Bringing that new energetic flavor to listeners ears is the dynamic duo better known as Deco Fam. With Deco Ho Chi Mayne and Deco STLN, alongside their resident producer/DJ SUPR SPRT, we have two Haitians and a Russian redefining what it means to be creatively bold in 2018.

Giving off a different vibe on every record, Deco Fam has been finessing their way to the top. With their debutproject ChinaTown still fresh, it doesn’t take long to notice that the whimsical melodies of Ho Chi Mayne paired with the rich wordplay of STLN complement each other perfectly on records. Born and raised in Miami-Dade County, the duo are not your typical rappers. As classically trained footwear designers, they have designed for big brands including Converse, Reebok, Under Armour, and most recently PUMA. Having spent the majority of their professional careers at PUMA, you have seen their designs at the forefront of partnerships with The Weekend, Fenty, Selena Gomez and Jay-Z.

Credit: @ivesmatik

A Russian refugee, executive producer of ChinaTown, SUPR SPRT, down south hip hop influence developed from his childhood spent in Tennessee. Having teamed up with Ho Chi Mayne and STLN in 2015, his sound puts a quirky twist on trap music.

Credit: @ivesmatik

The sky is the limit for these guys as they continue to push the culture forward to expanding the boundaries of hip hop. Having a strong sense of style, Deco Fam resembles the art form of Art Deco. Art Deco is a style of visual arts, architecture and designs that paved the way for the designers of the future. Deco Fam prove to be the odd ones out, breaking any and every barrier in their way.

Credit: @ivesmatik

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Larry Johnson is beloved by New York City for his heroics.

Down, 91-88, with just 11.9 seconds to go in Game 3 of the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers, Johnson was guarded by  Indiana Pacers guard Dale Davis. Johnson dribbled and drove to the basket and pump-faked; Davis bit.

Johnson took one dribble left, absorbed contact from Antonio Davis and launched a three-pointer. The whistle blew and the shot went in; tying the game at 91 apiece.

Johnson completed the 4-point play by sinking the free throw and the Pacers missed a shot at the buzzer, giving the Knicks a 2-1 lead in the series.

The 6’8 combo forward remembers that moment fondly and the love that he got following that big play! “This is New York, man and everywhere I go here, it’s like I’m a legend,” Johnson told me on today’s episode of Scoop B Radio. “I done took the nickname Larry Legend, I didn’t think I was that old, really. But that’s what cats have been calling me simply because I believe, the four point play; it’s just one play. It’s the greatest play, I’ve had. I’ve had some pretty good moments in this game: winning a championship in college, being the number one, but making a four point play against one of our arch rivals at Madison Square Garden, that was the craziest.”

A native of Dallas, Texas, Johnson believes that his connection to his city runs deep. He spoke reverently about local athletes like Roger Staubach and others being influential to his growth and being the blueprint on how to be a positive athlete. He also shared a time that he met and played a one on one game against NBA Hall of Famer, Calvin Murphy. “He let me win,” said Johnson.

“I was like 14 years old. My mom was there. He was passing by, the shoe store. I don’t know if ya’ll know Payless. He had a big ‘ol sign with it and it said it was Calvin Murphy. And  I was taller than him at the time. Of course, I was 14 and Calvin was a guard and I think he let me win.”

Check out Larry Johnson Chat With Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson on Scoop B Radio

Johnson was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets as the 1st pick in the 1991 NBA Draft out of UNLV. The Hornets, of course went through some ownership and name changes and now a rebirth under majority owner Michael Jordan, Johnson is happy to see his old team do well. “What goes around comes around,” said Johnson. “I know they were down for a while. You get some draft picks, you get some guys in there and you get your nucleus together and you start winning ball games.

Johnson was happy specifically to see the Hornets change the name back from Bobcats to Hornets. “That was the right thing to do, that was the right thing to do,” he said. “Now they just need to start to getting back guys like Muggsy Bogues and getting those original guys back. I wasn’t really the original , I was one of the big parts, but I wasn’t one of the original. It was the original guys that really made that franchise and put and kept it together, so to go back to the Charlotte Hornets, that’s the only thing that they could do! That was the best thing. The Charlotte Bobcats? Stop it! Stop it! The Charlotte Hornets.”

Brandon Robinson is a sports and entertainment writer and TV personality. You can catch his Scoop B Radio Podcast every Thursday by visiting ScoopBRadio.com. Follow him on Twitter @SCOOPB and visit www.ScoopB.com for more info.

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The post Larry Johnson On Payless 1 on 1 With Cal Murphy: “He Let Me Win” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

One of the youth’s favorite Urban Street-wear brands, Stussy and American shoe company, Converse join forces. The two team up to do a collaboration with the One Star ’74 look.

