OVER THE STRIPES Burn Out

OVER THE STRIPES, a label founded in 1996, is headed up by lead designer Tamotsu Omine and distributed exclusively in Japan. Their collections do not reflect any seasonal variations, rather sticking with an overall theme of clever, humorish designs inspired heavily by both rock and popular cultures.

Their Burn Out offering is the tee that most caught our eye. An obvious nod to Kurt Cobain, the front features a silhouette of the grunge rock god in infamously ridiculous sunglasses. The back reads, "1994 - It's better to burn out than fade away." 1994, a reference to the year of Cobain's death.

Other notable tee's include The King, War Is Over, Too Fast, and All Is Pretty.

OVER THE STRIPES designs are available to us exclusively through limited distribution by oki-ni. Get em while you can.

PROPS to OVER THE STRIPES for some fresh designs.

http://www.oki-ni.com
http://www.otsgrmm.com

BURN OUT
Kurt Cobain, "It's better to burn out than fade away."




THE KING
Michael Jackson, "The true king of pop, rock and soul."
(available in black)



WAR IS OVER
John Lennon, "War is over."
(available in black)



TOO FAST
Sid Vicious, "Too fast to live, too young to die."
(available in black)



ALL IS PRETTY
Andy Warhol, "All is pretty."
(available in black)


PROPS Oki-ni Giant Robot

University of Washington Huskies Softball: National Champs

Sixteen years after the University of Washington founded it's women's softball program in 1993, the lady Huskies have brought the national title home.

The team has been a powerhouse since it's inception, reaching title games almost immediately in 1996 and 1999. All the while playing in clearly the most dominant division in the sport, the Pac-10. In fact, since the Women's College World Series has begun play in 1982, a Pac-10 team has won 22 of those 28 tournaments.

This year the girls entered the tournament strong and determined. 2009 marked their sixteenth consecutive trip to the games and they were coming off their first Pac-10 division title in nine years. They were a three seed looking to avenge themselves after falling one short in 2007 with a big 8-1 loss to Arizona, the eventual national champs.

The Huskies were armed with a dynamic cast this year but the nucleus undoubtedly surrounded obvious stand-out Danielle Lawrie. Lawrie, a domineering presence on the mound for the Huskies all year, finished the season as the Pac-10 Player of the Year, the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year, and the Women's College World Series Tournament MVP. The grit and determination she displayed during the regular season carried over into the post-season and played a major role in bringing the girls home.

The battle to the championship was a grueling three week roadtrip. Resulting both from ESPN's desire to broadcast evening games, and the NCAA's decision to support this. This meant foregoing any home games in Seattle as the Huskies home field has never been equipped with adequate outdoor lighting. Luckily, as a result of a flood of donations by contributors already, this off-season will see a $400,000 renovation to the field outfitting it with proper lighting and ensuring future home games during the tournament.

Nevertheless, after tests like their 5 hour 15 inning battle with UMass in the NCAA regionals (longest game in Husky softball history), the girls touched down, in of all places, Oklahoma City to go for their first national title in 9 previous appearances.

It was a best of three series (initiated by the NCAA in 2005), pitting the tournament's lowest scoring team, UW, against the team with the lowest ERA'd pitcher, Florida. Not only were the Florida Gators the top seeded team in the tournament, they were ranked top team in the nation by ESPN, USA Today, and the NCAA Women's Softball RPI. They had finished the season with more wins than any other team in the NCAA, losing only twice at home in thirty-six games and not losing a single game on the road all year. This coupled with a 29 game win streak, the Gators were hitting the series with a full head of steam. Unbeknownst to them, however, the Huskies were eager to put out the fire.

The opening game of the series resulted in an absolute trouncing of the Gators 8-0 by the Huskies. It even resulted in an awkward moment at the bottom of the sixth in which the teams began lining up to exchange hand-shakes in light of the "mercy rule" (game play ends if at any time after 5 innings a team is ahead by 8 runs or more). Even the umpires had left. The groundscrew on hand were busy at work breaking down the field when players, fans, and the like, had to be reminded that the "mercy rule" was not in effect during championship series play.

