Wednesday, February 23, 2011

AS OF LATELY IVE BEEN FEELING THESE....MIGHT HAVE TO GET A PAIR FOR ONE OF THOSE HOT SUMMER DAYS....PERFECT SUMMER SNEAKER

NIKE AIR FORCE ONE YELLOW SLAM JAM

BEEN WAITING FOREVER TO GET MY HANDS ON THESE....PURE HEAT IN MY OPINION

KIWI AIR FORCE ONES

I DNT THINK ANY SNEAKER HEAD WILL PASS UP ON THIS RELEASE FOR 2011.....ALL I CAN SAY IS SHEEEESH!!!!

PREVIEW OF SOME NEVER BEFORE SEEN COLORWAYS OF THE FOAMPOSITE PRO.....2011 & 2012 MAY BE THE YEAR FOR THE FOAMPOSITES HMMMMMM!!!!!

WHO ROCKED THEM BETTER???

Q-TIP "Silver Foam Pros"
VADO AND JAE MILLZ "Nike Air Force Foams & Copper Foams"
CHRIS BROWN "Copper Foams"
STEVE-O OF GFCNY "Copper Foams"
WALE OF MMG 'Pewter Foams"
FAT JOE "Copper Foams"



RICK ROSS SIGNS ANOTHER RAPPER TO HIS LABEL....2011 IS LOOKING LIKE ITS GONNA BE A BIG YEAR FOR MMG (MAYBACH MUSIC GROUP) "Atlanta Rapper Pill Signs to Rick Ross' Maybach Music"


Since Rick Ross made the announcement that he had chosen to bring his Maybach Music imprint to Warner Bros. Records, fans and critics alike have been wondering who the next signee under the new deal would be. Ross didn't venture far from his Miami roots to look for Maybach Music's newest recruit: Atlanta rapper Pill has just joined the roster.

Late Monday night (Feb. 21), Maybach Music Group's official Twitter page posted a tweet, simply reading, "@PILL4180 @MEEKMILL @RICKYROZAY @WALE @CAROLCITYCARTEL." The list includes all of the new artists signed to Ross' imprint.

Pill, who already updated his Twitter page with a headline stating he is a "Maybach Music/Warner Recording Artist," rose to fame in early 2009 with the release of his first mixtape, '4180: The Prescription,' which spawned the hit 'Trap Goin' Ham.' Later that year he put out his second effort, '4075: The Refill.' Pill, born Tyrone Rivers, was featured on the cover of XXL magazine's 2010 Freshmen Class list, along with the likes of Donnis, Nipsey Hussle, Jay Rock, J. Cole and OJ da Juiceman.

Warner Bros. executive Todd Moscowitz recently spoke on his desire to see the partnership between Ross' Maybach Music and the major label happen. "We were drawn to Ross' hustle," Moscowitz said in a statement to VIBE. "He's an entrepreneur like we are. We built our company from the ground up and that's exactly what he did. Ross stands for something."

With Pill's recent signing, it's apparent the 'Teflon Don' creator isn't shying away from the spotlight. The rapper is set on formulating a musical empire.

"Ross is a magnate, a lightning rod," Moscowitz revealed. "It's so obvious that he's focused on building an empire. He's a brand builder and we've had more success than anyone at supporting that. It's so much bigger than an artist thing. It's about our partnership in building something enduring and we're backing Ross' vision, all the way and giving him the resources and backing to do it."

Young Jeezy - Hustle Hard [G-Mix] "HAD TO PUT THIS UP...MY BOY JEEZY BODIED THIS BEAT"

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The 2011 XXL Freshmen 'SOME EYEBROWS ARE GOING TO BE RAISED AFTER SEEING THIS"


Just days after a Freshmen '11 list leaked, XXL decided to unveil their cover weeks in advance and added an additional artist to the Top 10.

2011's Freshmen Class featuring: Meek Mill, Big K.R.I.T., Cyhi The Prynce, Lil Twist, Yelawolf, Fred The Godson, Mac Miller, YG, Lil B, Kendrick Lamar, Diggy Simmons.

Juelz Santana Confirms Diplomats Deal With Interscope "NOW THIS IS SOMETHING US REAL DIPSET FANS CAN BE HAPPY ABOUT" STOP WITH THE BEEF AND JUST MAKE MUSIC PEOPLE!!!!


