KiD CuDi “cudderisback” – Directed by Jason Goldwatch – DatNewCudi.com from DP on Vimeo.

Kid CuDi – Pursuit Of Happiness from WATM Magazine on Vimeo.

Kid Cudi teams up with indie rock/electronic instrumental groundbreakers Ratatat and psychedelic darlings MGMT for the 3rd single off of his debut album (“Man on the Moon: The End of The Day”), Pursuit of Happiness. The video is a cool, straightforward concept executed well, lots of slow motion, tons of cameos, and a raucous celebration set to one of the more melancholy songs on the album. The paradox in imagery vs. music is the most intriguing part and the guitar riffs of Ratatat really accent the whole thing well.

Don’t miss the chance to check out Kid Cudi as he plays two headlining shows at Club Nokia on Dec. 22nd & 23rd. You can purchase tickets HERE!

Sharam is the Iranian-American progressive house DJ/producer known for being one half of the production duo known as Deep Dish. In April, he released his debut solo album, “Get Wild”, which featured collaborations with Tommy Lee, Chuck D, and Diddy. On album single, “She Came Along”, Sharam takes many of the sounds from classical spaghetti Western soundtracks and uses them to create his familiar brand of house music with the help of vocals from Kanye West protege and newly announced Lady Gaga tour partner, Kid Cudi. The video pretty much follows suit and fully visuals the Western tone of the track.

Mike Posner is the 21 year old pop/hip-hop practitioner that has garnered notoriety through mixtape collaborations with the likes of Kid Cudi, Wale, and many others. Shortly after announcing a major label deal with J Records, Posner announced the October release of his 2nd mixtape, “One Foot Out The Door”. In support of this, he is playing a small run of shows across the country including his Oct. 16th stop at the Roxy. His combination of sleek production and youthful energy on stage should make for an entertaining show.

Vapors is excited to be preenting the show and as a result, we’re giving away some tickets, so be the 1st to e-mail here and you’ll win a pair!

Words: Justin Polk

Photography: Paul Sun of The Social Trust

Finally, we did it!  To all the sneaker-heads, hipsters, skaters, breakers, surfers, whatever… WE DID IT! We finally have a show that tells our hustle, our defeats, our stories.  HBO’s How to Make it in America is the show and Bryan Greenberg is the man that’ll bring the show and our style to life. If you haven’t heard of him, then maybe you should start ear hustlin’.  This year, he appeared in Bride Wars and now he’s in grind mode, working on his music tour and the new show.  I got a chance to chop it up with the man himself about the show and his music career.

Your new HBO show, How To Make It In America, can you tell me the premise behind the show?

BRYAN:  The plot I can’t tell you because I’ve only done one episode, so I’ll just speak from the pilot. Basically, it is set in New York and it is all about guys like me and my friends -young twenty-somethings – trying to hustle and make it in New York as fashion designers. They come from the skateboard world and they’re designing street wear t-shirts and designing jeans. It’s definitely the world that Vapors is in. You know it’s all about hustling and trying to take that unconventional path to success.  It’s not like going to college, getting the degree and getting the job.

Is your character loosely based on Marc Ecko?

BRYAN:  In my mind he is.  I mean, that’s what I equated it to. Marc’s probably the most popular example, since he definitely came from doing street fashion and he’s made his business into an enterprise.  Like Marc, we start from nothing, we hustle and it’s all about getting by.

And that’s just part of it, we’re the main story and then there are other stories like my ex-girlfriend, played by Lake Bell, who left me because I’m a loser and now she’s trying to make it as a hotel interior designer.  Then there’s this guy, Eddie Kaye Thomas’ character, who I went to high school with and was making so much money on Wall Street and then the economy crashed and now he’s trying to make it. So it’s definitely an ensemble, you know? It’s basically a look at young downtown New York. Luis Guzman’s in it and plays Victor’s uncle who just got out of prison and he’s trying to start this energy drink business. Everybody’s got some sort of grind, some sort of hustle.