The second game opened strong for the Gators with two quick runs in the top of the first. The Huskies then fired back with two runs of their own to close out the inning tied at 2-2. The rest of the game played out just as much of the first did. Strong pitching in key situations from Lawrie and tenacious defense by the Huskies. And a slew of unforced errors by the Gators and an uninspired performance from the mound by the usually staunch and stingy Stacy Nelson. In the end the game finished as it should, with Lawrie striking out two of Florida's strongest plate performers in the tournament, Megan Bush and Ali Gardiner, and closing out a 3-2 victory.

The Huskies returned home to a champion's welcome on Wednesday afternoon and they will be honored tomorrow, Friday June 5th, at the Mariner's and Twin's baseball game at Safeco Field. Lawrie is set to throw out the first pitch. The formal reception for the team and fans will be held Sunday, June 7th, at 5pm at the Don James Center at Husky Stadium. Be sure to get out there. Show some love to a team bringing championship tradition home to Seattle.

UW Husky Softball... Mad PROPS.

PROPS Seattle Times

Wale "Chillin"

Wale, a go-go influenced hip-hop artist out of DC, will release his debut album Attention Deficit later this summer. The first single off the album, the Cool and Dre produced "Chillin", has been taking up some space on our iPods for a minute now. Wale just finished wrapping up filming for the video side of things and released the debut today.

The song is simply a nod to a good time so don't look for anything deeper than that. But it is what it is and it does what it does, and quite frankly, that's just fine with us. It's a hit or miss in some circles but that's essentially what Wale is. You gotta get it to get it. And if you don't, we know he's gonna try and work hard to make sure you do. This song, and the album as a whole, doesn't nod to his go-go roots as much as his past mixtape work and according to him, "his next project after this will.." But it serves as a great introduction to Wale as an artist and something that can find him some heavy rotation in a variety of markets.

The video was shot in Boston and DC and directed by the famed Chris Robinson. By Wale's own admission there's no real treatment or direction to the video, which we'd be remiss to say we wouldn't like to see, but not every video can be a Kanye-esque type production. Hell, most of Jay's "party" video's had no real direction.

The song and video feature Lady Gaga which we think is a solid look. Not only because we're feeling her swag as an artist in her own right, but it's nice to see Wale electing to work with the not so obvious choice (both Nelly Furtado and Gwen Stefani were originally considered). Minus points come from the deletion of most of Lady Gaga's doper scenes from the final treatment, in which she's basically featured in one setting and one fit throughout. But shout-outs to Bun B who is featured heavily in the video. And shout-outs to the shoestring font used in the opening, the dog rockin' the Beats By Dr. Dre headphones, and the decision to go with the disgustingly sick AMG Edition SL65 over a traditional GT Coupe or something else of the sort.

PROPS on the commercial debut out the gate Wale.

OFFICIAL FIRST SINGLE: "Chillin"


BEHIND THE SCENES: "Chillin"


DIRECTOR CHRIS ROBINSON SPEAKS ON VIDEO

Clipse "Kinda Like A Big Deal"

Malice and Pusha T are back at it with a fervor. Emerging from years of label politics and turmoil with Jive, the Clipse are armed with a new situation over at Columbia and going in with a street single we can't quit playing.

In a departure from their previous offerings, Til the Casket Drops will feature production from a number of industry heavyweights alongside their usual staple house The Neptunes. These contributors include Kanye West, DJ Khalil, Swizz Beatz, Rick Rubin, Timbaland, and Danjahandz to name a few. The album should be offered up in the coming months though no official release date has been set.

We have to say we're definitely excited to see what the Virginia natives are gonna bring on this project. From the expanded soundscapes, art direction from KAWS (street artist phenom you should definitely be checking for, SPOTLIGHT to come), a viral marketing push out of the Ryan Leslie playbook, and this initial offering featuring Kanye West and produced by DJ Khalil and Chin.. we got our money on big things.

A video has been shot for "Kinda Like A Big Deal" but a final version has yet to be cut. The behind the scenes vid is fresh though and features Kaws, a funny exchange regarding a pair of "Yeezy's", and even a small three bar snippet of a freestyle from the Louis Vuitton Don himself.

