VOLUME ONE ISSUE ONE
The 5th Element’s Mission Emcee, Bboy, DJ, and Graffiti Arts. These are the four elements that compose Hip Hop culture. Many would argue that fashion is not a significant element of Hip Hop, but when placed in comparison with any other culture, you will see the appearance of its people is what distinguishes them. Fashion IS the 5th Element. We, as a collective of Fashion Enthusiasts, are here to provide you with an online magazine that bridges the connection of Fashion in Hip Hop.
Our Common Thread Established 2010
THE CONTENTS MC // Trek Life // 1 DJ // DJ Wrex // 11 BGirl // Val Pal // 15 Graffiti // Dino Mayorga // 21 Fashion // The Attic // 31 Fashion // Timeless // 33 Fashion // My Ninja // 39
TREK LIFE
STEP INTO
A WORLD
After a very rainy, 50 minute drive up the 605 freeway, The 5th Element crew and I arrive in Azusa, Ca. We park the car and follow our ears as a fervent mid-tempo instrumental leads us across the wet boulevard, to a modest canopied storefront. The event is Acrylick’s 2nd annual Christmas Scratch Session, and the floor of the clothing store is transformed into a DJing wonderland.
Various types of equipment, turntables and mixers are set up in a rectangular cypher and are open for any dj in the house to give em a whirl. You can compare this scene to a lab of scientists working on an experiment, but instead of splitting atoms, they’re chopping up beats. After a few minutes of spectating, head bobbing, and browsing thru clothes, we flag down the man of the hour. Leaving the mix of dj’s, hip-hop fans, and store patrons in the front of the house, we tuck away in the back room. Amongst various boxes, merchandise and miscellanea, we set up. The exuberant host for the night’s event is fresh emcee and West Covina native, Trek Life. I just had to ask how his name came to be. The moniker was given to him years ago in reference to the rapper’s reputation for traveling great distances by foot. Trek smiles as he recalls, “I would walk all the way to the West Covina mall, which was the complete other side of town…I just liked to get by myself, put my Walkman on, listen to whatever I’m listening to and just start walking.” Being called Trek by his friends was more of a taunt, but he kept the nickname and made it his own by adding Life to the alias. Trek began rapping at a very early age. He attests his spark of interest in hip hop to his older brother. In the 80’s his brother would battle rap kids on his school bus, but when the day was over, he would carry that battle home and over to Trek. It was at the age of 9 that Trek 3
Life discovered his passion in hip hop. In his adolescent years, Trek had an interesting method to writing rhymes. In a blurb on the Acrylick site, Trek talks about getting up in the middle of the night, getting fully dressed, and performing verses in front of the mirror. He nostalgically elaborates, “that’s when videos were crackin’! All the emcees just looked fresh. I wanted to look fresh. I wanted to look like Big Daddy Kane and rock the illest gear... I had this wall mirror in my room, so I would put my pen and pad down, and I would rap in the mirror…and if I wasn’t fully dressed- it wouldn’t feel right! So I would go in my closet and I’d put on whatever I would wanna perform in if I ever had the chance…At the time, the visual perspective meant so much to me being a young person, a young artist.” If that isn’t a display of passion and commitment, I don’t know what is. Now, two albums deep, Trek Life’s rapping style is reflective and introspective. The emcee creates content that talks about his perspective on raising kids, drama with women, where he’s from, and everyday life. He compares his musical approach
to sitting down with a person, throwing a topic in the air and talking about it. He goes on to say, “My music is just a conversation, man… all mcing should be, in my opinion, just general conversation said cleverly.” With a blue-collar upbringing, Trek’s fashion sense has never really included expensive clothes. He expresses that he’s an LA dude and his wardrobe consists of t-shirts and jeans, clean tennis shoes, and an LA fitted cap or a Cove (West Covina) hat. Acrylick is his brand of choice, and not just because they’re his sponsor, but because they are also from the 626 area. Trek explains, “I really believe in representing where you’re from, so my fashion always represents the exact area that I’m from…
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Whether I’m in Germany or any other part of the world, something I got on is representing the 626 or the surrounding Los Angeles area.
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Period.” This statement is actually summed up by the opening lyrics from his song, “So LA”“I’m so LA/ the only New Era I own’s a Dodger fitted/ match it up with that flipped up Louis Vuitton Acrylick/ bleeding purple and gold/ hollerin’ out the Staples Center.” The relationship between Acrylick brand and Trek Life happened very early in his career. He was interested in representing a forward-thinking company, local, and early in their development; as he was. Mike, a representer for the Duarte, CA based clothing company contacted Trek and, to say the least, Acrylick really appealed to the artist. “It was like, they were going where I was going…everything was so fresh and new, everybody was believing in what they were doing, every t-shirt meant something, and I was like, yo…I wanna be involved in this.” Having a symbiotic involvement with the young company, Trek finds a lot of inspiration in seeing Acrylick’s growth and expansion. “It represents home for me. It’s so close to me. Acrylick is very attached to what I do and where I’m from.”
In the summer of 2010, Trek Life released his second album: Everything Changed Nothing. The emcee doesn’t plan on recording his third record any time soon. In humble confidence, he says, “We’re gonna represent it (Everything Changed Nothing) for a couple more years. I think music is so disposable these days, and I didn’t write this album to be disposable.” With that, the emcee looks forward to his project with DJ Babu (Beat Junkies/ Dilated Peoples) called Fire Outside, set to drop this year. Trek also fills us in on the concept of his next album, tentatively titled The Global Warning. His ambitious layout for the album includes featuring one or two producers and rappers from each continent of the world on the record.
When talking about the not so near future, Trek says he’d like to focus more on his role as a father. His voice takes a warmer tone as he elaborates, “I got a 3 year old little girl, so in 5-10 years I’d like to be closer to home…just to make sure daddy is around and well invested in her moving into her pre-teens and having that strong male figure that, I feel, is detrimental in a young woman’s life. You need to have your father there as much as possible.” This is only the beginning for Trek Life. With an exciting musical journey ahead and a positive outlook on the future, this artist sure has his feet firmly planted on the ground. Take a listen and support good music by our featured emcee at www.treklife. bandcamp.com and peep the fresh gear on www.acrylick.net -Lindsey L.
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We’re gonna try to represent the globalization of hip-hop… I think we’ve advanced as a music so much, that we might’ve lost the personal cultural touch for every artist they see…
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REFLECTIONS IN THE REVERBS KANYE WEST We at The 5th Element Magazine believe that your style is related to the music you listen to. Let’s see how this applies to a musician and the music they make. One of the most talked about, popular hip hop artists of the better part of the last decade; Kanye West has left his imprint in the culture in more ways than one. With all the adjectives used to describe this artist (good and bad) one thing you cant deny.. he is a mutha-fashionable monster. Let’s take a look at how his personal style and musical sound over the years have influenced one another.
