Rough Around The Edges: Jonathan Mannion's Polaroid Exhibit
You might not know who photographer Jonathan Mannion is, but if you've been a fan of hip hop in the last 18 years, I can almost guarantee that you've seen his work, because he has shot just about everybody in hip hop from Jay-Z to 50 Cent to Rick Ross and pretty much anybody you can think of. He's also provided us with many of the album covers we've seen on the shelves, most notably Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt. If you remember DMX's Flesh of Flesh, Blood of My Blood, he provided the photo for the album cover, as well as Eminem's The Eminem Show and Ludacris's Back For The First Time. In total, Jonathan has a total of 19 album covers under his belt and has taken countless portraits of hip hop artists.
In his new exhibit at Milk Gallery, he displays portraits that he has taken over the years. What makes this exhibit cool is that all of the photos on display were taken with 665 Polaroid film on a 195 Land Camera, essentially meaning that he would take the photo, instantly get a Polaroid copy, and he could save the negative to use in the future. Rough Around The Edges: The 665 Polaroid Work of Jonathan Mannion opens June 18 through July 7th. I wish I were able to check out the gallery, and I suggest if you're able to to go ahead and do so. If you aren't able to see the exhibit, you can see some of the images below and read more about exhibit here.
Photos by Jonathan Mannion
Eminem: "Symphony In H"
Eminem fans have been holding their breath for some new material by Marshall Mathers since his last LP dropped. Luckily, DJ Tony Touch was able to lock him in for a verse, which will be featured in the DJ's upcoming 'tape Piecemaker 3: Return Of The 50 MC’s. Much speculation was made on "Symphony In H" once it was announced that it would be premiering on Shade 45, but the overall consensus has shown mostly positive reviews. Listen below.
Open Faucets on Eminem
The faucets have opened on Eminem's Relapse album with 3 more songs hitting the web today. "Insane", "My Mom", and "Bagpipes (from Baghdad)" all dropped today, as well as an album skit. In the interest of informing the public and boosting actual album sales, not giving music away for free in exchange for traffic and readership, I have got the 3 joints below with my take on each track.
Read more
Eminem: "3 A.M." Video/"Old Time's Sake" featuring Dr. Dre
Eminem had a busy weekend. His new video for "3 A.M." debuted on Cinemax, and another joint off his Relapse album hit the internet. The video breathes a different life into the song, as visuals of the song's protagonist gruesomely display a black-out fueled rage. The video also reminds or, at least me, of Eminem's true artistry and level as an artist. A Cinemax debut fits the video well, as Eminem's "3 A.M." is as much as music video as a short film. That doesn't really change my feelings on the song by itself, although the chorus can make for nice transition during a set. The reason I'm not too crazy about "3 A.M" is the same reason I'm not too crazy about the latest leak, "For Old Time's Sake", which also features Dr. Dre. I don't know any better way to put this, Eminem raps like Triumph The Insult Comic Dog. I don't know why or how that happened, probably no one knows why...Anyway, check out the song and video below.
Read more