Pittsburgh Artists Enter D.C. Art Auction

Bid to Fight COVID

“John Henry” by Quaishawn Whitlock, Bid to Fight COVID logo & “Platinum Club” by Hannibal Hopson

It would be easy for despair to invade minds right now. The pandemic set siege on our social lives and some jobs. Black men and women fall, murdered by police live on the Internet. You think it will stop, or when there hasn’t been a case of fatal racism broadcasted for a while, you think the human climate is better. You were wrong. You get a therapist for your P.T.S.D. that this whole ordeal causes you subconsciously amidst the other shit flying towards you in life— perhaps a bullet from a mass shooting or an ex-lover giving you angst. A good therapist might tell you not to dwell on the emotion and pain, but use it in action as you progress. So, you focus on other things that make living worth it, like art.

“Historically, art has played a pivotal role in improving the public welfare during adverse periods,” Maxwell Young wrote in the summary of Bid to Fight COVID, an online art auction where the proceeds support 21 artists from D.C. and two from Pittsburgh, along with Martha’s Table— a non-profit building community through education, food and opportunity.

The Pittsburgh native artists among the cast of D.M.V. talent in the auction are Hannibal Hopson and Quaishawn Whitlock.

“Art articulates longing and belonging, an act that signifies and indexes the displacement and disorientation of the lived experience, acting as a compass for societies to transform themselves through the process of digestion and expression of the suffering and triumphs of communities,” Hopson said explaining art’s responsibility to humanity.

The intrinsic value of art becomes apparent when a piece captures and grounds life’s intangible beauty that resonates with everyone in some form or another. To own that or have that feeling hanging on your wall is an entire phenomenon in itself, which is a true privilege. “When buying and collecting artwork either from a particular person, time, or style - that individual is investing into that conversation and sharing amongst others who experience the artwork,” Whitlock said.

Bid to Fight COVID T-shirts | Photos by Maxwell Young

On Friday, May 29, grab the chance to win lot number six, “Platinum Club” by Hannibal Hopson (5” x 21” acrylic on canvas), or lot number 11, “John Henry” by Quaishawn Whitlock (22'“ x 30” CMYK screen print on paper), during the Bid to Fight COVID auction via Instagram Live at (@bid2fightcovid) or Zoom call (meeting ID 836 5734 1750 & phone hotlines 646-558-8656 or 301-715-8592) from 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. You can still register for the auction here. Participants can also enter a raffle to win buttons made by some of the artists in the auction, or souvenir Bid to Fight COVID T-Shirts printed by Maxwell Young and Quaishawn Whitlock.

Both Hopson and Whitlock shared their thoughts in interviews below about how the pandemic impacts art, as well as the value in buying and collecting art.

Register to Bid to Fight COVID. Register to Bid to Fight COVID. Register to Bid to Fight COVID.

Explore the auction book here to view the artwork.

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“Platinum Club”

Interview with the artist Hannibal Hopson

ITR: What is art’s role during times of hardship and how are you fulfilling that?

Hopson: Art articulates longing and belonging, an act that signifies and indexes the displacement and disorientation of the lived experience, acting as a compass for societies to transform themselves through the process of digestion and expression of the suffering and triumphs of communities. Art has always played a very vital role during times of adversity and distress. For artists and creators, hardship challenges us to tap into our core innerstanding of what no longer matters, what needs to be destroyed, what needs to be made and who needs it the most.  For observers and collectors, art translates the story of life, reminding people where they are and what they need to remember about themselves and the world around them at any given time. 

Most of the world's greatest social/political movements were birthed during times of distress. From a Western Contemporary lens, when we acknowledge the Great Depression and WWII as significant global shifts, we also recognize 1) the impact of the New Deal, which led to the expansion of community art centers, public murals, and artist collectives in America, and 2) the genocide of non-Aryan people and desecration of “degenerate art” by Nazi Germany, launching the post-war scramble for old masters and emergence of the NYC art market. Some of the most notable and influential Western artists and art forms were products of this time period and in its aftermath, of which the value of the names, works, and movements speak for themselves in today’s art market.

Personally, I am currently quarantined in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Although I have come in contact with an incredible space for art and artists here, really what I have found is a very striking challenge and opportunity to iterate my own existence away from a densely human populated area and submerge myself within my own true nature, breathing with the Earth. My role within art during this time is to share my story and the essence of my being as I unearth reactive frequencies and make way for a more proactive me.

ITR: How has the pandemic impacted how you create art or sustain yourself through art?

Hopson: In my isolation I have asked myself, ‘why must i create’? The answer that was revealed to me was simple and resounding: ‘because you are living’. It is clear to me that every living thing in nature must create and sustains itself through its own reaffirmation of being. Every season brings change, the only way we know that change exists is because we are around long enough to change also.

I have been fasting from vibrations that do not bring about a positive light within me. My focus and intention is to share the essential characteristics of my purest self through creation, offering my heart--light and love--from the communities I embody around the world that emanate from my person. I have been studying the simplicity of village life and the collaborative energies that are mobilized in close knit connections through action or inaction.

ITR: What’s the value in buying/collecting art?

Hopson: I always like to think that there are moments, at your family dinner table, in your bathroom, or in your bedroom, where anything is possible and everything happens and changes. At the same time, the art in your environment is undisturbed and  immersed in the present moment. You may enjoy the moment or you may destroy the moment, however the art is always the moment itself. I encourage embracing and investing in your own moments, whether good or bad.

Art, as a repository of cultural memories that represents a collective archive of being for all humans, transcends time and space. This means that something that you create today may have more value to you than it would 30 years from now, or vice versa. 

When it comes to buying and collecting visual art (performance, culinary and written art are slightly different), there are a few unique qualities that generate its value as a commodity. Visual art serves as medium of exchange, a store of value, it is scarce, you cannot double sell the same piece (only one person or entity can ‘possess’ an original work of art at any time), and it has a distinguished provenance (the art value is generated and chronologically recorded from its inception as a legal track record, or ledger, of proprietary ownership) similar to a home or a vehicle. These are important aspects of the value of visual art because like other commodities, the market value is regulated by the fixed, finite supply of work in the market and its liquidity is protected by market appraisal. 

In today’s economy, visual art as a commodity of exchange can be great for an artist to generate revenue, or terrible for an artist if the market were to devalue works not championed as exchange or investment commodities, especially in the age of mass entertainment and mechanical reproduction (see Walter Benjamin), remixing and cultural appropriation. 

ITR: What do you hope to get back to once life returns to normalcy?

Hopson: I am a wanderlust. I love traveling and visiting my friends around the world. I enjoy dancing, celebrating and connecting with others without fear. The nature of COVID-19 and the problematic jargon of “social distancing” is that it has encouraged a world of social agreement extremes.  I feel that trust is even more at stake with every encounter now as we hold more social responsibility for others’ safety in a physical manner. The masculine electric energy source within me is reminded of moments in which I had taken space between myself and others for granted. Now I feel a heightened level of feminine magnetic energy that will repel as much as it attracts, unwilling to connect if the frequencies aren’t divine. What’s normal again? 

“John Henry”

Interview with the artist Quaishawn Whitlock

ITR: What’s the value in buying/collecting art?

Whitlock: Artwork can be a vehicle to communicate across almost every platform available. I believe when buying and collecting artwork either from a particular person, time, or style - that individual is investing into that conversation and sharing amongst others who experience the artwork.

ITR: Talk about John Henry as an icon

Whitlock: John Henry is/was a manifestation and experiment of how these stories can be woven into both my work but my practice as a whole. Some heard or read the story growing up - The freed slave who was one of the best railroad drivers of the time period. Over time and tales of the folk hero/man who raced against the steam engine to keep his job.

Lily Opens Up In Her Book "Mettle"

Lilliana Dee | Photographs by Alex Young

Before the world locked down, things were live in Pittsburgh. I think back to a specific evening when the town buzzed because a new nightclub billed a soft opening with local Yinzer turned trusted hip-hop producer Christo, along with Quiana Parks and Suave Pav, for DJ sets. In fact, it was Christo’s first hometown DJ set since his Grammy nomination due to his credits on “Revenge Of The Dreamers III.” The club Cobra Lounge set to usher in a new nightlife experience, mixing Japanese barbecue, private karaoke rooms, and ample space for partying. Totally chic inside, shiny black retro diner booths, neat neon Cobra branding, trendy pan-Asian motifs, and a bi-color Instagram wall transport you to mood board after mood board. “Oh, you niggas balling,” Thomas Agnew, co-owner of Boom Concepts and editor-at-large for Jenesis Magazine, said to my friends and I. We bought a table for the occasion. Admittedly, we wanted to stunt around our contemporaries, and why not? Everybody in there was cool. Rap godfather Mars Jackson was in the crowd. Mystique designer Sakony Burton chopped it up with another artist, Quaishawn Whitlock, who is the man supplying many DIY streetwear brands of the city their screens for printing. Pittsburgh’s version of Anthony Bourdain, Jessie Iacullo— better known as Hungry Grl Big City— spoke with me about Cobra’s aesthetic outside under a deep purple light during my smoke break. Back inside, I saw an interview subject across the dance floor, so Suntory in hand, I weaved my way to her to chat, knowing we would meet the following morning to continue our assignment. Lily stunted harder than me. She reserved one of the big ass, private karaoke rooms for Cobra’s soft opening. She was 10 friends deep, bopping around with a smile.

“I’m a butterfly,” the 25-year-old said about herself during the interview. “I’m successful. I’m killing it.” The self-confidence braggadocio beamed from her like the radiant smile on her face I peeped at Cobra Lounge. All her claims are warranted. The upstart holds a nine-to-five for a publicly-traded cybersecurity company. Her YouTube channel “Lily Whispers” featuring ASMR content boasts 283,000 subscribers, and she is the Chief Marketing Officer for Women In Tech PGH, an organization advocating for inclusivity in Tech. Check her out on BBC, Forbes, The Washington Post, and Vice. Add ‘author’ to her resumé because you can buy her first book “Mettle.”

Taking the nom de plume Lilliana Dee, Lily is candid. “Pages from my journal are in that book,” she said. Self-help lists, screenshots of old text messages, poems, selfies, flattering and embarrassing moments, and friendly stories about drunken jaunts around Pittsburgh make her appear familiar. While the author’s intimate writing reveals her sorrow from love’s warmth quickly snatched away by chilling heartbreak. She realizes her pain, “When things end, and people leave, I get sad. I always do,” Lily wrote. She won’t stop living though flexing her ‘mettle’ in different situations. Readers understand how Lily has grown into a young woman who is proud of what she can bring to the table. “I have so much love to give regardless of all of my mistakes I’ve made and the countless times my heart has been broken,” she wrote.

“Mettle” offers more pushing beyond the “trials and tribulations of love.” In the chapter titled “Privilege,” Lily hits a hot topic. “I accept the privilege that I’m a young white woman,” she said, dropping the race card on the table next to her plate of Takoyaki at Umami during the interview. The advantages of privilege like that are as commonplace as being able to find your shade of makeup in Walmart, but your black friend is underserved— her skin tone not considered. We cannot overlook others because “you have so many things working against you. You have your color, you have your gender, you have your beliefs, you have your income. There are so many things working against you. How can we create equal opportunity for everyone.”

Progress can be made on all fronts if people facilitate conversation. “I think it’s just telling the sides of life people aren’t so forthcoming about,” Lily said. “Creating a community of vulnerability allows for more humanity to grow.”

Talking about creepy men aroused by her Internet content, balancing personal life with career life, relationship advice, and, of course, the book, read Lily’s detailed conversation with InTheRough below and buy “Mettle” here.

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Interview occurred January 9, 2020

ITR: You allow yourself to be pretty vulnerable in your ASMR videos and your book. How do you become comfortable being vulnerable?

Lily: I think society adds a stigma to being vulnerable because I think that you’re accepting sadness, you’re accepting anxiety, you’re accepting that your life isn’t as perfect as it looks on social media. Being a young white woman who has a lot of young women looking up to me, like 80% of my audience is women, a lot of people don’t think that. A lot of people think that ASMR is heavily sexualized and that all these guys are sitting back jacking it to my videos. I’m sure there’s one or two that probably do. I’m not going to deny it. I’ve gotten some weird emails.

ITR: I bet.

Lily: My audience is for young women. I think that creating a community of vulnerability allows for more humanity to grow. You know? It’s not interesting for everything to be so picturesque and picture perfect. To me it’s not so much as being vulnerable, but it’s just being myself and my life isn’t pretty most of the time despite what Instagram conditions us to think. It is being vulnerable, but I think it’s just telling the sides of life people aren’t so forthcoming about.

ITR: There’s a lot of power in that feeling whether you want to call it being vulnerable or being yourself or being confident. Not everybody is willing to show every side of themselves in every situation. I know I’m not. But you seem to do that. When you write a book, you choose what you want to share with the reader and you're not afraid of sharing certain parts of your life. Like you tell the story about how you pissed in your Timbs the morning after a drunken college party.

Lily: Yes, yes, yes, I did pee in my Timberland boots [laughs].

ITR: That was one of the first passages I read. I was just like wow… okay.

Lily: [Laughs]

ITR: No, but everybody has stories like that even me. I could tell you something equally as sordid, but I won’t.

Lily: Everybody… Wait how was that… you just like picked a chapter?

ITR: Yeah, I like how you used the poems to break up your stories. I didn’t have to read it linearly front to back. How does the composition of the book come about? How did you decide how it was going to look?

Lily: The actual font and style of it I had someone do. I always wanted it to be poem, piece, picture. I wanted it to be broken up that way. I think it’s easier on the eyes. It was meant to be a coffee table book. It ended up I just had more to say.

ITR: Are you going to write another book?

Lily: I don’t know. I’ve been asked that a lot. I think I’m not close to it. I think if I wrote a book, it’s probably fiction next. I wrote about myself already now I want to do everything else.

ITR: Your book is very romantic.

Lily: Yeah, it is. I don’t really write about if I’m having a really great day. I’m usually too busy living it. I’m not taking pictures of it. I’m not telling my friends about it. I’m in it. I’m having a great time, and I’m keeping those moments to myself. But, I usually use writing as an expression when I’m really going through it, and there’s some heartbreaking shit usually you know and love is one of them. I touched on romance, but it’s like the trials and tribulations of love. I’m really young, but I’ve had lots of loves in my life both as passions and men and dreams and things that I wanted of my life that maybe didn’t happen. Everything happened for a reason and it has made me who I am today for which of course I am thankful.

