AND THEN THERE WAS NO LIMIT by Level 21 Magazine

IMPORTS CAR MAGAZINE JULY 2021

NEW FEATURES NEW MODELS

M USIC

EDITION 21

T h i s i s a 2 p ar t m u si c ed i t i on . Back t o back Sep t em ber + O ct ober 20 21 Ft . D u t ch ess O f I n k Ju st For You !

C asi n o P.

D o m i n i c Fi k e

Beau t y

Cover St or y N o L i m i t L ar r y

Stylist- JT's Kloset ( Jerry Thompson) Photographer : Laurence Logan Wardrobe: Ralph Lauren

" You can have anything you want in life if you dress for it. - Edith Head

NEW MUSIC Written By Madison Stone

You Gotta Meet Casino P. Charlotte rapper Casino P is fresh in the Carolina music scene. He?s released several singles since his debut as a serious artist in 2019, all of which have garnered him respect in the industry. His smooth, grungy style is showcased in both his music and fashion? he?s gearing up to release merch soon? and is inspired by Charlotte and the hip-hop greats the city has produced throughout the years. With an impressive number of accomplishments already under his belt and the promise of more to come, Casino P is certainly worth keeping an eye on as he climbs the ranks of Charlotte rap.

Last week, Casino spoke with Level21 about his inspirations, progress, goals, and future plans? but first, what about his unique name? Turns out, Casino P is short for Casino Prince, which the rapper told us was inspired by decades of family history. ?My grandfather and my dad both worked in the casino hotel industry for, like, a combination of 80 years,? he said. ?My grandfather moved from North Carolina to Atlantic City, NJ, and worked in the casino industry at Bally's for about 50 years. My dad worked in a couple of different spots about 30 years. ?I just looked at myself? at the lessons they taught me. I see myself as the prince, third generation. So, I came up with the name Casino P.? Casino wasn?t just inspired by his dad and grandfather. His affinity for music came both from his mom and being raised a typical Charlotte kid. As he grew up in the city, he said that ?[music] was always around me. My mom was a dancer, and she was in this dance troupe,

, and I used to play the drums for them as a kid.? From then, it was a natural progression: ?That led me to saxophone, clarinet, and singing, and then rapping just kind of came through the development of all of that? just being a kid and living life. Growing up down South? you?re always gonna be around [music].? Charlotte?s rich history of hip-hop and rap is what gives Casino his own unique style. Drawing from greats such as Anthony Hamilton, Jay Cole, and John Contrane, Casino has successfully created his own sound. ?I always say, growing up in North Carolina, when I looked at how our music comes across, it?s always very soulful,? he said. ?If you dig into the history, you get a lot of soul from North Carolina. When you look at our rap as a whole, it?s very soulful.? When it comes to his own sound, Casino does well to combine the history that inspired him and his own personal tastes? his unique perspective, cool style, and rich culture?into a unique genre he?s appropriately dubbed ?soul rap.? ?I put my soul into the music,? he said, ?and I feel like when you hear it it's gonna communicate and resonate toward yours as well. You?re gonna feel it to a different capacity.? He?s worked hard on creating this unique sound for himself, but he acknowledges this approach might not be the most popular. Casino?s music isn?t like what makes it big on the radio, but that individuality and ability to get around the gimmicky nature of rap is something he?s proud of.

DRIVE IN STYLE This desire to stay true to himself is a noble and ambitious one, and it?s something he learned from watching the successes of others. When we asked him about his inspirations, he didn?t take long to come up with an answer.

?Honestly,? he said, ?I get the most inspiration from Dom Kennedy. I think the reason is because of his lifestyle and how he brands himself. He approaches hip hop in a way where he can just authentically be himself. He doesn't have to put on a persona or sell us an image. It can just be him, and he still gets recognized and respected in the game.? Building on this, Casino expressed his desire to be more than just a great creator of content. ?The music is? ?? he paused here, searching for the right words? "the music still has to be there, but the music is just a part of it. It

I put my soul intothemusic,?hesaid, ?andI feel l ikewhenyouhear it it?s gonnacommunicateandresonate towardyoursaswel l . just makes everything else spread. You have to use it in the right way.? That way, simply put, is to be true to yourself as an artist. Casino explained that the way he creates his music helps keep him from becoming something he?s not. He pulls from his own experiences, creativity, emotions to write, which he said is the easiest way to do it. ?When I have something on my chest and I'm trying to figure out why I feel that way, I just start writing,? he said. ?I might find out why I feel that way, or I feel better just because I released something.? In this way, Casino creates music and lyrics that are personal to himself, giving his work a refreshingly genuine and personal nature that other creators lack. That work includes singles such as the smooth ?Good, Bad & Ugly,? the lyrically driven ?Let the Beat Breathe,? and his newest hit, ?22,? which was retweeted by Phoenix Suns center DeAndre Ayton, whom the song references. Casino is also preparing to drop an official music video for his song ?LB Patch.? The video, which has a teaser out on Casino P?s YouTube channel, is scheduled to come out on September 8. Casino spoke about his excitement for the video, which features things that are close to him personally, saying that he ?was just trying to put a little bit of my culture and my development in the video. We?ve got some Bojangles scenes. We?ve got some homies; we?ve got some Loverboy merch.?

