With a special Clyde Frazier print, Mita links up with Puma to drop a cool grand on your feet. With only 588 pairs to be released on April 21st, these kicks will be snatched up like free money. Go ahead and front like you’re rich, nobody needs to know.

Info.Image: Hypebeast

Bags full of money? Not quite, but almost as good. Money Bags is a new streetwear brand which aims to deconstruct the global dominance of corporate fascismo fashionistas, whilst also bringing sweatpants back in a major way…..that’s right, a pair of red sweatpants, in the club, you heard it here first.

Info.Image: SlamXHype

Yeah, all that stuff you heard about a massive global revolution was true. This is actually the official hoody of the 21st century earthling who lusts for all that is good and righteous in this strange world of ours; birthdays, girlfriends, footrubs, houseparties, videogames, primetimes and casual drinks with lovely peeps.

Info.Image: SlamXHype

Reebok goes futuristic with these ultra-technotronic pumps from beyond the moon. Tron never looked so fresh, the new best reason to keep your shoes on when you’re knockin’ boots, these kicks are basically kryptonite for player haters so keep ‘em handy for the wahlburgs!

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Stussy have just released two brand new tees. As well as keeping the essence of the Stussy brand, the tees also feature the ever popular skull and skeletal theme.

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After much deliberation, Format has chosen a winner for the Fridge Rapper Drawing Contest.

Congratulations to Ian O’Phelan for his drawing of Grandmaster Flash.

And many thanks to everyone else who submitted:

Tom Ford for drawing Chris Brown:

Joel Colley for drawing The Beatnuts:

Jaime Honkawa for drawing Warren G:

Braden Darkins for drawing Mos Def:

Aud Brum for drawing Grandmaster Flash:

Christopher Miller for drawing KRS-ONE, Rakim, and MF Doom:

A. Smith for drawing Lady Sovereign:

Mark Bernard for drawing Big Daddy Kane:

Yo that party at Magic was crazy, for real, did you see Adidas? Dude was out of control and ended up getting down with that hottie Fruition in the bathroom. Huh? Undercrown? A three way? Damn, Las Vegas is for lovers and it ain’t no joke.

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Art-Force-One eez zee sneaker designer zee most cool from Paris. See his purple dunk-hi basket-shoes he made in collab with Atmos NYC! Waow, j’adore! (trans: Art-Force-One is a sick sneaker designer from Paris that deserves much respect and attention.  Check out his latest kicks, a modified purple and black dunk-hi made for Atmos NYC)

Info.Image: SlamXHype

If Lyor Cohen is the white godfather of hip-hop, Ricky Powell is hip-hop’s grumpy old man. For the past 20 years, Ricky Powell has watched hip-hop grow from a New York niche culture to a worldwide phenomenon. He has been and continues to be in hip-hop’s presence, armed with his Pentax and acerbic wit to document hip-hop every step of the way.

Ricky Powell’s presence is in galleries, books, bootleg iron on T-shirts and most recently, ESPN 2’s, It’s The Shoes. Ricky Powell is hip-hop’s self-proclaimed resident curmudgeon. Format is lucky enough to catch a phoner with the Rickster, which says a lot for a man that doesn’t even own a computer. From kicks to the current state of hip-hop, Ricky Powell adds value to everything he says and says something about nearly everything!

“I am hoping things click this year. I am also a gigolo for older women on a moderate income. Whatever I got to do.”

Format: What was your first professional encounter with hip-hop?
Ricky Powell: Beasties was probably my first professional encounter. In 1986, in the spring of `86, the Beasties took me on some club dates to Boston and DC. That summer, I was selling Frozade on the streets. One day it was sweltering hot and I saw the Beasties in USA Today, and saw they were on tour with Run DMC on Raising Hell, and was like ‘Damn, this shit is big!’ I rolled my cart in, bought a ticket to Tampa, rolled up to the Tampa Dome, knocked on the back door and the guards let me in. The Beasties saw me and were like ‘What are you doing here?’ I was like, ‘You know whatevs. I was in the neighborhood.’ So they took me into the arena where Run DMC was playing and they were doing “Peter Piper,” and the crowd was going nuts. I remember thinking, wow, this is big time. So they ended up giving me a bunk on the tour bus and I went on tour with them for a week in the southeast. Then I went on some spot dates on the Dope Jam Tour, Def Jam Tour, Run’s House tour – just me and my little Auto Jammy. Actually, I was using my Pentax 1000. And I had my bag with my one-hitter and it all worked out.

