Taji Ameen | Quartersnacks

Street Lottery

Daily News January 14th, 2013 · 7:08 am · 12

Is Daniel Day Lewis the first non-skater to earn “He’s good, but who cares” status? OMG OMG OMG How did everyone like the new episode of Girls?

Europeans! Frisco, out in Arnhem, The Netherlands, now has QS tees online and in-store. (We’re about to sell out of white larges on our web store, by the way.)

The Shape of Things to Come podcast has a new episode up with the governor of New Jersey, Fred Gall. It’s an hour-long chat about his skate career, travels, taxes, lighting twenty-dollar bills on fire, saving monks from a burning building, sneaking into bars, putting money on hot dog eating contests, flannels, beards, etc.

Here’s a sad photographic study of the latest T.F. box’s (“The Labor Box”) final days.

Jonathan Mehring posted up some scenic photos on the Skateboarder website from a 2006 article about spots on the New York waterfront. That Joey Pepper 5050 is nuts.

Check out this documentary about Todd Fishman, the truest of OG New York skaters. “Put your work in” and watch out for those pigeons.

This kid Derm has a sick part full of crusty New Jersey spots and an early, pre-Illmatic Nas song (things get scary in the last thirty seconds though.) The comments are bound to be full of “Where’s that spot at?” questions.

Did you guys see the Palace x Fruit of the Loom collaboration? The tees are already going for $200 on the Bay.

Juicy J made skateboards “for his hipsters.” Meek Mill, as a fellow member in the current crop of relevant rappers to make skateboards, was a year ahead of the curve.

Taji has a new web series about up and coming skaters over on the Vice site.

The new Green Diamond / Yaje Popson video will premiere at Enid’s (Manhattan & Driggs) this Saturday (the 19th) at midnight. It will also be Rob’s birthday, so buy him a beer. Flyer here. Check the new teaser here. Video goes online the next day.

The crew behind Hahafuntime.com relaunched their website.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: The Wizards beat The Thunder…

Quote of the Week: “Yo, I just went to Zumiez…Zumiez is the truth!” — Overheard at Tompkins

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Oh, in case you forgot — Free Band Gang: The Movie comes out tomorrow.

Let Me Ride: Fall New York Montage

Daily News November 29th, 2012 · 8:43 am · 7

Conceptually speaking, this is the best trick of 2012.

If you need some incentive to layer up and go skating despite plummeting temperatures, Taji Ameen just put together a sick fall clip for Acapulco Gold. Features Leo Gutman (forever one of the best low-key skaters in New York), Billy Rohan, and a grip of other people, including the kid above who, uh, dropped in off a basketball hoop. Every year, people complain about how the NBA All-Star Weekend’s basketball game progressively gets worse (everything has more or less already been done.) How about getting this dude involved? Skateboarding’s mad trendy right now. It’s a win-win. Paul George is even skating in Foamposites, what more do you want.

Be sure to also check out Taji’s weekly photo column over at Vice.

Where Have You Been? ‘Cause I Never See You Out.

Daily News August 20th, 2012 · 1:28 pm · 16

She got good taste in skate brands. Keep in mind that we’re huge fans.

After a week of sparse exposure to the internet, please forgive us if any of these links are like, three days late…

Vice asks Stevie Williams questions that Stevie Nicks and Stevie Wonder had once answered. The photo of the three of them together is incredible.

Sorry for two Vice links in a row, but Taji put together a recap of Black Dave’s opening performance for Juicy J this past Thursday.

This week in our continued coverage of high-fashion’s pursuit of skateboarders, several notable Tompkins personalities have signed on with Rag & Bone. We’re looking forward to seeing more heavily-curated #stylez on the T.F. benches this upcoming fall. (Previously: Alex Olson on Chanel, Dylan Rieder on Alexander Wang. Funny how we predicted this a year ago.)

Here’s Kevin Tierney’s first solo Zoo York ad.

J3 is a homie video by Matt Roberge. It’s hard to tell where it is based out of, but Quartersnacks is contractually obligated to link any video that includes a (particularly great) Max B song. Beyond the soundtrack, it’s an all-around fun 16-minute watch.