[Lily notes Benji.’s music on the playlist interrupting our conversation.]

Sorry [laughs]. I guess I wouldn’t consider my book romantic. I thought it was more like an ode to sorrow because when I wrote about it I was sad.

ITR: I feel sorrow. But there are sunshine points where you are hopeful. You wrote that you still have more love to give despite being hurt. I find that to be hopelessly romantic, or I see your courage to still love no matter what. How do you withstand heartbreak like that?

Lily: Well, because I’ve been heartbroken by people and they’ve not been open with me and they’ve been like, “Ah, I’ve been hurt before. I’m not going to love you the way that I loved my ex because she broke my heart,” or whatever. I always thought that was such a shitty excuse because you’re going to close yourself to something so great as intimacy and opening yourself up to another human being because you’re fearful of being hurt. Obviously no one wants to get hurt, but I think human connection is one of the most valuable things we have on this planet, so why would I deprive myself of that for fear of something else. I think a lot of it is fearlessness that I think that I have and I try to maintain my honesty. I’m not going to give someone half-assed love or half-assed emotions because I’m scared of something. That’s not me. Maybe that makes me stupid [laughs].

ITR: No. You get out what you put in. If you are going to half-ass your relationship, that’s what you’ll get out of it.

Lily: Exactly. It’s all love always.

ITR: What’s one of your biggest pet peeves in a relationship?

Lily: One of my biggest pet peeves in a relationship… oh, that’s a good question. I could say something vague like dishonesty, but I feel like it’s not someone lying— it’s someone scared of telling you something because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. I was talking about this with someone earlier. Yeah, we all fear about hurting someone’s feelings, but there’s so many words in the human language. You don’t have to hurt someone’s feelings. You can phrase it a way to make them understand. If you’re looking at it from a place of, “I’m scared I’m gonna hurt them,” it’s because you kinda might want to because of the way that you feel.

ITR: I really like interviewing because everybody says something that applies to me and my life…

[Lily’s octopus balls (Takoyaki) arrive while we speak at Umami, a red lit sushi spot and bar situated in Lawrencevile. She urges me to try her food. “I’m not that hungry so please have some of these. They’re very good. I’m like a big sharer you know,” she said. I’m reluctant, but my open mind carries me to taste. The pair of dudes next to us butt in our meal conversation fascinated with Lily’s octopus balls.]

Lily: It’s a strange dish I will say that. But you were saying you like to interview people…

ITR: Yeah, they always say something relevant to me in my life and shit I’m going through.

Lily: Are you dealing with hurting people’s feelings?

ITR: [Disappointingly nods]

Lily: [Laughs] Man… How are you coping with that now?

ITR: Shopping and just not doing that shit anymore.

Lily: Boundaries and sharing accountability. Those are my two things for 2020. That’s usually my outlet— retail therapy. And then like $750 later you’re like, “Damn I was really sad!”

ITR: I wanted to talk about something you wrote: “I always change myself, like a never-ending caterpillar to butterfly metamorphosis.” The last relationship I was in I changed myself a lot. I used to think your significant other should love all of you as is— take the good and the bad.

Lily: I recently read a study that looked at individuals who had a bubbly personality and if they went into a workplace that was very serious, they always thought they could liven it up. Well, it doesn’t work that way. Whoever has the authority rubs off on the individual. They use that as an example with narcissists. You think you can change a narcissist, but those people are so set in their ways because of the feelings they have of themselves that they end up changing you to be more like them. So, I always think did I change for somebody or did they just have a personality that was more dominant.

ITR: How was work today?

Lily: It was good. We had our employee kickoff. We are a humongous publicly traded company and for some reason we couldn’t figure out our Zoom for presentation. We have over 70% of the Fortune 500 companies as our clients, and we couldn’t figure out how to get a constant streaming connection [laughs].

ITR: I saw you recently got a promotion?

Lily: I used to only do the digital advertising for one product line, and now I manage all the product lines we have, so I do all the paid media for our entire company. Anything that you see online about our company I did it.

ITR: You guys do cybersecurity?

Lily: Cybersecurity, yep. We provide email protection and security awareness training. Our product suite would floor you. It’s definitely fulfilling to know what I do is protecting U.S. citizens from cyberattacks and shit like that. I don’t talk about my day job very much.

ITR: You have to find the balance juggling a nine-to-five and your other interests. How did you find that balance? I mean you also wrote a book and you have a YouTube channel where you maintain 283,000 subscribers.

Lily: I read an article once that was talking about this man who ran this 100 million dollar company. He was a multi-millionaire, he was busy all the time, but he had no time for his kids. He was like, “I need to find a balance.” He basically took a pay cut to dedicate more time to his family because that’s what he found to value. That was the article that told me you can’t have it all. They say you can have it all. You can’t. There’s no possible way. We are conditioned to think we can do anything if we set our mind to it. We can’t have it all. Even when I thought I was on top of everything, something always fell through and something always does. There’s only so many hours in a day. For whatever reason, there’s people who make it seem like they don’t sleep, but I’m in the business of sleep and I like to get it. So, shit… When I was writing my book, my YouTube channel 100% suffered. Definitely was not uploading with as much regularity. You’re going to prioritize the things that matter to you. It wasn’t a diss to my subscribers. But, I was going through some shit, so writing that book was cathartic for me and I had to get my ducks in a row before I had my creative talents translate to YouTube. I play a character sometimes on YouTube in various videos, but I always try to be myself through and through because once you wear too many hats it gets complicated. I was reading an interview about Nelly Furtado. She used to be popping back in the day until she fell the fuck off and no one knew why. She did an interview and she said that she got conditioned to put on a show. She just had to play this part of being Nelly Furtado around her family and her friends. She’s like, “I’m that on TV.” With me, the YouTube me you’re going to find, but I’m just whispering. The me in the book… shit pages from my journal are in that book.

ITR: What does your journal look like?

Lily: Oh my god. This is so fucking corny. I don’t think in paragraphs. My whole journal is just text. It’s not necessarily stream of consciousness, but it’s not formatted.

ITR: You know that popular culture says when people write like that it’s the mark of a sociopath.

Lily: Really? I never heard that.

ITR: Yeah.

Lily: Yup, that’s what my journals look like. Just a whole bunch of text. It’s usually just about getting it out.

ITR: I want to go back to when you said you can’t have it all, but what do you want?

Lily: I think I’m still figuring that out. I guess relatability. We don’t value sadness in our society. I play this video game called “We Happy Few” that opened up people’s eyes and said that we don’t value sadness. So, in the video game you pop this pill called joy and everything is colorful everything is great. We’re in such a self-medicating society. If you’re sad, take a pill for it. Oh, you’re anxious? Take a pill for it. Oh, you’re going through something? Drink about it. Smoke about it. Whatever it is. I do think there’s something cathartic about having a drink after work or smoking a blunt after work of course, but our society does not value natural human emotion. They make it seem like it’s not okay to feel heartache or sadness, so I’m trying to say no one is perfect get that out of your head. I think the more I talk about my experiences hopefully it encourages other people to talk about theirs. But also to accept or acknowledge that it’s not unusual. They’re not alone in what they feel. Even though I didn’t go through the exact same situation, I probably felt the same chemical emotions they felt.

ITR: Talk about your poems like “Please Don’t Settle”?

Lily: I get lines stuck in my head and I usually put them in my phone. Half those poems were one liners and that’s all I had to say. Less is more I’m trying to learn that.

Photo via Lily’s Instagram

ITR: What does a selfie mean to you?

Lily: When I take a selfie, I know my best angles. I know that I am perfectly trying to look my best because it’s something that I’m making of myself, which is almost paradoxical because I probably don’t look the same way in person that I do in selfies. I hope I do. I do believe in being my authentic self, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to be fucking getting my triple chin in an Instagram post either.

ITR: Yeah. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to be beautiful and knowing how to make yourself the most beautiful. Whatever you need to do to feel that way there’s nothing wrong with that.

Lily: You take a picture and you want to look your best.

ITR: Do you know who Frederick Douglass is?

Lily: Yeah.

ITR: He was always photographed in a suit because he wanted enslaved black people of the time to see him at his best as a freeman— to importantly show there are freemen who look like us— black and proud, which means you too can be free.

Lily: Lead by example.

ITR: Your image and how people perceive you is everything.

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Lily: I’ve always been very comfortable by myself. My mom always calls me. She’s like, “Oh, what are you doing tonight?” I’m like I went to dinner. She’s like, “Who’d you go with?” Myself. “Oh, I feel bad.” I’m like, “Mom, I can do my two favorite things: I can eat and not talk to anybody.”

ITR: I go to movies by myself.

Lily: Okay. That I have yet to do. I heard that’s nice.

ITR: It is nice. You time and you can fall asleep if you want, but I get up and leave if that’s happening.

Lily: I’ve never fallen asleep in a movie theatre.

ITR: You will.

Lily: That’s usually my ‘never have I ever’.

ITR: What’s the most meaningful thing someone told you after you finished this book?

[Travis Scott’s ”Highest In The Room” (the Rosalía remix) peers over the room on Umami’s playlist.]

Lily: I fucking love Travis Scott.

Damn. It’s always along the idea of “this pertains to something that I’m going through in my life.” What’s crazy is that when I was going through a heartbreak back in 2016 2017, I came out with my first ASMR video about heartbreak, and today it’s one of my most commented on videos. People have found it to be cathartic to share their experience. Sometimes I’ll get like, “This bitch cheated on me with my brother. Fuck her. I’m watching this video trying to settle down.” People are really going through it. I did have a girl reach out to me and she said, “I was feeling so alone in my feelings. I’ve been contemplating suicide for a couple months now. I read your book and I realized ok ebbs and flows of life it’s okay.” That type of pressure I hate almost. That’s amazing, but it makes me feel so powerful and powerless at the same time. I don’t know if there’s a word for that. It feels like great you look up to me. I have this…

ITR: Responsibility.

Lily: Right, responsibility to somebody. If it’s one thing I hate, it’s responsibility man. I had some friends come out with me and if it’s one thing I hate it’s when people go out with me and they expect me to cater to them all night. I like to run around and take shots and dance and do my own thing. I’m a butterfly. They’re like, “Where did you go? I was so mad you just left us.” I hate that. I was like, “Wait, I wasn’t responsible for you. I was doing my own.” Unless it’s someone new or if I’m on a date. I wouldn’t like go off and whatever on a date. You’re not my keeper. I guess in the same sense that responsibility is really intimidating.

ITR: Why?

Lily: I don’t think somebody can infiltrate the reason that somebody is depressed. I don’t see myself as that influential to have that impact on somebody. People have told me that I help them in amazing ways, which I love and I understand that. But I think something as severe as ending one’s life, that type of influence and the responsibility that comes with that, I don’t think of myself as that. Yeah, I’ll help you destress with depression, anxiety, sleep, whatever, but I realize I’m in the part of the Internet that deals with coping, but with addiction. I had a girl reach out to me and she was like, “I’m using and your videos are helping me.” I’m like, “No.” You can’t watch a video and be good. That’s why I’m a big advocate of talk therapy. I just make videos on the Internet. You guys gotta take care of your brain you know. It’s pressure. Shit.

ITR: It is pressure from The Lily Pads (the nickname of Lily’s YouTube subscribers). I watch ASMR. My niche is the close shave or the head massage or the cat petting videos. I go right to sleep.

Lily: I watch it every night.

ITR: Who do you watch?

Lily: I like a lot of South Korean ASM-artist. Gibi ASMR is like the big one that I watch. FrivolousFox. Grace V. People always want triggers like tapping and brushing that’s great, but I just like someone’s whisper. I’ll put it in the background at work and just fucking do shit. Not even full volume just very soft. Almost as white noise, but enough to keep you feeling good.

ITR: You occasionally post Instagram stories of you petting your bunny. That shit is amazing. I love how your fingernails look against the fur.

Lily: [Laughs] Really? Yeah, Spooner is the best. He’s my old bunny. He’s like nine or something. He’s a rescue. Yeah, he’s a G.

ITR: Why bunnies?

Lily: I don’t know it’s so weird.

ITR: Have you ever had other pets?

Lily: Yeah. I never had a rabbit growing up. When I was in Barcelona, I found out that there was such a thing as a Flemish Giant Rabbit. I never knew rabbits could get that big. I obviously wanted one I had to have one. My parents were so against me getting one. My best friend and I found an ad on Craigslist for this beautiful blue flemish giant rabbit who was my first bunny that I had nicknamed Dobby. I think I talk about him in my book a little bit. So we drove across the state. Picked him up. My parents even gave me the money for him. I remember he was 75 bucs. They were so against it. My mom was like, “Here’s the cash.” I was like fuck yes. My parents to this day they can’t talk about him. It’s too sad the fact that he passed. He was like a family member. He was the reason I fell in love with bunnies. They have a very unexpected, interesting personality. They’re very entitled. They’re kind of like a cat. Some of them want affection like a dog, and they’re so fucking cute. They’re just so cute. I would say it’s more like having a cat.

ITR: What was your introduction to the Internet?

Lily: I want to say MySpace. I remember I made my first profile in sixth grade and I didn’t know that Tom was the founder of MySpace. So I freaked the fuck out thinking that some old man named Tom had friended me. My parents made me so paranoid of the Internet that I was going to get trafficked and shit. Tumblr and Facebook came later. I still fucking love Tumblr shit. Love it. Good shit on there honestly.

ITR: Whenever I’m in a creative block, I get on Tumblr.

Lily: Always. Tumblr is the inspiration for a lot of my captions on Instagram not even going to lie. I remember the days of AIM and shit. No one had cellphones back then. God, I sound so old. People had cellphones, but it was the kids whose parents like… I don’t know. There was like a little ring in middle school of people getting in trouble for sending nudes. I didn’t have a cellphone ‘til high school, so I wasn’t apart of that.Good times, man, before cellphones.

ITR: Is there anything you did on the Internet or anything that happened on the Internet that you regret?

Lily: Yeah, that’s a good question. [Shivers] This is a good story. So, when I was first blossoming into YouTube, I Googled myself. I Googled “Lily Whispers ASMR.” I never Googled myself before. I think this might have been 2013 2014. It was still very early. Actually it might have been 2015. I Googled myself, and ASMR really blew up in 2016 it has since gone up and down as major news articles come out, like Washington Post brought a lot of interest to the community. I’m Googling myself and there’s a couple articles whatever, and then I see “Lily Whispers Tribute.” It’s this video of this man masturbating with his camera over his penis looking at his computer going through images on my Instagram. He like cums [laughs]… he ejaculates on an image of me. But you know what’s crazy? You cannot find this video on the Internet because in some of those images he was flipping through I was 17.

