Americans Can't Rave

Met up with Jasper and Will at the Rose cafe for fish tacos and beer. Jasper is a London boy who runs a company called Rogue Status in Venice, LA. He's mates with some people I know in London, one of which is Will, who is out here at the moment. Rogue Status/DTA (Don't Trust Anyone) http://www.roguestatus.com/ are a clothing company but they seem to be much more than that, owning drift racing cars, speedboats, chainsaws and a record label, either collaborating or going to war with other clothing labels.

What they do for a living could not, in the context of the UK, be considered a job, as it seems to me they get paid for coming up with new ways to have fun, and the more irresponsible that fun, then the more they get paid. Again, this seems totally viable in a place like Los Angeles.

So last night went out with the Rogue Status/DTA mob to a warehouse party in Downtown LA, complete with 16 yr old ravers wearing fluorescent beads and taking industrial strength ecstasy for the first time. The DJs were playing dubstep and drum and bass. Didn't make sense. Americans don't really know how to play that music, which probably means that no-one in the UK really knows how to play hip-hop (sorry Brad, Spindoctor).

It made me think music only really sounds right in the place it originated from - G Rap, Kane, Mobb Deep and Masta Ace sounded so perfect in my headphones walking across Union Square, New York, I listened to Danny Fornaris and Calle 13 all week long in Puerto Rico, and now I can't wait to drive top down around LA to Dre, the Doors & Maroon5 (only kidding about the last one).