URB1 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ROD FROM URB

Article written by: Rodrick Rainey
Posted on: June 26, 2004

Been wondering who’s behind Urb1? Well Urb1 moderator KidYungN took your questions from the fashion forums addressed to the owner and made an interview. Read about how Urb1 got started, where it’s going, and how you can win an 18karat white and yellow gold bracelet, covered by 1 carat of diamonds! Not interested? It’s all good! Just don’t complain you can’t find the answers later.

(KIDYUNGN) FIRST OFF, CONGRATULATIONS ON URB1.COM. CAN YOU GIVE ME A LIL BACKGROUND INFO REGARDING YOU? NAME, AGE, BIRTH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE…

(ROD FROM URB) Thanks for the congrats, KidYungN. As far as background information, all everyone needs to know is I’m from the Carolinas… And my home city is birthplace of Kevin Garnett. It’s not the country, it’s the biggest metro in SC, but everything urban has been stripped from it since the early 90’s street plague because many of the urban stores were running from laundry money.

(KIDYUNGN) WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START URB1.COM AND WHAT WERE THE STARTUP COSTS LIKE?

(ROD FROM URB) This is the question every person I work with asks… What made you start this site. Aite, first off, I like to be original with the work I do. I wanted to venture into a category of hiphop nobody else had ever done.

Growing up in the south and getting to visit New York and the T.Dot (Toronto), I got a chance to see clothing nobody around my way had ever seen. I wanted to connect the fashion scenes of all coasts to give options amongst hiphop fashion shoppers. Once I started buying the clothing from these different areas, people would be like “Yo, that’s hot! Where can I get it?”.

From those people’s questions, I ran with it… I built a website that could give anyone the opportunity to buy clothing that’s not sold in their area. A fashion gate for the south is what I originally thought of Urb1 to be.

Later on I just wanted people from all over to network and talk about what trends are going on in their area just so people will see another hood’s fashion through verbal description.

And for real, for real… I was just tired of mad people getting jipped when trying to buy things online. A lot of scandelous people target hiphop culture supporters with scams online and I wanted to give everyone a place they could get information from on a merchant or just feel like “yea, if this site says it’s legit.. it’s legit.. if not get at Rod”. I’m a real cat, no thug or none of that, I just wanted a new angle, try to wart off hiphop scam artists, and keep it hiphop.

(KIDYUNGN) WHEN YOU STARTED URB1.COM DID YOU HAVE EXPECTATIONS OF IT BECOMING THIS BIG?

(ROD FROM URB) Man, Hell yea! When I do something, I don’t do it to fail. I think right now Urb1 is a site with way more power than people realize because the people support it in massive numbers. Any idea you have, you can find a crowd that will run with it. Once you have found that crowd, you have a piece of social power because you can give influence.

But the one thing I do hate, is biters. Biters is a lier in disquise and they can never succeed. If there’s anything I can teach to the urban community is to try and get your own idea to run with. Ignorant people will say “nah, that’s wrong” but trust me, you will learn. You can steal somebody’s idea early but in the long run it will catch you whether they sue you once you get a lil’ dough or whether they just get you cancelled out, causing you to lose all your investment.

(KIDYUNGN) THE MOST POPULAR PART OF THE SITE SEEMS TO BE THE MESSAGE BOARDS. WHAT MAKES THEM SUCH A POPULAR FEATURE AMONST GUESTS?

(ROD FROM URB) The people is who makes the message boards popular…lol.. come on man.. You gotta know this! You, Nina, QT_P, N.Dot, EastOaklandMami, Angel, Brick City (wherever he at), Mami So Fly, Lola, SubCulture, Dmancan00 (#1 chat room appearance maker), HSIC, JbCustomKix, Dat Nukka, Shells N rounds, OmniOmega, SC Lunatic, Stink Pink, RJ, Shaniqua, Sinsair, and nothing but love even if I missed a name….

The main difference in other boards is this is like a fam to me. I come from a place where trust isn’t all that great and I had no fam living in the same state. The internet has been a place I could chill and talk to people… Not to mention when black planet came out, lol… The searches I did on it did wonders for my social life.. hahaha..

I don’t treat them like somebody I don’t know. I respect all and those who respect back I got nothing but love for. If I became a millionaire, no lie, I’d fly everybody in the forums in for a party to a city that everybody agrees on. Those who were just as real offline as they were online, I’d offer a position to in whatever I’m doing. If I got it to give, why not?

