KITTY CASH

March 30, 2015 in DJ, new york, fashion, personality

I got the chance to shoot one of my favorite DJ's, Kitty Cash, for a brand new hip-hop magazine that has just released! "Brick is a bi-annual music and lifestyle publication representing the new age of Hip-Hop culture," says founder Hayley Louisa Brown, and editor Grant Brydon, explaining the story behind the launch of their new hefty 264-page tome. "We want to provide an elegant and aspirational platform that examines Hip-Hop, not hirsute as a style of music, but as a cultural and sociological movement that pays respect to pioneers, forgotten heroes and the most cutting-edge contemporaries."

'Edition One' is available h ere.

you can check out Kitty Cash's music here, and follow her on instagram.

photos: Olivia Seally

KEVIN HUSSEIN

March 28, 2015 in new york, music

This week marks the beginning of a new addition to the content we're bringing you at Freshmen Friday. From the very beginning I recorded all the interviews, originally only as audio back up. Going through that footage made it obvious that the voices we hope to turn up the volume on are better understood when visualized. This week we spoke with talented rapper, song writer, modern muse and fellow freshman, KEVIN HUSSEIN, to kick start the first of many video interviews...

Some people know me as SB, my artist name is Kevin Hussein. I’m 30 years old, from Bed Stuy / Bushwick, Brooklyn. Five years ago I was making music with this guy named Jonny on the Rocks we were in a good band called Rocky Business, that was a good five years ago. We were doing all different types of shit. I would say, what I was fucking with was more so art and street at the same time, it was it’s own thing. I was rapping, I was rapping these niggas down. I wasn’t even rapping I was making magic and spell casting. Now I work… well, I’m a published/signed songwriter to Sony. So I’m a pen for hire, I’m the man you come see when your shit don’t sound right.

FF – You’re just a muse?

SB – I am the million dollar muse (laughs). I think it’s innate, coming from Brooklyn. Especially the ones that grew up here or spent a substantial amount of time here, it’s just so in the air. If you’re from BK you’re either going to hustle, do art or do business, that’s it… those are the three you got.

FF – How did you learn how to do this?

I learned how to write music in jail. I went to jail for like three years for a crime I didn’t commit so I started going crazy, really crazy, like literally crazy.

So I kept fighting police, I was very angry. So I guess when you fight police they put you in a box, boom, locked in. Solitary confinement. I had to be there for over twenty-three hours a day, by myself. I had a cellmate and he would rap and shit, he’d be like your shit is hot, you can do this. So in the box the only person you can talk to is the person in your vent, so he was in my vent. That’s the only person you communicate with for like months. He showed me… he was already a rapper, so he kind of showed me how to do it, how to count the bars. It was really like music school. Over time and with training I got nice. So in jail when you get nice you can talk on the tier. So now every body can hear you, there’s like 50 tiers. The police really can’t stop that, they just start banging, so you go up there and sometimes niggas know your name but they mostly know your cell number. So I’m cell number 9, lets go! I’m about to get it! Then you spit it and niggas is fucking with it, like you’re shit is hot. Next thing you know you start getting requested in jail, like SB! Wake up! Get in the gate! Number 9! Get it in…

I was so angry that when I got out I chose music because I was like I got a plan for yall! Since I couldn’t go no where when I get the fuck out of here, I’m going everywhere! So I felt like music was the only thing that I could do that would get me everywhere, really quickly. And that’s exactly what it did.

To be honest the first person that ever helped me was Mark Ronson, he was the first. We was in some club, my man was like this nigga’s hot, there goes Mark Ronson, meet this nigga, like rap right now. I rapped, dead ass, in his ear. And then he just took my number down, he was really the first person to be like you’re a good song writer. I was like oh shit, I might be on to something…

FF – What’s one opportunity that you can say whole heartedly, without it you wouldn’t be here today?

SB - I think meeting Om’Mas Keith was like the best thing I ever did in my musical life. It was like, we had just came to LA, he was mad inviting, he was just like yo the shit you’re doing, the math of it is really, really complex like the rhymes and shit. So I have a hard drive of a grammy award winning producer, with a whole bunch of beats. And it was cool just for him to say that. And it just gave me the energy to keep going.

FF – Now do you consider yourself a freshman, sophomore or senior in your field?

SB – I’m definitely a freshman, I’m not a senior until I live in the jungle. I just email people lyrics like I don’t even have to do anything they’ll just be like this is the best! And I won’t have to hustle anymore so I’m definitely a freshman forever in art, period. Because I’m always going to try and do some fresh fucking shit, you know? That’s what keeps me going too, all these ideas got to stay fresh.

