With three drops under their belt the Paradise Pin CO. is raising the bar when it comes to designer pins.
As A PlayStation fan the “Ape Escape” pin is very nostalgic.
With CEO Lost N Sound producing the product and artist Austin Marin designing each drop to have its own distinct feel. The first drop was the Ape Escape pin. As a fan of both games I could see this pin being in any old school gamers collection. This one was always the hardest to get into the net.
“Glockstalgia” is probably my favorite pin so far they company has dropped. My name for it is “Art That Kills”.
Next up Paradise brought us their first original design “Glockstalgia” a gun with that old 90s water era color pattern. This is my favorite pin in the collection so far. Every time I see it I just think “Art That Kills”.
“Donald’s Dimensional Drip” is definitely the most ambitious pin the company has dropped to date.
The newest pin to date is “Donald’s Dimensional Drip”, putting us all on the ducks wave length. I feel this is Paradise’s most ambitious drop to date. This one has so many layers and details to it sort of bringing that Mishka vibe from the early 2010s.
All of the pins are $8 on the Paradise Pin Co. Big Cartel Site. The fourth pin is rumored to be a taco design. Be on the look out for a NBA2TAMPABAY X Paradise Pin Co. collab coming very soon.
Clergy and Andy Christ are bringing some of the darkest hip hop the St.Pete scene has ever witnessed on “Juice EP”.
For the past few years now I have seen Andy Christ perform at various show throughout the Bay Area. From Palmer Squares to Xavier Wulf he’s done them all. I was waiting for to finally drop a project after dropping some dope singles with “Cheese” and “Ooo Death”. Andy Christ might not be for everyone but he definitely has found his pocket and his getting better with each release.
On the “Juice EP” Andy Christ shows he’s got single potential with “Cheese” and “Pu” being certified bangers. The visuals for “Pu” really capture the vibe of the track. The track “Charge It To The Game” is a solid tone setter off rips.
The best formula for Andy Christ is to have a banging beat he can just ride over those are my favorite tracks. Not sure what Andy Christ and Clergy got cooked up but after “Juice EP” I’ll be tuned in for sure.
With the Toronto Raptors officially readying to play the first half of their 2020-2021 NBA Season in Tampa Bay, the community will need to get up to speed on their newest team. From the Vinsanity era, to baby dinosaurs, to ultimately becoming NBA champions in 2018 we cover it all today.
The first official acknowledgement of the Tampa Bay Raptors.
The short lived Toronto Huskies who played in the NBA for just the 46-47 folding soon after. Eventually in 1995 the NBA awarded Canada two new NBA expansion franchises, becoming the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies, the later would relocate to Memphis. The Raptor name and design was chosen due to the popularity of “Jurassic Park” at the time.
The team was pretty bad their first two seasons, but with a young Tracy McGrady there was not much they could do. They drafted Vince Carter in 1998, Vinsanity was born.
Vince Carter & TMAC put the Raptors on the map.
After a few seasons of only making small playoff runs the Raptors eventually traded Vince Carter to the Nets and TMAC to the Magic in favor of rebuilding with a younger core. Chris Bosh the Raptors 4th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft became the new cornerstone of the team.
Bosh was the man in Toronto before he joined the “Big 3” in Miami.
Bosh’s Raptors met similar results only making small playoff runs in a Lebron James dominated Eastern Conference. The Raptors eventually lost Bosh to free agency due to him joining fellow 03 Draft picks Lebron James and Dwayne Wade. The stage was set for two of the franchise greatest players to bring the franchise to the next level.
DeRozan & Lowry dominates the Eastern Conference for years.
The DeRozan & Lowry led Raptors had tremendous success in the Eastern Conference often ending in the No.1 spot or at least Top 5. Each year their playoff run would go longer and longer always to be cut just short by whatever team Lebron James played for at the time either Miami or Cleveland. This is known as the “Baby Dinosaurs” era.
Kawhi Leonard after his iconic last second shot in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the 2018-2019 season the Toronto Raptors won their first NBA championship.
With Lebron departing the East for the Los Angles Lakers, Raptors GM Masai Ujiri took the all in approach by giving up DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs to pick up disgruntled Kawhi Leonard for one season. Even if it was for one season, winning the championship with Kawhi would make it all worth it. Along with some other key pieces featuring Lowry, Ibaka, Marc Gasol, and Danny Green, the Raptors did just that by beating the juggernaut Golden State Warriors who did face some injuries.
Siakam & Vanvleet along with Lowry make up the Raptors new core of stars.
With most of those pieces departing expect for Lowry, the Raptors are focused on building with their championship tested stars Pascal Siakam and Fred Vanvleet to take them into the next phase of Raptors basketball.
