Estelle "Shine" Album In stores TODAY!

Many of you met Estelle at our Meet & Greet event about 3 weeks ago...well Estelle's new album "Shine" is now available in stores everywhere as of April 29th, 2008! Its definitely a hot album and features guest appearances from Kanye and John Legend as well production from Swizz Beatz, will.i.am, Wylcelf Jean, Mark Ronson and more -- go pick it up and support!

More Crooks & Castles Spring 2 In Stock!

We got a few new styles of t-shirts in stock from Crooks & Castles about a week or so ago including three colors of the dope new Neon Gun tshirts and the much talked about Adriana Lima tee, check them out below and in-store!

Crooks & Castles - Angel Baby T-Shirt Purple (M-2XL)

Crooks & Castles - Block V-Neck T-Shirt (M-2XL)

Crooks & Castles - Neon Gun T-Shirt (Gray, Black, Blue) (M-2XL)

Crooks & Castles - Mir Skull T-Shirt Aqua (M-2XL)

Introducing Dimepiece....Summer 2008 Now Available!

We are expanding our selection of clothes for the ladies and just got in our first shipment of Dimepiece, which is a tight female streetwear brand that has been making a lot of noise the past few seasons. This summer shipment contains some dope tank tops, oversized tanks/dresses, crazy tights, and a new color of their famous logo tee! Check out the stock pictures below as well as some pictures from their Summer lookbook...

Dimepiece - _ussy Party Tank (S - L)
Dimepiece - Kitty Kitty Tank (S - L)

Dimepiece - Ten Strikes Oversized Pocketed Tank / Dress (S - L)
Dimepiece - Dirty Looks Oversized Pocketed Tank / Dress (S - L)

Dimepiece - Purple/Aqua Logo T-Shirt (S-L)Dimepiece - Scrabble Leggings (S - L)
Dimepiece - L.A. Legs Leggings (S - L)

Lookbook Photos:

For more lookbook photos visit DimepeiceDesigns.com!

On This Day We Become Legendary...

So this Saturday was graduation at U of Michigan and Indra graduated from the School of Social Work with her Masters in Social Work....congrats! We're all real proud of you and knew you could do it...even with a full course load, an internship, and putting in a lot of hard work at the store, you made it! Pay attention people, this is truly how you set your mind on something and hustle to get it done haha. This now also means all 3 owners of Motivation have Master's degrees...nice.

Anyways, the main graduation was held on the Diag this year, not at the football stadium like all the other years because The Big House is undergoing construction. They set up something like 23,000 chairs and bleachers on the Diag and it actually turned out really nice and was kind of cool to see the graduation held there with all the trees and flowers blooming. The speaker this year was ABC News' anchor Bob Woodruff who was good, but I gotta say had nothing on Bill Clinton from last year haha.

Check out some pictures from graduation below and be sure to congratulate Indra when you see her!

------

They set up all these seats, screens, and a "floor" throughout the Diag for graduation

A sea of graduates...I caught Indra (and Joe!) on the big screen during the opening procession...
A University Regent kicking things off on the far right...Speaker Bob Woodruff on the screen during his speech...Indra & Joe...congrats homie!Indra & Ted aka Dj Teddy Ruck-spin, congrats as well!Right after the ceremony it got sunny and turned into a really nice day...Flowers in her arms and on the trees in front of the store
After the main graduation, the School of Social Work had a special smaller graduation for its Masters students at the Power Center, the same place we had seen Talib Kweli perform coincidentally haha...

Here's all the MSW graduates with their gold hoods on...

Here's Indra ceremoniously getting her hood placed over her head on stage by a University Regent...hes not strangling her lol just making her graduation official!

Later that night we celebrated with her family...Dom Rosé snitches!

Mishka Summer New Era Preview

We are still killing it with the Spring Mishka New Eras, but its time to look ahead to Summer with a preview of some of their Summer fitteds, courtesy of StrictlyFitteds.com. These and many others should be available in store within 2-3 months, so you still have alot of time to get right!

Bun B ft. Sean Kingston - Thats Gangsta Video

Check out Bun wearing an upcoming Hundreds fitted as well as the Crooks & Castles - Stack Type black tshirt from this season's collection in his new video! We still have the Stack Type shirt left in sizes Large and up in-store...

