Five Reasons Moleskine Notebooks > Cell Phones

William E. Ketchum III - also known as a member of the Identical Variant team, and manager of BLAT! Pack artists sponsored by iV - wrote a blog on his web site about the pros of using a Moleskine notebook instead of a phone's notepad or ToDo applications. An excerpt below:

4.) Notebooks are fly.

Remember when a smartphone was a fashion statement? A Blackberry was a sign of a no-nonsense businessman on the go, while the iPhone was emblematic of the young, trendy guy or gal in the city. Those days are gone. Now, smartphones are so ubiquitous and easy to find that unless you own a customized device or an over-priced designer phone, you’re no different from everybody else. But my Moleskine is as much of an accessory as my watch or my necklace. It’s a conversation starter every time I unsheath the soft leather notebook from my back pocket, and when you feel fly, you work fly. I find myself taking it out to appear productive as much as I do to be productive, and those two things perpetuate each other.

For the rest of the entry, CLICK HERE.

[via SpeechIsMyHammer.com]

Hir-O "The Voyage Home" (Instrumental Album)

Hir-O isn't an Identical Variant-sponsored producer, but many members of his crew the BLAT! Pack are. Check out this new instrumental album, The Voyage Home - just like iV Clothing, it has a path of its own while still incorporating the things you'll love from other walks of life. A summary and a download link below.

In 2010, Detroit producer Hir-O resumed his undefeated record in Michigan's merciless beat battle circuit, landed placements with the likes of Othello (of Lightheaded) and Red Bull EmSee Battle National EmSee FowL, and released the critically-acclaimed "Computer Blue" with Doss The Artist. To end the year, Hir-O drops "The Voyage Home," an instrumental album that continues to showcase his seamless combination of electronic sounds with the soul and jazz that Detroit is respected for.

To download, CLICK HERE or CLICK HERE. And to hear more of Hir-O's music, CLICK HERE for MichiganHipHop.com's posts with his name. Personal recommendations include "You Make The Music" by Othello, "The Back Beat" by Greenlee, and "Going Going Gone" and "Lois Lane" from Computer Blue.