If you’re on our email list (sign up above) then you already know about this. If not, here’s the update. Spring SALE going on til April 5th. Don’t sleep!

Newcomer MC Blu and producer Exile dropped hands down one of the best hip hop albums of last year, yet many people may have slept. Titled “Below the Heavens”, their album is produced by Exile wonderfully, mixing soulful samples with excellent beat chops, and Blu the emcee is second to none. He’s an rapper for everyman, penning lines that the average person can relate to rather than hustle-based club rap seen so often in mainstream rap today. They’ve recently released a video for the single “Blu Collar Worker” posted below. I also posted a link to d/l the track if you dig it.

This is my shit right here:


Here’s the song download.
Here’s Blu’s Myspace.

Don’t say i didn’t warn you.

Here’s an exciting music/art experience going on this weekend at Cleveland Institute of Art and co-sponsored by MOCA Cleveland. Looks pretty dope, you just might catch me there this Saturday.

From the CIA Newsletter:
“Straight from his sleep-over at the Whitney Biennial, DJ Olive shares his vision of a tomorrow that takes us on an ambient voyage to a place where sound, performance, installation, video, collaboration, the club scene, and political action all converge and transcend the notion of traditional art-making.

On Saturday night, March 29, Olive will perform live along with a group of students who will be collaborating with him during his week-long residency at CIA.”

DJ Olive presents
The Future Collective
Event & Performance:
Saturday March 29
9pm, Room 105
JMC Building, East Entrance
CIA, 11610 Euclid Avenue
Event is free & open to the public

Here for more info on the event

Here for more on the Tomorrow & Tomorrow Lecture Series

Thought these were pretty slick. Following up the Dr. Romanelli All Star and the Kurt Cobain All Star is this Lupe Fiasco black patent leather Chucky T.

Friends over at KarmaloopTV just reached out with a video… so thanks for being a fan of the blog.
Check the vid of the interview with Marlon Raichel, the founder of Sneaktip. Marlon’s got some real talk advice:

Check out super producer Timbo rockin’ the Alife bugged out tee:

Via Brand Architects

This has me salivating. Local Akron old school rockers The Black Keys and their budding relations with Dangermouse and the late Ike Turner. Akron is about half way between Cleveland and my hometown of Canton, and i’ve been down with this band since their debut. Simply put, they rock. I’m talking blue-collar, midwest, gritty and raw, blues rock. It’s glad to see them get some national attention and I can’t wait for their new album “Attack and Release”. I’m so interested to hear the production guidance Dangermouse brings to the outfit.

Check out the full article here.

Check out this Married to the Mob and Reebok Freestyle high collaboration preview. The lips motif is prominent through out the design (as you can see on the sole). Be on the lookout!

Via Sneaker Files.

Look at all the shine the culture is getting here in Cleveland newspapers!

Check out the article the Plain Dealer just did about a day in the life of Cleveland’s #1 DJ, Mick Boogie. Let me also take this moment to say happy birthday as Mick will be turning 30 this weekend. If you want details on the party, check here.

Be sure to check out Mick’s blog as well, and maybe you can give him some happy birthday comments in a post.

New threads just landed into Next Beachwood! 10.Deep Spring 2008 Shipment 1, don’t wait on this.

Cleveland Scene just did an article about Cleveland’s sneaker game and the difficulty many sneakerheads have in finding exclusive kicks in the city. The article focused on March 1sts “Cleveland’s Got Sole” sneaker showcase, which ended up being really dope, and sneaker availability and demand on the local level.

Here’s some pics from that event, since the Scene neglected to post any, and a link to the full article.

Pics via LikeMike.

Perhaps Scene wasn’t fully aware of Next, but we’ve been trying to do our part in bringing sneaker exclusivity to Clevelanders, and we hope that any sneakerheads out there can find some solace in their addiction here at Rule Of Next.

P.S. - Peep those Pat Ewings in the first pic… crazy I didn’t even know he had a shoe!

Check the track list from the new Roots record Rising Down. Just judging by the guest list the album looks dope.

01 The Pow Wow
02 Rising Down [ft. Mos Def and Styles P]
03 Get Busy [ft. Dice Raw, Peedi Crakk and DJ Jazzy Jeff]
04 @15
05 75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction)
06 (Time Up)
07 Criminal [ft. Saigon and Truck North]
08 I Will Not Apologize [ft. P.O.R.N. and Dice Raw]
09 I Can’t Help It [ft. Malik B and P.O.R.N.]
10 Singing Man [ft. Truck North and P.O.R.N.]
11 Up There (Unwritten) [ft. Mercedes Martinez]
12 Lost Desire [ft. Talib Kweli and Malik B]
13 The Show [ft. Common]
14 Rising Up [ft. Chrisette Michele and Wale]
15 Birthday Girl [ft. Patrick Stump]

This song is raw too. Rising Down drops April 29, 2008.

Via Pitchfork. Read full article here.