ECSTATIC FRESHNESS

With the looming release of his first lead role in the Robert Rodriguez directed and written movie, Machete; Danny Trejo talks and experiences lowriding with the infamous tattoo impresario Mister Cartoon.  They talk about the culture, the artistry and design of the rolling works of art.  Check it out and be sure to check out Machete when it comes out September 3rd.

AkShone – The Tennessee Volunteer

Los Angeles based artist JaQLyn Dutch is gearing up for her 1st show on 10/10/10 and she has cooked up these very clever images to get the word out. She has remade movie images from The Shining, American Beauty, and Silence of The Lambs, but today she took the Bastard route and remade the classic album cover from Hip-hop’s favorite degenerate, ODB. The show takes place on 10/10/10 for one night only in Hollywood. If you are into Guerrilla art, and just cool stuff in general, mark it on your calendar. [via] Check out some of her work and a promo video for her upcoming show after the jump, Read more…

Beer maker Dos Equis recently unveiled its limited edition bottle designs with New York-based street artist KAWS. These limited edition bottles are available in both Lager and Amber forms, the bottles, in respectably green and brown colorways, prominently features KAWS’ iconic “X eyes” design in an all-over pattern. The bottles will only be available for Dos Equis drinkers that are served south of the border in Mexico starting in September of 2010.  [via]  Peep the entire process between Dos Equis and KAWS in the video after the jump, Read more…

We brought you The Making of Kanye West’s “Power” Music Video yesterday, well here’s the finished product.  The visuals are crazy!  Not what I thought it would be, but the artistic integrity of it puts me on board.  What y’all think?

AkShone – The Tennessee Volunteer

The 88 created a behind the scenes look at Kanye Wests “POWER” by Marco Brambilla.  This is an exclusive video showing never seen footage of the anticipated video before its official release.  

“POWER” shows a continuous camera move from extreme close-up of Mr. West revealing an a neoclassical video tableau showing characters and creatures surrounding him in an abstract environment – all moving in extreme slow motion.  Inspired by Michelangelo’s frescos in the Sistine Chapel, the piece depicts a faux historical moment – an empire on the brink of collapse from its own excess, decadence and corruption. [via]

Ecstatic Freshness Admin Group

MINDstyle has collaborate with Korean toy designer CoolRain on the NBA mini figure series. The NBA series 1 players included Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Garnett, Derrick Rose, Dirk Nowitzki, Brandon Roy, Steve Nash, Manu Ginobili, Amar’e Stoudemire and Dwayne Wade. Look out for the mini figures to release in a limited edition for Fall 2010. [via]

Ecstatic Freshness Admin Group

For quite some time, Mario Epanya has played with the idea of creating “Vogue Africa.” From mock covers to full fashion spreads.  We’ve watched him formulate the pitch and create beautiful images. But, it seems like Condé Nast is just not buying into it.  This week, Epanya formally announced  on his Facebook group that Conde Nast has rejected the licence for Vogue Africa.  Interestingly Vogue Italia  gave  him a full feature, which you can read here.  Hit the jump to enjoy a look at what would have been a fantastic extension of the VOGUE brand! [via],

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We did a post on the creative and sexy Melody Ehsani last month and now the fellas over at Creative Control sat down with her to discuss her brand and it’s progress.  She’s rumored to also start a mens line that we’ll be on the lookout for in the future.  Check it out after the jump, Read more…

For the last two years or so, I’ve become a huge fan of the work that Creative Control has put out and even a bigger fan of their methods in doing so.  If you’re not familiar with them, you’re certainly familiar with their work.  For the record Creative Control is the brainchild of directors Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah.  They are the producers, directors and distributors of cutting-edge online content, based upon the fundamental idea of maintaining creative control over all content and production from programming to advertising.  Along with coverage of cutting edge fashion, music, and art. The creative gallery space known as DD172 is where much of the creativity is born.  With the help and mentorship of Damon Dash these brothas are creating their own lane, by their own rules and we here at EF will continue to support their movement.  Anyway, November’s Children takes you inside the minds of these two and their journey and future goals, hit the jump to take a look at them explaining all of this, Read more…

Rides Magazine has hooked up Pharrell Williams with Creative Cycles to work on a custom Harley Davidson.  Most of you, including us, probably expected a multicolored beast with some bling accents set by Jacob the Jeweler. We can happily report that that was not the case. The custom Harley actually came out really nice – the motorcycle features a mix of black, matt green and chrome on the exterior. Of course Pharrell gave it some Billionaire Boys Club branding, including graphics on the tank and a custom BBC digi camo seat. If you want more info on the motorcycle, make sure to pick up the next issue of Rides Magazine.  Read more…