Archive for the ‘Innerviews’ Category

Hah! Slicker than your average…

Check out this innerview with Hawaii’s own, SLICK! Then go on the internet and read other interviews, cuz i will be releasing the question (Slick made it up not me) on Monday, first person to PM me on the forums and get it right gets the prize pack.  Shoots spock ‘em.

Whats your fondest memory of getting up in Hawaii?
The aiea water tank was our spot. It was sick and we could just kick back smoke a fatty and paint, no pressure, no cops, just an occasional lost hiker or pakalolo farmer

How many different names did you have be for you settled with SLICK?
That was it Slick. I actually detest the letters. I chose it for the sound and that it rhymed with Rick. Not for the letters. That’s y I don’t piece it as much as I should have. It starts off all dope with a sick “S” but after the “L” I loose interest all ready so imagine what I feel like by the time I’m fillin in the “K”. Maybe it’s time a write something else……..nah.

One writer from Hawaii that should of or could of been major if they made the move to the mainland?
The Granady’s from Foot Rock always had flavor, graff and B boying in general. That kid SNO had flavor too.

One place on the mainland that makes you feel like your back in Hawaii?
Ho’olau’lea Hawaiian Festival (Alondra Park)

Dopest east coast writer? why?
It’s hard for me too comment on shit I really don’t know too much about….I’m sure there’s hella sick writers from out der….dats where it was born….the mecca

Dopest European writer? why?
It’s hard for me too comment on shit I really don’t know too much about….I’m sure there’s hella sick writers from out der….they have a way of taking other peoples styles, perfecting it and smashing but on a super large scale, graff is embraced out der unlike how it iz still perceived out here

Strangest person you ever had a conversation with?
I dunno if he’s the strangest but I’ts always intersting talking to Joey Phantom…..he’s just on some other plateau that I hadn’t got too yet.

The most common question you always get from people that met you for the first time?
You da guy that battled Hex? hahahahhahaa

Hardest thing about owning a clothing company?
Deciding what tee shirt for wear that day.

Name one job that doesn’t get any respect and people should give it props?
My film separator. Without him, my shit wouldn’t pop on the tees.

Shout outs?
BOMB SQUAD, Hi. Div.!!!!!!!!!!!!! And all the otha writerz keeping the art form alive and kickin……………

www.dissizit.com

Imua

For the second year i was asked to speak at the Kamehameha High School business class.  Last year i went solo and loved it.  This year i decided to give the Hawaiians a taste of Race.  One of the founders of Contrast Magazine and a owner of Olde Ivory.  Also a graduate of Kamehameha.  There was so much to cover in 50 minutes that i don’t know if i sounded like Chip-Fu the whole time.  Bottom line i hope that the kids felt inspired and motivated.

The new new koncept.

The first time i heard of Newkon was thru my homies KOAK & Shaun Castro, they just finished painting Hypersquad in Waipio or it could of been in Waipahu.  I was like “hypersquad brah that place is wack”.  I only said that because i based all of my experiences with “Hip-hop” dance companies as the same; a bunch of femme dudes and spandex chicks dancing like N’sync and knowing nothing about Hip-Hop culture. After getting to know Newkon and his brother Josh, i got to realize that they are some cool cats that respect the Hip-Hop culture and teach that in their company.

New, recently got blessed with an opportunity that most would dream of and is moving to L.A. to pursue that dream.  Zipped a few questions his way to pick his brain before he jets.

1.  How has your life changed in the past 5 years? 5 years ago i wasn’t really drawing, painting or anything like that.  I mean I always drew but never put myself out there until about 3-4 years ago.  Now about to live the dream and try and take it to the next level as i move to LA.

2. You started late in the game in terms of Art/Graffiti/Artshows etc. Who were your initial influences? Graffiti influences? Look and Biest were the first heads to take me out and showed me the ropes. As far as influences… Too many to name but off my head it would have to be Katch, Mean, KOAK, Asalt, Oz, Scribe and my all time favorite Quest.

3. How did the Kallusive thing pop off? Hmmm… Straight luck! I mean it was all by chance that they came across my work. I was actually surprised they liked it, especially coming from LA, land of the heavy hitters. I think it came down to determination and the willing to put myself out there.

4. Whats going to happen to Hypersquad? Josh is whats gonna happen. Hypersquad is all his now and he and his girlfriend will continue taking it to the next level. Think about it, if your not old school and you say Hypersquad, people say Josh Ulep! Josh surpassed me a long time ago. Hypersquad is in good hands.

5. What is your vision for NewKoncept/Newkon the brand?
My vision is to put a newkoncept out there. Something that when you see it from a distance, there’s no question it’s Newkon. The formula is there, I guess you wait till it hits stores in January lol.

