Lo Down In London (Short Film)

Ok, so before you watch this (if you watch it at all, of course), there are a couple of small details I would like to make clear. First off, the LRLC as it currently stands do NOT claim to be Lo Lifes, as that would be ridiculous. When gangs of boosters were running roughshod around NY taking garms, I was about 6 years old. Bearing in mind that im probably the oldest member of the 'crew', to even consider putting myself on the same level as the OG founders would just be plain ridiculous, hence us referring to ourselves as affiliates, and nothing more. Its a respect thing.



Also, if I'm being truly honest, I'm not particularly happy with how this thing turned out, specifically the last few minutes of the film, where one lad (Seth, who I havent actually ever met) is left on his ones like a plum because no other fucker turned up to the photo shoot. Now, my issue is that the way that this thing has been edited (i.e. footage of ME playing the fool while the voiceover explains how pitiful it is that nobody turned up) makes me specifically look like a complete twat, whereas in fact I was actually en route to the spot when I received a phone call telling me not to bother because nobody else showed up.. So, I didnt go, and then lo and behold (no pun intended) it is made to look like I am the primary culprit in the almighty flop that the 'event' was. Yes, I wasnt there on time, but I was on my way.

So, with that in mind, go ahead and watch. The true fact of the matter is that as a unit we're.... well, in all honesty, we're barely a unit at all. It's not a personal thing, but London is a big city, we all live in different areas and all lead different lifestyles and therefore have completely different schedules. Bottom line is that I love Hip Hop and I love Polo. Thats about all you need to know, really.

Lo-Down In London from Broken Antenna on Vimeo.

The Vintage Vaults - Nike Hoop Heroes

Does anyone remember this line of clothing? I remember copping these when I was about 12 or 13 on a trip to Malta with the fam. The hat is classic 90's, i.e. a sickly combination of organic and pastel colours that make you want to hurl, but seeing as Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley were two of my favourite players alongside MJ I appreciated that they were given the same amount of shine on this clothing line. This holiday and the subsequent purchases came shortly after Scottie Pippen took the MVP award at the 1994 All Star game, a game I remember very well for 2 reasons - Shaq was completely locked out of the game, scoring fuck all points and Scottie wore the all red Nike Air Flights that he wasn't allowed to rock during the regular season (much like MJ's black and red ones).



The reason I remember this so well is that during this trip to Malta I actually saw the red kicks in a shop and begged my old dear to buy them for me, which she of course refused, and with good reason. However, with me chipping in whatever money I had a compromise was reached, which saw me not only copping the hat but a matching T shirt to go with it. Due to my hoarding tendencies and the ever abundant space of THE PIRANHA TANK, these items still exist to this day. Cheers Dad.






However, despite the dopeness/grotesque nature of the hat, it really is the T shirt that takes the biscuit. The artwork is by a geezer called Mark Ryden... Ive googled him but no dice. The thing that bugs me more than A) The fact this t shirt is faded to fuck and no longer fits me B) Ive obviously used it as some sort of cleaning rag (hence the black marks) and C) B, is that I can't for the life of me remember OR find any evidence to suggest that similar illustrated garms were manufactured to depict Pippen, Barkley and Hardaway in similar situations. I would literally cut off your right arm for a set of all 4 in good condition. Observe -






See what I mean on the fade? It's fucking heart breaking. Still, when I was 12 years old, I wasnt thinking about the future, plus I could only rock this joint if I had one of those faggoty skinny skater boy physiques, and I don't. Still, I'm well within my rights to be cheesed off. If ANYONE OUT THERE READING THIS can at the very least point me towards any existing illustrtions like this one I would be most appreciative.

As an aside but essentially the whole reason I wrote this post, I Googled 'Nike Hoop Heroes' and this is one of the results that came up. Anyone want to buy a hat? Holla at me.

Taken from http://brianprocell.bigcartel.com/product/nike-hoop-heroes



You kids and your 'snap backs'. In my day we called them hats. Ive still got a bunch of original starter joints and some fake joints that i got whilst on various holidays. Are they really worth $200 a pop?

HOLLA

***EDIT***

Found a website for Mark Ryden. No mention of the Hoop Heroes work but im going to holla at him and see if i get a response. http://www.markryden.com/

Random photo from the Hoop Heroes tour, mid 90's I assume, I can see Pip and Charles Barkley in there at least. HERE

Also -

The Vintage Vaults - Helly Hansen

We coming back.

