Cosmopolitan Boys Sunday Snippets #003
Cosmopolitan Boys is a lifestyle page and an urban movement that depicts the life of city boys. Created by @reisceo, the Sunday Snippet will be a weekly column on our site. The recommendations are gathered and compiled throughout the week and brought here. Like a newsletter, books, movies, music, interviews, and a collection of interesting things will be passed on as recommendations and future references for everyone.
04/28/2024, Sunday, 09:36 @ Center, São Paulo.
After a few weeks in the medical department, the midfielder is back. And I wouldn’t come without good news; we are now also a weekly column on the NOTTHESAMO site (take that). So I know it will reach people who might be a little confused about what this is, but don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it quickly (and I’m also figuring it out, no pressure).
In summary: the week goes by, I work, go around, talk to people, watch things, think thoughts, all of this with headphones looking for the perfect soundtrack. And then I curate the most interesting things I consumed to write about here. This is already the third edition (the links to the other two will be at the end) I hope you like it.
* Each topic is dissected a bit more. Click on the arrows and/or links.
THINGS I'M READING
Rhuigi Villaseñor has earned it
The article is somewhat old and already outdated; Rhuigi is no longer the creative director at Bally, but the interview is nice and symbolic: a Filipino immigrant who built an empire in America, changed the life of his entire family, and was hired as the director of a Swiss brand with over 170 years of history. I like his philosophy of wanting to create a 'new luxury' that resonates more with today’s youth. In addition to being addicted to Jay-Z and Aperol Spritz. A true Cosmopolitan.
I have been reading much less than I would like lately, and to be honest, I stopped halfway through this book a few months ago; it was the book I used to read before sleeping. But what reminded me of it was actually Questlove's book that I have been mentioning in the last Newsletters. The inevitable moment came when Questlove starts talking about J Dilla, about how he met him, their stories together, etc. And what stands out to me is the way they talk about him, both in Quest’s book and in Dilla's biography. It’s the same energy I feel when they talk about Virgil. A dude who had a different aura, who was always there, who was already a legend but was interested in learning from everyone. To exemplify my point, a quote from Quest:
Dilla flipped the circuit. He made everyone around him feel that he was genuinely amazed by who they were as a person and artist. Not only did he manage to recognize that he was giving creative energy to you, but he behaved as if you were giving energy to him. Sincerely or strategically, it flipped the circuit. Somehow, it made him young again, made you older, but it also made you question the entire hierarchy. It was, in its way, extremely cool and extremely motivational.
And perhaps this is one of the greatest legacies a creative can leave: the way they talk about him, the way he impacted the lives of other creatives (who also impact the lives of others). And it creates this wonderful cycle that constantly makes you dig deeper. That’s very Hip-Hop.
Ali Abdaal Journal Prompts
I have also mentioned Ali's book in a Newsletter and this week I remembered one of the exercises he proposes regarding writing. Writing has completely changed my life in recent years, I keep a diary that I have taken quite seriously and disciplined, and it helps me a lot to organize my thoughts and constantly realign the course of my life. In his book, Ali proposes several “prompts” to guide your writing and encourage reflection on your life. I made a selection of those I find the most interesting:
What would I genuinely do if money were not an issue?
What would I like people to say at my funeral?
If I repeat my actions from last week for 10 years, where will that lead me? Is it where I want to go?
What would my life be like in 5 years if I continued on the same path? What would my life be like in 5 years if I followed a completely different path from today? What would my life be like in 5 years if I followed a path where I didn’t care about money and other people's opinions?
The brain works in 90-minute cycles
I saw somewhere that our brain works in 90-minute cycles. I already knew something about this related to sleep, that we have 90-minute cycles during sleep, and when we wake up feeling like we were hit by a truck, it's probably because a cycle was interrupted. But apparently, it applies to any activity, and it really made a difference when I started approaching things this way. Coincidentally or not, it’s the length of a soccer match, and my theory regarding the relationship between athletes/creatives gains more evidence.
MB Quotes
It’s not exactly a reading topic, but I think it fits better here because to me, it’s as if it were. This week, I started participating in some projects involving Mano Brown. And I don’t even know how to explain to you the importance of the last sentence I typed, but basically, if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be who I am today (and for me, he and Jay-Z are the two best rappers of all time).
I had my first contact with Racionais in childhood; I had a Discman that accompanied me during car trips with my parents, and at some of the stops at gas stations, I asked my dad to buy the pirate CD of Sobrevivendo no Inferno (sorry, but there won't be a hyperlink for anything in this topic; it's your duty to know all this). And after listening to Jorge da Capadócia, I was surprised by the strongest voice I had ever heard saying:
“God made the sea, the tree, the child, the love
The man gave me the favela, the crack, the treachery, the weapons, the drinks, the girls
I?! I have an old Bible, an automatic pistol, and a feeling of revolt
I'm trying to survive in hell”
And the kid from Rondônia was never the same again.
Anyway, I’m just contextualizing this to express the importance of everything he says to me. And in the midst of the notes from these meetings this week, a phrase of his stood out. He asked a young woman from marketing (knowing the answer):
“What sells more: art or sport?”
And she answered 'art', knowing that he knew the answer. And I gave a little sidelong smile after taking note. It’s a simple question, but what he was really trying to address is the importance of the connection provoked by art, the importance of stories. Like the importance that Racionais has for me.