You can find Casino P?s music on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and YouTube. Soundcloud ?HTTPS://SOUNDCLOUD.COM/CASINOP

Read full interview at www.level21mag.com

NEW MUSIC

Written By Sarah Hawkins

Behind The Unlikely Rise of Singer Songwriter Dominic Fike

Dominic Fike is an intriguing and illustrious

stardom began long before his debut

figure whose background nearly eclipses his

extended play album (EP) began charting

immense talent. Long before he was being

internationally.

scouted by record companies Dominic Fike was sitting in a jail cell in Florida. Long before he began recording his debut extended play album (EP): ?Don?t Forget About Me?, he was bound to house arrest. When Dominic Fike was just 21 years old, it seemed as though his life was already over. Back in 2016, Dominic was charged with a house arrest for battery of a police officer. Barely old enough to drink, he was already labeled a felon. Little did he know in just a little over a year, Fike would soon be one of the most intriguing and up-and-coming music artists. Dominic Fike?s chaotic rise to 10

Growing up in Naples, Florida, a city near the Gulf of Mexico, Dominic Fike had a troubled childhood. Both of his parents were in and out of jail, and his music became a form of escapism. Fike acquired his first guitar at the age of ten, and he has been playing nonstop ever since. Growing up, money was always tight. From a young age, Dominic had to provide for himself and his brother. At one point, he was so broke he had to sell his guitar to buy food, and he spent many nights sleeping in dingey hotel rooms.

After he pushed an officer and was charged

Now at 25, Dominic Fike has already been a

with a felony, things only got worse for Fike.

huge success in the music industry, has

Even though Fike swears he assaulted the

collaborated with artists such as Halsey and

officer to protect his brother, who was being

Brockhampton, and has released numerous

pursued by the police. Due to the charge, Fike

chart-topping singles, such as ?Acai Bowl? and

was placed on house arrest--- which ultimately

?Chicken Tenders?. Fike also branched out to the

became a blessing in disguise. Fike had

fashion industry and collaborated with Marc

nothing to do with his time but work on his

Jacobs, producing an exclusive tour hoodie back

music, and it was then that Fike recorded what

in 2019. In August of 2021, it was announced that

became his debut EP, ?Don?t Forget About Me.?

he will be joining the cast of the HBO teen drama

However, after failing a drug test, Fike was sent to jail in 2017. Determined for everyone to hear his music, Fike released the EP behind bars, and it quickly caught the attention of major record companies. After signing a $4 million dollar deal with Columbia Records while still in jail, Fike deleted all his music online, making him ostensibly a ghost. The entire industry waited for the young artist to finish his sentence. Hopefully, he would live up to the massive hype surrounding him.

Euphoria for its second season. Even with this success, Fike remembers his roots. He continues to take care of family and the people who were there for him when he was a struggling artist in Naples. He relishes his ability to do so. ?I eat crazy foods, and I cover people?s rents,? he told the New York Times. ?I take care of people. Never done that? like people have always taken care of me.? Dominic Fike is genuine and doesn?t hide that scrappy kid from Naples. Maybe that?s what continues to make his music so unique and fresh.

Upon rereleasing the EP in 2018, Fike

DRIVE IN STYLE

generated a massive amount of buzz, gaining international interest with hits such as,

?3-Nights? and ?King of Everything.? Fans enjoyed his fresh, genre-bending sound,

fearless and unique like the artist himself.

Fike?s life changed overnight and yet, at the

same time, it hadn?t. While major stars such as DJKhalid were tweeting about him, Fike found himself driving his mother to jail for her two-year prison sentence. He told Complex Magazine, ?Yeah, the day I released the tape, I f* ckin?had to take my mom to jail for two years. So that's what happened that day.? The first thing he did after getting his paycheck from Columbia, was hire a lawyer to help reduce his mother ?s sentence.

AND THEN THERE WAS NO LIMIT Written By Mary Ann Baber

t all started with a fax machine gone wrong at the WPEG radio station. Larry Mims, a young, determined, intern and student at Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU), made his way in the door and instantly earned the reputation for his versatility; he was the only one in the building able to figure out how to get the fax machine working. There really wasn?t any limit on what this guy could or couldn?t do, as they soon would find out.

