#17talks

Drake's Home Studio Lists for $250K/Hr (*Drizzy Feature Not Included)

Another day, more Drake news. Just a day after the musician shook the table with his new song sampling Kim Kardashian's voice, it appears he's now offering up his studio for other musicians to use — for $250,000 per hour, that is. Allegedly, Drake's home studio in his Toronto abode went up on Stufinder, an app dedicated to finding and booking recording studios. According to the listing titled "Drake's Home Studio," interested parties can book the space for $250K/hour with access to "custom equipment." But here's the thing: Drizzy nor an engineer comes with the booking. Specifically, the listing states, "Drake feature is not included." Perhaps, if you're lucky, you may get a bang for your buck with a brief pop-in from Drizzy. Who knows? Nonetheless, something smells fishy regarding this alleged Drake home studio listing on a random booking site launched in January. Though, it appears a few musicians like Moneybagg Yo and producer CHASETHEMONEY have already utilized the platform. Even Stufinder itself seemed to raise an eyebrow at the listing, sharing in a press statement that it reached out to Drake's camp for verification. "We reached out to Drake and his team to get confirmation that he did, in fact, list his home recording on our app," Jon Greeer, head of Stufinder's PR. "Session requests can be sent to the studio but to prevent a scam, we have paused the ability for the studio to accept bookings till we receive confirmation. The rapper Riff Raff, who wasted no time in booking a session for $500K (2 hours), will be refunded if Stufinder can't confirm the listing. Until then, his payment is currently on hold.

Nike Officially Signs Erling Haaland as Its Latest Football Athlete

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has officially signed to the next generation of Nike’s elite football roster, joining the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Marcus Rashford, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Kevin De Bruyne. As per the Nike website, Haaland has been signed to its roster of superstars due to the “record-breaking goal-scoring record that has cemented his stamp on the future of the game.” Since debuting for his hometown club, Bryne, in Norway, Haaland has dominated the scoring charts in Austria, Germany, and now England, as he continues to stand as a force of nature by becoming the youngest player — at 22 years old — to score 30 goals in Europe’s premier club competition. Additionally, Haaland’s commitment to holistic fitness has boosted his strengths on the pitch, prizing himself on his goal-scoring, instincts, power, positioning, and pace. Rumors about Haaland joining the Nike team have been surfacing for some time now. However, amid the noise, the baller has been seen rotating boots from PUMA, adidas, and Nike, while the athlete was biding his time on deciding which sports manufacturer to sign with permanently. However, now Haaland has certified himself as an all-round record breaker in the beautiful game, he has officially signed with the Swoosh, making him heir to the brand’s world-famous number 9 — the next-generation striker. A new era of #9.@erlinghaaland is a Force Of Nature.Are you ready?#nikefc pic.twitter.com/7UZrG0dngq — Nike Football (@nikefootball) March 31, 2023

This Unreleased Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force 1 Sample is Swathed in Green Suede

Sneaker aficionados love to talk about their “grails,” the shoes that are their North Star, the shoes they crave and dream about. Everyone’s “grail” is different and there’s no right or wrong answer for what your “grail” is, but if there was a sneaker lover dictionary, the Louis Vuitton x Nike (NYSE:NKE +2.11%) Air Force 1 would likely be the photo accompaniment to the term. Virgil Abloh’s beautiful swan song at Louis Vuitton, the LV AF1 checks all the boxes: it’s the culmination of a tremendously influential designer’s footwear legacy, a homage to hip-hop and bootleg culture and style that was crafted by hand from the highest-quality materials. It’s also extremely rare — and very expensive. 47 different bespoke styles were crafted for the collection, and now we’ve got a look at a never-before-seen sample of the Air Force 1 Low. Revealed by Imed Soussi, the global PR communications manager of Louis Vuitton menswear, the shoes do away with the LV AF1’s standard premium leather construction in favor of a suede-and-canvas mixture, the former done up in rich moss green and the latter in a lighter forest green. LV’s famous monogram covers the entirety of the upper, and is applied in two different fashions as it’s debossed on the suede and printed on the canvas. Completing the look are a gold foil stamp on the lateral quarter, custom laces, thick stich detailing around the Swoosh, a leather heel tab, extra-soft collar lining, white midsoles and green outsoles. As this pair is a sample, it’ll never see a retail release. However, you can enjoy a first look at it above. When you’re done ogling the ultra-rare sample, be sure to check out the latest installment of Sole Mates — a weekly Hypebeast series that explores the relationship between notable individuals in street culture and their favorite sneakers.

