Sevens Clash feature in the March 2014 issue of PDN.
“Kingston Sessions” by Conor Risch
Through his collaboration with a writer and art director, photographer Alexander Richter co-created, published, and found an audience for a personal project exploring the music, art, and street culture of Jamaica’s capital.
UPNT’s Holiday Buyer’s Guide: Magazine/DVD
Sevens Clash Zine ($20)
Hip-Hop’s connection to Jamaica starts with Kool Herc, and has continued into the current day. Kanye West’s progressive Yeezus album contained a myriad of regga-e samples and interpolations, and A$AP Ferg’s biggest single of the year was an ode to Shabba Ranks. If that hasn’t been enough for you, immerse yourself into the culture with the Sevens Clash Zine.
Ego Trip Back Issues ($10)
Before Elliott Wilson was “YN,” leader of Rap Radar, he was one of the founding members of Ego Trip (alongside Sacha Jenkins), one of the most legendary magazines in hip-hop culture. The magazine was known for its wit and balls-to-the-wall writing style that simply will not be replicated ever again. Look at what the younger generation is getting right now from their magazines, and be a good Samaritan: put them up on how a magazine should be presented.
The Legend of Cool “Disco” Dan DVD ($19.99)
We can’t forget about graffiti when we talk about hip-hop culture. And one of graffiti’s most successful artists was Cool “Disco” Dan, a man who has left his mark forever in the Washington D.C. area. This DVD, narrated by Henry Rollins, tells his narrative, and with Five Pointz having been taken down, it’s only right to get yourself a copy.
Mass Appeal Quarterly Subscription ($25)
After a lengthy hiatus, one of hip-hop’s signature publications has returned to print in 2013. The return, Issue #52, had Earl Sweatshirt on the cover. Earl would go on to release his well-received Doris album a few months later. The magazine clearly knows what it’s doing, making it well worth a subscription.
Frank151 5-Pack Gift Box ($40)
This might be the best sales pitch ever. “Nothing stops a bullet better than a thick brick of quality publications housed in a handsome slipcase.” If that isn’t reason enough to make a purchase, Frank151 is allowing you to select any five of their vintage issues. Frank151 have always been ahead of the curve with their publication, and this allows you to look back and see why.
S/O to UPNT!
Sevens Clash Zine
Over the course of seven days in Kingston, Jamaica we go digging at Augustus Pablo’s Rockers International; meet an Australian abstract sculptress planting artistic roots downtown; navigate arcane stroll politics in New Kingston; visit up-and-coming dancehall deejay Ice Cold on a rainy night in Mud Town; reason with reggae revivalist Protoje; convene with Uncle Demon and the legion; find the sweet science resurgent at Stanley Couch Gym; and much more.
7.75” x 10.5”
40 pages, full color, laser print, saddle stitch
Edition of 100 (w/ postcard and stickers)
$20
Available directly from us here, and at Deadly Dragon Sound in NYC
Sevens Clash on Street Life in Jamaica
Maximum respect to Matthew Newton & Tumblr!
Stanley Couch Gym is at the epicenter of the current resurgence of boxing in Jamaica.
Located on Victoria Avenue in downtown Kingston and operated by the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control (JBBC), it is the only publicly funded boxing gym in the city. A rich history, a central location and an open-door policy all act as powerful magnets for the talent being churned up in the wake of the widespread popularity of the JBBC-sanctioned Wray & Nephew Contender boxing reality TV series.
Originally opened as Dragon Gym in 1969, it was built by local brewer and beverage producer Desnoes and Geddes (D&G) to replace Austin ‘Kid Teally’ Taffe’s Waterhouse-based gym of the same name. When construction was completed, the then-state-of-the-art setup included an outdoor ring with stands that could comfortably accommodate up to 500 people, and to keep the card full and the crowds coming, D&G brought in veteran promoter Charlie Gooden to join Taffe in running the new gym. From the outset it was an important fight venue and training facility that attracted talent across generations of Jamaican boxing greats. It was the sort of place where a teenaged future triple champion Mike ‘The Body Snatcher’ McCallum could train alongside the already legendary Bunny Grant and Percy Hayles.
Drunk on the success of Dragon, D&G’s investment in local boxing only grew. Over the years they endorsed high profile boxers like eight-month WBC heavyweight beltholder Trevor Berbick, sponsored and hosted the National Amateur Championships, and even built a sister gym in Montego Bay. Then in the early nineties the sport slipped into a period of decline, and when Guinness Brewing Worldwide (now known as Diageo) acquired a controlling interest in D&G in 1993, the new owners pulled support for the sport. Already on its heels, the sudden loss of funding from one of its largest private patrons sent the boxing industry reeling. Short of funds and looking to breathe new life into the sport, in the late nineties the JBBC petitioned D&G for access to the deteriorating property on Victoria Avenue. Today operations at the gym are taxpayer-funded and the refurbished building bears the name of the man on whose donated land it stands — Stanley Couch.
