LF:
The skate scene in Chicago is dope - it's real healthy. A lot
of dope young cats and seasoned vets. I love it. It's got a
lot of history too, dope spots and parks - cool beans.
DM: In addition to owning a record label, you
own Righteous Kung Fu. How did that venture begin and
what products will you be offering?
LF: Righteous Kung Fu (RKF) started
out as just a name that I thought was dope. Initially I didn’t
know what I wanted it to be. So I started building and brainstorming
with it. Everything that I wanted to do outside of the music
I injected into RKF. From short fiction, to Manga books, to
skatedecks, to t-shirts, to limited edition “packages”
to anything that tickles my fancy. I get a lot of influence
and inspiration from Nigo who runs A Bathing Ape just
on the execution and brand development side of things. Right
now The RKF is made up of me and 5 top level Chicago based designers
(Mano, Nigel, S-Rock, Myung and Glyph) whose backgrounds range
from breakdancing to high art to graf to 3-D animation to everything
in between, so the environment is very creative and progressive.
We are now in the midst of our first major project which is
the collaboration between Singaporean streetwear and sneaker
customizing brand Street0404 Connoisseurs and my music
company 1st&15th Records. We have 5 exhibitions
coming up in Malaysia and Singapore, so everybody is really
excited about it. Inshallah Righteous Kung Fu will
grow into something beautiful, but now we just babies on the
scene. Don’t sleep though: www.righteouskungfu.blogspot.com
DM: I read that you're a big jazz hipster.
What jazz records do you find yourself going back to the most?
LF: I love jazz!!! I love its layers and “simple
complexities.” I don’t just segregate myself to
one artist or one movement in jazz. I love them all, so there
are some records that I may hear only once, and not know the
name of the piece or the band that’s playing it but I’ll
be engaged like its one of my favorites.
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