Hellz Bellz Spring Part 2 Preview

Heres a preview of few styles from Hellz Bellz' Spring 2 drop, which are available in-store at Motivation NOW! Ill be taking pictures within the next week of the rest of the styles we got in stock, but they are selling quickly so if you can stop by in-store before that to take a look!

A Special Message from Estelle

Check out our Myspace page for a special message from Estelle about what she thinks about Motivation! (It should load right away) Also be sure to cop her new album, Shine, it comes out in stores a week from now on April 29th, make sure you support! Plus what I heard of the album has been dope...

Rogue Status New Era Fitted Hats Now In Stock!

We got every style and every size of the new Rogue Status New Eras that just dropped in stock last Friday! They all feature crazy embroidery (especially the Crown Script ones) and have satin lining...they will also match up very well with your gun show tees and other Rogue tees. Certain ones even have the sandwich bills, so theres a different color on the bill, which is a dope detail. Check them all out below!

Rogue Status - Dayglo Crazy Quote New Era Hat ( 7 1/4 - 7 3/4)

(Back of Crazy Quote Hat)

Rogue Status - Black/White Crazy Quote New Era Hat ( 7 1/4 - 7 3/4)

Rogue Status - Blue/White Crazy Quote New Era Hat ( 7 1/4 - 7 3/4)

Rogue Status - Black/White Crown Script New Era Hat ( 7 1/4 - 7 3/4)

Rogue Status - White/Black Crown Script New Era Hat ( 7 1/4 - 7 3/4)

Rogue Status - Black/Gold Leather Crown Script New Era Hat ( 7 1/4 - 7 3/4)

Rogue Status - Red/White Crown Script New Era Hat ( 7 1/4 - 7 3/4)

New Alife Spring 2 Sneakers Now In Stock...

These new Spring 2 sneakers from Alife came in stock about a week ago. We have in 2 styles from the new "Condiment Pack" of high tops, all of the new Parachute pack of mids, and one new style of the Chaser runner...each style comes with 2 or 3 different colors of laces. Check them all out below!

Alife - Condiment Pack "Ketchup" Everybody High (Sizes 8 - 12)

Alife - Condiment Pack "Mustard" Everybody High (Sizes 8 - 12)

Alife - Black Chaser Suede (Sizes 9 - 12)

Alife - Parachute Pack Everybody Mid Orange (Sizes 8 - 12)

Alife - Parachute Pack Everbody Mid Royal Blue (Sizes 8 - 12)

Alife - Parachute Pack Everybody Mid Purple (Sizes 8 - 12)

Nike Air Yeezy

Pics finally surfaced...Nike x Kanye West...coming out at some point at top Nike retailers...

Orisue.com -- Check it out!

Check it out right now at the top, some of these things might be familiar to all of you haha...

www.orisue.com

Dj Mo Beatz video from Estelle Meet & Greet

Dj Mo Beatz just sent me this video of him at our meet & greet with Estelle last week...dope footage! It also doubles as a tutorial for you Djs out there haha....lookout for big things coming between Motivation and Mo Beatz! Check out the video below, and check out his site www.djmobeatz.com coming very soon:

Word.

Pictures from Estelle Concert & Russell Simmons Party 4/11

Right after closing up shop on Friday, Indra and I headed out to Detroit to see Estelle perform at the Grand Central Lounge and then Mick Boogie spin at Russell Simmon's party at the MGM Grand hotel.

The Estelle show was real dope and she played about 10 new songs, most of which were off her new album "Shine", and her 2 singles. Lookout for the tracks "Magnificent" and "Shine" (Produced by Swizz Beatz), those were standouts to me. There was a nice crowd and she definitely was a crowd pleaser and got alot of love in the D! It was also nice seeing all of her band members again and seeing what they played and did (backup singers, guitar players, sound guys, etc.). I got a few pictures from the concert but alot came out blurry!

Estelle on stage

We had really good seats!