The public is who gives success… The owner just puts it out there for you… One thing hiphop culture really needs to remember. Support the moms and pops store who’s been selling to the hood 10 years before you go somewhere like Best Buy to get a product. It might cost a bit more, but you investing in a future for yourself and others like you when you do that! The purchasing power of Hip-hoppers right now is so serious, we could determine what businesses are functional and which we feel need to pay more tribute to who’s funding them.

(KIDYUNGN) ONTO YOUR CLOTHING LINE, WHAT DOES “AKAHPELLAH” STAND FOR?

(ROD FROM URB) Acapella was how I used to record on my Tascam Porta 02 four track back in the day. No instrumental, just my voice. Therefore I had already liked the word because it described a form of music I enjoyed flirting with.

Anyhow, I turned the word into an ebonics-like spelling… And before you diss ebonics, just remember, it’s a language… Just like immigrants speak their own language, it’s a method of real working class people recognizing others of their stature. Communication shared by multiple generations of hiphop crowds to form a bond.

Anyhow, Akahpellah is the ebonic spelling of Acapella in my mind. A 2nd word for a newly derived meaning. Akahpellah is simply this… A person who stands out from the crowd, a leader. Just like a voice is by itself, I want the name of my clothing line to represent the person wearing it. A person who’s not afraid to lead. I don’t follow trends, I don’t do the European fashions, and I don’t confine myself to one genre or culture… I simply do me… I do real… I do my designs for those who love hiphop… If others want it, then get it but never get it twisted who I do my thing for.

(KIDYUNGN) HOW DID URB1 VISITORS AND THE REST OF THE PUBLIC RESPOND TO IT? PURCHASE IT, CRITICIZE IT, OR WHAT?

(ROD FROM URB) The love I got from the line was big. Most people from the site loved it, but of course you got people who don’t like it.. You can never get everyone you know?

I’m going to rerelease more clothing this summer hopefully and this time around the shirt will have the matching customized air force 1s done by JB Custom Kix, my right hand man now in design.

(KIDYUNGN) CAN WE EXPECT AKAHPELLAH TO ENTER STORES OR IS IT EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE?

(ROD FROM URB) I haven’t decided on this yet. Selling to stores is still up in the air this time around but Of course it will be online all day! The original idea was to keep it online so it would stay ultra exclusive and demand wouldn’t get so high, I’d see my ish being bootlegged down in the garment district of NYC….

(KIDYUNGN) RUMOR HAS IT YOU WANT TO OPEN A CLOTHING STORE IN YOUR HOME STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, IS THAT TRUE?

(ROD FROM URB) I want to, but it depends on the money. I don’t like the idea of passing my ideas out to bankers so I can apply for a loan. I’m paranoid about handing people out my business plans but at the same time, I’m meeting people who might be able to help time to time. If I do open it, I want all the people from Urb1 to visit.

In the store, besides selling clothes, I want to run hiphop freestyle tournaments monthly for undisclosed prizes, John Madden & NBA Live tournaments monthly, as well as just pick random winners who shop

That’s a lot for the SC to handle I bet, but I can pull it off with the right touch.

(KIDYUNGN) WHEN DO YOU EXPECT THE STORE TO HAVE FULLY OPERATIVE SCUCESS, IF AT ALL? TRUE?

(ROD FROM URB) I hope by next summer, but who knows. I Need money in hand before I can purchase a store space.

(KIDYUNGN) WOULD YOU BRING ANY OF THE FORUM VETERANS DOWN TO WORK IN THE STORE? IF YES, WHO ARE SOME OF THE PEOPLE YOU WOULD ALLOW TO WORK IN THE STORE THAT YOU KNOW THUS FAR?

(ROD FROM URB) Plain and simple, my jobs would be open to ANYONE who has a history of being in the Urb1 forums posting educated matter. Besides being in the forums though, those people would definately have to have hustle about them and also be very loyal. I don’t need hook-ups in a store because that’s why people who try to go into a hiphop fashion business usually fails. Their own friends asking like “come on dawg.. hook me up with a better price”. That’s ludicrous. Let me tell you all, if you want a store to thrive, get off ya wallet and just pay full price. You know if you went into a store that’s owned by somebody who doesn’t care about hiphop, you’d pay without a hassle.

Anybody doing legit business has a set rate to sell at also, if they give the hook up and word gets out, they can lose accounts with businesses. These asian and indian stores with all this stuff you getting on the hook up is straight fraud. They either selling you 3 year old products, fake products, or a name brand you never heard of. The name brand you never heard of is the best thing for you to buy b/c it’s probably the best quality and will make you look more reality struck.

(KIDYUNGN) WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE CLOTHING LINE OF ALL TIME AND WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE CURRENTLY?