And another chapter of my creative/athlete theory is born.
SONGS I'M LISTENING TO
A Japanese jazz band that has been making music since the 70s. I don’t know much more than that about them, and I really don’t remember how I found out about them, but what caught my attention first were the extremely beautiful covers. It has been my soundtrack for when I need to concentrate.
Taking advantage of new people reading this to promote that we have a playlist. The concept is simple: put it on shuffle and go do your things. There are 50 songs with no specific genre or era. Weekly I update about 10-20, and monthly the idea is to swap out almost all, except for the ones you like.
I met Nagalli before he became the “magician”, his beginning was somewhat mine too. There was a group of producers created by The Boy about 7 years ago. Nagalli was in this group; Trentin (calm down trentin) was in this group; Miguel was in this group. And that’s how I met all of them. They all went their own ways and achieved their things.
Naga specifically created Supernova with other dudes and changed their lives and has been changing the trap scene, it’s really cool to see him being able to release this producer album so long and with so much effort later.
Highlight for the song with Leall, one of the best lyricists of this generation.
It’s Danzo. I participated in everything related to this mixtape, from choosing the tracks to the cover, and it holds strong sentimental value.
Highlight for the second half, which is my favorite part; Danzo still doesn’t realize he is creating a subgenre that only he does. Mixing São Paulo funk, Minas Gerais, drill, and trap (brasilsilsil).
Another rising star from the new UK generation, the most culturally prolific country along with Brazil right now. He makes a calmer drill with jazz samples, like Knucks and Blanco.
THINGS I'M WATCHING
Recently I had to do a more documentary work involving interviews, and Montell Fish was one of my greatest references. In summary, he’s an independent artist who, in addition to music, posts various different content on his YouTube channel, including interviews with Daniel Caesar and Lil Yatchy. They are conversations about life and deeper subjects.
For some reason, I remembered this documentary that was part of the beginning of my adolescence, and it has all this mystique of being somewhat forbidden and hard to find. I only found it in a horrible link on Stremio that took about 20 minutes to load, but it’s possible; find your way. I was about 13 years old and had just gotten home a cable TV technology and was able to record the programming of the channels. I filled the memory with everything I could find about rap: VH1, Canal Bis, MTV, On The Run Tour, shows of Asap Rocky in theaters that I was never able to find again, documentaries, Kanye West at the 2015 MTV Awards, etc. And the best part: all subtitled. It was my paradise, and that Lil Wayne documentary I watched many times and it blew my mind.
He was at his peak of craziness and was an uncontrollable creative force, recording at all times, anywhere, and without writing a word. Showing the enormity of drugs he consumed and telling crazy stories from his life.
Recently, I started directing my first materials using 16mm and have this playlist only of clips on film as references, which I will be adding to every time I see a new one.
In the search for the Lil Wayne documentary, I also started looking for the Jay Z movie “Fade to Black” that is also hard to find (it’s on some clandestine torrent sites and on Stremio). But along the way, I found this more recent one that was also uploaded to YouTube clandestinely. It’s nothing special and doesn’t come close to the other, but it’s nice.
Shooting $150 Instant Film Backstage At A Music Festival
This video is really cool, the dude photographing the backstage of the Dreamville festival with a curious Polaroid format.
Studio Tour & Desk Setup 2024 - My Minimal Creative Space in Toronto
I love the content from Canoopsy, he is from a batch of new creatives from Toronto that is really cool. I’m dreaming of setting up an office, and this video will definitely be a great reference.
Talking Watches With Ronnie Fieg, Founder Of Kith
Video of Ronnie Fieg showing part of his watch collection and his process behind the act of collecting. He is one of the dudes I vibe with culturally, and it’s nice this philosophy of connecting watches to grand moments in career/life.
TWEETS OF THE WEEK
https://twitter.com/dietmwntdew/status/1779650594472448001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1779650594472448001%7Ctwgr%5E77d66d4f89cd2c726f48930770831493cb3056a0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcaiodosreis.notion.site%2FCB-Sunday-Snippets-003-fa68dbb0aa004c6cb35e706840b61d09 https://twitter.com/olaoluslawn/status/1779412260047176033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1779412260047176033%7Ctwgr%5E77d66d4f89cd2c726f48930770831493cb3056a0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcaiodosreis.notion.site%2FCB-Sunday-Snippets-003-fa68dbb0aa004c6cb35e706840b61d09 https://twitter.com/walidlabri/status/1702701407063724245?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1702701407063724245%7Ctwgr%5E77d66d4f89cd2c726f48930770831493cb3056a0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcaiodosreis.notion.site%2FCB-Sunday-Snippets-003-fa68dbb0aa004c6cb35e706840b61d09 https://twitter.com/Freshdotdaily/status/1777788394984403020?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1777788394984403020%7Ctwgr%5E77d66d4f89cd2c726f48930770831493cb3056a0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcaiodosreis.notion.site%2FCB-Sunday-Snippets-003-fa68dbb0aa004c6cb35e706840b61d09
Thank you for reading this far, as promised I will leave the link to previous editions below. Thank you NOTTHESAMO for the space, love you guys. In May we have our event, see you in the center.
CB Sunday Snippets #001 CB Sunday Snippets #002
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Nl1EW19QTm3t5QMA6eLtM?si=9640e4f226c4449c
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