Quavo Honors Takeoff With New Track and Music Video “Honey Bun”

Quavo has returned with another song paying tribute to his late nephew and fellow Migos, Takeoff. On “Honey Bun,” the rapper reflects on mourning Takeoff as the rest of the world watches from afar. “I got a reason to slide, I got a reason to ride / I got a reason to slidе, I got a reason to ride,” he raps. “How can I comе outside, without no mask on? / They wanna see my emotions, I ain’t smilin’ at all.” An accompanying visual sees Quavo entirely alone, planning an elaborate heist of sorts In January, Quavo dropped the heartbreaking song “Without You,” his first release since Takeoff’s tragic passing in November 2022. He followed up with last month’s “Greatness,” where he continued to mourn Takeoff and shut down the idea of any potential Migos reunion. Watch the music video for Quavo’s “Honey Bun” and stream the single everywhere now.

Drake Previews Unreleased Track With Kim Kardashian Sample

Drake continues to tease his unreleased material with a preview of a brand new song that samples Kim Kardashian. The still-untitled track debuted on the newest episode of OVO Sound’s The Fry Yiy Show and hears Drizzy touch on his inability to feel his own emotions and be intimate with his partner. Kardashian then joins the cut with a line she previously said during the Keeping Up With The Kardashians series finale, where she was talking to her mom, Kris Jenner, about her divorce from Kanye West. “I didn’t come this far just to come this far and not be happy,” the reality star and businesswoman said. The Boy’s Kardashian-sampled track arrives shortly after he teased another unreleased track, this time produced by BYNX. “Rescue Me” touches on the rapper’s desire to be taken off the market as he raps, “Come and rescue me / Take me out the club, take me out the trap / Take me off the market, take me off the map / I’m tryna hit the group chat and tell ’em.” Stay tuned for more news on Drake’s upcoming releases.

EA SPORTS ‘FIFA 23’ Invites Players To Join UEFA Champions League Elite with Exclusive FUT 23 Kit

As part of its ongoing partnership with EA SPORTS, the UEFA Champions League is set to launch a new kit for players to wear in FIFA 23. Tapping into the history of Europe’s premier club competition, the “UCL Elite” kit takes on a premium look, drawing inspiration from the most famous nights in the competition’s history. In the set, the vibrant shirt collages diagonal stripes with a fluorescent magenta trim and is paired with navy blue shorts. Adding a finishing touch, these pieces are punctuated with iridescent silver components, paying homage to the lauded UEFA Champions League trophy. Registration for the new kit drops for a week from April 3 – 9, just as this season’s Champions League reaches the quarter-finals stage. Players will need to head online to register with only a limited number of kits available. UCL Elite kit winners will also gain access to an exclusive selection of Champions League stadium accessories for FUT 23.

