Have you ever made love to a weirdo? Odds are, you probably have but won’t admit it. Well, 2008 is the year to start fessing up because being as out there as possible seems to be everyone’s new goal.

A music group bringing new flavor to hip hop, Hollyweerd, is also raising the question of whether or not you’d make love to a weirdo, and gaining much attention from the online community. Self proclaimed as the New Wave/Rap/Ghetto Tech Music genre, Hollyweerd brings a hip new swag to the south. Dreamer, The Love Crusader, Tuki and Stago Lee came together in mid-November of 2007 and have since worked to produce a fresh sound to Hip Hop with and electronic/alternative vibe.

To experience their flavor for yourself visit Hollyweerd here.

The visual artist INSA lays down a stack with his latest exhibit “Dirty Cash.” Set in London’s Flawless Gallery “Dirty Cash” is an ode to INSA’s raunchy style of artwork. With vulumptuos curves, dripping paint and roots in the art of graffiti INSA places himself in a category all his own. The exhibit will be open through the month of July. For more information click here.

Stephanie’s got soul. So much soul that it moves through her lyrics, erupts uncontrollably with the unique alto in her voice, and leaves a deep resonance in the minds of listeners. Her soul is fresh and according to her, marks a “reincarnation for the new generation.”

This Bronx-born native makes no mistake when it comes to producing lasting music. With influences from greats such as Betty Wright, Lyn Collins, Margie Joseph, Roberta Flack, Candi Staton and Mavis Staples, it’s only expected that the rasp-jazz songstress bring music back to its feel-good roots.

July 21st marks the expedition back home, with the release of her forthcoming album Tell It Like It Is. When asked about the hiatus between this album and her 2003 self-titled debut, Stephanie McKay responded with a quote from Q-Tip: “Record company people are shady.”

Fortunately, she’s worked through the industry struggles to put forth a solid album. With its distinct title, Tell It Like It Is speaks to the people on their own level. Her latest single “Jackson Avenue” is a hip revival of the classic ‘day on my block’ theme and brings listeners on a journey of what she says focuses “good times, good friends, and Sergio Valente’s.” Stephanie describes this album as “more organic, less electronic” than her debut.

With inspiration stemming from family, life and love Stephanie indulges in the art of storytelling, and she’s had the opportunity to work with some of our times most acclaimed storytellers — Mos Def and Talib Kweli. She describes the two as “poets and masters of their craft. Dedicated to the betterment of their community and proud of their culture. These are things I aspire to do as an artist.”

With her ability to grasp an audience with her music, Stephanie has set herself in the right path to achieve this goal, and been marked her as an artist to be reckoned with.

June 14th is certainly a day you should mark on your calendars in regards to art. Two events will be taking place, The Art of Digging and the Sonic Visual Arts Expo.

The Art of Digging will be going down at theLightGalleries in Costa Mesa, California. The event, which pays homage to the advancement and progression vinyl culture, brings awareness to the discrediting of music artists due to the increase in downloading. The event will include vinyl art and rare wax displays, live performances, record sales and exchange, and a special guest DJ. For more information click here.

Those on the East Coast can enjoy the Sonic Visual Arts Expo in Hamden, Connecticut that evening instead. Unlike The Art of Digging, this event focuses on the more conventional means of visual arts. Here, artists will be displaying and selling their work, along with a vast number of music acts. The headlining performances will feature Stephanie D’Ranged and Hellfire Graffix. Click here for ticket and location information.

Before pulling on that mask and shaking the spray can in preparation for greatness, before gracing the walls of countless buildings in efforts to share your vision and voice with the public, before any work of art there is a beginning. But there is rarely any documentation of these beginning stages and the intricate processes of the influential Graffiti genre.

Seeking to correct this are Sacha Jenkins — creator of Ego Trip Magazine and the White Rapper Show — and David Villorente, who have compiled Piecebook: Secret Drawings of Graff Writers, a book of sketches and rough drafts done by graffiti artists such as Dondi, Lee, T Kid, Lady Pink, IZ The Wiz, Kel 1st, Seen UA, Ali, Daze, Skeme, Noc 167, Cey, Part TDS, Don 1,West, Caine One, Mare, and many others.

