When Shad and Skratch Bastid get together, success is certain. Their latest offering is “Fam Jam,” a mild, honky-tonk groove that samples a Jay Z line from “Otis,” and features some thoughtful reflections on how Canada’s demographic diversity came to be. Shad also takes some time to reflect on his own story, noting the identity conundrums that spring up when one grows up in a foreign land while still trying to maintain ties to the motherland.

The video is fairly festive, but even it has its somber moments. Watch below and mark your calendars for October 15, the release date for Shad‘s next LP, Flying Colours.

And if this is a bit too heavy for you, Shad‘s song “Stylin” packages his thoughtful rhymes in a more digestible (“head-noddable”) form.

The post New Video: Shad – “Fam Jam” (Fe Sum Immigrins) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

MTV has been chosen as the lucky ones to premiere Jay-Z and Kanye’s newest video. Amidst all the buzz over “Watch the Throne,” the video for “Otis” should drop tonight. Why the kings chose 8:56 as their premiere time is a mystery to me, but that’s what they’ve done.

The movie was directed by Spike Jonze, so it should be a good one. Check out the film for yourself on MTV, MTV2, MTV.com and BET tonight. The teaser is above.

The post New Video: “Otis” Drops Tonight appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The Yonkers duo–Jadakiss and Styles P–hit up “Otis” here and do so in style, squashing Papoose’s attempt.  It’s been almost a week since Jay-Z and Kanye released the first official joint off their upcoming LP Watch The Throne, but imagine the samples we’re gonna here as we get closer to this release date.  Summertime bringing the heat.

The post New Music: Jadakiss & Styles P – Otis Freestyle appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

That’s right, here we have the new cover art for Watch The Throne‘s next single, “Otis.” It’s been designed by Riccardo Tisci, the designer for Givenchy and the illustrator for Watch The Throne‘s cover art for the album and the first single, “H.A.M.”

A few months ago, Complex did a feature about the designer. Here are the facts I found most important about the artist:

• Riccardo Tisci went to the prestigious design school, Central Saint Martins in London. Other fashion prodigies such as Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, and Phoebe Philo have also attended the authoritative college.

• He’s responsible for designing the menswear, womenswear, haute couture, and accessories for Givenchy and is acclaimed for breathing new life to the design house with his romanticism and dark Gothic touches.

•He says the hip-hop world is similar to his: “The self-confidence, not being scared of anything. I love dodgy people, dodgy situations! The obsession of beauty.”

• Tisci has an affinity to using studs and stars in his clothing (Kanye seems to like this too).

You can see how that last point translated into the work Tisci did on this album. The album cover artwork is all studs and the artwork for “Otis” features the American flag in a way that makes the stars a much bigger portion than is normal.

Check out the precious Kanye x Jay-Z-related pieces that Tisci worked on:

Via Complex.

The post Album Artwork: Riccardo Tisci appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.