New Jewelry from Pharrell

Okay, we know that Pharrell has the music, and his BBC line is straight bananas. But check out the new Louis Vuitton jewelry designed and inspired by Pharrell:

Let's Dance, YouTube-Style

At iLLVibes, we appreciate the art of dance, leading us to become obsessive with the new show "America's Best Dance Crew" and especially with JabbaWockeeZ. I've actually been a fan of Kevin Brewer's (the only non-Asian on their squad) ever since he dropped the following video:


*Check out the precision! It's as if the beat/melody is following him and not vice versa!*


Honestly, though, the beauty of YouTube is that you can also replay clips of movies and reminisce about them. The following dance clip is probably my favorite dance clip in a movie of all time. Here's Turbo (who taught Michael Jackson how to moonwalk!) in the movie Breakin':




The following YouTube clip is from David Elsewhere. This is just a classic dance clip of him freestylin, in 2001, at the Korean-American talent show Kollaboration. What he did was simply revolutionary, a hodgepodge of poppin and liquid dancing:




And, finally, here's a clip of the Korean group PREPIX. You're seriously going to be amazed by their inimitable style:

DIRTY little SECRET

Personally, I'm not a fan of the All-American Rejects. But as of yesterday I have new respect for the multiplatinum-selling band, after finding out that they are fans of PostSecret--and that they used (with permission) some of that awesome site's postcard secrets in the video for their song "Dirty Little Secret."

That may be old news to some--especially Rejects fans--so call me slow on the draw. But the beauty was it actually came straight from the mouth of PostSecret founder Frank Warren, during his keynote speech yesterday (Monday) at South By Southwest Interactive (iSXSW)--which had to be one of the most emotionally raw moments in keynote-giving history. Over the course of an hour, Warren ran through many of the secrets he's been sent over the years; how they affect him; and how he (and by turns, we) can turn these often-painful confessions into something truly positive.

His preferred method? Donating time, energy, and money to 1-800-SUICIDE, a suicide-prevention hotline. Getting back to the All-American Rejects, he noted how they originally offered him a grand for use of some of "his" postcard secrets in their video; he countered by asking them to instead donate $2000 to 1-800-SUICIDE. And to their credit, they did just that. So big props to the band.

Artist on the Rise - Brandon Hines

Are you looking for a new sound in R&B? If you haven't heard of Brandon Hines, he's been on the grind for many years, swept up by the modern frenzy to get big the underground (although not necessarily unpopular) way of getting attention - through such mediums like Myspace and YouTube. Why go through middlemen like big record labels when you can gain exposure through your own way? That's big business without the business suit. A native of Detroit, he's no stranger to the DMV area - having graduated from Howard University and even becoming crowned as Mr. Howard back in 2005-06. Check out his pageant performance here.

Just because you haven't heard of Brandon Hines doesn't mean he's a rookie to the industry. With the help of his production/writing team Heavyweight Ent., Brandon has hooked up with the likes of Trey Songz, Cassie, and Estelle (he's in her new video for "American Boy"). After dropping his first record, "Overdose," a single that amassed him an incredible following whose thirsts were finally quenched when Brandon dropped his first album - Love Music: Falling In, Falling Out - his music and grind has only gotten stronger, maintaining that level of great music he's continued to seek after over and over again. You can easily gather from his demeanor and growth that he's become a heavy student of this business, with countless hours being devoted to learning about the tricks and trade of this industry. I still remember when he dropped this video for "10", a nostalgic reminder of those dorm days when I messed with making beats and random songs. (Of course, he's the one with the better skills.) More than for his music, though, I respect this dude for being so humble; a couple of years ago, he gave his Myspace fans a chance to receive a phone call from him. I relayed this message to a lady friend of mine who I put on Brandon, and she pursued the opportunity by messaging Brandon via myspace. Sure enough, not only did she receive a phone call from him, but he also serenaded her over the phone with her favorite B. Hines song.

