Bien Conectao - 'Illmatic' Domino Table

Nas' Illmatic turned 20 on April 19th. To celebrate, we collaboed with the good people over at Bien Conectao with concepts and art for a custom handmade Illmatic-themed domino table. 

We removed all the text from the original double-exposed album cover, leaving the natural look and feel of the iconic image of a young Nas laid over the Queensbridge Houses. 

Simplicity was the key - all while striking a chord with anyone who owned and loved Illmatic on vinyl and/or cassette tape. We added special detailing: the cupholders are the original Columbia Records 12" vinyl sticker, and the racks are the side bindings of the original cassette tape jacket. 

Seethrumoney did his thing with the painting - creating the record-like appearance that plays off the cupholder art. HECHO A MANO UP IN HERE.

Nasty Nas in your area. Causin mass hysteria. 

For more information on 'The Playable Art of the Domino Table' go to www.bienconectao.com. For AFM art direction, concepts and design, hit us up info@afancymess.com. 

New 'WAIAKEA'A FARMS' Tee

A subdivision of Dunny Farms.

Close'a your eyes and imagine a magical place where lush mountains paint the distant view and double rainbows form over glistening waterfalls. The crisp sounds of natural streams flowing as birds and ducks frolic about. 

Hungry? Why don't you grab a snack? Growing on the land are macadamias, lychees, grapefruit, oranges, pineapples, mangoes, tangerines, figs, avocados, guava, starfruit, atemoyas and bananas. 

Realize it's getting a little late for a snack? Why don't we roast up one of the 300+ free-range, stress-free, socialized chickens (who also enjoy snacking on the same bananas and avocados as we do) with ingredients all pulled from the yard?

On the side, we'll enjoy a nice serving of freshly-laid quail egg polenta and the freshest collard greens you've ever tasted.

Welcome to Waiakea'a Farms.

Welcome to heaven.

Support a GMO-Free Kawaii.  

PREORDER NOW:

$36.00

Size:

Select Size SMALLMEDIUMLARGEX-LARGE

SMALL MEDIUM LARGE X-LARGE

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ROCKFIRE FUNK EXPRESS

At AFM, we have a passion for obscurity and over the top exclusiveness, so we made a tee that reps an early exploratory stage of a band that released one single forty years ago.

In 1973, three brothers from Detroit calling themselves ROCK FIRE FUNK EXPRESS dropped'People Save The World' - a 7-inch vinyl single - prior to changing the band's name to DEATH. They never achieved success until being resurrected 30 years later - partially postmortem. 

The three brother's punk-style rock music came before bands like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones. Their unsuccessful attempts to get radio airplay and a record deal were largely due to one brother's adamant refusal to change the at-that-time controversial name from DEATH - and the fact that the band's music was 5 to 10 years ahead of its time. 

"These dudes were pre-Sex Pistols, pre-Bad Brains, pre-all that shit, and nobody knows about them. I don't understand how the world could forget them." - MOS DEF

Inspired by the documentary 'A Band Called Death' - shouts to E-the-Real - this exclusive and wonderfully obscure tee represents the formative years before the birth of a great band that never made it. 

100% Cotton Multi-colored semi-faded on White. Limited-run.

GO TO SHOP.

Rickey Henderson is the Greatest Of All Time.

The best I could find on the internet were a few editorials arguing that Rickey Henderson should be “considered” when discussing this topic. (Example: using some asinine, ignorant-ass formula, the hacks at 'Bleacher Report' put him at #38. (<< Pathetic) ...while ESPN did him slightly less dirty w/ a #14.)  We're here - for the record - to state it with conviction:

RICKEY HENDERSON IS THE GREATEST BASEBALL PLAYER OF ALL TIME.

Everyone undoubtedly recognizes him as the greatest "base runner" of all time. After all, he stole THIRD base alone 324 times. Most would say, “Yeah, Rickey was fast,” leaning toward the misconception that speed was his one and only attribute. This is understandably the first place to look, as his all-time record is one of MLB's most impressive, and very-likely unbeatable:

ALL-TIME CAREER STOLEN BASES:  1,406. (33% over Lou Brock - 2nd Place)

*Fun comparison: Juan Pierre is the current active MLB stolen base leader and has roughly accumulated the difference in SBs between Rickey and Brock. Pierre, at the time this article was typed is 792 bases behind. He should pull it off… if he can keep his current pace until the ripe age of 57. (note: Julio Franco, the oldest player this millennium retired at 49.)

