You Got Fact "Cowboy Hats"

Emperial Nation's "You Got Fact" of today:

Cowboy Hats:
The cowboy hat was first designed during the 1860's by a New Jersey man named John Batterson Stetson. Stetson saw a market for a broad-brimmed hat for ranch wear. He opened a shop in Philadelphia and began designing hats under the Stetson name in 1865. By 1906 Stetson employed approximately 3,500 workers, producing over two million hats a year

for more interesting facts from history; http://www.emperialnation.com/

Encore Status has a 10% off discount on this shirt. Just type in the coupon code EN121ENCORE

Cotton Club Tee http://www.emperialnation.com/
Emperial Nation is dedicated to preserve history through fashion & arts

-NewStream is Mainstream-

Love Lockdown Remixes

This is one of the best Love LockDown Remixes I've heard on the net. Please listen and vote on this joint featuring Xavier Marquis.


P.S. If you've heard better, please contact us at blogthis@encorestatus.com

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Hasan Salaam's New Video - 15 Minutes

Check out one of Encore Status's favorites, Hasan Salaam, in his new video "15 Minutes". What? You still sitting there? Take that mouse and click on the video NOW! Enjoy!

Outasight = Encore Status

By: The People Have Spoken!

Dear Hip Hop Nation, times have truly been tough. We are going through some of the worst economic times since the Great Depression, we have troops fighting a war of attrition in the Middle East, and on the music front, hip – hop music has been down right stale!! Well ladies and gentlemen, there is light at the end of the tunnel! That light goes by the name of Outasight!

The best way I can describe the music of Outasight is just straight fresh! Now I haven’t used the word fresh to describe anything non edible since 1988 but it’s an adjective that really describes Outasight. Outasight’s flow can best be described as a cross between Lupe Fiasco with a touch of Kanye! You take that mix and add a very unique and smooth singing voice and you have a possible future hip hop all star! Songs that are my personal faves are Employee of the Month, Fame or Fortune & Lights, Camera, Action. Did I forget to mention that the production on these tracks are incredibly tight! It’s going to be interesting to see how the mainstream music audience is going to react to this cat! He definitely has a real old school appeal! I hope that this cat signs to the right major and gets a creative A&R person to push him correctly. Too many good artists get screwed with unimaginative A&R’s trying to fit circles into squares! Please music industry, don’t f*#@k up this diamond in the rough!

-The People Have Spoken!

You Got Fact "Sultan's Harem"

Emperial Nation's "You Got Fact" of today:

Did you know??

Sultan's Harem:

The sultan's harem often contained several hundred women,, with different nationalities. Some were captured at wars, some volunteered to be at sultans harem for the purpose of living a luxurious life..

for more interesting facts from history; http://www.emperialnation.com/

Encore Status has a 10% off discount on this shirt. Just type in the coupon code EN121ENCORE

Cotton Club Tee http://www.emperialnation.com/

Emperial Nation is dedicated to preserve history through fashion & arts

-NewStream is Mainstream-

WE WANT YOU!

artwork by: browngirlgenius

For the next few months, some of the featured artists on Encore Status will be picked to get a short interview on the philly based, WURD, 900AM- The Urban Round Table radio show w/Joe Idokogi. This show aires Fridays from 9-10pm. Sabrina Cuie will be interviewing indie or unsigned music artists during this show . From your submissions she'll be picking some of the most talented artists to holler at for a few minutes on the show. Some of her choices will also be interviewed and featured on our website. The interviews on EncoreStatus.com will be abotu 10-15 minutes long.

Please send the following to Reviews@encorestatus.com

* Short Bio
* LINKS to recent music (myspace, cdbaby, Reverbnation, last.fm, etc)
* Email/Cell contact


Thanks and Good Luck.

Free Download: The Custodian of Records sampler

We love Jersey...Heres a sampler from The Custodian of Records

Download from here

Hailing from the muck that is Essex County, New Jerusalem (Home of Reggie Noble, Tame and El, Treach and Vinnie, LOTUG and The O.G Flavor Unit) comes The Custodian of Records. A self pro-claimed minimalist, once raised on the Radio, only began producing due to the mainstream of sewage and boring indie scene... Growing up on the four P's (Premier, Prince Paul and Extra P) among an almost endless list of other production greats, his journey begin when he was in the 7th grade and his folks bought him the rag tag Gemini start up kit (As seen in the back of The Source adds next to the gold teeth.) When he found out how "beats" were actually made, he booked time at a local studio and brought his own samples to the engineer to record into the Akai S950 and then dump into the classic SP-1200. Followed by that was a decent software program and weekly trips to local record spots (Yesterdays Books and Music!) and months later began hitting the pads on his trustee MPC 2000XL..

After years of self doubt, he started to step out with beat tapes and would even bring his sampler with him to Speak easy sounds open mics... Wasted money and a shitload of records and beats later, he feels his production is ready for the masses to hear and appreciate...

