Bean Dip Clothing - Run DC

The shirt's title is in reference to the legendary hip-hop group, Run DMC.

The tee is available in 4 sizes at UnderGroundHipHop.com for $25.97.

Consequence & Kid Cudi - Buggin Out

This track is a remix of A Tribe Called Quest song. As is usually the case, the original is better, but Cons & Cudi are hilarious.

Give the original a listen here.

See it performed with Kanye West live here.

UndrCrwn

UndrCrwn is an apparel and footwear company that collaborates with hip hop artists such as Mos Def & Asher Roth. Their designs are mostly inspired by old-school rap and urban culture. The shirt shown above is inspired from the song I Used To Love Her; a song on Common's 1994 album Resurrection.

The UndrCrwn store sells everything from t-shirts to fitted caps. Below are some of my favorite designs from their site.

De La Soul Caricature T-Shirt

Black Astrodunk Tee

Lords of the UndrCrwn

Undrcrwn Main Site

Emperor Workstation

"The Emperor offers a technological and ergonomical solution that enhances comfort, productivity, and gaming experience."

Modern day royalty? The Emperor Workstation includes multiple monitors, a control station, surround sound, seating control, inclination control, rotation control, adjustable lighting, air filtration, integrated processing, back-up battery power, iPod docks, USB docks, Webcams, Microphones, and Cable TV input; all in one chair.

The Emperor Workstation comes in 14 colors and comes with an optional Playstation 3. It's 44 inches wide and 65 inches long.

Promotional video can be found below, purchase the Emperor Workstation here.

Outlandish - Sound of a Rebel

Outlandish's latest album is a mix of hip hop, rap, alternative, rock, reggae-ton, and blues. This album features a collaboration with one of my favorite artists of all time, Arabic singer Ehab Tawfik.

Outlandish Main Site

Buy/Listen on iTunes

Up & Coming - Kardi

A couple weeks back I heard about a concert at a local private school, Milton Academy. The headliner for the show was D.C.-rapper Wale. I was unable to attend the concert but friends who did spoke of a rapper named Kardi who opened for him. Some even went out to say that this young artist out-shined the main act.

I recently got a chance to talk with the self proclaimed, "best MC under 18."

J-Z: Who or what are your inspirations? In other words, why do you rap?

Kardi: I'd say that the music scene in general inspires me - with all these new artists that are coming out, you can tell that the quality of the music is increasing. I'm a competitive dude, so if I see others getting better, it inspires me to bring my best to the table. Since I was young I've been that way. I rap because I'm in love with hip hop...no matter what, and [not] just hip hop, but music in general. Hip hop is always there and it's timeless. When I was young, I fell in love with hip hop, and I was so infatuated that I started writing. Now, almost 10 years later, I'm still rapping and if I [don’t] say so myself, I'm pretty dope at it.

J-Z: What are you trying to accomplish with your music? Are you planning on rapping for a career or is there a fall-back?

Kardi: That's a good question, haha. I plan to establish a name for myself in the game at a steady pace; I'm not expecting to garner any kinda large fame right now, cuz I’m in school, I'm just tryna establish myself in two areas, New York, where I'm from; and Boston, where I go to school. I would definitely pursue rapping as a career, but I also want to get an education; I'm gonna finish high school at my school, and I definitely want to get a college degree. That's the best kind of safety net there is. My manager says, "If you wanted a major record deal, you'd have one," which, I think, not being cocky, is true. School comes first though, so that's what I pursue on a bigger scale than rap.

J-Z: What type of rapper would you classify yourself as?

Kardi: I can't be classified. I can rap on any beat, about any topic. Strictly speaking, I'm a New York MC. I'm from the South Bronx, and I do have New Yorker elements to my rapping and production, but I don't think you can put a label on me. One thing I can say is, I'm a cocky MC, cuz I think I'm the best, and I’m 90% sure I'm the best under 18. The 10% is just for insurance. If that was a subgenre, confident rap, haha, I guess that's what I'd be in. I make the kind of music people listen to when they're feeling themselves (pause).

J-Z: Do you have any future projects coming up? What are they?

Kardi: In the summer (hopefully), I'll have my first mixtape, and my second body of work done. It's gonna be called Kardiology; it's basically gonna be a showcase of my talents. I'm rapping on there, doing some production, might even do some singing, haha. Nah, but unless plans change, I plan on being the only artist on my project. The purpose of the mixtape is to prove that I'm worth my title, that I am the best under 18, and that I could probably shit on grown MCs too.

J-Z: What kind of role does your family play in your rap? Are they supportive or would they rather see you focusing on academics?

Kardi: I don't know, my mom is supportive of my career, but like me, she thinks academics are more important.

Thanks for the responses Kardi.

Kardi mostly uses iLike to upload his music to the public, check out his page here. His main site however, is located on Facebook, here. In addition, Kardi has a twitter page located, here.

I highly recommend checking out his songs, I Hate Prep School, and One Step Ahead in particular. I will surely be checking back on this artist and will continue to post some of his music when it's released. Look for Kardiology to release this Summer.

Support new artists! Support real hip hop!

Paul Pierce's Tattoo

Paul Pierce has a tattoo on his back that not many people know about. It's a depiction of a heart with wings and lettered below is, "Chosen One."

But isn't Lebron the Chosen One? Doesn't matter I suppose.

Skullcandy Double Agent Headphones

Skullcandy's wireless headphones, named the "Double Agents" are available in 3 colors; brown, black, and green (pictured above).

You can buy them from the Skullcandy site for $100

Orioto Game Art

Orioto is an artist on deviantart.com who has recently become popular due to his "high-def remakes" of old video games. He takes screenshots of SEGA Genesis and Super Nintendo games and makes them look like they might on a next-gen console. Check out his profile here.

The best ones are:

Sonic the Hedgehog

Megaman

Super Mario World

Zelda: A Link To The Past

Donkey Kong Country