NEW MUSIC: Acematic - Fucken Problems (ft. MeezyIV & Lucky)

Lastest Acematic single from his Stolen Beats Vol.2 Mixtape.... do enjoy

Link: http://www1.datafilehost.com/d/2f5401d6

Chase Apparel Winter Range [2013]

Chase season is on... If you don't know, now you do. Chase Apparel is back at it again. Let me not say too much, you just sit back relax and check out the freshness !! here's what went down at the shoot, enjoy.

For orders, prices or more information: follow @ChaseApparel and @Clixwell

Ranking Kanye West's Albums From Great To Worst

During his recent interview with The New York Times, Kanye West discussed his discography in a way he really hadn't done before. He made some bold claims, but we couldn't act like most of them weren't true. He said that 808s & Heartbreak "redefined the sound of radio," while admitting that "the fact that I can't sing that well is what makes 808s so special." Meanwhile, he called My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy a "backhanded apology."

Ye's typical candor, along with the release of his new album Yeezus this week, got fans to restart the never endingdebate: What is Kanye West's best album? Kanye has one of the most impressive rap catalogs ever, spanning six solo records and two collaborative efforts, all released in the last 10 years. We're sure you're tired of arguing. So as a personal favor to you (thank us in the comments!), we have settled it once and for all, ranking Kanye's albums from worst to best.

8. Cruel Summer (2012)

Label: G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West (also exec.), Che Pope (also exec.), Andrew "Pop" Wansel, Anthony Kilhoffer, Boogz & Tapez, Dan Black, Hit-Boy, Hudson Mohawke, Illmind, Jeff Bhasker, Ken Lewis, Lifted, Mano, Mannie Fresh, Mike Dean, Mike Will, The Twilite Tone, Tommy Brown, Travi$ Scott, Young Chop
Features: R. Kelly, Teyana Taylor, Jay-Z, Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Cyhi the Prynce, Kid Cudi, D'banj, DJ Khaled, The-Dream, Mase, Cocaine 80s, John Legend, Travis Scott, Malik Yusef, Marsha Ambrosius, Chief Keef, Jadakiss
Sales: 438,000 copies

The best teams are said to be greater than the sum of their parts. Cruel Summer actually feels lesser than the sum of its parts. Released on September 14, just six days before the end of Summer 2012, the G.O.O.D. Music collective album is widely considered a flop, despite the fact that it boasts two smash hit singles in "Mercy" and "Clique," two legitimate bangers in "Cold" and "New God Flow" as well as an all-star remix to Chief Keef's massive "I Don't Like." Cruel Summer's undoing is its grandiosity, from the R. Kelly album opener to that unbearable "Sin City" spoken word interlude. It also suffers from lack of focus. Who exactly is part of the G.O.O.D. Music crew? One of the most prominently featured artists on the album, 2 Chainz, is not. Nor are Ma$e, Ghostface, Raekwon, Marsha Ambrosius. You know who is a part of the crew? Kanye West. Guess who we wish was on the album more? —Rob Kenner

7. Late Registration (2005)

Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West, Jon Brion, Devo Springsteen, Just Blaze, Warryn Campbell
Features: Adam Levine, Lupe Fiasco, Jamie Foxx, Paul Wall, GLC, Common, The Game, Brandy, Jay-Z, Nas, Really Doe, Cam'ron, Consequence, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Rhymefest
Sales: 3.1 million copies

Generally, people who love Late Registration more than any other Kanye album rank Graduation at the opposite end of the list. People who think Graduation is peak-Kanye think Late Registration is the weakest of the solo releases. But the first time I heard Late Registration, I heard the Kanye West album I'd wanted to hear since before College Dropout arrived: A lush, beautiful hip-hop chamber pop album, chock full of brilliant hooks and train-stopping lines that could vacillate from hilarious ("Gold Digger") to serious ("Diamonds") to poignant ("Heard 'Em Say") and double-back again, into expertly distilled Kanye braggadocio.

