Washington D.C. native Wale, born Olubowale Victor Folarin, has a lot on his lightning-quick mind lately. Attention Deficit, his debut album, just dropped on November 10th, and expectations are high. He’s among the new breed of artists whose careers are both augmented and tarnished by internet hype, and he is among the few who are looking to inject some excitement to what many feel has become a suffocated, copycat form of expression. In an article from the October 26th issue of the New Yorker, the in-house pop music critic Sasha Frere-Jones tackled the question “Is Hip-Hop Dead?” that has been percolating through blogs, street corners, bars, and record label offices for years. Frere-Jones’ answer is neither a firm “Yes” nor “No,” but he does suggest that a trend in the genre points towards a definitive shift to a more static electronic thump in lieu of the swing that once typified the art form. Wale has been on the rap radar for a few years, partly because he brings that bluesy, soulful swing to the mic by deftly weaving intricate rhyme patterns and nimbly mixing genres and influences while staying true to a sound that defies rote categorization. On an album that’s part D.C. go-go, part R&B, part greasy funk, and part post-pop, he maintains a sound that is unmistakably hip-hop.

Before his national introduction to music fans in 2007, Wale got regular spins on Washington D.C. airwaves with his go-go infused “Dig Dug (Shake It).” A year later, Nick Catchdubs, co-founder of Fools Gold Records, collaborated with Mr. Folarin on a mixtape called “100 Miles & Runnin,’” which showcased his ability to rhyme over a variety of tempos and styles of music: from Camp Lo’s “Glo” to Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.” to Lily Allen’s “Smile,” he showcased his unique cadence and energetic wordplay with an unmistakable bravado. Mark Ronson, who executive produced Attention Deficit, signed Wale in early 2007 to Allido records, and the duo has been making waves ever since.

While grabbing a microphone and moving a crowd is the foundation of hip-hop music, today’s artists, especially those who are unproven, are expected to do much more than rhyme. With the substantial decline in record sales in the past five years or so, record companies have looked for artists who have branding potential, not just those who may move units in Best Buy and on iTunes. Wale fits this requirement, as he is not just a hip-hop artist, but also an influential person in the ever-crowded world of street fashion as well. Wale makes frequent reference on his songs to his rare Nikes and smaller, niche-based clothing labels like The Hundreds. On sneaker and lifestyle blogs, Wale is a regular topic of discussion—his kicks and t-shirts are just as important to some in the online community as his music.

It’s no secret that today’s new recording artists are in a sort of e-paradox—on the one hand, their constant exposure through blogs and Tweets stamps their music and image onto the screens of innumerable prospective customers, while on the other hand, the next-big-thing leaves that star-to-be open to loads of unsolicited (and usually unedited) scrutiny. After all, Wale isn’t the only new hip-hop act that has high expectations, and fans become divided as to whose records they will spend money on. Some would argue that during the two years since he signed his deal with Allido, he’s become old news already—even before releasing his first album. The debut album is in no sense a true debut, as he’s released seven mixtapes since 2005, some of which have had original productions made for the compilations just like a traditional album would.

Carmelo Anthony is used to stardom. A heralded high school baller from Baltimore, Anthony spent his first three years at Towson Catholic High School before transferring to Oak Hill Academy for a stellar senior year that catapulted him from local star to USA Today first team All-American. A year later, Anthony led the Syracuse Orangemen to the NCAA National Championship and took center stage as a fearless scorer with a mammoth swagger. Anthony diced up defenses with a youthful cockiness punctuated by a smirk, corn-rowed braids, tattoos, and baggy shorts. After the championship, Anthony hoisted the trophy with a doo-rag and a backwards National Championship hat spun to the side. Carmelo Anthony, before even suiting up for an NBA squad, was already a star.

‘Melo was selected third in the NBA draft in 2003, with LeBron James and Darko Miličić selected ahead, and the Denver Nuggets couldn’t have been happier, as they landed a proven scorer with big shot poise. After making a splash in the NBA and giving LeBron a run for his money in the Rookie of the Year voting, Anthony seemed up to the pressure and speed of the NBA. Nike wasted no time getting Carmelo to join their brand. Besides landing a huge contract, ‘Melo was one of a select few on the Nike basketball roster to receive a signature sneaker. His first release, The Air Jordan Melo 1.5, fused elements from the Air Jordan I and Air Jordan II with some touches that Anthony himself suggested. Last year, a new, long-term contract ensured that unique ‘Melo releases will continue for a long time.

