“Yeezy, yeezy, yeezy just jumped over Jumpman.” – Kanye West.

Call it a “feat” if you’d like, or just a ‘win-win of modern youth’, but Kanye West has made it very clear that he believes his signature shoe has surpassed the legacy of Michael Jordan’s ‘Jumpman’. Of course, die-hard Jordan brand lovers who stick to their root classics will disagree with this wholeheartedly, but the sneakerhead argument of how could a shoe (that’s only just a few years old) step over the culture Air Jordan pioneered in the sneaker game- is seemingly about to be answered.

On one hand, you have Kanye West, one of history’s most influential pop icons who has ever lived, and on the other is Michael Jordan, basketball’s living legend who redefined the sport as we know it. How does one compare the two? Apples and oranges, right?

Wrong.

We’re discussing sneakers, so in comparison, it’s accurately apples and apples. The bigger question is simple, Granny-smith or Ruby Red? And this is where the debate starts that we all can’t get a break from. There’s no question, both sneakers are highly attractive by nature. Tinker Hatfield is to blame for Air Jordan’s stylish lineage. Kanye West is who to point the finger at for the Yeezy Boost, which is visually stunning in both models (350 & 750). Not to mention his previous work with Nike, where he created the Air Yeezy 1 & 2.

Kanye West (Left) & Michael Jordan (Right).

When you boil down this debate to the foundation, the only thing that draws the line in the sand is Jordan’s sports history which has become associated with the sneaker. What about the Flu Games in 1997 where his “airness” dropped 38 points under the weather – in the NBA Finals? Or maybe even the 1985 ‘Banned 1’s’ in which Jordan was fined $5,000 a game for wearing – due to breaking uniform regulations? Oh, wait – can’t forget the 1996 “Space Jam’s” that Jordan wore in the hit Looney Tunes movie ‘Space Jam’ against intergalactic enemy aliens who played basketball?

Hold on – what about Yeezy, you ask?

“The College Dropout” redefined the Hip Hop game as we all know it to be today. Over 21 Grammy wins and several nods for his discography. “Jesus Walks” which was syndicated all over the world, including the strip clubs? Being deemed one of the best “rappers” in the game, being a true “producer” at heart. Cross-breeding multiple genres in Hip-Hop, while breaking barriers in the category. Designing hit clothing and sneaker lines that shifted outside the intersections within international culture.

And the list goes on and on between the two.

In regards to what can actually end the argument one and for all, it all comes down to a matter of personal preference, but if you’d like a more in-depth look into the debate, check out the featured video above.  Prof. Timothy Welbeck, (of Temple University Africology & African American studies dept.) gives his professional opinion on the subject at hand.

What’s your take on this debate?

Curated exclusively for premiere on RESPECT. 

Courtesy of hypefresh.

The post Could Yeezy Surpass The Jumpman? appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Just 24 hours after Kanye West’s temporary “Pablo” pop-up shops opened across the globe, millions of fans have swarmed the streets of their cities searching for the coveted Yeezy tour merch. The Supermarket, based in NYC’s TriBeCa district, opened its doors featuring an array of Pablo items, including “Ultralight Beam” t-shirts, “Famous” sweaters alongside Pablo military jackets and bombers with Cali Thornhill DeWitt’s gothic script in Crusta orange.

Fans lined up outside, enduring the sticky NYC’s humidity/heat all patiently waiting for their opportunity to cop up. Some stood proudly in their previously purchased Yeezus tour merch (mostly t-shirts and hats) Others showed their allegiance by wearing affiliated brands such as Adidas, Virgil Abloh’s Off-White and of course YEEZY sneakers in all flavors. Some even brought folding chairs and camped out overnight, with coolers filled with ration, umbrellas and even camping tents. For die-hard Yeezy fans, it’s definitely worth the wait – even if the line wraps around an entire city block.

Only being available over the weekend, be sure to stop into the Pablo Pop-up if you got a few hours and bucks to blow on rare fashion. The address is below for those willing to take the trip.