ITR: Oooo.

Lily: So I had to email ‘xhamster’ who was the video host and I said, “Hey, I was 16 17 in these images that this man included.” You can’t find it anywhere on the face of the Earth.

ITR: What???

Lily: Yeah.

ITR: So, that happens. What’s the first thing you do? Do you tell your parents?

Lily: No, never told my parents. I couldn’t tell them that.

ITR: That’s not in your book.

Lily: [Laughs] No. It’s a good story now. I remember when it happened, I acted so rhythmically. It was immediately like, “Oop. I was 17 in that picture. I was a senior in high school. Immediately emailed.” I knew exactly what to do.

ITR: That’s on the record now.

Lily: That’s fine. Yeah, I mean, it’s prevalent in our culture— Revenge Porn. I definitely got black mailed by an ex with pictures that he had of me. I had to tell my dad about that. Not the nature of the pictures obviously, but I was like, “Dad, he’s holding something over my head.” My dad was like, “I have a lawyer on retainer. Whatever you need if it gets to it.” I think about it occasionally it still creeps up in my mind because I’m fearful of it.

Do you know what 8chan is?

ITR: No.

Lily: Do you know what 4chan is?

ITR: Yes.

Lily: Okay. So, some creators of 4chan found 4chan to be too conservative so they branched off and they made 8chan which was even less— literally the cancer of the Internet on there. It’s like Neo-Nazi, alt right wing, conservative, just very awful. I found a thread because they hate women who have influence. They hate women who make money from ASMR, and they think that it’s just a sex thing. There have been studies that show that we’re not intentionally trying to arouse somebody in our content. I mean, I’m fucking whispering about makeup half the time. But, I found the thread and somebody had photoshopped the thumbnail from one of my videos and a picture of an African American penis in my hand. At the time it wasn’t funny, but I’ve spent a lot of time looking at this picture. It’s a very clean photoshop job. There’s no white space. It’s just so immaculately done you almost have to applaud the skill that went into it.

ITR: Fuck.

Lily: Do you deal with haters on the Internet with what you do?

ITR: We do the Commendations, which I like to think about as the Grammy’s or something for Pittsburgh.

Lily: Mmhmm. Yup, I know you guys do that.

ITR: Right, so obviously we create a list and when someone’s not on the list they’re going to get mad. Sure, I’ve dealt with that, but nothing in comparison to you.

Lily: Yours is probably fueled by people being actually pissed.

ITR: Which I understand, but we are trying our hardest to document thoroughly, but it’s only us. You have the Pittsburgh Magazine and the City Paper, but in terms of detailed journalism about popular culture for people our age and who look like me, there isn’t anybody writing about it besides us, so you have to be patient with us. It’s worth it.

Lily: When I was writing my book, there’s a shitty Amazon review. The guy didn’t even read the book so it’s fine. It has a gazillion upvotes from my haters and I read it a bazillion times. I’m working on another project I want to come out with an album. I know that sounds so crazy.

ITR: An album? Like rap?

Lily: I want to blend spoken word with music and I want to give people a different type of genre that they didn’t know they wanted. I see this process as being more collaborative than my book. My book— nobody could tell me anything about it. I sent it to an editor. I think I sent it to my dad to read and maybe a couple other people, but I was doing it for me. I was writing it to get it out there. I thought that people needed to hear it. I didn’t care if people liked it or hated it. I was publishing it for me.

[I try the octopus.]

Lily: Do you ever feel that way with the articles that you put out? You could be like, “What do you think of this? What do you think of this? What do you think of this?” With me, I put my diary in that book. I don’t give a fuck what anybody thinks of my diary.

ITR: Anybody writing a diary that shits personal so that shouldn’t be collaborative. Whenever I got this [“Mettle”] in the mail, it felt very much you. This feels like Lilliana. The branding and the character of it is there. I try to make my process about who I’m writing about as much as I can. I take myself out of it.

Lily: I loved your interview with Chad and I equally liked his interview with you. That was really cool to be able to see both sides of it. You guys got some really good shit.

ITR: Thank you very much. I was in the car when my episode drop and I didn’t want to listen to myself, but I had to.

Lily: [Laughs] See I couldn’t listen to my whole episode. I couldn’t I have an issue with that.

ITR: Can you watch your YouTube videos?

Lily: I can’t watch my YouTube videos. I don’t even watch them all the way through when I edit them that’s why they always have issues with bloopers. Yup, I’ve burped in videos before and not caught it and people are like, “Damn.” [Laughs] Gotta go back and take that out me having a little indigestion on camera.

ITR: I have the same issue, but when I listened to my interview on I’ll Call You Right Back I was like, “Shit. I feel like I’m on NPR.”

Lily: Right the audio quality yup. The only thing I couldn’t watch was my BBC interview. It was short like two minutes. I didn’t even know what this man looked like I couldn’t see him at all. I was in the separate studio in Paris. My ex-boyfriend and my parents came with me we were on vacation. They were waiting. BBC put me in this tiny little room and I could hear him, but I couldn’t see him so I had no idea how animated he was. So when I came out, my dad was like that was a really great contrast with his animation and your calmness. I had no idea what the motherfucker even looked like [laughs].

ITR: What’s the last thing you bought when shopping?

Lily: The outfit that I’m hopefully wearing tomorrow for Cobra [Lounge]. What about you— you said you were in New York— what did you buy?

ITR: Last thing I copped shopping in New York was David Yurman.

Lily: Damn, okay. Is that it?

[I flash my sterling silver link bracelet.]

Lily: That’s dope. I know him as being a woman’s jeweler. That’s cool though I didn’t even know that he did shit like that.

ITR: He has a men’s line, yeah. My mom put me onto him.

Lily: That’s like a suburban white woman brand [laughs].

ITR: It is and I went to private school my whole fucking life.

[Lily waves to DJ Femi who spins records during her weekly residency at Umami.]

Lily: Femi gave me my first shot of Crown Royal Apple and my last. We went to the Travis Scott concert together in 2017. We kept going back to her car and drinking. I was like, “This is going down so easy.” I felt like shit the next morning. Can’t drink it again.

ITR: Aren’t you like a tequila person?

Lily: I am a tequila person. I’m surprised they don’t have Espolon here. I love Espolon. I used to love Corralejo, but I think they switched the recipe, and then my fucking friend fuck him for showing me Don Julio 1942. My first experience of getting it was buying it myself at a show, so I was really gassed up you know.

ITR: Yeah!

Lily: It was expensive. We got a discount too and it was still $400. One or my exes who I wrote about in this book he gave me this hideous Supreme jacket when we were dating. It was so not me. It was so not me. It was hideous. It was nothing that I ever would have worn. I was cleaning out my car before I got my new car and I found it. I was like, “This is so ugly. I’m never gonna wear it, but I bet it’s worth something.” I gave him all his shit back, but obviously the shit in the bottom of my trunk I didn’t give him. Took it down to Shop Zeds, flipped it for 150, and bought another bottle of Don Julio 1942. I called my friends and said, “We’re drinking good tonight!”

ITR: Is that something you do when you go through a breakup— give people their shit back?

Lily: Oh, yeah. Oh my god. When my most recent ex and I broke up, everything he gave me I gave back. I don’t want any triggers. I don’t want any reminders. You do me the way you do me you have to live with that. That’s why I delete people off of social media. I’m successful. I’m killing it. I don’t want to attribute any of my success. I don’t want any of my followers to think that you have any… I know it sounds spiteful, but for me it’s regaining my power. Why would I keep you up on my page and potentially get you a new follower or get you some gas when you don’t deserve it. You certainly don’t deserve any of mine. But also that goes to how the breakup happened. I’ve had breakups where things are more respectful. I’ve burned shit from exes in high school. I was not over him until I burned his sweatpants. I remember he gave me these adidas sweatpants. I looked at my sister and I was like, “Yo, I’m really hung up on him.” She’s like, “Let’s burn his shit.” Alright. Let’s burn his shit. Whatever you need. One of my best friends he burned his exes stuff. He was engaged the engagement was called off. So we have a seance. He goes in the backyard right after thanksgiving he’s burning all her shit. There’s something cathartic about it you know burning things drinking things there’s something cathartic. He was like, “I have nothing to say leave it in the flames.” His mom comes out and she’s like, “Fuck that bitch she broke my baby’s heart!” [Laughs] He burnt all her bras. She had to get specially made bras because of how big her boobs were and he was burning that shit. Sorry I went on a tangent about my friends, but good times.

ITR: They seem to be important to you.

Lily: They are very important to me yes, and I think it’s important to realize you go through ebbs and flows of what you’re into and what friends you bang with at the time. Just hang out with different people and you always have your core group. If you know you’re going through shit, or if something happened to you that was bad or really good, who are you telling? Who do you feel the most compelled to share that information with? My dad is still the first person that I call when big shit happens to me. Who do you tell first when something happens?

ITR: My twin, but sometimes he doesn’t answer the phone in those moments. I know exactly what you’re saying— the burning feeling of wanting to share something with someone because they will relate to it.

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How’d you like going to CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts Magnet School)?

Lily: If I had to go back to any period of my life, I would go back to freshman year of high school. I loved high school.

ITR: Why?

Lily: CAPA was different.

ITR: A lot of people who move the city went to CAPA.

Lily: I appreciate you saying that. A lot of people have come from the outskirts of Pittsburgh and profited off of our town and opportunity. I respect the hustle, but don’t say that Pittsburgh raised you when you grew up out in Aliquippa. But, I loved CAPA. It was so accepting. There was this kid who was crossdressing and he got suspended, and the kids in my school banded together and we were like, “That’s fucked up.” So the next day we decided to dress up in the opposite sex. Schools don’t do that. There was a lot of freedom at CAPA being downtown. Other people took the yellow bus. I took public transportation. I had a bus pass I could go. anywhere in the city. A lot of people were gay or wanting to change their gender. I was exposed to a lot of that. Exposure was a big theme for me in 2019.

ITR: Exposing yourself to different things.

Lily: Yeah, because I went on a date with this guy and I was like, “Dad, I’m not going to jump the gun, but I don’t think this guy has any black friends, and that’s an issue for me.”

ITR: Wait. Wait. Wait. What did you say?

Lily: [Laughs] I was telling my dad I don’t think this man has any black friends.

ITR: That’s what I thought you said.

Lily: Okay. My elementary school was very white. At Rogers, at CAPA, I grew up in the city. I was around so many different things and that exposure. You want to be with somebody who also has that similar culture. My dad was like, “Well, maybe he hasn’t had the opportunity to have any black friends.” I’m like, “You make it seem like he hasn’t had the opportunity to breathe air.” Maybe he didn’t grow up in an area where there were black people. He was like, “But what you can impact is has he made an effort to try to integrate in the place he’s living now.” So exposure. I don’t trust people who don’t have multi-cultural friends.

ITR: Did the guy get a second date?

Lily: He didn’t get a second date for other reasons, but that was a very big red flag. My friend group is very diverse and that is something that I am so proud of, and we’re a lot to handle when we get together. We had a party maybe a month ago and it’s like something out of Bad Girls Club meets Survivor meets Chopped when we’re all fucked up in the kitchen. We’re a big family. We’re so diverse. We’re so mixed. That was my thing. Do you have black friends, but also how are you going to act around my black friends. That’s a whole other thing because my friends are my family. I talk about that in my book too. I accept the privilege that I’m a young white woman, but going to Walmart to check out this makeup and my friend is like, “They don’t have my color.” That wasn’t an issue that I ever had obviously it’s an issue she’s had on a daily basis that she deals with continuously. That shit broke my heart. I didn’t want this conversation to turn about race, but I do think it should be talked about.

ITR: All it takes is a conversation.

Lily: They always talk about white guilt and black shame. I don’t know what my ancestors did, but I only have control over what I can do now.

ITR: You put what you’re talking about in the passage called “Privilege” in your book and it follows your experiences you share about being abroad in Europe. Not everybody has the opportunity to go abroad and the juxtaposition of your privilege in the book is apparent. You know you’re a white woman in America.

Lily: Yeah, I think my opportunity to even go to school to even go to college… I recognize that to take accountability for the things I can control. This is something that should be talked about, but it also should be spoke in a way that is easily understood. I guess the things I have control over are recognizing my privilege and realizing that’s the only thing I can take accountability for. What are the things that I’ve done as a white person in America not knowing that it kept people marginalized? They always talk about culture. There could be somebody who is African American that is more qualified for a job, but they won’t get it because they don’t fit the culture. Well that’s bull fuckin’ shit. It’s a whole systematic thing unfortunately that I wish I had every opportunity to destroy. All I have control over is to try to spread people opportunity. I don’t believe when people say, “I don’t see color.” I think that’s bullshit. That’s a cop out.

ITR: Thank you.

You’re involved with Women In Tech.

Lily: That’s a huge thing for us is inclusivity. We want to position ourselves to be a voice for people who aren’t listened to. One big thing that is seen as controversial is that we’re advocates for sex workers. They don’t want to see you’re pro sex workers, but it is work. You know it’s work. Just because someone does a line of work that you don’t agree with doesn’t mean it’s any less valuable or they shouldn’t have protective rights. My big thing since I’ve been with Women In Tech is biases in tech. People aren’t understanding is that when they’re writing code, their personal biases are actually inserted unknowingly into code. They talk about this example in Turkish there’s no gender. There’s no he/her, but when you use Google translate, it genders people. So it says, “She is a nurse. He is a doctor. She is a teacher. He is an engineer,” and they will add genders to those roles even though this language doesn’t have them. Somebody’s writing that type of bias. Being aware of those things, and being a person in tech, and how the things that I do impacts society and people utilize these tools to apply to their lives is important. People don’t take accountability for those types of things. They just think they’re doing this scientific thing on the side, but it’s like you’re misleading people who don’t know better. As a white woman, I’m already ahead of a lot of other women, so my job I see is to provide those people that feel like they don’t have a voice with a voice. You have so many things working against you. You have your color, you have your gender, you have your beliefs, you have your income. There’s so many things working against you. How can we create equal opportunity for everyone?

ITR: That’s amazing.