 Harlem's mighty rap collective The Diplomats have been teasing a potential deal with industry veteran Jimmy Iovine and his Interscope label since last year. Now, it looks like things are a little more certain. Group member Juelz Santana claimed the deal is a go in a recent interview with Ozone Magazine.

"It's back to live action, it's back to doing what we do best," Santana explained in the interview. "We got the deal with Interscope. Shout-out to Jimmy Iovine. I'm sure people seen the pictures up of us and Dr. Dre, so, you know, we've done records with Dre. That was a beautiful experience. Dre had Jim [Jones] in the booth for like an hour and a half."

The group's association with Dr. Dre is exactly what led fans to speculate that a deal with Interscope was imminent for the group's highly-anticipated comeback album that's thought to be the third installment of its 'Diplomatic Immunity' series. Jim Jones likened his experience recording tracks with Dre to returning to school and claimed that the new deal and opportunities are pushing the group to work hard.

"It was like school in there," he told MTV News. "It's like real rap school when you're in the booth with him. You either feel like you're getting better or a student."

Nicki Minaj Responds to Lil' Kim's 'Black Friday' 'Tape Sales "PERSONALLY I THINK THE BEEF IS GETTING OUT OF HAND....NOW LIL KIM IS MAKING VIDEOS TO HER DISS SONGS...COME ON KIM!!!" NOT A FAN OF NICKI MINAJ AT ALL BUT LIL KIM NEEDS TO JUST GIVE IT UP


After Lil' Kim proudly proclaimed she sold 113,000 copies of her new mixtape 'Black Friday,' her nemesis Nicki Minaj has written the next chapter in their everlasting saga. Last night, the Harajuku Barbie took to her Twitter account to tweet mocking words to Kim, who is depicted decapitating Nicki on the cover of the 'tape.

"Bwaahhhhahhahahahahahahahahhahahhhaaahhhhhaaahahahahahahahhhaha!!!!!!!!!! *lifeless* *leaves on stretcher* *cant go on*," wrote Nicki after Kim announced that she had become the highest selling PayPal user of all time. The pink-haired rapstress soon followed by retweeting a fan who wrote "The devil is a liar."

The Queen Bee, who was a top trending topic last night on Twitter, fired back by slinging some harsh words of her own. "#twitterbeef This is not beef. Real beef is when someone gets shot 5 minutes later. CHILD PLEASE!!! #toomanytwittergangstas #teamlilkim LEGO," she wrote.

The beef between Kim and Nicki has been heating up over the past few months, with each artist taking shots at one another on wax and in interviews. Kimmy Blanco is set to reveal her video for her diss 'Black Friday' later today, featuring a Nicki Minaj lookalike.

Wiz Khalifa Says Rolling Papers Is 'Totally Finished' "I KNOW ALOT OF YOU WEED-SMOKERS AND WIZ KHALIFA FANS CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS ALBUM TO DROP"


"The album is totally finished," he told MTV News last week on the set of his "Roll Up" video in Los Angeles. "We're putting, like, the last little bit of touches on it, and we're turning it in next week."

"Roll Up" is the follow-up to "Black and Yellow," and despite a number of tracks that have leaked online in recent weeks, Wiz said there won't be any more singles before the album — though the green-friendly lyricist has some tricks up his sleeves.

"We got a couple of surprises along the way to keep people interested," he said. "But really, other than that, the album is done. We're really excited. Everyone is excited. [Warner Music Group executive] Lyor [Cohen] came through to a session. I got so much support from the single and going into the album. So when we do drop it, I think we'll get that response that everyone was expecting."

Eminem's 'Recovery' Wins Grammy for Best Rap Album "CONGTRATZ EM"



Eminem cleaned up at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, beating out newcomers B.o.B and Drake, and vets the Roots and Jay-Z for Best Rap Album with his chart-topping release, 'Recovery.' Eminem's 'Relapse' album took home the Grammy for Best Rap Album last year, marking Em's second gramophone for Best Rap Album in two years. The rapper's sophomore album 'The Slim Shady LP' and third album 'The Marshall Mathers LP' grabbed back-to-back Best Rap Album awards. This will also mark the fifth time the Detroit-bred rapper has won the award for Best Rap Album.

"This is crazy," Em said when accepting the award. He then thanked his production team, Rihanna, Dr. Dre, his management, Interscope, and ended with a shout out to his hometown. "What up, Detroit!" he represented. "Stand up!"