ALBUM: College Dropout (2004) SOUND: heavy soul sampled beats, strong percussions CONTENT: conscious, introspective. Reflects struggle and hope. STYLE: Polo shirts, Jeans and a Louie V backpack. In 2002, Kanye was involved in 5
a near fatal car accident which left him with severe injuries, including a broken jaw. This incident would have inspired his first single “Thru The Wire” where Ye literally recorded the song while his mouth was still wired shut. Needless to say, being near death would leave anyone grateful to just be on the earth. He rapped about struggle, hope, and faith on this LP, and he was a new kid when it came to mcing and was a relatively modest dresser. “Rocafella chain, yeah that’s my rapper style/Rosary piece, yeah that’s my Catholic style/ Red and white One’s, yeah that’s my Kappa style, and I aint even pledge…”
ALBUM: Late Registration (2005) SOUND: soul beats, strings, introducing more commercial hip hop sounds. CONTENT: a blend of conscious rhymes and satirical scenario STYLE: more tailored looks, cleaner cut, with an urban flare
The fresh and unique sound of Kanye’s debut album swept the hip hop audience and influenced other producers to generate similar sounds. To stand separate from the rest, Ye experimented with strings and the inclusion of guest vocal appearances on this album. Around this time, Kanye discovered his voice in not only the hip hop community, but in the sociopolitical world as well. Ye speaks about his views on gay rights, begins his campaign against the purchasing of “Blood Diamonds”, and, with one of his most controversial moments, Ye candidly states, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” during a live televised benefits for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The world was stunned, but this was just the first taste of Kanye’s tenacious outspokenness.
ALBUM: Graduation (2007) SOUND: electro-heavy samples CONTENT: introspective verses and boastful rhymes, positive statements.
STYLE: futuristic, urban, highfashion looks, the “Kanye” vertical slat glasses 2007 was a very eventful year for the artist. The release date for Graduation was the same date 50 Cent’s Curtis was to drop. Upon the weeks prior to the releases, 50 Cent announces he will “retire” if Kanye outsells him. The publicity stunt earned Ye 957,000 units sold and 50 Cent, 692,000. Needless to say, Curtis retracted that statement. The Graduation shows even more progression and growth in Kanye’s sound and innovation, sampling from Daft Punk and utilizing more synthesizers in his production. While Kanye lost every category at the MTV Video Music Awards that year, he took home four Grammys that following winter.
ALBUM: 808’s And Heartbreaks (2008) SOUND: Auto-tuned singing, experimental, electronic, no soul samples. CONTENT: emotional content, pain. STYLE: suits, tuxes, all white. bold avant-garde looks, coifs and facial hair
In late 2007, Kanye’s mother died due to complications from cosmetic surgery. The next year, he and his fiancé dissolved their 2 year engagement. Many would speculate these events to contribute to West’s dramatically different sound on 808’s and Heartbreak. This album included very little rapping, heavy usage of auto-tune, sad and emotional scenarios, and hardly resembled his previous bodies of work. With such an exaggerated change in his music, West may have gained fans, and also lost some. His personal style seemed to have transformed as well. As if he was assuming a character, Kanye wore off-beat suits and donned a full beard and (for lack of a better term) a mullet for some time.
ALBUM: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) SOUND: the return of his “soulful” production, lyrical, less singing. Dark melodies, strong percussion CONTENT: boastful rhymes, dark content and scenarios. Introspective. STYLE: clean cut fashion and presence with fashion and hair.
MBDTF is the latest album by West. Prior to the release, Kanye leaked tracks off of the album for the interest of the consumer, and to build a buzz around the new record. This campaign was called “Good Fridays” and kept all the Ye fans begging for more. With every leak, it is apparent that Kanye is yet again trying something new, but may be returning to his “old self”. With the return of soulful instrumentation and creative emceeing on these tracks, familiarity surfaces. This album is relatively dark, as its title suggests, but it also marks a distinct hunger that may have been missing from West in previous years. Ye’s personal style also seems to have balanced out as well. Still a very sharp dresser, he’s come in from left field and dropped the Billy Ocean hairdo for a low, clean fade. Welcome back, Ye. -Lindsey L. 6
GET LIKE ME Music video: I Am Not A Human Being (2010) Artist: Lil Wayne With brash delivery and unapologetic lyrics, Lil Wayne has proven to be one of our generation’s standout emcees. Having such distinction in his rap style, he has also made a name for himself as a young trendsetter in the fashion world. This seasoned rapper has been doing his thing for nearly a decade and a half, yet, he is only 28 years old. Wayne’s steeze can be described as casual and youthful, with a few personal designer touches. Get Like Him.
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“I AM NOT A HUMAN BEING”
Black Levi’s 511 Jeans / www.Levi.com
Black Levi’s Cotton Crew Neck Tee / www.jcpenney.com
Bass NEW ERA 59fifty fitted / www.mishkanyc.com
Hydrocolor Make Up / www.wolfefxmakeup.comSuper
Flat Top Sunglasses / www.urbanoutfitters.com
EARGASM HEADPHONES BY: MARC MANGAPIT
These aren’t your granny’s headphones. It’s a no a brainer we are living in an IPod driven society where music is merely just a click away. With a low monetary price you can shazam that song you heard at Starbucks, find it on your iTunes, and instantly have it in your arsenal. And naturally you’ll want the best earpiece to listen to those songs. Headphones have been around since the beginning of the 20th century and have evolved to feature both sound quality and style. They became popular with the young crowd as DJ’s started rocking them outside of the music booth. These days you can find everyone, young and old, sporting one of many types of headphone. To some, it adds an extra layer to their own unique style.
