..:: IAMRAV ::..

DOES THE NAME ASHER ROTH RING A BELL? IF NOT THEN YOUR SLACKING...THINK OF ZACK FROM SAVED BY THE BELL WITH LIL WAYNE'S LYRICAL PROWESS. I KNOW WHAT YOUR THINKING...ANOTHER EMINEM?! NOT AT ALL...IN AN EXTRACT ROTH TALKS ABOUT BEING PIDGEON HOLED...

"A white emcee with a sense of humor and a political side? Oh, let’s compare him to Em!’… I have nothing but respect for him though; he made it possible for me to be here, he opened the doors, but we come from an entirely different inspiration.”

THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE ABOUT ASHER ROTH, HE'S NOT COMING FROM AN 8-MILE DETROIT AREA...

“I was always from the outside looking in...Hip-hop has always been very influential in the ‘burbs, [but] it’s just a matter of where we could relate to it. You find a lot of kids that are really confused. You look at them and they’re dressed out of character. They don’t look right. I figured out, I don’t have to dress this way, but you can still love hip-hop.”

EVERYONE JUST SEE'S ALL THE 50 CENTS AND T.I.'S IN HIP HOP WHO COME FROM THE GRITTY SIDE OF THE SCENE, BUT IT'S PEOPLE LIKE KANYE WEST WHO OPENED THE DOOR FOR A NEW GENERATION OF HIP HOP LOVERS. THESE PEOPLE ARE THE ONE'S WHO DID GET A DEGREE OR WHO DIDN'T HAVE TO PUSH DRUGS...ITS GOOD TO SEE THAT THERE'S MORE LYRICAL CONTENT NOW THAN PUSHING THE SAME OLD 'I-CAME-FROM-THE-WRONG-SIDE-OF-THE-TRAIN-TRACKS-AND-HUSTLED-TO-THE TOP' KINDA RAPPERS. I CAN'T REALLY RELATE TO HOLDING A GUN AT MY WAIST OR SELLING THAT LAST GRAM OF COCAINE TO FEED MY MUM AND KIDS, BUT I CAN RELATE TO THE RECESSION, PARTY LIFE AND POLITICS.

CHECK OUT ASHER ROTH'S FREESTYLES ON 1XTRA WHICH SHOULD BE UPLOADED ON THE 1XTRA WEBSITE SOON OR GO TO HIS 'THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT MIXTAPE' WEBSITE. IN THE MEAN TIME CHECK HIS TAKE ON 'CANNON'...

THE OTHER WEEK I WATCHED THE NEW BIGGIE MOVIE THAT'S OUT, NOW I'LL BE HONEST I WEREN'T ALL CLUED UP ABOUT THAT ERA OF MUSIC...OBVIOUSLY I KNEW SOME OF HIS TUNES BUT THE LIFE HE LED AND EVERYTHING WAS UNKNOWN TO ME. I BEG ANYONE WHO'S INTO BIOGRAPHICAL MOVIES OR JUST LOVES MUSIC TO WATCH THIS BECAUSE IT JUST SHOWS HOW OVERCOMING ADVERSITY AND HARD WORK PAYS OFF. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS I CAN'T GET SOME OF HIS TUNES OUTTA MY HEAD NOW! CHECK OUT THE TWO SONGS WHICH FOR ME ARE LYRICAL MASTERPIECES.

ADIDAS KILLED IT WHIT THIS AD, AS SOON AS I SAW IT I JUST WANTED TO GET A PAIR OF ORIGINALS - THE AD FULFILLED ITS PURPOSE. IT'S NOT A COMMERCIAL WITH ALL THESE SPORTS STARS, MUSICIANS AND CELEBS BULLSHITTING ABOUT A PRODUCT THEY'RE JUST ENDORSING FOR BIG BUCKS, THEY'RE LITERALLY JUST IN A FUN ENVIRONMENT SOCIALISING WITHOUT UTTERING A WORD...ITS NATURAL. REMEMBER THE SKINS AD FOR CHANNEL 4? IT'S LIKE THAT EXCEPT FOR IT JUST LOOKS THE CAMERA WANDERED THROUGH A CRAZY P DIDDY PARTY. DAMN ADIDAS...I JUST BOUGHT A PAIR OF NIKE'S YESTERDAY...HOW YOU GONNA DO THIS TO ME?

"...AND MY HEAD KEEPS SPINNING

I WAS AT WORK THE OTHER DAY AND SAW THIS FUNKY EGG BASKET HOLDER AND THOUGHT IT WAS A COMICAL YET GOOD PIECE OF DESIGN...MAYBE THEY HAVE ONE FOR MILK? ALL I KNOW IS THAT I WANT ONE NOW!

IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OR SEEN WORK OF CRAIG WARD THEN YOU WILL NOW...DO NOT FORGET TO CLICK ON HIS NAME FOR THE LINK TO HIS WEBSITE - BLOOD PROMISE YOU WONT BE DISSAPOINTED...HERE'S SOME OF HIS WORK.

(READ IT UPSIDE DOWN...GENIUS!)

