AUSTIN ROYALE, JALEN SANTOY, HARRY MACK, JUSTIN JAMES, JAMES MURCHISON
JULY 2017
OUR MISSION Cvisum provides a platform for artists of all genres to showcase their talents in a print version. We dedicate our time in growth, guidance and respect; bringing the vision of each artist to life in order to create a future full of unique imaginations. With the foundation of our audience, we shall improve together as a team. SHOT BY: @JAYGOGETIT_
EDITORS
DESIGNED BY
PHOTOGRAPHY
Brandon Nixon King Phill A.K Kpa
A.K Kpa
A.K Kpa Justin J. Agoncillo Jimmy Jets Jay Go Get It Tommy Coyote T.J Harrell Tre Bravo Zachary Liller
Justin James, pg. 15 - 18
Austin Royale, pg. 11 - 14
Jalen Santoy, pg. 3 - 6
Harry Mack, pg. 7 - 10
James Murchison, pg. 19 - 22
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JULY 2017 - SHOT BY: @JIMMYJETS
MUSIC ARTIST
Jalen Santoy | Written by Brandon D. Nixon How does a kid from the south side of Charlotte, North Carolina turn into a multimillion stream and international touring recording artist? We were able to sit down with rapper, singer, and songwriter Jalen Santoy right before he caught his flight for Toronto’s NXNE music festival. We asked him about his inspirations, what started him in his craft, and any advice he has for other creatives. “I’ve always been into music,” he says. Growing up, Santoy was constantly surrounded by different sounds and styles, from singing in grade school choirs to following his mother to church as she played the piano. It was this example set by his mother that started him in his own craft. He tells me that seeing how others looked up to his mother and other family members made him aspire to seek a similar level of admiration
and respect from his peers. Outside of his own family, Santoy looks up to hip-hop gods Kanye West and Jay-Z immensely for their ability as creatives to remain relevant. “It’s not everyday you see creatives stand the test of time in the culture we live in.” He is aware that this has always been the battle artists of our generation have gone down fighting in.
“It’s not everyday you see creatives stand the test of time in the culture we live in.”
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Thus, Santoy does not allow one set thing to just inspire him. Rather, a lot of his sound comes from compilations pieced together shaped by the situations he has experienced and the people around him. He is also really into abstract forms of art, which probably explains why he has never needed too many material things when creating and his ideal creative environment is so simplistic. He says, “Just give me a dark room with the music blasting in my headphones and I’m good.” Getting lost in the music in a closed environment with a few close people surrounding him is the kind of stuff he grew up on.
How does a kid from the south side of Charlotte, North Carolina turn into a multimillion stream and international touring recording artist? A close mentor gave Santoy the simple advice of finding trust in himself and that’s when stuff started clicking. “Giving that negative energy influence in your creative space can be detrimental if not controlled,” says Santoy. “Protect your artistry and trust the process. There’s no script other than your own.”
When asked about his idea of success, he told us, “Success to me is being able to effortlessly provide for my loved ones. In my head that takes me being the outright best at what I do and settling for nothing less from those I keep around.”
“Just give me a dark room with the music blasting in my headphones and I’m good.”
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MUSIC ARTIST
Harry Mack | Written by Brandon D. Nixon
JULY 2017 - SHOT BY: @JUSTNJAMES_
Between sets at Power 106’s Powerhouse 2017, we were able to catch up with probably one of the best freestyle rappers you’ve never heard of before. He has wowed the likes of artists such as Joey Bada$$ with his improv rap ability and his YouTube videos have attracted hundreds of thousands of views. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Harry Mack is a multi-talented musician who moved down to Los Angeles in 2008 to study music at the University of Southern California. He graduated four years later and has been living in Los Angeles ever since, exploring his artistry as a freestyle / written MC and jazz drummer.
“I’ve known that I wanted to be a musician since I was a kid. I always knew I was going to pursue music. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the coolest shit you can do.” He tells us about a time when he’d be writing rhymes or working on music while the rest of his homies were busy playing Halo. “I didn’t know exactly how my career would take shape, but I knew I’d be doing music full time.”