6. What is the best way to say NO to a hot sexy dancer chick wanting to ravage your body? You don’t! You say YES!!!

7. Final shouts, props, and stuff? Big up’s to my two crews DC4 and PFOM, Alex, Michael and the Kallusive fam, Hypersquad/The Hype, Spiffy Media and all of Hawaii! And of course… LIGHTSLEEPERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

www.newkoncept.com

Eukarest! Innerview.

I met Eukarezt i think in 1999, when Heaven Bound – Joel, Orly, and Euk,  based out of San Jose came to Hawaii to flex their street smArts and their mic skill.  Since them all the the crew members branched out on various endevours.  Hear is our 5 questions with the homie.

For those that never heard or seen you? explain who you are and how you came to be?
My names Eugene (Eukarezt) Kristofher.  My grandmother ( Lola), that was always there would get my attention by drawing certain things like He-Man, Bruce Lee and Elephants. My cousin collected comics which he would not let me look at.  I begged him if he would just explain how the characters look. This plead for curiosity exercised my imagination which helped me to create characters from my mind. Other than that everybody in my life inspires me.

Favorite colors and why?
My favorite color is Flat black. Its neutral color that matches with everything. It’s also pretty tough.

What is one of your pet peeves? and why?
My pet peeve would be trying to fix my bed daily. I think if my mind is clear and organized in private. When I’m in public I will have a clear and concise mind.

Name an artists – art and musical, that you would like to work with?
I would love to work with Os Gemeos from Brazil, Shige from Japan and Analog tattoo in the Bay area. I can learn a lot from all of these people.

How did you get down with the 7th Letter?
It was a miracle to get hooked up wth T7L. Favor from God.

www.eukarezt.com

Jason Markk in views.

In a tough economic time its a must to keep dem kicks sparkling. So before you grab that carpet cleaner or windex, check out the homie JASON MARKK. Im’ a show and prove guy, so i copped a bottle at IN4 a while back and used the product myself. Bling, bling, fresh and clean. If you don’t believe me check out WWW.JASONMARKK.COM can i get a witness! I bothered JM with 5 questions and held him by water gun to offer Flat rate $10 shipping to Hawaii. Consider me 2 for 2.

What was the drive to create a superior shoe cleaning product?
The fact that there wasn’t a product out there that you could truly trust to effectively and safely clean your kicks. Sure there were the generic store-bought cleaners (aerosol cans with the plastic bristles/cap ), but I know a lot of heads (including myself) didn’t really trust that stuff.
And of course there are several home remedies, but all pose a risk because for the most part they involve using home cleaning products or products that weren’t meant for cleaning sneakers. JM was designed from the ground up with SNEAKERS specifically in mind. It’s effective and completely safe (98.3& natural and biodegradable). Trust me, it works!!!

Is Jason Markk a full time gig or do you have a side job? freelance design?
Full time.

What is your “go to kicks” the “daily driver”, you know the one pair of shoe that you can rock to work, a meeting, to the mall?
I would have to say my AM90 Current’s…madd comfy! Lately, I’ve been rockin’ my Vans Era’s – keepin’ it classic for the Summer!

What is the strangest or weirdest thing that has gotten clean by your product?
I got an email from this super upscale restaurant saying they use JM to clean their interior decorative panels and drapes.

What are some future colabs or things you working on?
We’ve got a couple of brands we’re in talks with right now, but still too early to speak on. We’re also working on expanding the product line and just continuing to grow the brand. Thanks for the support Kavet! And next time I’m in the 808, I’m holding you to that Romy’s plate!! Damn I miss Hawaii. PEACE!!!

KTC and TKO

Well, i got up in there. Contrast did a little ditty on myself. It is always fun to get a little press to push – the music, gear, Hawaii Hip-Hop, and events.  Mahalo Contrast, but i rather be on the opposite end of the lens.  Props to Bats and RacerOner!

So i was watching Fresco vs. Illusion Z and i knew Illusion Z looked like someone i knew but i couldn’t place the face. Anyway. TKO aka Porto Sausage Fest aka Make Jackson, makes his acting debut on a Showdown in Chinatown short.  Good to see the homies expand the talents. So make sure u watch it at lest 20 times to get the youtube hits up.  Property to TKO, can’t wait for GT Hawaii.

Welcome: Eardrumz to the Ohana!