READ THE WORDS ABOVE...WHAT DO THEY MEAN FOR YOU? WELL I KNOW FOR ONE THING - 50 CENT AND BARACK OBAMA BOTH OPTIMISE THE THREE, THIS COULD BE AN INTERESTING POINT TO BE MADE IN MY DISSERTATION ABOUT ROLE MODELS INFLUENCE FOR YOUTHS OF TODAYS SOCIETY - OR SHOULD I SAY THE LACK OF THEM. WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW...WHAT DO YOU THINK?

THESE IMAGES ARE UNDENIABLY HARD...THEY'RE TAKEN WITH THE CAMERA SHUTTER RELEASING VERY SLOWLY CAPTURING AS MUCH LIGHT AND DETAIL AS POSSIBLE (WELL AS FAR AS I KNOW...CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG ALL PRO-PHOTOGRAPHERS?)

IF YOU LIKE THE IMAGES YOUR GOING TO GO CRAZY FOR THE VIDEO...
CHECK OUT THIS HUMASIVELY INNOVATIVE PIECE OF VIDEOGRAPHY BY LICHTFAKTOR TITLED 'FOREST'


Forest from LICHTFAKTOR on Vimeo.

LATELY I BEEN SPENDING SOMETIME WIT MY LADY FRIEND IN A UNDISCLOSED PLACE THAT WILL NOT BE MENTIONED...I THOUGHT I'D BE ABLE TO GET BACK TO UNI IN TIME TO DO A RE-DRAFT OF MY DISSERTATION FOR MY TUTOR - OH IF ONLY IT WAS THAT SIMPLE. I MISSED MY LAST TRAIN OF THE DAY WHICH WAS MEANT TO BE AT 10.01PM - THERE WAS NO OTHER WAY TO GET HOME APART FROM SITTING IN GUILDFORD FOR 4 HOLY HOURS THEN WAITING FOR MY NEXT TRAIN FROM THERE! I TALKED TO SERVICE ASSISTANTS ON THE PLATFORM AND THEY SAID MY TICKET WOULD STILL BE VALID IF I HADN'T USED IT SO I THOUGHT OK BEST STAY THE NIGHT AND GET FIRST TRAIN NEXT MORNING WHICH WAS AROUND 5AM...NOT AS EASY AS IT SOUNDS BUT I DID IT - PROBLEM THOUGH!...MY TICKET WAS ONLY VALID FOR YESTERDAY SO THE TICKET INSPECTRESS SAYS 'SORRY YOU'LL HAVE TO GET OFF AT NEXT STOP MATE OR FACE A FINE FROM THE NEXT INSPECTOR'. OBVIOUSLY AFTER ALREADY SPENDING £20 ON A TICKET THE DAY BEFORE I'M NOT BEING CHIEFED FOR ANOTHER £20 SO I GOT OFF AND TO MY SURPRISE THE GUY AT THE TICKET BOOTH STAMPED MY TICKET WITH HIS SEAL AND WROTE 'NOT USED ON 18TH OK FOR TRAVEL ON 19TH' - ABSOLUTE LEGEND!!! I SWEAR THERE WAS AN ANGEL LOOKING DOWN ON ME - MORE SO AFTER THIS CREEPY OLD MAN KEPT GIVING ME THE SMILEYS ON THE TRAIN BUT ANY WHO...I GOT BACK TO UNI AND SENT MY TUTOR A RE-DRAFT OF MY DISSERTATION.

MORALE OF THE STORY: NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES...HIT THAT DEADLINE OR YOUR JUST DEAD WEIGHT TO YOUR OWN SELF

P.S. GET ORGANISED IN ADVANCED...ALWAYS CHECK TRAIN TIMES IF YOUR TRAVELLING BY TRAIN...AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE UR EARPHONES AND YOUR iPOD/PHONE IS FULLY CHARGED!

BEFORE XMAS I WAS DOING AN INTRODUCTORY BRIEF ON MY BA COURSE, WE HAD TO MAKE A CHOICE FROM YCN, D&AD OR RSA BRIEFS FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. I CHOSE TO DO A TYPOGRAPHY BRIEF SINCE I JUST LOVE ANYTHING TYPOGRAPHICAL!!! I HAD TO COMMEMORATE CIRCULARS 25 YEARS IN TYPOGRAPHY WITH A PARTICULAR THEME THAT INVOKED INSPIRATION AND EDUCATION. I CHOSE TO USE MUSIC AND THUS CREATED A BOOKLET WHICH TALKED ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC AND LANGUAGE, AND HOW THE BRAIN SEE'S THE TWO AS SIMILAR SYNTAX'S, WITH A AVANT-GARDE RUSSIAN FUTURISM STYLE. I'M CREATING THE FINAL FINISHED PRODUCT OF THE BOOKLET BUT JUST WAITING FOR THE GFSMITH PAPER SAMPLES - SEE WHAT YOU THINK OF THE FINAL DESIGNS BELOW (THE FIRST TWO IMAGES ARE THE OUTER AND INNER COVER RESPECTIVELY, AND THE NEXT THREE IMAGES ARE THE POSTCARDS WHICH CAN BE INSERTED INSIDE THE BOOKLET FLAP [THE TREBLE CLEF PAGE]).