The Supermarket
393 Broadway
New York, NY
Hours: Friday to Saturday, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. EDT,
Sunday 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. EDT

Photographers: Sebastian Ruiz / Hypebeast (In Store)

Clark Jones / hypefresh. (outside store)

**Sourced exclusively from hypefresh for RESPECT.**

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The post Kanye West’s NYC Pablo Pop-Up Shop Draws Thousands In 24 Hours appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Laro Lagosto

The sitcom Seinfeld may be over 25 years old, but we all know that the impact of the show–with Jerry, Elaine, Kramer and George–has never really left us. So could you imagine the Seinfeld cast in our current age, wearing some of our favorite, on trend collections, such as the Supreme/Air Jordan collaboration, YEEZY Season 3 or even Adidas x Palace? Well Portuguese illustrator, Laro Lagosto did and the results, well, phenomenal to say the least.

Lagosto who describes himself as, a ‘sh***y graphic designer and bloody illustrator based in Porto, Portugal,’ has created a set of prints which show the Seinfeld squad wearing all sorts of cool stuff. His designs show the characters embracing our current and hottest streetwear brands. As well as YEEZY Season 3, Adidas x Palace, Supreme/Air Jordan, Jerry Seinfeld is also pictured dressed in Gosha Rubchinskiy.

Laro Lagosto

Laro Lagosto

The pictures are pretty dope and Lagosto has definitely created something here that is unique and funny with the attention to detail he has given his work. The designer has gone as far as to create individual prints of each character in specific clothing from the Adidas/Palace collection.

Laro Lagosto

The Portuguese illustrator spoke to Complex about why he was inspired to make this collection, “Seinfeld still has as many fans now as it did when it aired almost 20 years ago…It continues to be one of the greatest sitcoms ever made and people like to imagine what it would be like if Seinfeld was still on TV today. I took that question myself and wondered ‘What if Seinfeld would wear the most hyped brands collections?'”

With such passion for the show and the cast of Seinfeld, Lagosto also revealed who he thought would have been the most likely to don some of these amazing brands, “But, to be honest, I think Kramer would definitely wear some of the dopest brands. He is the coolest of the bunch.”

Lagosto’s prints are available on his website for €15 a piece.

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The post Illustrator Shows Us How The Seinfeld Squad Would Look in Yeezy appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

There is currently a very hot, yet very controversial song floating around in the streets, right now. Controversial, because it involves a rapper who some people are frowning upon for supposedly jacking another rapper’s style. No, I’m not talking about Young Thug. I’m talking about 18 year-old Brooklyn native and new G.O.O.D. Music signee, Desiigner, who many are attempting to label as a Future sound-alike.

Desiigner’s record “Panda” has been circulating since its release in December, receiving a whopping 3.4 million plays and counting, according to his Soundcloud page, but it is pretty safe to say that a majority of those plays didn’t come until he was formally announced as Kanye West’s newest artist, at the Yeezy Season 3 event, that was recently held at Madison Square Garden.

How did this song skyrocket so fast?

There are a couple of reasons. First off, this kid is signed to Kanye West and is cosigned by Pusha T. That alone, will put you on people’s radars and boost you a bit. Secondly, “Panda” is a crazy record. Absolutely insane. In the car. In the club. This song goes. But if you ask me, the real reason so many people are pressing play on this song is because they keep hearing about a rapper who “sounds like Future” and they want to hear it for themselves. Then once they hear it for themselves, they want to be able to hop on social media with all the other trolls (and Future stans) and rip this kid for his sound.

Here’s my thing…

G.O.O.D. Music is, and always has been the Juilliard School of Hip-Hop. It has always been about more than just music, with this camp. G.O.O.D. Music is for the arts, and you wouldn’t be signed if you weren’t an innovative creative. Just look at their roster. It speaks volumes about what they stand for and how high they have raised the bar. With that said, do you really think they would have signed Desiigner if he was just some kid who was here to be a Future knockoff? I don’t.

Death, taxes, and me having a theory as to why controversial things happen, are three things that are certain in life, and if you haven’t noticed yet, this whole piece has been a theory as to why I think G.O.O.D. Music signed Desiigner. Pusha T knows something we don’t. Kanye West knows something we don’t. 

What makes everyone so sure that it’s Desiigner who’s stealing from Future? What if in actuality, he has been secretly ghostwriting for Future this whole time, and has now decided to pull a Quentin Miller and come forward as an artist, himself? Considering Future is a fairly terrible rapper who is only saved by his production, this isn’t a far-fetched idea, in the least.

Wait. I got another theory…

What if Desiigner is using the Young Thug marketing strategy? Remember when Thug first came out and he sounded exactly like Lil Wayne? Then what happened next? He got everyone’s attention, and once he got everyone’s attention, he started dropping music that was comparable to no one, making him one of the hottest emcees in the game. Maybe Desiigner is just reeling everyone in, right now.

