Natalie Dormer for GQ Magazine by Will Davidson

Game of Thrones' Natalie Dormer Shows Us Her Killer Queen Side

Game of Thrones Season 4 kicks off this Sunday on HBO, and like many die hard fans, I can't wait. One of my favorite characters (second to the Queen of Dragons of course) of the books and series is Margaery Tyrell, who is played by English actress Natalie Dormer. This season will feature a lot more of Margaery, who will become the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and marry the most hated character on TV, Joffrey Baratheon.

Natalie graces this month's GQ magazine in a very sexy punk way, shaving the side of her head for her role as Cressida in the final Hunger Games films.  Photographer Will Davidson puts his lens to Natalie's milky skin and piercing eyes, giving us a sexy attitude-filled spread. Check out the photos and video on how to date the future Queen of Westeros below.

 

[Via GQ]


Behind The Scene Photos of Emily Ratajkowski at Terry Richardson's Studio

A couple months ago, we posted Terry Richardson's shoot with Emily Ratajkowski for GQ Magazine. "Emrata" pretty much took over last year with her role in Robin Thicke's smash hit "Blurred Lines;" Em was the star of the show, and it catapulted her to the main stage. At that point, it was hard to turn a magazine page or scroll a blog without see her gorgeous assets (she loves being naked and with good reason). Yesterday, Terry released some BTS photos of the shoot via his personal site. The photos are what we come to expect from Terry and Emily - glasses: check; flannel: check; more than half-naked bombshell: check.

[via Terry's Dairy]


Schoolboy Q: "Man of the Year"

If you haven't already heard, Kendrick Lamar was named 'Man of the Year' by GQ Magazine recently. While TDE's owner, Anthony Tiffith, took issue with the cover story written in honor of the recognition, Schoolboy Q struck a different tone by releasing this single, "Man of the Year" today. The celebratory track is an ode to how tight the TDE crew is and is an appropriate ode to the year Kendrick has had and the positioning Tiffith and TDE have done to place themselves firmly in the center of anything that happens in hip-hop today.

"It’s a party over here/Shake it for the man of the year/Uh ma-man of the year/Ma-man of the bounce" (RapGenius)


[RH Editorial] Why TDE's 'Top Dawg' Isn't Happy With GQ

Last week, Kendrick Lamar added to the illustrious 2013 he has enjoyed by being named GQ’s “Man of the Year”, complete with cover story and a party/performance in his honor. What should have been a landmark event for the Los Angeles MC instead turned sour after the “Top Dog” of Top Dawg Entertainment (Kendrick’s Label), Anthony Tiffith, pulled Lamar from the performance at the party, citing problems with the way the story was written and going as far as to point to “racial overtones” in the article as a reason for the cancellation. While on the surface, the move may be viewed by many as a bad one by Tiffith, looking further into the reason why he made such a bold statement at such a traditionally celebratory moment demonstrates the growth of a genre not only in the product, but in the way it is marketed.

Seventeen years ago, Tupac Shakur was gunned down in Las Vegas. Under a year later, Biggie Smalls followed suit in Los Angeles. Those two deaths forever changed hip hop music from top to bottom in ways that we are now just realizing, as the youth that lost their heroes become the artists in the spotlight. It is something that has been discussed at length throughout the year, the new state of hip hop in which “beefs” have been replaced by sub-tweets and everyone is friends for the camera. It’s the world of hyper-manicured personas and multi-million dollar endorsement and marketing deals. The interesting thing about Kendrick Lamar and TDE is that he came from a typically Gangsta Rap locale spitting stories seemingly written in a diary about how to cope with the world around him. He wasn’t marketed as a gangster, a thug, or someone to be afraid of. Instead, Lamar has been ushered to the public eye as a true lyricist and artist to be reckoned with. It is because of this difference that Tiffin was enraged at the antiquated aesthetics with which GQ’s Steve Marsh penned his cover story on Lamar.

TDE is easily one of the most carefully manicured outfits in hip hop today. The crew of Jay Rock, Ab Soul, Schoolboy Q, Isiah Rashad and SZA is a tight-knit clan, hungry and eager. They have been groomed by Tiffith and established a sort of team mentality that has in turn produced a sort of family atmosphere among the group. They are artists from different backgrounds, with different stories. Kendrick, Ab, Schoolboy and Jay Rock are all from the LA area, but possess myriad different stories of their experiences there, while SZA hails from St. Louis and Rashad from Tennessee. TDE has slowly and steadily made their rise to the top of the hip hop game in a way that forewent selling an image to potential fans, instead opting to pitch a story, an art-form. It is much the way individual back stories drive the narratives of individual sports like golf or tennis as opposed to the big hits and shiny lights of basketball or baseball. They’re selling intellect, not brawn in a genre that has long leaned toward the latter.

