New York City bred some of the most progressive and innovative artists the world has ever seen. Each neighborhood has a unique culture starkly different from the next, and within each lies several sub-cultures hidden from the mainstream. Just a few miles before you reach the apex of Manhattan, lies Harlem – a predominantly African-American neighborhood that has positioned itself at the forefront of African-American business and art since the 1930s. Two particular contemporary artists hailing from the iconic neighborhood stopped by the SlamXHype office to chat with us – answering the questions many people have about their come up, inspiration, current and future projects. We’re supremely grateful for the opportunity to meet Vinny Cha$e and Kid Art, and would like to invite you to learn more about their story.
How would you describe your style?
Vinny Cha$e – I would describe my style like motherfucking, I don’t know, like Jet Li or some shit. I just do whatever I feel like doing. I don’t live by any rules or parameters. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not out here breaking mad laws and shit, but at the same time, I live in a world where I do what I want.
What do you feel sets Cheers Club apart from other NYC artists?
V – Oh, we’re just better.
Kid Art – Next question.
V – Number one, we’re dumb nice. Number 2, our videos are stupid, crazy. Matter of fact, we don’t even make videos, we make mini movies. We come up with the concepts ourselves. Everything we do creatively comes out of our fucking brains, unlike a lot of these motherfuckers. A lot of people are owned by people, who are owned by people – we don’t have that problem.
What would you say is your biggest source of inspiration?
V – The internet. Information. I’m like the fucking matrix. I like waking up and just having all the digital 1s and 0s. Thats what I live for. Everything today is being discovered digitally. Nothing is being discovered by a motherfucker just walking up on it. Everything is being shared and whatever is being shared the most is what’s “discovered.”
How has being a Harlemite affected your style?
V – Shit, I guess they say we have some type of way about us. But in being from Harlem, I can’t really see it. I was raised there but I’m not trying to dress like Cam and shit.
How do you think style changes between different neighborhoods?
K – We’ve lived all over the city. Things change wherever your go. You go uptown, you go downtown and they’re two different worlds, really.
V – Today, it’s much more mixed up. It’s not like Harlem let’s say five years ago. It’s cool; there are nice boutiques and restaurants and shit. It’s a different Harlem from what it was even two years ago.
Speaking of boutiques, what are some of your favorite spots to hit up in New York City?
V – Definitely Bape. I love Bape. I like Bergdorf Goodman. I like the Salvation Army. I like shit I can’t find, so I make it. Like the Chanel ski mask.
K – Yeah, we just make the shit, man. (Laughs)
V – If it doesn’t exist, I make it.
Have you guys started to gain traction for your art you create?
V – Hell yeah, definitely. We got a lot of stuff coming up with Cheers Club clothing. Especially with Kid, his background in design is crazy. They taught me how to design and get my ideas out.
Describe one of your wildest studio experiences.
V – You want to know something crazy? Nah, damn. I shouldn’t even tell them. (Laughs)
K – (Laughs)
V – I was going to tell them how were in the studio with Rowdy Rebel and eight hours later, the studio got raided. Luckily we left. We weren’t in the building for that.
K – You know what was a crazy one? Ma$e. We got to see Ma$e start from scratch – go a verse from scratch – that shit blew my mind. He’ll go in the booth like, “Yeah, yeah,” then he comes out and sounds exactly like he was rapping.
V – His rap voice is his regular voice.
How has life been since singing with Epic?
V – Life has been cool. Things definitely have changed – relationships changed, people changed. The funny thing is, things around you change, but you – yourself – are the same individual. People around you expect certain things.
K – We make music the same way since we started. So, we’ve just been doing hat we do and it’s pretty interesting to see how much shit changes around you. a lot of peoples’ perspectives changed.
V – Since signing a major label deal, though, we’re definitely putting a lot more work in professionally. There’s a lot of shit that we’re doing that’s about to come out like “New World Trade,” my EP that’s coming out this year. If you see all the shit we do, work wise, you’d understand that that’s a big fucking deal. Nobody had Marc Jacobs in their fucking videos, ever. That’s the type of shit we pull off for music videos. We want to continue to push the limits and keep making creative shit.
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