Lifestyle brand BarrelHouseBKLYN releases the Spring/Summer 2010 collection of their new line “Concrete Heavens.” These tees are inspired by the edge and energy of New York City a.k.a. the concrete jungle. Concrete Heavens is BarrelHouse’s first line.

BarrelHouseBKLYN is a growing curator of culture within their community, spreading positivity through music, fashion, art, poetry, etc.

Check out their latest shoot, taken in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn, New York.

Dope.

Wale premieres his video for “Diary” on MTV Jams.

Wale’s video for “Diary” will debut this week on MTV and BET Networks.

As he announced via Twitter, Wale’s video for “Diary” debuts tomorrow, May 3rd on MTV Jams at 11:24 a.m. For BET, it will premiere on May 5th. “Diary” came from the Roc Nation artist’s most recent album, Attention Deficit. The video was shot in Brooklyn, NY and was directed by Rik Cordero.

The Philly native and Brooklyn based singer/songwriter Candice Anitra releases the video for ”Take Me” from her debut album, Bark Then Bite, which is due this month. The video was edited by Joe Tomino of Dub Trio.

Check out 25’s unsigned and undiscovered series, “The Breaks” featuring Poe Picasso.

Words by Tray Laws |Photo Courtesy: Poe Picasso

In 2006, Poe Picasso picked up his pen and began writing rhymes that he eventually recorded a year later. Once his project was finished, the Brooklyn rapper only shared his music with friends. He had no intentions of releasing it for the world to hear. But his friends felt the heart Picasso sculpted into his music, so they pushed him to release it publicly. Those tracks became Exhibit A: The Real Hip Hop Project, released in January 2009. With Exhibit A, Picasso wants to prove that New York still has more to say. His flow is equipped with appeal, consistency, and intelligence. On the track “She Cries,” Picasso raps maturely about the many issues of Mother Earth, and how the people are contributing to her pain. On “Waste of Lead,” Picasso aggressively gives his view on the state of hip-hop and that it needs to be saved. This mixtape, a compilation of respect demanding, lyrical, feel good hip-hop, is a good start for Picasso as he makes his contribution to the ‘Hip Hop Museum.’

Although it took him two years to put out his first “Exhibit,” Picasso weighed his artistic scale, and realized he was heavy enough to put out Exhibit B: Manifest Destiny in November 2009. Picasso is aware of the load he carries in his aim to be the best out of New York. The city is home to some of the most well known rappers: Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z, and Nas. Yet, while proving he is worthy of being in the same realm as his predecessors, Picasso has figured out how to do it his way. The rhymes Picasso conceptualizes, paint the picture of his city in a different hue.

25: The name Poe Picasso definitely grabs attention, how did you develop the stage name?

Poe Picasso: It was simple. The Poe part I came up with, and the Picasso part my friend came up with. Me and my friends always use famous names or names of influential people; he suggested adding Picasso on the end of it and it just made sense. The Poe Part is from Edgar Allan Poe and the Picasso part came from Pablo Picasso.

25: A lot of your fellow New York Rappers talk about The Big Apple in their rhymes, how did the city that never sleeps influence your sound and your Mixtape Exhibit A: The Real Hip Hop Project?

Picasso: New York was the main influence. New York was basically known for its lyrics that had some kind of toughness behind it. So, Exhibit A would just be a re acquaintance with New York; letting the people know that there are people in New York who are still lyrically in this who can make it. Plus, growing up in New York you have to, well not everyone, carry a certain prestige. I cant say I’m from New York and people hear my music and think ‘nah you don’t fit in that realm.’ I think that’s what motivated me more to push it to the next level.

25: In your song “Bask in My Glory” you say “the Internet makes a loser feel important,” and “Since when was it cool to be a lame, cornball, or a nerd, but I guess that’s what works.” What did you mean by those lines?

Picasso: Basically, when you’re online its different from being in person. When you’re online you can do and say whatever because you’re behind a monitor and no one can see you. So they can post stuff with no real credentials or post stuff in whatever look that works for the moment. Being yourself just doesn’t work anymore-now you have to have a story. Before, what made you stand out was your specific flow. Now it’s about what you’re wearing and what kind of watch you have. The music has become the secondary element.

25: On your Myspace page bio you describe yourself as a Messianic (mes•si•an•ic) Adj. 1. Relating to the belief that someone or something will bring about a complete transformation of the existing social order. How will you achieve this message through your music?

Picasso: I do so by keeping it as honest as possible. You can tell when a person is just rapping to rap by how many ‘cool lines’ they try to write. I write in honesty so I don’t feel like I’m just writing. So, If I’m keeping it as honest as possible and people feel that then the change has began and the message spreads. The way I use my words when I write, it’s poetry and that’s where the art form takes shape. I always have a message I’m trying to convey because as artists we have people that listen to our music and internalize the message we’re trying to convey. We’re the voice of our generation so it’s important for our listeners to get the message.

25: What’s your plans in the near future and where do you see the Poe Picasso brand in 5 years?

