The Brilliance!

HTTP://WWW.THEBRILLIANCE.COM

We’re really internet and we’re really back. A website about things Benjamin , Chuck , Virgil , and various friends & guests think are interesting. Little-to-no specific focus, a bit odd, speling errors, and incredibly culturally relevant.

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Is that 50 or Jay-Z? Naw baby it’s Thug!

I seem to be finding a lot of new favorite music lately, but southern hip-hop is hooking me like nothing else. Specifically Slim Thug. If you haven’t heard my personal favorite track “Incredible Feelin’” yet, you’re missing out…And if you haven’t heard the Slim Thug ft. Jay-Z remix of “I Ain’t Heard Of That”, you’re really missing out. I should note that Slim was Jay’s first collaboration outisde of retirement in the south. Very hot…not to mention Slim is more than just a rapper. Real estate, car dealerships, two record stores - he’s also got the entrepreneurial side that so many rappers lack. His new album, Already Platinum, drops July 12. Check this site for a good write-up about him too. Anyone reading this with the hookup want to send us an advance copy!? hello@thebrilliance.com

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ElectricHeat update!

Two artist portfolio news posts in one day?! How crazy. Anyways, my dude Nigel just recently updated his site with some really hot work. He’s doing some really cool things lately and holding it down as the only good artist in Indiana that I know of. Well anyways, head over to ElectricHeat and take some notes. That .net cover is wild.

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Grotesk!!

I see a lot of artists’ portfolios. Just getting emails from people asking me to check out their site, going through submissions for The Brilliance and another site I post news on Design Is Kinky, there’s just endless amounts of people out there putting up sites with their artwork. My honest opinion? Save your energy until you’re ready to put up your best work. Too many people just throw up filler work, and it’s boring everybody. Enter Grotesk. Dude’s name is Kimou, and he has an insane portfolio. Beautiful typography, illustration, photography, shirts, decks…And none of it feels like a space-filler. It’s all good. Go check his work out and feel ashamed that you spent all that time on that corny flash site you made for your college projects. Oh yeah, I went there.

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KAWS bootlegs - beware.

Update - want a little proof? Check this item on eBay - 7331122343. It may still be an active auction if you check it soon after I post this, but give it a day or two and check back, it will be gone. Here is a screenshot of the auction while it was live. These get pulled for a reason.

There have been a few of these KAWS posters popping up on eBay and a few other random sites in the last couple weeks…One of them being the David Sims / Kate Moss photo, the Iggy Pop helmet, and a few others. Who knows how many are actually out there, but please know these are bootlegs. KAWS never actually produced these or granted the rights to have them produced, so watch it. If you try putting one on eBay, it will get taken down, and if you buy one you are getting a fake. Always stick to the official Kawsone site. If you want to see some really hot KAWS stuff that a lot have not seen, head to Seattle and go to Rudy’s Barbershop next to the Ace Hotel on First Ave.

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Kanye West & Paul Wall!!!

So, I’m watching 106 & Park on BET, like most 20 year old white guys from the suburbs do at 10:30 AM on weekdays…And they had Kanye on as a special guest showing the new video for “Diamonds Are Forever”, which let me add is a super cool video…anyways, they started bugging him to drop names of who he collaborated with for his upcoming album Late Registration. He tried keeping his lips sealed for this one, but couldn’t help it and said “I got a joint with Paul Wall.” I think that’s a pretty damn sick collaboration right there and I’m looking forward to it. Jay, Cam, the singer from Maroon 5 which is really weird but interesting, and more are all on the album. You heard it here first.

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Keep A Breast charity!!!

OK, so this might at first seem a little weird, but it’s for a very worthy and great cause. Keep-A-Breast is an organization that holds events for people to come to and [women] can have molds made of their breasts/torso. Then an artist paints the molds and they are later put up for sale at an auction later in the year. According to their website, on May 22 in the UK they raised $32,000! They donated 100% of it to a breast cancer awareness organization. It’s really a pretty great concept and it really is a beautiful cause, so if you’re in NYC June 18 & 19 make your way to the event. See the NY flyer here. Thanks to Dianne for the info.

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½ THE BRILLIANCE is in Maui!!!

Yessir. I leave in in like 12 hours, how do you love that? I know I love it. I’m talking about beaches, rain-forests, waterfalls, girls, doing absloutely nothing, waterfalls, coconuts, wild orchids, beaches, waterfalls, all my crew (except Chuck!)… I mean, what can I say? So yeah, catch me chilling in Lahina and exploring Hana in the next week or so…. Oh yeah, I probably won’t be updating THE BRILLIANCE! much, but I may drop a thing or two if I can find an internet café or something. Matt, Consing, Brandi, Jason, and Martin…let’s enjoy ourselves! Chuck, hold it down!!! And I’m out!!!!

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NOPATTERN + GARCIA MARQUEZ gauche!

Something new. NOPATTERN and GARCIA MARQUEZ gauche team up to do a limited run hand-bag for the Japanese market. It’s quite nice. I’ll be honest, I don’t know a whole lot about GARCIA MARQUEZ gauche, but seems like I have seen their stuff before, quite hot. Either way, a very classic pattern / designer from Chuck on a large hand-bag…great shape, I love the link handles, so fresh. As for pricing, I believe it is roughly 27,000 YEN or about $250. Take a look at the link below for the GARCIA MARQUEZ gauche site. Very nice, props to Chuck on this one.

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2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage!

I don’t care if it’s the ‘cheapest’ Aston. It’s still an Aston. And it’s beautiful. Aston Martin has to be, hands down, my favorite car company. The craftsmenship, the design, the overall ‘feel’ of the brand. It’s so…crisp and British regal. As for this new Vantage, it’s priced at roughly $110,000 when it drops in 2006 which is quite a steal compared with the $275,000+ for the Vanquish. It really competes with the 911 and SL in terms of pricing and performance, but none of the other brands match the feel of an Aston. So yeah, I’m not going to be buying this within the next year, but check me in a couple years…whoa. Cars like this motivate the hell out of me. Same with really nice condos…but anyway… And I love Aston Martin’s HQ, so fresh.

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Hip Hop Colony!!!

‘Kenya is not just about lions, giraffes and fast running men…it’s also about studios and hip-hop!’ This is the tagline for my man Michael Wanguhu’s new independent film ‘Hip Hop Colony’. With MTV taking on Africa as a hot new market this year and a lot of focus being put on African hip-hop, Michael is at the top of the game with his film. I had a chance to meet Michael when he was in Chicago a few months back and he is very passionate about what he’s doing with this film and it really is important to check it out and educate yourself on this historic movement that’s going on over there. The next screening for ‘Hip Hop Colony’ is June 24 at 3pm in Houston - more info and news updates here. THE BRILLIANCE! loves ‘Hip Hop Colony’ and Michael Wanguhu. News sites/editors out there - PLEASE spread the word on this. It needs and deserves attention and press FAR more than those goofy new limited edition Dunks you’re getting all giddy about. OK!