IN MY OWN WORDS...
Since a kid, growing up in Harlem, the moon and the stars were what I achieved to grab. I wanted to reach past the sky no matter the obstacle. That mentality, even when faced with challenges, hasn't changed. If anything, it’s only made me more passionate.
I began my discovery of entrepreneurship and foray into the industry while attending Long Island University as a Media Arts major. Timing was on my side: While simultaneously working at Smooth magazine as an editorial assistant, I traded a pair of Summer Jam tickets for a marketing internship at Marc Ecko Enterprises, which was comprised of Ecko Unltd, EckoRed, G-Unit clothing, Zoo York, Complex Media and more. During my internship from 2002-2004, I witnessed the growth of the company as it became synonymous with mainstream pop-culture. I was inspired to venture out and curate a company of my own, with the intention of being a voice for the culture that raised me.
At the beginning of 2004, I launched Laced magazine with my close friend and stylist, Kwasi Kessie. Laced was a publication that celebrated the intersection between two thriving, kindred cultures: sneakers and hip-hop. And unlike other publications, we created it from the perspective of the streets. "Laced up from the ground up" was the motto. As creative director and co-founder, I aimed to offer a platform to rising artists and designers before mainstream media took notice. Artists such as Swizz Beatz, The Cool Kids, Chris Brown, Lupe Fiasco, The Clipse, and brands such as Lemar & Dauley, Rocksmith, and Japanese brand Swagger and Phenomenon were just a few featured in Laced.
Within a year later, I co-founded a collective called GFCnewyork with another close friend and colleague, Saint Louis. GFCnewyork, a management, public relations and marketing firm, has become a platform for a new breed of musicians and creatives reshaping society norms. The company's innovative marketing strategies, along with our hustle mentality, has allowed us to break such acts as Mickey Factz, FKi, Big K.R.I.T., Jesse Boykins III, A.CHAL, Smoke DZA, Deem Spencer, and more.
Both worlds collided when we started working with our first artist, Mickey. We needed a theme song for Laced. Not many people were rapping about sneakers. Mickey was one of the firsts. It was a great experience. We couldn’t afford to hire a staff so we did everything ourselves: A&R, marketing, publicity, styling, and production. I’m a huge Pharrell fan, and thought it’d be cool if Mickey flipped N.E.R.D. material. We flooded everyone’s Myspace pages with Mickey’s In Search of the N.E.R.D. project. We were one of the firsts to focus on digital marketing, through ideas and building relationships with OG rap blogs. We didn’t have our own Macs so we’d go into the Apple store and push out music there. Kid Cudi would be in there doing the same thing. He was pushing his music while working at Bape.
My childhood friend, rapper Smoke DZA connected me with Johnnyshipes. Shipes was curious as to who was behind Mickey Factz. He believed in me because of how I believed in others. He wanted me to do PR and digital marketing for the late Nipsey Hussle. We worked on Bullets Ain’t Got No Names, Vol. 1. I was fortunate to be a part of his growth, and witness him figure out the model to make money digitally.
Shipes and I worked together on a few artists including Big K.R.I.T., Smoke DZA, Joey Badass, among others. I handled marketing and explored new creative outlets like art direction and photography. In 2010, I co-founded one of the most popular branded hip-hop tours to date, "The Smokers Club," alongside Shipes. Inspired by capturing moments while on tour, I curated my first photo exhibit in 2014.
Throughout 2014-2018, we, GFCNY, reunited with old friends Sean Famoso and Tunde Balogun to take on digital marketing, publicity and creative for their label, LVRN. We developed marketing plans and led creative strategy for a handful of their artists such as Raury, 6LACK, and Shelley FKA DRAM.
In early 2016, I co-founded a creative agency called BOOOTLEG with SAISTV. SAIS and I launched BOOOTLEG with the intention of turning the tables on the term “bootleg.” We turned what seemed untouchable into manifestation. We wanted to encourage others to think positive. If you want it, and you can’t have it? Make it. Do it. There’s no roadblocks.
As BOOOTLEG, I led creative direction and designed artwork and merchandise for artists such as Shelley FKA DRAM, Deem Spencer, Big K.R.I.T., KAMAU, and more. Within the past few years, I shifted gears, mentally. The hardest shit is the most inspiring shit, and I gotta do it all. I decided to be the leader of every part of my life, and own it.
I’ve dedicated my mind and heart to creating and aim to constantly challenge my imagination and my eye. Through that personal commitment, OBJECTS was born as my creative expression and perspective on everyday “objects.” I reimagine items that hold space in my life through my own creative lens to curate my OBJECTS Collection. To date, I’ve presented my take on the Trucker Hat, a vase created from Legos, an area rug inspired by basketball, a mental health and wellness journal and book bag with many more OBJECTS being conceptualized. If you’d ask me what keeps me going, it’s the constant pursuit for inspiration.
