Long Beach native, fellow Cutthroat Boyz rapper and Odd Future collaborator Vince Staples released his lengthy debut album, Summertime ‘06. Staples’ prolific studio recordings include guest versing for the likes of Ghostface Killah, Earl Sweatshirt, Mac Miller and Common, as well as releasing several noteworthy mixtapes and EPs: Stolen Youth (2013), Shyne Coldchain Vol.2 and Hell Can Wait (2014). In spite of his myriad connections, Vince doesn’t pledge allegiance to anyone – neither his former hometown gang nor any rap clan. The album is raw with this integrity, poised between Staples’ hood credo and his sharp defiance of racism, inequality, and its fallout on the streets. Produced by No I.D., Summertime ‘06 is a stripped-down flood of percussion. Staples’ clear vocals and cool-mannered restraint underpin the lyrical surge of contradictions, revealing a thoughtful and multi-dimensional songwriter.

via Def Jam

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In May 2009, The New York Times Magazine published “A Prom Divided,” a photo-essay by Gillian Laub documenting segregated school dances at Montgomery High School, Georgia. Her photographs portrayed Montgomery’s youth in their effort to subvert the racism enforced by older generations. “A Prom Divided” sparked nationwide defiance and the eventual upheaval of Montgomery’s backwards regulations – culminating in a historic campaign to elect their first black sheriff and dampened by the murder of a young black man featured in Laub’s photos. Disregarding protests by school faculty and sheriffs, Laub returned in 2011 and 2012 to document Montgomery’s ongoing change through the eyes of its ever-hopeful teens. In May 2015, HBO premiered the film documentary Southern Rites – Laub’s directorial debut examining the aftermath of “A Prom Divided.” The accompanying book, Southern Rites, is a comprehensive, 12-year visual study of radical change led by determined youth against deep-seated racism and generations of resentment.

Published by Damiani

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Starting with the first 19th century running shoe, Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture delineates the cultural evolution of sneakers from pragmatic invention to hip-hop status symbol to contemporary high-fashion. Beginning with the “Out of the Box” shoe exhibition at the Bata Shoe Museum, hosted by senior curator and acclaimed shoe historian Elizabeth Semmelhack, the photobook is a significant retrospective. Out of the Box includes photographs of the original exhibition’s iconic sneakers, resurrected from archives and private collectors. Keds, Air Jordans, the original Air Force 1 and 21st century renditions from Jeremy Scott, Jeff Staple and Kanye contribute to the fascinating collection. A web of historical and cultural connections, Out of the Box draws people from all corners of the creative industry, including Nike designer Tinker Hatfield, professional basketball player Walt Frazier, the Beastie Boys’ Adam Horovitz, and Def Jam. Out of the Box is a complex, incisive account of the sneaker’s reinvention over two centuries of technology, marketing, fashion and social trends.

Published by Rizzoli

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Three decades ago, Wim Wenders combed the stark American West alone for locations to film his seminal Paris, Texas, which swept the 1984 Cannes Film Festival. The German filmmaker drove across Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California capturing their vivid wildness on his Makina Plaubel 6 x 7 camera. Wender’s original travel series, Written in the West, exhibited in 1986 at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and was published in 2000. Decades later, the mastermind behind Paris, Texas as well as Wings of Desire, The Buena Vista Social Club, Pina and Salt of the Earth returned to Paris, TX with a Fuji 6 x 4.5 and a sustained fascination for the Southwest. Written in the West, Revisted is the expanded edition of Wender’s cherished photo diary, revealing 15 of his newest, iconic photographs, saturated with the immensity and obscurity of the American frontier.

Published by D.A.P.

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Norwegian experimental art pop musician Jenny Hval has released her newest LP, Apocalypse, girl, in league with producer Lasse Marhaug and members of Jaga Jazzist and Swans. Apocalypse, girl is Hval’s fourth LP, counting last year’s Meshes of Voices – her well-received collaboration with fellow Norweigan Susanna Wallumrød of Susanna and the Magical Orchestra. Hval has toured with the likes of St. Vincent and Perfume Genius following her successful 2013 album Innocence is Kinky. Apocalypse, girl surpasses Innocence is Kinky as the more adult, ambiguous and strung-out pop cry for meaning over substance… Or as Hval posits it in “Kingsize” – “What is SOFT DICK ROCK?” (Sacred Bones)

via Sacred Bones

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Since their 2007 debut, Prinzhorn Dance School has whittled their minimal, post-punk sound into an even sparser and sharper form. While their new six-track Home Economics is indeed economical, it was not made at home. The Brighton, UK duo, comprised of Tobin Prinz and Suzi Horn, recorded their third LP in various apartments while traveling. Prinzhorn’s sound joins the ranks of artists from Young Marble Giants to Swell Maps to Pylon to The xx – never a bad thing, especially since Home Economics excels in conjuring a nebulous yet potent lovesickness.

via DFA

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“This film is in sign language. There are no subtitles and no voice-over. Because for love and hatred, you don’t need translation.”

Ukrainian director and screenwriter Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy set out to create a modern day silent film, and succeeded by staging a world where words no longer matter. Unrelenting ambient noise and Slaboshpytskiy’s long, continuous shots frame the brutal realism of The Tribe and it’s story of prostitution, gangs and crime at a deaf boarding school. With a cast of deaf actors, most newcomers, Slaboshpytskiy spent several years in pre-production, over six months filming, a meticulous 7-10 days of rehearsal per scene, and miraculously just one hour editing the film. The Tribe has won wide acclaim, including the International Critics’ Week Award at Cannes 2014, and could not be more timely as a subcultural drama informing contemporary speculation on Ukranian youth culture and political tension.

Look out for a feature with lead actor Yana Novikova in Issue 5.

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Winner of both the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at this year’s Sundance, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rajon, former assistant to Scorsese whose repertoire includes American Horror Story and Glee. Based on a loosely autobiographical novel written and adapted by screenwriter Jesse Andrews, Me and Early and the Dying Girl deftly navigates the pitfalls of its own plot – a “doomed friendship” between the protagonist Greg (Thomas Mann) and his new friend Rachel (Olivia Cooke), recently diagnosed with Leukemia. Thomas and Earl (R.J. Cyler) are high school film geeks who construct dopey movies at home and are compelled to make one for their sick friend. Self-referential and classically angsty, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl nods to many film greats while setting the stage for bright new talent.

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