Beats by Dre Solo HD
Stussy Bluetribe Bluetooth Headphones
WESC Bongo
Diamond Supply Co. x Matix
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FASHION SPIN: DJ INFLUENCED THREADS Brands today are looking to bridge the gap between urban street wear and the world of turntables and hip hop. It comes to no surprise that DJ’s are slowly gaining recognition in today’s urban fashion universe. You can see it in the magazine ads and television commercials. Most recently, and notably, there was a quick snippet of DJ Neil Armstrong on the Adidas and Star Wars commercial. Those in the hip hop world would have instantly recognized him. Also, that same collaboration brought out some other famous djs known as Daft Punk. The electronic duo seemed to blend perfectly with the space aliens inside the Star Wars world. [Source: youtube.com]
Another brand who wanted to feature Armstrong was 5&A Dime from San Diego, California. They collaborated on a limited edition t-shirt to coincide with the release of Armstrong’s mixtape titled “DNA of the Blueprint Mixtape”. [Source: hypebeast.com]
Some urban brands choose to feature the common symbols found throughout the DJ world and incorporate them into their designs. In this case, hip hop music and culture holds a strong tie to the urban fashion world. One brand that has significantly chosen to do this is the Acrylick Clothing company. Here is an example from their newest collection: Groove Theory tee: “Meaning: Life offers many theories to follow. One theory we believe to hold true, is the basic idea of vinyl records remaining king to any other musical format. We call this our groove theory. There is just one simple formula to this theory. Look for the grooves; if the format doesn’t contain grooves; it’s not the king, simple as that. This design is one of our more lighthearted designs of the season, simply displaying our admiration for the classic vinyl record.” Check out more of the collection at: http://www.acrylick.net/v2/collection.html
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SPOTLIGHT: Scratch DJ Academy A few hours in a DJ class worth years of priceless hip hop history
Back in my wonder years, the cool kid on the block was the homie who had an older brother that was a DJ. He would practice in the garage and we would hear an eclectic range of beats and scratches, forming a melodic story told through the turntables. We didn’t even know what we were listening to or what his instruments were called. All we knew was that people thought he was cool and we wanted that same recognition. Throughout the years following that, I started to learn more about the art of turntablism. I had always wanted to learn the skills and techniques but never knew who and where to get the information from. Flash forward to present day and I start to hear from different friends about a DJ school in Los Angeles. We had to check it out and learn more about this unique academy.
The Scratch Academy is essentially the first and only DJ school that provides a proven curriculum to propel any beginning students into advanced working professionals. Founded by the legendary Jam Master Jay of the famous Run DMC group, it is rooted in the fundamentals of hip hop and has expanded to have locations in New York, LA and Miami. One of the great things about the academy is the free introduction class that is offered a few times a month. The 5th Element crew decided to take advantage of the free class and we ultimately left with a deeper knowledge of hip hop culture and DJ history. The staff was great and had an extensive resume in the DJ world. The equipment and tools we used were the same ones that the professionals today would be using too. But don’t just take our word for it, experience it for yourself and enroll in a free DJ introduction class today! Go and visit the site at http://www.scratch.com/ 10
TEE’S AND TURNTABLES
IN THE MIX
DJ WREX
December 21st of 2010. It’s a Tuesday night in the little city of Azusa, California. The weather has not been kind to SoCal and tonight the pavements are darkened with a glossy shine. But the rain has not deterred the DJ’s and music junkies alike from attending the X-Mas Skratch Session held inside the Acrylick clothing store. The session was made for DJ’s to try out some sponsored products and to basically just have fun with it. It also draws out the many hip hop heads who love good music. Driving by you can hear the harmonized beats and scratches controlled by local DJ’s, all with different backgrounds and experiences. Some are very well known in the world of turntables and mixers. On the ones and twos you can catch DJ Wrex testing out a new mixer tool. He is also busy running around, organizing the event and managing the store. The 5th Element magazine was lucky enough to get a few minutes with DJ Wrex to discuss his background story, personal DJing preferences as well as some information on the up and coming clothing brand, Acrylick.
I don’t have to do that anymore. You can have all your music in your laptop. You don’t have to find anything or have to carry a bunch of crates and records to the club. The thing is there’s more DJ’s now doing that so there’s less gigs. But since there are more DJ’s you have to elevate the art. You need to have more skill and do more marketing. It’s an iffy subject but I hate it and love it at the same time.
Do you prefer spinning at big events, clubs, or private gigs?
What is your favorite headphone to use?
Acrylick “The Golden Age” tee. (Source: thegiantpeach.com) What equipment are you using? The Technics turntables, which are standard. I also have the Rane 57 mixer. It’s good for scratching, mixing, and has Serato built in.
I’m using Skullcandy’s right now ‘cause my other headphones broke. The one’s I had before were the Allen and Heath headphones which is probably the best one I’ve had. But I’ve tried all of ‘em…the Sonys, Pioneers, Technics headphones. The Allen and Heath ones lasted me 3 years so I’m probably gonna get the same model but I’m not sure what model it is. How early did you start Djing and who were your influences? I started in 2001. Some of my influences were the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, the Beat Junkies, DJ Vice, DJ AM, the Power 106 djs, and DJ Ron.
DJ WREX: ‘Wrex’ came from Wreckx-N-Effect. And Rex is also my middle name. I represent Acrylick, 4One Syndicate and the Wax Munkiez crew.
What advice do you have for new DJ’s starting out? For beginning DJ’s, try it out first and see if you like it. Practice every day as much as you can. Record yourself if you want to get better. That’s probably the best thing to do, record yourself.
Vinyl versus Serato. What’s your take on that?
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I try to mix everything and anything. I can play drum and bass, to 80’s, disco, dubstep, mash ups, r & b ,reggae, electronic, all kinds. I love music in general. Good music at that. So I try to mix in everything. “I love music in general. Good music at that.”
I’ve done everything but I probably prefer clubs the best because of the energy.
The 5th Element Magazine: Tell us something about yourself and where your name came from?
Vinyl versus serato is a crazy subject. I started with vinyl ten years ago when I used to go to record stores every week finding new records for the clubs, weddings, and debuts. Now that Serato is out
What music genre do you mix?
X-Mas Skratch Session flyer (Source: acrylick.net)
Where do you think the future of Turntablism and DJing are going?
Djing is kind of turning obsolete. You got to be more of a producer now and make your own music and remixes. The future DJ’s will probably be producers that play their own stuff. Djing has kind of been automatic with all the software that’s out. You can mix automatically with computers. So the future of DJing is going towards more of production. Now let’s find out some information on Acrylick clothing company. How did Acrylick get started? It started with Mike Valenzuela and Van Truong. They had a vision to create something with meaning. “Drop beats not bombs” is one of our main concepts. T-shirts you can wear that has a meaning. We try to have something that is not just a walking billboard. We started in the backyard silk-screening our own shirts. Eventually we got our own office and started selling in stores like GCS, True, and Metropark. And now we’re here, we have our own store.
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How does Acrylick stand out from other street wear brands today? We try to focus on music, Djing, philosophy, art and soul. We have a big connection with all the DJ’s. Trying to push music, positivity and art in the t-shirts and whatever we make. There are definitely heavy amounts of music inspired in the collections you put out, how important is it to have that musical reference in all the pieces? It’s heavily influenced by music but we try to fuse it with some philosophy in our line. We also try to push hip hop and use the phrases in some of the songs. One of the elements in our line is “Art, Music, Philosophy, and Soul.” So ‘music’ is one of the legs of Acrylick.
Hopefully we’ll work on some more. And we also got some secret projects coming up.
They had a vision to create something with meaning.
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Any shout outs before we end this interview?
Acrylick “Roll Call” pillow (Source: acrylick.net ) What else inspires your designs? Our designers get their influence from hip hop, pop culture, and a lot of things that are happening in the news. A lot of our pieces have a meaning that are influenced from philosophy, like Gandhi.