The best part about revisiting Late Registration—an album that ages beautifully, and doesn't date itself at every possible juncture (hello, Graduation, with your Daft Punk and your Chris Martin and your painful Weezy verse)—being reminded of all the album's contributors that everyone often forgets. Sure, you've got Adam Levine doing the opening hook, Jay-Z throwing up the Roc, and Jamie Foxx doing his Ray Charles schtick on "Gold Digger," but what about Nas, on "We Major," on the same album as Jay, at the height of their feud?! Or Killa Cam's knock-knock verse on "Gone"? Brandy? Lupe Fiasco's career-launching verse on "Touch The Sky"? And, most notably, the presence of producer Jon Brion throughout this entire album, lending Kanye a level of technical expertise and pop mastery that he had yet to achieve on his own. Clearly, this album was crucial in terms of Kanye's career development. Is it perfect, though?

No. Hell no. The Paul Wall/Common/Game midsection suite is a trifecta of clunker beats and clunker guest verses. [ed note.: This is insane. "Drive Slow," "My Way Home" and "Crack Music" are as strong a string of songs as Kanye has ever recorded. But I'mma let Foster finish.] And do us Late Registration fans really think that any of these songs match up to the sheer genius of "Can't Tell Me Nothing" or "Champion," or that "Heard 'Em Say" compares to "Good Morning"? Of course not. But that's also why we love Late Registration: It's imperfect. It's flawed. In a lot of ways, it's quaint.

It's the last Kanye album to follow any kind of conventions (like skits, or Cam'Ron verses, both of which now seem downright precious). It's too long by at least five tracks. But it's also the last time we heard the mortal, rapper-Kanye on the mic, as opposed to stadium-status Kanye, broken-hearted-robot Kanye, outcast monster-Kanye ("KanYeti"?) or demon-deity Kanye. And the socially consciousness Kanye raps—from the "Allah-u Akbar and throw 'em some hot cars" bars that start the album, to the first verse of "Roses," to "Diamonds," and so on—are as contradictory and nuanced as they'd ever be, at least until the extremist reckoning that is Yeezus. But the reason we really love this album is best summed up by the album's closer, "Gone." It's odd. Why put Cam'ron on a closing track? Or let Consequence deliver a filler verse? Especially on this, the original Kanye-Otis Redding sample song, that already has so much going on?

Kanye's resounding response is Why not? In many ways, it's just another solid rap song, and yet, it transcends another-solid-rap-song norms, with Kanye slapping together bars too clever for their own good, and overindulging his guests. But at the end of the track, he runs through a theoretical scenario in which he abandons rap and imagines what that would be like for us, the listeners. Given the drastic tidal shift Graduation represents, the foreshadowing couldn't have been more prescient. Because that Kanye, the mortal rapper Kanye, did basically disappear after that. Years later, it still stands out as one his best verses. And it's been forgotten by many, too. "Gone" in its own way. But it's representative of the smallest (but a key) reason why we love Late Registration: Because you don't know how to. And that's fine by us. —Foster Kamer

6. 808s & Heartbreak (2008)

Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Jeff Bhasker, Mr. Hudson, No I.D., Plain Pat, Kanye West
Features: Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, Mr. Hudson, Lil Wayne
Sales: 1.7 million copies
In one of the most fan-challenging moves since Neil Young recorded a vocodered version of his folky 1960's classic "Mr. Soul" for his proto-electronica 1982 album Trans, Kanye scrapped rap for his fourth album. Relying heavily on the 21st-century version of the vocoder, Autotune, he sang his songs this time—fully realized melodies, emotive torch songs, over a cool, futuristic backdrop of all-synth R&B arrangements.

