Boogie sent me these recently. There a departure of sorts for him. Here are his words:

I’ve been playing new ideas and techniques and they are amazing. without revealing too much heres a few examples.

Me: I love these, there depth of emotion is uncanny. Boogie is onto something

My friend I will leave name less has been dropping various mock signs all over the city the last few months under the guise of his faux company Trusto. Pretty funny stuff peep game

homeboy-sandman-yeah-but-i-can-rhyme-though

This is really smart. Cat can spit he was in the Loud.com rap contest a few years ago he’s a righteous cat I thought he should have won but it is what it was. I really appreciate this curious what you cats think?

Hit the left coast this weekend for some meetings with a few folx and to check my man Redas book release event out. While I was there I checked in at the Vans OTW event. Checked in with my Soul Assassin homies and headed to the event. That’s Mr. Cartoon, Muggs and Everlast for the unknowing

This is Bruno Musso, Aaron Bondaroff and my man Javier Nunez aka Wilfredo Gomez from HBO’s How to Make it in America…We wont hold it against him Jav’s the homie hope the show blows up so he can blow up other than that I ain’t a fan

This would be 3 total rippers and character’s: Mike Carroll one of my all time faves, Steve Olson my road dawg and Mr. Brandon Beibels one of the craziest dudes in the history of skateboarding….Beebs is sick!

This is Reda as in Giovanni Reda aka little pepperoni! I went to his jump off that’s where I caught Olson,Beebs and Mike Carroll…so much for Vans stronghold on skateboarders Friday evening. We were all celebrating his book release Demigods and cosmic children…..Ohwow Aaron’s peoples put it out its killer

Here’s some of the images

Johnny Boy Abrams and Patrick Holeck

Kaws

Best pic all show Andy Kessler the godfather of NYC skateboarding and my life long friend….Rest In Power big homie!

Michael Rappaport…I had the pleasure of connecting Reda and Mike Rap….six welcome back Rappaports later and the rest is history

My crazy friend Wyatt….He is too funny..

Scotty Oster….Skate legend and super DJay….Also one of my all time favorite West Coast cats….Scott is the best here he is djaying the unofficial after party at Teddys!

This guy here djayed the event….and it ws at his gallery….and hes a really nice guy like next level….next to him is the uber funny and talented Erica Jayne Christianson…..shes so funny and cool! Sheps in the book as well

This would be Natas Kaupus….If u dont know who this is then just give up

Thats Nick Diamond…..in front of yours truly

Ulle, Crazy Dave Ortis and OG Olson giving me a taste of my own medicine…

Taz Arnold just because…..Dude came to Reda’s jump off how cool is that?

Mike O’Meally and Steve Olson…Good pics….dug these mucho.

And this was the day after….little BBQ ….Reda and Elijah with the sword…..This is my new rap group the guido and the sword…..wait to the world gets a load of this…..Anyways it was a great Friday night in LA and Saturday was pretty epic as well……though not documented!

Enjoy

Dante Ross on a plane headed back to NYC

My close friend Giovanni Reda the loudmouth behind my HipHop History 101 and the funniest cat I know is having his book release tonight. Funny thing I probably met Reda due to Harold Hunters passing as much as anything. Most people think we were friends forever but during this period of time we ended up being together with some mutual friends and we bonded due to the fact he’s the funniest muther fer in the world. That and the fact he got Josh the Fish from 10Deep to eat cookies dunked in beer. Don’t ask cause Josh wont tell. It made quite the impression on me to be honest. I mean like really cookies and beer? Only Reda could inspire those kinds of shenanigans.

Fast Forward 5 years later and this friendship blossomed into a deep bond as well as our quirky liitle online show and a bunch of appearances on Wednesday with Reda. The love him and the Berrics have shown me helped reconnect me on a deeper levels with the culture of skating once again bringing me closer to my roots which is right where I need to be  ( Little known fact I was a skateboarding punkrocker in my early teen years).I have totally enjoyed all of this stuff it has increased my belief in the brotherhood of skating 10fold. It inspired me to look at things specifically the youth a little differently and for that I give thanks and praise.

I was with Reda when I got the news that my bro Andy Kessler had passed. Reda really held me down that night and me him. I couldn’t think of a better bro to be with during this tragic moment. Sometimes you see somebody around for years an never interact with them and then by some circumstance beyond your control your thrust into dealing with each other. Sometimes for good and sometimes for bad. This was me and Reda’s case. The funny thing is we had seen each other around for years but had never conversed really. The experience of getting tight with Reda changed my life on a few levels as he is a incredibly kind hearted person full of compassion and posititivty something my departed brethren Andy Kessler and myself really valued in him.

For this and many other things I say congrats Giovanni Luigi Reda our friendship is one of legend and now cause of you I got lttle skater kids coming up to me when I’m trying to eat brunch with my 73 year old dad asking me where you are and when I’m gonna do some new HipHopHistorys. I say thanks, congrats and blessings my brother.  Glad I will be here tonight and that I am a small part of your book.

Now let the festivities begin!

Come through if your in LA and say hello!

D Ross

This is a project I really believe in. My life long friend and HS dean Jesse Paiz put this together. IT’S for a great cause namely New Design High School which is in a tight squeeze with budget cuts going on throughout the NYC public school system. Come through please and spread some love this event is really one for the community of the Lower East Side of NYC something in the midst of all the cool guy stuff we deal with we forget about the kids sometimes and that this neighborhood is more than a place to hangout in and grab a drink at your favorite spot De Jour. It is a community of people who need things like New Design High School a great public high school that actually cares about it’s students something NYC education needs more of. They have a high graduation rate. The reason is because they engage their students with programs like this.

Please come out and support!