Snoop Dogg Inks Deal To Release Two Solo Albums With New Record Label, Gamma

Snoop Dogg is teaming up with former Apple executive Larry Jackson to put out music under Jackson’s Gamma record label. The rapper shared the news on social media with a screenshot that revealed the label is backed by $1 billion USD in capital. Going beyond the duties of a record label, Gamma is billed as a media company that will also comprise podcasts and films and provides guidance and resources to emerging artists. Snoop Dogg will be releasing two new solo albums through Gamma, as well as using the label to distribute the entire Death Row Records catalog. In a social media post announcing the news, the rapper tagged both Jackson and Death Row, indicating that the future music releases will most likely drop as a joint venture between the two labels. “It made sense for two Black men to come together to change the face of the industry,” Snoop Dogg told Bloomberg. “I didn’t want to partner with a regular company because they respect me and fear me so much, they wouldn’t wanna give me ideas.” Some fans are hoping that one of the two albums will be Missionary, the long-awaited follow-up to Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s iconic LP Doggystyle. The rappers announced the sequel project last year, three decades after the original’s release. In addition to Snoop Dogg, Gamma has also secured deals to drop music from Usher, Rick Ross and more.

Coperni's New Star Model Is a Dog-Shaped Robot

Coperni very much broke the internet when it literally sprayed a dress onto Bella Hadid's body as the finale of its Spring/Summer 2023 runway show. What next? How about robot dogs! Coperni's Fall/Winter 2023 fashion show began in an airy set filled with Boston Dynamics' instantly-recognizable "Spot" robot. Several of the yellow, canine-like robots paced Coperni's set as models strode between them, an ambient soundscape filling the air. The Spot robots eventually began interacting with the models. One of them sported an arm that caressed a model's face before tugging the jacket off their shoulders. Later, a canine robot held one of Coperni's new bag designs aloft.   It got a little lost in the shuffle of the Bella Hadid spectacle — an inevitable problem with going viral — but Coperni's ultra-viral SS23 moment was really just a demonstration of the fashion brand's fascination with futurism. FW23, for instance, is "Freely inspired by Jean de la Fontaine’s The Wolf and the Lamb fable, Coperni explains in its show notes. "Unlike the original fable written in the 17th century, which raises questions relating to the balance of power between the human groups that make up society, Coperni reinterprets the story and transposes it to the year of 2023 with a positive vision of the future." Coperni's fixation on cutting-edge tech ought to come as no surprise: its signature item is the chunky signature Swipe Bag, a rotund handbag inspired by the motion of swiping up on a smartphone's touchscreen. The Swipe Bags are so core to the Coperni ethos that the brand previewed its FW23 show with a photo showing a special edition Swipe handbag carved from an honest-to-god meteorite (!). Back to the Spot robots, though. "The show presents Coperni’s vision which is that there is neither a dominant nor a dominated, but that mankind and machine can live in harmony," Coperni continued. Given the current (and deserved) fears about the current fixation on AI tech, that's some serious optimism. I assume Coperni isn't a fan of Will Smith's I, Robot. Despite the forward-looking aspects of Coperni's presentation, you can actually trace Coperni's fashion-meets-tech influences back to genius designers like Issey Miyake and Alexander McQueen. The show really feels like a nod to McQueen, in particular, who utilized robot arms to paint model Shalom Harlow's dress in the unforgettable finale of his Spring/Summer 1999 runway show. Not that Coperni is directly referencing these forebears, of course (or going quite as viral as McQueen once did) but there's precedent for its tinkering. Also notable about Coperni Fall/Winter 2023: the debut of Coperni menswear. This was the brand's first stab at co-ed ready-to-wear, after solely prioritizing womenswear for the past several seasons.

There's Another Tiffany x Nike AF1?!