TBC - SO
I began my discovery of entrepreneurship and foray into the industry while attending Long Island University as a Media Arts major. Timing was on my side: While simultaneously working at Smooth magazine as an editorial assistant, I traded a pair of Summer Jam tickets for a marketing internship at Marc Ecko Enterprises, which was comprised of Ecko Unltd, EckoRed, G-Unit clothing, Zoo York, Complex Media and more. During my internship from 2002-2004, I witnessed the growth of the company as it became synonymous with mainstream pop-culture. I was inspired to venture out and curate a company of my own, with the intention of being a voice for the culture that raised me.
At the beginning of 2004, I launched Laced magazine with my close friend and stylist, Kwasi Kessie. Laced was a publication that celebrated the intersection between two thriving, kindred cultures: sneakers and hip-hop. And unlike other publications, we created it from the perspective of the streets. "Laced up from the ground up" was the motto. As creative director and co-founder, I aimed to offer a platform to rising artists and designers before mainstream media took notice. Artists such as Swizz Beatz, The Cool Kids, Chris Brown, Lupe Fiasco, The Clipse, and brands such as Lemar & Dauley, Rocksmith, and Japanese brand Swagger and Phenomenon were just a few featured in Laced.
Within a year later, I co-founded a collective called GFCnewyork with another close friend and colleague, Saint Louis. GFCnewyork, a management, public relations and marketing firm, has become a platform for a new breed of musicians and creatives reshaping society norms. The company's innovative marketing strategies, along with our hustle mentality, has allowed us to break such acts as Mickey Factz, FKi, Big K.R.I.T., Jesse Boykins III, A.CHAL, Smoke DZA, Deem Spencer, and more.
Both worlds collided when we started working with our first artist, Mickey. We needed a theme song for Laced. Not many people were rapping about sneakers. Mickey was one of the firsts. It was a great experience. We couldn’t afford to hire a staff so we did everything ourselves: A&R, marketing, publicity, styling, and production. I’m a huge Pharrell fan, and thought it’d be cool if Mickey flipped N.E.R.D. material. We flooded everyone’s Myspace pages with Mickey’s In Search of the N.E.R.D. project. We were one of the firsts to focus on digital marketing, through ideas and building relationships with OG rap blogs. We didn’t have our own Macs so we’d go into the Apple store and push out music there. Kid Cudi would be in there doing the same thing. He was pushing his music while working at Bape.
My childhood friend, rapper Smoke DZA connected me with Johnnyshipes. Shipes was curious as to who was behind Mickey Factz. He believed in me because of how I believed in others. He wanted me to do PR and digital marketing for the late Nipsey Hussle. We worked on Bullets Ain’t Got No Names, Vol. 1. I was fortunate to be a part of his growth, and witness him figure out the model to make money digitally.
Shipes and I worked together on a few artists including Big K.R.I.T., Smoke DZA, Joey Badass, among others. I handled marketing and explored new creative outlets like art direction and photography. In 2010, I co-founded one of the most popular branded hip-hop tours to date, "The Smokers Club," alongside Shipes. Inspired by capturing moments while on tour, I curated my first photo exhibit in 2014.
Throughout 2014-2018, we, GFCNY, reunited with old friends Sean Famoso and Tunde Balogun to take on digital marketing, publicity and creative for their label, LVRN. We developed marketing plans and led creative strategy for a handful of their artists such as Raury, 6LACK, and Shelley FKA DRAM.
In early 2016, I co-founded a creative agency called BOOOTLEG with SAISTV. SAIS and I launched BOOOTLEG with the intention of turning the tables on the term “bootleg.” We turned what seemed untouchable into manifestation. We wanted to encourage others to think positive. If you want it, and you can’t have it? Make it. Do it. There’s no roadblocks.
As BOOOTLEG, I led creative direction and designed artwork and merchandise for artists such as Shelley FKA DRAM, Deem Spencer, Big K.R.I.T., KAMAU, and more. Within the past few years, I shifted gears, mentally. The hardest shit is the most inspiring shit, and I gotta do it all. I decided to be the leader of every part of my life, and own it.
I’ve dedicated my mind and heart to creating and aim to constantly challenge my imagination and my eye. Through that personal commitment, OBJECTS was born as my creative expression and perspective on everyday “objects.” I reimagine items that hold space in my life through my own creative lens to curate my OBJECTS Collection. To date, I’ve presented my take on the Trucker Hat, a vase created from Legos, an area rug inspired by basketball, a mental health and wellness journal and book bag with many more OBJECTS being conceptualized. If you’d ask me what keeps me going, it’s the constant pursuit for inspiration.
TBC - SO