Fast forward twenty years, and Larry Mims now has thousands of followers, and scores of radio shows. ?No Limit Larry? has built more than just a name for himself in the Queen City and beyond. Our Level21 TV hosts Yamaris and Jerry had the pleasure of sitting down to talk with him to see first hand how NoLimit Larry lives up to his name.

?A lot of people think it came from Master P, which is a small portion of it, but it was because I wanted to learn everything. I was that eager. I was that hungry. Yeah, I knew how to do everything at a radio station,? he said.

One thing is very clear, he maintained no limits to the amount of work he put in, he knew that?s what it would take to have a successful media career. Every person he

came across along the way could see his unique work ethic, and it paid off. His professor and mentor Dr. Spellman at Johnson C. Smith University, his first boss at WPEG (Nate Quick), and the supervisors who tapped him to take over the morning show in 2004, all saw his potential.

It wasn?t long before the Morning Maddhouse on Power 98 FM was born, and Larry took his unique, raspy voice and lovable radio personality to the next level. What about today? Not a single thing has changed.

?No Limit Larry? explained, ?I mean, you have to set personal goals. So when I first got into radio [it was] as an intern, and then I got on weekends...next, [my] goal was full time. A[fter] full time, [I] was like, okay, well, let me get my own show. After my own show, I was like, let me take my own show to number one. Let me consistently be number one. Then after that it became community goals. Let me go out here and see where I can fit myself in a community to help out where I know where I come from.?

It was also clear that this man has no limit in his love for the Charlotte community, spending the majority of his time there. ?North Charlotte born and raised! Two thumbs up, North Charlotte, ALL DAY!? he laughed.

THE L I FE OF NO L I M I T L ARRY

St ylist - JT's Kloset ( Jer r y Th om pson ) Ph ot ogr aph er : M ich ael Lopez Bon d War dr obe: Zu ew ay -w w w.zeu w ay.com

Con t in u ed.. The East Mecklenburg high school grad visits schools across the valley making fun morning announcements. He started an organization to care for kids of murdered parents, and he is currently the VP of Block Love Charlotte, a group dedicated to helping people who have fallen into hard times and ended up in the homeless community.

" I LOVECHARLOTTE. THIsis my home."

?My mentor actually always worked with the homeless, and I said if I ever get a way to honor him and work with that type of organization, then I would. And the opportunity came about,? he explained. ?I love Charlotte. This is my home.?

Wherever he goes he?s connecting with people. The moment ?No Limit Larry? walked onto the Level21 set, his infectious personality and down-to-earth vibe had the whole crew

?[DaBaby] is just a real one. He remembers us

laughing. After all of these years of notoriety

coming out to his shows when he wasn?t known

and interviews with anyone and everyone from

like that, and we just always support him. Man,

TI to DaBaby, he still has n o lim it to being real.

we support a lot of local artists,? Larry said. ?He

He knows who he is. He loves who he is, and the

built himself, and he took a lot of chances.?

people love him for it. We could go on for days about the limitless, Who?s his favorite fashion designer? Well it

loving, and caring family man Larry Mims is, but

depends on how he?s feeling that day. ?You

you?re going to have to catch it for yourself on

might see me one day with some basketball

our Level21 TV Exclusive.

shorts and crocs on. I tell people all the time, if I ever made it to a point where I'm making

We give him a 10 out of 10 and recommend all

millions, I would never buy Armani, Gucci and all

to follow his hot takes and engaging content on

that. I?ve never been that person. I go to a store

Twitter and Instagram, @IamNoLimitLarry. Make

and put something on, and it?ll look just as good

sure to tune in to our very own CEO on the Let

as somebody with Gucci or Louis Vuiton. I

Me Talk Podcast hosted by the king of radio

mean, [and] like I say, ?do what you do?, that's

himself, ?No Limit Larry.?

just me.? You can also catch him every single weekday Celebrities like DaBaby keep it real with Larry

from 5:50 AM to 10 AM EST on the

too, and he has n o lim it on his support for

award-winning Morning Maddhouse for positive

homegrown artists like himself. In the early days

vibes, real talk, fresh energy, and so much more

when DaBaby was on the come up, ?No Limit

becau se t h e lim it does NOT exist with ?No

Larry? was there. He watched and covered the

Lim it Lar r y.?

hustle.

St ylist - JT's Kloset ( Jer r y Th om pson ) Ph ot ogr aph er : Lau r en ce Logan War dr obe: Zu ew ay -w w w.zeu w ay.com Jack et :M ach in e 56- Pat r ick - Leon

TREND

ON TREND NEON FOR FALL???

ON TREND YES PLEASE

GO AHEAD....

Wear the gown..

" One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. -Bob Marley