A lot of rappers and their trademark vocal punctuations. Like saying the same word over and over until it loses meaning, this experience will prove both disorienting and addictive. It’s always growing, but where are the ladies at!? Roxanne Shante? Salt ‘n Pepa? Lil’ Kim? And only one sound for Kanye West is surely bruising his ego.

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I was lucky enough to cross paths with the legendary Ali Dowlatshahi through a writing project last year. Entering the Iran-born artist’s home studio in Stamford felt a bit like uncovering a treasure that you want to share with the world, as much as you’d like to keep it for yourself.

At 87 years old, Dowlatshahi still paints everyday, and remains a linchpin for Iranian culture in the Tri-State Area. With fans of his work ranging from Persian royalty (Empress Farah Pahlavi) to pop royalty (Kanye West), Dowlatshahi’s intricate, love-laced and politically charged work precedes the instant-gratification generation. To find out more, start small with a copy of his book, Persian Design and Motifs, and work up to visiting museums in Tehran or Frankfurt to see his work in life-size.

An epic video for an epic track. Kanye West lays down the beats and the remarkable Marco Brambilla turns asymmetry into symmetry. The video is as populated as the Sistine Chapel ceiling, so much so that you can not take it in all in in one viewing or even two, but you need to see it several times. The tragedy is it is so short. Easily one of the best music videos of all time.

Remember four years ago when Kanye West wore a pair of crazy striped white sunglasses in his Stronger video clip? It seemed like every member of Gen MTV jumped on the bandwagon, and there were a few years where you couldn’t go to a music festival without seeing a thousand knock off pairs among the glow sticks and fluro shirts.

The designer responsible for the accessory was Jeremy Scott, also known for this crazy runway shoes and shoe collaborations with adidas. Now Scott has teamed up with fellow fashion heavyweight Linda Farrow to bring you the Next Big Thing in unpractical eyewear; behold the Hands, Cross and Wings glasses.

Okay, this is greatness in all forms. This is why I make art and I can’t hang out with most human beings. The emotions, the music, everything. Even if you’re not a fan of rap music, you should have this album. Pure excellence.

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The weather is hot in New York city. Everybody is out and Summer is in full effect: cars blasting, BBQs, full SWAG! Then, while listening to Funkmaster Flex’s radio show, this drops. Now, I have been listening to Flex like a Shaolin Monk since I was I kid. But this was different.

This was the Monarchy. The Throne. I wish most artists were as this critical with their art and have someone digest and interpret it like Flex. Historic on so many levels. Also, Russell Crowe is in the studio with them. A nice touch to have Maximus there!

The Muppets like you’ve never seen them before. Mind you, based on recent behavour, it’s kinda hard to tell which is the bigger Muppet: the Count or Kanye?

Sure, this parody song is great on its own, but this accompanying video of someone doing a rather nice drawing of Kanye as a gay fish takes it to the next level.