Imagine what your favorite hip-hop tracks would sound like if they were the soundtrack to your old NES games. Thanks to whizhouse.com, we’ve got a whole medley of ‘em. My fav is of course the T.I. - What You Know melody. Bustin’ heads in Double Dragon could’ve been so much more gangsta…

Full tracklist:
Jay-Z — Dirt Off Your Shoulders
T.I — What You Know
Chamillionaire — Ridin’
Ludacris — What’s Ya Fantasy
Bonecrusher — Neva Scared
Kanye — Overnight Celebrity
Ludacris — Move Bitch
Lil’ Jon — Get Low
Kanye — Gold Digger

Download: Whizhouse - 8 Bit Hip Hop

Name:
Bear Fight Hat

Aka:  
Trouble

Website:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bear%20Fight

Where are you from?
Originally Russia, but I spent a good bit of time in China being made as well. Then I ended up in Ashville, NC where I did nothing but inhale a lot of second hand smoke. Finally I ended up in ATL thanks to Reed Elliot who rescued me from the hippies.

Who do you work for? 
Anyone that is willing to put up with me really! Most of the time you can find me anywhere around the Ponce area of Atlanta. El Bar or The Local. I’m on a mission to spread Bear Fight magic across the world. So basically, anywhere that serves Guinness, Baileys, Jamison, Jager and Red Bull is where I can get down to business. If you come to ATL, you better come find me. We’ll “do work” together.

What are your Current Project(s)? 
Getting people drunk out of their minds, getting party kids sick, making fun of douchebags, making fun of hipsters, being-a-hat-and-wearing-a-hat at the same time, jamming out to DJ Cristo Disco on Thursday and Friday Nights, and world-domination.

Who would you love to work with?
Anyone that’s Irish, the dude from Man vs. Food, Zangief from Street Fighter (Russia represent!), kute gurlz, Winnie the Pooh (he’s kind of my hero), and anyone interested in a par-tay!

If you had to give all your sneakers away to charity except for one pair, which ones would you keep? 
Paws down, my Nike SB Three Bears Dunk Highs! But i don’t really have feet considering I’m a hat. 

What’s on your iPod right now?
Bear vs. Shark, Minus the Bear, Grizzly Bear, Panda Bear, Grumpy Bear, Seabear, Volcano the Bear, Art Bears, Message to Bears, Bear Slayer and the Keep it Hood Mixtape by Slugger.

What’s your Favorite ATL food?
My favs is definitely the Shepard’s Pie at Bookhouse. I couldn’t kill a better meal.

What’s your Favorite ATL hangout?
Thats an easy one, El Barz on your head!

What are your Pet Peeves?
People who think they can do Bear Fights and then throw up 10 seconds after trying one, people that don’t finish their Bear Fights, Care Bears (amature shit), people who spill drinks on me, people that try to make requests for music at El Bar, people that give me dirty looks for having a good time, people that call them “Bear Claws”… They’re called “Bear Fights”. It’s not that hard… get it right… and especially loud pandas.

Shout outs?
Big shout outs to all my homebears back home in Russia, I miss you guys! Also, shout outz to everyone that made me. My drink-pushing homies in TX. Aaron for pushing Bear Fights in Chi-town. Pablo and Megan in Barcelona, taking Bear Fights internationally. Big ups to the Party Wolf. StreetLocal crew! Thanks a million to Rosa for giving me a hook to hang on at El Bar. Reed for rescuing me from Ashville and bringing me to El Bar that night and introducing me to the EC/Process boys. Without them I wouldn’t be as popular as I am now and I would probably just be sitting in a costume store wasting my life away.

Here are some selects from the PROCESS Launch Circuit events at Standard Peachtree that took place from 8pm to 10pm last Friday. This is where the party really started to pick up. Once again, thanks to John Ellis for providing his photography services. Also, thanks to ATL’s own, Whynatte, for sponsoring our event(s) with refreshments.

Check out my favorite photos from PROCESS Launch Circuit at Standard Peachtree after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Peter Bjorn and John’s fifth album, Living Thing, will be released at the end of this month with a lot of questions as to what it will sound like. Their most recent album, Seaside Rock, was almost entirely instrumental, which was a huge departure from the whistling and toe-tapping nature of 2006’s Writer’s Block. If Nothing to Worry About is any indication of what’s to come, we’re in for a treat. I love the crunchy beat juxtaposed with what sounds like a children’s choir singing irreverently. Maybe this is what Stockholm-crunk sounds like.

