District Nine Pre-Screening

I've heard nothing but great reviews about this flick. Next wednesday a pre-screening will be held at AMC river east. Enter to get free tickets at www.aintitcool.com!

The Primeridian and Black Spade TONIGHT!

Thursday July 30th @ the Shrine 2109 S. Wabash. South Loop. Hear It Live featuring The Primeridian and Black Spade. MC'ed by Anacron. $10 cover. Doors open at 9. Valet parking available. Good Bean in da CAUwFEEE!!!!!!!!

Leroy's Soul Jam of the Day Three 6-Willie Hutch

Nothing need be said.

Leaves of Change Bag Restocked!

We've restocked our beautiful double sided leaves of change bag. It is now available for purchase in the store. One side of the bag shows the changing autumn colors and the other displays the tree in it's spring transformation. We restocked this bag due to popular demand, so we encourage you to contact us with anything that's on your mind.

Leroy's Soul Jam of the Day - Leon Haywood, Snoop, Dre

Both great songs. Is the female moaning in the background a bit oversexed? Leon doesn't think so...neither do I.

Leroy's Soul Jam of the Day - Isley Brothers, Ice Cube

Are we really sure...can a love that lasted for so long still endure?

Leroy's Jam of the Day- Otis Redding and Marly Marl

Gotta love the wild west theme in this Juice crew video.

Leroys Jam of the Day BIG & Bobby Caldwell

Bobby Caldwell is probably the most soulful white singer I've ever heard....All you soul jam of the day fans, don't hesitate to leave comments on the videos!

The Hurt Locker

Saw this last night. Easily one of the best movies of the year. Currently, this film is only playing at a handful of theaters around the city, however, it is set to expand soon. Check it out. It's a blast.

Run, Blago, Run

Artist Ray Noland, who became famous for his blago graffiti, will be headlining an art show appropriately titled "Run, Blago, Run". The exhibit features over a dozen artists and opens today (friday, July 24th). Heres a sneak peak :

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-run-blago-run-gallery,0,2483947.photogallery

Show starts: Friday at 6 pm and runs until sunday. The gallery is located at : 1925 N. Milwaukee Ave. Check it out!

Leroys Soul Jam of the Day - Smokey Robinson

Smokey Robinson will be performing tomorrow, Saturday July 25 at Morton Arboretum in a Chicago suburb tomorrow. He was a veritable hit machine in the Motown days. Some of his most famous songs include "The Tracks of my Tears", "I Second That Emotion" and "You've Really Got a Hold on Me." There are many, many more hits. The show is $50 and starts at 7 p.m. so if you've got the money you should definitely go. This is "Quiet Storm", later sampled in the De La Track "Breakadawn".

Star Spangled Skyline for ladies

We just got this tee for women in the store. We apologize to all the ladies for the delay!

Leroy's Jam of the day

Stan Getz was a big player in the bossa nova movement, a style of jazz that began in the 1950s and used samba rhythms extensively. This track was sampled by the great J Dilla in Pharcyde's "Runnin" off of LabCabinCalifornia.

New Do or Die Ft. Twista and JP

Hot new joint from Do or Die....

Leroy's Soul Jam of the Day - Marvin & Talib

This track is from Marvin Gaye's album "Here My Dear". After he had recently divorced with his wife, Marvin had to give the proceeds from this album to her as damages. "Here my Dear" is one of his most emotionally charged albums. Sampled by Hi-Tek in "Time" ft. Talib Kweli

Leroy's Soul Jam of the Day 7/20 Ahmad Jamal

You could argue that this is more jazz than soul...but its some soulful ass jazz, there's no argument about that. This is "Swahiland" by Ahmad Jamal. It was sampled later on by the great J Dilla for De La Soul's "Stakes is High". Enjoy!

DE LA MIXTAPE

check it out: http://www.sendspace.com/file/zh4zft
"Sweet Dreams" is straight FIRE. Thanks to whoever is hosting this out there in the matrix!.

Soul jam of the Day - Curtis - Kung Fu.