That’s how you survive, the individuality, the creation… that’s how you survive as a creative.

FF – How do you keep reinventing yourself and finding that inspiration?

SB – Never liking yourself (laughs). Because if you never like yourself you always try to do a better version of yourself.

And that way you don’t have to compete against anybody but yourself.

Like that is dead trash, I have something better than that. Then you’ll never stop. I wish I knew to harvest my magic more. When you’re a freshman you give out a lot of energy because you want people to receive what you’re doing, not being careful of who you’re letting into your creative space, the ideas you’re sharing. Because you just want a response, not knowing that these people have ulterior motives with your ideas. And then you see that back and it can crush you. I’ve seen a lot of creative’s just drop off of that, like oh they stole me idea and so on. So I would tell all freshmen; no one can steal your idea if you’re holding on to it hard enough. It’s just like hustling drugs, niggas can’t rob you for your pack if you hold your shit down. You aint gotta tell them where your stash at, you aint gotta tell them where you get it from, you offering that information and you’re wondering why you got got. For the men it’s instinct. And for the female artists it’s intuition. That’s the sixth sense that we’re tapping into anyways. Some niggas don’t even have to say anything I’ll just know I’m not fucking with you. And for the women, when you feel like he might be a clown, then he’s probably a clown, that’s it, cut it off and keep it moving. And for the ones that feel right it will be right, trust me it works. Most niggas who snaked you, you knew that they were a snake.

FF – Name three people you can recommend me to talk to that inspire you and you know them personally?

SB – Johnny Nelson, that’s my favorite nigga on earth. And Scrilla Chinchilla, Scrilla’s like a genius without even knowing it and he has one of the most purest hearts. Ntu Fara, I like her sophistication. To me, that’s why I love working with them, the black female voice is the strongest voice in the whole entire verse, it’s like the mother of the earth. Whatever a black woman is saying, whatever perspective she comes from, people pay attention. She’s (Ntu) bringing this sophistication and it’s very new, or it’s like a part two of… what is already being said about women who understand what’s going on from in the streets level and from a higher perspective, she has such a worldly view of everything that’s going on. It’s almost like a female Nas, where you’re just creating this creative. Illmatic wasn’t about drug dealing, it was about what he sees. And that’s what it is… this is what she sees, this is how Brooklyn is changing, this is how things are developing, this is what it was. She has a message. There are so many stories on the block, but the story that y’all get from the block has been so… that’s not it.

There are so many million stories there that haven’t been touched on and I’m going to hit those, we do so much more that hasn’t really gotten to the surface yet. And that’s where I’m pushing it.

FF – Yeah, now that I think of it all the successful black men were successful because they showed a different side to that one story that keeps getting repeated.

SB – Biggie Smalls, that double diss! That’s the one! He could do mad flows. Biggie was like you need to get this money! Sky is the limit, it was all a dream… he was telling kids they could do whatever, they could get it popping. And then ‘Pac was coming in telling niggas how to move, like oh they’re out here doing this, coming at the actual structure of things and how society is and how to move as a young black person. And you gotta respect Jay though, Jay kept it moving. Jay-Z is a great rapper, he has a great rap story because he told them from the beginning I’m getting this money and that’s all he did was kept getting this money. Jay-Z never compromised Jay-Z, he makes fucking money, he goes and gets that money, he raps about how he’s going to get that money and that’s it. But that’s a different kind of revolution. That’s why I have respect for Puffy, just seeing him bring out all the people he worked with. That’s a blessing, that’s what the arts are supposed to do. These people are in better places then before they met Puffy. The stuff that you’ve done with them, no one can take that away. When you make these creative things they’re there forever, and now you exist forever.

you can follow Kevin on his twitter and his instagram.

as told to: Olivia Seally // video: Olivia Seally

MELLISSA MILLER

March 27, 2015 in new york, model

My name is Mellissa Miller, I’m 21. My birthplace was Brooklyn but now I live in Long Island. Five years ago I was in high school, doing nothing (laughs). I was a good student but I hated high school because no one got me. I wanted to do other things, people didn’t gravitate towards me and I just didn’t speak to people. I used to walk around with shades on, sit down in my locker, eat a bagel and not talk to anyone. I had a teacher once… I was talking to another teacher that I’m still close to, we were talking about me taking AP classes in 11th grade and she came up to me and said ‘I didn’t know you were smart’. But I loved dance school… it was my senior year in high school and I didn’t do anything but dance, I went to school and danced for like four hours. And learned stage lighting and stage management and how to record… we got to record our own music for our pieces. So I felt I knew all of it and didn’t want to go to school for four years for something I just learned so I convinced myself at some point in time that I didn’t need to go to college for dance.