Download: Peter Bjorn and John - Nothing to Worry About

Here are some selects from the PROCESS Launch Circuit events at Standard Lenox that took place from 6pm to 8pm last Friday. It was great to see lots of friends and family passing through this location right after work. Thanks so much to John Ellis for providing his photography services. Also, thanks to ATL’s own, Whynatte, for sponsoring our event(s) with refreshments.

Check photos from PROCESS Launch Circuit at Standard Lenox after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Our good friend and local photographer, Joe Martinez, made it out to the 3rd part of PROCESS Launch Circuit last Friday night at El Bar. He sent me this photo he took of designer/wood-fabricator, Josh Tuminella, holding up a custom skateboard he had created as a gift to our crew. Thanks to both of you guys! This is just a small sampling of the photos we’ve amassed from the other night. Check out the rest of Joe’s selects after the jump. Tons of new shots from both Standard locations and more El Bar photos coming tomorrow.

Read the rest of this entry »

Let me start off by saying “Thank You” to everyone who came out to any (or all) of our PROCESS Launch Circuit events last Friday night. We can’t begin to describe how loved we feel based on everyone’s continued support. I’ll post pictures from the night as they arrive from our photographers.

I spent a majority of the final week of production tying up loose ends, getting inventory set up for the online store (which is LIVE at wearetheprocess.com), and camping out at our downtown ATL studio. The picture above is a birds-eye view of the coffee table next to the studio couch that I lived on last week. As you can see, I stayed hydrated, caffeinated, entertained, and very busy at the same time… was it worth it? Would I do it all over again? Yes and yes.

Before I go into this week’s Photo Friday I would like to send a friendly reminder to everyone out there to please make sure and go check out the launch of Process today at Standard Lenox, Standard 1841, and EL BAR later tonight! Its going to be awesome and guaranteed good times! 

So as everyone out there knows, it snowed on Sunday here in ATL. Me being from Florida, it’s once in a blue moon that I get to see snow fall and it has been an even longer time since I’ve actually able to see snow fall and stay on the ground. Last year when it snowed, I freaked out. And this year I did the exact same thing. I went to Piedmont Park with the other half of Ayy Gurl Studios, Joe Martinez and took pictures almost the entire day. Here are a few pictures from the both of us!

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, I quickly made this video using existing photography from the PROCESS lookbook photoshoot from last summer. It’s interesting to see the images come to life and equally exciting to see how far we’ve come. In just 24 hours, the line will be available to the public at both Standard locations and on our website, http://wearetheprocess.com. Thanks to everyone that helped make this possible. YOU GUYS are the WE in “We Are the Process”.

Name:
Eric Levin

Aka:  
Primarily, “E,” I think most Eric’s are known as “E,” but even my wife calls me that. Professor (only Kim Criminal calls me that), McLovin (my last name is actually pronounced “Love In”, but McLovin never caught on), Fatty Fat Fat fat (that’s my nickname for myself)

Website:
criminal.com
auroracoffee.com
recordstoreday.com
thealliancerocks.com

Where are you from?
Daytona Beach, Florida, but I’m an ATLien, spent more of my life here, than there.

Who do you work for? 
I own Criminal Records, Aurora Coffee, I’m the president of AIMS (Alliance of Independent Media Stores) and I’m the co-founder of Record Store Day. Sometimes, I say I work for Criminal Shannon’s label, International Hits, but that’s not really true.

What are your Current Project(s)? 
My main gig takes up most of my time. AIMS is a coalition of indie record stores, like Criminal Records, spread out across the country. It’s a blast and led to Record Store Day which is now an international event. We team up to fight evil, y’know, offering services to bands and labels, putting art before commerce…helping, basically. I’ve spent my whole life celebrating and exploring record stores and now it’s my job. I’m at Criminal Records every day, but usually I’m upstairs working with and for other record stores. With the crew I have, though, I don’t have to worry about Criminal Records, they’ve got that covered. Same can be said for Aurora, I bought it ’cause I loved it and didn’t want to see it go out of business, but I certainly can’t pull as espresso shot. I’m much more comfortable on the customer side of the counter.

Who would you love to work with?
Strangely enough, I usually get to work with whoever I want to. I have a calling card that opens doors, I mean, with Record Store Day in particular, there aren’t a lot of enemies. When I’m able to explain the concept, folks reach out. Check the website out: http://recordstoreday.com/CustomPage/381, the artists quotes are sick, and I gathered those up.