Next up was Russell Simmon's party at the Ignite club in the MGM Grand in Detroit where my partner in the store, Mick Boogie, was the Dj, so you know we had to show up! The club was super nice (there needs to be something like this in Ann Arbor!) although they need to move the dancefloor closer to the Dj booth haha. But definitely check it out next time you are in the D. Russell was there with his new girlfriend (no Kimora...sorry) and Estelle and some of her band showed up later after the show to party! Chauncy Billups was also in the building along with some other Pistons...check the pictures out below...

Indra & Me (Note: Yes I had on the reflective Rogue Status Gun Show tee haha..looks like a plain gray tshirt until the flashes go off!)

Mick & Rana...check out her ring!

Me & Indra inside the club

Dennis Archer Jr, Estelle & Mick Boogie

Me & Estelle's backup singer Royston (wearing his Hundreds hoody he picked up the day before!)

Indra & "Uncle Russell"

Pictures from Estelle Meet & Greet

Once again thanks to everyone who came out to the Estelle meet & greet event...it was rainy and she was 1.5 hours late, but still alot of people stuck around and got to meet her! She was the nicest and most down to earth of all the artists we have had in-store so far, and I have a feeling she is about to be BIG here in the USA just like she is in the UK. I got a chance to hear most of her album "Shine" at her concert the following night (more on that in a later post) so I say it with the upmost confidence...she is about to BLOW UP!

Anyways below are some highlight photos and the links to the rest of the albums are below that. Even though it was one of our smaller events cause of the weather, etc., we had a ton of pictures for this one because my friends Dante Marshall & Deshawn took pictures for the event. So in the album there is pictures from like 4 different cameras haha, and I still didnt even get Dante's ones yet!

Estelle & her band loved the store and ended up buying alot of stuff after the event. She was especially into the Hellz Bellz and Married to the Mob clothes we had in stock, and the guys from the band really liked our selection of Alife, Crooks & Castles, and The Hundreds! Look for them on the road rocking our gear!

Anyways onto the photos and a special thanks to Dj Mo Beatz for Djing, Dante (check out www.dantemarshall.com) & Deshawn for taking the photos, and the Atlantic family (LaRonn, Odell, Jenn & Malika) for all the help!

CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

Shawn, Paul & Me before Estelle arrived

Dj Mo Beatz always repping that Rocksmith!

Odell from Atlantic, Me, Dj Benzi & Brandon from URBYazzy & Frances

Sharada & Dante

Estelles HERE!

Signing album flats for the fans...

Brittney & Estelle

James & Estelle

Jenn from Atlantic & Indra

Estelle & Dj

Deshawn & Estelle

Paul & Estelle

Mo Beatz & Estelle

Me, Estelle & Indra

Dj Benzi & Estelle after all the fans left -- "I loved that Motivation mixtape!"

Dj Graffiti talking with Estelle

Estelle trying on the Married to the Mob Kiss Hoody

Checking out the selection!

She loved the Hellz Bellz Golden Jacket and wound up getting it
(amongst alot of other stuff)!

Estelle co-signs Mick Boogie!

Indra & Estelle with our big white bags...what I like to see!

Estelle signing our back wall

Heres the links to all the albums of photos (Its alot haha):

Album One
Album Two
Album Three

If anyone wants the high-resolution version of any of these photos, hit me up!

Nice Article on New Era

Here's a nice little article on how New Era is expanding as a company and how it got to the point it is at now -- as pretty much the ONLY name in fitted hats. I sometimes see people hating on New Era and how everyone and their mother has a fitted hat, but I dont think they see the genius in their marketing plan or realize it was a family-run business when it started and is still very much so.

I will always be a fan and my first memory of having a dope "exclusive" New Era is when the Diamondbacks came into the MLB (their inaugural year in 1998..Travis Lee the #1 pick, remember that shit!?!?) and I bought their white/purple/teal/copper alternate fitted. Alternate uniforms in the MLB were brand new at this time and before that there were only 2 colors of each team New Era, home & away...now with alternate uniforms there were 3 lol. So I thought I was hot shit but people clowned me in school for having a purple hat (even though just the bill was purple) but I still wore it, it was fly haha! Anyways onto the article:

A New Era for New Era

Estelle Pictures will be up soon!

