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he influential power of any brand
can be the deciding factor ofsaid
brand's longevity. It's what sepa-
rates the fads from the lifestyle.
For Steven Quan Calixte
co-founder and creative director
ofA.L.I.E.N he hopes to hold
swayby being more than just at-shirt line. To Calixte,
A.L.l.E.N is alifestyle.
Created in late 200), A.L.I.E.N (A Legion In
EmyNation) is one ofNew York City's premiere
streetwear brands. "I'm into art," Calixte explains. "So
Iwould always draw and sketch. Eventually I got into
screenprinting.While I was working at a magazine they
putone ofmy shirts in the product pages. That was the
f1111 press Igot and it just propelled me to do more."
Butbefore the A.L.I.E.N contingent invaded the
ru-eem•ear market, their bold styles had been subjected
to much fanfare worldwide. "It wasn't A.L.I.E.N the
product at first;' adds brand coordinator, Kolapo Alex-
Oni. '1t was A.L.LE.N the crew, that most people
were ftrSt introduced to. It was basically our lifestyle
they were interested in."
Calixte and Alex-Orti's inspiration comes from
paintings, cartoons and comics. Designs like "Thug
T~es" (a spoofofDisney's Duck Tales) gave the com-
panyahumorous but edgy image. Case in point: the
NYC Bull Shitters t-shirts and matching adjustable caps
are perfect for any corporate thug in training.
"All ofus are into high end fashion," explains
Alex-Oni. "We want to incorporate that into our brand
but with astreet edge."O
------- -~~r;te!TDI:ET-· ~
=souTHE BIBLE OF HIP-HOP mUSIC, CULTURE &POLITICS
"'
AN}tft!~f·tu~~NE·7~
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WORDS_LULAINE CO!f'ERE
~
nother young rapper's life ended
tra ally when Rayquon "Stack
Bu~es" Elliot was killed in front
qiths.Qedfern Houses in Far
Rockawa7, Que~ns early Monday, June 11.
Over the pa!L_co~es of days there have
been many p~tin!fs on his MySpace page
with fans sending their ~ndolences. Elliot
was just startin~ see success ar his
~zz was on the rise being affiliate~ith
Desert Storm, and signing with Jim
Jiii;lidGang Records. _ ,...
'fans first got wind
o1 the talent through
l!!'ls numerous appear-
ances in freestyles
with Fabolous and
Joe Budden.
After sign-
ing with ByrdGang
Records/Asylum, he
appeared on Jones'
mixtapes and albums.
Freekey Zekey of
Diplomat Records
released a statement
~ying, "Stack is a
true soldier. """""o"'""'-
in similar circum-
stances Ye!!I,!'S:~nc~t's killing me inside.
He was young, and I'm very saddened
by this loss. I was with Stack last night at
Stereo anc:IPit's just hard to leave some~
one and a few hours later hear he had an
untimely de~h.My thoughts and prayers go
out to his fa "ly especially his sisters".
What m may not know of is Elliot's
stint with J¥ F~co's 1" and 15'h record
label. Lupe#ia9wrote about the tragedy
in a blog. "My e friend, it hurt so much
to wak~ up to th· , so sad I watched you
from humble begin-
A'Iijlgs when you
use~ live with me
Obl,t in Chicago and
w4r&ked together
everyday."
Fiasco ended it
with saying forgive
him for his sins in this
life and watch over
him in the next.
Of'June 18
Charles {lhiJ;Ii,.was
found clead infan
ab~do~d house.
The slaY'fn9'1as
allegedly i~ ~taliation
for Elliot's murder. No
m" e in either case. 0
213_ETTS_10:16
BIIRNT RIIBBERCreepin' with that PYTjw.t got even more dangerow..
WORDS_LULAINE COMPERE
1t
rojan has been marketed as
America's most trusted condom
for a longtime so, it
was a shock to find
out out about couhterfeit
condoms being sold to
unsuspecting customers
in the Harlem, New York
area out of small grocery
stores. Manufacturers
of Trojan Church and
Dwight Co. released
a statement stating
that customers who
bought Trojan con-
doms in the Harlem
bodegas should get
tested immediately. They
also urged the public to buy Trojan
condoms at trusted sources like Target
and Wai-Mart.
A similar situation happened in
Ireland in 2005 with Church and Dwight
Co. when the Irish Medicines Board
warned that approximately 500,000 Durex
counterfeit condoms might be in circula-
tion, as reported by RTE News. Durex
another brand of condoms Church and
Dwight Co. manufactures, released a state-
ment stating, "we cannot vouch for the
safety and efficiency of counterfeit
products." The company
also advised
people who might
have used the con-
doms to consult a
physician or a family
planning clinic.
As far as spot-
ting these bootlegs,
Trojan condoms come
in an easily bendable foil
wrapper. The counterfeit
condoms surveyed were
smaller, came in a sweet
smelling fragrance and
were wrapped in plastic.
Many in the community looked
at the incident as "straight up genocide".
Fiona Yancey, a sex education teacher even
used the term "ethnic cleansing."
"It's no coincidence," she inists. "This
[problem] turned up in the black commu-
nity for a very particular reason."O
Hip-Hop MW>ic, .Culture & Politic;, AUGUST 2007_#213
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