Em's comeback album 'Relapse' was a shoe-in last year when it went toe-to-toe with a few underdogs, including Mos Def's 'Ecstatic,' Flo Rida's 'R.O.O.T.S.,' Q-Tip's 'The Renaissance' and Common's 'Universal Mind Control.' This time around Eminem had stiffer competition going up against tour mate Jay-Z's 'Blueprint 3.'

'Recovery' -- pegged as the sequel for Em's 2009's 'Relapse' album -- sold 741,000 copies in its first week and debuted on the charts at No. 1. The album spawned the Grammy-nominated hits 'Love the Way You Lie' and 'Not Afraid.'

ITS OFFICIAL CARMELLO IS COMING TO THE BIG APPLE #NIIIIIIICE


The Knicks have now paired two of the NBA's best scorers on one team. Anthony is sixth in the league with 25.2 points per game, while Amar'e Stoudemire scores 26.1. It's a historic pairing, and if the numbers hold, the Knicks would become the fifth team in the past 20 years to have two players average at least 25 points per game. This may sound like a nice piece of trivia, but it's actually great news for the Knicks: Rarely have high-profile scorers failed to deliver.
It's commonly believed that basketball is about the little things—defense, hustling, chemistry—but many of the great teams in NBA history featured elite scorers and little else. Elgin Baylor and Jerry West hit the mark five times with the Lakers, and the title-winning 1987 Celtics had Kevin McHale and Larry Bird do it.
The Knicks don't have much experience with pure scorers. They haven't had a tandem average even 20 points each in the past 30 years, and the last time it was happening regularly—when Walt Frazier and Willis Reed did it twice in the early '70s, it resulted in the team's 1970 NBA title.
In the past 20 years, only four NBA teams have had two players average 25 points per game over a full season: Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant averaged 25-plus for three straight seasons in L.A.—winning titles in two of them. Anthony and Allen Iverson both hit the 25-point mark for Denver in 2007-08 in a 50-win season.
STAR POWER
Teamwork is important in a lot of sports—just not basketball. Knicks team president Donnie Walsh said that it is his experience that great players usually figure out a way to play together and win. As long as Stoudemire and Anthony do that, it looks likely the Knicks will contend because stars are prerequisites for success. With the exception of possibly the 2004 Detroit Pistons, whose best player was forward Rasheed Wallace, every NBA champion in recent memory has held at least one mega-star and sometimes more—Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan have all led their teams to championships in the past two decades.
Sorry, Wilson Chandler, but you probably aren't going to be hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy any time soon.
DID THEY REALLY GIVE UP A LOT?
Conventional wisdom in the past 24 hours has doomed the Knicks to mediocrity. Chandler and Gallinari are talented scorers who combine for 31 points a game and Mozgov is seen as a raw commodity who, at 7-foot-1, could develop at any time. Felton, who showed flashes of brilliance early in the season, faded of late and should be replaced easily by Billups, the 2004 NBA Finals MVP. Upon closer inspection, though, the Knicks got a deal. Chandler will be a free agent after this season and any reasonable sum of money paid to him would have eliminated the possibility of signing Anthony. Gallinari is the team's starting small forward, the position Anthony plays, which would have relegated Gallinari to the bench. Eddy Curry had not dressed this season and Anthony Randolph looked lost in limited playing time. The Knicks gave up quantity, not necessarily quality.
SUPPORTING CASTS ARE OVERRATED
The Knicks may not be done dealing, according to Walsh, who said they are still planning out the rest of their time before Thursday's trade deadline, and the possibility of adding a center remains. Walsh also would not say if some of the role players acquired in the trade, like Shelden Williams, will remain with the team or get waived. Here's the thing about that: It probably doesn't matter. History overrates role players that surround superstars. Just ask the Miami Heat, who are currently fielding LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh as superstars and a supporting cast that includes Joel Anthony at center and Carlos Arroyo at point guard—the same Arroyo who was playing professional basketball in Israel two years ago. The Heat, by the way, are 41-15, with the second most wins in the NBA.
MARKETING PROWESS
Walsh, a 69-year-old basketball lifer, said he was not thinking about marketing when making this deal—but many of his bosses probably were. Madison Square Garden is going through an $850 million renovation, which has started already and will kick into high gear this summer. Walsh said the Garden officials will be excited for what he can bring off the court, and we can guess that Walsh is not familiar with the work of Anthony's wife, former MTV VJ La La Vazquez, who will no doubt become a staple of celebrity row at Knicks games.

