Sometimes you meet someone so humble about their art that you almost forget how talented they are. I’ve been working the NYC scene for a little over 3 years now and I’ve got boxes of mixtapes and demos from artists I’ve met while out shooting and networking. Some suck, some are average and then some of them, well, they are just plain dope. I met Marty through my homeboy Cal who I met at Sway on a Monday night. Cal and the rest of the “ALIEN” crew are alot of fun and always bring with them good times. One night, Cal told me he was working with this artist and was wondering if I would be interested in shooting him. We setup a very informal shoot during the summer. I scouted a couple of locations and shot an editorial style group of images over two days. On the second day it was just me and Marty and I got a chance to really get to know him, his connection to music and his family. As a photographer, it’s really dope when I get a chance to know my subject and that opportunity doesn’t always exist. Marty struck me right away as more then just someone I thought was good people, he struck me as good human being. I’m not the guy concerned with vanity and your outsides, for me life is about whats inside and he came across as modest but confident and yet unafraid to talk about his struggles with a career in music versus the 9 to 5 route. Who can blame him. The rap game is a gamble and for a kid attending college, this kind of internal debate is not only justified, but very wise. I am a high school drop out and not one day goes by that I don’t regret staying in school so I connected with him immediately on the issue. Luckily, Marty is managed and promoted by a collective called, The Murphy Group that is firmly planted in his corner. We should all have a team like them.

And so, in closing this opening paragraph, and because I am a fan, I’m going to have to quote one of my favorite movies, A Bronx Tale, “there is nothing worse then wasted talent”.

—

TONE: These days, music is all over the place. We have cats who say nothing with their music, others who say alot and then those somewhere in the middle. What point do you hope to make with your music?

MARTY: I hope to inspire and motivate people to be themselves. When you think
something is funny, laugh at it. If you think something is sad…shed a
tear, maybe even two. Just act as you feel, feel me?. I feel like
people are not only more critical of others now more than ever but they
are more critical of themselves especially with blogging at an all time
high, and because of that people are either afraid to be themselves or
afraid to be too much like someone else. Through the music, I just
hope that people feel that I’m being true and respect it enough to want
to do the same.

—

TONE: Is inspiration and motivation something that comes to you easily or
is it a struggle and how so?

MARTY: Inspiration isn’t hard for me to come by because I’m inspired by almost
everything. Whether it be a scene from a movie I watched or an
argument between some dude and his girl in the supermarket, I’m going
to take something away from it.

—

TONE: How has the environment you grew up in influenced you creatively?

MARTY: Well I grew up around my family members who migrated from Jamaica and
Jamaicans don’t care what ANYBODY thinks so they taught me to be myself
from the beginning but where I grew up, there was a lot of everything.
From the 3-car garage gated communities, the 2-family apartment
complexes all the way to the one bedroom welfare housing and even a cow
ranch or two. I feel like the fact that the spectrum was so wide
allowed for me to be exposed to so many different things that would
later on influence my music. I’ve been to the pool clubs where the
wealthy had annual memberships and I’ve been to the hood where niggas
were getting knocked out and robbed for wearing the wrong color or
having new Nikes on. All the mixes of social classes, styles,
genres and cultures forced me to open my mind at a young age so
although I’m deeply rooted in Hip-Hop, my subject matter is ever
changing.

TONE: How have you been affected by Barack Obama being elected as
President?

MARTY: I’ve been extremely inspired. It proves that with hard work and
dedication you can do anything you set your mind to. Now it’s like,
“Damn Marty, Barack has the whole world listening, the least you can
do is get a few people to download your shit and feel it.” Sidebar:
Download my shit!

—

TONE: What musicians influence your music and in what way?

MARTY: I’ll have to say my biggest Influences musically are 90s R&B and
Hip-Hop/Soul artists like Common, Lauryn Hill, D’Angelo, Wyclef, Mos
Def and Andre 3000 but creatively in general I definitely look up to
Bob Marley as well as the Rat Pack. The way Bob Marley would just feel
the music and let it the music tell the story was unbelievable. And the
swag of the Rat pack?! Pshhh…you know.

—

TONE: Favorite comedian?

MARTY: Eddie Murphy hands down. Not only because his last name is that raw
shit but this guy is a comedic genius. Dave Chappelle is definitely a
close second though.

—

TONE: Tell me a little bit about the Murphy Group and it’s members.

MARTY: As of now, The Murphy Group is a collective of creative, motivated
individuals who have a passion for art and success. Each member has
their own niche and generally calls their own shots but when it’s all
said and done it all falls under one roof. The Murphy Group. Bloaw!

—

TONE: What’s going on with your current project (album)?

MARTY: I’m currently working on a 5-track concept EP with the multi-talented
Melo-X as well as the release of my first Mixtape dropping in the first quarter of 2009.

—

TONE: If you could be anything in this life, what would it be?

MARTY: If I could be anything in this life it’d be a “great role model.”
Yeh….it sounds cheesy…but when I’m gone, I want people to be able look
at the life I lived and say, “Damn, Marty was a real dude. Motivated,
respectful, ambitious…all that…” I want to be someone that kids say
they want to be like when they get older and at the same time, have
their parents respect it the same.