Maybe I’m totally, completely, way off with everything I just said. I don’t know Desiigner personally, so I can’t factually say I know what his plan is. But I do know that people need to let him rock. They’re going to love him in a month, anyway (because you know how fickle Hip-Hop fans are). It’s not fair to try and end this man’s career before it even gets started and you’ve only heard one song (unless you really pay attention and heard “Zombie Walk”, too) and a feature or two. Just chill out. Let him drop a project, first. Then you can go crazy with your annoying comparisons; or not. Because, really, who cares what he sounds like? Your favorite rapper probably doesn’t even write his own raps. Your favorite rapper is probably a former corrections officer who lied about being a drug kingpin. Just enjoy “Panda” for the banger that it is. I bet you liked this joint when you thought it was Future.

And the pictures are in black and white, because “Panda… Panda, Panda, Panda, Panda, Panda”.

The post There Is A G.O.O.D. Reason Kanye West Signed Desiigner appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Tidal has really been trying to lock in subscribers with its latest exclusive releases such as Beyonce’s “Formation”, Rihanna’s ANTI and now Kanye’s TLOP. Fans however aren’t having it and found a way to bless their ears with the musical stylings of Kanye without a Tidal subscription. It has been reported by TorrentFreak that TLOP has reached over 500,000 downloads on the first day alone. Wowzers!

Tidal has been trying desperately to reel in fans by way of exclusive content but it just hasn’t really taken off. There has been free album downloads and 30-day trail subscriptions offered but fans are still keeping their distance. Tidal has gained over 10,000 subscribers recently but the illegal downloads of content has by far succeeded that. The Recording Association of America is working diligently to get all of the links removed but these crafty Kanye fans will be sure to create another.

Do you think Kanye and his people over at Tidal have time to rethink the exclusively of TLOP and bring it to other services or is it already too late?

Here’s what some fans warned was to come behind TLOP not being available on Apple Music or any other platform besides Tidal:

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The post Kanye West’s Album ‘TLOP’ Reaches 500,000 Illegal Downloads appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Kanye West has been hyping up his forthcoming album “Waves” on social media and it looks like he is bringing some dope visuals to a theater near you. On Monday (Feb. 1), the rapper-producer announced that his album will be streamed at theaters worldwide on Feb. 11 the same day he also unveils his Yeezy Season 3 collection.

West will present his new album and his clothing line at Madison Square Garden as part of New York Fashion Week. Also,  Italian contemporary artist Vanessa Beecroft will perform at the event as well. Tickets are currently on sale at tickets.kanyewest.com.

According to reports, “Waves” will be streamed in 25 countries, including Australia, Spain and Switzerland. In New York, the event will begin at 4PM ET.

#WAVES studio session tonight. #RP @tmillsfashion pic.twitter.com/hS7xd4J8g5

— TeamKanyeDaily (@TeamKanyeDaily) January 30, 2016

 

West revealed several track lists of his “Waves” album, which could possibly include rap features from A$AP Rocky, 2 Chainz, Andre 3000, Kid Cudi, Chance the Rapper and many others.Hopefully, there will be more information regarding the cover art and track list in the coming days.

#waves pic.twitter.com/fyER7NH8DC

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) January 27, 2016

 

All of the hype leaves us wondering if “Waves” will be a star-studded project? We don’t know because we haven’t received an official track list as of yet. But hopefully, all of these rap superstars will make an appearance on West’s upcoming album. In the meantime, Kanye West is set to release “Waves” on Feb. 11. Two days after its release, Yeezy is set to perform on Saturday Night Live for the 7th time in his career.

Check out the “Waves” promo below:

SEASON 3 / WAVES / MADISON SQUARE GARDEN / INTERNATIONAL CINEMAShttps://t.co/6u1aPYUwQ8 pic.twitter.com/SkEeTGgoMu

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 1, 2016

The post Kanye West is Set to Premier Yeezy Season 3 and “Waves” Album during NY Fashion Week appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

It really is Yeezus Season. An exclusive leak of Kanye’s “Yeezy Season 1” clothing line has been leaked. The collection features some really dope outerwear with a camo jacket, a bomber, & a pullover. Kanye features various looks with a distressed style, camo, & other various styles. Check out the exclusive looks here via Four-Pins.

The post Kanye’s “Yeezy Season 1” Lookbook Leaks appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.