“I’ve known that I wanted to be a musician since I was a kid...”
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Although lately his name is starting to attract some buzz, Mack has faced some obstacles along the way. “As a freelancing jazz drummer, you have to work really hard just for a little bit of paper,” he says, “but it’s worth it.” Mack shares a story about when a teacher asked him, “Do you want to do this? But do you really want to do it? Because with music, you might work hard your whole life and you might be eating ramen noodles the whole time.” This made Mack affirm that this is what he wanted and this passion is reflected in his work. He is honest in his craft and admits he doesn’t really have an agenda when it comes to his music. “Like every human, I’m multifaceted. There’s a lot different shit going on in my mind and there’s a lot of different sides to me. All I’m really trying to do is be honest in my music.”
For anyone on their own creative venture, Mack says, “Don’t give up because you’re going to want to give up a lot of times.” Through all the hate and roadblocks, “Keep fucking going...”
“There’s a lot different shit going on in my mind and there’s a lot of different sides to me.”
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MUSIC ARTIST
Austin Royale | Covered by A.K Kpa While Austin Royale was in the studio working on his album “Plan B,” we were able to catch up with the Bull City native for a couple of questions.
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JULY 2017 - SHOT BY: @A.KLONGSHOT
Introduce yourself: What do you do? My name is Austin Royale, I’m an artist; that’s the short version. What do I do? I do what I want. When was the first time you knew this was what you wanted to do? I never knew what I wanted to do; that was the problem. I knew I wanted to make money. I knew I didn’t really feel right working for anybody my entire life; I’ve just never been the type of person to do what someone else wants me to do. When I found music, I got interested in it and other arts and that was it. I started making money off of music here and there at a young age. I figured I could do it for the rest of my life, if I do it the right way. That was about 2010-2011; I was like 14, 15. What were some of the obstacles you faced growing up as an artist? Being doubted, being compared to other artists who flourished or failed. I was always told I was supposed to have a back-up plan. That’s one thing I’m big on; people constantly telling you as an artist, you have to have a plan B. That’s kind of what my album’s about. What does “being creative” mean to you? Being creative means taking ideas that are unique to one’s own perspective and making them tangible, understandable and comprehensive to the audience that it needs to be targeted to. It also means being able to connect the idea to as many people as possible. What kind of creative routines do you have? I smoke a lot of weed; that’s probably a creative routine I have. I have to make sure I’m not hungry whenever I do anything, I’ve got to have a clear mind; that’s about it, usual shit. Really just reading, smoking, I like wine and music, you know; that’s really it. What are you trying to communicate with your art? I’m trying to communicate the fact that everyone is powerful in their own right and their own being. Everyone is unique, but at the same time there’s always someone that can connect to you. There’s always somebody, whether it’s god or someone around you, who’s there for you or that you have a connection to in general; that’s what I really want to convey to people with my art. I really want to convey that I’m damn good at doing it too.
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“I’m trying to communicate the fact that everyone is powerful in their own right and their own being.”
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What’s the best advice someone has given to you about being creative? Someone told me about intentions and just making sure that your intentions with your art are very clear, whatever they may be. Your intentions drive your decisions. No matter what I do, even if I do some crazy ass shit that no one understands, if my intentions were good, that’s all that I really should be worried about on my end because art is relative. Art has no shape or form; it’s free. What advice would you give others? Don’t compromise; do what you want to do. It’s very simple. I think there’s always a way to get something done. If you can dream it, you can think it. If you can think it, you can create it. If you can create it, you can achieve it; just be relentless. Be unapologetic and know what you want. What are some of your future goals and what do you look forward to accomplishing? My future goals are to have a full discography that I’m super proud of, do a lot of dope shit on the way and maybe get a Grammy. I’d love that, it would be a great life achievement. I want to start a school back home where I’m from; Durham, North Carolina. I want to write songs for particular artists that I like; I’d love to song write for people like Rihanna. I want to make a rock album; I want to do a lot of shit. I have a couple show series that I have ideas for. I want to get into the marijuana industry. I don’t know, I want to do a lot. I just want to do what I want to do. I’ve said that a thousand times throughout the interview; do what you want.