PROPS to Khalil and Chin for a dope backdrop, all three emcee's for murdering the song, and a solid offering to the exciting new music catalog that is beginning to emerge once again in a troubled market.

LISTEN: "Kinda Like A Big Deal"

BEHIND THE SCENES: "Kinda Like A Big Deal"
PROPS Re-up Gang Records

Clae Rollins

We'll be sure to SPOTLIGHT Clae shortly since their definitely someone we're checking for and someone making a lot of noise in the footwear game. For now though, we're not gonna let another day go by without throwing some love at their "Rollins" offering. And more specifically, the purple people eaters.

Clae introduced this canvas in the Fall of '08 and have gone on to expand the colorways all the way through this season's offerings which include the Fog and Caribbean backdrops. Attention to detail includes coordinated soles and inner tongues, colored stitching, leather inserts, and boot inspired d-ring eyelets and pulltabs out back.. Peep and cop.

PROPS Clae.

www.clae.com

ROLLINS GRAPE



ROLLINS FOG



ROLLINS CARIBBEAN

PROPS Hypebeast

Jake One: White Van Music

Jake One, "beat writer" extraordinaire, dropped his Rhymesayer's Entertainment release White Van Music on October 7th of last year. The album, a sonic representation of Jake's philosophy that good music is good music (mainstream, underground, or otherwise), features a cast thicker than Ocean's Thirteen. Artists include Busta Rhymes, Freeway, Brother Ali, Young Buck, Prodigy, MF Doom, Bishop Lamont, Alchemist, Royce Da 5'9" and others.

The album's lead single epitomizes his approach with the unlikely pairing on "The Truth" of Freeway and Brother Ali. The record is easily one of the best offerings on the disc and perfectly segues listeners into what to expect.. great hip-hop.

For those who may not know, Jake One is a Seattle native who's been grinding out the beat game since the early 90's. His efforts have landed him a slew of placements with artists ranging from the beloved De La Soul to the Billboard cemented 50 Cent. Currently Jake is signed to Money Management Group, Sha Money XL's management group and G-Unit's in-house production team, and busy working on major projects slated for '09 releases.

(SPOTLIGHT on Jake One to come)

Take a second to check out the video's and get out and cop the album if you can. Available in stores and on iTunes and online at Amazon, Best Buy, and FifthElement.

PROPS to Jake One on a certified offering.
www.jakeone.com
www.myspace.com/jakeone
www.rhymesayers.com

JAKE ONE PRESENTS: White Van Music


HANDS ON: White Van Music


FIRST OFFICIAL SINGLE: "The Truth"


BROTHER ALI SPEAKS ON THE ALBUM

SPOTLIGHT: GOODS

Now we don't make pretensions as to where you should shop. We're not telling you what designers to be wearing, what collections to be avoiding, or really what concern you should be giving to labels at all. But what we will tell you is, if your downtown Seattle shopping centers around Westlake and your commute between Macy's and Nordstrom's, it's time to head further up Pike and step your game up.

GOODS is Seattle's premier lifestyle boutique. And like it or not, it's what every other shop needs to live up to. Since opening their doors in the spring of '03, partners Paul Williams, Nin Truong, Steve Gonzales, and Scott Downing have been giving Seattle's fashion forward streetwear scene what it's sorely been missing.. a presence. Bonded by their love for all things skate, GOODS is at its heart just that. A skate shop. A skate shop aimed at giving the community a place to be seen, a place to be proud of, a place to call our own. You feel a certain sense of swagger rockin' a GOODS in-house design out in the street. Knowing someone else up on what's good peeped your jawn and gave you some props and a "that's what's up" on the low.

In addition to their own designs which include collaborations with the likes of New Era and Stussy, GOODS carries lines from Crooks N Castle, Maiden Noir, Manik, PRPs, Nike, Vans, Evisu and more. From fitted's, to sick decks, to dope literature, to hot kicks, GOODS has got you covered. And with expansions like the "$" store in 2005, adjacent to the original storefront, and the more recent opening of their Bellevue Eastside location this past March, GOODS is looking to further expand their reach.