The collection will be dropping in three different colorways for the holiday season. These premium editions will be giving a nice taste of both brands, including signature styles from the two.

Each shoe will have a tonal brushed suede upper and a solid black mid-sole. Also, each shoe will have a clear out-sole with the Stussy logo at the bottom. One colorway will be pink with the laces to match. It also will include the Stussy Logo on the tongue with dice underneath. The all black colorway will have the Stussy logo with the 8-ball on the tongue. Lastly, the green colorway will include the gold Stussy branding on the tongue with the signature Stussy crown.

This collection is nice look, giving us some simple colorways that fit with the holiday season. Cop you a pair!

The One Star’74 Stussy x Converse collection will be releasing on on December 2nd. You can buy the collab at Converse stores and online

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The post Stussy & Converse Team Up for One Star ’74 Collab appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Converse stays true to their classic styles with the release of the All Star Modern HTM. In 1917, Converse introduced a diamond-shaped traction system that became one of the footwear industry’s most recognizable out soles. Joined to a canvas upper, complete with a hallmark leather ankle patch and paired with a rubber toecap, the sole completed a trio of defining components in Converse’s  basketball line. Known today as the Converse All Star, 99 years ago this shoe was just merely an idea that Converse wasn’t sure would be successful.

The new Converse All Star Modern HTM extends this cultural reach as the first shoe outside the Nike brand to bear the distinguished HTM design. This collaboration between fragment design founder, Hiroshi Fujiwara, Nike Vice President of Creative Concepts Tinker Hatfield and President CEO, Mark Player has yielded 32 releases, from aesthetic updates of existing classics to the introduction of performance technologies, such as Nike Flyknit. This shoes comes in two colorways, a very clean, yet smooth white, and an even smoother black. With exclusive additions like flexible goat leather on the upper, All-Star ankle patch and HTM logo on the heel pull tab, the collaboration captures and elevates the new clean and timeless design. This is a classic for the people and a sneaker that you won’t want to miss out on. This shoe released today, June 9th and sizes are limited and selling our fast. Head over to Nike Lab’s site now!

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Big shoutout to the people behind the Rubber Tracks recording studio in Brooklyn. Rubber Tracks allows up and coming artists to utilize their facilities to record, free of charge, and that’s pretty dope.

The post GZA x Sweet Valley – “Planetary Energy” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

If you made it out to Austin, Texas for the SXSW music festival, then you’ll know that over the weekend it was pouring rain. Despite the horrible weekend weather, The FADER Fort had no issue getting to over-capacity. The performances were outstanding, but the one performance that really stuck out was the new singing sensation, Kali Uchis, a Colombian singer/songwriter from Virginia.

Since 2012, the “Por Vida” songstress has been active in the music scene. Her style of music is inspired by the backing vocals that were popular in the ’60s and ’70s, and she mixes rapping, singing, and retro sounds in her music.What makes Kali unique is how she plays with tone and technique, heaping layers of vocals into smooth, warm waves. Uchis’ name has recently been buzzing in the music industry, as she was featured on Snoop Dogg’s record “On Edge,” and Tyler, The Creator’s song “Aunt Wang Syrup Theme Song“. Kaytranada, Tyler, The Creator, and BADBADNOTGOOD all contributed to the production of her latest EP, “Por Vida.”

On Saturday, The FADER Fort had Kali Uchis perform in the early afternoon, on their stage. She came out with her DJ, Ill Brill, who comes from Houston, Texas. Kali had the crowd fall in love with her vocals in an instant, and made the FADER Fort feel peaceful, as she performed an acapella of Selena’s “Sí Una Vez.”

Check out the photos below

The post Kali Uchis Performs At The FADER Fort Presented By Converse appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

It’s hard to fathom that Agenda has been around for over ten years. Launched by Aaron Levant in 2003, the first Agenda show took place in a small Thai restaurant in L.A. Starting out with just 30 brands, nobody could imagine that Agenda would get this large but now 12 years later, Agenda has amazingly grown and has so much more to offer.

RESPECT. Mag hit up Agenda NYC last week and caught up with Levant to get his thoughts on one of the biggest trade shows around. Check out what Levant had to say below and some of the photos from the show.

We love bringing the show here to New York City! We’ve been coming here for years. We’ve had the show here for 13 years now so we’ve watched it grow. I think to some people’s perception, Agenda is like an overnight success; which is definitely not the fact. Most people think we’ve only been around for three or four years but that’s just when we’ve gotten really big. But there was ten years before that. We were just grinding and growing organically. So it’s really cool just to see it all evolve and some of the brands that are here, I wanted to have in the show for years, have finally jumped on board with us these past few years.

Photos: @Calligrafist #CalligrafistPhotography

The post Agenda: 13 Years In & Still Going Strong appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.