I was a big Baloji fan long before we actually met, became friends and started working together…

I remember going to Starflam gigs and just marvel (that’s an Oprah word especially for you, B) at his flow, the way he moved on stage and of course his impeccable sense of style.

Cue 7 years later and now we have dinner parties, heated discussions, the occasional drunk night (once a year) and co-produced photoshoots.

Here’s his brand new video for Indépendance Cha-Cha.

Congratulations B! You done did it again!

Shot in the “Bon marché” (Barumbu) neighbourhood, at the heart of Kinshasa, featuring the late Wendo Kolosoy’s backing band, “Indépendance cha-cha – Le jour d’après” is a new take on the African independence anthem wrote in 1960 by Joseph “grand kallé” Kabasele and Nicolas ” dr. nico” Kassanda.

“The wide range of backgrounds, the various ethnicities and traditions:
this has and will never stand in the way of sharing a common set of ambitions.”  Baloji

LE JOUR D’APRES / SIKU YA BAADAYE (INDEPENDANCE CHA-CHA)

Directors: spike and jones
DOP: nicolas karakatsanis
Producer: annemie decorte & michèle meire (dr film)
styling: ann lauwerys
thanks to lexxus legal & racine alternative
Album : KINSHASA SUCCURSALE – Label : Kraked
ISRC : FR-8C7-10-00002

Above image by Nicolas Karakatsanis : go see his exhibition at A.L.I.C.E. Gallery

‘Inferiors’, new photographies by Nicolas Karakatsanis

Exhibition: 05.05 > 06.06. 2010

VERNISSAGE
WEDNESDAY 05.06 / 18:00 – 21.00

Pharrell dressed as a prison guard? Dude, you’re killing me here…

View the vid after the jump…

(LOL at “a brown plastic monkey”)

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Michel Gondry’s newest flick “The Thorn in the Heart” is a documentary about his aunt Suzette, an ‘avant garde’ teacher when she was younger and an inspiration to Michel’s vision on life and creativity. Depending on which reviewer you believe, it’s either a) a touching and highly emotional family portrait or b) a boring, flat and long-winded edit of home movies. The film will be released in April, but you can sart signing up for team a) or b) right now by watching the trailer HERE.

There’s also a snippet of the movie aprés le jump.

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Rihanna riding a lion and a zebra and grinding Caribbean style.

StolethevidfromMIAandbeginningtosoundandlookalotlikeBey.

Bygones.

And I want that coiff she’s sportin in the zebra-scene.

Watch the video and her brand new I-D cover after the jump.

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Update : I’m guessing Diplo feels the same way

Now, we all know the Cudder likes to get f’d up. But dang son, that’s a lot of weed for a 2min video.

Watch it after the jump!

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The title of the song means : ‘Welcome To Life In Limbo’

The video was shot on the streets of Kinshasa, site of Muhammad Ali’s legendary ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ and is a must-see.

Watch it after the jump!

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This is the first single off of the 2010 album ‘Kinshasa Succursale’, a re-recording of ‘Hotel Impala’ in the style of Soulwax ‘Nite Versions’ with local Congolese Musicians.

Release date: 27-01-2010, when it will drop as a FREE ADD-ON WITH KNACK AND LEVIF MAGAZINE (Belgium only.)

“Karibu Ya Bintou” features electric finger piano (limpelé) by Konono N°1 (Vampire Weekend are huge fans, so are David Byrne and Beck. Björk asked them to play on the Volta record and they accompany her on tour.)

Check out the ‘Kinshasa Succursale’ Making Of mini-documentary.

BALOJI site
BALOJI blog
BALOJI MySpace

Images by Nicolas Karakatsanis

I love the styling in this new Rihanna video, but I have to tell you : I’m not phased any more…

I’ve already seen the best video of 2010, it’s fookin’ Belgian and it drops January 27th.

We will keep you posted, meanwhile enjoy Rihanna and her leotard-thong after the jump.

Watch the video here

Don’t shoot the messenger curator.

Karl Lagerfeld goes to Shanghai and dresses the boys in an iconic Chanel jacket that’s half Jacky O and half Communist worker force.

It’s that final line: “This is not what I wanted but it helps” that kills me. Something tells me this is an anynomous cry for help from Santa himself. Maybe not.

(via Swill Merchant – an excellent music blog, I might add)

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Shout Out Louds – ‘Walls’, from the Album ‘Work’, to be released in 2010. To be honest, I really don’t like videos like these: black and white shots in the studio of a band that isn’t personality-driven. But I do look forward to the album and I’ve been playing this song all week, so they get a bonus pass.

Barbie Limited Edition Comme Des Garçons, dressed by Rei Kawakubo.

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Tempa T. Fun.

Gucci Dayglo editorial from erm.. that one magazine. I swear I saved that link somewhere for real this time. Crap.

Vladimir Nabokov has a new book out! Well, sort of.

Quote Random House:

“When Vladimir Nabokov died in 1977, he left instructions for his heirs to burn the 138 handwritten index cards that made up the rough draft of his final and unfinished novel, The Original of Laura. But Nabokov’s wife, Vera, could not bear to destroy her husband’s last work, and when she died, the fate of the manuscript fell to her son. Dmitri Nabokov, now seventy-five—the Russian novelist’s only surviving heir, and translator of many of his books—has wrestled for three decades with the decision of whether to honor his father’s wish or preserve for posterity the last piece of writing of one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. His decision finally to allow publication of the fragmented narrative—dark yet playful, preoccupied with mortality—affords us one last experience of Nabokov’s magnificent creativity, the quintessence of his unparalleled body of work.

Photos of the handwritten index cards accompany the text. They are perforated and can be removed and rearranged, as the author likely did when he was writing the novel.”

I don’t know about you, but those last two lines just made me pee in my pants from excitement. Santa, if you’re reading this: this is what I want for Christmas. Also, if you could buy up a month of my time so I can play with this full-time, that would be great.

Stole this from D’s desktop when I needed it as a wallpaper a few days ago.

On to the next one:

I have three favourite sneakers for Summer 2010:

The first one is a Lanvin:

(image: HypeBeast)

The second and third are both Reebok:

I’ve seen all colorways and the tan version of this one is a cut above the rest (but I can’t show you those pictures… yet).

I know, I know. But I still definitely would.

(images via HighSnobiety)

These are the Louboutin sneakers everyone’s been raving about since April.

All real.

They even have the red sole.

The studded ones, modeled by P.

(image via Real Talk NY)

Let’s end once more with some blatant silliness:

Mr. E.T.

(via B3ta)

According to our stats, this song right here is the song of 2009. Everybody and their grandma are googling “people told me slow my roll, I’m screaming out fuck that” and since we were one of the first to post this song and the lyrics we have been getting a fuckload of hits.

The video has finally been released.

Enjoy it after the jump…

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Alright, I have to admit that I stole this from LGF’s desktop. But only because he was probably going to sit on it for a couple of more days.

Sorry babe, this is too good!

So now :

“Come on/This beat cost a lot of money”

Watch the video after the jump…

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