Music of the Moment: Mishka Above the Bones

I’ve been blessed with some new (to me) music in the past few weeks. B-lish introduced me to Mishka’s music one of the first night’s we talked. The song Rock With Me still gives me chills every time I listen to it, it’s an incredible feeling, one I can only hope continues the rest of my life. The crazy thing about the song is that it sometimes evokes tears of joy, sometimes tears of sorrow, but every time the most poignant and unyielding of emotions. In my opinion this is exactly what music should do. I haven’t had many songs get to me like this since then (probably due to my surroundings), but I have been going through a lot of good music, ironically one of the songs that has really stuck with me recently is another Mishka song called Above the Bones.

If you know me, you know that I have a soft spot for children. Aside from the song just being a great sounding song, it grasps me even tighter with line “In my arms a little child wrapped tight in prayer, safe from harm, oh yeah.” I think simplicity speaks to me more in music than complexity does. I like the wordplay and the digging for hidden meanings, but at least as of late, I have been enjoying the cut and dry sounds. Often times Reggae is the best place to find it, and Mishka has a great combination of vocals, simple lyrics and overall loving, heartfelt sound. 15 years in the making, hopefully the partnership with j.k. livin’ records will blossom into more widespread listeners because the message is deserving of open ears…and hearts.

If you want to check out Rock With You, there’s a live version after the jump. I’d also highly suggest picking up the album Above the Bones.

Read more

And 1 Tai Chi – More Than an Icon

And 1 Tai Chi More Than an Icon

After talking about Jason Williams and Vince Carter the other day, I couldn’t help but obsess (see “My Support Group”) over the return of the Tai Chi from And 1. Everyone recognizes the significance of the of the iconic Jumpman logo, it’s an undeniable key to the direction of where footwear and basketball have gone. Even to the point of Michael Jordan’s son, Marcus, refusing to wear nothing but that logo on his shoes. Though the Jumpman changed the game, another logo may have accomplished a bigger feet feat.

And 1 jumped into the sneaker game in the mid 90’s, and in a shorter amount of time than any other startup footwear brand, became a legitimate contender. The iconic logo was plastered on t-shirts with a slew of trash talk slogans that were all but forgettable. The brand landed Stephon Marbury, who at the time had one of the quickest first steps in the game. And 1 gained a following with ads in publications like Slam magazine, but more importantly, gained the respect of the streetball community. The faceless logo became not only synonymous with the company, but with basketball as a whole. All the while inking it’s way into basketball history and ballers skin along the way.

Read more