Tiffany & Co's Nike Air Force 1 is dropping in mere days but it's not gonna be alone. The divisive black AF1 will apparently be accompanied by Tiffany Blue version of the Nike low-top, according to Tiffany exec Alexandre Arnault. Alexandre, son of LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, revealed the new shoes on his Instagram page, appropos of nothing on March 2. The two images that he uploaded showcase a Nike AF1 identical to Tiffany's original black design, but with a Tiffany Blue-toned leather upper and outsole. It's a suitably sudden reveal for an already surprising sneaker team-up: the original Tiffany x Nike AF1 surfaced suddenly in early February and since became a matter of much sneakerhead debate online. Some commenters were satisfied by the Tiffany AF1's stealth-wealth angle but plenty of others loathed the sneaker's apparent simplicity, indifferent to the subtlety of the silver Swoosh or chunky silver applique on its heel. Well, a Tiffany Blue shoe ought to please those critics. Note that early images of the Tiffany Blue Nike AF1 leaked online in February, but onlookers assumed that the sneakers seen in those photos were a mere sample. Not so, it turns out. Alexandre Arnault did not reveal any further details of the Tiffany Blue AF1. However, he did upload an additional image of the sneaker in a shoebox using an angle suspiciously similar to one recently seen on Tiffany's Instagram page. @alexandrearnault These may very well be a friends-and-family-only sneaker, destined to only ever grace the feet of Beyoncé and JAY-Z. On the other hand, what if we get a second round of Tiffany AF1s following the black pair's March 7 drop date (for $400 a pair, mind you)? Certainly, you'd think that even more folks would be willing to pay up for the Tiffany Blue pair. This is the first shoe to officially wear the exact shade that is Tiffany Blue, but Diamond Supply Co was the first to devise its own Tiffany-toned Nike, way back in 2005. Since then, Diamond Supply has mined the Tiffany Dunk motif more than a few times (most recently with 2018's Black Diamond Dunk) but nothing will ever outpace the influence (or resale value) of that first Diamond Supply Nike collab, cleverly called "Aqua Blue" to avoid copyright concerns. Tiffany & Co. hasn't uploaded any images of the new colorway itself. Instead, the jeweler has continued to promote the original black colorway of its Nike AF1, still set to debut on March 7, alongside photos of new brand ambassador Jimin, a member of K-pop supergroup BTS.

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Drake Announces His 'It's All A Blur Tour' With 21 Savage

Drake stans, get your wallets ready because the OVO rapper has just announced his Summer 2023 It’s All A Blur Tour which will feature support from 21 Savage. Featuring 28 dates, the fresh batch of concerts will span across various cities in North America. The Her Loss duo’s first stop is in New Orleans, Louisiana on June 16 and will run through September 5 where they’ll make their final stop in Glendale, Arizona. In between those dates, Drake and 21 Savage will pop up into Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Brooklyn, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Seattle and more. Drake’s website confirms that his hometown Toronto will be added later in the mix (this potentially hints at the return of his OVO Festival) but will be announced at a later date. General sale for the tour starts on Friday, March 17 at 10am local time via Drake Related. Cash App Card members get access to a pre-sale that starts on March 15 at 12pm local time. This marks Drake‘s first official tour since his Aubrey & the Three Migos run in 2018. Since then, he’s done a handful of pop-up performances like his intimate Super Bowl party appearances, Larry Hoover benefit concert with Ye and his Apollo Theater shows in New York. It’ll be the first time where songs from his last three albums Certified Lover Boy, Honestly, Nevermindand Her Loss will be performed in a tour setting.

First Look at the Air Jordan 1 Low OG "Atmosphere Grey"

Last year, the Air Jordan 1 High OG popped up in a “Stealth” colorway that saw grey and white go back and forth across its leather upper. As its Air Jordan 1 Low OG counterpart continues to expand its offerings, Jordan Brand has assembled a “Stealth”-like “Atmosphere Grey” for the silhouette. Following reveals of several university PEs on the sneaker and an upcoming “Black Toe” pair, the low-top sneaker now dons a white and grey color composition. Favoring an all-leather build, white covers the mudguard, base panel of the midfoot, tongue and laces. On the other end, “Atmosphere Grey” dresses its Swooshes, heel, toe box and lining. Black outfits the Wings logo at the heel and the grey tongue tag’s Nike Air logo while a stitched white midsole rests atop a grey rubber outsole to complete the look. Nike has yet to divulge any release information or imagery regarding the Air Jordan 1 Low OG “Atmosphere Grey.” It’s currently expected to launch on September 8 via Nike and select Jordan Brand retailers at a price of $140 USD.