Archive for December, 2008

K’naan | Somalia

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So K’naan is about to drop a new album in 09′ and the video for a track entitled Somalia was recently released on the net! If you’re not familiar with K’naan, he  is a M.C. hailing from Somalia (of course) and what separates him from other artists is the fact that he’s REAL. He defies the rules when it comes to music and that is why he is  so successful. You don’t need a single on FLOW, you don’t need a video on MUCH and you definitely don’t need a billboard in Dundas Square to be making noise and sellout shows. The aforementioned are merely false senses of security and too many so-called rappers use these as measuring sticks of success (poor souls).

On the other hand, K’naan has got something different; he’s UNIQUE and his music speaks for itself. That’s why he so successful. Also, he’s got TALENT and PASSION and that’s really all you need to succeed in the music industry. That mixed with a compelling story (which K’naan has) is the formula for success (it’s not rocket science). Rappers need to do themselves  a favor and lay off the auto-tune and vocoder and create their OWN sound, like K’naan did!

Now residing in Toronto, the Somali MC is following up his freshman release The Dusty Foot Philosopher, with a new album called TROUBADOUR which will be dropping in the first quarter of 09′. Much like TDFP, keep your ears peeled for more poltically driven and thought provoking lyrics mixed with array of unique production that you will be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. For more info, peep the links below!

I’m sure you’ve noticed to recent music related post and I hope you’re enjoying them. One of the advantages to having your own blog is that you can write about whatever the fuck you want. I choose not only to keep y’all up to date with Embargo Clothing but I love to highlight my favorite artists and give them some shine (whether they need it or not).

Enjoy

http://www.thedustyfoot.com/home.html

http://www.myspace.com/knaanmusic

Embargo Defined

embargo clothing

Oh it’s true, there’s an EMBARGO! Anyways, the question I get asked most frequently is, “What does embargo even mean?” I know some people will probably roll their eyes, but I genuinely get asked this on the regular!

“In international commerce and politics, an embargo is the prohibition of commerce (division of trade) and trade with a certain country, in order to isolate it and to put its government into a difficult internal situation, given that the effects of the embargo are often able to make its economy suffer from the initiative.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embargo

So, how does that translate into a name for a clothing company? Well, it doesn’t but it sounds COMMANDING and the word looks sweet on tee. It’s also a very political word and I like to think my shirts have some political significance. I do have my own personal spin on the word and how it fits as an appropriate name but it merely me just being creative. But in all honesty, the word to me holds a certain essence that just makes it RIGHT!

So when are the new designs coming out? I ask myself that same question everyday! Having a 9 to 5 and filled weekends doesn’t leave much time to work but no more excuses! Spring 09′, it’s time to shine…

Peace ya’ll

Arab Money – The Narcicyst Responds

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It’s been a hot minute (what does that even mean?) since I wrote my last entry but felt this little tidbit of news was worthy of a fresh post. In case you haven’t heard yet someone discovered Busta Rhymes new track entitled Arab Money and got a little offended. Rightful so. His name is the Narcicyst, an Iraqi rapper born in the UAE and residing in Montreal, Canada. A former member of the critically acclaimed hip-hop trio Euphrates, Narcicyst caught wind of the controversial song and felt obliged to respond and defend his people, country and faith.

Not only did his words make headlines but they also grabbed the attention of Busta himself who later personally called him and issued an apology vowing to pull the track from all major media outlets.

I justed wanted to give Narcy props for what he did and give him some shine on the website. In case you are not familiar with him, I will put up two of his mixtapes (Stuck Between Iraq And A Hard Place) for your pleasure which set the stage for his upcoming album. In the meantime check out his website, blog and myspace page.

One.

http://www.myspace.com/euphrates

http://illuminarcy.blogspot.com/

http://www.narcy.net/

Stuck Between Iraq And A Hard Place Volume 1

Stuck Between Iraq And A Hard Place Volume 2