Peep more pics and an exclusive leak of one of Marty’s tracks on my website, PHOTOBYTONE.COM.

Singaporean sneaker designer Tony Tay is starting off his 2009 with a bang with these incredible custom hi-top Dunks. Though Tony’s artistic touch has produced some beautiful custom Dunks in the past, the Lazy Savage might be some of his best work yet. These collector, distressed denim-themed sneakers drop on January 11th, and with only 12 pairs being released worldwide, make sure to head on over to AKA Lazy if you’d like to get in on the action!

Here’s something to consider when your newly-bought Ikea furniture needs replacement in a few weeks: furniture assembled from junked Cambodian weapons. As part of the Peace Art Project Cambodia (PAPC), British sculptor Sasha Constable has found an alternate use for portions of the 125,000 discarded Cambodian weapons: she’s converted them into furniture and sculptures (such as the one pictured above). Constable has provided a refreshing take on over 30 years of war in Cambodia, and you can check out more of her work here.

Sneak peeks of this highly anticipated sneaker have been circling the Internet lately, and here is a more updated look at the ad art for this grand collaboration.  The cleverly designed “flyer” displays the Puma Suede Mid II in the 4 colors that will be offered, set within the Undftd logo.  The very clean textured upper and “reptile” puma logo make this one an instant success.  Coming everyones favorite sneaker store VERY soon.

Consistent in their trend of collaborative excellence, NYC designers Mishka have teamed up with East West to release yet another amazing shirt - and this time, it’s in tribute to party champion, motivational speaker, vocal sleep critic, and debatable man-of-the-century, Andrew WK! Featuring a scrawling of a perturbed Andrew - iconic bloody nose and all - screened on a white shirt, Mishka keep the design light-hearted with the inclusion of bear ears. Don’t sleep on this shirt (or, by Andrew’s personal recommendation, ‘never go to sleep again’); this is an online exclusive, and you can get more information right here.

Yep, pig HEAD!  In a rather odd pairing, the guys at Upper Playground have put together this pleasant segment of Alex Pardee and Chis Cosentino preparing and eating pigs head recipes for their Walrus TV channel.  The two end up making 3 dishes: fried pig ears, pig face, & pig brains.  Yum.  I guess this is somewhat a precursor to Alex’s next exhibit : “Letters From Digested Children”, which opens this Thursday. Bon Appetit!

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans delves into the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires, and the barbaric Lycans (werewolves).

There would be no reason to fight if they looked as good as you will look if you are the winner of Karmaloop’s Nocturnal Knockout Sweepstakes.

Enter now for your chance to win a $1500 Karmaloop gift certificate!

The adidas Originals series has been going from strength to strength over the last few months; a stack of new styles, materials and silhouettes were recently unveiled and it looks like the adidas tradition is a dominant as ever. Format favs from the spring/summer collection are the Forest Hills in their original colorway and the silver 70’s throwback Super Star Vintage but the line consists of so many new styles, you be hard pressed not to find one that suits your look. Get at it…

Kidrobot will launch the fourth series of the Super Mini figures in just a couple of days. The keychain set will feature 17 blindbox mini-figs, including a super rare Huck Gee Ninja. On sale as of January 8th 2009 Super Mini Series 4 is expected to retail at $4.95 US.

Start-up apparel brand Primitive opened 2009 with it’s new Spring collection including this two-tone fitted cap. The trademark ‘P’ is solid upfront whilst the ‘On the Blvd’ embroidery on the back salutes the brands current location on Ventura Boulevard in Encino, California. Having only been in the game since 2008, it seems likely Primitive will soon become a contender in the ever competitive street wear arena, here’s to a successful year fellas!

New Balance have kicked off the New Year with a bang, and a brightly colored one at that. The new MT580 trainers are available in bright blue, yellow-green and purple. What makes this shoe extra special is the introduction of Gore-Tex, the waterproof and super durable material used in just about all high performance active wear these days. Stay on the look out, these shoes are going to be everywhere soon…

From January 8-29th, 2009, artists Ron English and Alex Pardee are displaying sets of new drawings and paintings at San Francisco’s Fifty24SF Gallery. Occupying the upper and lower levels of the gallery, respectively, each artist has contrasting styles: English, a street-art veteran recently popularized via his Abraham Obama poster (pictured above), combines ever-changing visuals with socio-political commentary. Pardee, on the other hand, takes a more sinister approach to his work, inspired from a sordid tapestry of horror films, Garbage Pail Kids, and graffiti art. However, words don’t pay justice to their work - check out each artist’s website, and if you get a chance, check out their exhibit at Fifty24SF Gallery!

Prolific online retailer, Digital Gravel, has teamed up with some of streetwear’s finest for the good ole cause of charity.  The DG Water Project combines limited edition designs by 10 brands (3sixteen, STPL, Hundreds, etc….) with DG’s retail savvy in this noble cause.  The proceeds from this project will go towards building a clean water playpump in Africa which can easily deliver clean water to a village of 2,500 people for 10 years!  Designs will be available in men’s and women’s tees, and hoodies.