I could go on for weeks strictly posting my favorite Curtis Mayfield tracks. For now I've selected 'Kung Fu'. Curtis was from Chicago's Cabrini Green Projects before he dropped out of high school and joined the Impressions, who were a Motown Hit. Enjoy

Leroys Soul Jam of the Day 7/18

Girl you're welcome, stop on by!

Leroys Soul Jam of the Day 7/17

Before hip hop there was Gil Scott Heron, a poet whose spoken word pieces and songs dealt with the issues surrounding life in America, particularly in the ghetto, in the 1970s. His spoken word provides an interesting snapshot of the realities of that time. Truly one of the best of his time.

Not everyone knows: Rams in Apple.

I'm guessing Laurent gave me carte blanche to start blogging so I'll start with an interesting conversation my neighbour brought up. I'm sure in the designer and art community it has known for years that the 1960s and 70s Braun electronics look quite similar to the revolutionary Apple electronics emerging now.

The genius behind Braun, as my neighbour goes on, is Deiter Rams. Rams was obsessed about minimalism and believed that design should melt away leaving the product with only function and form. It was said that Rams' office was completely white save a small orange pack of smokes on his desk.

Deiter Rams also forged his style from the self founded ten commandments of design, which are listed below, I also added a few pictures on the similarities, but if you Google it there hundreds more. Sorry Ives.

Good design is innovative
Good design makes a product useful
Good design is aesthetic
Good design helps a product to be understood
Good design is unobtrusive
Good design is honest
Good design is durable
Good design is consistent to the last detail
Good design is concerned with the environment
Good design is a s little design as possible

Leroys Soul Jam of the Day 7/16

Classic from Stevie, this album is probably one of the greatest albums of all time, of any genre of music.

Leroy's Soul Jam of the Day

Classic Jam from EWF

Pugs Atomz feat. the Primeridian and Wes Restless

Check out this new video shot by Pugs Atomz.

H.O.V.A

Rap mogul Jay-Z will be in Chicago Tuesday, July 7th for one of only a handful of concerts scheduled around the US this month. The Grammy award-winning artist is backed by a live band and singer/song writer Ciara. Jay said this concert tour will give him a chance to "connect with the fans" as the tour moves around major cities including Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix and Las Vegas. According to Ciara's Twitter page, the duo could hit upto ten cities in both the US and Canada. The show is scheduled to take place at Chicago's very own Charter One Pavilion which offers an incredible skyline backdrop with a smaller, more intimate crowd setting.
Both Jay and Ciara will be promoting their new albums, "Fantasy Ride" and "The Blueprint 3." Jay's next album is set to release September 11th, 2009 and is produced almost entirely by Chicago's very own, Kanye West. According to the released track list, the album features hard-hitting artists such as Eminem, Andre 3000, Scarface and Nas. Needless to say, we're all very excited. See you tuesday, Jigga!

Bye Bye BG

Ben Gordon agreed in principle to a deal with our rivals the Detroit Pistons yesterday. Although he turned down 2 deals worth over $50 million from the Bulls the past two summers, BG has agreed to a contract that will pay him around $55 million over the next 5 seasons. Detroit is looking to improve their roster at the guard position and the Bulls didn't want to cough up the elite-player money Gordon has been asking for. I'm going to have to agree with the Bulls move to let Gordon go.
Gordon is a streaky shooter, albeit clutch in late game situations. However, he has just as much a chance at shooting your team out of a game as keeping them in the game. He is a small guard, and he scores remarkably well for someone his size. His size makes it more likely that he will hack up shots rather than get to the paint and the line, which is the difference between him and elite guards. He also plays absolutely no defense, making him a liability on the floor when he isn't putting up points. Gordon had some very clutch games this postseason, and the Bulls were a better team with him than they are now without him. But if the Bulls are going to make a serious bid at someone from the 2010 free agent class, which includes Melo, Wade, Lebron and Chris Bosh, they can't afford to spend $60 million+ for scoring off the bench.
However no one in Chicago will ever forget this shot, the best bulls playoff moment post-MJ.
So farewell to little Ben...........