Jam of the Week: J. Cole - "Who Dat"

In 2004, I had almost no concept of what investment banking was, except for the horror stories Scos and others reported back to me while on their 48 hour drunken escape from New York during Homecoming. In 2005, I heard the same stories from my classmates, fresh off their internships. The stories were basically the same, but with a few little tidbits, like "It's not that bad" and "I made over $10K in one summer." In 2006, I was interviewing. Why the hell not?

In 2007, the market crashed, with my social and sex life following shortly behind it. After a few 130 hour weeks and at least half a dozen burnt out shirts, my soul was suffering. I had managed to figure out how to turn off the blinking red light on my blackberry and rarely dreamed about excel or pitch decks. But subconsciously, the lifestyle was getting to me.

In 2008, I had 4 pairs of Cole Haan shoes (2 black, 1 brown, 1 burgundy), about 20 Brook's Brothers shirts, and was eyeing a Ferragamo tie. I didn't particularly need $25 worth of Seamless Web delivery food, but I'd use it all just the same (you can buy a lot of Dentyne Ice - I was up to a pack a day at that point). And after all that hard work analyzing the financials of multi-million dollar companies, I deserved that black-car ride home, no? Fuck, I was living the dream.

Clowns told me “ain’t you roc [nation]? well where the fuck yo chain at?”
Guess it’s somethin like your girl, it aint came yet.
The man make the chain, chain dont make the man
How many n[inja]s do we know with hella ice but yet they lame?

J. Cole, you're exactly right. Granted, it's easy to get caught up in the lifestyle - and as much as I pride myself on having my own idea of what's "cool," I was clearly indoctrinated in the New York / finance culture. But how far off is the hip hop world from banking in New York anyway? Both have a culture of wealth and opulence. Both harshly criticize those who challenge the status quo. Both place a high value on things that really shouldn't be impressive (jail stints, Princeton degrees). But here stands J. Cole, one of the most hyped rappers out today, with Jay Z at his back, turning his own back to convention. Take note and keep watching him.

About the video: BBGUN directed the first Cole Jam I showcased on AMDAL, and the two have teamed up again to put an upgraded spin on that video. Check them both out.

Hit the jump for OK Go's latest awesomeness, Pharrell, and the latest BOTW.

OK Go - "End Love"

Low on budget, high on time, this video was probably a huge bitch to shoot (over 2 consecutive days?) and probably weeks more of editing. But it was worth it. If it had anything to do with banking, it probably would have been JOTW.

Uffie feat. Pharrell - "A.D.D. S.U.V."

Pharrell can pretty much do anything, including cameo in Get Him To The Greek (go see it, Puffy kills it), pontificate about education, and drive a ridiculous classic car painted in Bathing Ape / Ice Cream-esque graphics. The song is decent and the video is pretty fun to watch (especially the cartoon part). One question: I can see the ADD all over the video, but where's the actual SUV?


Bieber of the Week: Justin Bieber feat. Usher - "Somebody To Love (Remix)"

I actually like this video. Scratch that, I like all Bieber videos. I'm an unadulterated Bieber fan. Plus, he makes my job easy - he has been putting out one video almost every week. It's Bieber motherf*ckers!