What are you doing next? What can your Lily Pads look forward to?

Lily: This album. I have another story to tell. I have a lot of the similar themes in “Mettle” because I don’t write about life’s highs because I think that’s un-relatable to a lot of people especially my audience. I don’t want to sit around and read about how great someone’s life is. I feel like change and improvement and innovation happen when people are uncomfortable. I’m trying to share my happiness, but it’s not that easy. I think what’s more useful to people is to say, “Okay, I’m happy now, but I wasn’t always. Here’s when I was sad and here’s what I did to make myself happy. I think that those are the stories that are more compelling. There’s teachable moments. I’ll read a book and this guy went on a juice cleanse and it fixed his marriage. That’s definitely not going to do it for me, but it’s still interesting to hear his perspective mainly parts that I can dissect and apply to my life. I’m working on this album and it’s telling a story that is very similar to “Mettle,” but I’m excited about it. It’s going to be cool. This is more so collaborative. I have no expectations with it.

ITR: Where do you plan to release it?

Lily: Everywhere. I’m going to take my time. I’m more excited for the experience than doing a project, because I’m learning things that I don’t know how to do and that excites me.

ITR: How have you accomplished what you’ve accomplished? You know you have a nine-to-five and all these other projects. How do you motivate yourself on a daily basis to get it all done?

Lily: Two answers: one is to have less things that enable you to do the opposite. The other thing, and I don’t think that people are going to like this and you might not like this either, but I think motivation and finding it is something you either have or you don’t. I’m always hungry for more. I always want to keep busy. My ambition comes from not only maintenance because I’ve seen my success, but one of my proudest defining moments was finding my own internship in college in digital marketing without my dad’s help. I was like, “Oh my god I did this myself.” I’m so self-sufficient. You can’t give me anything that I can’t have.

You have to gas yourself up because no one else is going to.

Deej: The Next Star To Come From Pittsburgh

Deej | Photographs by Alex Young

The snapshot of Pittsburgh culture the last two years at times was bleak. People died. People key to the development of arts, entertainment, creativity, and ultimately progress in the city are gone. After his death, the artist known as Yung Mulatto left a legacy through his illustrations that showed how he championed familiar hip-hop communities in The ‘Burgh. Jimmy Wopo, another local rap legend, was on the brink of takeoff— stardom. Worldwide notoriety was soon to be his, but senseless gun violence killed him. Mac Miller, a beacon of Pittsburgh pride and musicality, died from an accidental drug overdose. Cap Jazzo, a participant in the local hip-hop scene with the group Glasshead passed on too. Within a year and a half, Pittsburgh lost some of its greatest artists and minds. East Pittsburgh Police officer Michael Rosfeld also killed an unarmed black teen named Antwon Rose shooting him in the back three times during that same period, and a white supremacist killed 11 Jews in their synagogue in Squirrel Hill.

Communities here remain hopeful and productive, though.

A legendary author walks among us snagging press in the New York Times, Time magazine, Washington Post, and more for his debut book, What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker by Damon Young. Rappers who came up in the local culture performing at functions like First Friday have gotten signed and hit the road for national tours. Benji., a talented musician and performer opens up for popular rap group EarthGang. Coincidence— Benji.’s older brother, Christo, is a trusted DJ and chart-topping producer in the music industry, especially with Dreamville’s J.I.D. Meanwhile, another Pittsburgh player, Zeke Nicholson co-runs the management firm Since the 80s backing EarthGang and J.I.D, along with 21 Savage and other popular hip-hop acts. My Favorite Color, the rapper originally from Los Angeles who moved to Pittsburgh during adolescence through young adulthood, signed with Rostrum Records upon his return home to L.A. Now, Taylor Gang prepares to make a bigger impact in the city upon the release of their compilation mixtape featuring select artists from here in Pittsburgh.

One of those artists on the mixtape will be Deej, a superstar apparent who can rap, sing, and hold your eye.

Once she opened the door and walked in Klavon’s ice cream parlor in the Strip District, the sun from outside behind her peeking through the closing door made Deej glow. Her colorful pink ensemble kept her in the spotlight. A soft, fluffy long pink coat matched her patent leather pink boots. The skirt she wore was teal leather paired with a big teal belt and buckle. The whole thing was groovy and mixed well with fun and playfulness in the ice cream parlor.

“Pittsburgh artists are doing great,” Deej said. “We’re dope people.”

Michael Carroll, Deej’s manager, mentioned Deej’s placement on the Taylor Gang mixtape and began talking about the contemporary culture as it pertains to the history of Pittsburgh’s music scene. There’s two sides: the left side talking about enjoying life and the right side talking about drugs and killing each other. 31-year-old Carroll claims the left side has had better success furthering their careers and getting signed. He references 2008 when Wiz Khalifa was coming up out of the ’Burgh along with other artists like S. Money. It was the same narrative with the left and right side. Wiz became a household name whereas S. Money wound up in jail.

On the other hand, the 22-year-old rapper-songstress Deej fits into any music community well, although admittedly, she’s “a little different” from others. She’s into mermaids, fairies and aliens as a self-described loner. Deej’s ability forces her to pop out because her voice is too good to keep to herself. “I won’t say I’m this talented person, but I am,” Deej said. She’s soft-spoken, but, as you see, the Pittsburgh native can break into her bag and boast when it comes to her music.

“You know I run it.”

— Deej in "#Bykwri"

Impressively, how Deej transitions from rap flow to singing listeners like. “Everything she does is effortlessly,” Carroll said. Her R&B vocals became prominent in her January 2019 debut album called “Unikorn Black.” Tracks on the record like the sultry “Good Wood” and “On$ight,” which samples Ginuwine’s hit song “Differences,” shine as complements with the bars Deej bites off rapping in “#Bykwri.” She said, “I just create art. Some people call me a rapper. Some people call me an R&B singer. I guess I’m both,” classifying her skillsets.

The mood board for Deej takes inspo from Nicki Minaj “Super Bass.” Deej smiles thinking about that time in her life. “I wore Chinese Bangs in highlighted colors all the time. I did my own hair… You know that was that era it was lit swear.”

As an artist, Deej gains traction due to her product and promotion. She’s performed as the opener for Young M.A. The “Unikorn Black” album released first, and now Deej drops periodic music videos to keep the songs fresh. Both “Pri$tine” and “Space$hip” are next to receive visuals. She also credits her team thanks to her mother and Carroll for helping with her success. “Being isolated is cool and all, but really you need other people around you to learn,” Deej said.

Through it all, Deej has learned her process is “about trust.” Trusting herself, trusting her management, and trusting her message is true. “A good environment and good headspace, you’ll be good. You just gotta want it. Get up and go.”

Read the full transcript from the Deej interview below.

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Deej: Is it homemade ice cream?

InTheRough: I’m not sure, but it is good.

Deej: I kinda want a shirt— a Klavon’s shirt.

ITR: Cool. So, you’re 21-years-old now. How long have you been making music?

Deej: Since I was 17, so four years.

ITR: Where you are now musically— your catalog and your brand— did you imagine that four years ago?

Deej: I prayed for it. “Pray I get there.” I’m a manifest-er. I make it happen.

ITR: Do you feel like you are where you need to be?

Deej: For now.

ITR: Where do you want to go?

Deej: The impossible.

ITR: Now, “Unikorn Black” is what brought me here. The song “Peter Pan” is my favorite song on that album.

Deej: Period.

ITR: I noticed you can have songs like “Peter Pan” or “Space$hip” where your singing steals the show. You can also drop bars. How do you go between those moods?

Deej: I just vibe out. I won’t say I’m this talented person, but I am. If I want to rap, then I’m gonna rap. If I want to sing, then I’ll sing.

ITR: How do you classify yourself?

Deej: I’m an artist. I just create art. Some people call me a rapper. Some people call me a R&B singer. I guess I’m both.

ITR: How do you fit in to the culture here in Pittsburgh musically? Do you even care about it?

Deej: I care a lot about it. It’s actually dope. We had an event yesterday with Taylor Gang. I loved it. We’re doing great things. Pittsburgh artists are doing great. I fit in very well. I’m a little different.

ITR: In what ways?

Deej: The work ethic. The creativity. I’m a little different like I said, but we definitely have similarities, like the swag. It’s dope. We’re dope people.

ITR: Yeah, I saw you Tweeted you met Wiz Khalifa for the first time at the TGOD event.

Deej: Yes, and I was drunk as fuck, but it was lovely. He was like, “Oh, hey, Deej.” I’m like, “Oh, what’s up. I’m drunk as hell, but what’s good?”

ITR: [laughs] I say that not for the fact of meeting Wiz, but for the fact that there’s a lot of hip-hop artists with roots in Pittsburgh who are good and who are making moves. Artists from the ‘Burgh sign deals. I’m curious. How does it feel to be part of that community? How do you feel when other artists make it from Pittsburgh when you’re next to do that?

Deej: It gives me hope. If they can do it, I can do it. I’m as good. We all dope. It just makes sense. Everything takes time and I’m just waiting for my time. That’s all.

ITR: Is there a specific artist out there who gave you that inspiration?

Deej: Honestly, I just stayed in my own lane. I’m a very isolated person. I didn’t really know people in Pittsburgh. I finally popped out now, so I never really compared myself to them. Be myself and I’ll be good.

ITR: Where did you go to high school?

Deej: Moon Township and Upper St. Clair.

ITR: Where were you born?

Deej: I’m from the West Side of Pittsburgh.

ITR: Gotcha. I noticed you’re very colorful. Not just how you dress, but your personality too. Explain your style.

Deej: I was always this colorful person even before I did music. In middle school, I would dress different. I would wear the colorful skinny jeans with the Chuck Taylors. My hair would be different colors. I would say Nicki Minaj. I loved her when I was younger. I wore Chinese Bangs in highlighted colors all the time. I did my own hair. She inspired me. “Super Bass” that was that shit. You know that was that era it was lit swear.

ITR: Yeah, your style is very bubbly. That’s why I picked here at Klavon’s to interview.

Deej: Nice and I love it. That’s why I’m dressed like strawberry ice cream.

ITR: What is your favorite song on “Unikorn Black”?

Deej: I would say “Space$hip” and “Pri$tine.”

ITR: Why those two?

Deej: They sound really pretty. They’re vibe-y. It’s a mood. It’s a couple things. We’ll see in the videos.

ITR: Oh, you’re making music videos for both songs?

Deej: Yes, I’m excited.

ITR: Why do you prefer having money over being famous?

Deej: Because people are terrible. The world isn’t terrible, but the people in it are. People will bring you down so bad. If we get more consistent with love, the world will be better. Fame is not going to be my thing. I’m gonna be ‘over it’ like Summer Walker. Money is okay because I can help other people and expand. Money is kind of important.

ITR: Yeah, it’s important.

Deej: Honestly… I talk my bullshit on Twitter. I do not want my Twitter to be viral. I talk my shit.

ITR: [laughs] That’s why I’m asking some of these questions because I read your Twitter.

Deej: Now I’m going to watch.

ITR: That’s what it’s for though…

Deej: Twitter is for talking shit. People have their moments. People go through things. Just learn how to control emotions. I think you’ll be great once you master that.

ITR: I feel that. My therapist says you have to balance your emotional side with your rational side in order to be the best person you can be.

Deej: Right.

ITR: How important is your mental health to you?

Deej: Very important, that’s why I’m such a spiritual person. I like to meditate. I like to study spiritual things like crystals. I’m really learning it now. Horoscopes too. Mermaids, fairies, aliens, and everything.

ITR: [laughs] That was the perfect description of yourself— mermaids, fairies, aliens— thank you.

So, I was listening to “Good Wood.” I think people are naturally distrusting. When you talk about the female/male dynamic when it comes to love and relationships, females are extra distrusting because some males are dogs. In the chorus of “Good Wood,” I think you’re saying, “Is he a dog or a counterfeit?”

Deej: “Is he a dub or a counterfeit.” Is he a 10/10 or is he fake? Is he really fucking with me or is he fake? Do you want me to sing the hook to you?

ITR: [smirks] Okay, sure.

Deej sings the hook of “Good Wood.”

ITR: You seem genuine and positive. It does suck when people betray you. What advice would you give to younger you or young girls out there to protect themselves in love?

Deej: Just be single and love yourself. I know relationships can teach a person, but trust me be single. Learn to love. Be genuine and open. Be very confident. Take risks. Love could wait. Friendships are important, but love could wait.

I say friendships because people can teach you how to adapt to different environments. They can teach you different traits and how to cope with things. Being isolated is cool and all, but really you need other people around you to learn. Me being a loner I was really weird. I just had to pop out and get to vibe with all the people. I was really shy, but I’m getting better.

ITR: It’s always interesting with entertainers. Like you walked in here fashionably late and all the attention was on you with your pink coat and pink boots to match. You took over the room. I’m like, “Oh, shit. She already is a star.” So, how can you be shy? In a way, your job has become entertaining other people. I feel like entertainers lose parts of themselves that way.

Deej: Honestly, I’m just getting started so we’ll see. Just be pure. Be true to yourself, honestly, that’s really what it is. The universe knows the truth. What you speak and what you live is your truth for sure. If you’re back stabbing and you’re fake, karma is a bitch.

ITR: When you’re making music and you get critique, how do you not take it personally?

Deej: As long as that person knows what they’re doing. You just gotta know what you’re doing and I’ll trust you. It’s all about trust for real.

ITR: What are you working on now?

Deej: Building my content for IG. I’m not an Internet person. I’m still an isolated person, so it’s kind of hard, but I’m getting the hang of it. Plus, I’m a naturally poppin’ person, so it is what it is [laughs]. I’m definitely working on music.

ITR: How do you plan to followup “Unikorn Black”?

Deej: I get better all the time. I have no worries. No worries [laughs]. Either a new project or we’re just going to keep dropping videos. Videos first and then a new project. I feel like “Unikorn Black” needs to be pushed a little more with the videos.

ITR: I like when artists drop an album then delay the release of the music videos. It keeps the project fresh.

Deej: I agree. At first, I was like, “Damn, we haven’t done shit for these.” But, no. Time tells.

ITR: You let the music breathe first then you give people more.

Deej: Right. Time is always right for sure. Stay tuned. I’m excited.

ITR: All of your videos are well done. The storylines everything.

Deej: I agree. They actually were dope. They’ve gotten better. Michael (Deej’s manager), he helps me bring them to life. I am really blessed to have the people I have in my life. You have to have a great team. Great support. My mom is very helpful. A good environment and good head space, you’ll be good. You just gotta want it. Get up and go.

