The justalilhype! Crew got the chance to catch up with 2 out of the many people involved with the Japan Love campaign project, a fundraising movement formed to aid the recent unfortunate natural disaster in Japan in hopes to bring awareness about the situation of Japan through the means of social media, charity collection stations, and fundraising events.  Vancouver hip-hop artist JayKin and Japan-born Vancouverite Taq Yoneda also known as Q, was present in the short interview in discussion of this project. They talked to us about the inspirations behind curating this event together, how various art pieces such as poster design and songs for the campaign came together, and messages that they are deeply trying to bring across to everyone in the world, about caring for a country that they have a strong connection to and love for.

The Japan Love Fundraiser Event happens tonight (March 28) at Fortune Sound Club, and there’s a big list of Vancouver artists coming together to show case their talents. Furthermore, download the S.I.N.G. 4 Japan tribute song, “Won’t Shake Us Down” featuring ft Jay Kin, Sophia Danai, Wataru Uno, & Omar Khan, produced by Grammy Award Winner Chin Injeti here.

Full interview and more information about the campaign attached below.

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The justalilhype! Crew visited the Local604 headquarters and was outfitted with some really nice and comfy sweaters and shirts. Jon, the main man behind Local604, gave us a big update on where Local604 is heading. Keep your ears peeled for more info to come.

The justalilhype! Crew met up with Jeff Martini the other day at Dipt to check out the new gear from Vancity Originals. Sticking with a hip-hop theme, Martini says he brought in designs with influences from Ice Cube, Onyx, RunDMC, Delicious Vinyl, and Wild Style. In addition to this, they brought in some influences from Thrasher Magazine and Supreme, as well as their Dirty Bird mascot. This is just a teaser to what’s going to be dropping in July and throughout the summer, including the Beer Series.

Available exclusively at Dipt and the drop is previewed tonight at Fortune Sound Club for their fashion show.

Our Webmaster, Frankie, just came back from a long four months in the boonies of Waterloo. There, he served his co-op term at Research in Motion and learned a lot of new things. Much needed, we took Frankie out to probably one of the best places to get ramen and had a good chat about things to come for justalilhype!. Needless to say, you should be HYPED up for what’s to come. Frankie finally got his first button and will be reppin it when he hits up Japan in a couple days! After that, he’ll be reppin it in Seattle where he’ll be working for Microsoft for four months.

The justalilhype! Crew caught up with SonReal and discussed on his upcoming project titled “The Light Year Mixtape”. After the success of his first two albums, “Good Morning” and “The Stroll”, this rising Vancity hip hop artist is back in the scene with new material. This project is not only said to be a nice compilation of new sounds and strong lyrics, it’s also a gift that SonReal wants to give back to his fans for their continous support. The Light Year Mixtape depicts on the artist’s passionate attitude in the game, as it is a full mixtape created within a short time span of 2 months with a lot of new music that is said to be better than the rest of his past releases. The first single he releases comes with a music video trailer directed by Dane Collision titled “Here We Are”. It is a song that shares the message that everyone is in the world for a reason and it’s up to yourself to not hold back and follow your dreams. Hit the jump for the short interview about the project and we hope you enjoy the newly released trailer.

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The justalilhype! Crew caught up with our friends Darren and Eric, owners of dutil. denim, at their store in Gastown. After years of dreaming and over a year of work, the two have finally finished their first pair of denim. This special denim is a 13.5 ounce raw red-stitch selvedged denim with a medium indigo finish. In addition to these fine quality specs, the two have combined their love for denim and sunglasses into this pair of denim by implementing a ring on the first belt loop for sunglass storage. There are two stitches available, the total, which is indigo on indigo, or the contrast, which is brown on indigo. Darren and Eric brought down a few pairs and gave the justalilhype! Crew an opportunity to grab a few snaps, before they even go on the floor. These denim are not available anywhere for the time being. Denim heads, stay tuned to the dutil. blog for more updates as the two proprietors intend to bring the dutil label of denim to a world wide scale.

In the meantime, enjoy a few exclusive pictures of the denim below.