In 2004, Anthony joined the bronze-medal winning USA Olympic Basketball team, and in 2006, he starred on the FIBA International team, as he set the single-game scoring record with 35 points against Italy. As an integral part of the 2008 “Redeem Team,” Anthony again thrived on the international stage in Beijing. 2008 was also a landmark NBA season for Carmelo, as he led the Nuggets to the conference finals, only to lose to the eventual-champion Lakers. Now Carmelo seems poised to again lead his team deep into the playoffs, and if he has his way, take home the Naismith trophy.

Anthony breaks ankles, swats shots, and nets three-pointers regularly during the season, but he, like today’s other superstar athletes, does much more than perform on the court or field. Anthony now enjoys a career that’s more than points and rebounds as the founder of Kross Over Entertainment—home to artists like Cassidy and Diego Cash. Melo told us in his interview with Freshness that he prefers to stay “behind he scenes,” rather than get behind the mic or mixing boards. His media endeavors don’t stop with music, as Melo was among the producers of the critically-acclaimed documentary Tyson that released this year.

The reaction was instantaneous. Before we could even turn to the direction of his interest, his giant frame lurched forward in a calculated pace toward the intended target. Again, we were left behind in his wake, wondering among ourselves.  This is what sneaker shopping with DJ Clark Kent (born Rodolfo Franklin) is like.  It is similar to a hunt: brief moments of stillness punctuated with laser-like focus, but instead ended with transactions.  His keen sense is uncanny, able to pick out a pair for his collection long before anyone else notices.  We were always steps behind him.

Though second nature to him now, Kent had to take time to hone his skills.  Long before the term “sneakerhead” came about, Kent had already amassed a collection in the hundreds.  Today, his collection continues to grow, currently at some 2,400 pairs.  And that is not counting his other interests, including New Era fitted caps and Casio G-Shock watches.

Like his namesake, Kent, in many ways, is also a guardian of the culture in which he was raised.  He will never pass judgment on any design since he understands that, despite public conception, designing sneakers takes more effort and purpose than any outsider could imagine. He also looks beyond future pricing on limited edition or just a plain general releases.  To him, it is the “emotional capital” that matters and that is how it should be for anyone who is an aficionado.

And so, in between these so-called “sneaker hunts” during a recent trip to Taiwan, we had the opportunity to talk with Kent about a variety of his interests, from music to his collections, and some of his most recent projects, including his ongoing involvement with Nike.

The art of Irezumi (入墨), Japanese term for “tattooing”, also literally meaning injection of ink, can be traced back to Japan’s Jōmon period (approximately 10,000 B.C.). The craft of body branding with ink by hand had since then segued through countless social stratas and donned numerous cultural meanings—once recognized as a mark of punishment and later as a status symbol for wealth, then to the more recent years, the tag of the Yakuza—had developed into an art form as we understand today.

Amidst a new tattooing culture in the West, the undisputed tattoo sensei Horiyoshi III (born Yoshihito Nakano at the end of the war in 1946) continues to propagate the tedious and historically laden art of Tebori. Horiyoshi III is the second tattoo artist to be bestowed the honorific title of “Hori” by his master, Yoshitsugu Muramatsu—Horiyoshi of Yokohama. “Hori” stands for “engrave” in Japanese, and Horiyoshi III inherited the creed of Irezumi, now specializes in full body tattoing where only a strip of space is left unmarked down the center of the body.

Just as tattooing was performed two centuries ago, Horiyoshi III’s studio in Yokohama maintains the esoteric tradition of Tebori, tattooing without electric needles. Ink is inserted under the skin with a long needle in a relentless thrusting motion. A full-body tattoo is not just an adornment, but can easily become a lifestyle as it can take up to two years with an hour-long session every week to accomplish the artful body armor.

Other than his techniques, Horiyoshi III keeps his repertoire of tattoos to a strict collection of Japanese traditional motifs such as tenyo, koi and peonies. However, human canvas is not the only medium Horiyoshi III works with—the tattoo master had published various collection of sketches including The Sketches of Horiyoshi III, 36 Ghosts and Dragons. His work had also been featured in a solo exhibition at the Vanilla Gallery earlier this year.

Now, Horiyoshi III is challenging another medium of body decoration—apparel. With the launch of Horiyoshi the Third Clothing and Accessories this Autumn/Winter 2009, many can opt for a less permanent form of donning the masteries and need not sink $20,000 from the bank for a piece. Freshness was very honored to get a word in with the master of tattoo, so check out our interview about his work, clothing venture, and friendship with American tattoo crackerjack, Ed Hardy.