“A lot of this shit [street-wear] is made by kids. I wouldn’t wear a lot of this stuff. I still dress like a kid though.”

Format: In careers, successes can that appear pivotal, at the time, are overwhelming and almost surreal, did you experience any moments like that?
Ricky Powell: It was probably a little like that in Tampa, but in 1987 on the License To Ill tour – that was the real age of Aquarius. They, [the Beastie Boys], brought me along as the unofficial, official photographer. I got to see that whole lifestyle with traveling, tour buses, hotels, freakazoids. Later that year, Run DMC joined for the Together Forever tour and it was great. All the artists felt comfortable with me. I liked the gig. I don’t really like regular jobs.

Format: When was the last time you went on tour with someone?
Ricky Powell: Probably in 1995 for Beastie’s Intergalactic [and] I went on a little tour of my own in Japan a few years ago. I also get to go on little dates, too, doing my world famous slide show. I like the little gigs where I do a few nights in a city and stay in a nice hotel.

Format: When you were doing some of you earlier work, did you think people would be studying it, referencing it or making T-shirts out of it 20 years later?
Ricky Powell: Hell no. I did it for the love and it just gave me something to do while I was figuring out what I was doing with my life. In late `85, early-`86, shit kind of clicked. Hip-hop, around then, was so fun. I was friends with the Beasties and they were doing cool shit. Through them I met Run DMC and then over at Rush Productions I met a lot of artists who would come through – Stetsasonic, Eric B and Rakim, Public Enemy. I then got down with a photo agency and it took off from there.

Format: Your photography seems to be very organic. Today, images in pop culture are tainted by labels, politics, stylists and image consultants – the images people see are what media gatekeepers want people to see. How can someone make an impact while still conforming to the media gatekeepers?
Ricky Powell: I’d like to start out by saying that I think everything today is fucking wack!. I have my inner convictions, but I have my Oscar Madison style; sophisticated but sloppy or vice-versa. Today, all artists are about fucking flash and the substance is not there. I am not trying to be an old fogey, but I really wish it was good. I really like this new singer Lily Allen. I am more attracted to understated than overstated. I am so amazed as to how the music industry functions. It’s none of my business, but it makes no sense. I don’t even listen to the radio. I listen to Jazz88 and KCR which is Columbia’s radio station. WBAI plays some good hippie shit and on the weekends they have a good hip-hop show called Underground Railroad. I also do a show on public access called Rappin’ With The Rickster – off that, It’s The Shoes [and] I had the BBC approach me on some grumpy old man shit. I have some younger friends who take me out and try to show me there is still cool shit out there. Canada TV has also expressed interest in Rappin’ With The Rickster. ESPN – fingers crossed –has shown interest, too. It’s The Shoes has given me a lot of great exposure. I was in FedEx the other day and these random Japanese dudes recognized me. It was very rewarding.

But being an artist is a struggle, because I stick strictly to street photography. I am hoping things click this year. I am also a gigolo for older women on a moderate income. Whatever I got to do. I woke up yesterday owing two months’ rent and by the afternoon I had two gigs that paid the rent. I was reading Wax Poetics, yesterday, and there was this interview with Minnie Riperton’s husband and he was talking about how he met her. He said, ‘It was all accidental. The way life normally is.’ I was like wow. A lot of shit I work on just blows up and falls apart and then I have these miracles that come out of the blue. I can’t explain it.

“K-Swiss – I hate those commercials, I want to fucking shoot those people.”

Format: Concerning the current state of street-wear and the explosion of sneaker culture on a widespread scale – is 2007 the new 1992?
Ricky Powell: 1992, was that benchmark year? I mean, the shit these days is so overloaded with the sneakers and the shirts. It’s so much, I don’t really pay attention. I was talking to this girl, Clara, last night. I gave her a late night call. I told her, ‘I like you `cause you are understated. I am really attracted to understated.’ I dabbled in and out of the clothing thing, but I don’t really like that industry. Any industry you go to is going to be crowded with agendas and that’s one of the reasons I am a lone wolf. I just do my street photography and I don’t have to answer to anybody. I call my own shots. This clothing shit, though, is hard. You might have some good ideas and your shit looks good, but you need luck and you need the economy to be good. I’m 45, now. A lot of this shit is made by kids. I wouldn’t wear a lot of this stuff. I still dress like a kid though.