R.B. Umali put together two clips for Red Bull in anticipation of Manny Mania. Manny Mania passed (Brezinski won), but any footage of Zered and Luis Tolentino skating New York is always welcome. P.S. Has anyone who takes skate contests too seriously screamed “CONSPIRACY!” in regards to Joey Brezinski designing the obstacles that he wins contests on? P.P.S. Puma has a skate team?

If you enjoy skateboarding, you should buy a plane ticket to Spain. Here’s one bit of motivation, which reveals how it is possible to skate the most blown-out skate trip destination in Europe (the world?) for three weeks, and still avoid many of its most famous spots. Oh, and Madrid has a lot of spots too, in case you didn’t know.

EVENTS! If you’re into contests and demos, the Afro Punk Festival is this weekend.

DON’T FORGET! Film a stupid line, and win a Girl/Indy/Spitfire complete, Nikes, stunner shades and a grip of Four-Star gear.

Quote of the Week: “Should I see Magic Mike or the Katy Perry movie?” — T-Bird

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Last but not least, there was a Ryan Hickey sighting yesterday.

An Interview With Black Dave

Features & Interviews November 9th, 2011 · 10:15 am · 11

As we approach the end of the year, the Quartersnacks Rap Desk‘s vote for “Rapper of the Year” is torn between 2 Chainz, Future, and Black Dave. On Monday night, Dave performed at some random lounge in the Financial District (appropriately a block away from C.I.A. Ledge…it wouldn’t be right if it wasn’t next to a skate spot), as an opening act for some members of ASAP Rocky’s crew. This performance may be the tie-breaker that puts Dave ahead of the competition. Torey Goodall claimed that “watching Black Dave perform was like that last scene in The Karate Kid where he kicks everyone’s ass.” Switch Mike equated the event to seeing your own child accomplish something great. Taji Ameen interviewed Dave and was kind enough to send it our way.

Photos and Words by Taji Ameen

So what the hell were you thinking when you decided to dress up in a suit and call yourself The Black Donald Trump?

I have a lot of ideas going on in my head that I’ve been trying to expand on. The whole reason I decided to enter the music world was to release them for people to see and have a good laugh to. I’ve been skateboarding for nine years and it has been a great way to express myself, but with music I can show a bit more of my humor and personality. Being The Black Donald Trump consists of balling out on a budget, missing cabs, going to the chicken spot, drinking 40s, and smoking blunts on your homie’s roof.

Yeah, we have seen Heath Kirchart and Jeremy Klein skate in suits in Birdhouse’s The End, but never Black Donald Trump shredding Tribeca in one. What is the story behind that baller-ass suit?

Well I called myself the Black Donald Trump because I’ve always seen myself as an entrepreneur, which just makes the suit necessary for the video. I needed a fucking wig, but I blew it, and couldn’t find one in time. His crazy hair style wouldn’t work too well while I was skating anyway.

The video kind of reminded me of Harold Hunter raps from old Zoo York videos. I was backing that.

I most definitely look up to Harold Hunter as a New York legend, as a role model in a way. Not only because he was a great skater, but he had a successful career in acting at a young age with his role in Kids, and that’s something I always wanted to be, a well-rounded person who did it all, and had a damn good time while doing it.

For Da Summa

Daily News October 20th, 2011 · 1:30 pm · 6

Always good to see one of Brooklyn’s finest skating at one of Manhattan’s best-worst spots. You can bet that the G Man is psyched on it.

Taji sent over this End of Summer montage he made for Acapulco Gold, featuring Andy Millien, Aaron Warner, Ariel Perl, Billy Rohan, Charles Lamb, Black Donald Trump, John Wisdom, and Leo Gutman. Apparently, the guards at the Seaport are no longer occupied with merely enforcing plaza regulations, but have a genuine concern for your safety now. That seems at odds with the fact that 80% of them will threaten you with violence if you don’t leave the second they approach you. (“YO, I GET OFF OF WORK AT 3! MEET ME HERE, AND I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU.”) Other highlights include someone finally grinding the top of those metal “sculptures” all over Wall Street, and proof that Cooper Union stays losing.

Summertime MVPs: Leo Gutman & Andre Page. Summertime LVPs (Least Valuable Player, not Lithuanian People’s Party): The security guards at the Seaport.