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PHOTOGRAPHER
Justin James Agoncillo | Covered by A.K Kpa We introduce to you a member of our photography team, Justin James Agoncillo. Having covered media events such as Power House, Agenda, Splash House and many more, Justin has proven he’s in the league with today’s top media photographers.
JULY 2017 - SHOT BY: @JUSTNJAMES_
Introduce yourself: What do you do? My names Justin James Agoncillo and I was born in a city called Bellflower in LA but grew up in the Inland Empire where I spent my high school years there. When I started college, I went back to the LA area to finish up my first couple years at a community college and now I’m finishing up my undergrad at San Jose State University majoring in digital marketing and advertising. I currently work as a freelance photographer with a focus in music and lifestyle photography. When was the first time you knew this is what you wanted to do? I’ve always been fascinated with photography back when I was in middle school. I used to skate a lot with my friends back in the day and I remember using my friends point and shoot camera to snap pics of us skating around the suburbs where I was from. That’s where the initial spark happened for me and throughout high school I always brought a point and shoot with me to take random pics of my friends when we would all hangout. I ended up shooting one of my first shows in LA for an artist name Lakim who was part of the hip hop collective Soulection who I’m a huge fan of. I didn’t really know what I was doing at the time. But still, I was shooting around like, “Holy crap this is amazing. I’m really out here shooting an artist that I really like.” That experience alone changed how I wanted to make a living, and it was how I decided what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Big shout out to Deric Berberabe for giving me that opportunity by the way. Has there been any obstacles you’ve faced as an artist? I think my biggest obstacle as a creative is the competition from other photographers. Now that we live in a digital age, it appears everyone is a bit of a photographer nowadays due to social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. So, no matter how great your photography is, it is a very difficult industry to make a name for yourself. However, I truly love the art of photography, so for me this obstacle only pushes me to work that much harder. Because making a name for yourself in the photography industry nowadays is groundbreaking.
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“ I truly love the art of photography.” What does “being creative” mean to you? For me, being a creative is all about discovering yourself and finding who you are as an individual. And what life means to me. It’s sort of my way of showing myself to the world. Being creative is a great way of expressing who I am and what I do. It’s a personal thing for me when you’re trying to express something about yourself and the way you view things. It’s about taking ownership and ideas and combining them into something unique to your vision. What are you trying to communicate with your art? Honestly, any type of emotion. Depending on the image, whether it be fashion, lifestyle, musicians, landscapes, I just want people to see and visualize my perspective. Two of my favorite things in this world is music and photography. So, combining the two together and creating an image of artists performing live is an incredible feeling. As long as some type of emotion is involved in my images, preferably matching the feeling of the subject, then I did my job. What’s the best advice someone has given to you about being creative? One of the best advice I ever received was from one of my professors in college. I remember talking to him after class one day about how confused I was on picking out a career choice and he told me that “nobody has one calling or one purpose. Nobody has it all figured out, especially in your early 20’s. There isn’t only one answer. Your purpose will constantly evolve as you learn new things, travel to new places, make new friends, start families etc. What is purposeful for you one year may no longer be purposeful for you a few years later. Figure out what it is that you’re passionate about and just do what you know you love.” And ever since then it stuck with me. What advice would you give to others? As cliché as it sounds, my advice would be to find what you’re passionate about and invest as much time as possible into it and see where it goes. I’m very blessed and fortunate to have found my passion and I can testify that it’s the most liberating feelings in the world to be able to make a living doing what you love. So for any individuals looking to find out what their passionate about should figure out what you’re good at, find out what excites you, and honestly find what it takes to have that “dream job” most people tend to dream of, no matter how unrealistic it might seem. What are some of your future goals and what do you look forward to accomplishing? One of my future goals that I’m trying to make happen is to go on tour with an artist/musician. Being able to travel alongside an artist all over the world and having the opportunity to photograph each moment for their fans seems like one of the most incredible things you can ever do. 18
ENTREPRENEUR
James Murchison/King James 919 | Covered by A.K Kpa Owner of Backstabbers, Honor Raleigh and When You Gon Cook For Me, James has made quite the impact as an entrepreneur in his city. Find out what he had to say about his empire.