ITR: Michael and I were talking before you arrived about the difference between all the artists in Pittsburgh and those who are finding success is the team around them. What advice would you give to up and coming artists for their path to make it?

Deej: Stay original. Stay pure. Count your blessings.

[Interview conversation on Nov. 12, 2019]

Chad Medved Exposes You to the Dopest People

The Host of I’ll Call You Right Back Podcast Talks About His Interests

Photo by Alex Young

Chad Medved, a 28-year-old originally from McKeesport, Pa., sits at Streets on Carson, a fun restaurant with traffic lights hanging as chandeliers at the booths, decor by graffiti writer Narf, and a scaling mural with a pig and chef’s knife on it. The eatery delivers global street food to East Carson Street on Pittsburgh’s South Side. “My go-to is the 24 Carat Wings and their Philly Cheese Steak. I’ve never had anything bad here. I swear to God,” he explains.

Basically, Medved aims to expose the people he thinks are doing cool things to any mass of people who will listen to him. I was his audience as he introduces me to Streets on Carson. Typically though Medved’s audience is put on to interesting characters through his podcast called I’ll Call You Right Back.

He likes certain cultural oddities such as the ‘drinking the Kool-Aid’ part of the Jonestown massacre. “Take a sip… You’ll love it,” a T-shirt reads advertising Medved’s podcast. While interviewing with InTheRough, he wears a T-shirt depicting a Heaven’s Gate victim covered by the purple blanket donning Nike Decades on their feet. This shirt is only available to people who actually feature on an I’ll Call You Right Back episode. “I just like what I like,” Medved says describing the cults as a marketing tactic.

Episode number 25 with funeral director Sarah McAlee is his favorite to date. “I feel the people I find are unique in the way they explain what they do,” he says. Medved’s curiosity comes from wanting to learn about different lanes people occupy. Episode 64 features Alyssa Fine who is a beekeeper. “I curate things differently… You gotta make it a variety.”

Reaching over 15,000 podcast downloads and 66 episodes since his first on January 11, 2018, Medved has made I’ll Call You Right Back a success with eclectic guests who appeal to everyone. While some episodes feature unfamiliar people and topics, others key in on Pittsburgh’s community of creative people shaping the city’s culture. He speaks with major players who keep a low profile like the music producer who has worked with the likes of Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa, Big Jerm. His latest episode is with the Sean Wotherspoon of The ‘Burgh, Zed of vintage streetwear boutique Shop Zeds. Guests feel comfortable on I’ll Call You Right Back usually sitting on Medved’s cozy couch in his living room for the show. They open up their personalities during the interview and “that’s where you learn who people are,” Medved says.

“Experience is the main thing you need to have in life. You need to have experience because people could talk all this shit, but if they never experience, they don’t know.”

— Chad Medved

Ultimately, Medved puts human experience on tape so other people can learn from it. His goal is to get I’ll Call You Right Back on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. “I just want to be able to pay my bills by doing what I love to do.”

InTheRough’s Favorite I’ll Call You Right Back Episodes

1. Brandon McConnell of One Up Skate Shop

2. Alison Falk of Sex Tech Space

3. Big Lonn of Taylor Gang

4. Rapper Moemaw Naedon

ITR Episode 67 of ICYRB

Read the full interview between Chad Medved and InTheRough below to learn about his foray into podcasting, his favorite movies, a Mark Twain quote, fickleness of social media, carrying briefcases in high school, and more.

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InTheRough: As part of the media, do you feel a responsibility to the communities here in Pittsburgh?

Chad Medved: Absolutely. I think four years ago whenever I did it [PodRatz podcast], I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it. It was just a group of friends just bullshitting going wherever it went. Podcasting really didn’t know where it was going back then. There were a few people that had an agenda with things they wanted to accomplish with there’s, but there were also people doing a podcast that was completely random going off on anything. I think that was my goal in the beginning to kind of go down a rabbit hole, but now I feel it’s important to expose the people that I think are doing dope shit in a way that is able to be consumed by anyone whether you’re young, old, white, black, good childhood, bad childhood, I just want to be the way to appeal to everyone. I think I’m sharpening my sword as I go along. I definitely wasn’t good at it in the beginning. I’ve listened to my first interviews me asking a question and then just waiting for an answer and me just not even paying attention to the answer and just preparing the next question. I definitely don’t like what I did in the past, but I leave it there because I feel it’s important to show people. If people listen to one of my later episodes and they enjoy it and they want to deep dive and go back to the beginning, I want people to see my progression and how hard I’m working at it. I feel that this podcast now I have a better idea of what I want with it.

ITR: What do you want with it?

Chad: I want to talk to anyone that I find interesting. We all have our career paths in life, like we all chose one path to go down. For instance, I’m doing this and on the side I work at an engineering firm. Those are my two lanes. Everyone else has their own lanes. I am still interested in those lanes, but I am obviously not going to turn those into careers. I still want to learn. This is a good way for me to do both. I’m learning about things I’ve always been interested in kind of like the funeral director. That’s probably my favorite podcast that I’ve done so far. I’ve always been so curious about what happens after you die. Who takes care of your body and stuff like that. I don’t know why. It’s grim, but I’ve always been interested.

ITR: What episode is that?

Chad: Her name is Sarah McAlee. I feel the people I find are unique in the way they explain what they do. I could talk to anyone who is a funeral director. Her episode is 25 actually. I could talk to any funeral director, but your stereotypical funeral director you would think would be some creepy old dude or Sphinx from “Gone In 60 Seconds.” Just like a weird guy. That’s what you think about, weird ass people doing that. I wanted to find a person that would be more relatable to someone. I put the word out on Facebook and someone referred me to this girl. She’s just younger, more hip. She wears vintage clothes. She’s a unique person. You can tell she has a personality on social media. I knew she would be someone good.

ITR: How else do you find your episode guests?

Chad: I research. Instagram is my main lane. I find people’s Instagram and I feel it is important to research with their social media. People put out a facade on social media. It’s a risk for me to bring anyone on. From a quick glance they could be appealing to me, but I look deep down into their shit and I see that they’re actually garbage humans. I don’t want to support that shit. I deep dive through everyone’s social media to vet them out. As I’m doing that, I’m gaining ammunition to talk about. I saw that girl who was a funeral director had a picture posted with biographies by Judd Apatow and Steve Martin. This girl deals with death all the time and she’s a comedy fan. I love comedy. That was easily relatable for me. That’s another path we could go down if I chose to unlock it.

ITR: You’re always talking about movies in your episodes and you seem to be very in touch with media in popular culture. What do you consume regularly?

Chad: Movies and TV shows. Movies, TV shows, and podcasts are my most consumed forms of media. Movies are what I started with. I was obsessed with movies ever since I was younger just always watching movies. I had an aunt and uncle who owned a video store. That was my first exposure. Then I had a six-year-old brother and an eight-year-old cousin. They’re already watching all the dope ass shit and they’re putting me on to all the dope shit that they already vetted for me. If you have an older sibling, it’s almost like a coffee filter. They go through and they find all the cool shit so I don’t have to. Immediately, my brother is bringing home the best music. He’s bringing home the best movies and I’m watching all this shit with him. So, I’m getting exposed to it early. Movies for sure are my first love of everything. Are you a big movie guy?

ITR: Yes and no. I feel like there are a lot of movies that I still have to see. You know there’s a canon of books. There’s a canon of movies too. So with that said, what movies do you have to watch to be a movie buff?

Chad: I think my favorite movie of all time is “The Shawshank Redemption.”

ITR: I’ve seen that movie.

Chad: That’s good. I’ve loved that forever. If I had to choose three movies, I don’t think about the “Desert Island Questions” too much, but I would say “Shawshank Redemption,” “Casino,” and “The Monster Squad.” Those are my ‘Desert Island’ picks.

ITR: How do you come up with segments like the “Desert Island Questions”?

Chad: That came from the TV show “The Office.” They get locked out of the office one episode and Jim starts playing that with everyone. I’m a big movie buff we could deep dive on a conversation while we’re recording the podcast, but you normally don’t get to that point. I feel you can learn a lot about people by their three favorite movies that they think of. They say wild shit that you would never ever think that that would be their favorite movie. Same way with music. Same way with books.

Chad Medved sitting at Streets on Carson | Photos by Alex Young

ITR: Is there any episode you’ve had that didn’t go as planned?

Chad: Yeah, I’ve had a couple. I interviewed someone and they took me lightly. They took what I was doing lightly. They were just on their phone. They took a phone call in the middle of it. They lit a blunt in the middle of it. It’s cool if you want to smoke. I’m fine with that. But, I felt that they were taking me lightly. I paused the podcast while he was getting on the phone and as soon as he was done with the phone call I was like, “I feel like you’re taking me lightly. I’m doing this shit for real. People aren’t wasting your time whenever you’re working with shit.” I told him that.

ITR: Did you end up posting that episode?

Chad: Yeah, because I did mad editing on that one. I edited out all the deadass time whenever I’m asking him a question and he’s looking at his phone for a minute and then saying, “What’s the question again?” That was when I was in the beginning of all this shit. That’s why I vet people. I’m careful about who I have on. I curate who I have on. It was hard in the beginning to get certain guests because people are hesitant about embarking on anything that’s not… “I have 50,000 followers.” If they can’t reap anything from it, why give them their time. Now, I’m fortunate enough to have people grab on to this and start to run with it. It’s a little bit easier. I can be more selective. It was difficult because in the beginning when you’re building something you have to have some heavy hitters in the beginning to gain traction and to let people know you’re serious about this. Fortunately enough, people were cool and took out time to sit down with me through references. Like Big Jerm for instance. I would say he’s arguably one of the biggest people I’ve had on the podcast. He was hesitant at first, for sure, but it’s also like his personality. He’s not someone you see all day on social media and stuff. Because we have mutual friends, they vouched for me. He was pleasantly surprised he said. That makes me happy that people put respect on my name.

ITR: How do you deal with that? It seems like people are too consumed with the number of followers a person has on social media. Numbers don’t lie, but at the same time, they don’t tell the full story. Your podcast is what should tell the full story. It doesn’t matter if you have one follower or 20,000. If you like the product that’s what matters. When you get people who are hesitant to come on I’ll Call You Right Back or people who don’t trust what you do, how does that make you feel?

Chad: It makes me feel like fuck them. If they don’t think that what I do is going to reap them a big enough benefit then fuck them. I got other people that are cool people. You don’t need to have thousands of followers. I’m stubborn. I’m kind of doing shit my own way. It might even be hindering me from growing quickly, but I would rather put out a product that is completely what I want. Quality the way I want to do it rather than having some showy names. I can get showy names and I’m grateful for people that have a bigger following, but I also want to talk to people that no one knows about. All the big media outlets stay gassing up the people that are already famous. Put on someone that’s not at that level yet. It’s like, “Why not?” I think people are afraid to do it. I think people are scared of the competition potentially. I just don’t care because I know that what I’m doing is completely what I want. I don’t think people will be able to do what I do as far as as the way I talk, ask questions, come up with shit, I just feel it’s my own way. I’m being completely organic and translucent with what I’m doing. Mark Twain has this quote that’s like, “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” That’s dope to me because people could bullshit all this stuff, but I’m really trying to be real about everything because I don’t want people to catch me in any of my shit, you know what I mean. It’s different to cut up with your friends and embellish stories a little bit, but whenever it comes to this shit, I want it to be real.

ITR: Do you think people in Pittsburgh trust the media?

Chad: I think there’s enough shit out there now for people that want to do media for them to be able to choose what they want to do. You know you hear about people hating journalists. There’s a movie called “Almost Famous.” Have you ever seen that?

ITR: No.

Chad: Okay, it’s about this band Still Water and they take on this young kid who’s like 15 in the movie. He’s a writer. It turns out he’s such a good writer he’s actually writing an article for Rolling Stone. In the movie, it’s portrayed like fuck journalists. They’re just going to write shit that is click bait-y just to get that view. I feel that with the way I curate shit the people are click bait-y enough. It’s not click bait-y. It’s interesting. The girl that I just had on is a fucking beekeeper. I promo’d a picture of her with a thousand bees on her face.

ITR: That was it.

Chad: If I see that, I know that shit would appeal to me. What is she all about? I’m not tricking people. I’m just being creative the way that I want to do things. I think any big media outlet you would be sketchy with, but small shit is the only form of media that’s real.

ITR: How do you make sure to stay real as you get bigger? 15,000 downloads you’re getting bigger.

Chad: I’m always going to be who I am. I feel like a lot of people will say that and you never cross bridges until you come to them, but I’ve always just been who I was. Even when I was younger I always wore the shit that I wanted. I always did the weirdo shit that I wanted. I used to carry around briefcases in high school.

ITR: [laughs]

Chad: Wear suit jackets. I never cared what people thought about me. I grew up a fat white kid in a predominantly black school. I heard every type of ridicule that I could ever hear. You know what I mean, I’m not worried about what people say to me. I’m not worried about if people don’t like what I do. I just don’t think I’ll not be real. I just like who I am. It goes back to Mark Twain. You don’t have to remember bullshit if you’re not lying. I just like what I like.

ITR: It’s crazy how in the middle of an interview that people will say something that pertains to your life. I’ll go back and read articles I’ve written and be like, “Wow, I should listen to what that person said.”

Chad: Absolutely, I listen to everything. I’m 28. I’ve experienced so much shit. Experience is the main thing you need to have in life. You need to have experience because people could talk all this shit, but if they never experience, they don’t know. They don’t know what things are going to be like whenever they experience it. I take everyone’s experiences and stories and I listen to that and I gain what I want to gain from it. It would be a waste to talk to all these people that work their lives to be where they are right now and not take that into consideration. I’m not ever set on my beliefs. I’m not like, “Fuck that. That’s wrong. I’m never going to believe that.” I like to listen to the way people feel about things. People are passionate about shit. People are passionate about shit for a reason. I like to listen to their reasoning behind their beliefs because all that shit carries validity. People passionate about their beliefs means they put a lot of thought into them. I don’t necessarily have to believe them, but I listen to them. I chew that up myself and I come up with what I want to come up with out of it.

ITR: Are there podcasts you look up to?

Chad: I model my shit after four different podcasts. I model it after Joe Rogan’s podcast. He’s the reason that I got into it. I’ve been listening to his shit since back whenever he was in the hundreds. He’s in the twelve hundreds.

