CHRIS LIVE AKA SHAKER SAYS: Be careful what Y.O.U. wish for, because Y.O.U. just might get it! Although such a well worn idiom (
NOTE: Allegedly derived from an ancient edition of
Aesop's Fables wherein a lowly man impulsively wishes for death) sits perilously perched atop
Mount Cliché, this most famous of clichés is just that because it's moral is timeless. To that end,
Hip Hop has long had an infatuation with the greater pop-culture @ large, the overly romanticized view of an outsider whose failure to gain acceptance was both frustrating and perversely validating.
That was then,
this is now.
Today,
Hip Hop's collective rebel yell has been roundly reduced to sappy emo-filled status updates and most, if not all, have traded in the legacy of the Black Panthers for black diamonds. For this too I am guilty. I do
NOT see this as
ALL b-a-d though.
Livestyle is steeped in the grand belief that an aspirational lifestyle need not be simply "wine and roses" and is only truly valuable when matched with an optimum standard of intellectual curiosity and a strong code of ethics.
Jay-Z, in my esteemed opinion, has become
1 of the best, though clearly humanly flawed, examples of this new dichotomy. From corner boy to papered up occupant of a corner office, the man born
Shawn Corey Carter has invited all to join him in his modified
Maybach Tour Bus (
NOTE: Patent pending ... lol) and chauffeured us to the promise land. Of course, not everyone is pleased.
While pilloried for losing some of his technical lyrical prowess and biting (
NOTE: If not
gumming his way in his old, by narrow
Hip Hop standards, age) through the late, great
Notorious B.I.G.'s catalogue) en route to success, I simply can't knock the homie's hustle. Now, if Y.O.U. are of a more political slant like, say, a group like
Dead Prez (
NOTE: Whom Jay-Z has recorded with, although he didn't make the video. Wack.), I could stomach the hate a lot easier. If you're not concerned with money or, for that matter, the trappings of fame, Jay-Z is probably
NOT your idea of a leader. Cool.
However, for all other money grubbing rappers with obnoxiously ostentatious bars stocked with millionaire wishes, Jay-Z is your living and breathing motherfucking precedent!
Respect the game.
Anyway, on the eve of the release of his autobiography/choice verses translation tome, "Decoded",
NOT so
Young Vito has done it again with this
1-of-
1 Gucci "Decoded" Leather Bomber Jacket.
Yup, Gucci's lovely creative director,
Frida Giannini, crafted this special jacket lined in satin with
2 pages from Jay-Z's book to especially to celebrate this momentous occasion! The scavenger hunt clue jacket is on display now until tonight @
New York City's
5th Avenue flagship Gucci store. Once the book goes on sale, this jacket is a goner ... lol.
Sooooooooooooo, how much is this collector's item supreme Y.O.U. ask? Good question, but, it doesn't matter ... this is a personal gift to Jay-Z from the good people @ Gucci!
Whaaaaaaaat!? How Y.O.U. L.O.V.E. that?
Holla @ ya boy in BK!BONUS:
The above image is a complete listing of the
36 venerable songs deconstructed in "
Decoded". For those counting,
YES, that is indeed the equivalent of
2.
2 pounds of uncut dope boy poetry!
Bon Appétit!
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