Why does every fan design have the Raptor in tourist gear. Hopefully we get some official gear soon.
Hopefully after learning more about the Raptors the community will support the team, showing the NBA hungry fan base the Tampa Bay Area really has.
After Lebron James wore a shirt he designed, Chicago based creator Kris Kites has to capture that moment into one of the most influential rug drops of all time.
Lebron James himself rocked Kris Kites shirt on IG after the Lakers won the NBA championship, The Kites imprint is front and center on this piece.
In the past a rug was just looked at as something to place on the floor. After Virgil Abloh debuted his “Off White X IKEA” rug collab the rug became more of an art piece or statement. Collectors across the globe began hanging the famous “Keep Off” rug on their walls and back drops.
Off White X IKEA “Keep Off” by Virgil AblohThis “Wet Grass” rug is a game changer. It appears the rug will come in two sizes.
Mostly known for his “imakefakeclothing” movement Kris Kites has dabbled into the rug game. A release date for the piece is unknown at the moment, but if the price tag isn’t to pricy I will be picking up this piece. To hang on the wall or keep on the floor. Now the rug can be used in vast creative ways in your space.
With Winter coming Garbäj Clothing is bringing product made to get dirty.
This “Faerie Ring” crew neck is a big winter vibe. Perfect balance of fantastical and spiritual.
A majority of the drops Garbäj does factor into the “Recycle, Upcycle, Be The Cycle” movement. Their latest “Faerie Ring” collection bends the fantastical with the spiritual all in one drop. Bringing these images and ideas from the past into something new, strengthens the cycle theme of Garbäj. A majority of the proceeds from each drop go to charities, if you needed another reason to support this dope brand.
The “Gundam” tee brings everything full circle. The “Nano Particle” tee is one of the harder to find Garbäj releases.
For me the “Gundam” drop hits home the most, bringing something nostalgic from my past, one of my favorite anime’s, into the present. The “Nano Particle” tee is one I own personally, the first piece of Garbäj I was able to get my hands on.
With all eyes on the “Faerie Ring”, I have a feeling Garbäj is planning something crazy for their next drop. The dope visuals they have been dropping recently leading up to each drop, reveals the story of what’s to next to come for the “meant to be dirty” brand.
The Hip-Hop landscape in the 727 is thriving more than ever with drops from UAC and Palm Pact. I also wanted to shed some love on the 727 legend Crown Marquiss.
Palm Pact “Armada” now available on Spotify.
Palm Pact is back again this time bringing the entire burg with them on “Armada”. This project features 20 tracks from the Palm Pact collective Kai Ken, Euphemistic, Bomber, Ryan Rev, and Jolly Green. The homies at UAC, kmon and khol bars came through on my favorite track of the project “In The Moment”. 19 producers came together to create this project, creating the soundscape for each track.
“Black Sheep” My favorite track from UAC.
The UAC collective of Kmon Beats and Khol Barz have been dropping bangers over the last few years. From the “Hi Jack Ep” series to “Saturday With Sativa” UAC is definitely laying the groundwork for what is next to come. Check out their new single “Manifest Destiny”.
Crown Marquiss’s “Live From The South Side” is a classic album in the St.Pete Hip-Hop community.
Definitely the best rapper I have ever heard come out of the burg, Crown Marquiss has been dropping heat since I was a Jit. Whether it’s from “Hit Wonder” or “ 2 Houses” Crown has a solid body of projects that are ready to be rediscovered. As a whole I would say “ Live From The South Side” is Crown’s best project to date with “Crown Vic” being his latest drop in 2019. Crown will always be immortal in the 727 hip hop scene based solely on his verse from the J-Goodie classic “Unsuccessful”, which is probably the best song in the history of the city. I can still spit the entire track verse for verse. Whatever is next for Crown Marquiss I am hoping it drops soon, the burg is ready for some more “Local Muzik”!!!!
COWBOY by Takeo is going to have everyone in COWBOY this Fall/Winter with their latest drop exclusively on depop.
This muscle shirt has custom embroidery done by BTMVLE. They did their thing on this jumpsuit.
Taking a different approach than the shirt game Takeo included the blue muscle shirt and grey jump suit in this collection. Everything is locally curated and custom embroidered right in the heart of St.Petersburg.
Those COWBOY jeans are a vibe.
A majority of this collection is now sold out. I wish I would have snagged the red turtle neck with the yellow COWBOY logo that one was my favorite release. The jeans are definitely here to stay with them becoming the centerpiece of any COWBOY fit.
The red turtle neck was the dopest release of the drop.