Format: The breakdown of skippies on It’s The Shoes is classic, memorable, even. What are your top five skippies and top five sneakers?
Ricky Powell: They let me smoke weed before each shoot. OK, so my top five: Puma Clydes; Pistol Pete Pro Keds, both low and hi; .these high top suede, Pumas they did custom for me; and Chuck Taylors – I have my own Converse coming out made from hemp with some photos on the bottom, that star on the inner angle visually stimulated me so much as a kid; and Nike Blazers in the late `70s and early `80s. I am wearing some high top leather Pumas right now. Worst: LA Gear; Troop; K-Swiss – I hate those commercials, I want to fucking shoot those people; Skechers – those are real skips; [and] modern Nikes – they are so wack. I would never wear that shit. They look like irregular astronaut shoes. The taste of these people, including the NBA players, what are they thinking!? Bill Bradley looked like such a doofus in his uniform, but he came off wearing the Chucks and was a great finisher on the fast break. I wish someone would wear canvas Chucks today. I got to give Stephon Marbury props for wearing sneakers that are affordable for kids. They are ugly, but I give him props. They are still skips, though.

“License To Ill tour – that was the real age of Aquarius.”

Format: What is your take on the boom in sneaker culture, are companies ruining it for sneaker connoisseurs or is their participation for the greater good?
Ricky Powell: They had this Sneaker Pimps thing in NYC a few months ago and I thought about going, but then I was like no. It’s just a convention of people checking out other people’s sneakers and checking out each other’s feet. I can’t stand the dudes who tuck their jeans into their sneakers. I can’t stand dudes like that. They look so toy. I think it’s better when it’s understated. If you catch someone’s feet and they are wearing some dope shoes with jeans over, that’s dope.

Format: You will never stop rocking sneakers, but given sneaker developments’ current state, would you move on to not wearing sneakers?
Ricky Powell: I often wonder how I will be dressing as an old man. I think I will be wearing hoodies and sneakers. I have a pair of dress shoes I bought in Italy like 10 years ago that I never wear. I will stick with Cons and Pumas as long as I can.

“So they took me into the arena where Run DMC was playing and they were doing “Peter Piper,” and the crowd was going nuts.”

Format: Many photographers have made the leap into videos and motion pictures. Have you done any videos, is that something you want to do?
Ricky Powell: A couple of people have asked me to do videos. I like to take my pictures and keep moving. I don’t have patience to sit around on a set all day. Russell Simins from Jon Spencer Blues Explosion asked me, but I said no. I am a lazy bum and I only work when I feel like it. If you came to my house, you will see what I mean. My house is a mess and I’ve been meaning to clean it for years. I am lying in the midst of newspapers, food videotapes, books, records, magazines. Seriously, I have just enough space on my bed to lay down. When I do do things, I do them in little bursts. I will go out and shoot stuff for my show and then not shoot again for a while.

Format: As someone who has historically been ahead of the curve, what’s next?
Ricky Powell: I’d like to get paid. I would like to paid.

Format: Is that paid with all caps and an exclamation point?
Ricky Powell: Exactly! Yo man, you are on my team. I just wrote an e-mail to this gallery owner who owns this hip-hop photo gallery. I was saying to him thank you for buying my pictures. And then I put a P.S. – I am trying to get PAID!

More Info: http://www.rickypowell.com/

During hip-hop’s infant years, Cazals and doorknockers were key accessories, and shell toes finished off the signature look. Parish Nation embraces the style and flare of the `80s and early `90s, revising New York and early hip-hop fashion. They’re new, different and surely will spark life through originality into fashion industry where everyone and their mothers own a T-shirt line. With years of experience at Enyce, Chaka Wilson and his partners take their knowledge and thirst for a culture they love and apply it to an industry they’ve mastered.

“With Parish we wanted the direction to come from us instead of go back to the way things were when we first started Enyce, which was just a small group of us enjoying what we’re doing which was designing.”

Format: Parish Nation is an interesting name, any particular meaning?
Parish: Well it literally means community. A group of individuals coming off of Enyce that represented NYC, which was kind of the little old translation for Enyce, and starting off from scratch with this new brand with just a small group of us sort of collectively conceptualizing everything from the direction of the brand, to design, to marketing, to most of what we do its done as a collective. Parish was sort of a representation of where we are right now as a company.

