20-year-old Dominican cutie Reina Montero transforms into a print princess every time she models. Offering a very toned down look naturally, it is a wonder how she’s the same person. See it for yourself in her Russian Vogue (2010) editorials below. Though she hasn’t done too much yet, we are looking forward to how the fashion haus will play her up next.
For more about Reina Montero, just click here.
Originally from war-torn Kosovo and not knowing how to speak a lick of [American] English, Labinot Gashi (G4SHI) learned the English and the language of Hip-Hop through listening to its some its finest contenders: Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, and JAY Z, to name a few. He’s worked with Nipsey Hussle and French Montana. In 2011, Don Canon and DJ Benzi hosted his debut mix tape “Last Of A Rare Breed“, and recently, he was on MTV RapFix with Sway. That’s how we discovered him. There’s a section on the program called “Get In The Game”, and in this instance, legendary rapper Busta Rhymes presents his video and gives the fellow Brooklynite a little advice. Watch the video that Busta Rhymes presented below.
Though, we don’t know much about his story yet, we love his style of fashion, music, and his face. We think he’ll be around for a while. Stay tuned. We’re working on getting more information to you shortly.
[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRNw8zwglok&h=315]
For more about G4SHI, visit his website and follow him on Twitter.
LaRayia’s back and she’s telling you about Apuletown’s Mermaid Gang and Pharaoh’s Army collections and what inspires her.
For more Apuletown, just click here.
This talent we’re premiering today with Audibase is an audio and visual craftsman based in Seattle, Washington going by the name: UltraLoveForce. Born in Hilltop Tacoma, Washington, weeks after, he moved to Strausberg, Germany with his parents. His mother taught in the military and his father fought in the Gulf War. Somewhere in between, his parents split and his mother wanted him to be cultured so they lived in many different cities. Some include South Central California, Columbus, Georgia, and Colorado Springs. Six years ago, he started rhyming in a barbershop and now, the energy he’s trying to harness is the one you’re about to experience. How can you ever really be mad at a name like that? So far, he’s worked with his heroes Dudley Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow, his comrades Jarv Dee from Moor Gang, Eric G of 9th Wonder’s Soul Council, Raised By Wolves, and Nacho Picasso.
[quote style]I don’t know if you’ve ever seen somebody make beats. I tend to pick up things pretty quickly and sometimes, it makes me feel like I’m not doing it right or something like that,” UltraLoveForce admits. “So when I watch my homies make beats, it usually takes them like a couple of days or something. I make them [right] there. I just like to make beats when people are there. I see them moving [in] a certain way and it kind of encourages a certain [action]. My brain tells me to add something just to see them react a certain way and it’s just done right there. Writing is a little more difficult because of the way I perceive Hip-Hop in itself and how I try not to be associated with that — the rank rapper type thing — but it is a great feeling when someone’s reciting your shit. I like them both the same, but right now, I like making beats more.[/quote]
It has been a year since I met UltraLoveForce, formerly Sax G, via a submission email. At the time, he was promoting “Groove You”, a single featuring vocals from Dudley Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow. From what I remember, it was his approach that made me want to write about him. *That’s where good artist etiquette gets you. He says that he came across my magazine when looking for cool publications in New York and when he thinks of it, he thinks of Suzi Analogue. He really admires her. He automatically assumed that “we were going to be too cool for it.” He didn’t think we were going to listen to his music at all.
[quote]Personally, I’m not from Seattle so it always seems like I am kind of bashing but it’s not my intention. What I say is an honest feeling: Seattle lacks a certain identity. Not that it doesn’t have its own identity, because the family that I run with now are all about their true selves: THEESatisfaction, OC Notes, and our big brothers Shabazz Palaces. You know, they have a true sense of self. But even cats like Nacho and the Moor Gang — it is clear that they are being themselves — before we came on the scene. Not saying that we’re responsible for that, but before we came on the scene, it was really humorous. It was really happy rap. It was on some happy shit. It was like young hyphy. It was like, ‘Look, I’m a rapper’ and not ‘Look, I make music.’ That’s kind of the feel I got from it and I’m not from Seattle, so it will probably be looked at in a certain way but I don’t really give a fuck either.[/quote]
[quote]Dudley is my J Dilla. I knew about Slum Village — I didn’t have no older brothers or nothing like who lived with me so I came across them at the end of the 90s by some random White dude in Minnesota who just wanted to share love. I’m talking like some super White dude like… Do you remember those pants called “JNCO”? They looked like elephants? He had those shits on with like a mesh shirt and everything. He was like, ‘You need to hear this. You need to check this out. It’s called The Slum.’ And I’m looking at it and I’m like ‘Man, this dusty ass cover…’. That was like middle school for me so I was on some No Limit Soldier type stuff. So, when dudes be talking like, ‘J Dilla saved my life’, I be like ‘Don [?] from No Limit Soldiers is just like me bro’. That was their Nicki Minaj back in the day. So stop fronting like you know about J Dilla because you don’t, and we didn’t have any computers. I didn’t know anything about J Dilla, like I said, until 2008-2009ish. The cold part about it was, I had a connection to him without knowing. The only song off the Common album that I liked was ‘The Light’. When Busta put out the “Genesis”, it was like, ‘Why is this the only song I like on here?’ Hindsight would show me: Oh, cause Dilla did it. I like that swing.
But Dudley Perkins was one of the first people where I was like, ‘What is this? What is he talking about? Oh, I like this shit.’ He wants me to make some beats for him, and he wants it in a specific way, and its kind of that unsure moment for me right now but I’ll get them shits done, though.[/quote]
[quote]Our relationship isn’t as deep and personal as I’d like it to be. He has a family and stuff like that, and truth be told the most time I’ve ever spent with him was when he was in Seattle at Bumbershoot before I was even making music like that and we were just building on a life tip. He’d probably just keep it short like, ‘Hey, he cool.’ He’s mad chill. I’m in awe when I talk to him. I just try to make sure he likes the beats, that’s it.[/quote]
For the first time, instead of asking producers to send beats created or curated for others, I wanted each producer to tell a personal story. A story about themselves. In short, what you are about to listen to is what we like to call an “audiobiography”. After listening to it, you should feel like you know UltraLoveForce a little more than you did before landing on this page. That was his only task given to participate. He was actually the first person I called when planning this project. From what we hear, THEESatisfaction was in the room when he made this audiobiography.
“I kind of used their energy to get the direction of the beats I was making and it all turned out to be something I was really proud of. The beats for this represents something completely different from the beats on my first album. This one’s more joyous. It’s more smiley,” he explained.
“Emoticon beats?”
“Exactly”, he confirmed.
At the HQ, we had an anonymous listening for this project. To be more specific, radio show hosts from TK in the AM and Team GrungeCake sat with pens and paper in hand as they listened to the music of a faceless and nameless artist in hopes of just giving his music fair critique and they did. Stay tuned for the review.
Full feature available shortly. For now, just listen to the awesome sounds presented by Audibase.
We must say: For a young guy who started making beats three years ago just to rap on them, he’s terrific. Lately, he’s been learning the ins and outs of scoring for films and multimedia. Like most musicians, he’s multifaceted. He’d like to get into animation. For more UltraLoveForce, please visit his website or follow him on Twitter.
We’d like to personally thank Stüssy Seattle and Studio Nels for their contribution to this project. *UltraLoveForce plays a free event at the Neptune Theatre on Thursday, August 15th. For more information, click here for details.
For more UltraLoveForce, just click here.
At just 18-years-old, Andrew St James is a singer-songwriter whose single just premiered on USA Today and that’s quite remarkable.
“I am inspired by the odd characters that I call my acquaintances,” St James says of the colorful cast that inhabits the songs on his debut album Doldrums, set for release on September 24th. Hip street folk, Irish immigrants and Mission hipsters star in songs that exist as soundtracks to hard-lived lives. They are tunes that speak with a frank realism and dark sense of humor to kids of St James’s age that are living in a mixed-up world.”
Just with that statement alone, you can tell that he is far beyond his years. He is a deep boy. Now for more about the song you’re about to hear: “Despite its light qualities, ‘Cassidy’ is a dark song,” he says of the album’s first single, a tune that lives on the fringes of heartbreak. “At the time I wrote it, a former lover of mine had returned to my city. I still loved her, but it was soon evident that she had no intention of seeing me.” Of Doldrums, St James says that “This album is about growing up,” and adds humorously, “Granted, growing up for me consisted of rancid partying, rich girlfriends, and strange mission coffee shop poetry readings.”
Produced by St James along with veteran Bay Area producer Jim Greer (a platinum record recipient for his work with Foster The People), Andrew St James’s debut album Doldrums will be available this Fall.
