“Cavalier’s verses feel lived-in and layered, delivered with the poise of someone who’s found freedom in nuance.”
Season 2 is here…
A statement on culture, trust, and what gets lost when everything becomes a market.
Limited pieces. More than what’s shown.
Presenting the “Bring Back Weed Spots” statement hoodie.
Lifted from Cavalier’s nostalgic Brooklyn ode, “Reprise”, the mantra has become a signifier to a whole ideology. As cannabis prohibition shifts in the United States, we are still confronted with challenges of fair market access, inclusivity and criminal record expungement.
“The legalization of marijuana is not a dangerous experiment – the prohibition is the experiment, and it has failed dramatically, with millions of victims all around the world.”― Sebastian Marincolo
What happens to the black market vendors and those who laid the groundwork for cannabis legalization? The so-called Hippy generation? Those who shaped a whole cannabis culture across America and are now at the mercy of large corporate and state driven interests?
Can we trust the same parties who took action against cannabis culture to administer its access fairly and freely?
Those questions and ideas followed me after making the statement “we need to bring back weed spots” and this organic cotton statement piece was made with intention and care to further inspire this dialog.
This rare, limited-edition vinyl pressing of the exclusively released “We ‘Gon Need Each Other” project by Cavalier , Quelle Chris and featuring Denmark Vessey, is finally here.
This 12-inch vinyl is the second in the acclaimed “Death Tape” series and comes with digital download along with a full lyric booklet.
Now you can get your copy domestically, to Canada, the United Kingdom and most countries in the EU, choosing from one of three color variants.
- Black is Beautiful
- Glass Libation Bottle
- Emerald Gem
There are only a select amount of this pressing available.
Limited to 500 copies
The rapper’s new album is a poignant meditation on embracing the present moment, showcasing his labyrinthine flows and deep reverence for the craft of hip-hop.
- Dash Lewis for Pitchfork
Features double milky transluscent colored vinyl packaged in a gatefold jacket with photography by 35mmgold. MP3 digital download is included with all vinyl orders!
for Different Type Time, the MC glides through the project, relaying bars in the sort of unhurried and unruffled manner of a peak ball player who always seems to have more time than anyone else on the court.
- Phillip Mlynar, The Best Hip-Hop on Bandcamp, April 2024
Digest
Critics called it mid. Fans seemed unsure what to make of it. But at 60 years old, Slick Rick may have delivered something hip-hop has never truly heard before: the perspective of an elder who lived long enough to tell the story.
Grief can be a story told again and again.
I’ve told this story before. At least parts of it. I had a friend that I loved. They died suddenly.
But this loss, its timing, and who was taken from us, hit me close and I was not the same.
I don’t want this open journal to morph into a think piece gallery responding to whatever trend of the moment is irking the intrawebs. Yet, it feels like no matter what, the news of the day will somehow be “in today’s news another rapper murdered”.
Birthed from the American Third World, it is arguable that Hip-Hop has been a tool for Black and Brown, men particularly but not exclusively, to convey interpretation of the elusive American Dream, document environs of the ignored and ultimately to profess their value. In a society that repeatedly and historically highlights the value of dead Black men, Hip-Hop becomes solace and salvation.
Before dispensaries and corporate licenses, there were weed spots.
Quiet places built on trust, word of mouth, and community — where people protected the culture and each other.
Some things shouldn’t be forgotten.
Bring back weed spots.