one of my goals with this blog is to shed light on anything major going on in my area. durkl is an emerging streetwear brand that was founded a couple years ago and is beginning to take DC and the surrounding neighborhoods by storm. the combination of skater influence mixed with a cleaned-up, organized version of second-hand ’80s and ’90s threads is pretty cool if you ask me. there was a trill party a little over a week ago at the new durkl heardquarters, housed in a recently converted taxi garage. the ’09 merchandise was on display, which features everything you need to make it through the fall season. house DJ chris burns was killing the jams while people were getting live tattoos (by adam’s morgan’s tattoo paradise), in-place bike racing, getting their drink on, and enjoying a swag bag of products, courtesy of durkl and the party’s sponsors. ALL FOR FREE! don’t believe me? check out my man ricky parker‘s video footage below.

crazy, right? vimby TV was also in the builing. shout out to my man luke pierce, the man in charge of durkl’s operations, for having impeccable execution for durkl’s first party. check out the ’09 lookbook over at durkl’s site.

cleveland chip tha ripper is someone that DC to BC has supported since his can’t stop me mixtape from last year (he’s nice, i promise you. grab the tape here if you don’t believe me!). look out for the cleveland show (both the mixtape and the new family guy spin-off show), coming soon. check his interview on VIMBY below, and shout out to the guys over at slab up.

while i don’t have any funds to buy any new kicks, i think i may have to check out this joint. it’s the most renown sneaker event in the country, to my knowledge, and it brings out great crowds. art whino will be in the building, providing that trill live art entertainment that i really dig. and the show is headlined by the clipse, so even if you aren’t into shoes like that, the music will keep you entertained.

interested on who else / what else to find there? X.O., kingpin slim, wale, j. cole, phil ade, dj alizay, dj iran, dj heat, and more. the flyer says it all.

yerp. all-star emcees, DJs, and brands are a part of this occasion so if you somehow missed it on the flyer, it’s TOMORROW, july 18, and doors open at 8. 18+. for more info, and to buy tickets, click here. i heard they’re going fast, and it’s $15 beforehand, and more if you show up! grab them now.

my man adrian hooked me up with vimby’s crucial footage of a definite highlight from over inauguration weekend, the stussy x commonwealth inaugural bash. check it below.

everybody came out. wale was in there posted like a lamp, 9th wonder was spinning classics on the 1′s and 2′s, bun b was leaning a bit, and yelling out every word of every track 9th threw on the turntables (in a much higher-pitched voice than i would have expected. i mean, i’m not saying he had a high-pitched voice. but go listen to those tracks, his voice is booming. in person, it doesn’t really sound like that. just a mere observation. i know there are some co-signers out here on that statement!) i arrived as david banner was being escorted into the store from his luxurious whipsicle, and saw the big ass crowd that a party with this type of hype attracts. i was taken aback, but  luckily i caught j.ben.ok outside, and him and jay promo got me in that joint with the quickness. shout out to those two, otherwise i’d still be out in the cold.

click on picture to see the rest of the pics, courtesy of BeatiFoul

once i got in there, it was glorious. i got a chance to chop it up with everybody. dizzy was in there, taking flicks like the local celebrity he is. X.O. and benji were in there having a great time. i finally met oddisee, the man who i used to harrass to help me make beats back two years ago. really cool guy, and my favorite producer out of the DMV by far. he can rap too, look out for some of his new stuff on here soon! oh, and  i had to school VJ on his twitter game, because it was limbo pole low. yikes. met a bunch of cool people, and saw some of the sexiest ladies i’ve ever seen in the area. i always feel like they only come out on nights like that, because i can’t ever find them otherwise. somebody tell them to holler at me, man. you already know i’m a shy guy.

highlight of the night? my man lucas hooked me up with the collector’s tees. you know i’m frugal, but i had to let people know i was around for the day history was made. 1.20.09, aka “yes we did day” in my book.

shout out to everybody who came out, and to stussy and commonwealth, for putting on something special, and adrian and the others involved in the coordination. that whole DMV scene, if i can call it that without sounding lame, is a great community. happy i’m a part of it.

producer oddisee has been doing the damn thing out of the DC area for a while. after i watched this, i’m calling him the historian. he made a very, very good point about how hip hop in DC is almost like a fad now. him and the low budget crew have been doing it “before hip hop became cool in DC” and that’s real. watch the video and let oddisee take you around DC.

it’s actually the most interesting thing i’ve seen in a minute regarding the DC music scene, as well as the history behind how U street went from dangerous (my dad said he used to avoid that part of town when he was younger) to the bustling, vibrant spot it is now.

so watch it. please.
“before hip hop became cool in DC”