Format: How did the concept for Parish Nation come about?
Parish: I think when my partners all decided to leave Enyce we wanted to do something that represented our vision, as opposed to a corporate structure, you know a corporate dictate to what we do, what design, the type of stores we sell – overall with Enyce, it was a huge corporate oversight, which gave us direction. With Parish we wanted the direction to come from us instead of go back to the way things were when we first started Enyce, which was just a small group of us enjoying what we’re doing which was designing.

Format: What distinguishes Parish Nation from Enyce?
Parish: I think the design. What we came up with is just a really modern art driven early hip-hop influenced collection. So I think that’s present throughout the collection. That was one of the things that was important for us to establish ourselves in a different direction. When you see the collection you’ll immediately notice the bold colors and a lot of the cool references; everything from Warhol to Gene Herring to Grandmaster Flash. You have all of those cool references in there and most of the collection is actually hand drawn! That’s one of the things you will see even though there’s similarities with us and not only Enyce, but other companies in terms of all-over prints and things of that nature which happens to be the current trend, but I think we sort of took that trend. And what with the different direction with most of it being hand drawn, I think one of the key components to our design team is that we have artists as opposed to designers. They approach each part of the collection as a canvas so you notice that each part of the collection is sort of one of a kind.

“When you see the collection you’ll immediately notice the bold colors and a lot of the cool references; everything from Warhol to Gene Herring to Grandmaster Flash.”

Format: Has the success of Enyce paved the way for Parish?
Parish: Absolutely, I mean Enyce established us in this business. What we did with Enyce gives us much creditability with this line even though it’s a great collection there’s a business end to any company. I think that’s one of things that gave us a leg up over any other up-start company that’s just coming into the game with no experience. I think the 10 years with Enyce is a pretty good track record so therefore buyers, manufacturers and venders – we sort of have the respect of a lot of people which in turn open a lot of doors for us.

Format: How has your experience been at the MAGIC Trade Show?
Parish: It’s been pretty good. We debuted the line a few months back. A lot of the buyers hadn’t even seen it or heard about it so the cool thing for us is that we have a tremendous buzz going into MAGIC. It’s not, again, like we’re a start up company that people are for the first time on the floor. The fact that we already have goods on the floor that are selling extremely well are giving the buyers a lot of confidence. The fact that they’re actually seeing some of the product out there on the street and on different individuals they really get to experience what we were explaining earlier on. The last MAGIC we were here right after leaving Enyce so we were really just observers, but we were trying to give a lot of the buyers an indication of what it was that we were coming up with. They support us which is a really good thing, because you know if we do well they do well in their stores so overall it’s been a very good experience and a positive experience this is the way MAGIC was for us in the beginning. It’s really cool to get back to that.

Format: How does it feel to go from founding established brands to creating a brand new line?
Parish: It’s great. There was a struggle but it was the only course of action. You know Enyce was great. We still love the brand. That’s kind of like our baby. We still have a lot of great friends over there, but it was time for us to sort of branch out and try something new. I think the market place needed something new, so it was cool that it would be us to do it as individuals recognized in the fashion community as innovative and well respected within the design community, and in turn get support from the other brands. I think that’s one of the things that’s made it less scary for us. We’ve got nothing but positive feedback from the fashion community so that’s given us some confidence.

Format: Lately, the fashion industry has been taking on an `80s trend. Why did you chose to use the `80s and early-`90s era as a theme for the line?
Parish: That’s the era that influenced us, especially those of us who are a little bit older. We definitely came of age, if you will, in the `80s as young teenagers so we definitely experienced the trends that are out there. When we started the collection we naturally wanted to use New York as a backdrop. We’ve always wanted a cool tie in into New York, it was important to show a lot of influences, pay homage to that.

Format: What are Parish Nation’s signature items or looks?
Parish: For spring, I would definitely say our Warhol influenced pieces. You have a cool reference point. You know pop art. I think that’s a strong part of our collection. And then we also have like the early hip-hop influential pieces which show the four elements of hip-hop. We have a piece that sort of shows respect to the DJ; we have one that represents the graffiti; we have one that represents breaking; [and] we have one that represents the emcee.

Format: What can we expect in the future from Parish Nation?
Parish: Just great artwork. Even if the reference may change, because we won’t be stuck in the `80s forever, but I think the artwork will remain consistent. The artwork is primary and whatever theme or reference sort of compliments artwork so that’s one of the things that remain consistent, that and quality clothing.