REAL MUSIC • ART • CULTURE
SEPT/OCT 2015
TABLE OF AWESOMENESS
36 ROMEO MILLER 58 CYNTHIA ADDAI-ROBINSON 42
50
MAX SCHNEIDER
2 v o i c e
LANCE GROSS
24 LAKEITH STANFIELD o f a n e m e r g i n g s u b c u l t u r e • w w w . h e e d m a g . c o m
17
WEB MOGUL ANDREA LEWIS Andrea Lewis has jumped from the television screen to the computer.
22
THE “SHADE” BETWEEN B&W White & gray have eschewed black and morphed into the ultimate “Power Combo”.
24
COCO & BREEZY A trip to New York City 6 years ago was the beginning of the brand we now know as “Coco & Breezy”
26
10 ANSWERS FROM FAARROW Somoli sisters and refugees form a pop musical duo
v o i c e
28
YARA SHAHIDI
o f a n e m e r g i n g s u b c u l t u r e • w w w . h e e d m a g . c o m
1
EDITOR’S NOTE
7
YEARS AGO... ...I got an email from Saoul asking if I’d be interested in helping him out with a new project. It wasn’t out of the blue -- “Saloo” and I go way back to late ‘90’s high school days, when I’d sit behind him in English picking fuzz out of his hair. (Pro-tip: he’s not a big fan of that.) We used to talk about our group of friends moving to NYC, making it big, becoming famous writers and singers and actors. Only one of us made it to NYC. The rest of us scattered across the country. But I still had hopes of being a writer, although I’d grown scared of my words and my own voice. And Saoul had a plan and a company - Heed Magazine. So I started writing again. That was seven years ago, and this issue that you hold here in your hands represents - last minute deadlines, scrambling for topics, scouting for writers, keeping our eyes and ears open for talent across the spectrum. We have a small team, but a devoted team. We work on these articles, these photo shoots, these interviews, all while holding down full-time jobs outside of Heed. We do this out of passion, out of love, and out of respect for each other. In that way, we’re not so different than the subjects we cover. This issue we focused on Young Hollywood, looking for the talents that may not be getting the headlines, although they certainly deserve them. And that’s been Heed’s M.O. since the beginning - shining the spotlight on independent and emerging talents and artists who are on the verge. And that’s what we’ll continue to do. Enjoy this issue, and give us your feedback. We’re not some anonymous corporation; we are the emerging talents that we cover. And, just like Yara Shahidi, Andrea Lewis, Romeo Miller, Max Schneider, and all of the rest of this Young Hollywood crew, we’re here to kick ass.
Editor-In-Chief Crystal Hunkin
2 v o i c e
o f a n e m e r g i n g s u b c u l t u r e • w w w . h e e d m a g . c o m
MASTHEAD Founder & Publisher Saoul Vanderpool
Editor-In-Chief Crystal Hunkin
Creative Director Darryl Glover
Marketing Director Deite Smith
Art Director Chunyan Liang
“
My pops never was just out clubbing with me, you know? He was strict on me. I went to a regular school, I had a curfew growing up. I didn’t have a girlfriend until I was, probably what, 17? ”
Tech Game Editor Benjamin J. Brown
Journalist Alisha Lola Jones
PR/Comm Manager Mike Sanford
Lead Stylist /Producer Latasha Henderson-Robinson
Lead Stylist/Producer Dennis Robinson
House Photographer Tayo Ola
Cover Photographer Cameron Gentry
Journalist Ky Renee Hampton
Journalist
Journalist
Lisa George
Vince Wilson
Contributors Fiorella Occhipinti, Jameel Henderson, Nayari Navaz, Toru Sakanishi, Rachel Hopkins, Sho Llily, Jon Weiner, Rick Hancock, Alexandra Mark, Bailey Anderson, Michaela Vybohova, Lewis Carter, Simona Sacchitella, Howard Duffy
Creative Interns & Assistants Celinet Sanchez, Kenjen Houston, Cristian Matos, Chaynler Stewart, Tiffany Smith, Cypress Alejandra
VISIT US www.heedmag.com www.twitter.com/heedmagazine www.facebook.com/heedmagazine www.instagram.com/heedmagazine
INFO Heed Magazine is published bi-monthly & distributed internationally. Subscription: 1 year (6 issues) Heed Magazine (Online): ISSN# 2158-3781 Heed Magazine (Print): ISSN# 2158-3773 Questions: info@heedmag.com © 2015 Heed Magazine Inc. all rights reserved The written and visual contents of Heed Magazine are protected by copyright. Excepting translations, you may not reproduce our articles online or in print without first obtaining written permission. Please contact the author to obtain his or her written consent. Once you receive permission from the author, contact us at info@heedmag.com to let us know where and when the article will be reprinted. Heed articles cannot be reprinted without obtaining author permission and notifying the magazine.
v o i c e
o f a n e m e r g i n g s u b c u l t u r e • w w w . h e e d m a g . c o m
3
SPECIAL FEATURES
L L A e m o R 36 v o i c e
o f a n e m e r g i n g s u b c u l t u r e • w w w . h e e d m a g . c o m
CRYSTAL HUNKIN photography Fiorella Occhipinti styling Latasha Henderson-Robinson & Dennis Robinson assistants Tiffany Smith & Chaynler Stewart
R
omeo Miller (a.k.a. Maserati Rome, a.k.a. Lil Romeo) is underestimating himself. A very big year for most twenty-five year olds involves landing an awesome job, maybe attend-
No Limit Forever Records, has upcoming stints in films like Jarhead: The Siege and A Girl Like Grace. Add to that two reality shows - Master P’s Family Empire, slated to air on Reelz in November
ing some amazing concerts, perhaps figuring out what exactly you’re doing with your life. Hell, a very big year for most twenty-something celebs is a couple of films, possibly a new television series, maybe even final touches on a brand new album.
and Growing Up Hip Hop just getting the green light from WEtv. A very big year indeed.
Maserati Rome is doing all of that. And then some.
It’s easy to draw comparison to a certain FOX smash hit (ahem, Empire) when looking at the subjects of Romeo’s reality programming -- a hip-hop family and a rapping dynasty. What does Romeo think about the high drama of Empire as compared to life with his dad, Master P?
While handling his ongoing clothing line, ROME Everything, Romeo’s also found time to get back to his passion for music by mastering the mixtape world with Money Mafia and up-and-comer Ace B. He’s also settling in as co-founder of
“I don’t really watch a lot of TV,” Romeo laughs. “People call me Batman, I’m always in the dark. I like writing my music in the dark, so I don’t watch a lot of TV. I think I may have seen one episode of Empire, actually. And I can see the similarities
“
This year, it’s a very big year for me.”
PANTS: 4 LEADERS
v o i c e
o f a n e m e r g i n g s u b c u l t u r e • w w w . h e e d m a g . c o m
37
SUBSCRIBE
TO VIEW FULL ISSUE
voice of an emerging subculture