Tonight is a pretty exciting night for us. J.Cole is in Saskatoon for the first time, and we both get to see him perform before his first album releases (Cole World: The Sideline Story // September 27th). Seeing an artist perform before he releases his first album is pretty hard to come by, especially an artist with such an amazing career ahead of him. I am stoked, tonight will be a good time.
In celebration of tonight, I would like to share some of my favourite Cole tracks of all time. Enjoy!
Download:
"Killers" - J. Cole
"Grown Simba" - J. Cole
"In The Morning" - J. Cole ft. Drake
"Home For The Holidays" - J. Cole
"You Got It" - J. Cole ft. Wale
"Higher" - J. Cole
"Lights Please" - J. Cole
"Hold It Down" - J. Cole
"A Star Is Born" - Jay-Z ft. J. Cole
"Beautiful Bliss" - Wale ft. Melanie Fiona & J. Cole
"Disgusting" - J. Cole
"Lost Ones" - J. Cole
Not a lot of people can say that they managed a skate shop at 17, or even say they have creative input on the product that the shop produces. I feel extremely privileged to be in the position I am. I can't wait to grow and see where life takes me. With that being said I am pleased to say that the deck design that I helped produce is finally available. Check out the write up I did for fromthefeetup.ca!
With most of our staff and team growing up in the late 80's and early 90's it made the most sense to bring back a familiar graphic, and re-vamp it on our first shop deck. The graphic design was a collaborative effort (idea came from Ryan Mack, hand-drawn by myself, and final touches/photoshop by Jeremy Marucot). We are pleased to say that this deck is now available in sizes varying from 7.625" to 8.5" for only $45. Support your local!
*Thank-you Geoff Warrington for bringing out my inner child in this photo.
HUF has done a great job with their presentation; represented by an elite group of skaters, focusing on staying true to the brand, working on collaborations that relate to the brand, countless footwear commercials, and executing a fun unique collection every season. I have a hard time saying "I don't like this" to anything HUF. The creative minds behind the brand make sure they execute a clean and creative concept to each piece. In my opinion, I think HUF is here to stay... and will grow to be one of the greats.
Recently, I had a conversation with Asif about surrounding yourself around creative minds to help grow each other. With that being said, I can say HUF influenced my sudden urge to be creative and grow as a creative mind. I have always seen myself as an artist (graphic design, painting, drawing), lately I been coming up with some ideas that I want to execute. You can expect to see a more creative aspect on ListenUp. I can't wait to share.
Ryan, and I have been sharing thoughts and ideas of a creative way to display a 'look'. Showcasing the 'look' with the activity behind the 'look'. Seeing as HUF just put out one of my favourite collections this Summer, we wanted to share some of my favourites from the collection and using Dom Kennedy's "Grind'n" as some mood setting music. Enjoy!
Earlier this week I finally purchased The National's fifth album, 'High Violent' (featured them on ListenUp's Top 10's). Such a smooth album, I suggest you to pick it up. Enjoy!
On Saturday, Ryan (Hello Saskatoon) and myself were discussing the N*E*R*D/The Neptunes before their most recent albums 'Seeing Sounds' and the most recent, 'Nothing'. Reminiscing on old songs and the production behind it, comparing new artists to N*E*R*D and discussing the similarities/differences. It's funny to think that 'In Search Of...' was released 9 years ago (that was when I was 11 years old), and I now realize that N*E*R*D were a huge influence on my taste in music and fashion. With that being said... it encouraged me to take a listen to some of the songs that really influenced me as a kid. Enjoy!
'For Emma, Forever Ago' was the first time I heard of Bon Iver. Super mellow raw acoustic with strong vocals; The type of music you would listen to laying in your room while you sleep, or while driving around on a rainy day. Bon Iver delivers everytime with emotional meaningful music. I recently stumbled on 2 pieces of work that I never knew was released, 'Blood Bank EP' (2009) and 'Bon Iver' (2011). Both sound completely different than the first album, but in their own ways. 'Blood Bank EP' has a similar sound as the first album, with stronger vocals and a bit less of 'whiny' sound. 'Bon Iver' (the album) sounds fresh and new, less vocals with more instruments; This album in my opinion is completely different than any other music they have released... which may have been the reason for it being self titled (established a new sound; starting fresh).
The past 2 weeks I have had these two albums on repeat: at home and at the shop. Seeing as I believe in supporting musicians I will be purchasing hard copies of these albums ASAP and I want you to too! I like both of these albums from front to back, so I had a tough time picking a favourite song, so I picked the first song from both. Enjoy!
