Love and Hate...

So I don't usually talk about this type of thing on my blog...but I guess I must say it as I feel it.

I received a dare I say it sharp remark from a guy today who I very much respect and always will respect. It really made me quite angry...angry at him? No and yes. Angry at myself? Yes and no...disappointed? Yes, deeply disappointed and saddened.

I like so many people am interested in the urban culture whether it be vinyl, sneakers, clothes, art, skating...there are too many elements to name.

There used to be a time when no one else talked about this kind of thing, the mainstream had not tapped properly into this niche market, there were no internet sites / forums to discuss and show each other products we were all dying to see and could only randomly hear about. At that time in the mainstream people still saw skating as skating, DJing as DJing, graphitti as graphitti...now it seems everything has all come under one banner...urban culture. There is nothing wrong with it at all, I enjoy the crossover very much at times as it seems to add another dimension to things.

Today there are internet sites, magazines, books, and forums, all sorts of things dedicated to rooting out the newest, freshest and best news out there. The internet especially has added a whole other dimension in how we receive information and how it is dispersed to the masses. Again this has been debated and damned by so called 'heads' as just a bunch of kids showing off their clothing...or frankly just redistributing news from prominent sites...so what!? If thats their thing then leave them be...shouldn't we all think positively and collaborate rather than creat tension and competition?

To me urban culture is more than just about the latest Nikes, Visvims, Futura artwork, Bape clothing...and most importantly more than about money/business and the pressures which come with it. It is about expressing myself, what I love and frankly how I feel. I have seen what resellers/hip hop artists/so called sell-outs have done to the urban culture market...bape anyone!? Who would have thought it would have gotten this big...but does that mean I hate on it...no...but it does make me disappointed that everyone has turned to profit ahead of love.

People who I see around me hating on other internet sites / brands / even on other people...saddens me...everyone in the beginning had some sort of love for an aspect of urban culture and now suddenly everything is about money...business and love don't work...it just creates mistrust and promotes hate...its sad but a fact.

So what is this term Love that I keep relentlessly mentioning?

I am a child...thats how I will always see myself...I am child in a sweetshop every time I go to bape, hideout, visvim, BXH...its fascinating for me to see things in their original form and surrounding and I grin, my heart jumps as I feel this is it...its as though a wave of nostalgia grips me...I am home...

One of my best friends loves CI Boyz...not the coolest toys out there on the urban vinyl market...the company behind it is not Medicom or Michael Lau...but my friend truly loves them and the concept of it...he goes on the internet looking for rare CI Boyz and when he speaks about them in detail there is such exhilaration in his voice...he is willing to travel thousands of miles and go to shops which sell them...that is love...that is passion...there is no financial gain in what he is doing.

I bought a Milo hoody a while back, their original multi camo...I saw it...fell in love and that feeling will always remain. I could have sold it for triple maybe quadruple what I originally paid (or so I've been told) but I don't. I don?t care if people say Bape is dead; I don't care if I can make money off it now...all I care about is I LIKE it, I LOVE it...and that goes with anything that I buy. I am not a fashion guru, I am not the worlds leader in street fashion/urban culture, I don't know everything about every facet of urban culture...I just know what I love and I have respect for it...if a day comes when I take any of this shit seriously is the day the love I have will die...not when everyone else jumps on the bandwagon and it becomes mainstream.

This isn't some random post made out to settle personal vendettas; I am not judging anyone or any group in particular...its just the way that I see things right now. True this is not the most coherent of arguments...but I feel it has justified how I feel.

There are so many out there who run internet sites, who are artists, own clothing labels or who are just consumers all linked to urban culture...I have the deepest respect for you all. Maybe I am too naive and believe in something that was long dead...we are though facing a huge, new and possibly exciting future and I hope the love I have talked about still remains in your hearts too...

"In this great future...we can't forget out past..."