Mixtapes have always been important in Hip Hop.
However, in recent years they have moved from freestyles over rehashed beats with DJs screaming over the verses to virtually album quality music.

Now, MCs use the format to establish a buzz, intensify that buzz and in some cases pave the road to super stardom. Since Kid Cudi hooked up with Kanye’s G.O.O.D Music his buzz has been deafening with the release of his stoner anthem Day N’ Nite .

The Cleveland MC seeks to capitalize on this as well as prove his worth with the release of his new mixtape aptly titled Dat Kid From Cleveland.

The mixtape includes some tracks that you may have heard before such as, the sexual innuendo laced collaboration with Kanye and Common “I Poke Her Face” and the Transformers 2 theme song “Sky Might Fall”. There are also new tracks, skits and freestyles that you will hear for the first time. While the mixtape title shows a bit of modesty, soon Cudi will be known as more then just a kid from Cleveland.

GET IT HERE!

Phil Orth Original Artwork

Phil Orth is a local artist transplant from Montana who has produced a remarkable body of work, largely oil paintings of...large size. He lives out in the country, but has been convinced to display his artwork in Minneapolis at Hair Police, my favorite hair joint.


Phil's inspirations include clowns, minotaurs, and ballerinas. None of that is true (so far as I know), but I've got some pics of the installation and I need some text to go along with it so rather than make an uneducated attempt at artistic comparison or description, I'm going to stick to lies and wild speculation.

Hmmmm that's kind of a cop-out isn't it? Okay, I think he's channelling some Salvador Dali, and if you're into channelling people, Dali is one of the best for abstract oils. I guess I'm not really familiar with anyone else in his league... Picasso? Or are they in different leagues? I mean Picasso's work is generally 2D and Dali's is 3D, right? Am I just making stuff up now? I knew this would happen despite my best intentions. Oh well...its my blog, right?


Anyway if you like what you see and want to get a better look or even one of your own, Phil can be reached via email at philsfineart@gmail.com, and Hair Police has directions on their site.