0 Comment(s)
Words by DJ Theory —
In keeping the summer vibes in full motion at Mixtape Mondays, we have a mixed bag of carnival heat from Miami, a heap of classics from NYC, and a humorously sick concept from Britain. Pull it all up below.
0 Comment(s)
Words by DJ Theory
Broadcasting live from Palawan, Philippines this week, we have another generous edition of Mixtape Mondays at hand, with some the biggest forwards from today, tomorrow and some dusted-off gems from yesterday that very few can hold but many can appreciate. From Southeast Asia to Switzerland, Jamaica to NYC, we’ve got another 360-degree dose of MM here on LargeUp. Take a moment to digest these new offerings, and your week ahead will thank you.
0 Comment(s)
Words by Jesse Serwer
Is it us or is Trinidad’s profile as a travel destination growing significantly this year? First the New York Times ran story after story during carnival season. This week, Vanity Fair premiered a new bimonthly travelogue series from Diplo, written during a recent two-month world tour, with a dispatch from carnival-season Trinidad (Sample quote: “There is something strange and fascinating about white people with Caribbean accents.”) Yesterday, Trini-American scenester/director/fashionista Vashtie dropped a post on her blog detailing a top-secret mission to Trinidad with photographer Jonathan Mannion. Although she didn’t give away any details the hints dropped seem to suggest there’s some sort of marketing push going on there. Perhaps its time for Caribbean Airlines to start adding some more flights to Port-of-Spain. Check out some more pics from both Diplo (by photographer Shane McAuley) and Vashtie’s trips after the jump.
0 Comment(s)
Words by Eddie STATS Houghton, photos via Va$htie
Been watching the Special Delivery posts over at Va$htie’s blog lately and noted a promising trend; beaucoups special deliveries of high-end Caribbean cigar brands in hipster-friendly limited editions. Both Cohiba (made in the Dominican Republic–not to be confused with the originals Cubans) and Zino (made with tobacco from DR and Peru) have popped up on her doorstep lately. Seems like Epiphany (which handled the Cohiba Red Dot limited edition) and Translation (same for the Zino Platinum Crown “Stretch” series) are busy doing for these classy cigar brands what Appleton’s and Kobrand recently did for topshelf Jamaican rum. We at LARGE UP always love to see Caribbean culture handled with the premium lambskin gloves it deserves–and smart campaigns that emphasize style and substance over tiki-kitsch and ethnic humor. All of which reminds me, somewhere on dis yah desktop I have a half-written list of the Toppa Top 10 Caribbean cigars. Soon forward.
2 Comments
Words by Eddie STATS Houghton
Trinidad’s trendiest daughter, Vashtie Kola just unveiled her official redesign of the Air Jordan Retro 2 in a gal-friendly lavender shade with metallic silver details–in the process becoming the first woman to design an Air Jordan. The silver is for the Jordan Brand’s 25th anniversary–currently underway–and the purple is doubtless for Vashtie’s own brand Violette. You have to like the fact that Jordan went this route, not only did they recognize their female devotees with a kick that suits their style but gave young girls (and, inadvertently, Caribbean youth) a stylish, ambitious and independent role model to go with it. True to the spirit of dawtas doing it for themselves, Vashtie wasn’t content to let the usual sneaker reviewers have the last word, directing her own web ad in a “Ladies First” theme, complete with Queen Latifah and Monie Love on the soundtrack. Check the kicks below and watch the video after the jump.
0 Comment(s)
Words by Eddie STATS Houghton, via Va$htie.com
Trini-twins Theophilus London and Va$htie Kola continued their be-everywhere campaign by popping up on chef Sam Mason’s “Cooking with the Band” show on IFC last night. The menu of course was Caribbean-inspired, including Calypso porterhouse and a dranks-recipe for the Dark & Humdrum cocktail–which we can only assume inspired the Theoph’s signature tune “Humdrum Town,” one way or the other.
