming master Kendrick Lamar.



The track is matched by some really clean and crisp visuals as each rapper takes you around their hometown New York, Louisiana and LA respectively.

Vans X The Diggest: NYC

There's a lot to appreciate in this video, some amazing riding, great soundtrack and some lovely shots. But what I really like in this Vans film is the feel of it. You can feel New York City through it. The realness, the grit, the feel that the city is yours for the taking. And that is a direct reflection of the brand and of BMXing, making the film a real natural fit between the three, which makes it all the genuine.

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros: Man On Fire

Really enjoyed the simple and warm nature of this video for Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros. The visuals were directed by actor and filmmaker Brady Corbet, who recently starred in Lars von Trier's film Melancholia. In an almost documentary, observational style, Corbet captures different types of dancers from all across New York simply doing what they love.

The Beat Of NYC.

Regular readers will know I'm a big fan, like many, of New York City and videos of the city. I'll admite there is a lot of them, yet like a visit to the city, it is always different. The people, the sounds, the architecture, the fashions, are always unique and individual, yet together they make up the collective that is New Yorkers. This video has a great rhythm to it, not just in terms of the music, but also the editing. It shows that despite the speed and intensity of the place, there are those moments are calm and peace that you should appreciate just as much as everything else.

A Tribute: A Year In New York.

I've always said that it's not hard to make New York City look good. There is so much to love about that city, the aesthetic, the culture, the attitude and the best part is that it's all so diverse.

This video filmed by Andrew Clancy is lovingly shot and edited and with the beautiful James Vincent McMorrow track sitting comfortably behind the visuals, it forms a tribute to the city. It does not aim to show how cool or fashionable the city is. Instead, it shows that it a home to real people. Somewhere where people live, work and travel every single day, and I think that makes it somewhat unique. Enjoy.

How To Make It In America: Season 2.

There's a lot of things to like about How To Make It In America. It's set in New York and features wonderful shots of the city at every opportunity. It's funny. It's dramtic. It's emotional. It's full of beautiful people. It's got Kid Cudi. It's got Luiz Guzman. But above all, it's inspiring. Like no TV show I've watched, it makes me believe that I can achieve what I want to believe, and for a TV show to do that, is something pretty special. So if you haven't, catch up on season 1, and get ready for round 2.

Supermodels X Jay-Z X New York State Of Mind.

Now this is one for some HD viewing. If you've got ears you would have heard Jay-Z and Alicia Key's monster track New York State Of Mind and just when you might have almost forgotten about it, Jay-Z's blog Life + Times produce their own video featuring every super model under the sun in the equally beautiful New York City. This is a win-win situation.

The Street Aesthetic of New York City.

It's not difficult to make a city such as New York look pleasurable to the eye, but I really like the approach Christian Andersen took with his video. It's simple, but it's got great atmosphere to it, I'm sure the inclusion of The XX helped with that. Just wish it was longer.

T-World 7: New York

The humble t-shirt is thrown on by billions of people everyday, every size, every colour with every design imaginable. From the most simple to the grossly complex, the designs seem never ending, and we're all the better for it.



T-World takes a look behind some of the most creative, innovation and influential t-shirt designers in the ever-inspiring New York. In a world when everybody gets the same t-shirts from the high street, it is always nice to get something different, something that might even make you stand out a little.

Maybe some day I'll get around to throwing something onto some cotton.

How To Make It In America Season 2 [Trailer]

There's a lot of reasons you should catch up on season one of HTMIIA if you missed it:

• The inspiring story of two buddies trying to make it in America
• The backdrop to every episode is New York City
• Luiz Guzman's character
• It features Kid Cudi
• It also features Paul "Shitbreak" Finch from American Pie
• It tried to be cool, and as a result it is
• All of the above.

Catch up if you need to. If you don't, be happy.

Passion Of The Craft.