JULY 2017 - SHOT BY: @_CIRCA86
Introduce yourself: What you do? James, King James 919; whatever you want to call me. I was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. I went to UNCG and got my degree in Business Studies. I currently reside in Raleigh when I’m here. I do consulting for brands and basically bring their ideas to life; from the designing of their logos to seeing their designs into production on the screen printing side. I run my own brand, Honor Raleigh, which was birthed from my first brand Backstabbers Clothing. When was the first time you knew this was what you wanted to do? I was heavily into the sneaker culture and I loved matching my shoes with my shirts. I got tired of only seeing one or two shirts that matched shoes when they released. I grew even more tired of going out on release dates and everybody having on the exact same shirts. This pushed me to create my own tees and hoodies to match the shoes I loved. I was sitting at the crib, reading an article on how to make your own letterman jacket. I was hell bent on making my own jacket with different patches to match all of my shoes, so I could wear it with everything. Meanwhile, I was talking to my boy about how I had fell out with my childhood friends and how they were backstabbers; then the idea hit me. Why not make my own brand and release shirts, hoodies and crew necks to match all of the releases and call it Backstabbers Clothing. What were some of the obstacles you faced growing up as an artist? Nobody ever understands you; that’s the most common one every artist will face. The biggest struggle for me was mental frustration; not being able to bring my ideas to life is a real let down. It’s like we’ve got a million tabs open in our brains and we can only put our all into a few. Most people don’t know what it’s like to not know where your next dollar will come from, being a real entrepreneur and stepping out on faith. All of my boys planning trips to islands with their bonus checks and talking about their 401K’s, while I’m transferring money from my savings to my checking to pay for clothes.
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What does “being creative” mean to you? Being creative, to me, is getting out the ideas you can’t stop thinking of in a way that showcases your raw talent and emotion. I like to take all of my ideas a step further, whether it’s in the delivery of the idea or the photo shoot. The small details nobody would even notice or think of are all an intricate part of being creative. What kind of creative routines do you have? My creative routine is weird, it always starts the same way; me lying in bed and the idea hitting me, maybe because that’s when my brain is finally at its calmest point. I’m not answering calls or texts or deciding what to do next with my day; late night brainstorming. That leads to me getting up and sketching up my idea, then falling asleep excited, waking up the next day and trying to figure out how to bring the idea to life. What are you trying to communicate with your art? Whatever is on my heart at the moment. My current collection is dedicated to the false idols we look to, when times get hard, to be the voice we can’t be. “I miss the old Kanye” is a collection I had been playing with mentally for a while, but after all of his antics, I pulled the trigger. Ye was my idol, just like he was for many others coming up. He used to speak truth to power, talking about things we could relate to like being the token black guy working at Gap and spending your last on a pair of Jordans. He was against racism from the higher-ups. Now he’s meeting with the worst president ever, talking about how they’ve been friends for a long time and doesn’t want to speak. He’s making clothing with Calabasas on it like he’s not from Chicago. I’d never rep another city like I’m not from Raleigh. What’s the best advice someone has given to you about being creative? If you wouldn’t wear it, don’t make it. If you wouldn’t hang it on your wall, don’t paint it. If you wouldn’t eat it, don’t cook it. Those are a few statements I make to clients or friends when they ask me for my opinion when they’re on the fence about an idea. What advice would you give others? Nobody is going to pay you like you pay yourself; the motto I live by. If you don’t like what your job is paying you, quit! Pay yourself, set your own salary. What are some of your future goals and what do you look forward to accomplishing? I want to take my brand global. With Honor Raleigh, I can do pop-ups in every city; Honor LA, Honor Miami, Honor NY, Honor Dallas. I want to get my brand in the coldest stores, do in-store face-to-face pop-ups and just travel the world meeting other creatives; collaborating, eating good and enjoying life.
“If you wouldn’t wear it, don’t make it.”
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