Acrylick “Drop beats Not bombs” tee (Source: acrylick.net )
We haven’t done that many. We did a t-shirt with M Audio, an audio company, for their campaign with the Torq system. We also did a shirt for Novation for their new product called the Launch Pad which is a tool for producers. We also did collaboration with Moose shirts for one of our biggest online retailers MLTD.com
What collaborations have Acrylick been involved with and what brands do you plan to work with in the future?
Shout outs to Mike, Van, Fabio, Joel, Prince, Tay, Kim. DJWREX.com, Acrylick.net You can find us on Moose Limited, The Giant Peach.com, UndergroundHipHop.com, 80spurple.com. Also to our manager here in the store, Adrian and to our sponsors today, Rane and Odyssey, TurntableU.com, BeezoBattle.com and Serato From The 5th Element Magazine crew: BIG thanks to the whole staff at Acrylick, Trek Life, DJ Buddy, and last but not least DJ Wrex. -Marc Mangapit 14
B
FASHION FLARE B-GIRL VAL PAL
Intense up beat music with dope break beats surround a room full of talented breakers. From all ages, different styles, and from different area codes. People come together to this one place to battle it out or even just to watch these unique dancers bring their A-game. One particular dancer caught my eye at Hip Hop International World B-boy/ B-girl Semi-Final Battle 2009. As I watch this intense battle between Underground Flow and Mexico, I couldn’t help but notice the one b-girl standing on stage. With all my focus on this one b-girl I was excited to see what she got. Towards the end of the battle she gets called out by the opponent, with no hesitation she busts out a sweet top rock then gets down to business. I was blown away by her energy and complicated combos that I myself was inspired to become a b-girl. The way she kept up with the boys made it even better. Knowing that a girl can hold her own in a b-boy/b-girl battle makes it just as sweet. I had the chance to slow things down and sit with Valerie “Val Pal” Acosta for an awesome interview. Val has been around the dance scene for quite a while; she has danced with PAC Modern, Culture Shock LA, The Syrenz, Under-
ground Flow and LA clippers Fast Break Crew. As a choreography hip hop dancer Val felt she needed a challenge physically in dance. Surrounded by tons of different types of dancers, only one type of dance really drew Val’s attention. Learning different top rocks and moves from different friends Val started to fall in love with breaking. Eager to learn the art of breaking, Val really focused on the history behind it all. It was through Culture Shock LA she truly found her passion for breaking. Through her amazing journey through the breaking world Val linked up with Tiffany
“Jimini” Bong, Peppa and Donna Arrogante, and joined The Syrenz dance crew. The all female dance crew was started by Peppa in New York in 2000. She later decided to bring it back to Santa Monica, CA with new members. Their main focus is to inspire and spread their love for each dance form throughout the community. The Syrenz main styles include, whacking, b-girling, locking, new jack swing, and house. The main thing that sets The Syrenz apart from other girl groups, is that they have a history of battling and not only do they know how to perform on stage, but they also know how to freestyle and hold their ground in a cypher. Another crew Val has been training with is Underground Flow. Started in 2001 Underground Flow is a B-boy/B-girl crew based out in Sacramento CA. Now with a Long Beach division, Underground flow has been growing strong. During a cyper Val met two of the founders of Underground Flow. With Val having a lot of potential to become a great b-girl, she was asked to train with the crew. The rest is history. Being a part of such an amazing crew/family Val could not picture her life with out b-girling. Dancers now days are all about
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Playlist of the Month: Everyone has there “jam” when it comes to dancing. What moves you? “Let it out” by ugly duckling “it’s in the title, when I dance I just want to let it all out! B-boy Kuroi. Playlist:
expressing themselves. Whether a popper, locker, or breaker, people can tell what kind of music or style you like just by the way you dress. Val linked up with founder of Kallusive clothing who not only sponsors this break dancing Queen, but maintains strong ties to the dance community and encourages all dancers to “leave their mark.” Check out the website of Kallusive Clothing. Val describes her Fashion style as hip hop, it’s a life style that incorporates the way you live, what you like to do, and the way you dress. Being comfortable is the main thing Val looks for as far as fresh fits. Loose shirts and jeans are a must. Also, you can’t forget the fresh Pumas, head gear and the earrings she can’t live without. Because “When you look good, you
feel good, and when you feel good you dance good.” Some advice Val would give to new B-boys/B-girls. The most important thing first is to learn the history of breaking and its foundation. Breaking is not easy; it has to be one of the hardest art forms Val has ever learned. Just to master one move can take months or even years to perfect. She loves B-girling because it’s a challenge she’s willing to take. When you’re addicted to the adrenaline rush and the accomplishment of nailing your first windmill, it’s kind of hard to stop. Never give up!! Breaking is 90% mentality 10% skill and if your heart is in the right place it will take you where you want to go. -Karen Capalaran
- Afrika bambaataa &soulsonic force-looking for the perfect beat - The jimmy castor bunch- It’s just begun - ZPYZ feat. Flying steps-let it rain - Brownout- Homenaje - Big Daddy Kane-Set it off How do you pick out a b-boy/b-girl in a crowd of dancers? The Adidas tracksuit, gold chain, bucket hat, or white-t? The way they move on the floor with the fancy footwork? Or is it a combination of both? Fashion has played a huge role in the hip hop world but don’t forget to mention it also plays a huge role in the dance world. Particularly in street wear. The unique color combinations, patterns and fabric catch the eye of many people. The freshest fits a b-boy/b-girl wear determines their identity, as an individual and as a crew. Back in the 80’s it was all about the Adidas shell toes with thick laces, with a nylon track suit. As the years went by the fashion in the breaking world started to change. Today we see a lot of mismatched colors. Fashion as a b-boy/b-girl is all about style. Most importantly how it makes you feel and the type of persona/image you give off. When going into a battle, dressing fresh is a must. People can definitely pick out the dopest b-boys/b-girls by looking at what they are wearing.
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G R O Y A M DINO
GA
such as metal, aluminum, transformers, and robots. I am also music driven. When I’m painting or drawing I usually have music going which shapes how my art is drawn. Most of my art starts off from a sketch. When I have my music playing I like to have a session with my wor; kind of like free styling I find it just like dancing. My inspiration for dancing and art definitely intertwined. For the most part I like to have fun with my work…nothing is too precise.”