Thanks to all who came out despite the rain and her being a bit late haha...she was mad cool so Im sure it was worth the wait. Pictures will be up tonight or tomorrow. Also if you arent doing anything tonight, check out her concert at the Grand Central Lounge in Detroit at 10 PM. Tickets are $20 for regular or $30 for VIP. We'll see you in VIP!

Heres the link to Ticketmaster where you can purchase the tickets:

Ticketmaster - Estelle @ Grand Central Lounge

Married to the Mob x Wu Tang

This limited MOB shirt came out like 1 or 2 years ago, and we now have them in stock...OR NOT! MTTM sent this one shirt for Estelle, but I had to post up a pic cause its such a tight shirt!

Hellz Bellz and Freshjive also sent unreleased samples (cant post pictures of them, unless she wears them) for her so she's going to be laced with that exclusive ish haha...now dont you wish you were famous?

**We DO NOT have this shirt in stock, read above!**

Alife Spring Part 2 Now In Stock!

We just got our Spring 2 tshirts in from Alife! There are ALOT of strong designs this drop, so if you see something you like below make sure you stop in or hit us up to get one because they will go quickly!

Alife - Scratch Logo Tshirt (Pink & Navy) (S-XL)

Alife - The Mountain Tshirt (Olive & Black) (S-XL)
*Front*

*Back*

Alife - Bugged Out Tshirt (Blue) (S-XL)

Alife - Bugged Out Tshirt (Black) (S-XL)

Alife - Bugged Out Tshirt (Gray) (S-XL)

Alife - Helping Hand Tshirt (Red, Black & Purple) (S-XL)

Alife - Dr. Revolt Tshirt (Black) (S-XL)
*Front*

*Back*

Alife - Our Gang Tshirt (Green) (S-XL)

Alife - The End Tshirt (White & Black) (S-XL)

Alife - Mr. Red Krink Tshirt (Black) (S-XL)

Alife - Ya'll Cant Baseball Rivington Club Tshirt (Navy) (S-XL)
*Front*

*Back*

Alife - Sticker Longsleeve Tshirt (White & Black) (S-XL)

Noir Fashion Show Pictures

We've been sponsoring a number of student fashion shows this year and so I finally decided to take my camera to one of them. Heres some shots of some of our outfits from the 2008 Noir fashion show, they are blurry but it is what it is, wasn't exactly idea lighting/shooting conditions haha. Shouts to Ced, killing it everytime he went down the runway!

Oh, and by far the best part of the show was looking around in the audience and seeing how many people were wearing stuff they had bought at Motivation, a beautiful thing! Even some of the models had bought stuff for the first purple/black scene (they were the fashion show colors) from us to wear in the show (see Orisue Member's Only jacket pic below)...











The majority of the outfits were picked out by myself & Indra, holler at us we only charge $100/hour for styling! Just kidding haha...just come by the store we will hook it up!

Baller Blockin'

Motivation is doing well so I just got a new car, the Bentely Azure...only cost me HALF A MILLION DOLLARS!

Alife Footwear Fall 08 Preview...

Heres a preview of the Fall 08 Alife shoes that I was talking about a few days ago when I posted that Alife video up...theres a ton of new materials and designs on the shoes being used, from Tweed to Suede to Corduroy! Theres also a shot at the end of a little collaboration project we will be getting a very limited amount in of...

Big Sean in Japan...

Found these pictures of new Good Music/Def Jam artist and Michigan native Big Sean with Kanye West and the Teriyaki Boys over in Japan filming for one of Nigo's (the owner of BAPE) television shows...DOPE! Good to see some people from Michigan getting it!

Estelle Meet & Greet at Motivation this THURSDAY!

Here is all the info for the Meet & Greet with singer/songwriter/rapper Estelle on Thursday! There will of course be giveaways for all courtesy of Atlantic Records and please remember to bring your cameras; this event should be a bit more intimate than the Talib event as well, meaning more time for everyone with Estelle. Dj Mo Beatz will be spinning a set as well, plus Dj Graffiti, Dj Benzi, as well as URB magazine will be in the building too...you know how we do it!