It kind of reminds me of the way things are going nowadays.  How were you first approached about the show?

BRYAN:   I played basketball with the creator. Then I saw in the trades that he was doing this thing and I didn’t even know he was a writer. I asked my agents for the script and I found it interesting, so I sat down and met with the producers, Rob Weiss and Steve Levinson, who work on Entourage. A pilot for a television show is very different from a movie script.  You don’t really know what you’re getting into. It’s basically thirty to forty pages of what could be your life for the next seven years.  So, in the meeting, I wanted to know what was going on inside their heads and I wanted to know where they saw this going, because that’s important. And, they totally sold me. It’s real. It’s fresh.

What’s good with Julian Farino?  I know he’s directed a lot of episodes of Entourage.

BRYAN:  Yeah, I have to give Julian a lot of credit for what he did with the pilot. Like I said, the script could have been anything, you know?  All the pieces came together and he let the actors, me and Victor, do a lot off the page.  If a director can give me the freedom to do that and I can deliver, I think that’s amazing.  I thought he really tapped into the tone of this world. He’s really invested.

Is the show going to have a real edgy feel?

BRYAN:  It’s a half hour, remember, whenever I do a scene, I try to keep it somewhat light ‘cause it’s not a two and a half hour drama here.  I think there is an edge but the tone is definitely light.  It’s a comedy…a dramedy.  People are probably gonna want to compare us to Entourage, but I feel like we’re on our own.

How much of the street wear culture did you know before this?

BRYAN:  I mean I’m familiar with it, but you know I’m just a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy. I mean, I’m into my Nikes. I like sneakers and I love hip-hop. That’s how it starts, right? So, I understand the world. I just didn’t understand the extent of how deep it goes. Like it’s not just starting a t-shirt line. It’s starting the t-shirt line and a blog and it’s a “whole thing.” It’s really fascinating to me.

Who have you talked to so far?

BRYAN:  I’ve talk to some guy that worked at Ecko, Complex magazine and Bobby Kim from The Hundreds.

You’re fortunate enough to include your music in some of your shows, how did that come about?

BRYAN:  The producers usually want to know who the actor is.  They say, “I know you’re an actor but what else do you do?” Music is a big part of my life, so they take a listen to my stuff and say, “oh, it doesn’t suck too bad” and put it on the show.  I think as an actor people expect me to suck as a musician, but I take it really seriously and put a lot into it.

Why did you start playing music?

BRYAN:  I needed something besides acting to express myself.  Music helps me tap into a part of my creativity that I can’t do with acting.

You just recently performed with Kid Cudi in New York. How did that happen?

Bryan: Well, Cudi’s on the show, so we got to know each other last year. I just think he’s the future of hip-hop.  That’s what kind of sparked my enthusiasm to work with him and I wrote the song “You Can Run” with him and the show in mind.  The song is about being sick of being a loser and trying to make it and it’s about having a little chip on my shoulder from people saying “no” to me. I thought that if he came and did a verse on it, it’d be great, so he came and performed it and now it’s on YouTube and people seem to like it.

You seem like a really down to earth artist and not too caught up in celebrity?

BRYAN: I think it’s my intentions that keep me grounded. My intention is not to be famous.  My intention is not to make a lot of money.  My intention is to do good work in whatever I do, whether that be music or a role I play, and to be real and to challenge myself.  That’s what gets me off.

Kid Cudi sits down with KarmaloopTV to address frustrations and dicusses who’s collaberating to bring you Man on the Moon: End of Day.  Founder of Karmaloop, Greg Selkoe (a.k.a. Jimmy Cinnamon Throat) gets down to business helping to clear the air by allowing Cudi to voice his mind.