For more information about Brandon Hines, check out his myspace page. If you want a little taste of his music, check out that page or find a way to get his songs "Overdose," "Just Do It," "What Do I Have to Do," "Confused," "When a Girl Cries," and his latest drop "Cuttin' U Off."

In addition, check out his appearance on TRL several days ago:

Newton Virus...

Virus created by Troika for Mac that causes icons on your computer desktop to fall towards the ground as if affected by gravity. Very cool effect. For more information Click Here

Say Goodbye to Cubicles...

This is a project design by Japanese designers Nendo for an office space near the Meguro river in Tokyo. For more information Click Here

R.I.P. Notorious BIG

Today, March 9th, marks the 11th anniversary of the death of Christopher Wallace, known to the world as Biggie, Notorious BIG, Biggie Smalls, Big Poppa, among others. A child of Brooklyn, a home to many influential hip artists, including Big Daddy Kane, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, ODB, Biggie was no rookie to the hip hop game. Heavily influenced by the crack epidemic in his local surroundings, he became hooked to the crack game at an early age - supposedly at the age of twelve.

In spite of the social pressures surrounding him, Big was determined to make it known to the world how gifted he was lyrically. Before dropping his nationally-acclaimed Ready To Die, his voice became known while performing on such songs as Mary J. Blige's "Real Love" and Craig Mack's "Flava in Ya Ear (remix)." In a time when the rap game was dominated by West Coast music, Big's Ready to Die, according to Rolling Stone, "almost single-handedly... shifted the focus back to East Coast rap."

Ultimately, however, with "mo' money" came "mo' problems." It goes without saying that success, to a large extent, accentuates and pronounces the trivial matters of life. The height of the East Coast-West Coast feud was heavily tangible when Tupac claimed that Biggie's affiliates shot him in an NYC studio in '94, when Tupac claimed to have slept with Faith and Big acknowledged that fact on a Jay-Z record ("If Fay' had twins, she'd probably have two-Pac's/Get it? .. Tu-pac's"), and when Snoop Dogg shouted to a NYC crowd at the Source Awards that, "We ain't got no love for the East Coast." Especially more troublesome to this feud was the untimely death of Tupac Shakur, who was shot to death on September 7, 1996, an event that signaled a turn of events not only for Big but also for the hip hop community.

Shortly after Tupac's death, while Big was promoting his new album Life After Death, his life was cut short, as well, after having shown up for the 11th Annual Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles. To this day, his - and Tupac's - murder remain unsolved, although there are a variety of theories that contemplate what happened during that heart-wrenching night. Are the Crips to blame? Suge Knight? LAPD? One thing is for certain: the hip hop community and the world lost a very talented individual, whose skills perpetuate as inimitable, a style never to be imitated again, whose ability to compose multi-syllabic words in quick succession, while at the same time developing a complex story right before our ears, drew a crowd wherever he went and amassed a following for this highly-provocative and influential MC. He could put you in a great mood; on the other hand, his ability to describe vividly the everyday struggles of everyone, even at a very general level (despite the difficulty), made it quite effortlessly for people to relate. Truly one of a kind, Big will forever be missed. R.I.P.

The Quarter

The Quarter is located inside the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City. It is modeled after a Havana streetscape. The Quarter is three stories and is packed with vibrant colors, salsa dancers, and palm trees. Additionally, it houses a variety of clubs, lounges, and restaurants. One of the coolest things about The Quarter is the ceiling which is painted to look like the sky thus always creating a bright and lively environment.

The Pier Shops @ Caesar

As I said before, we had the opportunity to visit "The Pier Shops" mall which is attached to Caesar's Hotel and Casino. This mall was very cool and aesthetically pleasing. It was divided into three floors. The first floor contained typical stores found in most malls (Finish Line, Levi's, etc.) The second floor however contained a variety of higher end stores including Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, and Hugo Boss. The top floor was solely dedicated to restaurants and lounges. By far the most impressive part of this mall was the water show (see below) which was infused with cool colors and rhythmic patterns.