His production has featured reputable artists such as Pace Won, Thirston Howl III, Bully Mouth (of Mr Lens Dummy Smacks Ent), Reef The Lost Cauze, Doap Nixon (AOTP) and has recently been working with a numerous local Jersey mc's... one of which being Solzalez out of Newark, Brick City... The pair has had their tracks heard on such radio stations as "Coffee Break for Heroes and Villians" on WFMU with Noah Zark along with DJ Eclipse's legendary "Halftime Show" on NYU radio.

His current focus now is to push his first complete album "Burton Music" featuring a wide variety of skilled wordsmiths and of course, raw, straight-to-the-point beats! Slated for digital release in early 2009 via Domination Recordings, The Custodian promises to deliver (to put it bluntly) "that classic boom bap shit!"

Free Download: The Custodian of Records sampler MP3


Peace
Domination Recordings
http://www.dominationrec.com
http://www.dominationrechiphop.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/dominationrecordings

Shooting Gallery #2

Photo by: DerrickT


Pre -Valentines Edition
Feb 12, 2009


The Day the Muzak stopped
It was reported on Nightly News that Muzak has filed for bankruptcy. Thats right the people who make elevator muzak not the singer from philly. Unfortunately Muzak is not going to go away the filing is a business move to stay afloat. I hate Muzak it makes the dentist office even worse and reminds me of pathmark.


The New Disrespect
By now you are aware that 50 cent and Rick Ross are beefing. Im pretty sure you dont care either however on top of their equally corny diss records have been some youtube madness.
50 threatens Dj Khaleds mom and takes Rick Ross' baby mama and her friend shopping after a quick interview. Im not sure how that hurts Ross but it is funny. Now when Jayz slept with Nas baby momma we all went WOW, but shopping?!! I know exactly how to get you back take someone shopping.Man bags and skinny jeans now this. Rappers are getting less masculine by the moment



Words of Wisdom
Only fools rush in. Its the second mouse that gets the cheese from the trap.

shoot the messenger

Fashion Magazine one year anniversary party

Fashion week is here!
Got this invite from our friends in 'Way Over Budget'...please support

Come kick off Fashion Week with Pinstripe Magazine (www.pinstripemag.com) and Kicks And Toys Magazine (www.kicksandtoys.com) as they celebrate their one year anniversaries this Thursday Feb. 12th at Greenhouse (150 Varick St). Complimentary beverages from 9-11pm courtesy of Corona and Ron Barcelo Rum (www.ron-barcelo.com). Rsvp to poull@wayoverbudget.com for guest list no later than 12noon Thursday.

Please click here to view the official invitation:
http://www.wayoverbudget.com/events/invitations/invite.html

Cotton Club

Emperial Nation Historical Fact of today:

Did you know??

Cotton Club:
The predecessor of the Cotton Club was Club DeLux which was owned by heavyweight champion Jack Johnson.
Johnson sold his club to gangster Owney Madden.
Madden changed the name to Cotton Club to make the club appear as a stylish plantation.
In its prime, the Cotton Club was the king of New York City nightlife,
only the wealthy elite, celebrities and notorious could get in ..







for more interesting facts from history; http://www.emperialnation.com/

Cotton Club Tee

http://www.emperialnation.com/

Emperial Nation is dedicated to preserve history through fashion & arts

Encore Status has a 10% off discount on this shirt. Just type in the coupon code EN121ENCORE

-NewStream is Mainstream-

Calling all Producers and Beat Makers

photo by: Darwin Bell

Hey All,

Thanks for the love and the suggestions on how to update and upgrade our brand new website. As you can see, we have a movie that plays on the homepage. The theme song is "Get Ready." While creating the site we sorta kinda thought that song fit because we were trying to get our launch on...
Now, we have launched and are HERE! We need an NEW instrumental that will give life to our new one minute piece. If you want to have your track be the background audio of our new 1 minute video video please email us:

encorestatusentertainment@gmail.com

Many Many Many Mey – Dynamite Custom Show

Big Show on Saturday Night! Its the 6th Anniversary Special: Many Many Many Mey – Dynamite Custom Show presented by Fig Lab and Mishka. The show is a collection of over 40 artist customized figures from all over the world. GID finger puppets and full-size Many Mey GID blanks will be on sale.

Show info:
Saturday – February 7th
Time: 7pm to 10pm
Address: 350 Broadway space in Brooklyn

Rugged N Raw....

Damn, he really sounds like Wu Tang. One of them anyway. While I hate to critique music by throwing together a myriad of rappers and painting the artist in question as a hybrid of the known, the resemblance is inevitable. Rugged N Raw sounds a little like Ghostface Killah.

Take that with a grain of salt because while Ghostface spent his tenure as an emcee rhyming amongst many and created introspective heavy tracks, Rugged's style is more hubris, more attention-demanding and whimsical. How hubris? As much so as the "I'm Better Than You" t-shirt available for sale on his Myspace page. How whimsical? His strength is his lyrical jovialness. He's playful, as exemplified by lyrics such as "the only way that I'm riding dirty, is if the pissy cars on the train goin' take me" on "Broke n Proud", the reverse anthem for those few who take pride in a meager existence.