Ever since I got hooked on Hip Hop through Wu Tang at age 11, I also became, as many teens/preteens did (they don't anymore, spoilt little fucks) aware of how I looked with regards to clothing and, more importantly, how I wanted to look. For many years I begged my old dear for a Tommy Hilfiger sailing jacket and Air Jordans, and was denied every time. Looking back it was a good thing; if I ever have kids and they start demanding £300 jackets and £100 kicks i'll just put them up for adoption. However, a compromise was made, and my needs were met to a certain extent.



Somewhere back in The Piranha Tank I have a stack of old Source magazines from the mid nineties, most of which I mainly kept for the hilarious No Limit adverts and associated junk. However, when Sadat X dropped 'Wild Cowboys' in '96 he was also involved in a Helly Hansen marketing campaign; they obviously saw what was happening with Hilfiger, Timberland and them and wanted to get involved. If i'm not mistaken, Xzibit is also rocking a Helly in the 'Paparazzi' video too.

Anyway, walking through Falmouth one day, I spied a sailing shop that sold Helly's and found them to be a pretty reasonable price, around 60 quid if i remember correctly. I needed a new jacket so I scraped up whatever P i had and ma dukes covered the rest. Of course I still have it, along with many other items from a bygone age, but you'll have to wait for the rest. I still don't know to this day why I chose yellow, though; not exactly a subtle colour, but handy if i ever got thrown overboard on a crab fishing expedition (I didn't).

Peep -

REDEMPTION!!!!!

This one picture makes me feel a whole lot better than I did before.



Picture taken from Timeless Truth's 'Priceless' video shoot on the Brooklyn (?) Bridge, featuring the god Sean P himself. Keep an eye out for cameos from Big Vic Lo (Thirstin Howl III) and Rack Lo, all Lo'd out.

LL ^

HAPPY ST PIRAN'S DAY

That's right motherfuckers, today is the greatest day of the year, the day on which we celebrate the patron saint of my native land, Cornwall. Big up St. Piran. Today will involve random booze drinking and pasty eating. You can quote me on that.

I'm going to be rocking my traditional St Piran's day uniform today, namely the Cornwall rugby with the Bumblebee Jordan 1's and the P fitted my boy PG copped for me at Christmas (The 'P' can stand for Piran or Pirates Of Penzance, its a p p preference ting).

And below you can see me hijacking St. Patrick's day a couple years back by celebrating St. Piran's Day for the 2nd time that month. Ballin.





Kernow Bys Vyken motherfucker

The Lo Files #5 - Oh You Mad 'Cause I'm STYLIN' ON YOU

Simple tings. Something like lightwork.

Impulse Buying...Beware The Dark Side

Impulse buying. We've all done it. When I was younger I literally couldn't hold on to money; it had to be spent, and 99% of the time I regretted it immediately. This youthful foolhardiness that I applied to nearly every transaction I made in my teenage years was thankfully brought under control in my early twenties, but to an extreme. Due to the fact that I had previously so freely spent money on things that I neither wanted nor needed, I restricted myself to a position where I denied myself the permission to purchase virtually anything, regardless of whether it was needed or not. For example, there were weeks on end where I would go without any food at all ( a slight exaggeration).



Thankfully, in my new found state of economic awareness and brand new self-control abilities, I am now able to mix the practicalities of frugalness with the occasional flutter of a seasoned high street spender. This enables me to stay looking fly, get most of the shit I want but still have cash in the bank that doesn't roast my leg on some third degree burn shit. It really is a test of self control in my particular case; being constantly tempted by material goods, Jordans, Polo, New Era Fitteds, retro 80's action figures and of course more instantly available and gratifying purchases such as alcoholic drinks and various other forms of ingestable intoxicants (truth be told, I'm a little less restrained when it comes to the latter).



Anyway. My overall point is that despite my apparent ability to restrain myself when considering making potentially completely unnecessary purchases, even I am only human and liable to slip from time to time. Every so often I will go out, get drunk, come home and find myself still drinking and/or smoking with nobody to join me and no hint of bed time approaching. It is usually at these intoxicant induced times of momentary insanity that I inevitably gravitate towards the internet, having decided (after spending a wad of cash on alcohol and weed) that 'there will always be more money, you can't take it with you when you go' and the classic spender's justification, 'that's what it's there for'.

Cue The Internet. Ebay, whatever. I don't know about you lot but sometimes I wake up, open my computer only to find that I spent the couple of hours before I passed out bidding erratically on a bunch of things (usually Polo) that I neither want nor need, consequently spending the remainder of the time that the auction is running for praying that someone will outbid me, all the while still trying to find a way that I can justify the purchase and explain to Lil' Tika that another package will shortly be arriving in the post. Difficult times for a capitalist pig like me.

