After dropping his sophomore album Still Brazy to resounding critical praise last week, YG is keeping things rolling. He’s put out a collab with LA streetwear brand Born x Raised. It’s a fitting partnership as both the label and artist are proudly from the West Coast.
The collection, called Born x Krazy, delivers a tight mix of sweatshirts, hoodies, tees, socks and caps. There are only three colourways — red, navy and black. It’s almost spartan. The designs are all based on Still Brazy, a political record that deals with police brutality and the presidential race. It’s important for YG to speak out, he told us “The rap game has been watered down for a minute. There haven’t been many people using their platform, speaking up, encouraging people to really get involved in politics and know what’s going on in the world.”
The whole collection is online now, though you might want to hurry to get yours; this is hot property. When Born x Raised threw up an LA popup shop over the weekend — a move that seems compulsory for hip-hop merch these days — lines were around the block.
If Born x Raised look familiar, they should. Founders Spanto and 2tone have been outfitting guys like Kendrick and Vince Staples for the past couple years. Their tees also have six-degrees-of-separation style ties to Kanye West’s now-ubiquitous Pablo merch. When Kanye saw the Born x Raised shirts designed by artist Cali Thornhill DeWitt (themselves a tribute to Chicano memorial sweatshirts) he rang Cali up right away. The pair ended up creating the now familiar orange and teal tees with archways of old english script. Peep YG’s effort below, photographed by Vuhlandes.
Credits
Photography Eric Chakeen
YG Lookbook Photography Vuhlandes