Ice Cube - The Architect?

Imagine if N.W.A never took off resulting in Ice Cube became an architect after starting his architectural education in 1987 at Phoenix Institute of Technology. Would Cube be the same house hold name that he is today? Could he have applied that same drive and determination and rawness to the field of architecture? The world may never know. I'm glad N.W.A. reached its level of greatness because where would hip hop be without N.W.A.? Another question that will go unanswered.

Ice Cube has the unique opportunity of employing anyone he wants and can be instrumental with pushing the concept of hip hop inspired architecture to the next level, through his various media projects. I would love to work with Cube, rather its being a movie scene location scout or designing architectural elements needed for scenes. The power to advance many of today's minority architects to starchitects does exist in the hands of those doing constant work with a high level of visibility and success, the hip hop moguls. One mention in a hip hop song, one shot in a hip hop video, or any permanent link to the culture will propel the field of architecture.

I wonder if Cube still has the love for architecture he had back when he was in school? What about some of the other film makers with architectural educations? Click here for an article on ww.archdaily.com which reveals some of the most relevant film makers who studied architecture.

Take a look at my previous video blog: Ice Cube Celebrates Eames

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N.W.A. and The Posse 1987

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Courtesy of Erik Butka, Meagan Calnon & Kathryn Anthony

Survey - Hip Hop Architecture

Hello,

I am writing an article which will be published in a popular hip hop journal, the article will create links between everyone that has studied the concept of hip hop architecture in any capacity. If you would like to be included in the publication and have your research included in the infographics that I create, please fill out the form below.

Feel free to ask me any questions that you may have.

Rolling Stone - Kanye West Talks Design at Harvard

With his Yeezus tour all fine-tuned, Kanye West took a moment yesterday to stop by Harvard's Graduate School of Design and talk about one of his favorite subjects besides himself: creating. The surprise mini-lecture found Kanye sharing his thoughts on a few different subjects, with a persistent theme emerging that he sees everything as "architected." 

"I really do believe the world can be saved by design," he said. "If I sit down and talk to Oprah for two hours, the conversation is about realization, self-realization and seeing your creativity happen in front of you." He then spoke about office jobs, politicians, creativity, and how he appreciated that his audience, the Harvard students, are not lazy. 

Everyone in the room was offered free tickets to that evening's show – but West preempted their judgments with just a bit of soul baring. "I'm a bit self-concious because I'm showing it to architects," he said. "It's an expression of emotion."

Originally posted here on Rolling Stone.
 

Disco + Architecture = Discotecture

"Discotecture is an original series by VICE featuring David Byrne, Andre Balazs, Peter Gatien, Kenny Scharf, Eric Goode, Michael Musto, Amy Sacco, Steve Lewis, and other icons of New York nightlife. The series follows five young designers from different disciplines as they come together to create their vision of the nightclub of the future. "

For more information visit Vice.com

THE CHIEF ARCHITECT OF GANGSTA RAP

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Image Source: http://www.aceshowbiz.com

Its always been rumored that Dr. Dre studied architecture, I wish I knew if this rumor was true or not. Dr. Dre has taken over the music industry yet again with the design of Beats by Dre, which has redefined the way that music is to be heard. Check out the video below which ties Dr Dre's music career to architecture.

Ilja Karilampi’s video The Chief Architect of Gangsta Rap (2009) makes the conjecture that Andre Young, better known as Dr. Dre (b. 1965), studied architecture before becoming famous as a hip-hop producer and rapper. The Berlin-based artist describes Dre’s rise in the music industry, from his early techno-influenced records, to his role in the controversial group N.W.A., and finally to Dre’s solo albums and major collaborations with fellow rappers.Throughout the video, the artist proposes Dre’s connections to and opinions of the work of Modernist architects like Le Corbusier (1887–1965). Karilampi also incorporates his own biography into the video, speaking about how his life has intersected with Dre’s music. Though Karilampi offers no proof to his assertions, the video presents its own, nearly convincing logic. Although imagining of the types of buildings the music producer would design may seem far reaching, Karilampi’s suggestion that urban planning—in this particular case, it is that of Los Angeles’s Compton neighborhood—significantly helps in shaping the culture of a region contains more fact than fiction.

Video Description Originally Posted Here

Pharrell to Collaborate with Zaha Hadid

Two of my favorites are going to collaborate on a project. I wish I had the chance to contact Pharrell and introduce myself to him, to tell him about my passion for both design and Hip Hop, and collaborate on some of his design idea. Until then, I'll enjoy him and Hadid, one of my favorite architects, working together. Check out my blog post on Pharell's perspective furniture. See the original blog below:

Hip-Hop artist Pharrell is used to collaborating with big names – Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, and now? Zaha Hadid. 

According to an interview with Hypebeast, the artist has decided to continue his dabble into the design world (he’s written a book and designed chairs in the past) by working on a pre-fab home with the Pritzker Prize-winning architect:

Pharrell: “There’s a collaboration I’m working with Zaha Hadid, we’re touring around with the idea of a prefab for a house.

Hypebeast: Is that still at the planning stages or are you guys looking to erect something soon?

Pharell, enigmatically: “Well, we’re going to see something through.” 

Via GreatSpaces and Hypebeast and ArchDaily.

Eames Chair Meets Hip Hop "Eames Hotrod Boombox"

Mikal Hameed is a Brooklyn-based artist and designer who is constantly finding new corners of America's creative culture to explore. After starting out in music and theater, he shifted his efforts to visual arts and production design, all of which inform his latest efforts as a craftsman and maker.

I recently came across his "Eames Hotrod Boombox"—a refurbished and reimagined Eames lounge chair—at Brooklyn's Dijital Fix and I was fascinated by the notion of "remixing" an iconic design object, especially since it incorporated another vintage reference point in the turntable. Meanwhile, the allusion to the boombox is itself a reference to mixing and sampling music, and it so happens that the "Eames Hotrod Boombox" was featured as the album art for a compilation album called Verve Remixed 4. Although the project dates back to 2008, the video is certainly worth a minute of your time; New York-based readers can see it in person at Dijital Fix in Williamsburg, just a couple short blocks from the Bedford Avenue stop on the L. 

Originally blogged here