ITR: Oh, shit. He does one a week?

Chad: He does multiple a day. That dude does crazy shit. Kevin Hart was on it yesterday. It was incredible. I like listening to interviews because that’s where you learn who people are. People could be on Ellen Degeneres for four minutes and they could joke and promote what they gotta promote, but if you’re sitting there with someone for two hours, you’re going to learn about them whether you like them or not. I strive to be like Joe Rogan as far as like he’s not certain about anything. He listens to all these different sides. He plays Devils’ Advocate and then he makes his own opinions about things and I respect that. Bert Kreischer is a comedian who is in Joe Rogan’s little crew. I like to strive towards him because he’s silly. I try to keep it light. Sometimes we’ll talk about serious shit, but there’s comedic relief in it. I joke around with people. Parts of his is carefree. I loosen the reins a little bit with my shit. Another one is Ari Shaffir. He is another comedian in that group. He’s not too rigid about being in a quiet ass room with perfect silence. He’ll walk down the street with a guest and talk with them. He and a guy named Jay Larson did a podcast where they walked around Beverly Hills High School and just talked about shit. I like being able to hear that ambience. In my podcast, you can hear police sirens and shit because I live on a main road so you could hear a police car rolling pass my house. I like that you can hear shit in the background a little bit. I did an episode where I met my dude in Colorado. We did an episode in the woods on the back porch. You could hear birds and shit and dogs barking. The last one is Marc Maron. Marc Maron is one of the best interviewers as far as being able to smoothly manifest. He carves paths easily. He could just carefree change direction. I model my shit after all of them. It’s 80% me, but I take that 5% from each of them. I kind of use what I like from my favorite shows and incorporate it into mine.

ITR: What did it mean when the Streets on Carson restaurant decided to sponsor you?

Chad: Man, I was pumped because I fuck with people. Local people that are doing cool shit is basically what I’m doing. I’m trying to expose people doing that. They’re obviously well established. It’s an incredible restaurant. Matt Christie (co-owner of Streets on Carson with his wife Lauren Leon) and I didn’t hit it off right in the beginning. He was skeptical of me because of other things. Then I interviewed him and he got to know who I was and then we ended up being super cool. We related on a bunch of shit and I talk to him all the time now. He came up from the mud with all this shit. He made all this shit happen he and his wife and everyone else who works here. For them to be an established place that’s doing super dope shit where you can go from listening to Joan Jett to Wu-Tang in here it’s just a good vibe. For them to get behind me means a lot because these are real people and real recognize real. It’s flattering that they like what I do.

ITR: Where are you trying to take I’ll Call You Right Back?

Chad: I would eventually like to be on Sirius. That’s my goal

ITR: Is that like the mecca for podcasts?

Chad: No, it’s not at all. Podcasts are yourself, but I would like to be able to do this shit everyday. I only get to talk to people once a week. I cannot commit to twice a week because it’s hard as fuck to schedule with people. I’m busy enough myself. I’m married. I got a job. I do this shit. I gotta balance all that together. Family everything I gotta balance it together. I would love to be able to do this full-time. That’s my ultimate goal. You know have an everyday show where people want to listen. For now though, it’s just keep growing this podcast. That’s the best thing about it. I can control everything I want with this. I can pick the people that I want with this. I can curate it how I like. I can ask the questions I want. No one can tell me what to do with it and that’s how I want to stay.

ITR: Where does your audience come from?

Chad: Everywhere. My publishing site will tell you where everyone is listening. The map is almost filled now. There’s people in Russia, Japan, Australia, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Brazil just hit, Canada, all these places. You’re just like, “Fuck. There’s people in Spain.” I think in one week I got 12 downloads from them. I was like, “Who the fuck is in Spain?” That means that they listened to one and they just went and started listening to a couple others or like told someone about it. You know, Pittsburgh I have a lot of shit I could do here as far as growth. I don’t know with the whole Sirius thing. The podcast now is a passion project. I still have a regular full-time nine to five. I’m not passionate about that. I love that job. I’m happy I have it ‘cause I like money and I want more of it, but I would like to eventually just pay my bills with this shit. I’m not trying to be fucking rich. I just want to be able to pay my bills by doing what I love to do. That’s the goals right? If I can do it by talking to cool people who are doing cool shit that I can eventually help grow… people hit me up all the time to come on this. I appreciate people showing interest in me. I can see past the bullshit. I can see past the people who are like, “Yo, just have me on real quick.” I have to genuinely fuck with what you do. I’m not going to give fake ass people a way to come up with it. I don’t know if that sounds malicious, but I just think it’s fucking bullshit. Someone the other day hit me up and I saw they had a bunch of fake followers. I was just like, “I ain’t helping you.” You’re doing this shortcut bullshit. I can buy a bunch of fake shit too. I could do a bunch of dumbass shit to get my followers up where I follow a hundred people, wait for them to follow me back, and then unfollow them all. That is the worst thing in the world to me and I will not fucking support that. I cannot and I will not support that.

ITR: It’s crazy how much people care about your follower count.

Chad: Yeah, your ratio. It doesn’t matter to me for what this is. I understand why people do it, but those people are doing it to reap some sort of a benefit. Those people are in it for the wrong reasons. I feel that eventually the fake will get exposed and I hope that that happens. I don’t care if you have 300 followers and you’re following a shit ton of people. Yeah, it definitely looks better if it’s the other way around, but there’s other people like why not help them? That girl who does the bees, she’s not on social media at all. I’m not going to reap benefits from her. She’s not going to be posting a bunch of shit where people are going to be flocking to my podcast. I just know that girl is fucking interesting. I got people who listen to my podcast anyone who sell drugs to senior vice presidents of big companies. Dude sells drugs and he will listen to these things and be like, “Man, that’s fucking crazy.” I talked to Alison Falk who does this sex tech stuff.

ITR: I listened to that episode, yeah.

Chad: Bizarre. Wild shit. This dude sells weed and he was just like, “That shit was crazy.” My mother who is big up in a company she listens to it all. I usually will talk to two people from two different spectrums about what they got from that episode. My mom always gives me shit because I’ll talk to people like you know who DJ Topgun is?

ITR: Yeah, I like that episode too.

Chad: Kids like him he’s born in that SoundCloud world. He’s wearing Supreme. Face tats and shit like that. Chills with Lil Xan. I asked my mom, “What did you get from it?” And she was like, “Oh, I thought he was great. It was cool to hear about.” I feel that my mom listening to all these things gives her a bigger picture of how I feel in life. Your parents will, hopefully, always support what you do and always be cool with the way you do it, but they don’t get an in depth detailed template of what you want in life. My mom and my dad both come from completely different worlds, but they both listen to it and I hear what they get from it. It’s dope to me because they’re 60 years old and they’re listening to all these different people. Sex tech robots, DJ Topgun, Jordan Beckham, people like that, but then this bee lady. It’s cool to be able to do something that appeals to my parents and other adults who I know listen.

ITR: You have a good balance of who is on your show. You do a good job covering the scene with people like DJ Topgun, Keep Pittsburgh Dope, Cody Baker, you know…

Chad: Yeah, relevant.

ITR: Yeah, relevant, but then this bee lady is obviously not in this pop culture realm.

Chad: Yeah, I’m not getting anything from that other than real shit. I’m learning from it and that’s dope to me. I just want to learn all this shit. That’s why I curate shit the way I do. I have a lot of friends who are in the hip-hop world that rap. I can’t have 10 podcasts after another of all rappers. I curate things differently. I got a list of people I gotta go through. There’s a reason I’m placing people where they are. You gotta make it a variety. That’s how you keep growing ‘cause you appeal to different people. If there’s 10 podcasts about people who rap, eventually people are going to get tired of hearing about rap music even though I love it. It’s a balance.

ITR: How do you balance your nine to five and your podcast? Is there ever a time when you come home from work and you don’t feel like doing it?

Chad: A thousand percent. 45 hours a week and you’re coming home and if I record a podcast it’s usually between one and two and a half hours. I have to edit these podcasts. It doesn’t just take two hours to edit it because you gotta listen, rewind, cut, trim, all this shit. That adds some extra time. There’s a counter on my editing software that tells me how many hours on it. I’m about to roll 560. 560 hours of editing.

ITR: What do you use to edit?

Chad: A program called Reaper.

ITR: What’s your setup like?

Chad: I interview people in my living room. I have two mic arms that clip on to the table. I give someone a nice seat on the couch because if you’re in an uncomfortable position, people are less likely to open up. I want people to be comfortable. I want people to be cozy. I got a candle lit. That’s why I give people their drinks.

ITR: Yeah, “What’s in Your Cup?”

Chad: Yeah, the more comfortable they are the more comfortable they are about opening up.

ITR: What’s something you always ask people? I know you have your segments like “What’s in Your Cup?” and “Desert Island Questions,” but what’s one thing you always want to cover?

Chad: I always talk about people’s high school.

ITR: I’ve noticed that. Why?

Chad: I feel that you learn a lot about someone by their experiences in high school. I was friends with all different cliques of people like gothic kids, the skateboarder kids, jocks. I was friends with all these different people. I related to all them in a different way. Some people that loved high school. Some people that hated it. It’s curious to me. It interests me hearing if people liked it or not because I can get a better read of who they are. Honestly, any topic that’s brought up could lead down a whole different road. Next week’s episode is this dude named Brian Gonnella. I asked him about high school, but it randomly took us to this path about he’s an artist, but in high school they did an art show where they gave them an installation at this exterior venue, so he got to go build an art installation. It was dope to hear about. You never know where shit is going to take you with those questions. I ask about high school and I always ask about… I’m always curious about the “Desert Island Questions.” That’s why I ask them. Those are ones that I always want to ask people. I’m selfish. I love movies. I ask people favorite movies, favorite books, and favorite music. And then Death Row meal because I love food. I want to know what people like.

ITR: What do you order when you come to Streets on Carson?

Chad: I get everything, but my go-to is the 24 Carat Wings and their Philly Cheese Steak. I’ve never had anything bad here. I swear to God. I tell Matt I would be 100% honest with him if I didn’t like anything, but everything is good. I love the environment here. That’s what got me to this place. I love all this artwork. These are his boys who do all this art. He’s helping them. He’s giving them a platform to do more shit. He’s always down to help people do whatever. I’m fortunate enough that I’m able to read people. I’ve always been good at it.

Chad Medved in front of the Streets on Carson Mural by Jewels Antonio | Photos by Alex Young

ITR: Back to high school. What’s the difference between high school and college?

Chad: As far as my experience, I feel that high school is whenever you’re kind of figuring out who you want to be. You don’t know who you want to be, but you’re so exposed to all these different people even though there’s trends and norms you fall into. You’re being exposed at such an impressionable time you kind of develop who you want to be. You’re starting to build that foundation. College I feel like you’re sharpening that sword a little bit more refining who you want to be, hopefully at least. I thought that that’s what I was doing in college, but it turned out to be… whether you think you are refining who you are or not, it’s happening with experience, situations that you’re dealing with.

ITR: Do you see yourself staying in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future?

Chad: I love Pittsburgh. I was just talking about this. I would love to move. My wife and I talked about moving for sure, but it’s not for the fact of my disliking this or not being fulfilled here. I want to move to Colorado eventually in life. I think that that will be whenever I’m a little bit older and when I’m ready to retire. Pittsburgh is perfect. There’s so much shit here. It’s small enough where you can travel to other side of the city. You don’t have those four-hour traffic lines like you do in California. I’ll be fucking with Pittsburgh for a while. You can’t beat it.

ITR: Did you watch March Madness?

Chad: I don’t watch sports at all. I played football my entire life. I don’t watch sports at all.

ITR: You don’t watch the Steelers?

Chad: I could give a fuck less about football.

ITR: Really?

Chad: I was the captain of my football team and could give a fuck less about football.

ITR: [laughs]

Chad: I would watch the Penguins all the time if I had time or cable, but I don’t have cable.

ITR: Is that a choice?

Chad: Yeah, I’m not spending $160 for fucking cable.

ITR: Where do you watch your movies?

Chad: I have Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. I could tell you three people that are on the Steelers right now. Four people maybe. I’m not a hater. I just don’t care about it.

ITR: What made you stop caring?

Chad: Whenever I was younger, I was not collecting sports cards. I played sports because my brother played sports. I followed in his footsteps with everything. I was not collecting baseball cards or anything like that.

ITR: What were you collecting?

Chad: Movies, magic cards, just dumbass shit. I wrestled. I played football. I don’t give a shit about basketball or baseball. I will watch soccer for sure. The only sport that I go out of my way to watch is UFC. I’m a huge UFC fan. Any mix martial arts. Steelers, I’m sorry I can’t. I enjoy the Penguins.

ITR: We’re in the playoffs now (at least at the time of this interview we were).

Chad: I had season tickets for a minute. I split a half with my cousin, but I ended up getting rid of them. I’m a home body. I like being home. I don’t like going out. I get social anxiety almost. It’s gotta be worth it for me to go out. I go to comedy shows a lot though.

ITR: Where?

Chad: Improv. I’ll travel to Cleveland or Columbus. I’m going to California in two weeks. We’re going to go see a couple comedy shows out there. Anytime we travel anywhere, like whenever we went to Colorado, we saw a comedy show. My wife and I love that. Comedy has been a big thing in my life. I did stand-up for a little bit.

ITR: How was that?

Chad: It was dope. It was last year I did a competition at the Improv. It was a March Madness competition where there’s 32 people. I was in the top 3. It was the first time I ever did it. Each week was a level you advance. I loved it. I eventually want to get back into that, but it’s not realistic for my life right now. Open mics are like midnights. I’m focused on the podcast. I don’t want to spread myself too thin because this will be lacking. This has to be 100%. This is 100% my creativity. This is the outlet for it right here.

ITR: When you travel will you try to get episodes?

Chad: Yeah, I try to line people up ahead of time. There’s a couple people I’m talking to in California right now for whenever I go over there. Anywhere I could go to branch out I try to expand it. Like in Colorado even though I knew that dude real well I did a podcast with him because he offers a different insight. California will be the same way. I’m going to Seattle in October. I’ll definitely find someone up there. I’m not afraid to talk to people. I approach people. I try to make it happen.

[Chad and I’s attention shifts to a silver Jeep Wrangler with the doors and roof off. The driver’s dogs heads dangle out of the side as “Hypnotize” by Notorious B.I.G blasts from the car.]