In his article, Marsh described his “surprise” at the discipline of Tiffith’s stable of artists, projecting TDE to one of the darkest times of West Coast hip hop by calling the label the “baby Death Row Records,” and referencing Tiffith as “basically TDE's Suge Knight.” The rest of the article is certainly complimentary of the job Lamar and Tiffith do, but even just those small mentions were enough to expose Marsh as a writer out of touch with today’s hip hop climate. The reason for Tiffith’s anger and eventual pulling of Kendrick’s performance was explained in an open letter from the CEO, explaining: “Instead of putting emphasis on the good that TDE has done for West Coast music, and for hip hop as a whole, he spoke on what most people would consider what’s wrong with hip hop music.”

Hip hop has changed. It is no longer a fringe genre with colorful characters and off-the-wall personalities. Today, it is a real business, perhaps the most influential genre in the pop culture lexicon, and the people involved with the music and the artists that populate it understand this and have followed suit. The issue with this change is that it has happened somewhat suddenly; it’s just under the past 9 years since Kanye West’s College Dropout came out and pink polos became okay in the game. What has been slower to change, however, are others’ views of hip hop. Marsh seems to have a cerebral grasp of hip hop culture, but is unable to let go of the idea of the West Coast as a “gangsta’s paradise”, is too focused on how Kendrick doesn’t drink or smoke to spend the necessary amount of time talking about his team’s headiness or poetic lyricism. It is because Marsh chose to look backward in telling the story of a forward-thinking star that Tiffith found issue with the article, and rightfully so. By putting Tiffith and TDE in the realm of Death Row is to truly play your hand in how to decipher the rap game today.


Rihanna Helps British GQ Celebrate Its 25th Anniversary

For British GQ's 25th anniversary, the magazine enlisted the help of Damien Hirst and Rihanna for their latest issue. Damien is an artist and used his creative skills to create a Medusa-inspired theme for the photo spread. Since we're dealing with Medusa, the Greek mythological monster shoot had to involve snakes in some fashion. In the photos, Rihanna has snakes crawling around her body and head, and if you look into her eyes, they are very snake-like. This collaboration between Damien, photographer Mariano Vivanco, and Rihanna produced some pretty awesome photos for British GQ's 25th Anniversary.

[Photos Mariano Vivanco] [Via British GQ]

 


Emily Ratajkowski: The Girl Who Stole Summer via GQ

Photos by Terry Richardson

Unless you've been living under a rock, you are familiar with Emily Ratajkowski either by name or by face. The 22 year old, British born model took the world by storm in Robin Thicke's music video for his smash hit "Blurred Lines". Appearing in her birthday suite (which she does often and no one is complaining), Emily became 2013's Summer obsession. She is the type of woman who inspires great men to do great things, a modern muse. So for the many of us who have spent countless hours on the Tumblr and Instagram looking at every picture we can of her. Here s a new photo shoot and interview by Terry Richardson for GQ's 2013 November issue.

Photography by Terry Richardson

[Via GQ]

(Behind the scenes video of shoot)

 


"Playing For Time" A GQ Watch Guide for 2014

Originally published in the GQ Watch Guide 2014 supplement, which is free with the upcoming October 2013 issue of British GQ, this series gives us a look at some of the new watches coming out. Now this series is suppose to capture the newest time pieces, but it's hard not to get distracted by all of the eye candy. There are watches in these photos, if you haven't noticed, ranging from brands like Rolex to Givenchy and everything in between. If you're in need of a new watch, I suggest you check out the photos; if you don't need one, I'm sure you'll see something you'll like.

[Photos by Michael Baumgarten] [Via Highsnobiety]


[Video] GQ Presents “Rules of Rebel Style” with Danny Brown

Photo by Jessica Hopper

Danny Brown the Detroit rapper known for his signature voice, crazy hair, and toothless smile has a style all his own. His style whether on the mic, the way he dresses or simply by the way he carry himself has lead to GQ to sit down with him for a candid interview. The video I admit it is funny and informative as well, covering topics from romance to fashion to table manners so check out Danny break down his rules of rebel style. For the full interview head on over to GQ where Danny talks about loyal fans and G-Unit here.

[Via GQ]
http://youtu.be/Conc6gebefY