Photo by:  Angelo Baque
By: Yo Mama

New York native Vashtie “Downtown’s Sweetheart” Kola lives by the motto “slow and steady wins the race.” It’s a wonder how. One day she might be working on cut-and-sew for her fashion line, the next directing a music video for KiD CuDi, or doing Patron shots with Q-Tip.

Best known for her spec video of “Us Placers” by CRS (Kanye, Lupe, & Pharrell), Vashtie wasn’t always behind the lens. She got her start as Director of Creative Services at Def Jam.  However she realized that she her heart was in film and no longer wanted to “set aside being an artist to be an executive that worked with artists.”

When she’s not daydreaming about directing videos for Björk, Vashtie develops her urban fashion line, Violette.   The brand reflects her boyish yet eclectic style and Kola is dedicated to making clothes that are classic, reliable and that she likes to wear.

It’s no surprise that Vashtie is downtown’s sweetheart. She and best friend, Oscar Sanchez, put on one of the best events in downtown New York City with a musically themed party called “1992.” Started to provide an alternative to the increasingly superficial NYC downtown scene, “1992” celebrates a time when popular music seemed to be at a diverse, profitable and creative apex.  Success from “1992” led to a collaboration with Q-Tip and Rich Medina called “Open” where you might share the dance floor with folks like Jay-Z, Mick Jagger, DJ Premier, the Clipse and Lupe Fiasco.

Although Vashtie has a lot on her plate, she still makes time for “routine naps” and leaves room for a bite to eat at her favorite spot, Franks on 2nd Avenue.  You may find her roaming the NYC streets with a handbag full of cameras and a smile on her face.  “If you love what you do, you’ll figure out how it can make you money eventually,” she shares.  Vashtie is living proof if you follow your passions it can be both spiritually and financially rewarding.

Here I am back with my third installment of rants and raves for that culo…NYC is my playground, I invite you in, so let’s go…

REST IN POWER: JIMMY MCGRIFF, GEORGE CARLIN AND MASS APPEAL

George Carlin was the first hip white comedian since Lenny Bruce. “Toledo Window Box” is the best pothead comedy routine ever; guy was a counterculture hero! Other than Richard Pryor, he’s the best who ever did it.

The Hammond B3 organ will never be the same without Jimmy McGriff. Guy was the tastiest with it. Just ask the homies Cypress Hill and A Tribe Called Quest that scooped up his classic break, “The Bird.”

What a way to go out. Mass Appeal was my home and my homies for the last five years. Sorry to see you go, but maybe a little “we’re going under” notice would have been nice instead of some bag of Skittles-lookin’ intern gleefully telling me at Max Fish one drunken night it was a wrap! Still, all in all, I’m gonna miss it.

RAMBLINGS AND LATE GRABS

The NYC subway is like a better-dressed nightclub during rush hour…NYC has the worst weather in winter and the worst weather in summer. Why do I live here again? Best thug fashions are on the A train, trust.

In case you don’t know what a “late grab” is, it’s a new jack with a big mouth who grabs onto things late, hence late grab. Usually lacking respect for those that paved the way due to their lack of knowledge.

Rumor going around, famed photographer Boogie and yours truly D Ross are doing a book together…ahhhh shit that’s gonna be craze…  Hung out with Premier recently—that’s a dude who needs to write a book. Man, that cat got craze stories!

Somebody told me I was once again professionally urban the other day…I didn’t even know what it meant, but I’m psyched, I think. Does that mean I got a crossover move now? Speaking of crossing over: When does Cross Colors make a comeback on the ironic tip? Some hipster dork has to think that’s cool somehow…  Speaking of being ironic, I’ll stay iconic. It’s a better look for me, ya know?

THE SPORTING LIFE

Recently hung with Christian Hosoi, Steve Olson and Steve Cabellero. Funny how my skate idols still make me feel like I’m 14…holy man fan. Speaking of skating, I’m DJing the RedBull Manny Mania this summer. Can’t wait; hopefully Brandon Biebel won’t get jobbed this year.