Highsnobiety

***Highsnobiety*** is a global fashion and lifestyle media brand founded in 2005 by David Fischer. Lupe Fiasco was featured on the cover of the second issue, Winter 2011, which included an interview and photoshoot. Photography was done by Robert Wunsch, with text by Nick Schonberger.

## Article

There is little random about our chosen cover duo. There is, however, a healthy balance of fandom and kinship. Lupe Fiasco and Eric Elms are both artists who have grown, as we at Highsnobiety have, exponentially in the last five years. Their achievements connect fluidly to our content (often big news items) and the whirlwind of intersecting cultural elements serves notice.

Our ears fell for Lupe's 2006 release, *Food & Liquor*, swiftly. Even before we noticed a little shout out to our humble website. In a nutshell, there's the fandom and kinship. The balance of admiration and interests that has marked Lupe as a central character in our trajectory. We Followed his music and we followed as he made strides in fashion. One of his collaborations with brands like Greedy Genius and Maharishi gave way to stand-alone brands - Trilly & Truly and Fallacy of Rome - as Lupe learned and matured. As a tastemaker, Lupe proved a man you follow with rather than behind. A man with distinct and firm taste, who while willing to take risks also understood the value of core classics.

By his second release, *The Cool* (2007), Lupe became a solidified star in the rap world. The album birthed the early collaborations mentioned and increased visibility. Yet, he maintained a healthy balance - billboard success didn't divorce him from core of our scene. His ability to balance breeds rabid fandom. XXL's mentioned Lupe as "Best Rapper" and hoards of supporters have backed his label battle ahead of releasing his upcoming *Lasers* record. Off tracks, Lupe's record of giving too is impressive. While some of the examples are high profile - climbing Kilimanjaro in aid of clean water supplies - his humanitarian example (like his stake in our scene) hits at many causes.

...Lupe Fiasco and Eric Elms are names impossible to divorce from our lives as documenters and participants in youth culture. At times, they can be the center of our universe. And, at others they are merely working on the periphery. However, they are always there. Constant reminders of their creativity - videos for singles or 'zines filled with drawings - continually provide inspiration in our daily lives and in our offices.

Pairing them to cover our second print edition is only natural. Few others represent the scope of content like these two artists. Few others manage to reinvent while keeping true to core value with such fluidity. Lupe Fiasco and Eric Elms stand for what Highsnobiety is about. They are the voices shaping our scene and keeping it steadily moving forward.

## Interview

*It makes sense to start off with some fashion talk. What brands are you feeling at the moment?*
Honestly, I feel so out the loop when it comes to fashion these days. It's so much noise. I find myself drawn to past collections of brands that I own, so like my favorite jacket at the moment is an Undercover piece from two years ago or an even older blazer from Ato Matsumoto. Longevity cuts through the noise. But, for the sake of not looking like I'm out of touch completely, I heavily rock with Mastermind Japan, Vans, Undercover, Drestrip, Ato, Miharayasuhiro, Dita, Goyard, my own Trilly&Truly, OVERTHROWN J' collection pieces, GAP, Swagger/Phenomenon, LA Barracuda, vintage Vape, vintage Fragment, Vintage BBC. I also really enjoy Chanel more so as a spectator sport than something I would actually buy. Also, I find myself owning and buying a nice amount of Ferrari & Lamborghini branded items I chalk this up to my deep interest in cars and car culture presently.

*You and Le Messie obviously have some other things going at the moment, but what's happening with Fallacy of Rome?*
I basically gave complete creative direction & production of FALLACY OF ROME over to Le Messie and Amanda of False. I have so much on my plate and to keep from getting too overwhelmed it was just an easier route to let them take it over. I peek my head in from time to time, but I trust their decisions and I'm really pleased with the results. We have a collection scheduled for release this fall and hopefully more collections to come.

*Do you ever step in and print any tees? I know Le Messie is all about craft. What have you learned throughout the process of working with him?*
Whenever I go to Singapore, I make it a point to visit their work space and create all types of one off things... which they vehemently protest sometimes, I might add. But it's all in fun. I don't produce any of the things that are for the public, but I do know how the entire operation works from top to bottom. It's always a learning experience, from conception of designs to shipping final product. It's a blessing to be amongst a family that literally does it all and being able to learn from them the entire process.

