Miskeen this... Miskeen that... Miskeen ain't the 1st to be painting like that. With this interview SoJones takes a
look at 1 of Hip-Hop Fashions' early designers that put a flame to clothes with his paint brush.
Aja Imani owner Marlon gave SoJones an in depth i-view at the most celebrity demanded cartoon clothing line ever to
appear on the urban market. Find out why Luda, Chingy, 50 cent, Rocafella, and more stock their closet with Aja Imani!
Miskeen this, Miskeen that, Miskeen ain't the 1st to be painting on that. With this i-view
SoJones takes a look at 1 of hiphop's early designers that put a flame to clothes through
a paint brush. Aja Imani owner Marlon gave SoJones an in depth i-view at the most celebrity
demanded cartoon clothing line ever to appear on the urban market. Find out why Luda, Chingy,
50 cent, Rocafella, and more stock their closet with Aja Imani!
(SoJones.com)
WHAT UP MARLON? BEING THE CO-OWNER OF AJA IMANI, POSSIBLY THE HOTTEST CARTOON & PAINTED
CLOTHING LINE TO EVER HIT THE HIPHOP SCENE, SOJONES HAS A LOT OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU.. MORE THAN WE
CAN EVEN EXPRESS IN THIS INTERVIEW.. HOWEVER LETS GIVE THE WORLD A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHEN YOU
STARTED, WHO YOU ARE, AND WHAT AJA IMANI MEANS!
(AJA IMANI)
What's up Rod? Sojones? Basically Aja Imani means "Joy is Free". Keeping your head up no matter
what and having faith no matter what adversity you face is the message we strive to deliver
with the name "Aja Imani".
I started out Aja Imani with my close friend, Darrel, in a point of my life where I really felt
I needed to re-think what I was doing to my own people and why I was endangering my own life.
Everybody in MD/DC area can tell you (if they knew me) how I used to sleep on top of a
school because I was homeless and how I quit being into the street life after I had a gun
pulled to my face as soon as I opened a door and it was fired, but missed me. I survived all
this to only realize what I was doing was wrong and to put my time into something new that
would spread a peaceful message. That "thing" is Aja Imani and the clothing line tells my
lifestory whether you know it or not! And even on top of all that, my hustler mentality
leaves me to work more after all this. Aja Imani also does home decor plus a few other things!
From all that I became a successful businessman with a beautiful family that I love dearly.
Not only do I love them but I have love for every person who's ever had a dark momemnt in their
life as I did and pulled or is pulling through it. And not to mention I want people to realize
they can survive without going to college. No college doesn't mean the end of the world, just
keep staying positive, do what you love, and you'll make it eventually, through all the bad.
(SoJones.com)
THAT'S DEFINATELY DEEP MAN... REAL DEEP. A LOT OF CLOTHING LINES DON'T EVEN TAKE THE TIME TO
RECOGNIZE THE STREETS (WHERE HIPHOP WAS BORN) AND WHAT THOSE PEOPLE ARE GOING THROUGH. THEY JUST
LOOK TO FEED AND MAKE MORE MONEY OFF A CULTURE BORN IN GHETTO-AMERICA. I'M GLAD YOU KNOW ABOUT
IT NO DOUBT! I KNOW THAT WHOLE CONCEPT AND IDEA ALONE HAS TO GET RAPPERS INVOLVED WITH AJA
IMANI... WHAT'S A FEW OF THE CELEBRITIES THAT HAVE ROCKED AJA IMANI IN VIDEOS OR APPEARANCES OR
THAT YOU SELL TO PERSONALLY?
(AJA IMANI)
Rod there's too many things Aja Imani has appeared in for me to list them all. However let me
give you a few off top. Of the artists that truly love my clothing line, the biggest of those is
possibly Ludacris. He personally makes sure he rocks Aja Imani in near all of his videos and
photo shoots. If it wasn't for his stylist, all he might have on is Aja Imani for real. Luda's
also been a good friend of mine since he's found Aja Imani. Also Luda's Disturbing the Peace
labelmates can be seen in Aja Imani, including Chingy. 50 Cent, I'm cool with him and he
wears Aja Imani also. Sean Paul, when he made the cover of Vibe, we laced him with a few things
for that shoot... Swizzbeats in DMX's latest video, Free for 106 & Park buys our designs a lot,
Amerie, and Nelly... The Whole Rocafella family pretty much wears Aja Imani also. Jay-Z,
Peedi Crack, Young Gunnaz, Cam'Ron, Juelz Santana, Dip Set, State Property, Rell, Matt Daimon...