It was shocking at the time; some people thought it was a joke. But the melodies are very strong, the pain Kanye was in is tangible and moving, and as you look around today's musical landscape, 808s & Heartbreak stands as the most prominent blueprint for what's happened in the five years since it came out. —Dave Bry

5. THE COLLAGE DROPOUT(2004)

Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Kareem "Biggs" Burke (exec.), Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter (exec.), Damon "Dame" Dash (exec.), Evidence, Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua (exec.), Kanye West (also exec.)
Features: Syleena Johnson, GLC, Consequence, Jay-Z, J. Ivy, Talib Kweli, Common, Twista, Jamie Foxx, Ludacris, Mos Def, Freeway, Boys Choir of Harlem
Sales: 3.1 million copies

Say what you will about the skits, about Kanye's drums, about the "New Workout Plan." The College Dropout was a great album. It wasn't just that Kanye West proved himself as a solo artist with the vision to become a major star. It was the moment of impact that would create a sea change in hip-hop and open the floodgates for entirely new approaches to what rappers rapped about.

He'd already shifted the sound of hip-hop on The Blueprint, blending soul music history with contemporary pop instincts; now it was time to rewrite the rules of lyrical content in hip-hop, reaching the intersection of the streets and the classrooms, the backpackers and the ballers, the underground and the pop charts. As he said on "Family Business," "A creative way to rhyme without using nines and guns."

Many of his followers focus on the latter part, but the first part—creativity—was key, too. In retrospect, it's harder to see how radical his first record really was; The College Dropout opened up a number of lanes that artists rushed to fill, and as a result, its thematic novelty is harder to see through the thicket of history. But it remains a startlingly unique, diverse record, and one of the most relatable records ever made. Funny, flawed, and emphatically human,The College Dropout may not have fully expressed what made Kanye who he was. But it created the space for him to do it. —David Drake

4. Yeezus (2013)

Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Ackeejuice Rockers, Arca, Daft Punk, Mike Dean, Gesaffelstein, The Heatmakerz, Hudson Mohawke, No I.D., Rick Rubin, RZA, Travis Scott, Symbolyc One, TNGHT, Kanye West, Young Chop
Features: Chief Keef, Justin Vernon, Kid Cudi, King L
Sales: N/A
Yeezus might not go down as Kanye West's most popular album—if anything, it seems explicitly designed to alienate all kinds of fans, some of whom have run this week to J. Cole's more traditional (read: inspired by The College Dropout) approach to hip-hop, or Mac Miller's streamlined product of the dorm room canon. Rap has changed a lot since Kanye first broke out of the gate as a solo artist nearly a decade ago; back then, no major hip-hop artist would make an album about the humble beginnings of a College Dropout, and make his struggle to break into the music industry the central drama of his album. Today, those everyman stories are commonplace, so of course Kanye's taking a different tack. Where he began his career desperate for approval, he's now seemingly looking to piss fans off. No one at his level of success would think of releasing a record as confrontational and divisive as Yeezus. These days, the rappers we celebrate are successful by consensus. Kanye breaks the mold of what rap today sounds like, intending to provoke rather than soothe. The album also shows just how much he's mastered the art of bridging—or in this case, aggravating—the underlying seams of conflict between his audiences.

As time unfolds, this record will be accepted as one of his best records; despite its flawed, grotesque structure, its abrasive, brusque mood, and its unrepentant anger, there is something substantial here. It is a wholly unique album that seems to take up physical space. It won't be what you spend your summer hearing at the club (although "Send It Up" has a shot) and it isn't—thankfully—the righteous political rage many expected on the release of "New Slaves." But his lyrics will sustain, even the corny ones. Sure to be a favorite of critics ("abrasive" is critical manna, word to Death Grips), in the real world, Yeezus will divide his audience. But everyone will remember it. —David Drake

Via Complex Mag

( Stay tuned to know which album makes it to number 1)

Which one do you think best fits the number 1 position? 

Mixed Emotions

What does the South African youth think about interracial relationships in the post-Apartheid era?

“RT @Anonymous: No self-respecting white man would date a black woman.” – 29 August 2012

This year marks South Africa’s 18^th year of freedom and democracy, as the country is legally unchained from the racial oppression that occurred during the Apartheid era. Laws banning interracial relationships and marriage have long since been eradicated, and South Africa’s youth, the “born-frees”, have been able to enjoy a society were interracial love is not against the law. But behind South Africa’s institutionalised ideology of non-racialism and multicultural diversity lies the subtle yet undeniable and enduring undercurrent of racialism, perpetuated by the older generation, whom grew up in the racially segregated and intolerant Apartheid climate.