For people with multiple roles, the situation of having to juggle varying responsibilities and relating different roles to other are always conundrums. How do I prioritize? What do I want? These are questions many face on a daily basis. For Caol Uno, the role-playing dilemma is not as simple as a father/son or son/friend/employee divide. The mixed martial artist who had been practicing the brutal sport gaining fast following in the U.S. since he was 18 is more than just an athlete. In fact, as Caol Uno is the director of four different labels, USC, 10AC, Team Caol Uno, unobambino and a select shop—and behold, a doting father of three, it would be wrong to pigeon hole him as just man of the Octagon.

This year Caol Uno doesn’t just segue from one role to another, but fuses his experiences together in different contexts to create something entirely new that envelopes Caol Uno as a person. Uno’s collaboration with Nike on a line of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) inspired gear focuses just as much on design as performance. The 10AC line (coming from spelling “Caol” backwards) incorporates some of Nike’s most innovative and hi-tech performance enhancing materials to create training gear that looks as good as they work.

The Fall/Winter Collection from the 10AC line is a solid and comprehensive line that carries everything one would need for training. Ranging from your basic t-shirts to more technical Nike Sphere tops to ponchos, gym bags and a new Nike Zoom Vomero+4 sneaker, the collection is practical and easy so the wearer can focus his undivided attention on physical betterment. In terms of aesthetics color palette is fall relevant and calming in deeper shades of maroon, navy, black and grey. As the 10AC Fall/Winter Collection is now available online for preview and the items are dropping throughout the next two months for all, Freshness got a word in with the man of many trades about his labels, collaboration with Nike and brief round with Freddie Roach.

“Perhaps their lateness is some form of divine intervention?”…

As I thought to myself.  Seated in a café nestled behind flashy dance clubs and trendy boutiques, I watched weekend revelers packed into alleyways in the popular East District of Taipei City.  Still the streets are congested even more so this Friday night.  Making the vehicular traffic from the usual trickle to non-existent.  The reason - Kobe Bryant’s visit to Nike’s TPE 6453 Gallery 2 doors down.  But I’m in this city of 2 million plus not to absorb the scenery or to join the festivities of Bryant’s Asia Tour.  Instead, I’m here to meet 2 other personalities in Taiwan this weekend – Hiroshi Fujiwara and Fraser Cooke.

“This question just doesn’t sound right, does it?”…

I whispered out loud. An unintended reply of “Huh?” came to my left from an attendant pouring my third coffee refills.  The question in doubt is inquiring both Hiroshi Fujiwara and Fraser Cooke their definitions of what is an “influencer”.  Luckily, the localized traffic jam gave me time to appraise it.  Most of us have titles as a mean for identification. Some, like doctors and professor, earned those titles through scholarship and experience.  On rarer occasions, titles are bestowed by third parties, as in the case of both Fujiwara and Cooke and the title “influencers”.  Except, it is inaccurate.  Both gentlemen are more than just industry movers, they are “market makers”.

“So how are they different?”…

Pondering while spinning my pen in on my palm. “Influencers” worked within the perimeters of a market, setting trends based on predetermined standards.  “Market makers”, on the other hand, established new markets with ease.  Breaching against tested trend formulas and creating genres unlike others in the marketplace.  One example is Fujiwara’s Fragment Design.  Despite the current recession, worst than the one hit Japan in the early 90s.  Fragment Design and related products continue sold out in stores.  Even before joining Nike Brand Energy Group, Cooke’s involvement in pairing artists with merchandisers sparked the current trend of collaboration projects.  Similar to mavericks of the old American West, both are exploring new resources for their creativity in various forms – as regular magazine columnist, architectural acoustic designer, new materials tester, and more…

“The phone is ringing?”…

My train of thought scrambled.  Apparently, both gentlemen made their way through the maddening crowd.  I looked down at my notepad one last time and crossed out the question on the definition of an “influencer”.  It is obvious, both are more than just that…

Evo·lu·tion

Pronunciation: \ˌe-və-ˈlü-shən, ˌē-və-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin evolution-, evolutio unrolling, from evolvere a theory that the various types of animals and plants have their origin in other preexisting types and that the distinguishable differences are due to modifications in successive generations; also : the process described by this theory.

Certainly the term above is a familiar one, then there is a more recent terminology coined by Nike, “re-evolution”, a hybrid process where new modifications are conjoined with pre-existing elements instead of replacing them.  An ideal example of this is the new Air Maxim 1.

The process didn’t just start last year, rather 22 years ago in 1987 when designer Tinker Hatfield created the Air Max 1.  Hired originally as the Corporate Architect for Nike in 1981, Hatfield was “promoted” to the coveted footwear designer position after winning a 24-hour

contest. Either intentionally or unintentionally, Hatfield wanted to debunk the status quo of footwear design at the time. Soon he found the perfect medium for that in Air Max 1.

