The back story for this track is interesting as well, it was supposed to be for another project but it didn’t work out – Like The Quiet Kids, Stanza knows how to make something out of what would’ve been a “nothing”. Read the full details»

Shout out to Big Tah (@BigTah) for making sure we got this out there.

Marz Money sent us his latest, Hustle Hard featuring Swaggman & Project Stacks.

You know our mantra by now: Heart, Hustle, Grind.
If it had a soundtrack, this would make the playlist. Give it a listen.

All white everything vs. All black everything? Why not both?

Case in point, Marz Money.

Marz has a skills set & resumé to envy, he’s a rapper, entrepreneur, videographer, promoter and designer as well as an avid hip-hop connoisseur.

The Flatbush Brooklyn, NY native is part of the rap supergroup “Noxmen Committee” & designs for his “Marz & Money” clothing line as well as working as a freelance graphic designer. As a recording artist, he strives to buck the trend of typical emcees by staying true to his view of the world in his rhymes choosing to embrace the genre’s voice-of-the-streets origins above all else.  As a visual artist he looks to make a stamp on media anywhere & everywhere; hes well on his way.

We see you, Marz!

Click the image at the top to view his video for the song “Try To Show Love”.

An example of his work:

Visit his site: MarzMoney.Com | Twitter: @MarzMoney | The Noxmen Committee

The ever controversial, ever creative Mr. West released his highly anticipated 5th album, thought by some to be a “come back” album though not in the traditional sense. It was over a year ago when Kanye struck a new low point in his popularity & personal life by interrupting an acceptance speech at the MTV VMA’s appearing to obviously be intoxicated and pictured on the red carpet with a large nearly empty bottle of cognac which eventually led to his entering into rehabilitation for substance abuse.

The result of this was growth.

Not only did he work to grow as a human being but he also made strides to return his attention to his music. His work was always a steady progression, from fighting his way into the forefront by honing his mic skills to further sharpening his ability to put together hit making instrumentals. His 4th album, 808’s & Heartbreak was an experiment into broadening his sound which polarized his fans into those that loved it immediately, those that hate it to this day and those that have softened up to it after returning to it for later listening.

He took all of this, his personal growth and his growth as an artist / producer into the studio and focused on an album that could easily serve as a solid bridge between the “College trilogy” and his electronic heavy 808s sound.

Hip-hop heads make a point of saying the word “Classic” is used too liberally and while they are speaking truth, in this case, the hyperbole must be believed.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a fluid album with a tight structure, trim of most of the fat (skits & interludes) of the previous albums in place of extending the broad sounds carried over from his 808s work & focusing on stronger lyrical content than his older works had alluded to. The end result is an album that has consistent playability, memorability and leaves room to anticipate more (2011’s Watch The Throne) from the self-proclaimed (let’s face it we all agree even if he’s a cool one) King of The A-holes.

Worthy of note was his campaign to regain the hearts & minds of his disillusioned fans who were fed up with his antics and hoping he would come back around to his second love (behind his mom) the music. He took to social networks such as Facebook, Twitter & blogging as well as made successful appearances in the media and surprise performances at places like Facebook’s headquarters and most recently, an airline flight.

He even went further and collaborated with media artist Marco Brambilla to create a moving painting for his single POWER and then a cinematic extended video for RUNAWAY showcasing the album’s equally cinematic sound.

Here’s a snapshot of whats currently available in our Board Pusher skate shop. Yes, skate shop, there’s more than one way to keep grind’n! We’ll be adding new deck designs monthly so keep on the look out! More information on the Model 30 designs & custom decks coming. Until then, enjoy this peek!

As a part of the 1000 Great Debaters Drop Out Prevention campaign, the Duval Urban Debate League’s efforts to establish debates teams through out the school system has been nothing short of inspiring. It has already impacted the lives of the students who have participated in the Duval County Public Schools approved program. It’s now time to extend the program & establish teams in even more schools in the county & they need our help!

We’ve decided to lend a hand in generating support & awareness by giving anyone that is willing to donate $25 or more to DUDL a free t-shirt as thanks!

If you are local, you can take it a step further by donating to support the school of your choice!

We will also donate portions of our general sales to DUDL as well, so every time you buy in the future, you’re contributing to the cause!

To find out more information or to make a donation please visit DUDL.org & BlacksonvilleJacksonville.com

For those of you still in discovery mode, here’s  the gist: The movement is about taking back what’s rightfully ours – style, creativity & innovation.

Nothing illustrates this more than our love / hate relationship with a particular genre of music we grew up with: Hip-Hop. Too many studio appointed champions and not enough actual contenders have created stagnation within the overall industry & a growing disenchantment of the people who fell in love with H.E.R. and hold out hope that sensibility will win out over the senselessness.

Searching for Bobby Fischer.

There’s plenty contenders out there currently struggling with being pawns in the game. There are others that have lost considerable edge after prolonged success. While we continue to support many of those artists, it became important to find artists that are still relatively unscathed by the industry tyrants or at the least not victims of their own poor decisions. We need to find the next champ…

Like the NBA still holding on to Jordan, like Favre still holding on to another chance at a ring, like the Manny vs. Money fight that may never get to happen; it’s time to bring out voices you’ll be hearing in the future so we can move on & not miss out.

One such voice is emerging from a familiar territory that has produced some of the most innovative artists in recent history.

ATL Georgia, which gave us the likes of T.I., Out Kast, Goodie Mob & others has produced yet another rising star.

Stanza.

If you took parts of early Jay-Z, Pharoahe Monch & Lupe Fiasco & ‘Ye circa College Dropout & Late Registration & mixed it with a bit of 90′s era ATL flavor, you’d have something close to describing what you’ll get from Stanza. Regardless, it becomes clear that he’s his own man once you hear his tracks.

We found out about him by chance, a tweet went about with a now playing message (some Pharaohe perhaps) and it was suggested we listen to Stanza’s mixtape Searching for Bobby Fischer. It contains some well produced tracks and it was clear this was something we’ve been missing particularly from the southern sound for quite some time.  It was authentic hip-hop, something not really played on radios or shown much on television.

After doing some research and finding an intriguing background, it was clear Stanza was a Quiet Kid at the core. We took it upon ourselves to add him to a list of artists we MUST find a way to connect with & promote to anybody that thinks & feels about hip-hop as we do.

We gave him a shout out.

You’ll never know what can happen until you make the effort to do what comes first. We put it out there that we wanted to connect & he responded. Fresh off of a set featuring a live band on BET’s 106 & Park, Stanza hit us up to tell us he’s down with rock’n Wear Wolf Apparel!

It doesn’t end there, we hope to have more to share you in the future about Stanza & other artists we support.

Get familiar

Stanza online: facebook | twitter | site

Click the image above this article to view Stanza’s video for Broadcast from Georgia from his Searching for Bobby Fischer mixtape. If you like what you hear, listen to another track on the streampod bar below or download the mixtape for you to enjoy in your own time.

Download the mixtape:
Stanza - Searching for Bobby Fischer Mixtape (0)