Right now, I’m in school for professional communications so I’m trying to finish this degree! One more year left. I own a spa on Long Island and we’re opening one in the city. And I’m trying to model. I never wanted to model because I don’t like make up. I think that was a game changer for me (laughs). I know so many people who are in the modeling business and they tell them when to eat and when to cut their hair. I’ve been there with dance. With dance I had a teacher who owned the studio I used to go to, he had a special interest in me since I was seven. And he was just molding me into this perfect ballerina. I remember cutting my hair and it was blonde and I went to class and he wanted to kick me out,

so I know what it’s like from a really young age to just be molded by every body else but yourself. And I can’t do that anymore.

With modeling I just started working with my friends… just shoots at F.I.T. just something for his portfolio. And some people saw and wanted to work with me and then I just started working with other people. I’ve only been modeling for less than a year but I do see me taking it somewhere.

FF – How did the spa happen? What’s that about?

MM – OK so my girlfriend’s mom had a spa for years. It started out mobile so we hired people and went place to place doing bridal parties, facials and massages and all that stuff. They have two houses so one of the houses we rented out to get money to pay for the spa. And we found this amazing spa in Garden City, which in Long Island is a pretty good town. So we opened the spa six months ago! We’re booked every weekend until June. So we’re doing pretty good.

FF – Would you consider yourself a freshman, sophomore or senior in your fields?

MM – I am definitely a freshman to business, because I’m learning. I’m not learning how to work for a business.

I’m learning to be a boss.

I’m the one that gets the heat when shit goes down. I’ve had employees about to fight and sometimes you want to take sides but you can’t. I’m definitely learning a lot about being a boss and being a black woman as a boss. It’s not easy. I’ve had someone call the spa the other day and ask if I was black!!! I told her very nicely “you can return your Groupon whenever you’re ready”. Any body of any other race who owns a business doesn’t sit there and say ‘Asian Business Owners!’ We don’t want to be the company that’s like ‘Black People Own This!’ It’s not about that, though we do put business first and are proud to be black women. But just to have someone call and ask… for what? Why exactly do you need to know!?

I didn’t know the world was like this. I really didn’t know that I was black. I had teachers that had to tell me I had to be better and be better but you don’t know it until you actually really do have to be better.

It is definitely not fair but it is what it is, you take it and you move on and continue to live your life because at the end of the day I’m going to be black forever and I’m going to be a woman forever.

We dwell on our 40 acres and mule. it’s not coming… you have to get it.

Also our issue as black people is we aren’t trying to help each other. And that’s big in the black art world too, like No! I’m going to get to the top and I made it so you make it, I had to go through the struggle so you go through the struggle. Instead of saying I went through the struggle so you don’t have to go through the struggle, let me help you out. And there’s not enough hands out there that are trying to help people. And if their hands are out they’re expecting you to put something in it first.

I don’t want to hold on to anything here. When I do… because it’s promised… when I do leave here I want to leave it where it is.

you can follow Mellissa on her instagram.

as told to: Olivia Seally // video: Olivia Seally

SAADA AHMED

March 13, 2015 in new york, music

My name is Saada Ahmed, I’m 27 and was born in Nairobi, Kenya. I moved to New York in June 2009 right after College, where I studied economics. Back then I was either working at Sixth Sense Perfumes as a Project Manager or interning at Syrup (ad agency). I actually got my internship in a weird way… I went to a PS1 party and this guy recognized me from an event the night before. He was asking me what I want to do and I said “advertising”, because that’s what I thought I wanted to do at the time, he worked in advertising and was like “this is really cheesy but I’ll give you my card” and that’s how I started working with Syrup! It’s funny because people don’t really do that anymore, we’re so connected on social media that you just follow someone on Instagram or you’re already following a company and you don’t really give out a card and follow up. Or maybe that’s just because I’m getting older. Now I like to stay at home or if I do go out – it’s like “Is it in Brooklyn? Is it close to my house?” As much as I’m a homebody now, I actually did meet a lot of connections and coworkers from my going out days. So it’s still beneficial to network, you just have to pick and choose where and when.