I first heard of Eardrumz from his production he did for his crew DIRTY SCIENTIFIX.  This is the same crew that boasts the lyricals of ORB (Circle of Fire & Soul Shifters).  Small world because the homie E.T. (Todd) and Timer are also in the same crew as Orb.  Sentric, hooked up with Eardrumz thru Orb and started rocking shows, eventually forming ELEVATOR PATIENCE.  Any homie of Sentric, Orb, ET, & Timer is now a part of the fam!  Welcome!

Name: Eardrumz the Metrognome
Age: Ain’t nothing, but a #…26
Equipment: Akai MPC 2000XL, hella records, sun!
Years Producing: Haven’t even started yet…maybe 2morrow
Musical Influences: This & that, you & yours, & H.E.R.
Shouts: Sentric (Elevator Patience, whut?!), genuineHI, Lightsleepers, Beat Root, & Chicago!

“Beat the devil Sweet” – Eardrumz

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“the devil ain’t sweet” by Studderin’ Stan

Big ups to Stan, for participating…i’m digging it a real break from his staple. Freshness.

Name: Studderin’ Stan
Age: 23
Equipment: FL Studio
Year Producing: 2006
Musical Influences: Beatmakers like The Are & DJ Premier, all the dudes who’ve won a Beat Root, and God’s Word.
Shouts: Jesus, Lightsleepers, groundUp, atypicalLiving, genuineHI, Prolifik, ReDefine, Honozooloo, Vitalsee, RDSP, Kings of Yag, The Deadbeats, The Perfect Median, Juando (LOPL), Mems, Kutz, HE>I, GBC Fam & all the Hawaii artists. Big ups!
www.myspace.com/stutterinstannn

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AWB updater.

Whats the reason for the Woebots Migration to LA?
I’m getting alot of offers to travel outside the US, so it’s easier to travel out of LA.
My network is pretty vast on the west coast so the move into my managers spot worked well, business is done in home and it’s a lot more organized Silent stage gallery is our base, we do prints from our home office.

What do you plan to get accomplished?
I’m working on expanding the network into Europe, I love the art out there a lot of innovations and next level shit is happening out there so it’s good, keeps me working hard. Heads get it twisted thinking that all I can paint is Pandas so I’m working on getting other art out there mixmedia from Sculpting, illustrations and also working with oils and other paint mediums, installments.Overall enjoy 09’s travels and work on more solos and get some of Hawaii’s PFOM members to expand into the mainland. I got Moe Digi out here grinding, but Aaron Cryptonaut Lee could turn heads, Ckaweeks could kill, Honozooloo works hard and Eukarest is on the roster. After getting some of the homies in Hawaii in the Disney X Mindstyle traveling Stitch show I got good feed back whatever I could do to help. So I have some shows in the works for some Hawaii heads to rock in hopefully it all comes together. 2009 is all about grind time.What ever I could do to help my Hawaii Brethren.

When will you be back in Hawaii?
Not for awhile, I’m gathering up some of my networks here to help me curate a show in Hawaii for 2010. I met a couple Hawaii heads out in LA that rock a lot of the same group shows I’m in but have never shown back home so I wanna bring the locals back and show the island that we have local kids killing it in the mainland. Show that it’s possible to rock off the island.

Where can peeps contact you for customs or product?
Original prints, custom drops, comission inquiry’s you can go here, my manager runs it: http://www.silentstagegallery.com/My site and blog, sometimes I do canvas drops, overall I been posting some stuff I been up to: http://armyofsnipers.com/Artsprojekt-Andy Howells community of artist a place to get more affordable stuff If you can’t afford a $300 dollar painting you can come here for stuff like custom gifts such as coffee mugs, posters, skate decks, t-shirts and sweaters. Girls can go here for custom keds by artist. The communty is huge with heads like Shepard Farey, Alex Pardee and Dalek make sure to check it out.My stuff is there too, shameless plug: http://www.artsprojekt.com/artists

Whats shows, art, colabs, etc for 2009?
Have a show here in LA at Peekaboos new art gallery “Ronin Gallery” March 27th in Echo Park, then I head to Berlin Germany with Dj Bumble Bee for my 5 man show at “Intoxicated-Demons gallery” if everything goes as planned Barry might share the tables with Fat Jon for the pre party the heads in Germany also know me as Timer for some reason they been digging around and want me to maybe rock a small set which I am down for hah. As for the rest of the year I’m booked into mid 2010, so I have my work cut out for me. Projects for 2009 look for my Vinyl toys I’ll have about maybe 6 different toys dropping with a few different companies, maybe a Dunny with Kidrobot too….you never know be on the look out. Gelaskins, Album covers, resin busts, fiberglass figures, tiki’s a bunch of stuff. I don’t know maybe an album….tshirt collabs that will kill too, like we say here-”don’t sleep!”