Monday, February 14, 2011

BROWSING THROUGH YOUTUBE AND LOOK WHAT I CAME ACROSS ----> BEST OF BROOKLYN CYPHER

Shaking All Stars PART 1&2

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY "IF YOU CELEBRATE IT WHY NOT KNO THE HISTORY BEHIND VALENTINES DAY"

The history of Valentine's Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.
One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first "valentine" greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.
While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial — which probably occurred around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to "christianize" celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.
To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.
The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman "lottery" system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February — Valentine's Day — should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.
In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.
According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)
Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.
Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap."

I WOULDN'T MIND SPENDING $800 OR MORE ON A JACKT LIKE THIS "MONCLER JACKET"

MONCLER RED HOODED JACKET
MONCLER ERIC DOWN JACKET NAVY
CHINA BLACK MONCLER JACKET

A STYLE THAT IS BECOMING EXTINCT....ONCE THE URBAN COMMUNITY DISCOVERED THIS THEY ABUSED IT....BUT I FEEL EVERY SNEAKERHEAD SHOULD HAVE ATLEAST ONE POLO HAT IN THEIR COLLECTION

RALPH LAUREN POLO HATS

THEY DONT MAKE CARTOONS LIKE THIS ANYMORE......CARTOONS LIKE THESE MAKE ME MISS BEING A KID

I MISS THE 90's

PUBLiC ENEMYZ (THE 2011 TAKEOVER)


ONE OF THE MOST SLEPT ON SNEAKERS OF 2010 "IN MY OPINION" NIKE AIR MAX UPTEMPO 97 "Urban Federation"

ONE OF MY FAVORITE SNEAKERS IN MY COLLECTION

THEY LOOK AMAZING ON FEET

Meek Mill Signs to Maybach Music; Speaks on Deal and New Mixtapes "MMG DOING BIG THINGS THIS YEAR....FIRST WALE, NOW MEEK MILL"


“I’m feelin’ good—feelin’ great, man,” Meek told XXLMag.com shortly after letting the ink dry on the papers. “That’s why Twitter’s a good thing. You let people know what’s going on live and direct.”

After announcing the signing of Wale to the label earlier this week, Ross took to Twitter to announce his newest signee, Philly native Meek Mill. “EVERYONE WELCOME @MEEKMILL TO THE EMPIRE!!! #MMG,” Rozay wrote on the microblogging site late Tuesday afternoon. Meek then expressed his excitement on his own Twitter account, posting, “had 2 take my talents 2 south beach!!! mamamamammaybach!!,” playing off of LeBron James’ decision over the summer, when the basketball star announced he’d be leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers and “taking my talents to South Beach,” to play for the Miami Heat.

There had been rumors for the last couple months that both Meek and Wale would sign on with the Teflon Don before it finally became official this week. Meek, however, knew that it was about to go down. “Personally, I knew probably about a month ago,” he explained. “But I got a team [and] we had to all come to an agreement and find out how we was gonna do this and how we was gonna make this happen. We sat down, everybody got behind my decision, and we ready to roll.”

The three traded verses on “Play Your Part,” off of Ross’ December mixtape Ashes to Ashes, as well as “Pandemonium,” a leak from January. In addition, Meek featured Ross on his December leak, “I’m A Boss.” The young spitter, who was a Show & Prove profile in the July/August 2010 issue of XXL, said that videos for all three of the songs have already been shot.

Now officially with a new team, the 23-year-old is ready to drop plenty of new music, saying he’s prepping two mixtapes for March—one over original production, and one over beats other rappers have already used. “I think the original one is gonna be called Dream Chasing,” he said, “and the mixtape on everyone else’s instrumentals is gonna be Flamerz 4. I’m supposed to be doing that with DJ Ill Will and DJ Drama, so we gonna try to make a movie out of that, too.”

“It’s a bidding war out here,” Meek said regarding the widespread interest that major labels have taken in Maybach Music Group. “This about to be the newest team. I’m Blake Griffin. I’m just slammin’ on people. Just think of Blake Griffin on a fast break.”

GOTTA GET MY HANDS ON ALL 3 OF THESE BEFORE THE YEAR IS OVER

ROYAL BLUE FOAMPOSITE ONE
PEWTER FOAMPOSITE ONE
ELECTRIC GREEN FOAMPOSITE PRO

Kendrick Lamar & J. Cole Say Collabo Mixtape is Gonna “Shock The World” IM PATIENTLY AWAITING THIS!!!!!