Some other noteworthy records and accomplishments:

• Holds ALL-TIME CAREER LEADOFF HOMERUN Record:  81. 
   

• 3,000+ CAREER HITS More than Wade Boggs, Ken Griffey, Barry Bonds*, Al Kaline, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Ted Williams.
   

• With a 110.7, he tops the CAREER WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of Mickey Mantle, Frank Robinson, Mike Schmidt, Carl Yastrzemski, Cal Ripken, Roberto Clemente, Pete Rose, Joe Dimaggio, and Reggie Jackson. This means a team had a better chance of winning a game by keeping Rickey in it, than that of these listed players.

Rickey has a Career WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of 110.7.

Let's continue... 

• 1,000+ CAREER RBIs. 
   

• 4th in GAMES PLAYED: Led by only Hank Aaron, Carl Yastrzemski and Pete Rose.
   

• 4th in TIMES ON BASE: Led by only Pete Rose, Barry Bonds* and Ty Cobb.

To own ANY of these records or stats is incredibly impressive. To combine them all and hand them to ONE player is unbelievable. But waaaaait...

STILL NOT CONVINCED? Let’s REALLY break some shit down:

• What is every team’s goal when playing a baseball game?  

TO WIN.

• What is the ONLY inarguable AND measurable factor that without a doubt wins games?  

RUNS.

• Who holds the record for the MOST RUNS of all time?  

RICKEY HENDERSON.

ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS SCORED: 2,295.

Rickey has more CAREER RUNS SCORED than Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds*, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and EVERY OTHER PLAYER in history.

The only active players in the running – none of which have enough years [barring a miracle and/or reduction in steroid suspension] left to reach it – are Alex Rodriguez* (needs 376), Derek Jeter (needs 419), and Manny Ramirez* (needs 751).  

Tom Candiotti sums up a pitcher's take on facing Rickey:

"I hated Rickey. Really, I couldn't stand him. He never swung at my knuckleball, he never swung at my curveball. He never swung until he got two strikes. He had the strike zone the size of a coffee can. If you threw him a fastball, he would hit it for a home run. If you walked him, it was a triple. It was ridiculous. It was like, 'Good gosh, what are we going to do with this guy?'"

Sports Illustrated’s Joe Posnanski:

"I’m about to give you one of my all-time favorite statistics: Rickey Henderson walked 796 times in his career LEADING OFF AN INNING. Think about this again. There would be nothing, absolutely nothing, a pitcher would want to avoid more than walking Rickey Henderson to lead off an inning. And yet he walked SEVEN HUNDRED NINETY SIX times to lead off an inning.

He walked more times just leading off in an inning than Lou Brock, Roberto Clemente, Luis Aparicio, Ernie Banks, Kirby Puckett, Ryne Sandberg and more than 50 other Hall of Famers walked in their entire careers...I simply cannot imagine a baseball statistic more staggering."

American baseball writer, historian, and statistician Bill James:

"Some people have asked me whether or not Rickey Henderson belonged in the Hall of Fame." I've replied, "if you could somehow split him in two, you'd have two Hall of Famers."

ESPN's Jim Caple putting Rickey's perceived ego issue aside:

"Rickey once missed a game because of frostbite in August, finished the home run trot that gave him the career record for runs by sliding into home and didn't cash a $1,000,000 paycheck so he could frame it instead.

If you did all that and scored more runs and stole more bases than anyone else, you would refer to yourself in the third person, too."

The Greatest - Broken Down in Graph Format:

Men lie, women lie. Numbers don't. Rickey's the GOAT. 

So there you go.

MLB’s most notorious threat on the basepath, Gold Glove Winner (can't forget his defensive skills...), Silver Slugger, MVP and 10X All-Star. A true 5-Tool player. On top of having more SB's than everyone, more leadoff HR's than everyone and more unintentional walks than everyone, he played more games than Willie Mays, Reggie Jackson and Cal Ripken, had more hits than Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, and most importantly, had more runs than everyone, including Ty Cobb, Pete Rose and Hank Aaron.