Picasso: My plans for the future are to be the number one artist. The best. If I’m not the best then I’m doing something wrong. As far as the Poe Picasso brand I see it being on the forefront carrying on the art form. I want my name to be the staple of New York, The flagship artist like when you think New York you think Poe Picasso. I know that sounds a little far fetched but that’s what I’m working for.

25: Anything else you would like to add?

Picasso: My next project, Exhibit B is one of the best bodies of work about to break. I’m very competitive and I’m not OK with being just OK and a lot of artists are OK with that. I think the healthy competition is lacking, not a beef type of thing, but by being the best it would push other artists to be the best.

You can find Poe Picasso’s Exhibit A: The Real Hip Hop Project and Exhibit B: Manifest Destiny at myspace.com/poepicasso

The cover art for for Jay-Z’s recent LP, Blueprint 3, was hardly a Photoshop effort. Photographer Dan Tobin Smith actually built the white instruments structure and painted on the red stripes. Check out the behind-the- scenes video after the jump!

Check out Rhapsody’s latest commercial chronicling Jay-Z’s catalog over the years though his album covers.

25 Magazine catches up with Von Pea and Donwill of rap trio Tanya Morgan on the heels of their LP,  Brooklynati.

Music has met its match, the internet, and over the past decade they’ve built a strong alliance and revolutionized music discovery and distribution. Many artists have benefited from the joining of the two mediums. Some notable offspring include Soulja Boy Tell’em, who has over 400 million views on YouTube; The Cool Kids, who formed after finding each other’s music on Myspace in 2005; and Asher Roth who was signed by Atlanta based manager Scooter Braun through Myspace in 2006. But long before these artists used the internet to network and share music, rap trio Tanya Morgan had already been there and done that.

Rapper Von Pea credits the internet for Tanya Morgan’s formation. Its connecting power brought Von Pea from Brooklyn, and Donwill and Ilyas from Cincinnati together. Back in 2000, Donwill was working with Ilyas in a group called Ilwill, and first heard Von Pea’s music on okayplayer.com. By 2003, the three emcees formed Tanya Morgan and released their first mixtape Sunlighting online in 2005, as well the EP Sunset later that year. In 2006, they dropped their debut album Moonlighting and took their career on the road. During the mid-2000s, Tanya Morgan made their presence in the indie Hip Hop circuit performing in Toronto’s NXNE Festival with Noveau Riche and performing in the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival with Consequence and Ghostface Killah. Just last week they headlined with Torae & Marco Polo at Southpaw in Brooklyn.

In the past six years, Tanya Morgan has received nods from rap notables De La Soul and Black Thought from The Roots for their affinity for both lyrical complexity and content. The trio has pumped a steady flow of music into the blogosphere over the past few years, releasing their mixtape Tanya Morgan Is A Rap Group and The Bridge EP in 2008, and their LP Brooklynati in June. Although Tanya Morgan has not hit the mainstream Hip Hop scene, their focus is not on commercial cross over. They understand true success, and rather than define themselves through records sold and Myspace hits, they’d rather focus on making the best “intelligent car music” possible.

25: What is the story behind Tanya Morgan’s name?

Donwill: Pretty much the name was designed for a one-off project. It was to throw people off with the album so they discover that it’s rap. It’s kind of like a weird inside joke and the name stuck. We’ve adopted several meanings to the name but it’s to expect the unexpected.

25: How did you all form Tanya Morgan?

Von Pea: Donwill and Ilyas met in college. They went to college together in North Carolina and they’re both from Cincinnati. I’m from Brooklyn. They hooked up and became homeboys in college. I was just starting to try to get my demo together. I was working with DJ Brainchild and Phonte back when Phonte was a solo artist. Donwill was one of the first people to hear my music when I first started in 2000, I guess through internet music sites like okayplayer.com and mp3.com. From there we started working with each other, but as far as being a group, me and Don became a group and he and Ilyas were already working together. From there, I just started working with both of them. We decided to do what was supposed to be a one-off project and we got stuck together.

25: You guys merge styles from Cincinnati and Brooklyn, how does that impact your sound?

Donwill: I would say our music is a mix of the east coast boom-bap and the mid-west stump. We make intelligent car music. It sounds good in your truck bunk and sounds good when you think about what we’re actually saying. In short, we make smart car music.

25: What distinguishes Brooklynati from your other productions?

Donwill: I think if people have ever heard anything that we’ve done it’s just a progression of the things we’ve done. It’s just everything is on a more professional, better version of what we’ve done. More thought out. We just did our own production this time around.

25: Do you think your music would be heard without the internet?

Von Pea: It would be interesting to see that, because we would have never become a group if not for the internet. I wouldn’t have any way to meet them, [Donwill and Ilyas]. I would have to go to Cincinnati. I don’t have friends or family in Cincinnati. They’re like my family in Cincinnati now but before them I had no reason to go to Cincinnati. We wouldn’t even be a group.

25: Why did you sign with Interdependent Media?