How much of older South African generations’ prejudices have rubbed off on our youth? Are interracial relationships amongst the youth becoming more tolerated, or is racial intolerance still an issue? I spoke to two interracial couples, all 20 year old students, to hear about their experiences of being together. Thando* is a Xhosa man and Megan* is Coloured with Indian heritage. Both come from liberal homes, and their parents are supportive of their relationship.

But not all young interracial couples have been so lucky. During their now-ended relationship, Sbu* and Ann* had to face huge obstacles due to their different races, and in the end were forced to part ways because of familial pressures.“When I told my mother about Sbu the first thing she told me was not to sleep with him, implying that black people may have AIDS. My dad compared the fact that I was dating a black guy with being a lesbian and told me that I was looking for trouble.”

Older generations’ prejudices and intolerance, it seems, is the biggest issue when it comes to young interracial relationships in South Africa. Both couples expressed their lament at the disapproval that they have all experienced from older people across the race spectrum, both family and strangers. Sbu admits that although his family does not have a problem with him dating outside of his race, they often tell him that it is just a passing phase. The older members of Megan’s Indian half of the family are also not completely racially tolerant, and Thando admits that some family members may have a problem with the fact that there are Indians in Megan’s family.

Perhaps the most disconcerting part of it all is that, while prejudices and disapproval from older generations is the most prevalent, there are many young South Africans that think that dating outside of one’s race is wrong, or repulsive. Megan tells a worrying tale of how some of her white Afrikaans friends would use the “k-word” and express disgust at interracial relationships. Ann too lost a few male friends, who had trouble understanding and accepting her relationship with a black person. Sbu speaks about how his white peers do not agree with or approve of black men dating white women.

It is generally accepted that this intolerance amongst the youth is a result of being influenced by the social norms and family values that children are taught during their upbringing in the extremely racially-aware South African society.  There are, however, some young South Africans who base their aversion to interracial relationships on their own perceptions. Thandile* is one such young woman whom, despite an extremely liberal upbringing, finds interracial relationships in South Africa problematic because of the loss of African culture that occurs, asserting that “this world has been constructed on the fact that “you’re darker than me so you’re less than me” and that has been perpetuated.” This social construct, Thandile says, affects interracial relationships and causes a loss of black culture andAfricanness.

Ann unknowingly proves that Thandile’s argument holds water, as she asserts that the fact that Sbu is a “westernised”, non-traditional and private school-educated black man is mostly why she considered dating him. To a certain extent Sbu recognises that there is some truth in Thandile’s sentiments, although he is hesitant to fully agree. “If there was an average white girl and an average black girl, my friends and I agreed that we would all go for the white girl. And it’s like, why? We don’t even know why. It may be a matter of pride.”

So what does this say about the youth’s stance on interracial relationships in South Africa? Megan and Ann, much like Thandile, doubt that there will be many changes in the public’s frame-of-mind anytime soon, although they do feel that the youth are a bit more open-minded and are beginning to formulate their own ideas and opinions. Thando and Sbu are much more optimistic about the future. Although they assert that we have a long way to go, they both envision the future South Africa as a more mixed, tolerant and colour-blind nation.

Perhaps this is possible and plausible, perhaps not. With young couples who are thriving through the adversity such as Megan and Thando, however, there is a glimmer of hope.

*names have been changed

Written by: Sibabalwe Mona (@sibs_steez)

Via Cheka

Cassie Strips For Esquire Magazine

The gorgeous Cassie is at it again, this time gracing the pages of Esquire. Stripping down to her barely there attire, the Bad Boy hottie leaves much to be desired by the looks of this shoot.

If you wondered how not to propose to your girlfriend, the 26-year-old gave some tips in a series called ‘Esquire Cares’, along with cracking some super corny jokes. If you want the full 411 you’ll have to cop Esquire for the read, but for now, we’ve got the pics from her sexy shoot. Tread carefully, they might leave you thirsty…

x

Head Honcho Winter Range Photoshoot

GAWDLY