During its course, by tapping into his architectural foundation, Hatfield found a muse in Centre Pompidou,an public institution for the arts in Paris.  Designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize winners Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, the ultramodern building literally turned itself inside out, with exposed piping, ducts, steel skeletal framework, and more.  Though its now a integral part of Nike brand identity, the exposed Nike Air Unit on the original Air Max 1 was not without controversy at the time of its launch.  Some thought the design was pretentious and gimmicky, while others questioned the endurance of the Air Unit.  The doubts have long since dissipated, Hatfield’s Air Max 1 not only became one of the most recognizable design but a cornerstone in Nike’s Air Pack series. Fast-forward to now, 20+ years later, Nike decided it was time to revamp the classic through its “re-evolution” process, an uneasy task considering the history and the influence Air Max 1 has.  The difficult, and in some ways, unenviable, job was allocated to 2 seasoned designers of the Nike Sportswear team headed by Jesse Leyva - Ann-Marie Paz & Anthony Hope.

It started out as a typical story of lost and found, a tale of need and creation. However, since the legend began back in 1983, the story had panned out into something much greater than that. The story of G-Shock had become a global phenomenon, a new perception on time piece, and most importantly, an almost indestructible watch that will save many from the heartbreaks of losses—at least of watches.

Kikuo Ibe, the founding father of G-Shock and Casio’s Research and Development Chief Engineer behind this 25 years old operation to make tough watches that can survive a 10M fall, came up with the million-dollar idea when he dropped and broke his cherished watch. So in 1981, Ibe put together Project Team Tough and started researching and designing the perpetual timepiece. After numerous fruitless trips running to and fro the bathroom, chugging prototypes out of windows for a 10M fall tests because Ibe couldn’t use Casio’s testing labs for an unofficial project, Ibe found the answer in a rubber ball. 

A simple rubber ball became the inspiration for G-Shock’s shock-absorbing material, and Project Team Tough developed a triple-ten requirement that is the basis for G-Shock’s first prototype—ability to withstand a ten-meter drop, water resistance of up to ten bars, and ten years of battery life. This was also when G-Shock was coined, with “G” standing for gravity.

It has been a long 25 years since Ibe and his team first created DW-5000, the first model of G-Shock, and the watch is still standing tough. Today, Ibe is no longer throwing watches out of bathrooms, but he is a part of a new tour and movement in this year’s G-Shock “Shock The World Tour 2009”. So far, the concoction of sports, music, art and fashion into a world tour of events and parties celebrating urban culture, youth lifestyle and most importantly—G-Shock, had hit three countries. With nine more countries to go, the tour not

It is taking place at this very moment, across time zones and geographic boundaries, through face-to-face conversation or an impromptu telephone call.  But the subject is all along the same line, an announcement of dread, of fear, of consequences yet unknown. A conversation where 3 simple words carried life altering meaning for 12 million people yet to be diagnosed this year alone – “You Have Cancer”

The reaction is one of disbelief, of shocked into silence or uncontrollable sob of fear, of anguish and frustration. You mind darted back between past exploits and future ponderings, filled with regrets of errors made and plans have yet to accomplish. In that instant, you become an empty vessel, void of hope and spirit.

In that instant, you become the loneliest person you know. 

Cancer, in its myriad forms and types, is a sinister disease.  It ravages you physically and depletes you psychologically. Not only is the disease draining, the battle to eradicate it is also a long drawn out one. It alters the definition of your role in your family, in your circle of friends and in your community. For 28 million people worldwide and their love ones, it is a stark reality of day to day.

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The majority population mark up of Kuala Lumpur is made up of four different races- Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian. After CLOT INC’s retail store, Juice, had successfully entered the South East Asian market through Singapore in 2007, there is hardly another city just as energetic and diverse left as Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Within the city limits, amidst the eclectic concrete jungle of skyscrapers and historical architecture, in the hip hangout of Bangsar along Jalan Telawi, Juice had set up shop for its first international location and aimed to become the new congregation point for youth and urban culture.

Since Juice was first established in Asia’s international hub, Hong Kong, in 2003, its founders Kevin Poon and Edison Chen had dedicated the store to carrying the best and flyest gear from around the world for urban folks in the know. Juice KL will be the portal and gateway between South East Asia and the rest of the world. Like its predecessor in Hong Kong, Juice KL is created with the intent to introduce a distinctive lifestyle and identity, and also to harbor creativity as well as innovative thinking locally. The concept behind Juice KL is to bring the youth and urban scene of Malaysia with street fashion and trendiest items from the far east region.

JUICE - Kuala Lumpur
Lot No. 46 & 46-1 Jalan Telawi 5
Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia