Posts made in August 2019

RICH FOREVER 4 OUT NOW

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**ALBUM OUT TODAY**

RICH THE KID, FAMOUS DEX, AND JAY CRITCH

ALSO FEATURING A$AP FERG, THE 83 BABIES, YUNG BINO, AIRI + MORE

Today, Rich Forever Music releases the compilation album Rich Forever 4 with Rich The Kid, Famous Dex, and Jay Critch. The Rich Forever Music label, founded by Rich The Kid in 2016, is home to a diverse and talented roster: multi-platinum Chicago phenom Famous Dex, rising New York star Jay Critch, as well as new signees North Carolina trio The 83 Babies, Atlanta rapper Yung Bino, and Houston songstress Airi who all make appearances on the project. With this being the fourth installment of the “Rich Forever” compilation albums, the growth of each rapper is evident as their careers continue to skyrocket and make their stamp as some of the most influential artists of their generation. Tapping into the unique flows that Rich, Dex, and Critch each bring to the table, Rich Forever 4 binds the artists together making for a highly anticipated and sonically cohesive album featuring the debut single “Party Bus” and the hit “Flex Up” with A$AP Ferg.

Rich continues to lead the way as a young CEO as well as one of the most sought after artists in the game. This year his own album The World is Yours 2 yielded the platinum hit single “Splashin” and millions of views with videos. His recent hit collaborations with Blueface (“Daddy”) and Roddy Rich (“Go Up”) show that Rich always has his ear for what and who is next up. His vision for Rich Forever Music has come to fruition as a lasting brand that has mastered the recipe for success and empowering new artists.

RICH FOREVER 4 TRACK LIST

1.Rich S**t

(Ft. Rich The Kid & Famous Dex)

2. Drip Layer

(Ft. 83 Babies)

3. Party Bus

(Ft. Rich The Kid, Famous Dex, Jay Critch)

4. Flex Up

(Ft. Rich The Kid, Jay Critch, A$AP Ferg)

5. Broke As S**t

(Ft. Famous Dex & Jay Critch)

6. So Nasty

(Ft. Rich The Kid & 83 Babies)

7. Speed Racing

(Ft. Rich The Kid & Jay Critch)

8. Chanel Frames

(Ft. Bino & 83 Babies)

9. Off The Lot

(Ft. Famous Dex & Rich The Kid)

10. Get The Bag

(Ft. Bino & 83 Babies)

11. Tell Me

(Ft. 83 Babies & Airi)

12. Numbers

(Ft. Tg3 Thr33 & 83 Babies)

Transparency Collection

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Last night, Reebok Classic celebrated its new Alter The Icons ‘Transparency’ collection by creating and hosting a one-night-only ice-skating party in the heart of Manhattan. Evolving Reebok’s Alter The Icons platform that hacks the brand’s heritage styles to create fresh new renditions, the unexpected urban setting featured appearances from musicians Tayla Parx, Childish Major and DJ’s Amira and Kayla.

Designed to reflect our increasingly open and connected world, The Alter The Icons ‘Transparency’ collection brings truth to iconic silhouettes through experimentation with transparent materials that expose layers of classic design.

True to the theme of transparency, a custom ice rink took center stage at the event, surrounded by frozen sculptures and 360-degree video projections, bringing the essence of the collection to life. Star skaters from Harlem Youth Ice Hockey and Harlem Figure Skating surprised guests with on-ice performances.

The ‘Transparency’ collection features new takes on Reebok’s men’s, women’s, and kids’ Classic Leather, Workout Plus and Club C silhouettes, each of which are stripped down to their core and overlaid with transparent uppers. By rebuilding the classics and remixing them with transparent materials, the icon takes on a new dimension, uncovering a moment of truth through layers of detail.

The FW19 Alter The Icons ‘Transparency’ collection is now available in stores and online at Reebok.com and across the Foot Locker family of brands including Foot Locker, Footaction and Champs Sports, both in stores and online, including Eastbay.com.

Plum Crazy: Hellcat Redeye Widebody

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By Michael Moadeb, Anthony Sovinsky× Vaughn Lowery

If power is what you crave, look no farther than the 2019 Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye Widebody. This beaut of a car is the same as the notorious Dodge Challenger Hellcat but with impressive additions. Its key competitors are the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Dodge definitely brought out the mad scientists to execute what they do best, create a monster. They collaborated with SRT to create this amazing creature of an automobile that has a Hellcat stamp of approval with a demon-like red eye.

The 2019 Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye Widebody is up 90 horsepower and 57 lb-ft torque from the original 707 Hellcat putting it at 797 horsepower and 707 lb-ft torque, just 11 bucks shy of the Demon. The first thing you will note is not the look, but you will hear the acoustics of the violin like supercharger make music as it has a 6.2-liter supercharged V8; It really claws the road! The Redeye Widebody is only available in a 7-speed automatic with paddle shifters. Even with traction on, the car is able to do full burnouts and donuts (recommend closed professional circuit); imagine what could be done if you get the traction control off. It’s astonishing this machine is even street legal!

The Redeye Widebody are equipped with ExtremeContact Sports tires that have SportPlus Technology, Chambered Block Edges, Solid Shoulder Macro Blocks, and more. All of these stats will make you realize why this car is more track-focused than the original Hellcat or the Demon. Thither is a cool perk called the “Afterchiller” so that when you shut down the car, it will take the A/C and run it continuously while the car is off to cool it down.

The automobile is a dark purple color called “Plum Crazy” which is a traditional Mopar color making it both beautiful and terrifying. The hood is different from previous Hellcat designs as it is a reversion to older Mopar styled muscle cars. There is an option to black out the hood for an extra $15,000 which throws the car an eye-widening color contrast. It looks pretty pricey, although it does add functionality and aggressiveness. Nevertheless, the headlights are the same as the original Hellcat, which, don’t get me wrong, isn’t an issue; why change something that is perfect?

The interior of the car is considerably thought out with high tech and considerable from the large and soft race-inspired front seats in the spacious trunk space, this car has got everything. To make the car even cooler the seats have SRT and the Hellcat badge stitched into them although no red eyes here. Additionally, the infotainment system is similar to older Hellcat models with Apple CarPlay, navigation, drive ways, detailed performance tuning, a rattling subwoofer mounted in the trunk, 18” speaker premium audio system and more.

Being one of the best muscle cars, performance-wise, on the market, the 2019 Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye Widebody is a genuinely good bang for your buck for $58,995 for the base model and $88,855 for all the sweet add-ons.

Pre-order.

Lemonade

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Splish splash.. pour me some of that lemonade. Legendary guitar monster Bobby Messano serves up a mighty tasty solution to your summer blues in his new music video, “Lemonade” as he jams and croons over a summery groove. The song is all about making lemonade out of life’s lemons and is from his 9^th solo CD…LEMONADE.. just out! This most-cool video, produced and directed by celebrated concert photographer/videographer Jim Mimna (Infamous Stringdusters, Tom Morello, Deanna Bogart), was filmed at Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana, and at the fabulous Denver, Colorado Warwick Hotel. It perfectly captures the wry humor of the song, alternating between live studio footage of kick-ass musicians: (piano wizard Bob Malone (Fogerty), drummer Doug Belote (Clapton) and Carl Dufrene Jr (North Mississippi Allstars) and refreshingly playful poolside moments. Drink in. Drink up!

Watch video here

Learn more about the artists:

Website

Facebook

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Avoiding Cyber Threats on Facebook: A Guide

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Facebook’s reputation has certainly taken a hit in recent years, especially on its main account, Facebook. Scandal after scandal have rocked this company, which is why it is more important than ever before that you, whether you are a business or an individual, work hard to dismantle your account so that your online data cannot be used against you.

Threats on Facebook

There are many threats to Facebook. Knowing these threats is key to avoiding them and to reduce the risk of your more personal accounts, like your bank account or even information that can lead to identity theft are not accessible to thieves online.

Use of Personal Information Against You

Public profiles are not Facebook’s fault. It is up to you to share information publicly or privately. By sharing information publicly, however, you run the risk of breaches. Most notably, a hacker could determine the answers to security questions on your accounts, and then work their way into more important accounts through the back door.

In the past, Facebook was a massive company that seemed completely impenetrable. Today it has been fraught with scandals and become a breeding ground for misinformation. In 2018, over 50 million users’ data was hacked into. The year before the Cambridge Analytica scandal proved that firms could pay their way to access private information and even skew election results. According to the NYTimes, this scandal has possibly even led to the deaths of individuals around the world.

Harassment Online

Cyberstalking and harassment are both very serious issues, especially for those who have public information that makes it easy for the cyberstalker to find you in the real world.

How to Avoid These Cyber Threats

To avoid these cyber threats, you will want to:

Set Up Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication, though not perfect, can stop a general hack.

Create a Unique Password for Facebook

Create unique passwords for every account so that breaches which involve your password being stolen are isolated.

Delete All Unnecessary Information

Go through your profile and old posts and delete all unnecessary information that can be used to correctly enter security questions.

Audit Your Friends List

If you aren’t actually friends with them, unfriend them. You don’t need strangers accessing your personal information.

Use Facebook’s Privacy Settings

Limit who can see your posts and sensitive information. Only your name and profile photo should be visible to a non-friend.

Remove Listing From Google

There is a setting which will remove your profile from Google and other search engines. Use this feature.

If you get harassment via messages, report, block, and do not engage.

Use Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

What is EDR? EDR, or Endpoint Detection and Response, is a way to analyze your endpoints. Perfect for companies, this can help ensure that a Facebook login on your server doesn’t inadvertently let hackers into your Cloud account where they can then access your data. With EDR, you will be able to monitor your endpoints and respond to attacks before they become an issue.

You should never use Facebook, as an individual or as a company, without considering the risk and how you can mitigate it. By taking these steps, you can minimize and avoid cyber threats altogether. Continue to audit your accounts and use new security features to reduce the risk associated with putting your data online.

ScHoolboy Q “Lies” ft. Ty Dolla $ign

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Grammy Award-nominated musician ScHoolboy Q has released a video for “Lies” ft. Ty Dolla $ign and YG, a cut from his third full length album CrasH Talk, released April 26 on Top Dawg Entertainment/ Interscope Records. Directed by Teyana “Spike Tee” Taylor, check out the video for “Lies” HERE.

Evan Konrad “Come On Snake, Let’s Rattle”

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Today, singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Evan Konrad reveals his official music video for “Come On Snake, Let’s Rattle.”

Check out the official music video HERE.

On the visually inspiring music video and working with director Marc Klasfeld, Konrad said: “Working on the video for Snake with Marc was really special for me. He gave me a lot of trust, especially for a new artist, creating a space for my vision so I could bring my all to the performance. Doing a video of this caliber and having myself be at the forefront was a great challenge and it allowed me to grow a lot in a really condensed period of time. We fought for our vision, and I’m glad we did, it made the song stronger, more clear, and It’s become my favorite visual pairing for my music to date. This is a wonderful marker for me on my journey and I can’t wait to see what comes next.”

On the song Konrad said: “Come On Snake, Let’s Rattle” is an ego battle, at its core. A portrayal of a person too far gone to come back. The lyrics act as his personal introduction to you, a tour of his world, and together you explore this place for his debauchery. When I was writing the song, I would see this person in a beautiful cocktail lounge, full of elegant and fashionable people whom he could mold and control as he wished, obeying his word, almost as if they were an extension of himself. On the surface he is a walking statement of obsessive self-consumption, but as the song moves into its finale, he begins to show a deeper sadness to his character, a vulnerability. I want you to feel a warmth coming through his exterior, like a genuine smile before he ultimately turns on you too.

The single arrives on the heels of his debut “The Long Way Out.” Since its premiere on Billboard, the song has been catching the attention of critics including Alternative Press pegging him as “the alt-pop newcomer to keep an eye on.” Check out the video for “The Long Way Out” Here!

This is just the beginning for Konrad. In May, he recently joined Black Pistol Fire on the road with stops everywhere from Epicenter Music Festival to Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival. In addition, he recently announced he’ll be making his debut performance at Lollapalooza on Thursday, August 1, Bumbershoot on August 30, and Aftershock on October 13. Born and raised in Abbotsford, BC Canada, the singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist devoted his entire life to crafting music. Growing up in a house where creativity would be encouraged at every turn, he spent countless hours writing songs and producing. Following stints recording and on the road with other artists, he locked himself away in the studio and commenced work on what would become his forthcoming debut. With nothing more than a few songs on his private SoundCloud link shared by his manager, he caught the attention of LAVA founder Jason Flom who signed him on the spot—because of the downright mind-blowing songcraft. Now, that songcraft comes to life on his first single “Long Way Out” with its airy beat, haunting vocals, and seesawing chant.