*I've always thought of you as a guy really into Japanese streewear. Not a bad thing, but certainly an interest that breeds a certain attention to detail. Given your fashion background, what's your take on the heritage trend and a wider spread interest in manufacture?*
On manufacturing, I think it's a reaction to the sometimes hindering and expeensive practice of "middlesmanship" that takes place in the fashion industry. Whereas there always seems to be a mysterious veil between the designer and what he wants to create and the factory that can actually make it and then comes the "middleman" who claims to be the only person who knows how to get through it and make the connection between them. I think there has been a shift in the relationship between the designer and the factory allowing for more direct contact minus the middleman in some cases. I also think the wave if "cut & sew" that took place over the past few years is a very large part of it. It went from just screening designs on stock t-shirts to designers actually wanting to make the t-shirt itself, which is a completely different process that they had to become acquainted with. Once the flood gates were opened it created a different, more informed, more engaged designers with access to a whole new world of possibilities as far as what he or she could create.

Add to this the historic premium that can be placed upon items made from "scratch" and you can see the financial incentive as well. In regards to the heritage trend, I think it's just the cycle of retrograding that takes place in all of fashion. This longing for the revitalization of things from the past can be seen in A Bathing Ape constantly re-releasing classic t-shirt designs and Neighborhood recalling vintage Vivienne Westwood Seditionaries logos to GUCCI reinstating silhouettes from the 1960s and Ralph Lauren's RRL's conception in its entirety. I think retrograding is here to stay and less a trend. Simplicity is king. And, what's more simple than just remaking something that already existed?

*What other trends do you see bubbling? Where might the tides take us next?*
When in doubt look to Japan, I always say. But as of recent, I can't really call it. We're living in a very sensitive "Super-Influenced" state where everything feeds off everything else and everything is having sex with everything. So haute couture has no problem going on a date with UGG. It's a mess out there in them streets and on those catwalks right now. On a mass level it's still overall basic silhouettes, with hints of brand recognition or retrograded vintage looks influenced by the ever combining realms of music, art, film and photography. Simplicity is king and comfort is king and a half.

*From a footwear point of view, where are you at now?*
All Vans All the Time. I have one single pair of black slip-ons that have no exaggerations been worn on stage, at a funeral and at a wedding. Now I do deviate here and there but my most consistent thing of present has been Vans and for some very good reasons.

*We're excited about the reelase of* LASERS*. Frustrations aside, what has the project taught you?*
I got a good education on the power & dedication of my fan base.

*Given that you're also pushing on new creative outlets, musically with Japanese Cartoon, how do you feel about hip-hop at the moment?*
I feel good about it, I feel better about other genres to be honest. Rock, reggae and jazz speak to me more thoroughly but I think hip-hop as a commercial project is doing just 'alright' but as a CULTURAL product hip-hop still reigns supreme.

*What does Japanese Cartoon do for you as an artist? What does it do for you when you think as a solo act, and to an extent as a pure rapper?*
JC takes the lid off for me. Ultimate freedom to do as I please without any fear of critque. JC is my no pressure zone, I enjoy it very much. Being a rapper affords me certain liberties of expression, but it comes with borders, mostly sonic ones to be honest. Japanese Cartoon there are no borders. All limitless liberty all the time.

*How do you feel about the new music coming out of your hometown?*
I'm pretty pleased with it. Chicago has always been a major force in the music world and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

*Who are some of the guys pushing you as a writer and on MC?*
In the true sport of writing as an author, which I avidly take part in, I constantly look to Hunter S. Thompson to improve and polish the skill set as well as other subversive writers and pieces. Writing musically, I find myself trying to achieve a complexity that wears the mask of simplicity in the spirit of Tupac, Fela or Bob Marley, again amongst many others of similar power. In the MC world, the same cast of characters Nas, Mos Def, Black Thought, Blu and even Lil Wayne as of recent.

*You get down with a lot of philanthropic causes... and they range from big (Haiti) to smaller... how important is it for you to get out and make a difference. And, as a veteran in this industry to what extent do you feel responsibility to foster a spirit of giving in other folks?*
It comes from my love for humanity in all its shapes and sizes. It is of the upmost importance for me and my duty not only as a Muslim but as a human being with the ability to affect change merely because I exist. I try to just be an example and since I have the capacity be an example to so many it's just what I chose to align myself and my actions with.

*The cover of our magazine, which will feature this interview, finds Eric Elms working on a photograph of one Lupe Fiasco. We've not discussed graphic art yet, but tehre is a good link to Fallacy of Rome there too. What do you like? Who are your favorite artists?*
I like Picasso, Dali, Bansky, Shohei Otomo. I have an appreciation for all art though, fine, street, commercial or otherwise. I'm very gullible when it comes to subjective expression, a sucker for sore eyes I guess. Sore eyed painters of all sorts.

*Any other surprises up your sleeve?*
Well, if I told you that would eliminate the element of surprise.

## Gallery

Highsnobiety TV - Lupe Fiasco Interview2011 cover
## References

1. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco Covers Highsnobiety Magazine". *Hip Hop n More*. January 19, 2011.