THRASHER Venice Crew (Tees & Sweatshirts) Photo by: Ithaka Darin Pappas

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eazy_E_%26_N.W.A._photographs_by:_Ithaka_Darin_Pappas

Eazy E Skateboarding In Venice Beach, California: February 24th 1989

Of the thousands of images that Ithaka captured during this period, some of the most unusual were made on February 24, 1989 of a bullet-proof vest wearing Eazy E riding a skateboard in Venice Beach, California and hanging out with the local skateboard community. At the time, skating and hip hop were not very linked culturally.
The day the skate images were captured was during a filming of a segment of Yo! MTV Raps hosted by Fab Five Freddy focusing on Eazy E and N.W.A. Other hip hop recording artists such as Above The Law, The D.O.C. and Kris Kross also appeared as special guests of N.W.A. ^[5][6]
Eazy E, being a skateboard enthusiast, wandered off from the MTV interview to talk with local hardcore skaters near the riding area. Ithaka followed him and gathered everyone together to take several pictures. Among the kids alongside of Eazy E in the photographs appear several now-famous skaters, artists and photographers including; Aaron Murray, Ricky Reynaga, Barnall Weathersby, David Katz, Luke Hudson, Josh Bagel Klassman and Pep Williams. By most members of the skateboard world, this picture is considered historic. One of these images has become a top-selling T-Shirt produced by Thrasher (magazine), a leading international skateboard publication, and has also been used in advertising and other merchandising. In addition, this same photograph has appeared in international photography exhibits involving skateboarding including the group show, "Thrasher: A Retrospective", hosted by House Of Vans London (U.K.) in August of 2014. ^{[7] [8] [9]}
However, the photographs of Eazy E actually riding the skateboard had been lost since they were made and only recovered in 2016, after more than two-and-a-half decades. Since reappearing, these very rare images of Eazy E have appeared in various venues. One was used during N.W.A.'s segment at the 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Brooklyn, New York. In December 2016, the same image was printed on the cover of the first edition of the magazine General Admission (U.S.) ^[10] and in early 2017 other photos were published as part of the Contact High Project created by journalist Vikki Tobek in Mass Appeal Magazine.^[11]
To celebrate 2016's international Go Skateboarding Day, the official instagram of Beats By Dre, ^[12] owned by Beats Electronics/Apple Inc. licensed an image of Eazy skateboarding for a six month usage. The Eazy E skateboarding pictures have also appeared on hundreds of other websites around the world. ^{[13][14][15][16][17][18]}

Ithaka: Somewhere South Of Somalia

Somewhere South Of Somalia

There are many things one could criticize about hip hop. And what to one is worth of criticism is what the other actually appreciates. So when we write here, that hip hop is lacking concepts that run through the whole album, that are keeping an album together and make it distinguishable as such, then others will disagree and say, they just want a couple of tracks that keep their head nodding. And when we state that hip hop has the potential to reach a lot of people on deep and important levels, then other people will go, that hip hop is coming from the streets and should be made for the streets, and a deeper meaning would neatly fit somewhere dark, and somewhere where we usually sit on.

Whatever the case, Ithaka was not content with just putting a couple of tracks together, put 'em on a disc, call it an album and call it a day. When he was travelling Kenya and Tanzania, it inspired him. Inspired him to write about escapism, write about what he saw in those place, with his eyes, but also what his soul saw in the presence of other people's experiences, lives and struggles. Or how he calls it: "live it, write about it, rap about it". Hence this is one of the cases where a rap record is using its potential; talking to people and to bring a story across, easier and better, than any other genre of music is able to. And hence "Somewhere South Of Somalia" is deserving our props, as the courageous record it is, that's dwelling into the depth of something, that comes as close to travel journal as it can get.

And for this project, Ithaka teamed up with producer Conley 'Conman' Abrams, who's responsible for all the beats that back Ithaka up, who in his travels takes us into the trapped lands of tribal folklore, elitists foreigners or epidemics, collecting them in a musical ethnographic report. That starts out with Ithaka going into areas where the question is a unbelieving "So You're Going There?" commenting his plans. The reason why it is necessary to step out the regular shackles of society is expressed on "What U Gotta Do", before the physical travel to Africa is just as much a mental and psychical adaptation, what is dizzyingly shown by "My Mind & My Body". With "Snakes In The Rafter" the finish line of the first leg is reached, with us then meeting up with "Rana Linda (I Can Make A Difference)" who is a war photographer. This track features Izrael, of Cell-mob, who's handling the sung chorus. "Ugly American" is the next meeting with someone, this track portraying one of the still imperialistic thinking people, taking away all what's still good, untouched an innocent in this area. However, things catch up to him, what you can hear on "Dear Hillary". More anthropological topics are discussed on "Black Rock", before "Lapis Lazuli" is kept spoken word, with Izrael returning for the chorus.

Moving on to the tribal religions, "Visit With Nagawa" is once more having us meet a native, this time a suspect person that knows about spells. Entering a language course, "Upendo" is having us listen to Swahili, with Cassande Luchembe whispering the words in our excited ears. Then the streets are explored on "River Road", as we hear that some of the unwanted adventures can be rather similar there to here. Keeping the story progressing, "Nawaga's Revenge" is talking about the symptoms of Malaria. The last person we then meet is "Nwajuma", before our mind is again drifting off into "My Mind & My Body Reprise", as it's trying to take in, process and understand all what was experienced on this album.

With us now knowing what travel we are accompanying, it's interesting what kind of beats are coming along too. They are often on some unlocated style, that is keeping things in vibes of years ago. That can then sound 'heard before' like on "Dugout Canoe", or rather progressive like "Visit With Nagawa". It's also having some elements, that remind us of world music, of reggae, of Caribbean sounds, of African styles. Hence we are needing a decent amount of tolerance to get with it.

What then makes it necessary to talk about the album in a more regular kind of way: this album is on the beat tip not the strongest, and lyrically, the nomadic wanderer Ithaka (aka visual artist and writer Ithaka Darin Pappas) is not the most skilled as well, as much of his eloquence is getting lost, with the story being forced into rhyming patterns. But that's merely unfortunate, as the goal of this record can never be to reach an audience that just wants a good time pumping something to bob the head, or keeping the music low like in an elevator. That'd be unfair to the record, and that needs to taken into consideration. Hence what makes this record good is the patience and respect for a misunderstood continent, that's telling the story, and that is making this album a narrated book. Hence this gets a lot of respect from our side, a lot of props for the willingness to do something hard and exhausting, that will never get as much acclaim as it actually deserves.

Iconic Image Of Eazy E Skateboarding by Ithaka Darin Pappas featured in Mass Appeal

MASS APPEAL: This week's @contact.high.project is pretty amazing. Vikki Tobak interviewed @_ithaka_ Darin Pappas on the time he photographed a bulletproof vest-wearing Eazy-E (RIP) riding a skateboard, circa 1989. The image has been stored away for decades and only recently surfaced. Also, the contact sheets and stories he shares are bananas. He recalls the day: "I think Eazy was wearing the vest for legitimate reasons. This was at the height of his fame and Venice was a bit rougher back in those days. Literally anything could have gone down that day. The skateboard wasn’t his own, he’s signed it for someone and I think kind of borrowed it without asking. I wasn’t even sure I should have been using too much film on the shot." Link in profile.