Meet Charlie Joe and Marie Henderson, owners of Out of the Past Records on the west side of Chicago that features an inventory of more than half-a-million vinyl records, cassette tapes and 8-tracks! If you are ever in the Chicago area, visit their store at 4407 W Madison St. Enjoy and be educated.

This short documentary focuses on Tommy, the manager of Record & Tape Exchange in Fairfax, Virginia. Tune in as he enjoys the everyday pleasures of life at a record store, and discover why the resurgence of vinyl in a digital world has given new life to a once dying industry. Enjoy and be educated.

Record & Tape Exchange Promo:

A look inside Ohio’s long-running DIY recording studio and vinyl pressing operation, Musicol, including interviews with its founder and other employees. Enjoy and be educated.

J. Cole revisits the creative process behind “Power Trip,” the lead single off his forthcoming album Born Sinner. Enjoy and be educated.

For you diggers out there:

This unique release detailing the history of the TR-909 is excerpted from the upcoming coffee table book by one of America’s foremost collector of drum machines, Joe Mansfield. This special 20 page book filled with original advertising, technical specs and tons of photos will delight collectors and music fans alike.

Included are two flexi-discs, one clear and one orange, featuring the sounds of the TR-909, narrated by the great Schoolly D, with cuts by DJ 7L. Also included are instrumental remakes of Schoolly D’s hits P.S.K. and Gucci Time.

Available on April 20th (Record Store Day 2013) at participating record stores.

A short documentary about Gotta Groove Records, a vinyl pressing plant in Cleveland, Ohio specializing in 7″ and 12″ vinyl manufacturing using PVC molding. Enjoy and be educated.

Learn the story behind one of the greatest blaxploitation films of all time. If you don’t own this great film, purchase it here. Enjoy and be educated.

An African-American man finds that leaving behind his life of crime is harder than he imagined in this groundbreaking crime drama. Priest (Ron O’Neal) is a stylish and successful cocaine dealer who drives a fancy car, commands a small army of street salesmen, and lives a life of luxury. However, Priest is just smart enough to know that there’s no real future in dealing coke, and one day he makes a proposal to his partner Eddie (Carl Lee) — they take their 300,000-dollar savings, buy 30 kilos of cocaine, and use their street team to move it out in four months, leaving a million dollar profit for both Priest and Eddie, allowing them to get out of the business for good. Eddie is wary but willing to go along, but Scatter (Julius Harris), a former dealer who set Priest up in the cocaine trade, is both unwilling and unable to sell them that much product. As Priest looks for a new source for his big score, one of his underlings, Fat Freddie (Charles McGregor) is picked up by the police, and under violent interrogation, Freddie tells the cops about Priest’s underground empire. When Priest is confronted by the police, however, he learns they’re less interested in putting him behind bars than in making him a partner. While Superfly was a box-office smash and (along with Shaft and Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song) one of the key films of the nascent blaxploitation movement of the early ’70s, it’s best remembered today for the soundtrack composed and performed by Curtis Mayfield, which included the hit songs “Freddie’s Dead,” “Pusherman,” and the title tune.

The Stussy x Keiichi Tanaami Guest Artist Series collection is available now at Stussy Chapter Stores and Stussy.com.

Keiichi Tanaami was born in 1936 as the eldest son of a textile wholesaler in Tokyo. He was 9 years old when Tokyo was bombed during the Great Tokyo Air Raid of World War II in 1945. Images seared into the back of his mind at this time would become major motifs in his art works: roaring American bombers, searchlights scanning the skies, firebombs dropped from planes, the city a sea of fire, fleeing masses, and his father’s deformed goldfish swimming in its tank, flashes from the bombs reflecting in the water.

Tanaami took to drawing from a young age, and as a junior high school student he often spent time at the studio of leading postwar cartoonist Kazushi Hara with the intention of becoming a cartoonist himself. After Hara’s sudden death, however, he turned to the pioneering field within manga of graphic novels, and went on to study to become a professional artist at Musashino Art University. Word of his talent spread quickly during his time there and in 1958, as a second year student, he was awarded the Special Selection at an exhibition held by the authoritative illustration and design group of the time. After graduating he took a job with an advertising agency, but quit before one year was up due to the numerous private commissions he was receiving. During the ‘60s he busied himself as a successful illustrator and graphic designer while also actively participating in the Neo-Dada organization, one of the defining art movements of postwar Japan. In the latter half of the ‘60s he immersed himself in making video art, the newest medium in the art scene at the time.

In 1999, a retrospective of Tanaami’s works from the ‘60s was held at Gallery 360º in Tokyo. The exhibit was praised highly by Yamataka EYE (Boredoms) and KAWS, cultural leaders of the new generation born after the “60s, and as a result, Tanaami’s works once again became popular amongst youth culture. Since 2005, Tanaami has been presenting new works that fall in the realm of fine art. In these works, he continues to manifest images from his personal memories and from his dream world — personified goldfish, deformed characters, rays of light, helical pine trees, fantastical architecture, young girls — through the various mediums of painting, sculpture, film and furniture.

Tanaami has worked as a professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design since 1991, where he has helped bring up young new artists such as Tabaimo. Recent exhibits include “Day Tripper” at Art & Public in Geneva (2007), “SPIRAL” at Galerie Gebt. Lehmann in Berlin (2008), “Kochuten” at NANZUKA UNDERGROUND (2009), “Still in Dream” at Frieze Art Fair (2010) and “No More War” at Art 42 Basel (2011).

In the early 2000′s Chicago’s nightlife scene began to change, as the city began enforcing strict venue regulations pressuring several longstanding nightclubs to close their doors.

These events directly affected club creator, Joe Russo, who’s highly successful Funky Buddha Lounge & Sinibar night spots were well known for spearheading racial integration in Chicago nightlife during the mid 1990′s.

When Russo is forced to shut down his business, he leaves the country in search of new direction, but it’s only a matter of time before his inner-calling inspires him to return to his hometown and take on the challenges of creating a new venue under the same meticulous laws that pushed him out.

“The Rebirth of Chicago Cool” is the story of how “The Shrine”, a place celebrated for hosting shows by legendary & contemporary hip hop & soul artists, was born.

After schooling New Yorkers on etiquette via numerous unsanctioned interventions, artist Jay Shells channeled his love of hip hop music and his uncanny sign-making skills towards a brand new project: “Rap Quotes.”

For this ongoing project, Shells created official-looking street signs quoting famous rap lyrics that shout out specific street corners and locations. He then installed them at those specific street corners and locations.

Shells went all city and posted over 30 signs quoting the likes of Jeru tha Damaja, Mos Def, Nas, Kanye West, CL Smooth, GZA, and RA the Rugged Man. ANIMAL followed. Ride along with our video above. Follow @TheRapQuotes for more.

[via Animal New York]