The FADER's 8th issue, a catalogue of all the shit on the come up in the summer of 2001, was almost too hot to handle. The Gorillaz in all their rebellious cartoon glory covered one side, a tawny-eyed model wearing nothing but a pair of Sony MDF-1s simmers on the other. It's an especially prescient issue today, in 2015. A madlib filled out by Madlib sits side-by-side with early coverage of Air and Missy Elliot. Photojournalist Mpozi Tolbert documented the anger and sadness that blanketed the city of Cincinnati after the funeral of Timothy Thomas, the 15th black male killed by the city's police in a six-year span. Acknowledging that art "does not exist in a vacuum," there were features on Sandinista street murals in Nicaragua and a photo story documenting the Zapatistas in Mexico City.
But amongst the weightiness there was a cheeky levity, a lightness of heart. The Simonez Wolf-styled "scorcher!" fashion spread—with its suggestive poses, use of collage, and a high-low mix of Baby Phat and Chanel—exemplifies that pretty damn well. As does Lee Harrison's Letter From The Editor, which reads: "I'm happy, I'm feeling glad...I got margarita in a milkshake cup from Sombrero...back to the city night, block parties and blackouts in Harlem, boogie down in the BX, 'Bridge in Queens, revolution in Brooklyn...nah, maybe tomorrow; too damn hot today, cousin, too damn hot, too damn HOT! It's summer y'all..."