Chad: There it is. That’s a good song. That dude just went up and down [East Carson Street] twice. What’s he doing?

ITR: I was going to say how do you trust your dogs in the car with no doors, but I see them on the leash up top.

Chad: Yeah, they’re gonna get hung out of the fucking door [laughs]. Yeah, I don’t know. I think it’s important to branch out a little bit. There’s more than enough people in Pittsburgh though. I like to sprinkle in a little bit extra.

ITR: What’s a piece of advice you would give to someone who is trying to get married?

Chad: Who’s trying to get married? [laughs and smirks] Don’t have a big wedding. It’s a waste. It’s a waste of money. Even though I don’t regret my wedding at all…

ITR: [laughs] It’s a waste of money.

Chad: It’s a waste of money, dude. It’s like you’re paying $15,000 for a party for other people. It’s fucking insane. I don’t even remember my wedding. I didn’t even drink. I don’t drink. It was a blur the whole night.

ITR: What about it was a blur?

Chad: You’re the center of attention and you have to go around and talk to all these people and give your moment to everyone. You’re just like, “Jesus.” It’s only four hours. It’s almost like a high school dance. You get there and by the time you’re there it just feels like it went a million miles an hour. It’s nuts.

It's Crunch Time in Life: David Cole Speaks About His Label Elisa Jones

David Cole wearing the “Bart 12" Elisa Jones hoodie | Photograph by Alex Young

Growing up in LefRak City, which is in New York City’s Queens borough, for 20-year-old David Cole “it was either play basketball or be around the people on the block.” Hoop dreams were a means to an end, a way out of rough conditions. The ball found David education and different circumstances. During his high school sophomore year playing for Christ The King, he earned his first Division I scholarship to play for Manhattan College. Although, Cole decided to leave home and head to Pittsburgh and join the Robert Morris University Colonials.

“Basketball has been a savior for a lot of people... If it wasn’t for basketball, a lot of people wouldn’t be who they are.”

— David Cole

“I love fashion” too Cole said even though basketball remains a priority. He’s no stranger to the cultural phenomenon the A$AP Mob created in New York blending music and fashion. A self-described ‘hypebeast,’ Cole copped VLONE garments by A$AP Bari or items like the volt, Off-White Air Force 1 sneaker. “I love the way they paved for us in this world when it comes to fashion,” Cole said about A$AP noting all the brands from A$AP Illz’s Disco Inferno, A$AP Ant’s Marino Infantry to A$AP Twelvyy’s L.Y.B.B. The natural intersection for Cole became sports and streetwear.

When he was back in New York on college break his sophomore year, Cole told his friend Aziz Donnadle he could enter the game and make an impactful clothing brand. Donnadle would help Cole create a name. They would call it Elisa Jones, an ode to their mothers using their first and last names. Donnadle’s mom’s first name and Cole’s mom’s last name. “Elisa Jones is smooth. It’s a true meaning. We love our mothers. Our mothers mean everything and much more. We owe them the world,” Cole explained.

Elisa Jones’ first product would return to Cole’s hoop dreams and reflect on his home’s environment. Illustrated bullet holes riddle through the “Memorial Tee,” a memorial basketball tournament T-shirt. The back reads “4 My Dead Homies.” Elisa Jones speaks to violent and unjust conditions in society. “I know people that lost their lives that had hoop dreams,” Cole said. He works for those who can’t. “It’s crunch time in life. You got one life. It’s crunch time,” Cole finished.

Tutu, Kristina wearing the Elisa Jones “Memorial Tee”, David Cole & Tyler Calpin | Photos by Alex Young

Flyer by Tutu

The brand stays true to its roots. “I love my neighborhood,” Cole said. The couple Elisa Jones hoodies out now continue to hit urban motifs. A mustard yellow or red “Public Housing” hoodie relates to drugs, money or murder. “If you know public housing, people are usually trying to sell drugs or do drugs. Get money. Money is important to everybody in life. Murder crime rates in projects are higher than other places,” Cole explained. An element to low-income neighborhoods are agents of the law, and for people of color, the negative interaction between them and police. The “Bart 12” sweatshirt displays the distaste black people have with police officers when they abuse their power.

There’s plenty of support for Elisa Jones when it comes to building concepts. “You can’t build an empire without a team of people,” Tyler Calpin said as the visual artist features as part of the system that represents Elisa Jones. At Calpin’s solo photography exhibit “Searching for Jenny” at Social Status in Downtown, Pittsburgh, Cole met the man who would handle the graphic design work for Elisa Jones, Tutu, a fellow New York native. “Because I have a real big passion for this, I feel like I gotta contribute any way that I can,” Tutu said handling Elisa Jones’ workload and his own for his HeatKlub label. A stalwart contributor to The ‘Burgh’s streetwear community, Ivan Rodriguez of SOSIMO linked Cole to Revival Print Co. to handle printing for Elisa Jones. A former basketball teammate at Robert Morris, Dachon Burke, listened to Cole’s ideas for the label. Each person’s success in the Elisa Jones teams boosts one another. “I need people that are either on the same level as me or above me to help me motivate and get higher,” Cole said.

“I’d rather spend $40 on my friends’ brands than at Supreme. That $40 is going to go to something way bigger and way better.”

— Tyler Calpin

Effortlessly, Cole has found a place in Pittsburgh’s creative scene by being friendly meeting new people. His Elisa Jones designs carry the same relatable trait that “touch people.” Next, the brand will have a pop-up shop on April 27 at Shop Zed’s in the South Side along with Geechi P’s brand Safe Haven.

Read the full transcript between Cole, Tyler Calpin and Tutu below.

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David Cole: I’m from New York City.

InTheRough: I checked out the Robert Morris University basketball roster and saw you were on it. Is that how you got to Pittsburgh?

Cole: Yeah, that’s what made me come to Pittsburgh.

ITR: How long have you been playing basketball for?

Cole: I’ve been playing basketball since seventh grade. I’ve been playing for eight or nine years now.

ITR: When did you notice you got good?

Cole: High school, Sophomore year is when I got my first Division 1 offer from Manhattan College.

ITR: How was it playing basketball in New York? Rucker Park and the public parks are intense competition on some manly shit.

Cole: Well, when I was growing up we didn’t really play at Rucker. We played in Dyckman, Tri-State, and in my neighborhood we had the Y-Zone. So, basically we would go between those three tournaments. Those were the most popular tournaments. Dyckman was always very competitive. You got old NBA players coming to play over there. Tri-State was very popular. Those two tournaments were the best tournaments in New York.

ITR: How would you describe your basketball style? What sneakers were you wearing?

Cole: Nike. I went to Christ The King so we were a LeBron school. We got a bunch of LeBrons.

ITR: Did that influence you when you were picking your school, like a Nike school or adidas school?

Cole: Basketball basically influenced. Coming up from the neighborhood where I’m from, things were always rough. Basketball was a way out for kids. That’s how we saw ourselves as succeeding. It was either play basketball or be around the people on the block. Even if you were to play basketball the people on the block would get along with you and mob with you. Basketball has been a savior for a lot of people and I say that for a lot of people in New York. I can speak for them. If it wasn’t for basketball, a lot of people wouldn’t be who they are. They wouldn’t be anybody. They would kind of just give up. I would say basketball is very important to almost everybody in New York that participates.

ITR: Where is the intersection of streetwear, sports and music?

Cole: Fashion. I love fashion. Music, I listen to a lot of people who are really not in the industry, like Kayo and my friends and family OTN.

ITR: So OTN is like a crew of yours?

Cole: OTN is a family. OTN is seven people. We all grew up with the same dream, which is basketball. As we got older, times started to get rough. Certain people didn’t have that basketball path. Others had the basketball path. However you were going to get it, how were you going to be a more successful person. We got rappers, we got entrepreneurs (me being myself), we got someone that’s in the NBA, and we got another person that’s playing college basketball. Everybody in the group is aiming for some type of success.

ITR: But you occupy both those lanes with the basketball dreams and the entrepreneurial side.

Cole: More not even the entrepreneurial side, I mean, when I really fell in love with fashion, that’s what made me get into my brand. I like VLONE. I like Bstroy. Shout out to Disco Inferno, especially A$AP Ant, if he sees this, my mans YG Addie. Shout out to all of them. I love them. I love the way they paved for us in this world when it comes to fashion. Me continuing to get my money and I know I have all these ideas in my head that I can produce on my own and make the same impact as them.

I actually sat down with my girlfriend one day and I told her I was like listen, “It’s time for me to make my brand. I talk about it like I want to do it, but it’s time for me to actually do it.” When it was time for me to make my brand, that’s when, shout out to Ivan (Ivan as you know owns SOSIMO), I was telling him all of my ideas. Between him and my mans Dachon Burke, I was telling them all of my ideas. Listen, “I wanna run this brand and everything.” Dachon Burke knew so much too because he was my teammate last year at Robert Morris. He and I came up into fashion. Dachon, Isaiah Still (ForWeird), and I came up into fashion. It was really big to us. Shout out to Ivan. Ivan basically told me he was like listen, “I’m going to be honest with you. I see you have some very creative ideas. I have someone who you can go to and get your garments done with them. They can make it for you. You gotta provide them the designs and make sure all the designs are on par and everything will be good from there.” Basically, from there, that’s when I started telling myself, “Okay, I got all these ideas. I got all these good drawings in my head and I really can’t sketch. Aw man, I need to find a good graphic designer.” So, in my head, I know what graphic designers to get. Like, I’ve had friends that had graphic designers that they gave things to and they would take it from there and give it to somebody who they feel like is more successful and feel like they presented something. So, it really wasn’t none of that. It’s really them just stealing the idea. That was my biggest fear personally. I’m going around looking and then I met my guy Tutu at Tyler Calpin’s “Searching For Jenny” (art exhibit). I met him and he was like, “Yeah, I do graphic design.” I’m like alright bet. We’re going to get in touch. I’m going to see what you can do basically ‘cause there’s a lot of people that say they can do things and you just gotta research for yourself. I know he’s got his own brand going, HeatKlub. I see what he’s doing.

Dachon Burke and @rah_mccoy in the black “Memorial Tee” | Burke photo by VALE™

It started with the public housing hoodie that I did. I have three items in my brand. I’ll explain each one of them and make sure you get a good understanding. But, it started with the public housing hoodie with Tyler. I told him I wanted to do something for my neighborhood. That was my first big piece to really mean something. I wanted it to express where I come from. I live in LefRak City. LefRak isn’t projects. It’s a public community, but the environment in LefRak City is a very tough environment. I said to myself that I’m going to make a public housing hoodie, but it’s not going to be my building technically ‘cause I’m not a public housing building. I’m saying to myself everything that happens in public housing is either drugs, money or murder. Drugs, money and murder. If you know public housing, people are usually trying to sell drugs or do drugs. Get money. Money is important to everybody in life. Murder crime rates in projects are higher than other places. I told Tutu I need three buildings to look similar to my building. I just want the whole theme, sort of the whole font, like it’s a flesh wound font, it needs to be an old school type of feeling ‘cause it’s way back. LefRak goes way back. I grew up there my whole life. Basically, it means a lot. Within like two days, he sent me over some work. I looked at it and I’m like, “Yo, this is crazy. This looks tough, but is this really going to come out like this after I give it to Daniel?” Daniel is Revival Print Company. I really don’t know what’s going to happen and we end up getting the hoodie and I’m like, “Yo, this hoodie is tough.” So then from there I’m like alright bet I can trust Daniel. I can trust Tutu. I got my group that I can work around at the moment. It’s really a blessing to have people that you can trust. I just came back from L.A. yesterday. Shout out to my guy Keeon Scott, CreamAAWheat. That’s my brother. He put me on to a garment manufacturer out there. Me and my man Lazarus, we’re about to get some work done. We’re about to get very intense into some garments. I’m still going to be doing what I’m doing now with the images, but certain pieces will be less images and more going on to it. That’s what I’m transitioning over to right now. I also have the memorial tee. As I said, where I came from everybody looked at basketball as a way out. Everybody had that dream regardless if they are gangsters now, resting in peace or, you feel what I’m saying. They all came up with that same dream. I know people that lost their life that had hoop dreams. I know people that couldn’t continue hoop dreams because they had to go get it whichever way they had to go get their money and provide. I said to myself I need to make a T-shirt that’s going to standout and actually speak in a way. I’m going to do a memorial tee, so these are for the people that had these dreams and just letting them know that they’re not forgotten. You’re still out there. We still remember you. On the back I put for my dead homies for the people that passed away, and that’s what the bullet holes are on the shirt for. Due to violence, we have a memorial classic going on for the people that couldn’t fulfill their dreams. We’re showing them love. That was my first shirt. Then it was the public housing hoodie and then after I made the Elisa Bart hoodie. The whole theme of this one was this: I’m a young African American man. You know how it goes with cops. I’ve known people who have been violated by cops. I’ve seen enough videos. I’m pretty sure everybody can understand that cops sometimes abuse their rights. That’s way above for me to actually answer, but for my personal experience with cops, I feel like they do crazy things sometimes. So I said I’m going to do a Bart Simpson hoodie that is basically stating we don’t really fuck with cops. We’re not rocking with cops. That’s why I got the cop as a pig. 12 is from slang instead of putting a police department. It’s a different understanding. My work, I want it to be looked at and I want you to have to ask questions about it. I don’t want you just to buy something. I want you before you buy it to DM me and ask me and I can explain it. Tutu did this too. I had told Tutu put Bart riding on top of the cop car with no cop in it. And I remember he was done with the whole design. I was like, “Bro, this isn’t good enough. I need you to go back and spice it up for me.” I came up with the idea with my friend Dachon. We were dead on the phone for like three hours. I told Tutu I need the cop to be a pig and I need both of them in the car. I don’t care what you do from there make it happen for me. He surprised me with some wonderful work. Actually, so far it has been my best piece. I thank God for him. I thank God for my girlfriend. I thank God for everybody that’s around me. Dachon, Ivan, Isaiah, Keeon, Laz, Tyler, I thank everybody that’s around me because without seeing all the creativity that’s going on around me in life, then you really won’t be able to experience it.

