21Ronin

The last time I wrote something about the future home of the Brooklyn Nets, the renderings had not been released yet.  Now they have.  The building is designed really well.  They pulled the building back from the busy intersection of Flatbush Ave and Atlantic Ave to create a public plaza and what looks like a ticket booth.  The arena was designed by SHoP Architects.

The Barclay’s Center is nestled into the taller behind the arena and they have  made this state of the art arena appear to be small.  Obviously, the Barclay Center is a large, multi-use building in the heart of Brooklyn, but visually the building doesn’t appear to be overly massive.  Just compare the appearance of this building to Madison Square Garden (above), then you’ll see what I’m talking about.

I’m not sure what the materials and the detail of the skin is on the Barclay’s Center, but they have an almost digital aesthetic of openings in the skin that varies depending on the view and where you look on the building.

The only problem that I have with this project is the suites.  I honestly think they need to hire me to design these suites, because right now, they are an embarrassment to the rest of the building.  Maybe SHoP gave these to an intern or something, but the furniture, cabinets, colors etc are cheap and look like they should be in a Best Western.  Hopefully, they will  have some time to devote to these suites because they need it.

Now that my Lakers have won the finals, the buzz of the NBA is all about LeBron and where he is going to land.  I’m not a big LeBron fan, but the arena, being supported by the biggest borough in NYC (Brooklyn) and the excitement in BK has to be really tempting to LeBron.  I would much rather see Dwayne Wade suit up in BK because of his hard nose game, but we’ll see.  Who is going to have the opportunity to establish a legacy in the Barclay’s Center?

Ronin

If you live in NYC, DC, Boston, Philly or any other city on the east coast, you should consider coming to the 2010 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival.  I moved to Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn in 2006 and I have been going to the BKHF for the past two years (since I discovered it).  The ONLY reason that I didn’t go to the festival before 2008 was I didn’t know about it.  Each year, the BKHF puts on a set of performances that is a collection of seasoned veterans and up and coming artists.  This is just something for you to think about.  With all of the acts that are set to perform on one stage, you better believe there will be some surprise performers.  Just a couple that I can think of in the past copule years is Jeru Tha Damaja and Keith Murray, but you are guaranteed to have more well respected artists perform on this stage.

The first year that I went, the weather was perfect and the view of the city (Manhattan) was great from Empire State Park.  Last year, I went despite the rain and while I was a bit frustrated because the weather wasn’t cooperating, there were still thousands of fans packed into the hollowed out industrial building where the covered stage and area for fans was.  Rain or shine, when you see the lineup for the festival, you will want to come.  Just in case you are worried about the rain, put that aside because their Plan B is to have a covered stage and space for fans.  It’s an amazing list of performers and even if you haven’t heard about some of these guys, you will want to find out more about them after the Festival.  I know it isn’t exactly the same, but it is the kind of lineup that reminds me of the Dave Chappelle Block Party performers, which was about 1/2 mile away from my apartment.

I was just at Fatbeats on Thursday to drop off some flyers and if you are in the city, you can go there to buy tickets.  I believe there was some deal going on between Brooklyn Bodega and Fat Beats, but don’t quote me on that.  Either way, here are the artists.  Below the list of performers, I have links to connect you to where you can buy tickets (which are only $15!!!!!!).  I think you can only buy them in person at Fatbeats, so if you do, you can go grab one of 21Ronin.com and RA-NYC flyers over by the dj stand.

2010 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival Lineup

De La Soul-Headlining Performers

Smif N Wessun

Black Moon

Money Makin’ Jam Boys

Curren$y

Skyzoo

Fashawn

Black Milk

Masta Ace

Diamond District

DJ Babu

Large Professor

Raka Iriscience

Links

Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival Website

Fat Beats

Ronin

I recently heard that Guru (from Gangstarr) suffered a heart attack and is in a coma in NYC.  I don’t care about the status of his career and this is not a tribute.  I hope that he can make his way through this.  So, I just thought I would take a second to share some of his music.  Guru, our best thoughts and wishes go out to you!!!

He always has been a ground breaking MC.  I still listen to the classic Gangstarr albums all of the time.  From Jazzmatazz to Mass Appeal, Guru always had something to intelligent to say.

Guru on MySpace

MTV Article

Respect!

Ronin

GANG STARR – Full Clip from IrefutabilNews on Vimeo.

GANG STARR – TAKE IT PERSONAL from IrefutabilNews on Vimeo.

Guru & Solar from Earwaks.com on Vimeo.

Guru “Lost And Found” from East Coast Digital Radio on Vimeo.

This may not be important or known by everyone outside NYC, but the New Jersey Nets will become the Brooklyn Nets for the 2011-2012 season. The project is under construction, but there have been some serious delays due to politics and controversial architectural designs and planning by Frank Gehry.

The arena will be about 1/2 mile away from my current apartment. It’s the perfect place for an arena. The site will separate downtown Brooklyn from the adjacent neighborhoods, it is above an already busy train hub where MTA (NYC subway), LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) and arguably the two busiest streets in Brooklyn come together (Flatbush Ave and Atlantic Ave).

People walk around with Brooklyn Dodgers hats even though they moved in the 50′s. The new stadium and team, partially owned by Jay Z, is going to really make its mark in the world of hip hop. Brooklyn is always at the front of the creative push in hip hop and you will see the jerseys all over!

The website has arranged it so you can’t download the pictures, but check out the latest renderings for the Brooklyn Nets arena which will be called the Barclays Center.
Click Here for Renderings

Ronin