20 MAY 2013
Bedtime Stories

Technology advances story reading into the modern age

2 MAY 2013
Today’s Headlines

Social media apps allow users to transform their feeds into video news

23 APR 2013
Dive-Ins

Aquatic cinemas are making a splash worldwide

27 MAR 2013
Better off Read

Municipalities are reinventing libraries for the digital age

7 MAR 2013
Art Speaks Volumes

As hard-copy reading fades, books become objects of art

25 FEB 2013
Screen Savers

Experiential cinema is poised to reinvigorate moviegoing

15 JAN 2013
Mix Max

Music remix innovators cater to the creative class

14 DEC 2012
Back to Boom Bap

The snare-driven sound of old-school hip hop returns

3 DEC 2012
Second Shooters

New photography gadgets go beyond the smartphone camera

28 NOV 2012
Mix It Up

Digital mixing tools socialize music creation

14 NOV 2012
Lost and Sound

Geotagging apps put music on the map, literally

22 OCT 2012
Stranger Than Fiction

Adult fans are driving the popularity of teen literature

30 AUG 2012
Busk a Move

A new wave of street performers earn currency in unexpected ways

17 AUG 2012
Going for the Gold

Our Cassandra Speaks community’s favorite Olympics-related marketing campaigns

26 JUL 2012
Instrumental Change

Artists and designers discover innovative ways to make music

19 JUL 2012
Radio Active

Talk radio reinvents itself for a new generation of listeners

13 JUL 2012
First Fridays: Celestine Maddy, founder of Wilder Quarterly

Q+A with the creator of the pub that's inspiring a movement of "contemporary cultivators"

27 JUN 2012
In the Fold

Origami arises as an inspiration for artists and designers

25 JUN 2012
Caught on Tape

Nostalgia for the VHS format seems to be on the rise

17 MAY 2012
Tall Tales

New platforms cater to consumer passion for storytelling

New York Un(w)rapped
NYC hip-hop artists break boundaries with unconventional influences
Media / 15 Nov 2011
Today’s rappers are less inclined to boast about girls and guns and, with the advent of social listening, many are no longer restricting themselves to a specific regional sound. Could this change signal the demise of the formerly fatal East versus West feud? Not necessarily, but as New York magazine pointed out recently, several new artists are restoring faith in the future of hip-hop.
A$AP Worldwide: Lately, rappers have been steering clear of signing with major labels, but A$AP Worldwide couldn’t resist the allure of Sony/RCA subdivision Polo Ground Music’s reported $3 million deal. Currently on tour with Drake, the A$AP clan is charging ahead on the road to hip-hop stardom. Led by “pretty motherf!$&er” A$AP Rocky, the group’s Houston-by-way-of-Harlem sound is sometimes sizzurp slow, sometimes ’90s nostalgic. Unlike its predecessors, A$AP doesn’t identify with most New York rappers and doesn’t stick to East Coast style. In fact, Rocky is open about his dandyish tendencies, is a recently converted vegetarian, and is a fearless supporter of his so-called competition on the opposite coast.
Clams Casino: Twenty-four-year-old Clams Casino got his break by messaging The BasedGod on MySpace (yes, really) and though he’s produced hits for his idol, they’ve never met. With superbly emotive beat-making skills, Casino has quickly climbed the ladder of hip-hop hierarchy to produce for some of the biggest names on both coasts. At times both melancholy and exultant, Casino’s sounds have broken down the barriers between hard knocks gangsta rap and new age experimental sounds. Honorably self-made, he released his first mix tape, Instrumentals, for free and has since made a niche for himself putting spins on samples from artists as mainstream as Adele and Imogen Heap.
Action Bronson: According to his Wiki page, Queens-born rapper Action Bronson holds a day job at Astoria, NY’s Roti Boti restaurant. Though this biographical fact provides some insight into why he named his first mix tape Bon Appetit… and often rhymes about food, it does not explain why he’s been compared to hip-hop legend Ghostface Killah. Indeed, he collaborated on Wu-Tang’s 2011 Legendary Weapons and has his own highly anticipated first studio recording scheduled for release at the end of this month. Titled Well Done, can one assume that is how he prefers his steak? Either way, it’s no mystery that his audience will be declaring its devotion upon their first listen.
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