On a random Thursday afternoon the 5th Element crew stepped into the vibrant world of Dino Mayorga. We were expecting just a quick Q and A session but little did we know we ended up getting a thorough history lesson in Hip Hop culture from the Orange County area. Dino Mayorga is an original freestyler and artist inspired by graffiti art and has flourished his work throughout the underworld of Cali. His art is heavily influenced by graffiti and on the movement of music. Hs work can be seen worn by people in the dance community all around California. As we stepped into his workspace the first thing I noticed was the abundance of colors his work all around the room by the canvases of his work displayed amongst the empty space of the room. Shoe boxes filled with 23
deadstock kicks were stacked on the other side of the wall waiting to be painted accompanying other unfinished works. We set up and got the interview rolling. Dino’s influences and inspirations in his art works stretches further than just graffiti and hip hop itself, Dino explains; “There’s hip hop influenced art and then there is graffiti art which inspires me in terms of abstract influences. I am not a graffiti artist but I was around hardcore graffiti artists such as DCV and UTI. A lot of bboys also did graffiti art like Easy Rock from Rock steady crew. Influences between artist and dancers bounce around creating influences everywhere for me. I am also inspired by nature which is weird because it’s two opposite ends of the spectrum. I can find influences in things
Are there any artists out there that inspire you? “I’ve always liked futura. I remember when I was at Bboy Summit 2, he was on a panel and he said something that I probably won’t ever forget. He said ‘My name is Futura and I represent myself’ This stuck out to me because everyone that was there was like ‘Hi I’m from this crew or that crew’ but since he said that it kinda stuck with me. I’ve always liked Futura’s art but other than that I don’t really have too many specifics. For the most part I think everything is cool, hello kitty is cool, design is cool and I think everyone is really dope, I appreciate all art forms.” Wait...Bboy Summit 2? That blew me away because if yall didn’t know, 2011 marks the 17th anniversary for Bboy Summit which in dates the first one all the way back to 1994. We couldn’t help to hold back asking him about his history in the dance scene as some of us are dancers ourselves. “I started in 1982 way before it
got too commercial; one of my first experiences in the scene was a funk jam. My mom’s friend was at a jam. Being there gave me a glimpse of the early dance scene in Socal…Orange County and I just started off from there. During the early 80’s we experienced a big hip hop explosion. Everybody was setting into it. Then in the mid 80’s it was declared played out but we kept on rocking, doing hip hop even when it wasn’t popular.” “We kept it alive in the underground. In the late 80s I was part of a crew called Freestyle Posse here in North O.C. Then a bit later my crew was Hip Hop Function, once again keeping the culture alive. Doing and living hip hop and underground dance music culture.” “Around the late 80’s and early 90’s, my dance styles were influenced by Divine Styler and the Scheme Team; whom I believe influenced the whole world. I believe they are huge contributors in the founding and evolution of freestyle dance.” “I want to make a point that I represent the late 80s early 90s style. That’s my shit.”
“I was also a part of Zulu Nation for a while throughout the early and mid 90’s. Then I co-founded West Coast Rockers in Fullerton with Koolsk!. West Coast Rockers later became Killafornia and Killafornia smacked the whole world.” “I rep myself as a west coast freestyle dancer. Most of my friends went to Hollywood and mainstream but I stayed underground. We all grew up from fullerton; Energetic from Step Up 3D movie, Koolsk! from Rock Steady Crew, they live right down the street. RockSteady Crew, Killafornia, West Coast Rockers all came from this little neighborhood. All have been on stage with Black Eyed Peas, danced for Miley Cirus, won world championships and it all stems from Orange County.” “The style of dancing that had been developed here and I helped pioneer definitely impacted the whole world. Most of the big dance competition winners recently are from Southern California and some how in some way or another they have been connected to this underground scene.” “The scene has changed now;
it wasn’t scripted like how it is nowadays.” “I feel as though, history for new young kids now is whatever was going on YouTube two years ago because history from 20 years ago was not presented to them correctly or exposed to them. It almost feels like the history of hip hop is starting to fall through the cracks.” “Everything is so instant now; back in the day we had to experience hip hop or urban fashion or art; you had to physically be there to absorb everything, see it happen before your eyes and be part of the energy. Now everything is on YouTube and just a click away. Despite that it does expose the same content; it is totally different from physically being there and being in the vibe. Experiencing it yourself is how history is made. It’s not about being on YouTube and online all day it’s about feeling it first hand and immersing yourself by being in the mix or contributing into the scene. That is what’s important.” Fashion played a big part in the underground hip hop world. Seeing that Dino not only does his work on canvas but also on jackets and shoes it was obvious that he was well aware of this. I asked for his personal opinion in the influence of art and importance of fashion in the dance scene. “Art, dance and fashion all had each other in common. We needed to set ourselves apart from the rest of society. Back in early 80’s we were unique with our fits. Hat’s tilted to the side, Levis denim, kicks, or baggies and track jackets. There was 24
some basic fashion mixed in with some Hip Hop flavor.” “I remember back in the day we would be followed by security everywhere we went in the malls until we left.” “In the late 80’s we busted out the gold chains, four fingered rings, shaved lines in our hair, cameo cuts, paisley prints and bleached denim. There were a few differences in styles but I do remember always being into kicks.” “There’s lots of style and flavor born out of hip hop fashion and they are always evolving. Many old school styles are resurfacing and being flipped. Bottom line is you just gotta look fresh!” “These movements from different crews were made to distinguish themselves from other crews. Then other groups would get inspired from that and then it starts to blow up becoming a trend; a style. In the end we created a dope movement that ended up inspiring the world.” “It’s funny because before we were looked down upon as rebels and was disgraced by the city. Nowadays the influence in them can be found anywhere, DJs spinnin’ at Metro
Park, Graffiti inspired stores in downtown Disney, even collaborations with Mickey Mouse by major graffiti artist. This underground culture has become something that is now accepted by the public compared to prior years when they were frowned upon back in the 80s.” What are your thoughts on current fashion? “Right now there are a lot of carbon copies of everyone out there. Some labels out there are like just throwing prints out but some are actually doing design and getting more creative. Actually learning about fashion design is what makes a difference in fashion nowadays.” Being that he does custom works on clothes we asked about his views on brands collaborating with other artist that would have been looked down upon back in the day and what projects he has done in the past. Dino has collaborated and had his art showcased with other brands such as Puma, Globe, Nike SB, Shoeture, and even at a Nordstrom’s customer rewards events.