The album doesn't have a cohesive message, but it doesn't need one either. I can't critique an artist for what he is not attempting to do. Perhaps this is purposely done to emulate someone with a dose of Truth Serum -Unconsciously spilling the beans…without a care…without control. Truth Serum plays like one freestyle. You may not know more about him by the close of the album, but the truth is, he may not want you to.

Great tracks on this album are:

• That's What It Is ft HiCoup
  


• Broke N Proud ft. Hasan Salaam
  


• I'll Stay
  

Purchase the album here:
http://www.ruggednraw.com/
-Makila M.

Emperial Nation; ALPHA-TEAM

Hey Guys,

Our friends from Emperial Nation sent us this Historical Fact today:

ALPHA PHI ALPHA:

Alpha Phi Alpha is the first established African American intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity.A handful of African American students at Cornell University founded this organization to unite against the intense racial environment on campus. The founders of this fraternity went on to become prominent professors, physicians and architects.

for more interesting facts from history; http://www.emperialnation.com/

Encore Status has a 10% off discount on this shirt. Just type in the coupon code EN121ENCORE

-NewStream is Mainstream-

Dr. Medzoo custom kicks

We had a chance to interview a brilliant custom sneaker designer from Paris by the name of Dr. Medzoo. He is one of the greatest custom sneaker designers I'VE ever seen (...and if you know of better let us know at talent@encorestatus.com). We featured some of his kicks before and during our launch. Here is part 1 of our interview with him

-Let me get this out of my system early, how many sneakers do you own?Which is your most prized pair and why?

Wow you started with a good one! Just one second I'm going to count them….I've got 1,2,3,4…… around 30!!!! (laughs)

There are many pairs that I like the AJ 5 & 6, Reebok twilight zone or the air flow…but there is one that it was very hard to get... it's a classic one, the Air max 1 storm. Simple and very efficient in the design. That's why I love this pair. It's one of my favorite !

-Has sneakers always been your canvas? How did you get into sneaker customization?

Of course not!!

During the 90's, I was hanging around older guys who had the opportunity to travel overseas to America for example. I would see their original sneakers, and I wanted to have my own. An easy way to do this without flying half around the way around the world, was to change and modify my own sneakers, to be an original, something that only I owned. They were exclusively my own.

A few years ago, in 2003, I decided to pursue my desire to design, and work with textiles. I started to use various materials such as jeans, t shirts and caps. The feedback I was receiving for my work was very positive, and this gave me the motivation to pursue and develop new creative ideas. My ideas and creations were being received so well, I started finding myself extremely busy, doing customized special orders for various customers.

In 2005 I began to apply my knowledge of textiles into my sneakers. What I wanted to achieve was to totally modify the sneakers, painting on new colors and graffiti designs. This desire has grown stronger as I continue to get more and more involved within the sneaker customizing game.

-What is your favorite sneaker to customize and why?

There are all different and have there own specificity if you want to paint on it. For me the best one to customize is the Dunk High because there is a lot of space on the sneaker to express myself .

-Is there a sneaker you wouldn't customize?
The proper answer would be NO. I'm here to customize whatever people want and make the customer happy. BUT there is one pair that I just can't stand it's called the "Requin"it's an Air max plus tn –shark in French- they are very popular in France but it's only street cats and toys that wear them. I just hate this pair. And of course I'll never paint on FAKE shoes !!!

I'll pick 3 of our favorite sneakers from your page, and you give us a little information/story about it:

Hell Print 2008

In the evolution of my work it was necessary to have my own "cement "effect. The AM Light came on the spot. The color way was exactly what I wanted and match perfectly with my cement. I spend a lot of time on it and at least I'm proud of the result.


Spider Attack 2008

For the Vandal series that I've done I choose famous characters like Wolverine, Spiderman, Bart Simpson and Bender to prove that it was possible to do a clean custom of a character and at least it works really good ! What do you think ?!


VANDAL HIGH NO SCHOOL
Its funny that you have mention this one because I haven't communicate much on it. Nobody ever saw the biggest part of the job because I've done something special inside of the shoe. With this video I will let you see what I'm talking about :


Stay tuned for more on Dr. Medzoo!
Mail :mail : dr.medzoo@yahoo.fr
link : www.myspace.com/drmedzoo

iPod Killing brings Community Empowerment

photo by:williamli1983

We just wanted to get the word out about 4th Annual Christopher Rose Community Empowerment Campaign. For those who aren't aware, Christopher Rose was stabbed and killed in 2005 for his iPod in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. It is believed to be the first ipod related death/killing. His family, though heart broken have started community uplifting movements related to ipods. This Saturday (Feb 7th) they will be having, food activities, giveaways, live entertainment and an iPod Raffle.

Details:
Saturday Feb 7th from 3-6pm
Catherine McAuley High School
710 East 37th St., Brooklyn NY 11203

For more information:
email: Forchrisrose@yahoo.com

"We live in a world which is changing rapidly. We have the technology that can give us the iPod and everything else, but it's not all these things. We have to work on the minds and the hearts. We're failing these kids. We're not loving them like we're supposed to."

-Errol Rose (Christopher's dad)
New York Times,2005