I mean, Robyn Hitchcock’s not going to call me when it’s time to move a couch, but he’ll certainly send me a quote Record Store Day or pop into the store for an improptu performance.

My contacts list is strange, scrolling through it sometimes, I just laugh. The other day, somebody yelled at me from the floor, “Hey E, Rick Moranis is on the Criminal Records line.” I’m like, “say what?” I’d forgotten that we were working on a project, and I had to shake my head (remembering…everything, SCTV, Bob McKenzie, Ghostbusters, Kid Shrinking) and answer the phone, “hey Rick, what’s up? How can I help?”
It’s freaky, sometimes.

Public Enemy did a digital deal that skipped traditional retail (see: pet peeve) and, well, Chuck D’s on the contacts list and I dropped him an email on behalf of indie-retail saying, basically, “WTF?” He e-mailed me back, using the epithet , “Friend Eric” and we discussed how we could fast-track a physical release along with apologies to my retail brethern. I forwarded the e-mail to my list, and after a heated day-long exchange, one retailer wrote: “Now, wait. Wait. How the fuck does Eric know Chuck D?!?”

My only thought, was, “Damn! How do I know Chuck D?” Life is strange, right?

If you had to give all your sneakers away to charity except for one pair, which ones would you keep? 
One of my best bro’s is Thomas Taylor from Stratosphere, so I always have fresh kicks. I’m not in particular love with any of them, though. Probably my wife’s awesome L.A.M.B. gold Jamaica sneakers.

What’s on your iPod right now?
Oh Lord, here we go….

Obviously, this is the year 2000 way of asking what kind of music I like, but I can’t skip a chance to jump on my soapbox. I’m sorry, but computers are for computing and stereos are for music. Why on earth would I have these massive speakers, heavy amps, expensive needles and a lifetime of records and CD’s? Why would anybody want to compress that beauty down and stick it in your earholes? Stereos are instruments, iPods are tools….and digital downloading? OMG! Why would anybody “rent” music when you can “own” it. Granted, I own a record store, so duh. Also, please check out www.criminal.com, where we just launched our digital store, so get on it hipsters.

Oh yeah, music. I’m pretty much the resident 80’s guy at Crim and dub reggae. That’s about as deep as I go.

What’s your Favorite ATL food?
Well, now. I’m an un-apologetic “foodie,” I won’t even apologize for using the word “foodie.” I think Cliff Bostock is one of Atlanta’s unsung heroes. I’m pretty much in his army, so if he likes it, I’m there. Ria’s Bluebird is always perfect, and such a thrill, ’cause–y’know, she’s one of us. Same for Molly and Nick at the Porter, wow they’re just ruling it. The Brick is a weekly visit. Holeman and Finch bakery, I’m in love; same for Little Cakes Bakery in Buckhead, I’ve got to get those treats in Aurora.

We’re very lucky to be in this city, I could just rattle them off. Rathbun’s, everything he touches, ka-pow! Watershed? Bacchanalia? Flip? Craft? I love having out-of-towners visit, ’cause I know I can kill ‘em. Every time.

Italian? Alfredo’s. Sushi? Nakato. Burger? Miss Ann’s, or hell, Varsity Jr. If I’m really hating myself right. Fresh? Lotta Fruitta. Mexican? Los Hermanos. Pizza? Still loving Savage, or Bambinelli’s, or Capoozi’s. Mildly-priced fancy? Wisteria. Bar Food? Highlander or the Corner Pub. Fried Chicken? Son’s Place, or Watershed Tuesdays. Sandwiches? New Yorker Deli. Hipster food? (Is there such a thing?) Bookhouse. Steak? Highland Tap.

What’s your Favorite ATL hangout?
Any of the above restaraunts, or my sunroom (where I keep the big stereo, wife and dogs).

What are your Pet Peeves?
I hate that art has taken a back seat to convenience. My whole life has been about the pursuit of art and entertainment, front and center, to see music treated as such a valueless commodity is just heart-breaking. I mean, Criminal Records is commerce-driven for sure, but for me it’s more about creating a Temple of pop-culture, a fun-house, if I pay some bills and insure some staffers along the way, great! But I certainly didn’t get into this to get rich.
And children, I hate your children, your dogs are cool, though. Bring ‘em on down.

Shout outs?
All the Criminal Records staff, past and present, except for the stealers. Same goes for Aurora guys and gals. All those folks who’ve stuck with us over the years. It’s very important to shop locally, it means so much and those who make an active effort to keep our wheels turning, we owe them everything.