As gorgeous and genetically versatile as she wants to be, Ella Merryweather is our new obsession since the Internet idolatry of Omahyra Mota in 2006. This stunning British beauty is our pick of the week because the contour of her jaw is extremely exciting and we can get lost in her eyes. She’s the new face of IMG Models. Look out for more Ella. We predict she’s going to be a supermodel in no time!
For more about Ella Merryweather, just click here.
Sounding a little more organized in his thoughts, VerBS, this staple in thetaud emerging rap scene of Los Angeles best known for his work with Project Blowed, which he mentions in the song, displays his growth on “Geyzer” produced by Duke Westlake also featuring Jose Zeta Jones Rios. It delivers a very “chill” and therapeutic Hip-Hop sound. Boom bap, all day.
VerBS speaks of falling victim to imperfections, being older, wiser, and more confident. It sounds a lot like Frank Ocean is on this track. Rios, if that’s you, honey, you’ve got it.
Listen to the track and if you’re feeling the track, download it directly from the independent label’s website that made this one possible. For more VerBS, visit his website. He has so much music, we can’t promise you won’t get lost.
For more VerBS, just click here.
Premiering as a new face on Models.com in October, Panos Gianneas has been dubbed the new Grecian boy toy or god, depending which editorial you read. Specifically, Panos is our pick of the week because his physique it to die for and he is handsome, he looks like he could open up for Diamond Terrifier at the Brooklyn Bowl — today. Most notable, Panos modeled for Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring-Summer 2013 Men’s Collection. Want to know what it looks like? Check it out.
For more about Panos Gianneas, just click here.
More than background music by far, Sinner DC’s seventh album “Future That Never Happened” brings its listeners acoustic tranquility in a time of intense difficulty (Zimmerman verdict). Easily, you can listen through the Swiss trio’s collection of remixes without realizing — and that’s always favorable for us. We listen to music all day. Thankfully, this project includes incredible rearrangements of “Where She Goes”, the second single, created by emerging talent Velveljin (Japan), Lungwah (United Kingdom), Bigeneric (Switzerland) and Colony (Italy). Our favourite has to be Lungwah’s version. It is very different from its original.
If you have a frame of eagerness for this project or you’ve developed a (new) love for house and ambient music, please download the original track for free and purchase the remixes on Sinner DC’s website. We’ll love you for it. If you need more of an incentive, read more about the collaborators on this release via Sinner DC:
[quote]We met Mana Haraguchi and Yohei Yamakado aka Velveljin in Kyoto 4 years ago and fell in love with their electro acoustic aesthetic and minimal universe, always with a subtle and sensitive lyrical aspect.[/quote] Their second album “Nostalghia“, inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky’s eponymous movie, is now released on neo-classical Noble Records.
James aka Lungwah hails from Wales and was first contacted 2 years ago to collaborate a track to the「A compilation for Japan I」 we curated with Villa Magica. He was also behind the excellent (now defunct) Warm Data label, home of inventive electronic music on the western side of Great Britain.
Behind Bigeneric is Berne-capital-native Marco Repetto, one of the most creative and long-lasting figure in the Swiss music scene. In short, he played in new wave band Grauzone, co-founded acid house label extraordinaire Axodya, had releases on Rephlex and run his own Inzec label. His latest project is called “Alpness“, a delicate ambient infusion of electronics and traditional alpen musik.
Sebastiano navigate the elusive musical unit Colony from Verona since 2007 and also joined the 「A compilation for Japan I」. His latest release is a “via email” collaboration with Akito Misaki and because Sebastiano likes to share and communicate with you, this and all previous releases are free to download. A taste of his forthcoming album can also be find here.
Rapper Vayne, a new artist from Virginia residing in New York City, shares some quality time to discuss the evolution of her name, its origin, why she’s newsworthy and what she thinks of GrungeCake. She’s from Virginia by way of Brooklyn, she’s hungry and you should hear her out. [highlight]*Watch until the end, as she delivers an impromptu verse showcasing her lyrical skills.[/highlight]
Hear Vayne’s new track As Long As I Got You below and vote to let us know what you think about the artist. If you want to catch up with Vayne, follow her on Twitter. For more GrungeCake videos, visit our video site. If you believe you have what it takes to have A Word With GrungeCake, fill out this form. Good luck!
For more Vayne, just click here.