Produced by HOMEBASE NYC + Rareform
Recorded Live at Southpaw, Brooklyn NYC – June 24, 2010
Mastered by Alejandro “Sosa” Tello at Ampliphonic Studios, Queens NY
Photos by Joanne Gomez, Lemu Coker + Richard Louissant

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Theophilus London is the NY-based rapper, singer, and songwriter that many critics and music fans alike are placing at the forefront of a burgeoning music scene coming out of Brooklyn that houses everything from urban pop/indie hip-hop to no wave and post punk revivalists. KarmaloopTV caught him after a hometown performance and he goes on to describe where his confidence and clothing styles come from.  His newest mixtape, “I Want You” is an eclectic showcase of the disparate parts that make up the artist’s diverse repertoire thus far.

If you are out in Brooklyn this weekend, the good folks at 10 Deep are teaming up with Rocksmith for a holiday sample sale of epic proportions. Get there early for a crack at some first-come, first-serve gear in the form of sweaters, denim, jackets, T-shirts and accessories, ranging from 50-70% off. All the info you’ll need is on the flyer above, so get to shopping!

By Summer Durand

The formula behind leather goods company, BillyKirk, is simple yet effective: utility, quality, and Function. Conceptualized in 1998 by brothers Chris Bray and William Kirkland, the pair’s original muse was a wide strapped, leather watch that was made in the 1970s. Bought at a pawn shop in Santa Monica, California, the timepiece became the topic of many a conversation, and the light bulb went off. With a background in design and an innate desire to create a company called “Billykirk” (a play on William Kirkland’s full name), the luxury leather project was well on its way.

The beginning of Billykirk was well researched and humble. According to their website’s bio, “We worked under a third generation leather maker in Los Angeles for three years.  We eventually bought some of his antique machinery and opened our own studio a couple of miles away. It was like going back to the early 1900s. Our mentor was very understanding and a great teacher. He literally showed us how to put a rivet on a belt. We had this incredible space to go to each day for free! We were surrounded by all of his grandfather’s tools and machines and had nothing stopping us for exploring and creating. We owe him a lot.”

Fast forward to today. The Billykirk label now consists of belts, wallets, satchels and housewares. Utilizing domestic as well as Italian leathers, each product is vegetable dyed in the “tradition of the old west.” It is then hand treated with beeswax and natural oils to achieve a beautiful patina that develops over time. Much like a fine wine, the product becomes better with age.
Originally designed as unisex, the brand began attracting a predominantly male audience. However, they recently started working with J.Crew on a women’s-only collection named (appropriately) “Billykirk for J.Crew. The brothers are also anticipating a project with Opening Ceremony that will offer looks for both men and women. In addition, they’ll soon create a line of eco-friendly leather items.

Hello my name is…
DJ Spinna.

I was raised in…
Brooklyn, New York.

The reason that you’re reading about me is…
I got a super blazing hot boom bap hip-hop album coming out called Sonic Smash on July 21st!

Right now I’m working on…
Getting some energy for my day.

But I’d rather be…
UNDERNEATH the bed!

My most prized possessions are…
My records.

But I’d give it all away for…
Uhmmm…nothing. Only for my little daughter…maybe.

The first thing I do in the morning is…
Thank the Most High for a new day.

The last thing I do at night is…
Thank the Most High for getting me through a new day.

My momma always said…
Don’t give up.

I love it when people…
Acknowledge me for my work. I work hard damnit!

I hate it when people…
FRONT!

If you ever see me walking down the street…
“Shout me a holla dun!”

My most notable run-in with the law…
Getting slammed against the police vehicle because I fit the description of someone that just committed a 187.

If I had to say sorry it would be because…
I hope I never have to say sorry.

I get real aggro when…
Non-DJs are called DJs, and radio insults my intelligence by playing bullshit all day everyday.

The last time I swore I’d never drink was after a night of…
Hanging out at a club, throwing up in the bathroom, passing out, and waking up to be the only one left in the club.

Future projects and plans…
Finishing the Jigmastas album and starting Sonic Smash Vol II.

And before I leave I’d like to give a shout out too…
My baby momma, my other baby’s momma, and my other other baby’s momma! Just kidding. All of the peoples that have supported me as a producer, artist, and DJ throughout my career.

Peace!

Good God… More shoes?

Free vodka trumps free candy any day. Or night.

Sitting in a cafe in the greenest fort in Brooklyn sits Joseph Ari Aloi, aka JK5. He has a seemingly tough exterior and tattooed frame which appears to be a full body sleeve. But when the light hits right you can catch glimpses of the excitement in his eyes as he tries to hide them behind dark shades, as he breaks down his biggest project to date. “I just found my biological dad,” explains Joseph. “He’s the Darth Vader, dark father factor in my equation. So much of my work was endlessly explored searching constantly for my father.” He was adopted, and found his birth mother 23 yrs 5 months 2 days after his birth, or what he refers to as “the womb-ride.”

JK5 talks quickly and with more animation and life than one of his colorful creations. In spite of his size he speaks in a soft voice. When explaining, he uses colors and shapes when describing situations and settings, and sprinkles his dialogue with references to Star Wars and its mythological characters. JK5 was a moniker that was given to him by some childhood friends in Philly. The “JK” or Jedi Knight originates from his love of all things Star Wars and the “5” from “I Got 5 On It” from The Luniz’ ode to sticky. All this and more is explained by JK5 as he speaks-hands in the air and everything.

JK5 grew up in White Plains, NY. Although adopted by a conservative Irish/Italian family, drug references and the mixture of penises and vaginas in his art were never frowned upon. His parents were always very supportive, even when he built his own liner machine in his friend’s basement and tattooed himself for the first time. “I remember my dad saying, ‘Well, you drew on the walls, you drew all over your sister, you drew all over everything in the house. I’m not surprised you drew all over yourself,” says Joseph. Certainly rebellion was never a stranger to JK5. As a miniature Jedi in the making, he was expelled from Catholic school. “Sexuality has always played an important role in my work and I’ve always been a sexual dude… kind of countering Catholicism, and always being that honest, unedited, spastic kid with a crazy libido-it all manifested through my work.”

Since then, JK5 has manned his share of art shows, and put in design work for Freshjve and Mishka, while simultaneously banging out a bad-ass body of work for his Saved Tattoo shop in Williamsburg. And all this work paid off when Kid Robot brought his artwork to the shelves in the form of his 12 tiny characters, each rich with personality. After the birth of his first character, Kid Kreactivator Flowvex- a dragon that sports pencils and crayons as arms-the rest of the Flowbots soon followed. JK5 realized that these characters were going to be his portal into a much larger world of work and creativity. So he’s now working on a movie script about the Flowbots. Although he remains pretty tight-lipped about it, he reveals that the story is going to resemble his personal life and his adoption. “My work has always been autobiographical, there’s a whole mythology and a whole world that synthesizes and marries what I lived through and what I created.”

He shows me some meaningful tattoos on his full body sleeve, an orgy of colorful characters and quotes including his latest, which he performed freehand after receiving some tragic news about a friend, Heath Ledger. It reads: For my brother Heath, R.I.P. 1/22/08. An ode to someone he describes as a beautiful soul with brilliant boundless energy. As a friend, Heath saw a shitload of potential in JK5′s work. So much so that Heath had joined him on his vision in bringing his biggest ideas to life. It was through Heath’s production company that they planned to release the Flowbots movie.