Estelle will also be performing Friday 4/11 at the Grand Central Lounge in Detroit, check Ticketmaster for tickets!

Mick Boogie & Estelle

If you happen to be in Cleveland this Tuesday, check out UK singer Estelle and Mick performing at the House of Blues at the Cambridge Room...or if you happen to be in Ann Arbor this Thursday, come meet Estelle at Motivation haha, more info on that tomorrow!

Alife Interview & Fall 08 Preview...

Since we received our first shipments of Alife shoes & tees, the brand has been one of our best sellers in-store, for obvious reasons! However, if you don't know about Alife, here is an interview with Ari, their main brand rep, about the company. There's even a little preview of some of their Fall 2008 shoes as well as other suprises the brand has in-store for Fall! Ill also post some Fall preview pics in a few days...for now check out the interview below...

Dope Couture & Motivation featured in XPoz Magazine

Dope Couture got a feature in lifestyle magazine Xpoz and the homie Matt mentioned us...check out the interview below to learn a little more about the Dope Couture line!

(CLICK PICTURE TO READ INTERVIEW)

Talib Kweli & Mick Boogie LIVE

Alot of you met Talib Kweli 2 weeks ago here at Motivation & Im sure most of you reading this got the MCEO mixtape from Mick & Talib at the event or in-store at Motivation....now check out these 2 live at the Winter Music Conference last week in Miami in the videos below!

Alife Spring Part 2 Tees Preview...

Most of these & more styles should be in stock next week as well...dont sleep on the Bugged Out tee (Cookie monster eyes), you know those will sell out quick!

3Sixteen Spring Part 1 Preview

Heres a small preview of some of the styles from the 3Sixteen Spring Part 1 drop we will be getting in stock next week. This line definitely has a more classic, grown up feel to it with some very high quality cut & sew pieces...check them out and much more in store on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week!

New Fitted Wall...

BAAM! We just had to expand our New Era fitted wall because of all the new shipments, check it out below & in-store....we're going to have to expand it even more in a few weeks ;).

Interview with founder of Orisue Clothing....

Orisue is a brand that has definitely been making some noise here at Motivation with its innovative yet classic designs and very reasonable price point...check out this short interview with its founder, Allen, and get a little more insight into the clothing brand and find out what "Orisue" actually means!

Mishka New Era Fitteds...Releasing Friday 4/5!

We have 18 new styles of New Eras from Mishka NYC (yes I did say 18!) releasing this Friday at Motivation. Yes, Ive been previewing them on the blog for a few months and they are finally ready to be released! We are the only store on the Eastern side of the state to stock these limited edition collaboration hats, so check them all out below and come in Friday and pick up one or two...or eighteen! Dont sleep, they will move fast...

CLICK PHOTOS FOR HI-RES CLOSE UP!

Mishka - Bat Bite New Era Hat Gray (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - Bat Bite New Era Hat Orange (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - Bat Bite New Era Hat Teal (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - Ssss'n Emmm New Era Hat White Pinstripe (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - Ssss'n Emmm New Era Hat Green Pinstripe (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - Ssss'n Emmm New Era Hat Red/Gold (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - Ssss'n Emmm New Era Hat Forest/Pink (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - Vic Rattlesnake New Era Hat Purple (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - Vic Rattlesnake New Era Hat Black (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - Vic Rattlesnake New Era Hat Yellow (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - Seal of Solomon New Era Hat Black (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - Seal of Solomon New Era Hat Red (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - Seal of Solomon New Era Hat Purple (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - DA Trucker New Era Hat Black/Green (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - DA Trucker New Era Hat Light Blue/Red (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - DA Camo New Era Hat Army (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - DA Camo New Era Hat Blue (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Mishka - DA Camo New Era Hat Infared (7 1/8 - 7 7/8)

Pictures from Talib Kweli In-Store Event!

Sorry to post these up like a week and a half after the event, but if you were on Facebook you would have seen these last week haha (add me - Mike Moeller, University of Michigan network)! But heres some highlight photos from the meet & greet and links to 2 of the albums at the end. Ill also be posting a few other albums of photos sometime this week when I get a minute!