My point is, the last time I made an irrational impulse purchase on the internet whilst under the influence, this is what arrived in the post a couple of weeks later :

THE SEAN PRICE FITTED CAP



Now, I am a massive fan of Sean Price (a good reason as to why he appears on my LP, dropping soon) but this is a step too far. I immediately regretted my decision the morning after and have only worn the hat in public once; on that one occasion, I had two unrelated strangers ask me at different times if my "name was Sean Price". I haven't worn it since as a result, although it remains in my collection as a testament to my stannishness/drunken retail stupidity. The worst thing is that I had the choice between this fit and a standard Duck Down Records joint, and I chose this one. Idiot.

It has become my official 'house fit', in that I only wear it in and around the crib, always changing lids before stepping out into public to avoid any bizarre looks. I wouldn't even wear it to a Sean Price show. I can hear the whispers now.

"Wow, look at him, he must be a reallly big fan". I know this because I have scrutinised other people in the same vein myself. How very Ironic.

So, the moral of the story is, in short, don't go shopping when you're drunk. Or, don't let me go shopping when I'm drunk. It can only lead to shame and anger, which will all inevitably lead you further down the path of retail regret and your consequent, unstoppable seduction by the dark side of The Force. You have been warned.

Cypher Outside the EPMD Gig last night/Show Review

Big up my man Waxer DiscoScratch for having the presence of mind to A) Have a recording device and B) turn it on while me, Joker Starr and a really sound brer that I also met for the first time last night, Original One, were spitting some darts. We were freestyling, but that must have been before my man started the recording. Pity, but its nice to have a lil document of these things. Especially seeing as I was, once again, off my tit drunk. Surprise surprise.

It's downloadable so knock yourself out with a large bat.
Freestyle cipher Joker Starr,Original One,Enlish by DiscoScratch

Although I had a wicked time last night, unfortunately EPMD were not the highlight. They only played for an hour tops (and thats being generous, it could have been closer to 45 minutes) after keeping the crowd waiting wayyyy too long, the DJs played 'Witness' by Roots Manuva at least 4 times (AND they played 'Watch Out Now' by the Beatnuts, don't even get me started on that one, just ask Daps), Erick and Parrish just kind of mumbled through a selection of hits all the while constantly saying "Yo, we got to go soon", or words to that effect. Parrish could barely hold the beat. Check the vid below and you'll see.

Oh well. Had a good time with Deejay, Lil' Tika & Alex Young, linked with Jehst, Cutmaster Swift & Jonzi D, met some sound people and got pissed. Knocked into a few heads from Brighton too, my mans dem Joe Foly & Big Muffin. Nice one lads. Talking to Cutmaster Swift was a laugh, I told him the tale of the first time I got on stage to rap (which was at one of his gigs when I was 15), which I posted on this very blog a little while back, and which you can read right ----> HERE <----Overall it was all good; just a shame that some of these American acts still think they can get away with palming off lacklustre performances on UK crowds. Bait.

Me & Jonzi D. As you can see, I'm rocking a Starter cap, POLO tee and a vintage Early 90's Tommy Hilfiger Jacket. Real.


Big Dave and Bigger Alex Young


EPMD 'rocking' the stage


The Gaff


Props to Lil' Tika on the photography. Cheers babygirl x

And this was probably my EPMD highlight of the night -

I Would STILL Rock These....

How anybody could neglect a pair so horribly is beyond me. They're probably originals as well.

The Lo Files #4 - We Are The Champions

For all my POLO Champions out there, I present

THE LO TROPHY



I got it for being a motherfucking World Champion. And guess what? They gave me the World Cup too. Ralph Lauren & Jules Rimet got mad props for the god.

Watch me.

"The Great Pacman Debate"

Since the genesis of home video gaming in the 1980's parents, teachers, psychologists, behavioural therapists and all sorts of other scientific quacks have been trying to figure out whether computer games really do affect the behaviour of children, teenagers and adults in a negative way. I'm not going to get into that whole debate (because the answer is obviously YES, I mean, first person shooters clearly created the global sub culture of taking guns to school in order to cap off teachers and classmates) but instead focus on the whys and wherefores of a more specific statement supposedly made in 1989 by the CEO of Nintendo himself.