The best way to describe the music would be Thom Yorke translating Christopher Nolan’s Memento into songs, and even that only scratches the surface.

Tour Dates
08/01 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/25 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Bunkhouse Saloon
08/26 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
08/28 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
08/30 – Seattle, WA @ Bumbershoot Festival
10/13 – Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock

ZEITZ MOCAA

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25 AUGUST 2019 – 23 MARCH 2020

EXHIBITION OPENING

The largest exhibition to date by internationally acclaimed artist William Kentridge opens on 25 August and will be hosted simultaneously in two parts by Zeitz MOCAA and Norval Foundation.

Why Should I Hesitate: Putting Drawings To Work, will be staged at Zeitz MOCAA and will cover over 40 years of artistic production in drawing, stop-frame animation, video, prints, sculpture, tapestry, and large-scale installation. The title references Kentridge’s primary practice of drawing, and how this core activity informs and enables his studio practice.

The exhibitions will be accompanied by a series of events and public programmes with the artist, and leading voices in the cultural sector.

These include:

Bronze, Silver and Gold members’ opening evening events on 24 August;

Public opening on 25 August (with priority queuing for museum members);

Daily members-only tours of the exhibition in the first week;

Performances, lectures and a Virtual Reality exhibition in September;

A two-day symposium with the artist and other leading cultural figures in October;

A children’s holiday workshop programme in December;

Lectures and panel discussions in February 2020;

Late-night museum performances in March 2020.

Museum members enjoy free year-round access to Zeitz MOCAA and programming. Bronze, Silver, and Gold members enjoy further eventing benefits. For non-members, standard admission prices apply.

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NOBUKHO NQABA – IZICWANGCISO ZEZETHU…
1 AUGUST 2019 | LEVEL 2

EXHIBITION OPENING

This exhibition is an autobiographical reflection of Nobukho Nqaba‘s childhood home and upbringing. It highlights the precariousness of daily life within an informal settlement in Grabouw, a town in the Western Cape.

Many people migrated to this community with bundled up ambitions and modest possessions all packed tightly into chequered plastic bags, commonly known as China bags. They moved in hope for better work; jobs that would eventually require them to dress in sweat-stained blue overalls.

The exhibition’s Xhosa title, Izicwangciso Zezethu means we make plans. We may plan our lives, but we have no control of the outcome. It is a game of chance.

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WOZA FRIDAY – LATE NIGHT OPENING
2 AUGUST 2019 | THROUGHOUT MUSEUM

ARTIST PERFORMANCE | ADULT DRAWING WORKSHOP | DISCOVER MOCAA

Enjoy late-night and half-price admission on WOZA Friday on 2 August.

Catch a performance by artist, Nobukho Nqaba, and Shariffa Ali, which will highlight the themes of Nqaba’s new exhibition, Izicwangciso Zezethu…

Make your way through the galleries with Discover MOCAA, an interactive scavenger-hunt on levels 2 and 4, using clues to find key artworks in the Afrofuturist exhibition Still here tomorrow to high five you yesterday…

Artist Ralph Borland will also be doing a performance with musicians, Nick Birkby and Brian de Goede, at the Dubship I – Black Starliner sculpture in the BMW Atrium.

Or join our Adult Drawing workshop taking place on level -1. No prior experience required.

Buzz Aldrin celebrated in online art gallery

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For the first time ever, Ordnance Survey’s (OS) recent experimental and custom cartography and geodata visualisations have been brought together in a free-to-access-online-virtual-art-gallery. The GeoDataViz (GDV) exhibition can be explored on laptops and PCs and presents visitors with a perfect blend of OS’s art and Science.

From giant maps of Mars and the recent anniversary map of the Moon landing, each done in OS’s iconic mapping style, to two OS collaborations with composer Ewan Campbell, which plays his original compositions as you approach them, the exhibition has the potential to delight and surprise. The virtual gallery also contains other rooms that are currently closed off, but the plan is for these rooms host guest cartographic and data viz exhibitions.

The exhibition has been organised by Cartographic Design Consultants Charley Glynn and Paul Naylor. Charley says: “Whether it’s maps in caves depicting hunting grounds or the stars, humans have been creating maps and data visualisations since at least prehistoric times. It is an ancient art form that continues to develop. We would like this gallery to become a central place for celebrating the beauty and creativity found in the extraordinary world of cartography and data viz.