David Cole, Tutu & Tyler Calpin | Photos by Alex Young

If you trap yourself in something and not experience the outside world around you, you won’t really know what’s going on. You’ll just be stuck to your own regular routine. It’s kind of a blessing to have the people that I have around me. I only surround myself with people that have the same goals as me. What I mean by goals, let me clarify, as long as you’re trying to succeed. As long as you’re never going to become complacent and satisfied with what you’re doing. As long as you’re true to yourself and know where you come from, I totally respect you and have no problem building a bond with you. It’s really a wonderful feeling. I actually do appreciate everybody around me. I’ve recently made friends with Geechi P. Geechi is a really interesting person. I want you to talk to Tyler for a little to get where he comes from as a part of the brand ‘cause he means a lot to the brand. Without him and his creativity, I really wouldn’t get anywhere as far as certain things getting done. I’m really thankful for him. I just want to shout out Pittsburgh Social Status. I appreciate you guys 100%. Shout out my beautiful girlfriend Kristina.

ITR: Who is Elisa Jones?

Cole: Shout out to my guy Aziz Donnadle. The brand is run by Aziz and I. One day, we were at home. I’m home on break my sophomore year, I’m like, “Yo, bro, we can really do this fashion.” I’m over here just talking with my mans and chillin’. I’m like, “Yo, bro, we could really make a fashion clothing line.” He’s like, “Let’s do it.” I’m like alright bet. Let’s think of a name. We’re sitting there thinking and it literally took us like 15 minutes. I was like we should name it after my mom. I love my mom Jacqueline Jones. She is my biggest role model. She played my mother and father role. Not only that, she’s everything to me. Basically, I was like we could use my mom’s last name. I said, “What’s your mom’s first name?” He said, “Elisa.” I was like okay that’s tough. I’m riding with Elisa. Smooth. Nobody can stutter over it. I’m like, “Elisa Jones.” His mom recently just beat a little stage of cancer so she means a lot to him as well. We’re doing Elisa Jones. Elisa Jones is smooth. It’s a true meaning. We love our mothers. Our mothers mean everything and much more. We owe them the world.

Shout out to the whole OTN too. Hamidou Diallo who is playing in the NBA, Jeffrey, James, Kevin, Elijah, Amadou, shout out to Fendi, Dudus, MallyMall (Somoli), shout out to some of my brothers I love them all OTN. Also, Jabari Bell always pushing me to strive.

ITR: How has it been finding talent in the city that you mesh with and work well with?

Cole: I knew Ivan first. Ivan introduced me to Tyler at Social Status. I met Tutu at Tyler’s event as I said. It all played out. I met Ivan ‘cause I used to always go to Social Status. I was a Bape fiend. I was a hypebeast once upon a time in my life. I kind of changed everything.

Tyler Calpin: You still are [laughs].

Cole: Nah, not even [laughs].

Calpin: Nah, you just do it different now, man.

Cole: I do it different. I only support my brands now. I don’t buy VLONE anymore. We went to the VLONE pop-up the other day. She [Kristina] spent $400 on a crewneck. I looked at her and told her she could’ve invested it in the brand [laughs].

Tutu: The Neighborhood one?

Cole: Yeah, the Neighborhood one.

Tutu: Owwww.

Tyler Calpin, Tutu and David Cole hitting the whoa | Photo by Alex Young

Cole: Basically, I support my friends. I knew Ivan had his own thing going. I did a photoshoot with Ivan in January. I did a photoshoot with him for his brand and we had a long conversation. He was touching up on everything with me and I was giving him my ideas. From there I knew I could trust Ivan. Ivan seemed like a real thorough, authentic person. When I was with Ivan, I met Tyler. Ivan is cool with Tyler. Tyler is cool. I’m over here talking to him we’re having a two-hour conversation. Don’t know Tyler from a can of paint. We maintained the two-hour conversation. Tyler is a cool person. I’m not from Pittsburgh. I’m trying to find people who I can trust. I got trust issues coming from where I’m from. I come to Tyler’s event, I see Tutu. Tutu looks like he got some style. Looks like he got some swag. I actually went up to Tutu and I’m like, “What’s good?” He’s looking at me like, “What’s good?” Just looking at me. I’m stepping out of my pride right now to come say what’s good to him and he’s over here telling me what’s good like I’m pressing him. I’m like alright I’m just going to keep going with it. “What’s your name?” He’s like, “Tutu.” Then we just started building from there. We followed each other on The Gram and we got more tight. Now, he’s my designer right now. I’m thankful for that.

Calpin: The implications of “what’s good,” as someone that’s not from New York, that’s crazy.

ITR: It’s hostile.

Calpin: It’s one of those things, man, you can’t build an empire without a team of people. Pittsburgh is a small enough city we’re all bound to be wrapped up in multiple things. I have my hands in four different brands that people are starting. I do my own thing. Something is going to stick. Something is going to hit. At the end of the day, it’s important to find success within yourself, but seeing your friends succeed is just as for me… David could blow up tomorrow and I’ll be super stoked for him. He could totally forget about me and I can just be like, “That’s sick. I got one of his first T-shirts. I was fuckin’ with him when he was coming to Social and doing his thing.” Seeing your friends succeed too is so sick, dude. My job, more or less, is to help them get to where they want to be. We’re all competition, but at the end of the day, we’re also part of the same community. We all have the same friends. That’s what’s going to elevate us. If you think about Neighborhood and how that brand started it was about that neighborhood in Japan (Harajuku) where three or four of the biggest Japanese clothing brands ever came out of the same spot in Japan. Who is to say we couldn’t do that in Downtown, Pittsburgh. When one person finds their success and they start to blowup, everyone else is going to get a ride. You have a higher standard at that point. This dude blew up. I gotta push harder.

Tutu: Yeah, that’s just how it is. I feel like right now in Pittsburgh everybody is kind of doing the same thing, but at the end of the day, the people who are real and are in this are going to be the ones that survive. A lot of people gain clout because they do clothing, this, that, and the third, but with stuff like this it’s a marathon.

ITR: Facts. Shout out Nipsey.

Tutu: Exactly. R.I.P. Yeah, you gotta take your time with it. You gotta be very precise I feel. I was blessed to meet these people that are in this store. That’s why I’m honestly here everyday. I meet very intricate people and people who help me work harder towards my goals. It just so happens that this place is also fresh. It keeps me fresh.

ITR: You, David and Tutu, are both from New York. Did you find you had similar tastes?

Tutu: Yeah, I feel like that’s a stereotype of being from New York or just being from a city that is a little bit more fashion forward. That’s why we hit it off at first type shit. It was because, “Oh, you’re from New York. Where in New York? Around New Rochelle.” I’m from New Rochelle.

Cole: I’m from Queens, LefRak City.

Tutu: That’s like 20 minutes away from New Rochelle. It was crazy because I’ve always had to tell people from Pittsburgh about New Rochelle, so when somebody came up to me talking about New Rochelle I was like, “Oh, shit. He knows. Let me keep talking to him and see what type of time he’s on.” Not to say I judge people from their Instagram, but I saw his Instagram and I was like okay he’s got some style. We got some similarities type stuff when it comes to our style. Why not collab? Why not do something that’s going to make something even bigger than we are? Because I have a real big passion for this, I feel like I gotta contribute any way that I can. If that means designing for somebody, then I’ll definitely do that. At the end of the day, it’s bigger than me no matter what.

ITR: Tyler touched on the competition aspect. We’re all in this community together. Tutu said a lot of people in Pittsburgh do the same shit. David has Elisa Jones. Tutu has HeatKlub. Tyler has his own thing but he just dropped a Searching For Jenny T-shirt with Reviving Real. Ivan got SOSIMO. Geechi P has Haven Project. Is there a fear of over-saturation?

Cole: No. We are all family and we all aim for the same thing.

ITR: Okay, yes. That could be the case, but at the same time, Pittsburgh is a small place. You all have different types of styles, but the aesthetic is very similar. How do you make sure you keep that unique?

Cole: You gotta make unique. We all got our own little pattern of how we do our work. You could look at all three of our works and see there’s a difference. You could see there’s a different theme or a whole picture going on. We all do three different things. In my head, as long as we stay separated from each other where it doesn’t look like we’re copying each other, and if we feel like we need to do that then we can collab, I think that we’re all separated. We all got our own uniqueness. That’s what made us all find each other. If it wasn’t for that then we all wouldn’t be in this situation. There’s people in Pittsburgh who I might think have a brand and I look at their Instagram and I’m like, “Nah. I don’t think he has the same ambition as me.” I’m not going to involve myself because that’s just going to bring me down. I need to be pulled up. I need people that are either on the same level as me or above me to help me motivate and get higher. It’s crunch time in life. You got one life. It’s crunch time. Everybody’s trying to get that bread. I have a mom I want to take out the hood. I understand it’s competition, but we could all help each other take our moms out the hood. Why not come together as one? If you want to talk about competition, how do you think the whole A$AP Mob feels? You got Bari the biggest, but then you still got A$AP Illz Disco Inferno. You still got A$AP Ant Marino. You still got Twelvyy Last Year Being Broke. They’re all eating though. At the end of the day, they’re showing us you could work with 50 people for all you care. You all could eat as long as you’re doing things that are different and you touch people.

“It’s crunch time in life.”

Tutu: For me, one thing that separates HeatKlub from everything else is the fact that HeatKlub is not a clothing brand. HeatKlub never started as a clothing brand for me. HeatKlub is more of a housing unit how David explained with OTN. It’s just a housing unit. I got people who are doing music. I got people that do videography, photography, and clothing. I would say the clothing that I put out under HeatKlub is more just to show the awareness. This is what HeatKlub is. When somebody is rocking HeatKlub you’ll be like, “What is HeatKlub?” Also, I want you to go and I want you yourself to do the homework. I don’t want to tell you what it is. Everybody’s approach is different with how this is. At least right now, I like to be behind the scenes. If I do get the accolades that come along with it, then whatever that’s great. But, right now, one step at a time. Very calculated steps about what I do.

Calpin: I think your comparison of all this and A$AP Mob and then dropping all those brands was so key. We’re all catering to the same niche of people. You see Tutu did graphic for you (David), he does it for himself, he did it for Haven Project. I know for a fact Ivan helped all three of you guys with your production.

Tutu: That’s a fact.

Calpin: What I do with Reviving Real caters to a completely different niche of people. That brand is in a little bit of a different mix, but the link that brings all of those things together is my involvement with everyone’s little bit. I do Ivan’s product shots. I shoot sick iPhone Instagram photos of you guys rocking your shit. You’re all catering to the same group of people, so when people start to see this is coming from David, people who are buying Ivan’s stuff are still going to buy your shit. They see Ivan’s fucking with you they’ll be like, “Oh, that guys cool. If he’s valid with Ivan, he’s gotta be a good dude.”

Cole: I ain’t gonna lie. That’s going on right now in Japan actually. He was actually Ivan’s customer and then he saw my friends and family piece on Ivan and was like, “I need two hoodies right now.”

Calpin: It’s a fire starter. One of those things is going to lead to somebody. The right person is going to see it whether it’s Elisa Jones, HeatKlub, SOSIMO, whatever the fuck. Someone’s going to get some attention and everyone is going to blow.

Cole: That’s why I give a lot of respect to A$AP Ant. The bond between me and A$AP Ant… I had ordered something from him and it took quite a while to get to me. I had to start calling him and be like, “Where’s my shit at?” He ended up sending me an extra package and was like, “My fault on that bro. I see you hoop. I support all hoopers.” He followed me on the Gram. After I started doing my brand with the public housing hoodie he was like, “Yo, that hoodie is tough. I need it.” I sent him the first hoodie and then he was like, “I need every colorway.” Being the person who I am, knowing A$AP Ant is kind of a cool feeling, but at the same time, we’re all doing the same thing. We’re all the same people. It’s cool, but we all could do the same shit. Why can’t I be just as good as them? The same way how they got up I could come up. The same way I could go down they could go down too. Nothing is impossible. This isn’t impossible. Speak things into existence. Be honest with yourself and keep it a buck around everybody around you.

Calpin: When someone with a bigger platform recognizes what you’re doing, you know you’re doing something right. Being recognized on a scale like that is fucking crazy. When I even saw that A$AP Ant liked the photo that I took of him or I saw that Illz reposted the photo I took of Tutu on both of his Instagram stories, bro, I called my mom. I was like, “Yo, people from the A$AP Mob are fucking with my shit on Instagram right now.” I mean, my mom is so caucasian it hurts, but she knows who the A$AP Mob is. She was like, “That’s fucking crazy. You mean like A$AP Rocky?” His people are rocking with me. She was like, “Damn.” To even just be recognized even if it’s second-hand recognization…

Tutu: It’s still something you can say that was done by you.

Calpin: Dude, I was on cloud nine for three fucking days thinking about that shit. I felt like big man in town. I’ve always wanted those people to see what I do. It’s going to happen more and more. One day, one of these people are going to see everything that I do on my own and they’re going to want that for themselves.

Cole: I can tell you one thing, being a person who is all about truth and being friendly, I met Keeon (CreamAAWheat) in New York City on my why to A$AP Illz pop-up in New Jersey with my girlfriend she was driving in traffic. He’s just riding his skateboard and he had One Up Skate Shop cargo pants on. I got out of the car and I said, “What do you know about One Up?” He said, “I am One Up!” I said, “You know Brandon?” He said, “Yeah, that’s my mans. I’m from Pittsburgh.”

Tutu: What? That’s crazy.

Calpin: I used to skate with Keeon back in the day. It’s really a testament to how small our community is. I did not know Davin three months ago. The first time we have a lengthy conversation he brings up Keeon. I said, “Oh, you mean CreamAAWheat?” He said, “Yeah, Keeon.” I was like you’re lying. I used to skate with that kid back in Ohio. It’s crazy how this world works, bro. Everybody is all over the place doing their thing, but it’s a lot smaller than you think. It’s crazy how this community is.

Tutu: Shout out to Social Status.

Cole: Shout out to [claps] Social Status. Shout out to Larry. Shout out to Tara.

Calpin: Shout out to Big Larry.

ITR: Lastly, Nipsey Hussle was just shot and killed. You got these bullet holes riddled through the “Memorial Tee.” How are you trying to change this violent culture?

Cole: Honestly, in life, people make mistakes. I know people who probably live the same life that Nipsey Hussle did. People try to change their life. The fact that someone so influential loses his life makes nobody feel safe. If somebody can take down Nipsey Hussle over…

ITR: Some bullshit.

Cole: Whatever it really is, to do that in broad daylight knowing he got kids and a wife shows you how coldhearted this world really is. I try to keep it real. It’s tough, man. All the gun violence needs to stop.