It would be hard to be a hip-hop fan or media member and ignore what Joey Bada$$ has done over the last year. He dropped the critically acclaimed mixtape 1999; released the videos for “Survival Tactics” and “Waves,” with 3 million and 2.4 million views, respectively; traveled across the U.S. and Canada headlining the Beast Coastal Tour; worked with the legendary DJ Premier on “Unorthodox” (above); put on for his Pro Era team with the PEEP: The aPROcalypse mixtape; and was named Creative Director of Ecko Unltd. And that’s just a taste.

With good reason, BET has recognized Joey’s accomplishments, talents, and work ethic, and nominated him for Best New Artist at the 2013 BET Awards.

Congrats to Joey.

The awards go down on Sunday, June 30.

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For his latest video, up and coming rapper (and established actor) Reality Realm (also known as Rick Gonzalez), links up with Prodigy for some gritty New York rap. Brooklyn and Queens connect for “The Realness,” as the two MCs ride around the city and give a taste of the lives they lead.

The video caught our eye for a couple reasons. First of all, both Reality Realm and Prodigy are our guys—you may remember a recent Ecko Studio Session with Realm, and P used to appear in Ecko ads. Another reason to catch these new visuals is that Prodigy is rocking a dope Ecko Red Cup Denim Vest throughout. Check out some closer images below, and peep the whole video above.

Shouts to both these guys.

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Check out the latest episode of Pro Era’s Beast Coastal Tour recap, where Joey Bada$$ and the rest of his Brooklyn-based crew head home for an Ecko Unltd. in-store appearance, rock sold out shows, visit some members of the armed services, sing get a packed house to sing Dyemond Lewis happy birthday, and bring out Wiz Khalifa and Smoke DZA.

Don’t forget, Wiz, Joey and the Pros will be heading out on the Under The Influence of Music Tour this summer.

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On Friday, Marc Ecko was in Omaha, Nebraska for an appearance as a guest speaker at Big Omaha, an annual conference on innovation and entrepreneurship. True to his foundations in creative thinking and hip-hop, he structured his talk around The Notorious B.I.G.’s song “Ten Crack Commandments,” using it as a teaching tool for growing businesses. Silicon Prairie News has a great recap of the speech, including an outline of how he applied Biggie’s commandments to entrepreneurship.

Take a look at how they recapped his interpretation of the first.

1. Never let no one know how much dough you hold. “In life, we use metrics,” Eckō said. “We will count everything. Quit counting.” Stop seeking validation that can only be found in finite numbers.

And the tenth.

10. If you ain’t got the clientele, say hell no. Be careful who you take cash from. And not just money, it could be a product or service. “Seek partners, not lenders,” he urged. And don’t be an equity hoarder. “Distribute the risk to get rational thought around the decisions that you make.”

Hit their site for the full recap and stay tuned for a video of the speech coming soon.

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Joey Bada$$ will be dropping his debut album, B4.DA.$$ later this year, and you can expect him to be on the road promoting the project in the time leading up to and after it drops. One of the places fans can catch him will be at Bumbershoot, and annual festival in Seattle. Check out the full line up below.

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Not only is Johny Hendricks ready to go after the title when he fights Georges St-Pierre later this year, the Ecko MMA fighter has no plans of even letting up for any second of any round. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, though. That’s the mindset of a true champion.

On Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show earlier this week, Hendricks’ trainer, Steven Wright, spoke on the likely upcoming bout. He promised that just getting in the ring with GSP won’t satisfy the contender. He’s poised to give the best performance of his life, Wright thinks.

Sometimes they get it in their mind once they’re in there with GSP, ‘If I at least go the distance, I’ve accomplished something.’ That’s not Johny at all. Johny’s trying to win every second of every round. He’s going to push. He’s going to give the best performance of his life that day, and we’re excited for the fight.

Wright also feels like he and Hendricks know what they’re face when they step in with GSP.

We don’t think there’s going to be any surprises. That’s one thing about having GSP be as good as he has been for so long: There’s no new wrinkle that he’s going to go out and learn that he’s going to use against Johny that we’re going to be like, ‘Oh, I didn’t see that coming.’ Johny will be wired. He’ll know what he’s seeing.

Stay tuned for more info on when the fight will go down.

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Earlier this week, Detroit was in the building as D-Town’s own T3, Illa J and Young RJ, who collectively comprise Slum Village, stopped by the Ecko office. Just like Ecko, Slum Village started in 1993, and are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. The group has gone through a number of transformations and reincarnations over the last two decades, as only T3 remains from the original group. The other two founding members, Baatin and legendary producer J Dilla, each passed away, in 2009 and 2006, respectively.

The guys have got a new album on the way this summer. Be sure to look out for that, as well as our video interview with them, dropping soon.

T3 bagging up his new gear.

T3 checking out the NYC view from our showroom.

Earlly Mac, from Big Sean’s Finally Famous crew, admiring one of the new tees.

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You went to high school? Well, the dudes from Pro Era went to school high. And they show and tell all about it in this new video for the aptly titled “School High,” off of their 2012 mixtape PEEP: The aPROcalypse.

The visuals for the song—which features verses from Joey Bada$$, Dyemond Lewis, Kirk Knight and Nyck Caution—includes appearances from the rest of the Pros, and showcases a few current and future pieces from Ecko. Check out some screen shots below. Shout out to the whole Pro Era.

Joey Bada$$ in an Ecko Unltd. bandana print jacket, dropping soon.

Dyemond Lewis in a special Star Wars collab “Bounty Hunter” varsity, available now.

Powers Pleasant in a all over rhino print anorak jacket, out this Fall.

Dessy Hinds in a “’93 Til Infinity” tee, out now.

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You’ll have to wait until later this year to get your hands on this heat, but as Ink proves, it’s definitely something to look forward to.

Ink and Will were in our showroom checking out some of the new styles dropping in Holiday 2013. Ink pet one of the metal rhinos, too.

The RCA signee decided to throw on one of his favorite zip ups over his “A” tee that reps their indie label, Tha Alumni.

Ink liked the piece so much he decided to wear it while we kicked it in the photo studio for an interview.

He threw on a hat from the collection, too.

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The latest episode of Ecko Studio Sessions features Chris Webby at the Ecko Studio in New York City alongside producer Adam Pallin, as the buzzing rapper works on new music. Get an inside look at the Connecticut-bred MC’s creative process, favorite in-studio meal and more. Look out for a new project from Webby later this year.

If you missed Pro Era’s Nyck Caution showing off some of our Holiday 2013 styles during his recent studio session, take a look and some stills. There’s a video recap of the session on the way, too.

Shop Eckō here, and stay tuned for another episode of Ecko Studio Sessions coming soon.

Video Shot and Edited by Guy Blelloch @guyoak510
Produced by @jflei for CAN.DID Media and Eckō Unltd.

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