With the brand picking up some steam over the past year it is apparent that soon enough everyone will be wearing COWBOY by Takeo.
The time has come “NBA2TAMPABAY”, the Toronto Raptors are unable to start the 2020 NBA season in their home city of Toronto due to COVID 19 restrictions, choosing Tampa Bay as their host city.
The Tampa Bay Tropics secondary logo.
With other cities like Buffalo, Louisville, and Rochester, all in the running the Raptors organization and the NBA decided to choose Amalie Arena and Tampa Bay. I feel the adjacent location of the Tampa Bay Area with other NBA markets made this a no brainer for the league. A born rivalry between the new Tampa Bay Raptors and the magic and heat with definitely add excitement to the upcoming season.
Amalie Arena is the perfect place for NBA basketball. The hornets wore “Oklahoma City” jerseys during their season in OKC.
I am hopeful Tampa Bay will be in a similar situation Oklahoma City was before they got the Thunder. Due to Hurricane Katrina the at the time New Orleans Hornets had to play their home games in OKC which at the time did not have an NBA franchise. A few years later the Seattle SuperSonics would relocate to OKC becoming the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The projected Tampa Bay Tropics Jersey.Fred Vanvleet and Kyle Lowry are two of the Raptors biggest stars.
At this time it is unclear if fans will be allowed to attend games, but either way fans in the Tampa Bay Area have a new sports team to cheer for. The Raptors won the NBA championship two seasons ago so their team is still pretty solid. This a huge step forward in Tampa Bay’s NBA chances in the future, the community should be excited to embrace the team as our own. Thunder Alley is starting to look a lot like Jurassic Park!
Fresh of the goon affiliated “Don’t Be A Hero” drop the Balaclava Boys are back this time it’s “Babushka’s Big Break” release.
“Propaganda Pack 1”Balaclava Boys X Bottem Ville “No Face Mask” collab.
The Ski Mask Creatives have been in the lab recently dropping both “Propaganda Packs”. Pack 1 ties in the “Don’t Be A Hero” drop where Balaclava Boys and BTMVLE collaborated on a legendary “No Face Mask” release, which is accompanied by the short visuals “Rendezvous” and “Rapport” the first of a three part series.
“Propaganda Pack 2”
The focus is all on Babushka for Pack 2. With the dope “Babushka’s Big Break” image in sticker form.
Dope floral design on the pocket of “Babushka’s Big Break” tee.
“Babushka’s Big Break” is now available on balaclavaboys.com for $35 with stickers included. Personally I am going to be picking up the combo pack featuring both “Babushka’s Big Break” and “Don’t Be A Hero” releases, plus five stickers and a keychain. This drop is definitely taking over the winter setting up Balaclava Boys for “Propaganda Pack 3”.
Putting their stamp on the St.Pete Hip-Hop movement with “Sky Zhone”, the entire Zhudaru1963 Collective is ready to dominate the rest of the year with a flood of new singles.
Located at 3500 5th Ave N Unit A.
First out the gate is fellow Tampa Bay Sports fanatic Acoupstix with his single “Easy Dubs” featuring the man himself Zhudaru1963. This track has one of those cool Sunday driving down Central Ave with the windows low type of vibes. The chill Boom Bap beat allows Acoupstix to add his St.Pete swagger to the track, that’ll have you saying “Easy Dubs” all day.
“Strange Noise” coming soon.
The kid got flow man. To hold fans over until “Strange Noise” drops, Heyeyella comes with a crazy flow on his single “Peace”. Off rips Heyeyella hits you with a barrage of witty bars, but as the track goes on it becomes something more like an anthem type track, when I found myself chanting “I need some peace”. I am definitely looking forward to what “Strange Noise” will bring if Heyeyella is already going this hard on the single.
Steer anthem of the summer “Poppin” by Mackey Emannuel and Zhudaru1963
This one right here man is the street hit of the winter. Mackey Emannuel and Zhudaru1963 bring the best of both worlds on “poppin”. Mackey brings that sing songy element with bars like “Even though we in the jungle you won’t tame zhu”. Zhudaru1963 brings one of the hardest verses I’ve heard all year with one of my favorite lines being “The mirror ain’t your friend you did it to yourself.” All this is surrounded by the synth hi hat heavy beat has no choice but to be one of my top tracks of the year. I been doing the Zhudaru “poppin” dance all week when it comes on my playlist.
The socks are a must.
I believe Kayo Da Beast is dropping a single real soon “Bout It” with Mackey Emanuel that sounds like a club banger. If you are in need of studio time, a recording session is $40 hr, also pick up the dope merch Zhudaru just dropped.The store is located at 3500 5th Ave N Unit A.