“Collaborations with big companies give good exposure to the artist and usually at the end it works out for the both of them. Before when I was younger we would have that mentality that we would like to stay underground and keep our uniqueness to ourselves. Nowadays we don’t have that mentality anymore. I see it as the more exposure the better.” “As for collaborations I have done in the past, I have worked with many companies. I got the chance to be sponsored by Element Skateboards and did a few t-shirt designs and catalogs and worked on their Power to the Planet campaign.” “I also was invited to do live sneaker art with Toms shoes and Active Ride Shop’s campaign called I AM ONE OF. The campaign’s direction was to give a pair of Toms to those in need for every pair sold. The total goal of this campaign was to sell 10,000 pairs of Toms by the end of 2010, we ended up smashing that goal with over 16000 pairs sold and counting. I’m most definitely a fan of fashion with a cause. These kinda things I’m into and always down to do.” “One of the crazier events I have done was probably for Hugo Boss. I was asked to paint up two 8x8 foot canvases for Hugo during fashion week. Honestly I wasn’t too happy with my results but that didn’t matter too much because it was for Hugo Boss and that right there meant a lot.” “I’m very diverse in terms of collaborations. I don’t limit my-
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self to specifics and I never really blow up my collaborations. Overall I’m down to collaborate anytime just as long as I feel in alignment with whatever that project is” “I like having projects such as being able to custom paint about 20 pairs of shoes in one day at a Nordstrom and having people come home with little pieces of my art, something like that is cool.” “I don’t get too personal with my art where I feel like it’s so so precious that I can’t let it go” “If some kid really digs my stuff I will do something for em and if it’s like some big apparel company that digs my stuff and wants to drop a check I would be like cool, I’ll do that too. I like being able to go into all of these different directions and still be myself; In the end what all really matters is that I have fun doing it”
these inner cities and music, sound, look, fashion, everything started from the underground whether it’s from NY, LA or SF. “Back in the days I had that mentality where I had to keep the underground scene pure and keep it to ourselves but eventually I came to realize that it makes no sense to own something like that” “Nowadays it doesn’t make sense to stay underground. When I teach dance classes I actually encourage people to blow up and get main stream. You gotta show the world what you got.” “An example of someone who went main stream from the underground was Do-knock. I remember when I used to judge Bboy competitions back in the day; it was always enjoyable seeing the fire in him when around the early 2000s. Do Knock eventually took those steps and made it big.”
You mention a lot about being underground: what intrigues you to stay that way? “My focus has been about the purity of the underground scene but now even the underground scene is over ground.” “But going back to the roots,
After being enriched by his firsthand experience in the hiphop culture it was about time to wrap up the interview. I asked Dino to give any upcoming and aspiring artist for his words of advice; this is what he said.
“Be genuiune and authentic. Be real. It all starts from love. Love what you do no matter what. Whether you’re making money or not making money you just gotta love what you do. You gotta keep doing what you love doing. The next step is to develop it. develop your gift and craft and after that you also gotta know how to communicate to the world whether you want to go into anything. Get a grasp of the business side of the art and learn how to make a career at what your doing but honestly 90% of it is love. When I go out to do stuff I never go out with the intention of making money. It’s true that money comes out of it but my motive was to just be creative and do what he does. From that people can respond and read to that. People can read whose real just by vibeing it out whether it’s pointing out whose doing it for money or who’s a fake that’s just fronting. If you’re doing what you love doing, people will love you back. I personally have gotten so much love over the past 10 years that it’s overwhelming. So many companies offer me free art supplies and gear just so I can continue what I love to do.” 26
CONCRETE CANVAS
The most ingenious and unique aspect about street graffiti lies in how it is created and displayed in public. Unlike an art gallery where only the select few and interested see, by having a piece tagged up on a wall or a freeway overpass everyone sees it whether they want to or not. It is graffiti that makes this City of Los Angeles lively for what it is. It is what makes my drive down the 405 or the 10 interesting and it is what gives old torn down buildings color. It is the urban art form that represents the rebels of society.
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When the word ‘graffiti’ comes to mind, the Law and the general population usually pictures a destruction of public and private property. Though this may have some hint of truth to it; hate it or love it, call it whatever you will but graffiti is a form of art. It is the way some artist express themselves to the public.
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PEEP THIS Posted on the corner of La Palma and Beach in the City of Buena Park California is a secret treasure chest filled with a plethora of streetwear brands only known to the select few fresh kids of society. Modeled after its name, The Attic is a place where you can find exclusive gear ranging from Graphic Print shirts, cut and sew products, and freshly laced kicks. Never would you think that right beside Camp Snoopy there would be such a place. The concept of The Attic came to fruition in 2006 with the genius idea of bringing a streetwear store more South of Los Angeles versus opening one up at the “go to” streetwear district, Melorse and Fairfax. Originally, the Attic was going to house only shoes but with their impressive 8000 square feet of space, they decided to add on clothing as well. Throughout the years, Attic has gained much respect as a retailer and is now carrying some of the top streetwear accounts in their store. A big factor that seems to set The Attic apart from most stores in its genre is their customer service and welcoming
atmosphere. Justin Ignacio, Attic’s Store Manager said in our interview with them, “We don’t want to be the Cool Kids that act like Douche Bags but we want to be those Cool Kids that let you into the circle” that seems to be the perfect example of how the store makes you feel as soon as you walk in.
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We don’t want to be the Cool Kids that act like Douche Bags, but we want to be those Cool Kids that let you into the circle
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Besides the great customer service the aesthetics of the store itself is a sight to see. Like I said in the beginning, The Attic is modeled after its name and it gives you a feel of someone’s attic, a place where hidden treasures and surprises are kept and stored for safe keeping. As you walk in the store, the first thing you notice is this conveyer belt display of kicks, freshly laced and rotating for your pleasure.
Then once your eyes can ease away from that display you turn to the left and see an amazing collection of Supras, Nikes, Creatives and even more shoes displayed on a wood panel in resemblance of an attic wall. As you walk around the store you start to notice the paint cracking revealing brick walls and around the store you see a majority of the fixtures are made out of wood to look like old storage cabinets or shelves. As you move further back there is a lounge area where most of the store events happen. It also is a good place for you to relax if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the exclusive brands the store has to offer. With all that said I am sure by now you all want to check this place out in person if you have not already done so. The Attic also has a location in San Diego California and for all of you out there that aren’t from the area check out their online store. Go and visit www.attic2zoo. com for all the latest in streetwear fashion and lifestyle. -Nino Llanera 32
TICK TOCK
K YOU DONT STOP AN INTERVIEW WITH TIMELESS BRAND
Kollaboration and the different events Timeless is involved in. One entertainer that the Brand has a strong connection with is local emcee, Dumbfoundead.
