Behind the “Ricchezza” brand seen on Young Thug, Polo G, Lil Durk, Gunna, Dej Loaf, Lil Uzi Vert and countless more fashion-forward tastemakers in pop culture is Ropa, the Chicago fashion prodigy who started humbly when he was in high-school but weaved his way to an enviable place in modern streetwear. He’s a true craftsman, putting out limited-releases with most of his website sold out all the time. He’s looking to release a new collection in the first week of November and to celebrate we’re gonna honor some of his best work to date.

He’s designed tour merch for YSL Records, Chance The Rapper, Jacquees & more. The best way to appreciate his impact is by paying close attention to the iconic fits he’s put together for these superstars. Here’s a top 10 set of his looks for your viewing pleasure featuring well, pretty much everyone in hip-hop:

Follow Ropa on Instagram to stay in-tune with his latest drop.

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Image credit: Yellow World/The Dispensary

DeJ Loaf has seemingly only found herself in the commercial realm twice: “Try Me” in 2014 and the Big Sean-assisted “Back Up” the following year. Since then, the Detroit emcee has dropped releases and contributed to other tracks that haven’t made the same impact, somewhat putting her in the dormant category.

For the New Year, DeJ looks to make a return via a new project titled Go DeJ Go, Vol. 1, which sees 6 new tracks (including “Who Gone Stop Us“). Vibe to her latest below.

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Produced by the Winners Circle, Dej is back and snapping detailing the reasons behind her slowdown in music releases and what she’s learned from the game.

Continue to checkout RESPECT. for more Hip-Hop news and DeJ’s eventual EP release.

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The post DeJ Loaf Releases New Single “Who Gone Stop Us” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Enjoy “Big Ole Boss” above and get the single here.

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Image credit: DeJ Loaf

Detroit’s DeJ Loaf has been somewhat silent for the past several months (there have been some notable mixtapes, including last year’s All Jokes Aside and her joint release with Jacquees back in February). Now, it looks like she’s finally ready to deliver an official debut album.

Last week, DeJ dropped off her first official single for that forthcoming project titled “No Fear,” which might be one of her most Pop-influenced cuts to date. On the track (produced by Christoph Andersson), the former XXL Freshman tells her significant other that — despite the obstacles in front of them — there love can prevail:

I know my life can get so crazy but as long as you’re right here
None of the gossip, nothing can stop us
I’m wanna love you with no fears
We can do this thing together
Close your eyes and take my hand
Cause what we have is something special
Baby let’s just take our chance

Whether or not she’s referring to her ex-(?)-boyfriend Lil Durk remains to be seen.

Enjoy “No Fear” below, which is said to be on the aforementioned debut, titled Liberated. Hopefully, more details on that will arrive soon. UPDATE: Also added is DeJ Loaf’s recent interview on Sway In The Morning.

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Dej Loaf and Jacquees have just released a new single titled “Deeper” in anticipation of their upcoming collaborative project.

???”Deeper” available right now on my SoundCloud #FuckAFriendZone Mixtape 2/10/17!! @dejloaf @thefader

A video posted by Yb.Xo Papí (@jacquees) on Feb 8, 2017 at 11:50am PST

This will not be the first time that the duo have collaborated; they’ve already delivered us tracks like “Want Your Sex”, “007” and “Set It Off” in the past. This time though, Dej and the Cash Money singer are gearing up for the drop of a new mixtape titled F— A Friend Zone. According to Fader, the project will consist of 10 tracks and is set to be released Friday, February 10th.

Check out “Deeper” below and be on the lookout for F— A Friend Zone this Friday.

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He’s got two consecutive platinum albums and a gold one. His catalogue boasts hits like: It Aint My Fault, Movin’ On, Ghetto Tears, Mama Always Told Me, Thug ‘n’ Me, which folks grew to learn and love in the 90s and the early 2000s.

But here’s the kicker: Silkk the Shocker has a very unorthodox rap flow! It is offbeat to some.

Case in point Horse & Carriage Remix with Cam’ron and Charli Baltimore 

Now I ain’t the C-E-O, but I ain’t far from it
So if I ain’t far from C-E-O
That mean I ain’t far from havin’ C-E-O money
Can’t discuss what I’m worth, but I’m worth this much
Like Mantigo, fall back like snatchin’ purses for bust
So many styles – drop a beat, I’mma drop a hit
Rap game stop for the dope game – and cop a brick
No Limit Soldier baby, so watch the talk
Get lost like ohhhhhhh, It Ain’t My Fault!

 

How the heck did you fit all of that in one feature Silkk?

When asked about his flow in an interview with VLAD TV in 2015, Silkk actually agreed with that offbeat notion. 

“I think I was offbeat,” he said. “I think what’s funny is nowadays they want me to be offbeat again…I think I had my own style, which I don’t think was right or wrong…At the time I didn’t really care about it. I was just doing my thing.”

Most greats are different. Charles Barkley was a 6’5 power forward that could shoot three pointers and post his opponent up just short of the 3-point line. Rocky Balboa was a southpaw boxer that would get the tar kicked out of him before he started gathering momentum to knock out his opponent. Hey even a crafty Sally Struthers transitioned from starring as a skinny fox named Gloria, in All In The Family to becaming a hefty spokesperson for Save The Children’s infomericals.

Who ever thought that one up for Struthers was a genius, by the way. But I digress.

As Hip Hop Wired’s Trent Clark  wrote in an article back in November 2015: The point of the matter is this unorthodox style never caught on with newer listeners.

I picked up the phone and called Silkk The Shocker.  Silkk is your style offbeat? 

Remember Silkk The Shocker and Mya’s Movin’ On? 

“When I go back and listen to it, I say that was really good, ” Silkk the Shocker told me by phone from his Los Angeles area home. “And I don’t know, I give all the glory to the man up above. It’s like he made me who I was and I’m glad that I did the counterclockwise flow. ”

Silkk thinks that his influence is deeper than just a flow, however. “Whatever it was, ultimately, this is how I look at life: ‘I’m still living, right?’ Before it’s all over, piece by piece, I changed society, changed culture, changed certain peoples views on things. When I put my first album out I sold a half of million records. This was back in a time where, you wasn’t doing that. It wasn’t all for hype. It was like, people were really messin’ with whatever I was saying. And you can go back and listen to music and you gotta just take it for what it is. And so if you take it for what it is, you appreciate that I made songs like, Freeloaders and I Represent.”

Silk said that he appeared in one of his first records at 14 years old alongside his Brother, Master P in a track called The Ghetto’s Trying To Kill Me. He says he got love from his peers. That made him appreciative for his flow AND voice, literally! “I sounded like a little girl,” laughed Silkk.

“E-40 and everybody called me and said: ‘yo you killed this song and I need to get you on my album.’ Even Tupac he saluted me on it. I don’t know what it is, I just know that I was meant to do it. I was meant to sell the records I sold, I was meant to help No Limit Records get to the point I got it to and then I’m also meant to have been in 2016 and do a song with Dej Loaf. I get people like Migos shouting me out and Young Jeezy shouting me out.”

Check Out Dej Loaf and Silkk The Shocker

He’s been around a lot of big names, Tupac, E-40, Cam’ron, Wyclef and he’s transcended to the next era rocking out with folks like Migos and Dej Loaf. Silkk doesn’t seem to mind the criticism of his unorthodox flow.

He’s just about that action boss! “As long as I continue to just do me, then you gotta respect it,” he said.

“Because whatever I’m gonna do and wherever I’m gonna go, I’m just saying: I’m a trensetter and watch this here!”

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The post Silkk The Shocker On His Offbeat Rap Flow: “Respect It” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.