TODAY WE HAD NICK JEEVES FROM PUBLIC GRAPHIC DESIGN GIVE US A LECTURE AT UNI, THIS WAS THIS ONE OF THE BEST LECTURES EVER...HE HAD A SENSE OF HUMOUR, REALISM AND HONESTY - NO BULLSHIT! HE TOLD US THE KEY SECRET WAS TO JUST PUT IN THE WORK - HOW I SEE IT, YOUR OWN HARD WORK WILL BE YOUR OWN REWARD...TAKE HEED.

1) DESIGN FOR EVERYONE - IF IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO YOUR OLD FOLKS OR TO THE PEOPLE WHO WILL HAVE MOST DIFFICULTY TO UNDERSTAND IT, IT DOESN'T WORK!!!

2) FORGET ABOUT TALENT - 1/1000 HAVE TALENT...YOU THINK EVERYONE IN DESIGN HAS TALENT? THINK AGAIN, GET OFF YOUR ARSE AND DEDICATE YOURSELF TO PRODUCING WORK. STUDIES HAVE SHOWED THE HARDER YOU WORK THE LUCKIER YOU ARE. PICASSO PUT IN 10,000 HOURS OF WORK BEFORE HE WAS 9 YEARS OLD!!! HE HAD ART SWAGGER THAT WAS INCOMPARABLE.

3) GET ORGANISED - GET A DAMN DIARY...IF YOUR LIKE ME AND FORGET STUFF ALL THE TIME, WRITE IT SOMEWHERE SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO STORE IT IN YOUR INCAPABLE HEAD! SEEK AND EXPLOIT YOUR TUTORS FEEDBACK BECAUSE THEY'RE THERE TO HELP GET YOU ORGANISED.

4) LEARN TO MANAGE CRITICISM - THE CLIENT ISN'T ALWAYS RIGHT, AND YOUR TUTORS AREN'T ALWAYS RIGHT BUT THE KEY WORD IS MANAGE. EXTRACT CRITICISM THAT IS HELPFUL AND TRUE.

5) EXPLOIT YOUR COLLEGE - ERRR YOU PAID YOUR FEES SO USE THEIR CAMERAS, PRINTING FACILITIES, ETC!!!

6) ARCHIVE EVERYTHING - (THIS IS THE REASON I STARTED THIS BLOG)...PHOTOGRAPH EVERYTHING, ARCHIVE IT ON A BLOG OR ON A WEBSITE AND GET YOURSELF OUT THERE SO PEOPLE NOTICE YOU

7) WHO DO YOU LOVE? - CAN YOU NAME 5 FAMOUS DESIGNERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, PAINTERS, ETC FROM YOUR ART DISCIPLINE, OFF TOP OF YOUR HEAD? IF NOT YOUR IN THE WRONG DISCIPLINE...AND ONLY GO TO AN ART EXHIBITION IF YOUR GOING TO REALLY BE INTERESTED AND INVOLVED IN WHAT'S BEING DISPLAYED

8) MAKE FRIENDS - ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS...GET IN TOUCH WITH PEOPLE WHOSE WORK YOU ADMIRE, A POLITE PERSONAL EMAIL WILL DO AND INFORM THEM OF YOUR BLOG OR WEBSITE AND ASK FOR THEIR OPINION.

9) START COMPETING NOW - PEOPLE ARE WATCHING EVERYTHING IN THE INDUSTRY, D&AD, YCN, RSA - GET INVOLVED!!!

10) BLOG, BLOG, BLOG - GREAT FOR LOOKING AT WHAT'S ALREADY OUT IN THE WORLD OF DESIGN AND FOR IDEAS.

11) LEARN YOUR VALUE - BORING YES BUT LEARN HOW TO INVOICE AND GET AN ACCOUNTANT IF NEED BE. THE LONGER A PIECE OF WORK TAKES YOU, THE LESS YOUR DESIGN WORTH IS...IF A £1000 DESIGN JOB TAKES MR.JOE 2 DAYS AND TAKES MR.BLOGGS 10 DAYS, WHO IS WORTH MORE? DO THE MATHS...

12) EXTEND YOUR REACH - GET YOURSELF AS MUCH COVERAGE AS POSSIBLE - THROUGH PUBLISHING AND ON THE NET AND ALWAYS TRY TO PUSH HOW MANY PEOPLE GET TO SEE YOUR WORK.

I AM RAV : THIS IS MY ART & DESIGN BLOG, I HAD TO STOP PROCRASTINATING AND START TO LOOK AT THE WORLD AROUND ME. BLIND EYES CANNOT SEE, DEAF EARS CANNOT HEAR, DEAD NERVES CANNOT FEEL - SO I APPRECIATE WHAT I HAVE AND ABSORB THE WORLD AROUND ME. THIS BLOG WILL PORTRAIT MY INFLUENCES, SHARE MY OPINIONS AND ARCHIVE MY WORK...SEE, HEAR, TALK, ENJOY.