(ROD FROM URB) Aite, this is a question I like. My favorite clothing lines! Right now I’d definately have to say on a major scale, there’s not too much I’m feeling. Enyce and Akademiks is definately on my list to check when i’m back in my 2nd home, NYC. To me, they put out the most creative designs and usually sell their clothing in outfits. I like to cop everything in 2s so I make sure I”m not searching for something to match.

My list of underground favorites is what I”m big on! I don’t try to follow a bunch of major lines because they sell the same designs, just different name brands. In the underground is where all the real trends are made.

The favorites from the Underground is a long range. I rock anything Air Wear NYC all day because my man has been hot since his airbrush touched clothing. A true visionary if you ask me. Next to Air Wear NYC, I definately gotta give props to Infancy Exclusives. They hit me off with some clothing I’ve been wearing so much the threads are coming out.

New things in my closet are from Five Four Clothing. I wanted to diversify my closet by getting some west coast flavor in it, and they hit me off right. I copped 4 of their t-shirts, and 1 of those got stolen from me before I could wear it. hahaha… But it’s all good, I know the person.

When it comes to custom shoes and painted clothing, besides what Infancy does, JB Custom Kix put togethor a serious Urb1 shirt for me. His work’s appearance was the reason I put him into the whole Akaphellah mix. JB was definately blessed with some creativity that’s off the meter.

Oh yea! How can I forget Legendary Game. In case you think you have a hot jersey, you are trippin’. If I had the kind of money I didn’t have to worry about budgeting, I’d have a lot more of LG’s jerseys. The custom jersey work they’ve done for me for each Black Bike Week (Myrtle Beach, SC), has gotten me stopped and questioned by cats that don’t know me. Everybody who sees the city on my jersey and is from it wants a number to call Legendary Game at. No lie, hands down, I have never owned a sicker jersey than the joint Throwback from LG gave me this year!

(KIDYUNGN) WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AND URB1.COM 5 YEARS FROM NOW?

(ROD FROM URB) 5 years from now, where do I see Urb1? hmmmmmm… Well, I really don’t know. I’d love for it to be a lot bigger and recognized by clothing lines for use as a method of taking advice from the public.

On top of that, I want it to be the source of a big hiphop fashion revolution. The reason at least 30 clothing lines made it to major success. I want it to be the reason people start dressing how they want, as they now have a source to find more options.

Also, I’d love for it to be a site that kids from every inner city or suburbian hiphip hood use as a method to talk. People need to kick it with people from other areas and get over this thing of disliking a person because of where they are from. Diversifying can help a lot of people become more successful.

And speaking of success, I’d love for it to be a place that all these college grads, businessmen and women currently visiting, come back to and spread knowledge. Whether it be fashion related or not, just giving roots for a future in whatever somebody who is loving hiphop, wants to be a part of.

(KIDYUNGN) OUTSIDE OF ALL THIS, DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A POISITVE ROLE MODEL?

(ROD FROM URB) A role model? Haha.. that’s a laugh… I don’t consider myself a role model, I consider myself a normal person. If a kid looks up to me, that’s great but to be honest I don’t think i’m cultured enough to be a role model. Just treat me like a friend before you hit me with that “I love what you’re doing man” line.

I have planned all my life to do something big within hiphop and that’s all I’m really focused into. Basketball was also a plan but that didn’t happen after I got benched my senior year in high school and ended up going to Fort Valley off a non-athletic scholarship. And I only pulled that because my GPA was raised in the state of Georgia as their GPA is on a lower scale.

(KIDYUNGN) IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE INTERVIEWING A MAN OF YOUR STANDARDS. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU AND YOUR NEW FAMILY. BE SURE TO KEEP US UPDATED WITH YOUR FUTURE PLANS AS YOUR FUTURE SEEMS TO HAVE A SHINING STAR LEADING YOU DOWN THE DARK ROAD OF SUCCESS.

(ROD FROM URB) Much love for aligning these interview questions KidYungN and before I go, I gotta give a shout out to your “PADE Record label family” as I know ya’ll have some hot artists coming out. But on the inside joke tip, make sure ya boy not dancing in the video.. hahaha…

To all those reading, on the official launch of Urb1 Magazine’s 2nd issue I’ll be giving away the bracelet in that top photo. The magazine will cost $2 per issue and some lucky winner will receive a winning letter! The bracelet is a White & Yellow 18K gold braclet with certified diamonds that total in at 1 Carat. Retail is over $1500. I look forward to giving it away to one of the loyal Urb1 supporters!

PEACE & LOVE YA”LL!