Taking a huge leaf out of the Influencers documentary, Bandit, a creative agency from Copenhagen delves into the minds of trendsetters and tastemakers to find out how to create a winning brand. I love documentaries and interviews with truly creative and inspiring individuals, there are always words of advice and stories of experience to take on board.



This series looks to speak to independent fashion designers to CD of Supreme and even the marketing manager of Microsoft, showing that succeeding and relating to your audience is key in every industry. And the fact that some very lovely New York visuals are thrown in there too doesn't hurt.

8 Slow Hours In Brooklyn.

There seems to be little point to this video other than creating some visual satisfaction. But is anyone complaining? Created by Next Level Pictures, it simply encaptures some of Brooklyn's every dynamic and diverse life in some serious slow motion.

Tattoo Tradition.

This video from New York tattoo shop NY Adorned really shows how far tattoos have come. The quality of design, skill and the acceptance in society are all shown in high glory in this video titled Tradition. I adore, sorry, the filming, music and voice-over to this video, it really inspires me to work up the balls and finish the design to get my first tattoo, and this video only makes me what to hurry up.

Winter Wonderland.

Seeing as I have just returned from my own winter wonderful in the shape of Val Thorens ski resort, this feels like an appropriate post. Navid Baraty's series, originally named 'Blizzard', captures Brooklyn after their snow-storm. The thing I especially appreciate in this series is the framing of the shot, I'm a big fan of symmetry and some of this photos take this to perfection.

Brr.

Take A Walk: New York Fashion Week

Here's just a lovely little video of lovely looking people wearing lovely looking clothes from New York Fashion Week.

Hearting New York

Last week I got back from a week away in New York with the girlfriend. And I can't wait to go back. It was my girlfriend's first time which meant we visited all the usuals; Liberty, Empire State, Rockefellar etc. Although it was my third time there, it almost felt like my first and I took a somewhat fresh approach to the trip. My first was when I was about 10 and second on a college trip so I would have been about 17. I have travelled a fair bit around America through-out my 21 years and love the country. I love the diversity, the difference of cultures, the openess of (some) people. I love how you can drive for miles without seeing a person or moving your steering wheel, I love how you can be shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of people with glaring lights overheard and trying to be sold something at every opportunity.





I am not naive enough to think that America in it's entirety is wonderful, far from it. Vast aspects of the American society are racist or homophobic, God-fearing and narrow minded. Even the constant repetition of "have a nice day" becomes empty as it comes with no feeling. Most noticeable perhaps is the commercialisation of the country. I can appreciate the gross amount of advertisements all merge into one to form a blurred, corporate image to many people's disgust. Yet many people don't realise how much they sometimes enjoy adverts, Times Square for example, is literally just a bunch of adverts. As an advertising graduate and aspiring creative, I have to believe this.





New York City is a favourite amoung many Brits as it probably the closest culturally to London. What I mainly love about the city is the positivity. The feeling of optimism that you can achieve what you want with enough blood and sweet. This attitude has been passed down through many generations from those that first stepped on Ellis Island, and it has not been lost. The fact that you can also get a pizza at any time of the night for 99cents is also nice.

Jay-Z and Absolut: Everybody wins.

After seeing a cheeky clip of this mini documentary, there has been a lot of hype for this mini documentary. In just 15 mins, there's interviews with Jay-Z, clips of him rehearsing for his September 11th charity gig, as well as the big man drinking...yes, you guessed it, Absolut.

I think this is a great piece of branded content. Not only was it intelligently leaked and teased to audiences over the past couple of weeks, Absolut have produced something that people actually want to watch. To me, this is the key for the future of advertising. Doing a dissertation on virals, I am really beginning to understand the need to produce content that consumers want to watch and share with their friends. Who cares if there's 30 seconds of Hova drinking some vodka, the rest is really great footage.

Enjoy the stunning and clever filmography in black and white, as Jay-Z does what he does best, talk sense and rap sense. Well done Absolut.