Wed 21 Nov 2007
Genius Moment: Satchel of Gravel…streetwear’s home of hurt feelings
Posted by Miss Info under laugh with , life beyond rap[24] Comments
oh the truth hurts….so good.
If you don’t have a dress code at work, love hip hop but don’t wear “hip hop brands”, have lost any realistic grip on how much a t-shirt is really worth, and are completely jaded and cynical….and hypercritical….then you’re kinda like me. And maybe you were also a fan of the now defunct site “Don’tBelieveTheHypebeast.com.”
In a very insidious “urbanexposure.com” way (remember that firestarter site? yikes), dontbelievethehypebeast started posting some harsh commentary about your favorite “streetwear” brands and trends. Sometimes it was hatery, othertimes, brilliant. But the name of the site alone was great enough to me.
Anyways, it disappeared (I’m sure the reasons who/what/why are on some NikeSB messageboard or something but I have no idea. When it comes to that scene, I’m the “oh, I only smoke on the shitter” type. Not the pack-a-day type.)….
but now…Merry Christmas…dontbelievethehypebeast has reincarnated itself as SatchelofGravel.com. (maybe a play on streetwear retail site digitalgravel.com)
And my boy DT forwarded me a recent post they did on the…um…oddly monochromatic model palette featured on the new Ecko.com site. Click Here to read.
Personally, I think Mr. Ecko is a savvy guy (also, I have alot of love for many people who he staffs at Complex. They’re smart, funny, and totally multi-cultural)…but SatchelofGravel makes a interesting point about whoever is running the ecko retail site. Is it racist to have all white models? No. Is it kinda weird? A bit. If a 19-year-old boy in a mall in suburban Illinois is in the market for an all-over-print hoodie, with graffiti-embroidery, then I think its pretty safe to say that he’s ready (maybe even eager) to deal with society’s wondrous multi-colored tapestry. lol. Now, I think it’d be equally weird if the site had all African-American models or all Asian models. (well, actually, if it had all Asian models, then I’d also add creepy and pervy to the mix). Either way, its just unrealistic for any US company, especially an “urban” or “youth”-skewed company to not rep multi-culti. Just my opinion.
Moving on, I loved SatchelofGravel’s post on another site called YourSceneSucks.com…
I’d like to see one on hipsters rappers.
November 21st, 2007 at 10:27 pm
lol…………this is great yeah I wondered why they took down the dontbelievethehypebeast.com, great stuff!!!
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November 21st, 2007 at 11:43 pm
bhaahahhahahha…..info….u made my day with this one right here….btw I share ur cynicism on the whole hipster/streetwear scene.
Im putting together a line myself (disclaimer….a FULL line & DEFINITELY NOT STREETWEAR)….and the clownery of that whole scene amuses the hell outta me. I’m not some clothing elitist or anything….It just seems to me that walking around looking like a Las Vegas Casino Marquee isn’t the best idea in the world.
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November 22nd, 2007 at 12:06 am
Thanks! I was wondering what happened to DontBelieveTheHypeBeast.Com…are the same people doing SatchelOfGravel…?
Anyways, you should contribute to the content at SatchelOfGravel, with the type of commentary you provided regarding Lupe Fiasco’s show a while back:
>When Lupe Fiasco first came started buzzing with “Kick Push” >(like mid-hype, pre-flop), he performed at my boy Louis’ >Kicksclusive and Karmaloop party. (big up to Shana L). The party >celebrated Lupe’s cover story, there were lots of sponsors, and >tons of streetwear/sneakerheads in attendance.
>After about 2 hours of being told that Lupe was just about to hit >the stage, many of the freshly-dressed hipsters were wilting and >grumpy. So when he finally appeared, they were understandably >expectant. Lupe seemed offended and berated the crowd for not >having enough energy, especially since he had “just flew all the >way out here from L.A.” Uh oh….. Out came some boo-birds >and the hecklers.(Please note: many streetwear kids are touchy >because who knows what shit they’ve already taken during the >course of the day for their tight-fitting Wesc jeans.) And during >“Kick Push,” Lupe threw his fitted out into the audience. And >they threw it back. (snicker) Lupe responded to by saying that >they should appreciate it because the hat was a limited edition >something or other.
>This to a crowd of 1) folks who spend their days collecting >hyperstrike kicks, or 2) folks who actually make that “limited >edition” streetwear. Oops.
funny shit
oh, the superficiality of it all…and so many varying degrees of it within hip-hop…
so, does “streetwear” have one foot in the grave now, or both…?
anyways, whatever…I’ll silently root for pragmatism in ’08
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November 22nd, 2007 at 12:26 am
have to admit i am a nike head maybe since mid 90′s so i do go out my way for a mean sneaker {Bobbito hi’s in red}freash out the box today,ne way thats where the buck stops,ill get a tee from target and call it a day.i do have a few street tess but who dosent.
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November 22nd, 2007 at 12:28 am
o’my home girl is a intern at complex ive been reaading that mag since day one as well very dope mag.
