When I heard the legendary (and I’m not using that term in a throwaway fashion) Nate Dogg died, I was in a near panic attack mode getting ready for SXSW, I couldn’t even get myself together to verify it at first when I saw it. Well a few hours later, it hit me, that the hook master was gone. There have been some great tributes going up on the internets, including a series from Passion of the Weiss. Another of my favorite tributes was from longtime ML friend/supporter Yumi Sakaki who drew a very unique and impressive piece called ‘All Dogs Go to Heaven’, that you see above.

From Yumi

If you’ve been following ML for any length at all you know we have a thing for the arts around here. With that said, I though I’d share with you a cool blog that I came across, and can relate to. Krista launched a blog which showcases & chronicles her photography and her growth as an artist. Krista shares her personal insights and some technical tips, as well her emotions regarding her photography. Personally, I recently invested in a DSLR camera (no, not a full-frame), and after a few months I’m just getting a hold of all the manual controls, (no more automatic/pre-set modes ever again, even on the point and shoot-for facebook camera, ha!). As I slowly progress, its enriching to follow the trials & tribulations of someone’s growth with the camera on such a personal level. By the way, Krista also happens to be 88-Keys’ lovely wife. Speaking of whom, expect to see him on our next Beat Drop installment (ETA: next week), and check out his freshly launched blog (our sources tell us he is a huge Nautica IZOD Clothing company fan).

TI:

Black Milk (found via SmokeYYY):

Kanye West:

Lil Wayne:

(The cynic in me would flip it with styrofoam cup, but hopefully this is true.)

Nas:

For more of his work including a dope Kanye piece, check out his DevArt page.

Pharrell:

Kanye:

Very nice bonus Barack Obama campaigning in Boston in October photo after the jump:

Via Von Pea’s blog

Von Pea from Tanya Morgan does original, dope tracks over Madlib’s beats from the 2nd Quasimoto album, The Further Adventures of Lord Quas. You need this in your life. Hey, and it’s Von’s birthday today so go wish the man.

Did I mention how much I love that album cover?

Check out our interview with Tanya Morgan if you haven’t already! Oh, one more thing: Grand Vonye is a classic. You need to listen to that. “Progress Report” is my jam.

Von Pea – The Further Adventures of Von Pea

Dj01 Edit: Happy Birthday to Von as well!!

Here’s a few of my favorite photos of hers. I recommend visiting her website to see her whole gallery.

Let me preface this review with the acknowledgement that  I have never before read a graphic novel and that my only experience with comics is Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes, a handful of webcomics and of course the recent wave of comic book movies (Dark Knight in IMAX is still sold out, WTF). Forgive me if I accidentally criticize something that’s conventional of graphic novels.

Method Man tells the story of a chapter in the life of Peerless Poe, once a member of The Clandestine Order of the Sacred Method (or Method Men), who defected to solve street crimes on his own. As a great evil rises, Poe must side with his old team again to save the world. The character of Peerless Poe is obviously based on one of hip-hop’s most beloved personalities: the blunt-smoking, stage-diving master entertainer, Method Man. Having met him, I can assure you he’s every bit as cool as he seems.

The setting and atmosphere is entirely worthy of the Wu-Tang logo on the title page. Both the Method Men and the rising threat they face are rooted in Biblical events. The charm of the story is that at the center of all the Bible references and talk of ancient traditions, there’s ghetto ass Peerless Poe who likes weed, sex and money. This directly parallels Wu-Tang, which mixes Chinese  folklore, by way of 60s/70s kung fu flicks, with grimy beats and equally grimy raps. In that regard, Method Man is on point. And also, there are ninjas, which just seals the deal.

My main problem is that the story just feels rushed. Poe’s character is barely established before three forgettable characters are hastily introduced. The group quickly moves from place and before you know it, the whole thing is over. There’s even a cheap little love story in the middle of it too.

My other gripe is that there isn’t enough of what makes the whole thing special, namely Peerless Poe. His presence is reduced to a quip here and there. The allure of Wu-Tang is the result of a calculated balance between kung fu and hip hop. On “Da Mystery of Chessboxin,’” there’s four lines dialogue from Five Deadly Venoms and then it launches into a full-fledged rap song with kind of a kung fu twinge. The problem with Method Man is that most of the time, all Poe does is react to stuff in a funny way; he encounters an enemy and says, “King-of-Hell-Devil Fist Style? N—a what?”. He takes a backseat to all the things going on around him. Unfortunately, Peerless Poe is only a hair above all the rest of the wisecracking action heroes.

I’m not going to act like I have any kind of eye for art, but I liked the way the characters are drawn. Peerless Poe and his cohorts (peers?) are slickly drawn, but the creatures on the other hand are pretty generic.

Method Man is a fun read despite its problems. Ultimately though, this graphic novel is meant for the die-hard Wu-Tang fans who will appreciate the scattered, though obvious, Wu references.

And to anyone who knows more about comics than I do, recommend me something good!

Turnpaper has churned out this sick vector of one of the all time greats. I’m rocking it right now. Click the picture to download this now.

Does it frustrate you how the face of popular music and its accompanied art has evolved and lost most artistic credibility? Is it a product of disinterest by the fans or just the commercialization of the whole industry?

JJ: Not really. The classic days of the album cover ended with CDs and videos, and I started long after that. Records and covers have always been products and marketing, if you ignore all the culture involved. I’m in it for the culture though.

Read the rest here.

Jank is one of the nicest cats to ever reach out and contact me about the site. And he’s a really talented, creative artist.

Pictured above: an original sketch by Jank, courtesy of Flickr user Lelo**