This quote was apparently made by one Kristian Wilson, a man entirely UNinfamous as according to the records in 1989 Nintendo was being run by a Japanese geezer by the name of Hiroshi Yamauchi. Yamauchi was in the same position as far back as 1950 and, so 'records' show, still holds the same position today. Legend. That's 61 years! Surely that can't be right....dude must be pushing 100, can you see him throwing himself around the front room and smashing vases off the table with a Wii remote? I can't. Saying that, my great great Uncle Frank fought in both world wars, went swimming every day until he was 100 and finally succumbed to old age at 105, so anythings possible. RIP Uncle Frank.

Donning my Columbo/flasher trenchcoat, complete with cigar and gammy eye, I took it upon myself to seek out the truth behind this urban myth. With the help of the internet, I managed to solve the entire conundrum within roughly 60 seconds. This particular plot wouldn't have made a particularly interesting episode of Columbo, but I don't write Columbo (unfortunately), I write this blog, so go figure.

Upon intense research, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation style, I dug up this short statement from a BRITISH (wooo!) comedian named Mark Brigstocke who had the following to say on the matter :

"It is my joke. I wrote it, then I took the rest of the day off as I was so chuffed with it. I am gutted that it has been claimed and passed around by so many people. Intellectual property law will not save me, the false claims will continue until I am man enough to give it all up. All I can say is — it seems that it is very unlikely that it was written by a Nintendo employee in 1989, being as Pac Man was still around and not much of a childhood memory, there were very few claims that gaming influenced children's behaviour, and that the wording of it is identical to how it has been delivered in my stand up routine for 6 years! For those that are interested it has also been atributed to Bill Gates, but then so has Windows! Bitter? Well perhaps just a little. It was sent to me by someone at Channel 4 a few years back after I did it on Channel 4 in a late night stand up show!"


WOW! Now aren't we all glad thats been cleared up. I tend to believe this Mark Brigstocke character and would like to salute the man on a very astute observation. He was bang on the money.

Pacman gets caught by the Boy Dem shotting food on the corner before a Happy Mondays gig, circa 1990


With regards to computer games, I am a massive nerd for the 8 bit and 16 bit consoles and old arcade machines (Double Dragon, Marvel Vs Capcom, Vendetta etc) but after that I kind of lost track. I own a couple of NES' (one was purchased in Cash Converters with the gun, all the leads and accessories and a couple games for FOUR QUID) a couple of Megadrives (one of which I liberated from a skip a number of years ago with a bag full of games, fucking bonus), a Sega Master System and I still have a Playstation 1 hanging about somewhere, but after Wu Tang : Taste The Pain got played out it pretty much died the death.

Double Dragon for the Sega Master System. Better than the NES version. Courtesy of Dad's attic (again)


Still, don't front on the kid, I got mad skills on various games old and new (ask Tyni or Stig how I get down on any Streetfighter game), I just don't have a PS3 or Xbox 360 of my own. If I did, I'd have even less of a life going on than I do now. I do however own an original Xbox, purchased off of my boy Polish Magic for £70 a couple of years ago. The trip with that is that the things been chipped, meaning it contains literally about 30,000 games ranging from the Atari 2600 & ZX Spectrum and covering every home computer and console system all the way up to the N64. That bitch even has the hard drive unlocked so theres like 15 Xbox games up in there, including the 50 Cent joint and The Warriors. Dr Syntax and I once had an epic, bone crunching fight in the bog while playing The Warriors (an incredible game), which I won by smashing his head repeatedly against the toilet seat. Then we carried on playing the game.

Needless to say I will be wittering on about 'retro gaming' more in the future, as I intend to do with all of the other subjects that I geek out on on a regular basis.

As an aside, my obsessions with ear piercing electronic music, epilepsy inducing graphics, frustratingly difficult gameplay and all computer systems that haven't aged well at all aren't just limited to button bashing and staring mindlessly at television screens. They have also invaded my clothing habits, to a certain extent.

I copped this joint in Australia in December 2009. I think I've worn it once, just before all of the 'cool' kids (who aren't even old enough to remember what a NES is) started rocking similar garms, including those mother fucking Mario '1 Up' mushroom tees that I can't stand (again, because all of those super trendy twats in their late teens wear them).







I would, however, be inclined to break it out once more if I were able to get my hands on one of these beauties :



STANDARD. Now you're playing with power.

Jordan Brand Drops 'Black History Month 3s'.... Sean Price says "The Price Is WRONG"

This is for all of my hardcore geek sneaker heads. If you don't like Air Jordans then there is more than likely very little point in you reading any further. You have been warned.