On June 12th, Sacha Jenkins in collaboration with acclaimed artist Chino BYI and 10 Deep will put the book on display in a gallery reception for its release. The event takes place at Reed Space in New York City from 8-10pm.

For more information on how you can attend click here.

“Remember that time you were wasted and thought it would be a good idea to get a tattoo on your leg of Maury Povich shaking hands with Sasquatch, but your friends talked you out of it at the last second? Well, some people don’t have friends.”
– No Regrets: The Best, Worst, & Most #$%*ing Ridiculous Tattoos Ever

Traditionally, people use tattoos as a means of self-expression. Most times, this self-expression comes off as artistic and thoughtful. However, others just get way out of hand and come across strange as hell. Aviva Yael & P.M. Chen went on a year long crusade scoping out tattoo conventions and studios throughout the country in order to find the most random, comical, strange, terrifying, and downright out of this world tattoos.

What they found helped to create the gem that is No Regrets: The Best, Worst, & Most #$%*ing Ridiculous Tattoos Ever. The book contains countless images of all sorts of tattoos accompanied by hilarious captions. Each page makes for a laugh out loud moment, and solidifies itself as a must read.

Check it out here.

Known for their work with Public Enemy, Run-DMC, Ice Cube, Slick Rick and many others, the influential production team known as The Bomb Squad will be doing a special performance this Saturday at Low End Theory NYC. The Bomb Squad is known for their distinct production style, use of multiple samples on a single track, and incorporation of harsh un-melodic sounds on songs.

The event goes down this Saturday June 7th with opening sets by L.A. native Nosaj Thing and the newest super duo What’s the Science? There will also be performances by Gaslamp Killer, Nocando, and Eliot Lip. The Bomb Squad has just wrapped up the First Look tour with Public Enemy, and this event looks promising.

For more information on the events location and ticket sales click here. For more information on The Bomb Squad itself, click here.

Designed by Lanie Alabanza-Barcena, the young Ilocana Filipino who comes at us by way of New Orleans and San Diego, Hellz Bellz is already known for its edgy approach to female youth fashion.

With its latest summer “Heat Wave” collection, the line is emphasizing a woman’s independence and non-conformity within a male dominated society, bringing light to its tradition of “crime for every season”. This summer collection is composed mainly of 80s rock-inspired pieces with flashy designs, acid washed denim, double waist shorts and vibrant colors.

With each new release, the young style star further solidifies her brand and its aim to set itself a part from other women’s collections. For a personal look at this seasons collection click here, to find your local retailer click here.

Last night at New York’s own 205 Club in the Lower East Side, Heatherette celebrated the launch of their new footwear line, showcasing a sampling from the collection. The sneakers were very casual, but as funky and chic like as we’ve come to expect from Heatherette designs.

The label on each shoe read “Rox and Riley” which was supposed to be the name of Rich’s new clothing line when rumors were circulating that the two were going their separate ways back in April. Fortunately, they haven’t called it quits just yet and continue to make enormous strides in the industry. This time while wearing some fresh kicks!

More info here.

According to Greek Mythology, the king of Pessinus, King Midas, came across a Satyr named Silenus in his rose garden. King Midas treated him hospitably and kept him entertained with food and wine while Silenus told him stories and sung songs for ten days. On the eleventh day, King Midas brought Silenus back to his son Dionysus, who promised King Midas a reward of whatever he wanted. His choice was the ability to turn whatever he touched into gold…

In recent weeks, Barcelona has been experiencing its own taste of the Midas touch. Throughout the city, an unknown street artist has been painting ordinary everyday objects such as water fountains, public telephones and garbage cans gold.

So far, no developments have been made in regards to who the artist could be, but it’s been causing quite buzz. The press has referred to the unknown visionary as a guerilla or rebel artist because of his gutsy approach to a new take on visual art.

Yet, it comes off as something more than typical rebellion, and more like an attempt to open the eyes of the people to the beauty and value of their everyday surroundings.