THE RISE & FALL OF OSCAR ZETA ACOSTA
―
BROWN BUFFALO FLOW
MIXED MEDITATIONS
SELECT ART CONNECT: SP303
“Are you telling me there are some coffees that taste like tea?“ kasim613
Inland Empire mixed-media artist kasim613 makes something out of nothing. He’s offering one member of the Mestizo crew an exclusive discount on SP303 .
$250 currently on his site.
$175 for a Mestizo customer.
If that’s you, email carlos@mestizo.coffee
ITS YOURS
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN ROAST?
WE CAME. WE SAW. WE CLOWNED.
“When life gives you lemons, trade them for coffee.” Tommy Folger
2020 was burnt and bitter. So we sent it out in style with a comedy roast.
WHO'S LAUGHING NOW?
THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE S WORD
CLICK CLACK THAT PEN CLIQUE CRACK
“The only thing worse than bad poetry is bad coffee.” Kuya David
One of my favorite best kept secrets on the web is the wildly stylized word-bath that is the Pen Clique podcast. The hosts, David and Daniel, treat poetry (with an emphasis on spoken word) with the seriousness it deserves. And my mans David goes ham on the art direction and editing.
PHOTOREALIZM
FOUNDATIONFUNKOLLECTIVE: KWASI BOYD-BOULDIN
“XYZ” Kwasi B
In the mid 90s and early Double 0s, there was a weekly open mic and open floor gathering of Los Angeles’ hip hop faithful: The Foundation Funkollective. I crossed paths with many dope and talented artist there. Some 20 years later, many are still killing shit. Like my mans Kwasi B, an emcee turned photojournalist and illustrator. One flex: his photography recently featured in the New York Times.
NO POSEURS
COFFEE & CIGARETTES
“I don’t make coffee, coffee makes me.” Elias Wallace
When Elias Wallace, former front man for Otis Stacks, quit his junior high teaching job in Colton, California and move his family to France for a year, he had only two things on his mind: music and love. Ok, coffee and cigarettes, too.
WE NEED FIRE
THAT'S FUNNY
STAND UP MORNING ROUTINE WITH CHRIS ESTRADA
“Death to Starbucks” Chris Estrada
You want to know what’s funny about waking up every day? Me too.
COOCOO FOR COCO PUFFS
COFFEE MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
“Mexican coffee, man.” Angel Medina
Have you ever run out of papers and then decided that you were going to take the toilet paper carton and some tin foil from the hotel restaurant and make something you can do a little something with? Yeah. Me neither. But this is that but the coffee version.
WELL GROUNDED
BATTLE DRILL
JAMES BALDWIN VS BILL BUCKLEY
“It seemed to me—I would say, sipping coffee and trying to be calm—that the principle of what had to be done was extremely simple; but before anything could be done, the principle had to be grasped. The principle on which one had to operate was that the government which can force me to pay my taxes and force me to fight in its defense anywhere in the world does not have the authority to say that it cannot protect my right to vote or my right to earn a living or my right to live anywhere I choose.” James Baldwin
YOU GOT SERVED
ILLASTRATIONS
NEUX MEMES
“I’m glad there’s finally a brand of coffee that speaks to the never ending identity crisis of being mestizo. I plan on drinking several cups a day to fuel this anxiety with everything it’s got. Thank you, Mestizo Coffee.” Sammy
Mexican Americans from Texas stay making dope art. One of my favorite podcasts, Desmadre, is hosted by two cousins, Jesus and Sammy, with a penchant for shit talk and analysis. And when Sammy’s not burp-boxing, he’s ill with the doodles.
I call this one Coffee Head.
coffee head
GOD'S FIRST GANGSTERS
IF JESUS CLAIMED A SET, IT WOULD PROLLY SOUND LIKE THIS
“My cup runneth over.” Psalms 23:5
Before 1992, all gospel rap sounded like dog shit. And then came the Gospel Gangstas. Their debut album, complete with a sample used on this song that I provided DJ Dove, fuckin’ smacked. You have doubts? Don’t get chin-checked by God.
PINCHE PUNCHIN'
“I never drank coffee till grad school and it’s been on since then.” Roberto Andrade Franco
MONTREAL, STAND UP!
COFFEE EDUMUCATION
“I’m a creative person & brewing coffee is a chance to start my by day creating something.” Vithu Namisivayam
I NEED ROOM TO BLOOM
JAYLIB AT THE CONGA ROOM IN LOS ANGELES
Two of the greatest to ever do it did it and created one of the best hip hop albums of all time, the 2003 CHAMPION SOUND.
This footage, uploaded to YouTube, was shot in November of 2004 at Los Angeles’ Conga Room. The performance precedes Dilla’s death from complications surrounding Lupus in February of 2006.
I’m struck by two thing here: frailty and joy.
GIVE IT AWAY, GIVE IT AWAY, GIVE IT AWAY NOW
““I can’t paint yet, I haven’t had my coffee.” Rijaa Nadeem
I truly believe that the negative space in a composition is just as important as the painting itself. It brings the whole piece together. This influence comes from studying Japanese art. It’s so simple yet so strong.
As an avid coffee drinker/coffee addict, this composition came naturally to me. This is how I feel when I drink my first cup of coffee in the morning.
I wanted the piece to be simple, meaningful yet vibrant. The character was inspired by the meaning of “Mesitzo”. Adding different textures helps me guide the viewer’s eyes on the canvas and create more variation. I chose these colors since I wanted it to represent brightness and warmth, just like the beginning of a new day.
FROM THE HEAVENS
BEWARE THE ZOOMBA APOCALYPSE
STAND UP MORNING ROUTINE WITH NANCY LEE WOODS
“You should know that I chew coffee flavored gum.” NANCY LEE WOODS
CATECHISM // SCHISM // CATACLYSM
THE BIBLE ANSWER MAN CAN
Call it dumb divine luck but in 1992, while my fellow Bassett High classmates were passing around oldies mixtapes and herpes simplex B, my uncle handed me a VHS copy of this debate between some dude calling himself “The Bible Answer Man” and a Catholic Priest.
I didn’t even like the Bible. Mostly because I’d never read it. But I liked this Bible Answer Man’s polemicist spirit. You might too.
While some 25 years later I see his approach and method as sorely wrongheaded, I still get a kick out of dude’s flow.
STAND UP MORNING ROUTINE WITH PAPP JOHNSON
“I’ll mess with coffee when coffee stops messing with me.” Papp Johnson
IT'S THE DIGGY DIGGY DOC Y'ALL // ROCKIN IT FRESH Y'ALL.
TAKE THIS COVID 19 VACCINE OR HELLZ TO THE NAH?
WATCH THIS.