Classic Video: A Tribe Called Quest "Electric Relaxation"

Being that I am a huge ATCQ fan, I definitely had to post this video. Electric Relaxation dropped in 1993 and was the second single from A Tribe Called Quest's third album Midnight Marauders. It contains samples from "Mystic Brew" by Ronnie Foster. Enjoy!

Since When Can Water Dance...

Last week when we were in Atlantic City, we stopped by the Pier Shops @ Caesar. This mall was insane. The architecture and designs were amazing; not to mention the huge array of stores. One of the best things about this mall was the water show that occurs every hour on the hour. The show only lasted about 5 minutes, but it contained a combination of lights and music which proved that even water can dance better than white people...lol...Check the video out below.

Album Review of New Roots Album "Rising Down"

Check out the review here. Oh yeah, our dude Wale is featured on the album!

New Justice vid for DVNO

If you haven't copped Justice's last album †, you're really missing out. So what does DVNO actually mean? Go here to find out. The N.E.R.D. blog's post is right when it compares this vid to the retro-futuristic motion logos of the past. I'm f'real, this video really takes you back.

New Wale Mixtape

We here at iLLVibes have been waiting, with the highest anticipation, for new music from great artists, and none come higher (that's disputable among the bloggers) than the new mixtape from Wale - The Mixtape About Nothing. In spite of the title of the mixtape, we know that there is more to the music than the cover on a CD. Haven't you ever heard the platitude, "You can't judge a book by its cover"?

Perhaps this is reverse psychology on the part of Wale, a piece of candy to get you to look (read: listen, dammit!) underneath the cover. Whatever it may be, based on the heat he's brought to us in the past, it's definitely worth the look. Entertainment Weekly broke the news story here that the mixtape is highly influenced by one of Wale's favorite shows - Seinfeld. Never a fan of Seinfeld, I won't be surprised if I rent some of the shows after hearing this mixtape.

If Only Hands Could Talk...

Hilarious Short Films by NBA Ball Players

I suppose this is a trend now, I'm not sure.

First, it started with Chris Bosh aka the used salesman urging fans to vote for him to go to the All-Star game.




And now, Baron Davis is in this random short film showing off his skating skills. Very funny and random!

New N*E*R*D song performed live

Somebody get me a copy of this song! I can't wait for the album to drop.

N.E.R.D. Live on BET's Rip the Runway

Can't wait to see this live -

Free Funny Videos


Click to play video

While We Were Gone: Videos Dropped

While we were gone, an onslaught of incredible videos dropped:

1. The Roots ft. Dice Raw, Peedi Crakk, DJ Jazzy Jeff - Get Busy




2. Gnarls Barkley - Run. *Warning* - this video will cause you to go nuts. (Apparently, they won't show this video on air because of the risk of causing seizures.) Seriously, check out how the video dramatically shifts into an amazing visual display at the end. Oh yeah, peep the cameo by Justin Timberlake.




3. Raheem Devaughn - Customer (*DMV representa!!!!*)




4. Janet Jackson - Rock With You. The production is crazy. Honestly, I think JD is underrated as a producer.




5. Pitbull - Anthem. I was wondering when this was finally going to drop. Miami, stand up!

Concept for a sun-worshipping laptop

Tired of your notebook running out of battery when you are out and about? Design firm Nikoladesign has a concept that may one day solve that problem.

For the most part, this notebook looks pretty much like your regular portable computer. The difference is it has an extra flap which acts as a solar panel for converting light to power, according to Tuvie.

This could come in useful for researchers and scientists who work outdoors as the places they operate in won't have conveniently located power sockets. If this ever gets made, sunblock lotion may become a new laptop accessory.

Spring Break update: NYC was interesting, lots of good and bad, haha. Pictures will be uploaded soon.