So now I do the Everyday People brunch, but that shuts down during the winter months so I’m also working on some new events and workshops with a friend of mine. I also have my company, Sokoni Worldwide. Sokoni started as a blog; I went back to Kenya and wanted to capture the country to get people interested in what goes on there. It really bothers me that people still have this narrow-minded image of Africa that’s like ‘National Geographic’ and wildlife, when in reality it’s so much more diverse, with many countries. Most people just don’t get to see individuals and understand the sub-cultures that exist there, so I wanted to highlight that. Then Sokoni transformed into a creative agency, as I wanted to start working with black brands. I started to get involved with this accountability group that a friend of mine started where we meet weekly and discuss our goals – let it be personal or professional – and we help each other reach those goals by setting smaller short-term goals. But I don’t get to spend as much time on that as I used to because the events thing has really taken over.

I guess I’m kind of an entrepreneur. In New York people have numerous things that they’re constantly working on; not necessarily one job. Unless you’re like a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley, that’s a particular role, but for me

I have an ultimate goal in my career, which is to bring people together

let that be a party, let that be an event or a workshop - that’s my passion - And also bringing awareness to people of color. I think eventually I would like to be a cultural attaché, either for Kenya, Ethiopia or Somalia to highlight cultural things there like Arts and Literature. All of the things I’m doing now are sort of leading me toward that path. When you’re younger you think things will be more linear. Like ‘oh I’m going to go to college and then I’m going to get this certain job, then I do the next job’.

You have a list you think you can check off, but life is not like that. Everything that I’ve done and everything that I do now is building towards something.

I felt like I was making a lot of lateral moves. I didn’t really understand what I wanted to do or how to move on, it was just a really confusing time, and it’s still confusing. But I think I accepted at some point that it’s okay not to know exactly how things should go. I mean you know eventually what path you’re moving towards but I don’t need to have a singular labeled job to get there. I feel like I made that next level move when I started Everyday People and I was able to quit my job and do that full-time.

That’s when I realized that if you do something for the love of it, the money will come. If you go into something focusing on the money, there’s not going to be any soul behind it – and people can tell when something is lacking in soul.

And Everyday People wasn’t just me, it took a group effort. I contacted a bunch of DJs and Moma was actually the only one who responded with a space that we could use for the party and my friend Roble (Chef Roble) we used as a guest host to secure the menu. Then Roble joined us as a partner. So it’s a collaboration and a mix of all of our friends attending. That was an opportunity that really helped me believe in myself. Another opportunity was when I worked for Saint Heron. I learned a lot! In the beginning, I didn’t think that I had the credentials to do the work that I was doing. Then I realized, you just gotta get in there, you know what I mean? You’re your own worst enemy.

It’s scary when you don’t feel that inspiration, but that happens from time to time. Like recently I wanted to do some events and I was thinking ‘why am I not really feeling passionate? Why am I not feeling excited?’ and I just had to stop over-thinking it. Read books, read magazines, go to exhibitions, talk to people, listen to music, and then those things spark your inspiration. Recently I did a proposal for a brand and I was having such difficulty coming up with a good idea and eventually it fell through. But the fact that I put so much pressure on myself to try to think of this creative idea was inorganic to my process.

When you force something, it’s not going to happen, you just have to let nature take its course.

And I do understand that people have deadlines, and there does need to be structure, and that’s something that I continue to work on, and sometimes you just have to do it, but don’t put pressure on yourself. I’m learning how to just roll with the punches.

FF - Do you consider yourself a freshman, sophomore or senior in your field?

SA - I’m home-schooled! I set my own pace. I don’t want to say I’m a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior in my field because you can’t compare yourself. Who knows how people got there. You can’t tell me that just because someone is 27 and moved to the city at the same time I did, that they have more of a leg up than you just because they worked harder. You don’t know what connections they had, what their background is, how they got there. There are so many factors, so it’s incomparable.

FF - What is your dream creative project?

I can’t narrow it down to one particular thing, but I think the idea of creating a positive image in the media for people of color – especially in light of everything that’s going on in the news right now. That is a really huge thing that I am constantly aware of. And then, I also think a sense of community is very important. A lot of people who move to New York are transplants, they’re not from here, not in the place they grew up with their family getting that sense of community. New York is a big city and there’s so many people that feel really lonely or feel like they have no one to talk to, like just to get advice, and it’s dog-eat-dog. So I would love to create an environment, let it be a space or a run of events that create that sense of community. That’s what is starting to happen with Everyday People. The ultimate goal is to have a space, like a Milk Studios or a Red Bull Studios, a combination of that but also a restaurant, like the Soho House and more of a creative space. The idea is to give people opportunities. When I came here I didn’t know anyone, so it was very difficult for me to even get an internship, and yet now I hear of so many people that are looking for help, that are looking for interns, but they can’t find anyone because it’s not on their radar, so again just bringing people together is my dream. I just remember wanting to travel and to have experiences, to go to different countries and be around all types of people.