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November 22nd, 2007 at 12:34 am
Im so sick of people tellin other people what they shouldn’t wear. its so stupid…at the same time…if the hottest celebrity at the time is wearing somethin why does it automatically mean that its “in”. Then everybody wants it…BE YOURSELF PEOPLE!!!
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November 22nd, 2007 at 2:52 am
What is the world coming to?!! People taking they dress sense off the net? What happened to swagger? What happened to originality.
Am not co-signing that website, they shud get shut down for good, c’mon James Brown, Rick James and Little Richard them dudes kept it gangster that’s what dressing and looking fresh is all about, displaying your own style and personality.
Hip-hop is becoming more pop and that sucks!!
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November 22nd, 2007 at 3:51 am
Place the blame where it’s due. On Markkk Ekkko. He’s the one that signs off on his site, right?
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November 22nd, 2007 at 4:02 am
The last post on dontbelievethehypebeast.com referred to some kind of falling out between the two main bloggers. It must have been pretty serious for them to pull the site itself. The brief post read like a lover’s quarrel but that could be a best friend thing as well.
Satchel of Gravel is kind of weak but that Ecko post cuts to the chase quite nicely. I’m really having trouble believing what I’m seeing on that site.
On a side note, in Raleigh, NC it’s the white kids wearing the allover hoodies cause it’s a skate thing here. Black kids not so much.
If they had an rss feed I’d probably subscribe but it seems like the rare post worth reading gets picked up by other bloggers so I guess I don’t need to bother.
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November 22nd, 2007 at 11:20 am
You can’t generalize like that either. There’s really good subtle stuff out there as well, like 3Sixteen and Flying Coffin… isn’t it mainly the Cali brands who are into that whole “clown on crack” aesthetic?
Either way, even lookin like dude in the pink bandana on the site (and thats a bad bad look) beats matching your laces with your fitted with your rhinestones with the thread in your tall tee…
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November 22nd, 2007 at 11:31 am
urbanexpose.com !
The net (and real world) seemed to be so much more genuine then – no posers fronting realtime – no realtime peeps fronting virtual.
RIP George Jackson.
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November 22nd, 2007 at 5:26 pm
Genius.
I’m laughing so hard as I sit here in my fitted cap w/sticker, camo shell toes and every other hip hop cliche.
It’s so true…
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November 23rd, 2007 at 3:59 am
lol damn i feel bad for the kid on NT that came up with the phrase hypebeast, son could’ve made some money if he copyrighted it some how, who knew it would’ve blown up like it did. The power of NT compels the internets
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November 23rd, 2007 at 5:10 am
ecko site is down – go figure.
http://www.shopecko.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=2441354
http://www.satchelofgravel.com/?p=150
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November 24th, 2007 at 12:56 am
marc milakopsky lost some weight and his man boobs, but he remains the racist, money hungry white boy that he’s always been. i’m sure everyone reading this has 5 degrees of separation from at least one person of color that ecko’s dicked over from designers to marketing people and more. it’s nothing new and the fact that their website is down speaks to how real this story is…
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November 24th, 2007 at 1:06 am
not only is ecko a racist company here in the states, they directly and indirectly fund the israeli army committing genocide against palestinians in the holy land through their so-called jewish charity tikva…exploiting kids in the name of humanitarianism. it’s a damn shame.
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November 24th, 2007 at 9:29 am
on point as usual….check this youtube vids i found…american gangster meets scarface…
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=D13642FD3E8C8097
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November 24th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
hope you had a good Thanksgiving!
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November 24th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
This is hilarious…I’ve retired the whole flashy thing this year. Sneakers i’m willing to make an exception on though. It’s pretty much Polos and shell toes for me.
How the hell would I look going to my HOA meetings in a Hilighter yellow Alife hoodie…?
It’s 2008 people …Land o Lakes …
Peace
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November 25th, 2007 at 1:37 am
lol, that ecko article is retarded
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November 25th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
SHUT DA FUCK DUN BITCH DONT NO WHAT SHE ON ABT CUM DWN DISTRICT B11 JOCK ALL OVA YA
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November 26th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
great post miss info !
check it out back in august i read something about ecko ripping off another kid , but possibly you can see here
http://www.saucydamedelux.com/weblog/2007/08/the-artwork-of-santiago.html#more
he claims to have interviewed with Ecko FOUR TIMES and never was hired . but was confused why ecko was inspired , and knocked off the concpet …
to all who are new in the fashion game this is common place
a) ideas stolen
b) money send to fund wars
c) fashion now not wanting to diversify their models .
personally the ecko clothing is really scary looking , as rockawear , baby phat , sean john….. But i do like bape , it has an artistic quality .
anyway after all that , how much would any of you pay for a tee shirt ? do you feel embroidery on tee shirts are still hot ?
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November 26th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
call it racist or whatever but I never seen any black or asian people wear ecko
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April 21st, 2010 at 8:49 am
Aw, this was a really good quality post. In theory I’d like to write like this too – taking time and also real effort to make a very good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and certainly not seem to get something done.
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