“We wanted to replicate the look and feel of an art gallery, so visitors can enjoy everything at their own pace. Over time we will be adding new artwork to the gallery and opening up the other rooms to exhibit the work of other artists. We are also looking to incorporate real-time, animated, 3D, interactive content. We hope people enjoy the experience and let us know what they think using #GDVGallery.”

The GDV gallery was built by the OS Labs team, combining cartographic design expertise with 3D development capabilities.

Guy Heathcote, Product Development Consultant at OS, who oversaw the gallery’s construction, says: “The initial concept emerged in 2018, as a potential off-shoot from exploratory work we were doing with VR headsets, but it was put on hold as we created a ‘virtual museum’ for the collaborative Smart City CityVerve project. The idea was not forgotten, though, and we’ve since made time to further expand on our ideas and build our first release.

“The gallery was built using the Unity game engine, with the 3D models and 2D assets created in Blender and GIMP respectively. To maximise accessibility, we chose to release the gallery as a browser based WebGL application. I hope we have made a platform that’s well suited to combining diverse media in an intuitive and memorable way.”

Guy is currently creating a 3D model containing 32km of Oxfordshire roads for the OmniCAV project, the world’s first Artificial Intelligence-based simulation for testing self-driving vehicles.

Take a tour of the gallery

Tech’s Impact on Journalism

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In the epicenter of big tech, Representative Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) joined Audrey Cooper, the Executive Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, CEO of CalMatters and the former Executive Editor of Bay Area News Group Neil Chase, and Save Journalism Project co-founders Laura Bassett, a laid-off HuffPost reporter, and John Stanton, laid-off former D.C. bureau chief of BuzzFeed, to shine a light on the plight of local news and a key culprit: big tech.

n the first quarter of 2019, the media has shed more than 2,400 jobs – including East Bay Express staffers – and, over the past 10 years, newsrooms have declined in size by 45%. The plight of the journalism industry has generated bipartisan congressional action, a rather unique occurrence in this polarized political climate. And while the journalism industry faces many challenges, the focus of Congress’ current action is to halt big tech’s negative impact on the economic sustainability of the free press. Wednesday’s speakers will address this unusual bipartisan action and the widespread consequences of the loss of local news.

According to Representative Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), “Not that long ago, the Bay Area was home to over 1,500 journalists, but now there are less than 300 serving roughly 7 million people. This problem is not unique to our community—it is happening in every corner of the country, and we need to act. During a time when fact and accountability are under constant attack, today’s conversation about ways to preserve and protect local news and high-quality journalism is critical to the health of our democracy.”

According to Neil Chase, CEO of CalMatters and the former Executive Editor of Bay Area News Group, “I’m glad we had such a deep, meaningful conversation about the challenges facing journalism today, right here in downtown San Francisco. If we can’t solve it here, we can’t hope to help the places across America that don’t have the technology and financial resources that are available in a place like this.”

According to Laura Bassett, laid-off HuffPost senior politics reporter and co-founder of the Save Journalism Project, “As our country grapples with natural disasters, political turmoil, violence, and everyday life, Americans rely on journalists and the news industry to explain and break through the chaos. But, for that process to survive, we need well-staffed newsrooms and a blossoming industry. Instead, big tech is decimating journalism. Facebook, Google, and big tech have consumed the digital landscape and continue to threaten local and national journalism. We need our elected officials to weigh in, to reign in big tech, and to save the journalism industry, before this goes any further.”

And, according to John Stanton, laid-off former D.C. bureau chief of BuzzFeed and co-founder of the Save Journalism Project, “The irony of all ironies, we live streamed today’s event on Facebook to ensure it reached the largest audience. The mere fact that we had to rely on the conglomerate proves our point: Facebook and Google have too much power. Together, they control the landscape, the audience, and the content. I saw this first hand at BuzzFeed, when Facebook, without notice, changed its algorithm, resulting in huge viewership and financial losses for the company. As more and more local and national news outlets feel the death grip of big tech, we need Congress to step in and save journalism.”

Journalism in America is facing an existential threat from the monopolistic control of tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Apple. Big tech’s dominance over the digital advertising market and their unrivaled capacity to monetize its platforms are having drastic effects on journalism as a whole.