Rickey Henderson is the greatest baseball player of all time.

A legend. The GOAT.

You may notice a few asterisks* spread around this piece - none of which tarnishing Rickey’s records. Rickey never touched steroids. People who are full of shit like to act like he partook because he “fits the profile” but it’s obvious that he stayed natural, and drug-free. Rickey played for the A’s when Jose Canseco started to flood the majors with the sauce. He was too proud to touch the stuff - he'd rather prove his legitimate abilities. 

Not that elaboration is necessary, but Canseco threw everyone he knew under the bus. Friends and foes. He had no shame. The bigger the name, the bigger the book deal. Jose made a point to say Rickey DID NOT use. In fact, he credited his natural ability – calling him a “genetic freak.”

Words by MNDN. 

OK Oresky!

I've been fired up for this one. Blue Chips 2 Mixtape. Bronson X Party Supplies.  

DOWNLOAD BLUE CHIPS 2 :

This trailer was so good:

Blue Chips 2 Teaser Available 11/1/13

"That's the next step."

"Couple People Still Alive Cuz I'm Cool Wit They Mama"

You guessed it. Killa's back.  

Here's a quick little preview of why mixtapes provide what albums can't. No sample clearance requirements. Killa's spin on one of Augustoe's faves: Cults' 'Go Outside.' Enjoy. (Link to download the entire GHV1 below)

DOWNLOAD GHETTO HEAVEN VOL. I  

AFM Radio #100 - A'Hundy

My uzi still weigh a ton - check the barometer. Hotter than the the Motherf'n sun - check the thermometer. That's pretty much how we're doing things for Episode #100 of The Radio Edit. Centenarian style.

CDQ Stream: Mixcloud (Flash Player) 
Download CDQ of this and other shows: Brooklyn Radio

'BUTTERSOFT LEATHER UPHOLSTERY' Tee

1995. CLASSIC NYC rap collabo. Mobb Deep's 'Eye for an Eye' featuring Nas & Rae.

Everyone murders their verses on this track.

Not to label or "grade" a person's work, but I think it's possibly BOTH Nas and Raekwon's best guest verses. (Verbal Intercourse is in CLOSE competition) 

It would've been too easy to whip up a recognizable tee using the song title itself, 'Eye for An Eye,' or even 'Your Beef Is Mine.' We like to spark obscurity and mystery at AFM, so we use a less prominent line for our tribute to this 90's classic.

Rather than sticking to Prodigy's description of cruisin in the whip with the sunroof open, we're flipping the 'leather upholstery' line into a mom-and-pop style Queensbridge-based furniture store employee tee. 

Royal blue with orange print. (Mobb Deep logo colorway from 'The Infamous' - also doubles as Mets' colors for all you Queens cats.)

You know you want to listen now. Here ya go:

Seen enough? Go cop the tee.

BIEN CONECTAO - Art & Dominoes

BANG! "DOMINO MOTHAF***AH!" 

Your best friend's favorite photographer - Seethrumoney presents: BIEN CONECTAO - The Playable Art of the Domino Table: a 6-week DOMINO CLUB/GALLERY experience. 

Official Opening: BONES, BEER AND BBQ

Saturday June 15th - 3 to 10pm - FRESTHETIC - 552 Grand Street - Brooklyn.

Various artists have taken the raw wooden table and transformed it into their own artistic vision. The tables act as a canvas - light enough to hang on the wall and strong enough for banging.

Featuring custom tables by: 

SeeThruMoney, Don Rimx, Brian Kirhagis, Borish, Cern One, Viajero, Hectah, Mike Harding, Bowery Bob & more. 

More info: BIEN CONECTAO

AFM RADIO #99 - The Banginest Sounds

Check the banginest sounds that they invent. Episode #99 of The Radio Edit brings you a nice healthy mix of New York rap – current and classic. To mark the 99th episode we also pay homage to the year with a dozen gems from 1999.