Matter of fact, you can see our stuff in the "no better luv" video by Young Gunnaz featuring
Rell.
(SoJones.com)
SPEAKING OF THE R-O-C AKA ROCAWEAR FOR THE SLOW ONES, I HEARD A RUMOR THAT AJA IMANI SIGNED TO
ROCAWEAR FOR A DISTRIBUTION DEAL... HOW TRUE IS THIS? WHY DID YOU SIGN IF SO?
(AJA IMANI)
Yea, it's true... Aja Imani is signed to Rocawear. We should be releasing some things soon
through the Roc. Aja Imani and Rocafella have been close throughout the years and they saw the
potential in our clothing line. Now they have just given us the okay to do some bigger things.
There have been plenty of offers in the past but none were to my liking and Rocawear's deal
made me feel comfortable enough to go through with it.
(SoJones.com)
WELL, SINCE YOU ARE SIGNED TO ROCAWEAR, CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE THE CLOTHING IN STORES OR ON THE
AJA IMANI WEBSITES?
(AJA IMANI)
The website should be up sometime this year... It's been at a stand still because we couldn't
really release our designs to the public until all deals were signed and confirmed. When the
site is up and functioning, it will feature updates on what Aja Imani is doing, where it can be
seen and more... As far as when you can see it in stores, you can already buy it from our Aja
Imani stores located in Capitol Heights, MD or in Charlotte, NC. Visit AjaImaniOnline.com for
addresses...
(SoJones.com)
WITH THE EXPANSION OF AJA IMANI THROUGH ROCAWEAR, WHAT WILL CHANGE WITH AJA IMANI?
(AJA IMANI)
Nothing will change except more ideas and designs... I'm looking to hire designers from different
areas who have humbled attitudes and work well within a team currently to get ready for the
major launching of Aja Imani. I need everything from graphic designers to painters... I'm also
willing to teach anyone who's willing to take an open ear and listen.
(SoJones.com)
WHAT STANDARDS DO YOU HOPE FOR AJA IMANI TO SET?
(AJA IMANI)
I want Aja Imani to become a high fashion name plain and simple. No "real" black have made it
into high fashion. They are either gay, act superficial, or just forget about the struggle
minority America goes through. And I'm not against gays, I just feel there's a "glass ceiling"
effect going on here and that's not cool.
(SoJones.com)
WHAT'S SOMETHING YOU WANT TO SAY TO URBANITES READING ON SOJONES?
(AJA IMANI)
First off, if you know somebody who is doing something positive, and you want to help, asking for
a discount is not helping. Urban Communities are limiting themself because we ask each other
for hand outs and then pay full price to those you don't know. We must stop that as a whole in
the hiphop community. If we support our own we will rebuild what generations and non-related
scavengers have taken from us. If you learn anything from me, that is one I would hope everyone
learns.
Also, if you ever decide to do something, do your own thing. Don't copy something another has
created for a quick profit. All you have in this world is your word and your bond. Destroying
another man's dream by trying to steal it is negative and will leave you in the same feeling.
(SoJones.com)
AITE MARLON, MUCH LOVE FOR GIVING ME THE TIME AND I HOPE AJA IMANI DOES REPRESENT THE URBAN
COMMUNITY AS WELL AS YOU HAVE WORDED IT! I THINK A LOT CAN LEARN FROM THIS INTERVIEW ALONE.
ON ANOTHER NOTE, CAN YOU LEAVE THE NUMBER FOR YOUR STORE SO PEOPLE CAN CALL AND POSSIBLY GET
A CATALOGUE OR MAKE PURCHASES?
(AJA IMANI)
No doubt Rod, I appreciate all the people who show Aja Imani love. Call me whenever you need
anything my brotha. I look forward to working with you in the future and definately will pass
any help I can your way when needed.
People can contact the Charlotte store at (704)598-5160... Tell them you saw us through Sojones and
interested in making a purchase.