Timeless Brand is a t-shirt company, a 5-man operation and a labor of love. Run by a group of entrepreneurial 20-somethings, we sat down and talked about the Brand, its beginnings, musical affiliations and ties within the community. A cool evening in November, The 5th Element crew and I stroll up to Café MAK in Los Angeles’ Koreatown. Looks are definitely deceiving when it comes to this tea spot. Exterior gives off a humble, and presumably tiny perception of the café. Stepping in, you’re greeted by a run of the mill deli case with a couple pastries scattered within and few friendly faces. Walking down, you quickly see the café is as long as a train car, with walls and partitions separating seating areas, labyrinth style. Paintings on the walls, house-plants, smooth music and rich wooden furniture make you feel like you’re in someone’s home office. We settle down at an 8-person dining table and prepare for the ‘view. We met with 3 of the boys behind the Brand. First to arrive is Jacob, back-pack clad, fresh 35
out of class. He is the marketing maven, the man in charge of the blog and everything online. Sang and Daniel come thru a few minutes later, difficult to miss, donning Timeless t-shirts. Daniel is the muscle of the team, the t-shirt printer and handler, and investor for the Brand. Sang is the founder, the director, the one who runs the show. It was good to see the guys, after meeting with them at World Of Dance San Diego at the end of August. After a few daps and hugs, we start talking Timeless Brand. This young operation has been running for about 2 years, but if you’re counting by seasons, it would be more like half a year. As an entity, Jacob describes the company as a communityfocused brand. They sponsor many non-profit events, not only to get Timeless’ name out there, but to also help other organizations. “It always starts with the community before we go anywhere else.” Jacob is also a staff member for a non-profit organization called Kollaboration, an entertainment production, showcasing local talent. A lot of relationships are built thru
Dumbfoundead is a Koreatown rapper, infamous for his battle rapping style and an alumni from the underground open-mic establishment, Project Blowed. Sang shares that the relationship with DFD started a few years back. He describes Koreatown as a bubble, where everyone knows each other and when Dumb was in a group called Jeet Kune Flow, they performed at one of the first Kollaboration shows. The connection between the Timeless crew and Dumbfoundead strengthened when the rapper began doing Grindtime; a hip hop media company emphasizing one on one emcee battles. It was also around that time, that Timeless started printing their first-shirts. Timeless Brand is open to helping out any organization. All it takes is a request and they are more than willing to sponsor. Interestingly, the Brand just sponsored a jerking crew from
South Central LA called the Fantastic LOL Kids. The team is currently working with a group of artists called FlowEthics, and have currently sponsored Float On, a mixtape from Los Angeles emcee, Furis. During their two-year journey, this young company is not void of obstacles on the path to success. Daniel talks about one of the more stressful aspects of starting a clothing brand: printing. Each and every Timeless Brand shirt is hand printed by Daniel himself. He obtains the screens and paint and goes to work at the shop. It can get especially difficult when the orders exceed over 100 pieces. There is often some trial and error, so time and cost management can be an issue. There is also adversity in trying to make a name for themselves. Sang states that they don’t want to blow up too quickly. Leaving room for improvement is the goal and it will also keep their prices low. In the beginning, some consumers demanded more colors from the Brand, as the first designs were mono-
tone. Strategically using only one color per design, the team stood strong against the pressure and took a gradual route of growth. As Sang states, “If you start with too many colors in the beginning, how are you gonna show people, within two years, what have you done? It’s gonna be the same. There’s no progress.” Progress. The Brand has been around for 2 years now and we were curious to know where the guys see the Brand in 5. Modestly, they want to see their shirts in stores like The Attic, smaller boutique stores and to possibly open up a store front somewhere in the Fairfax district of LA. Aspirations of showing their product at Magic Show in Las Vegas and Agenda in southern California are also on their to-do list. Between now and then, they plan on putting out more than just t-shirts. Next in line will be Timeless sweaters and snap-backs caps. With a strong team and a winning mindset, the future is promising for these young businessmen. When talking about the inspiration behind their t-shirt designs, Sang states, “Our inspiration comes from our name--Timeless. Art is Timeless, and art is many things..” Here’s to being inspired everyday. You can currently find Timeless Brand T-shirts online at TimelessBrand.net and in two stores, Collective Skate Shop and Foreign Family. -Lindsey L. 36
DOPE OR NOPE Trends always seem to come and go. Some stay and are categorized as being “classic” or a “basic necessity,” but some just over stay their welcome. So in this section of the Magazine we would like to connect with you, the reader, and see what you think of some current trends. Head over to www.the5thelementmag.com and deem the trend DOPE or NOPE and we will get the results up on the site and in the next issue. So here we go...Ladies Made into a popular trend in the late 80’s and early 90’s by no other than M.C. Hammer, Harem Pants have evolved into something more tamer and ready to wear. Below we see Kelis rocking the Harem Pants in 2008 and in 2010 with a more over the top version we have Nicki Minaj ready to work it out on stage on The Late Show with David Letterman.
Photo Source: TheYBF.com
Photo By: Matthew Suarez (Mantigas)
Photo Source: www.hiphopn.com
Photo Source: Itsthoseguys.wordpress.com
DOPE? or NOPE? Fellahs: The evolution of the Jesus Piece as an accessory for rappers has went from Gold and Platinum Pieces to Elaborate Diamond Studded Pieces to now the Popular Wooden Piece. On the right we have Mr. Notorious B.I.G. reppin the GOLD Piece and below him we have Mr. West accessorizing the clean Wooden Piece. 37
Fresh Line-up and that perfect fit, I love those days when I’m feeling extra confident from head to toe. Everyone has these days; some more than others, but that is why we are here to help! Here in this section both the Ladies and the Fellas can find some great examples of outfits that are currently treading the waters in the Urban Streetwear Community. Check out the latest in full outfit examples to get an idea of what you might want to rock this season. Fellas: This winter you can never go wrong with rocking a Knit Henley, paired with some classic Fit Pants and Layered with a Birmigham zip Jacket. Accompanied by some dope high tops and topped off with a knit beanie to keep you warm.
Top: The Wrecking Troop Henley by LRG 54.00
Bottom: The Korey Classic Fit By Orisue 70.00
HEAD TO TOE fortable and not slip in the rain or snow.
Outerwear: The Birmigham Jacket by KREW 82.00
The Eye Alert Top by OBEY 44.00
Accessory: The Alpaca Beanie by Beta Unit 36.00
Shoes: The Higrise Sneaker by Adidas 80.00
Bottom: The Tight Fleather Mix by Cheat Monday 65.00 Outerwear:
Ladies: Get ready to rock that casual chic look this winter. Let’s start with a casual Vintage style scoop neck; then let’s add a five pocket skinny jean with some faux leather detail to add to the chic; Layered with a Long sleeve Boyfriend Blazer; Accessorized with a Large Pyramid Stlyle ring; And to finish it off let’s put away the heels and lace up the studded flats so you can be com-
The Hector Blazer by BB Dakota 76.00 38
PETER ROCKS
& MY NINJA
Hip Hop, more than just a genre of music, a form of dance, and a sense of style, it all fuses together to create one big picture, a LIFESTYLE. There are people out there who enjoy bits and pieces that Hip Hop has to offer, but there are others who live and breathe it. From rocking the keys, being politically correct, creating beats, and conceptualizing a brand, Peter Hong, better known as Peter Rocks to the industry is a prime example of someone living the Lifestyle.