Roc Nation signee J. Cole and Top Dawg Entertainment’s Kendrick Lamar are set to team up for an as-yet-untitled collaborative mixtape. XXLMag.com spoke to Lamar, who’s been busy in the studio working with Dr. Dre on Detox, to find out more details on the joint disc.

“We don’t have a title or release date yet but J. Cole got like 90 percent of the production so far,” the Compton-native told XXL. “One of my favorite songs of the project is a song called “Shock The World,” Cole layed the first verse and set the tone for the whole record. It’s going to shake up a lot of people.”
Cole told Sway on "RapFix Live" last week: "Me and Kendrick doing a whole ridiculous thing together that's gonna tear up the world,"

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

HER AGAIN #ThatIsAll

I THINK IM IN LOVE HAHA

CHAD B....REPRESENTING JERZEY #SALUTE!!! CAME OUT WITH ONE OF THE BEST CLUB SONGZ OF 2010

STRAIGHT OUT EAST CAMDEN "CMD" HIS NAME RAN....D-RAN TO BE EXACT!!!! CHECK OUT HIS MUSIC

                  SUBSCRIBE TO HIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL: MYNAMERAN

KINGS OF SPANK!

#84 GREATEST RECIEVER OF ALL-TIME BEHIND JERRY RICE

                                             MINNESOTA VIKINGS

   

OAKLAND RAIDERS


NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS


CARMELLO ANTHONY WOULD LOOK BETTER IN A KNICKS JERSEY!!!.....LAKERS OR NETS?? I DNT THINK SO o_O


HUH??!!! CARMELLO ANTHONY BEING TRADED TO THE LAKERS...DNT COUNT ON IT


The Lakers and Carmelo Anthony? Wouldn't count on it.

An ESPN report that the Lakers were in preliminary talks with Denver for the Nuggets' unhappy all-star forward was quickly rebuffed by the Lakers.

"What's out there is inaccurate," said a Lakers representative familiar with the negotiations.

The report said the deal would revolve around Bynum for Anthony, though a team source told The Times on Tuesday that the Lakers were unwilling to deal Bynum, the 23-year-old center who has been plagued by knee problems.

Bynum is considered the personal project of Lakers executive Jim Buss, the son of team owner Jerry Buss.

SO THESE LIL KIDS GOT MOVES HUH???!!!!

FOR ALL YOU WEED SMOKER OUT THERE: The History Of Weed! Facts You Need To Know About Marijuana

LMAO!!!! KEVEN HART AKA CHOCOLATE DROPPA....THIS GUY IS A CLOWN

LMAO FUNNY BUT TRUE.....CHECK OUT HIS HAIRCUT THOUGH o_O

MY DREAM GIRL Va$htie Kola ^__^

WHAT MALE SNEAKER-HEAD WOULDN'T WANT A FEMALE WHO LOVES SNEAKERS JUST AS MUCH AS HIM
BEAUTIFUL!!
VASHTIE HOLDING HER CUSTOM PAIR OF JORDAN 2'S
Vashtie Kola went from a young girl wishing she could afford Air Jordans, to being the first female ever to design a pair.

Born to Trinidadian parents and raised in Albany, New York, Vashtie moved to New York City over a decade ago to study directing/cinematography at the School of Visual Arts.
She went on to direct music videos for the likes of Common, Kid Cudi, Justin Bieber and Pharrell—whom she dated from 2003 to 2007.

Antoine “L.A.” Reid brought Vashtie on as Island Def Jam’s Creative Director in 2006, stating she would be “the one to keep building cool, someone in tune with downtown cool and pop mainstream.” She left in 2007 to focus on her directing career.

Around this time, Vashtie also started a couple of successful parties. One of them—”1992,” a strictly 90s music party—drew names like Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri, DJ Premier and Ne-Yo. After witnessing the success of this party, Q-Tip approached Vashtie to start a party with him. “Open,” which was held weekly at NYC’s Santos Party House, had attendees like Mick Jagger, Diddy and Mos Def.

In 2008, Vashtie launched another one of her dreams—her own clothing line, Violette. She describes the line as looking like “Louis Vuitton had a daughter living in the Lower East Side. She’d be rocking a cool t-shirt, kicks, and a great handbag.”