Thanks

Dante Ross

Nobody gets a pass on this one. As the state of California trys to wait this one out the citizens of Oakland are not having it. Oscar Grant and his execution at the hands of the Oakland Bart officers will not be swept under the rug end of story. It’s going to get hot in the bay this summer when this finally goes to trial.

OSCAR GRANT PROTESTERS SWARM BART STATION

By Angela Woodall
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 04/08/2010 07:42:11 PM PDT
Updated: 04/09/2010 11:00:53 AM PDT

More than 100 activists swarmed into the Embarcadero BART station Thursday afternoon to protest what they said was the transit agency’s ongoing mishandling of the Jan. 1, 2009, fatal shooting of Oscar Grant III.
Nearly two dozen armed BART police were on hand to keep trains running without disruptions. No delays were reported, but one person was arrested about 5:30 p.m.
“We are extremely experienced and have been very successful in dealing with all kinds of protests, including anti-war, immigration and student demonstrations,” said BART spokesman Linton Johnson in a prepared statement posted on the BART Web site. “We have plans in place to prepare for virtually any scenario the protesters throw at us.”
The attempt to disrupt service proved unsuccessful, but the group calling itself “Oakland for Justice” captured the attention of some commuters and the media. They chanted “Justice for Oscar” on the platform, then boarded a train for the Montgomery Street station, where they continued to chant. Some protesters rode to the Powell Street station.
BART had recommended the Montgomery station as an alternative to the Embarcadero station to commuters who wanted to avoid the protest.
Demonstrators called for the firing and arrest of BART police Officer Anthony Pirone, who has been on paid leave since former Officer Johannes Mehserle shot Grant, a 22-year-old Hayward resident, at BART’s Fruitvale station in Oakland.
Mehserle has been charged with murder. His trial was moved to Los Angeles County and is expected to begin in June.
The protest comes just weeks after acting BART police Chief Dash Butler fired Officer Marysol Domenici. She and Pirone were the first officers on the scene Jan. 1, 2009, at the Fruitvale station in response to a call that a fight had erupted on a BART train.
Mehserle shot Grant while trying to handcuff the unarmed man, who was lying facedown on the BART station platform. Mehserle’s lawyer has said Mehserle meant to stun Grant with a Taser but grabbed his gun by mistake.

Just some stuff that I had laying around that I dig……

Enjoy

D ROSS NYC

Marc Ryden show in NY was pretty cool, the work looked great and the crowd was throwing down big bucks for the work. Saw lots of sold stickers and one of these went for a whopping 1.3 million bucks. Pretty amazing in this economy. Ryden is one of the forefathers of so called “LowBrow” art. I have always found his work intriguing but due to the amount of derivative art that looks some what in the Marc Ryden school I sometimes think the import of his work due to plagiarism of sorts has been a bit hampered. still all in all a great show with some big impressive work. The guy can simply paint and this is all analog no computers or slide projection here just hand on canvas which I really appreciate for a change.

Cool show and nice not to be in a throng of downtown cool cats at a opening of merit for once. I dug how he included the sketches as well. Marc Ryden helped this movement come in to existence and showed once again why he is so emulated,collected, worshipped from afar!

http://www.paulkasmingallery.com/exhibitions/2010-04-29_mark-ryden/

for more cool art go to my site @ http://www.danteross.com/

Dante Ross

NYC

Basquit portrait above

What can I say that hasn’t already been said about this show or Shepard except that he’s a really nice and genuine guy. The show was a total rock concert and luckily I breezed right in ( It’s only right ,right?) Huge show lots of famous people there and on the walls. Fame isn’t the most compelling subject matter for me that said hats off the Shepard for creating a serious event the magnitude of which I haven’t seen in NYC art for a while.

These were obviously inspired by famous works by Jasper Johns and Edward Ruscha. I dig both of those guys work. These paintings let me so does Shepard. I wonder how did the artists emulated feel about this stuff and if they dig Shepards work like the youth does today? The dialog these create for me internally is as interesting as the work itself which says Shepard did his job aka the message is the medium to quote Marshall McLuhan.

Above is Woody Guthrie one of my parents idols. Cool that Shepard inluded him in this. He is interesting, he is a personal hero of mine….

Debbie Harry……I use to think she was really hot in 6th grade…..

Iggy Pop another hero of mine above…..Patty Smith below another hero…Me and Shepard share some common ground with our Punk Rock idols

Dr.Cornell West….I dig this cat and I am psyched Shepard put his portrait in the show he is one of the leading black intellectuals in America and a defender of rap music since day one…

This is Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns respectively. I’m curious would that have been fans of Shepard’s work and the inspiration he derived from their art? That again to me is Shepard’s gift he invokes internal dialog based on art constantly from whether it’s glorified graphic design to the limits of inspiration vs Co-option.

Saw lots of old friends at the show in the midst of the madness: here’s a few

Kaves and Eric Haze 2 brothers of mine

Glen E Friedman and Phil Frost my favorite dude ever!

Lee Quinones , Fab 5 Freddy and Page Powell 3 80’s super power players…lee is an amazing painter Freddy is a amazing get over artist….Bot have the place in the equation called downtown art. Page she was famous in the 80’s as well maybe she still is i was never quite sure what she did.

Wk Interact and friend. I like his work it deserves a big space like Deitch which is going out of business as this is it’s last show ever. Nice run they had over there for sure. This show like most Shepard’s stuff provided me and my friends with some thought provoking dialog on the subject of art,graphic design and the culture of street art and it’s co-opting by corporate America for which I half am a participant of. This is a much bigger paradigm and one that is always intriguing for me on a lot of levels and for me personally that was the true beauty of Shepard’s show this past week. Thanks

Enjoy

Dante Ross NYC