Peter, who believe it or not once dabbled in politics after graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles is a Multi talented Musician, Producer, and the Founder and owner of My Ninja Clothing. Peter exudes all the elements that Hip Hop’s foundation is based on. His connection to Emcee’s has spun off from producing and mixing music for numerous artist including Pigeon John and Flynn Adam who have created a new group to watch out for called Rootbeer. Alongside with Music Peter is a master at mixing it up on the ones and twos and spinning that old school feel good hip hop which he credits his sister for introducing to him when he was younger. More recently you can see Peter’s company, My Ninja Clothing being rocked by some of the top Dancers and Musical Artist in the industry today. B-girl Shorty of the Beatfreaks graced the My Ninja ads with some amazing shots for one of their earlier ad campaigns. You can also see rising artists Fareast Movement rocking the My Ninja Tees as Sponsors of the brand. I have had the pleasure of interviewing Peter when he was vending at the World of Dance Los Angeles in 2008 and since then I have witnessed the growth and expansion of his company. From the beginning stages of planning out the Magazine we here at The 5th element have been contemplating on Cover Stories for our first issue. We were looking for a story that would exemplify the message behind our Magazine so we thought who better to do a feature on then Mr. Rocks himself. As the team and I made our way to the My Ninja offices located in the Spring Tower Lofts in Downtown Los Angeles I was trying to remember the previous interviews I have done with Peter and what I 41
wanted to convey from this particular feature. I realized that most of my previous questions have geared towards just scratching the surface of who Peter Rocks was and what his company was generally about. So this time I wanted to dig deeper and find out more about Peter as Boss, Mentor and Creative Mind and see where My Ninja is heading towards in the near future. The excitement built as we parked and gathered our equipment and headed up to the My Ninja Office. We were greeted by Peter and his staff who had no idea that we had such a detailed shoot planned and ready to be executed. After the glitz and glam of shooting the Photos Sets for the Article and Shooting a quick interview with Peter for our web teasers we sat down with Peter and some of his staff to talk more about the Brand and Company. At the table we had one of Peter’s Graphic Designer’s David Lazarro, and two of his interns Stephanie Song and Jennifer Kim. The atmosphere was relaxed and calm and it set the tone for the interview. I opened up the interview with a question about the Trade show MAGIC that My Ninja showcased at in Las Vegas just a few months back and how they thought it went. As Peter spoke about the event and the success with building accounts with a store in Switzerland and Canada I noticed his humbleness towards his success which feeds off on to his staff as they began speaking as well. Stephanie spoke up first and shared some thoughts on her experience at Magic. As she spoke she mentioned that “My Ninja speaks for itself” which is very true to how My Ninja is branded. With a strong Missions Statement reading, “My Ninja! will never be a shirt, nor a design, but a statement
that allows individuals to connect on the constant cultural blending our generation faces.” it clearly shows you that the brand is more than just a T-shirt or Fashion company it’s almost an entity which helps Peter reach the masses to educate them on cultural awareness. Peter later on talked about hip hop back in the 80’s and 90’s and spoke about how he wanted to convey the same thoughts of social consciousness that artist back then had with their music but this time on clothing. Jennifer Kim was next to speak up and she spoke about the knowledge she has gained while interning with the company. She mentions the warm atmosphere with the My Ninja and how everyone is willing to teach and is so passionate about the brand and its concept. David Lazaro then speaks about the ease of working with a smaller company like My Ninja because all the fruits and labor put into the project is brought to fruition in a more timely manner versus working with a larger company that might be handling multiple projects which you may never see come to play. David also mentions not only do projects move along quicker but you work hands on with it every step of the way which makes it even more special when the product debuts. As the interview continued it’s clear to see that Peter’s way of leading his staff contributes to the growing success of My Ninja and every project he puts his creative and business savvy mind to. 2011 is set to be a big year for My Ninja. They are in works of launching their cut and sew line and debuting more special project lines within the year. With support from the industry and his peers Peter and My Ninja Clothing are set up and aimed for even more success in the years to come. -Nino Llanera
My Ninja! will never be a shirt, nor a design, but a statement that allows individuals to connect on the constant cultural blending our generation faces.
CREDIT MC // Lindsey Linayao DJ // Marc Mangapit BGirl // Karen Capalaran Graffiti // Alvin Dharmawan Fashion // Nino Llanera Design // Phillip Cendana SOURCES Beatsbydre.com Bauergriffinonline.com Gearlive.com Highsnobiety.com Hypebeast.com Karmaloop.com Live.drjays.com Urb.com Wesc.com Youtube.com SPECIAL THANKS MC // Trek Life DJ // DJ Wrex BGirl // Val Pal Graffiti // Dino Mayorga Fashion // The Attic Fashion // Jacob, Sang, Daniel, Justin, & Paul of Timeless Brand Fashion // My Ninja Photos & Videos // DC Visions // Don Cunanan & Ryan Domigpe Photos // Arjay Jalmaani SOCIAL NETWORKS Website // the5thelementmag.com Facebook // http://tinyurl.com/4ul7zkg Twitter // @the5thelmntmag Tumblr // http://the5thelementmag.tumblr.com
MEET THE CREW With an aesthetic sense of direction for creative media and culture, Nino has worked with Media Groups BakitWhy.com and WorldofDance.com and Fashion companies H&M and Gap Inc. On an off day you can catch Nino at your local dance studio or on the net perusing the web for up and coming trends surfacing from the underground. Style: Sophisticated, Clean, Street By day, Marc’s just your ordinary medical biller. By night, you can find him at your local bar or lounge, researching of course. Hip hop music and culture have influenced him since the fresh prince of bel air days.
Style: Independent, Street, Uninhibited, Hip Karen has a taste for a wide variety of music and will dance to anything with a good beat. She uses music and dance as a creative outlet to inspire and motivate others. She has been a huge fan of the break dancing community and is willing to learn all of what the creative world has to offer. Style: Simple, Comfortable, and just plain me Alvin is a full time student majoring in Business and communications. He is a long time streetwear and sneaker enthusiast and has been in the game before the hype. He has a strong passion for dance and cars and has found a new creative outlet for photography. Style: Fresh Kicks, Streetwear, Layers Lindsey is a California girl with a universal interest in the arts, Lindsey has been drawing, dancing and loving hip hop since elementary school. Over years of cultural influence, she has developed a discerning ear and a sharp eye for what’s good in music and fashion. Journalism is the medium she chooses to express her artistic observations. Style: Feminine, Casual, Fun Phillip has been drawing and designing since he was a kid. In the near future he plans on opening his own business. When he’s not designing, he loves to travel, cook and learn photography. Phillip’s favorite brands right now include Nike, Crooks, 10 Deep, Creative Recreation, and Acrylick. He is a huge fan of basketball, arts and sneakers. Style: Bold, Graphic, Clean