Right, now we've got that out of the way, if you consider yourself a real geek for the sneaks then you will A) appreciate Air Jordans as being some of, if not THE finest training shoe ever created and B) know that the Air Jordan Cement III's are being reissued, coming out tomorrow. 22/01/2011. TOMORROW.




I'm sure you'll agree that these babies are absolutely stunning. If you don't agree, actually fuck off completely. I have never owned a pair of the cement 3s but do own a couple pairs of the royal blue joints, the first of which were bought for me for my 20th birthday by my ex ex girl and that I still own to this day. I actually took them on a round the world trip recently, intent on copping myself a new pair of kicks and disposing of them in the process. I did cop a new pair (brand new, AUTHENTIC Jordan 1s in Vietnam for £14 - BOOM) but still couldn't bear to let go of my very first pair, such are the rosy memories involved.

Observe -




Nearly 10 years old. As you can see, these poor bastards are literally falling to pieces. I had to get some dude at a train station in New Dehli to sew the soles back on, they're that far gone (he tried to rob $100 off me, but thats another story). They have also acquired a rather delightful 'Aladdin Upgrade' (the upward curling of the toe, found on many well worn pairs of kicks across the globe), have lost nearly all comfort and are the colour of a chain smokers teeth. But I can't bring myself to dispose of them.

To offset this heartbreak, in September 2009 (just before I went travelling) I copped a brand new pair that, like my cassette collection, sit in my Dad's attic. Unworn, untouched, still in the box. BEAUTY.



Anyway, I've digressed far enough. This go round, The Jordan Brand have 'cleverly' released the 'Black History Month' Jordan 3s to coincide with.....ummmm.... well, to coincide with Black History Month. Pretty snazzy, not really my cup of tea and will probably be going for 3 times the price of a normal pair, these are for the die hard buy-kicks-to-not-wear-them types.

Peep -






Images jacked from http://solecollector.com/Sneakers/News/Air-Jordan-Retro-3--Black-History-Month--New-Images1/

They're alright. I won't be copping, Id much prefer a pair of the cements in black. Now, the only reason I even found about this release is because the God Body Sean Price (of the world famous Boot Camp Click, also appearing on MY ALBUM which you MUST COP), an incredible rapper/character/sneaker head and original member of the infamous Brooklyn street gang The Decepticons (mainly known for dishing out beatings and the subsequent robbery of the victim's personal effects) posted them up on his Twitter feed and then continued on a hilarious and insightful rant incorporating social commentary, nostalgic memories and a special nod to Spike Lee. What follows is a selection of his musings, mainly written in capitals. FOR EMPHASIS. P!


You can go follow Sean Price on Twitter, @SeanMandela (recommended).


"FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH ALL JORDANS SHOULD BE AFFORDABLE"

"IM FROM BROWNSVILLE 200 AND UP FOR SNEAKERS IS BEZERK SHIT 150 IS A LOT DO U KNOW WHAT KIDS DO FOR SNEAKER THEY CANT AFFORD IN BVILLE?"

"WE USED 2 TAKE SNEAKERS ...OFF PEOPLE'S FEET"

"THE SAFEST PLACE 2 GET JORDANS IN NY IS BROWNSVILLE CAUSE WE DONT GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THAT ANYMORE"

"WHEN JORDAN 1'S CAME OUT MY MOMS COPPED ME PONY CITY WINGS WIT THE JORDAN COLORWAY #PISSEDOFF"

"THE 1ST NIGGA KILLED 4 A 8 BALL JACKET WAS FROM LANGSTON HUGHES PJ'S IN BVILLE HE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE"

"LOT OF PEOPLE IN BVILLE WORE LOTTOS CAUSE U CAN CHANGE THE COLOR ON THE LOGO ....VELCRO PATCH MADE U LOOK LIKE U HAD A COUPLE PAIR"

"A FOOT DR COULD WRITE U A PRESCRIPTION FOR PUMA INVADERS WHEN I WAS YOUNGER"

"I GOT MY WIZ THE YEAR OF THE PIG DUNKS ONCE I CONVERTED I BANNED HER FROM WEARING EM"

"SPIKE LEE 40 ACRES AND A MULE JACKET AND HAT WAS 4 WHITE PEOPLE NONE OF MY NIGGAZ COULD AFFORD THAT SHIT WHEN IT CAME OUT #POW!!!"

Now peep this. 'Songs In The Key Of Price' (mixtape), Random Axe LP (with Black Milk & Guilty Simpson) and his new solo joint 'Mic Tyson' dropping SOON. I can't wait.