With summer here - or has it passed [?] - it’s time for an album to accompany it. I might be getting ahead of myself here, but Carnival is practically around the corner, and if you’re not excited enough already you will be after you download the latest compilation from Jamaica-born and South Florida based Chinese Assassin DJs - Hot off The Press (Fresh Fries 2). Some tracks you’ll probably have heard [Serani and Lady Saw's take on OMG], some you’ll probably hear [Pitbull and Machel Montero's Awrite], and some you might never if you don’t download it…

Chinese Assassin DJs - Fresh Fries 2

Oh yeah, that’s right I’m doing me, I’m living life right now. And that’s what I’m a do until it’s over, but it’s far from over. Bottles on me. Ok too much. Anyway forgetting Drake Drizzy Rogers for a minute, this is a quick-fire post to thank my friends at bilingual fashion and lifestyle magazine M:/P Magazine for the love and exposure they’ve afforded Capicú in their inaugural issue. Titled The Notebook of Creativity, the first issue is available on pre-order now, and is limited to 1,000 copies, so good luck getting your hands on one. And if you do want to read the full interview - and find out a bit more about the inspiration behind and aspirations in front of Capicú then click the link [part 2]. Thank you

Some like them big, some don’t, but you can’t deny the female derrière is certainly an object of fascination. From country to country - and more specifically culture to culture - they are seen as either a bonus or a bane. Think about the question “does my bum look big in this?”.. to some people that would be almost unanswerable, as the mind flits between the choice of lying through your teeth or inflicting untold insult, most probably to the person dearest to you. But to others, the desired response would be quite the reverse. I side with them. So it was to my great satisfaction that Taschen, one of the publishing houses I hold in highest regard - and one of the few I could say I’d be hard pushed to find a book of theirs that I wouldn’t be proud to display on my coffee table [bar a few notable exceptions] - opted to make back off the focus of one of their latest publications. Available in hardback, and with over 400 photographs sandwiched in between, The Big Butt Book was edited by Dian Hanson - who has previously turned her attentions and editorial abilities to such titles as The Big Book of Legs - and features an anthology of ass, tracking the relative appreciation and depreciation of the female posterior. Right up to the pinnacle of appreciation we experience today, as epitomised below. Wow. So that’s what Mos Def was talking about…

You know when you see an image and it just stays with you. The subject could be anything, and the reason impossible to put your finger on. This happens to me more than your average, and the latest muse was Brazil-born life long model Isabeli Fontana - as shot by Terry Tsiolis. Digging deeper [to view the rest of the set and learn more about the inspiration behind the shoot] I found myself knee deep in an archive of erotic art. Now I’m all for the stuff - call it what you will - but when the particular website you find yourself on has a degenerative header of PHOTOGRAPHY/SEX/EROTIC/PORN and you’re flicking through in a spare 5 minutes at work, it can potentially do you more harm that good. Which sounds hugely overdramatic for a form of art. Nonetheless art it is, and over the centuries art has frequently courted controversy. So between the passing gaze of the creative director I did enjoy more than a fleeting glance at what the website had to offer, and whilst some of it was too long on the erotic [and short on the art] to post here, other images were every bit as captivating as black and white Isabeli Fontana on a desserted beach. The highlight of which is below…

With a new post long overdue, the weather over here hotting up, and Uk music positively scorching right now, the stage is set. The subject of today’s return to the stage has been inspiring madness and disturbing the peace from Bow to Belgravia for a minute already, but it’s never to late to recognise talent. Tempa T’s Next Hype is undoubtedly one of the biggest Uk tracks to stay below the mainstream radar over the last 6 months, and is by the same right acknowledged by the industry as being game changing. I can say I’ve heard it in some guise or other at least 40 times this month already and it still sounds every bit as good as it did the first time.

*I wasn’t going to post the original video - in favour of the two alternatives - but then I watched it again, and couldn’t help laughing at Westwood being mugged off. Again. So switched my decision. Plus Tempz is sporting the Pars “R” Us tshirt and a flat top? Need I say more.*

The other two videos [below] seem to capture the breadth of Next Hype’s influence, through musical diversity. The second combines comedy and raw talent [including Tempz and JME], and serves to educate the less open minded amongst us as to the character and validity of the grime scene. Arguably more importantly though, could it help dispel the the misconceived perception that all grime artists are bipolar maniacs with a lust for vice and disorder? The first, by contrast, is no less inspired [and undisputedly original], and errs towards a more melodic and soulful interpretation of Tempz’s original hype. Whichever side of the fence you sit on, both in terms of grime as a genre, or the musical melting pot that is Ned and the Slow Jams, you’d be hard pushed to deny the ever-growing infuence and appreciation of a genre that is younger than most of us…

Donnis first came to my attention via a freestyle I heard of him over Rhi-Rhi’s Rudeboy. Next I heard Gone - the most critically claimed track off 25 year old former US Air Force member’s Diary of an Atlanta Brave mixtape. First I liked it, then I loved it, and then I saw a couple of bottles of Belvedere INTENSE in his video. The rest is history. Download the mixtape from 10Deep here

Whilst on the topic of continuing a theme, I can’t ignore this year’s The Street Where Originality Lives advert. I’d like to say it’s every bit as good as the house party original, but being the second in a series it is by nature slightly less impactful. It is however every bit as alluring and captivating, and it does make you wish that was your life every bit as much as the first did. To give credit where it’s due, like it’s predecessor this clip is expertly shot and art directed – finding the fine balance between hazy hedonism and sharp attention to detail – and the cast is magnificent [including Snoop Dogg, Oasis, Agyness Deyn, Jeremy Scott, David Beckham, Ciara, and Mr Hudson. Oh and not forgetting Dappy from N-Dubz]. Sign me up for the next one please.

Continuing our recognition and documentation of Diet Coke’s continuing collaborations with figureheads of the fashion world, here is their latest partnership with Karl ‘Chanel’ Lagerfeld. Mr Lagerfeld is, by his own admission, an avid drinker of the stuff – once claiming to have lost 90lbs thanks to a diet of merely steamed vegetables and Diet Coke, and as a king of his game who better to pair up with the brand. The aluminium bottle [above] costs €3.5, and the limited edition gift box with matching keyring/bottle opener [below] will set you back €60 – both from Colette in Paris…

This special edition carry case created by Australian designer Mark Newson for the iconic champagne house Dom Pérignon has successfully maintained the iconic equities of the brand (bottle shape and label) and combined them with modern colours, packaging formats, and substrates to create an eye catching and fully functional addition to their portfolio. The outcome finely balances the exclusive, heritage-heavy perceptions of a category king, with a more accessible and practical format.

This is Newson’s fourth collaboration with Dom Pérignon, in a time when - as the house of Dom Pérignon themselves put it - designer collaborations with luxury houses tend to be one-shot events. It is however every bit as creative, striking, and practical as any collaboration I’ve seen for a long, long time…