PS If anyone wants the high resolution versions to any of their photos, email me or get in touch with me and Ill send them to you...

CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE!

No joke, people started lining up 2 hours early for the event...dont have a picture of the first guy in line but I did notice he was front row at the concert later that night haha, nice day for him!

The initial line ended 5 stores down and stayed that way for almost the whole duration Talib was there...over 400 people got to meet him!

Me & Dj Graffiti ...he spun a dope Talib set the entire time!Me & Paul...thanks for the help the whole afternoon!

Deshawn & Jens photographed the event (thanks again!), Ill post their photos real soon, they are way better than mine. The two other people were members of the Michigan Daily & Review -- you know I had to get our promo on! We made the paper the next day...
Me & Indra ...we were tired as hell but the event was still a sucess!

Talib is in the building! Meeting Dj Graffiti before we let everyone in...

Letting people in 15 at a time

DJ Teddy Ruck-spin & Talib...be sure to come out to his b-day bash today (4/3) at the Blind Pig...

Travis, Emily & Talib...before Rahzel gave her a rose at the concert lol

JD & Talib...thanks again for the help JD!

Tony & Talib...thanks for the help as well Tony!

Brittany & Talib

Dj Graffiti spinning

Dj Ryan & Talib

Me, Indra, Ryan & Talib...yessir, another flawless event!

Bonus Shot: Talib at the concert telling everyone to go to Motivation to get their MCEO mixtapes and gear, you know you heard that!

Links to Facebook Albums with alot more pictures:

Album One
Album Two

Estelle ft. Kanye West - American Boy

#1 Single in the UK right now. Check out the video below, who knows -- you might meet her soon ;)

Hellz Bellz Spring 2008 Part 1

First update post in a while, so I have to make it for the ladies...heres what we got in stock from Hellz Bellz from their Spring 2008 Part 1 drop -- theres also a few more styles available in-store including the Insa x Hellz Bellz collaboration jeans and others not pictured!

Hellz Bellz - 11:59 T-Shirt (Purple & Yellow) (S-L)
(Back of Purple pictured, Front of Yellow pictured)

Hellz Bellz - Chain Smokin' oversized T-Shirt (Blue & Purple) (S-L)

Hellz Bellz - Danger Is My Beat V-Neck T-Shirt (White & Black) (S-L)

Hellz Bellz - Kiss Me Deadly T-Shirt (S-L)

Hellz Bellz - Stronger T-Shirt (Yellow & Black) (S-L)

Hellz Bellz - Shady Top (S-L)

Hellz Bellz - Sock It To Me Hoody (S-L)
(Back & Front Pictured)

Hellz Bellz - Riff Raff Top (Aqua, Gray, Black) (S-L)

Hellz Bellz - Peek A Boo oversized Sweater (White & Purple) (S-L)

Hellz Bellz - Homewrecker Vest (S-L)

Hellz Bellz - Eye For An Eye Top (Black & Purple) (S-L)

Hellz Bellz - Golden Bellz suede Jacket (S-L)

Lookout for Spring Part 2 coming soon!

Prison Love: Papoose & Remy Martin

So I got this email alert to my blackberry earlier in the week about Papoose & Remy Ma being in a relationship -- big news I know right -- but read it below for a laugh, especially the last line...lol


Brooklyn upstart rapper Papoose has confirmed he and Remy Ma are an item, acknowledging to MTV News the couple was indeed scheduled to exchange vows and will move ahead with their plans: "We always wanted to keep our personal lives personal, so that's why we never went public with our relationship. Right now, I just feel like she gotta live through me. Yes, we were scheduled to be married on a yacht April 27th. But due to circumstances beyond our control, we are now making arrangements to be married in prison."

Im Back!

Sorry for the lack of updates in over a week, but last week we had the Talib event, then our Spring Cleaning sale, and on top of that loads of new inventory came in, so I havent exactly had the time to update! But being busy is a good thing, right?!? Anyways Im back like cooked crack now and am going to start updating our inventory on here, starting tonight, as well as hitting you all off with the regular daily updates you've been used to, I promise! If not, call me out about it at the store and Ill give you a 1% discount on your next purchase haha...