Rumblings of elitist attitudes aside (which for the record we've never encountered), GOODS deserves its just dues. The grind they put in early on has paved the way for a number of other shops to open their doors and give the city their own take on all things fresh. And all the while GOODS has continued to bring that heat putting themselves, and their city, on the international streetwear map.

PROPS to the hustle GOODS... ONE.

www.needgoods.com

Capitol Hill Location:
GOODS
1112 Pike St.
Seattle, WA 98101




Bellevue Location:
GOODS Eastside Chapter
989 112th Ave. NE. Suite 101
Bellevue, WA 98004


PROPS Brandon Shigeta Beige Apparel HighSnobiety

SPOTLIGHT: The Don Corleone of Streetwear

Or more aptly put.. Someone you NEED to know. Hiroshi Fujiwara is not a man widely known outside of true streetwear heads but his influence on popular fashion, style, and all things fresh over the past twenty plus years is virtually unparalleled.

Fujiwara was born in Ise, Mie in 1964, and has since gone on to Godfather Harajuku culture, pioneer the limited release marketing concept, mentor Nigo the founder of the popular lifestyle brand BAPE, and solidify himself as an early importer of hiphop to Japan. He's done consulting work for some of the world's biggest brands including Nike, Levi's, and Burton, telling each what they need to be up on and guiding the direction in which their designs and marketing should be headed. Be clear.. when Hiroshi speaks, your favorite tastemaker listens. He's even managed to maintain a career as an accomplished musician, producer, and dj, working and collaborating with people as far reaching and unlikely as Eric Clapton.

Over the years Hiroshi has lent his eye for fashion and design to countless labels such as GoodEnough (which he founded and later left), Visvim, Stussy, and Undercover amongst others. Currently he still heads up the HTM line for Nike, as well as the Fenom line for Levi's and the iDiom line for Burton. He maintains his own brands HeadPorter, Fragment Design, and Base Station as well as his online lifestyle magazine Honeyee. He's a busy man.

Hiroshi has managed to maintain a mysterious aura about him balancing the fine edge between commercialism and individuality. He shuns the mainstream and their corporate philosophies yet they all come clammoring for him. He's the "ol blue eyes" of the streetwear community.. Cool without being cool.

There's a million reasons why Hiroshi Fujiwara is the epitome of swagger but we'll leave you with a quick three.

a) Despite all that he's accomplished, Hiroshi has never written a business plan. EVER.

b) The man doesn't know his own bank account information. Even the bank account stamp needed to withdraw money out in Japan.. doesn't have it. He's clueless to how much money he actually has. Regardless, we have a feeling he's doing just fine.

c) He's appeared in a Coppola film. Sure it was Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation and not Francis Coppola's Godfather, but which one gets you face time with Scarlett Johannson? Nuff said.

Our hats off to you Mr. Fujiwara... PROPS.

PROPS CadmusFamily

Date of Conception, May '09.. We Was Birthed and Won't Be DENIED!!!

"Look into these eyes and witness life's trag..."

If you can finish the next few lines then kick up your feet and take a trip to "Houstalantavegas" with us. If not, don't worry, we plan on fixing all that.

PROPS is our gateway to give that Kid Cudi to anything we see fit. Art, fashion, lifestyle, icons.. possibly even YOU. Basically "Daps and Pounds" to "Dat New New" as we see it through our eyes. We'll play catch up the first few weeks to get everybody on board then take off from there. In contrast to other sites just blasting you with basic update feeds on anything and everything released for the day, PROPS is gonna be a direct reflection of our tastes, critiques, and opinions on what's hot, what's new, and what you need to be up on either before anyone else, or just off pure principle. Each post will include commentary and background information and we'll even feature local spotlights on what you need to be supporting in the region as well as pieces on influential figures who have helped shaped their respective industries, etc.

Swagger isn't easily defined but we're addicted to it nonetheless. You know it when you see it, you feel it when you got it. We're looking to give PROPS to all those who bring it. Be sure to put us up on anything we may be missing. We know a lot of you stay on your grizzly, too. Oh, and the opening lyrics were from Ja Rule's "Race Against Time" off his freshman opus Venni, Vetti, Vicci. Quit hating, it was a classic and you know it.