Donwill: We were actually, since our first album, signed with a subsidiary label called Loud Minority and that label got dissolved into Interdependent Media, as opposed to switching up the whole team that was part of the creative line up. A lot of our ideas are unconventional, and we wouldn’t be able to receive that sort of creative control from other vessels. So we just chose to rock with what we’ve been rocking with, and try to see what we can do together on a slightly larger scale.

25: How do you feel about the music industry and how has it impacted your work?

Von Pea: I feel like the music that we make is influenced from our life, and is the music that we gravitated to and listened to growing up. As far as hip hop, it’s more of the same. It hasn’t really changed. It’s more of a financial or monetizing thing. You see less intelligent music and more commercial, mainstream music. It’s harder to find, but if you go into Fat Beats, I guarantee it is all there. I think hip hop is okay. I think the rap game is in crutch right now because we don’t have record stores. We have Fat Beats and your local mom and pops. You go in there to look around and they carry our products and many of our friends. Hip hop is alive and well. It’s not really dead, it’s just harder to find.

25: You have been making music for some time, how do you feel about your slow rise to recognition?

Donwill: Still waters run deep. Nothing is overnight. Even if it looks overnight, it was probably 10 years in the making. You can’t really name an artist that was just concocted and rose to this meteoric success, without understating the 10 years or 20 years of work they put in until they get to that point of even having a meteoric rise. Name any artist, and there’s at least 10 years worth of grind and hustle. They just don’t talk about it because it’s behind them; it’s the past. It may work to be slow and steady, but 10 years from now after all is said and done and we have our cult following-I’m not in it for the fast run. The quicker you get in the quicker you leave.

25:What has been the defining moment for Tanya Morgan?

Von Pea: I think every time we meet artists that we grew up on, they always seem to know us and show us love. Just to see emcees we grew up on and we’ve learned so much from have respect for us, gets me every time. It’s been De La Soul, Ali Shaheed Muhammad from A Tribe Called Quest, and Black Thought from The Roots, the whole Hieroglyphics [artist roster], and DJ Jazzy Jeff. It’s been so many people that you would think pay you no mind at all, and then they go, “Oh yeah! We know you! We like what y’all do! Y’all are dope!” They understand that you’re the next generation of what they do. They still have the torch and they’re still running, but if they say, “If I stop today, the torch will be handed to y’all,” that’s special to me. That’s defining to me. That’s how we know we’re doing the right thing.

Editor, Stacy-Ann Ellis reviews the Tanya Morgan and Marco Polo & Torae show  at Southpaw (NYC).

Brooklyn was the place to be this Wednesday, as rap trio Tanya Morgan and Torae & Marco Polo graced the stage at Southpaw in Park Slope to promote their freshly released albums, Brooklynati and Double Barrel, respectively. During their time on stage, up and comers Tanya Morgan playfully called out all those in the audience “tweeting” throughout the evening’s performances...25 Magazine staff were not excluded.

Check out some of the evening’s tweet highlights:

@25mag: “A lot of rappers will sell you dreams. But I give it to you real. I keep it 100. And a [dude] don’t stop cause I love it.” – Torae

@25mag: @tanyamorgan make you want to like them. There’s nothing like hunger and love for the craft to steer an unfamiliar ear.

@25mag: Did @tanyamorgan just call their openers on to the stage to be their hypemen?

@25mag: @chegrand is hilarious, awkwardly trying to convince the crowd he knew all the words to TM’s single

Fortunately, Che has a sense of humor: @chegrand: @25mag lmao. reckless

Aside from Torae & Marco Polo and Tanya Morgan, special guests Che Grand, DJ Element, and Brown Bag All-Stars also performed during the event. Though all performers brought their A-game to the stage, Tanya Morgan was the clear crowd favorite. “Bang & Boogie” and “So Damn Down” got the crowd head-bopping, pumping arms, and swaying every which way. Their music was not the only thing securing their title for best performance of the night. They were fully animated (and choreographed!…sort of) and as they performed, drew energy from the crowd and each other. By the end of their performance, all of the night’s performers were on stage with Tanya Morgan hyping up the crowd and ending the show with a bang.

Yes, 25 MAGAZINE will be in attendance for the 5th Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival going down this Saturday. Can’t make it? Don’t worry the 25 staffers in NYC will hold you down with the live review and further pics and video coverage soon after. The festival will feature performances by Pharoahe Monch, Styles P, and dead prez just to name a few. Rain or shine, we in there!

This a great year for Biggie. First the bio-flick and now a new free mixtape. Today makes 12 years since the death of arguably the most illest rapper ever,  Biggie Smalls,  and DJ Drama & Cookin Soul marks his anniversary by dropping a new Notorious Big Tribute mixtape today. It features original appearances from P. Diddy,  Styles P, Amanda Diva, Freekey Zekey and others who pay their respects to the late rapper.

20 new tracks are unveiled on the Notorious Big Tribute mixtape and even better, Cookin Soul is sharing the goods for free.  Click for Free Download.

-Natelege