CDQ Stream: Mixcloud (Flash Player) 
Download CDQ of this and other shows: Brooklyn Radio

SNEAK PEEK: 'Don't Assume' Tee

A little sneak preview of our newest tee. Don't worry about what someone 'left' on the train. At AFM we focus more on what was 'messed.' In other words: Everything you see could be intentional. NYC Metro logo gets flipped (literally) and enhanced to reveal your favorite 3-letter acronym: AFM. The message? Make messes, but keep that shit fancy!

Ash gray cotton, painted with a nice 298C Pantone Blue. Hand-numbered, hand-finished. 

So fresh and so clean, clean.

'Tio Theo's Car Rental' Tee

Stemming from one of the greatest days of my life - Tio Theo makes his first appearance on an AFM tee. This is an exclusive one-off. Contact for ordering details. 

Inspirational: Field Notes w/ Aaron Draplin

We just did a little AFM site redesign, and this video was stock "filler" to set up the News page. Normally, you'd delete this when you go live, but I can't. This guy is the fuckin man. He's talking about corn and field booklets the same way I talk about the shit that interests me.

Shouts to THIS inspiring sumumabish.

AFM RADIO #97 - Spread The Butter Lyrics

Episode #97 is generously smothered with classic 90's rap and new material from the likes of Keith Murray, Roc Marci, Redman, Wu-Tang - and many more. We even tossed in a few morsels off the new 'Rare Chandeliers' mixtape by Alchemist and Action Bronson. Then of course, to mark it being episode #97, 'Spread The Butter Lyrics' wraps up with a handful of vintage 1997 hip-hop gems.     

Brooklyn Radio's MixCloud: Episode #97

'Van Cortlandt Black Squirrels' Tee Ad

Located in the Bronx, Van Cortlandt Park - among many notable things - contains the largest colony of Black Squirrels on the entire East Coast. 1 in every 10,000 squirrels is of the 'black squirrel' variety. At A Fancy Mess, we love the black squirrel's rarity, as it reflects our own appreciation for exclusiveness. That, and the little known fact that these crazy critters smoke cigarettes when people aren't looking.

AFM RADIO #96 - Murder Sleep Away Camp

n Episode 96 of The Radio Edit, Mandean is bringing out artists with voices mellow like Vaugh Harper, Radio Barber. MurderSleep Away Camp brings twenty-five tracks of new and classic tracks from the likes of Nas, Scarface, Fabo, Roc Marci, O.C., Masta Ace, Nino Bless and more. As we hit the 96th episode, we also pay tribute to with a handful of favorites from 1996. Tune in as hear us keep is wicked like Nixon.

CD Quality Stream: Brooklyn Radio's Mixcloud

TURN BACK THE CLOCK: Cam & Dame on O'Reilly

Turn Back The Clock: CLASSIC Cam'ron and Dame Dash appearance on Bill O'Reilly's show from 2003.  

Cam on Columbine: "I dont think they were listenin to rap at all. I think that was more of a Marilyn Manson jumpoff." 
Dame on O'Reilly: "I thought you were going to mediate? What you're doing is giving opinions."
Cam on children: "You need to have more parent teacher conferences."
Dame on Cam: "That was a good point Cam."
Cam on Bill: "Hahaa! You mad! You mad! You maaaaad! Where'd you start, Current Affair, right?"

Always good for a re-watch...

AFM RADIO #95 - My God! So They Are Killers!

"They just keep on killing and killing... they sort of develop a taste for blood." That's the best way to to describe Episode 95 of The Radio Edit. Go on a journey through dozens of new and classic tracks from Pusha T & Kanye, Nas, Joey Badass, Alchemist, Ghostface and many more. Speakin' of killing, as an extra bonus we've got a handful of Brownsville rap and other nostalgic selections from '95. Tune in. 

CD Quality Stream: Brooklyn Radio's Mixcloud

'Van Cortlandt Black Squirrels' Tee

Located in the Bronx, Van Cortlandt Park - among many notable things - contains the largest colony of Black Squirrels on the entire East Coast. 1 in every 10,000 squirrels is of the 'black squirrel' variety. At A Fancy Mess, we love the black squirrel's rarity, as it reflects our own appreciation for exclusiveness. That, and the little known fact that these crazy critters smoke cigarettes when people aren't looking. 

Available in white w/ black print & black w/ cream print. (Did you spot the hidden messaging on the squirrel's leg???)

You can go cop it. BOOM.