Here to shed light on a up and coming clothing line known as Ethik, is Matt Garrett  who is better known to be the “Overseer” for the brand. Ethik is ascending and for those who aren’t hip need to start paying attention; this is the type of brand that is slept on but ends up coming on top. RESPECT. linked with Matt and was able to break down the brand and the ins and outs of the industry. Check out the interview below.

RESPECT.: Where did the idea of Ethik originate from? How did you come up with the name for the brand come about?

The name “Ethik” was originated by a couple of kids who attended PACE university I actually was not on board at the company at the time, essentially the name represents strong work Ethik, persevering , never taking no for an answer, which he haven’t.

RESPECT.: With the rise of Ethik, have you guys been able to collaborate with any other brands?

We have been able to collaborate with other brands, as our name gets a bit more established we are able to tackle these collaborations, one in specific we have worked on recently was “ANIMAL BIKES” definitely the largest BMX company out to date, was super fun to work with them, we hold a strong presence in the BMX scene as well.

RESPECT.: How about artists and athletes to represent the brand?

That’s where I come into play, I handle all artist relations and PR. Most likely if you fit our style and are super supportive of the brand we tend to work with you, ultimately you reflect the brand. Our SXSW presence every year solidifies these connections.

RESPECT.: As a brand what is your goal?

Our goal is to prosper and grow however stay focused and do not step away from the vision never step away from the vision, ultimately to have longevity as a brand, you know your Stussy, Supreme, LRG. Within street wear most tend to see brands watered down towards the end of their run we are trying to stay clear of this.

RESPECT.: With all the different types of brands and clothing being released, what separates you guys from the rest and makes this product a must to cop?

I feel our style is different than most, we have a few core pieces that really stand out from the others, the culture and vibe of our brand as well makes a difference, our store events, heavy hip-hop influence really makes a difference.

RESPECT.: As for marketing strategies, which method works the best to spread the word of the Ethik brand?

Guerilla Marketing, usually events like SXSW as well as in-store events really work well, I hold a ton of in-store album releases, video releases, art galleries etc.

RESPECT.: What role do you play exactly for Ethik that makes your job such an importance to the brand?

I handle all Artist Relations and Public Relations for the brand as well as oversee events and marketing, it is a crucial position here because I essentially oversee how the brand “looks” to the public eye, picking and choosing how we should release information/visuals are extremely important.

RESPECT.: What made you guys set up shop in Toronto, Philly, Boston and New York? Are those locations the most profitable?

We decided to go the brick and mortar route, open up shop… make a name for yourself, make an imprint, which we have. We have a lot of love in Philadelphia I would say we have definitely started a nice little ripple in the pond out in the city of brotherly love. After Philly comes Toronto, great staff and an on-site recording studio from our friends over at KarmaXWave. After Toronto came Boston.

RESPECT.: What are some thoughts of change for the brand and what do you see for the future of Ethik?

Change for Ethik in my opinion is great, constant switch is needed, change is needed for a street wear brand, pushing the same garments, same material, same events gets a bit old.

RESPECT.: Talk to us about your input in the music industry?

On a side-note I am heavily involved in the industry as I run my own booking/consulting agency on the side @mgbooking, I incorporate my Ethik events with my agency and kind of piggy back off each, it’s a nice system and I have gained great relationships over the past years.

RESPECT.: Which artists are you working with?

Currently I am working with “Frank Castle” out of Staten Island, “History” from MogulClub from out in Brooklyn, “BuddhaGxD” from the East Side of Harlem , and Produce/MC “Eprosounds” from Rockland County just to name a few. I have curated meet and greets for artists such as PnB Rock, Private Club Records, Tsu Surf, Jimi Tents, The Doppelgangaz, J57 and Koncept from the Brownbag Allstars and more…

RESPECT.: How would you like to combine fashion with music?

Fashion with music go hand and hand in my opinion, we associate ourselves mostly with the hip-hop community, fashion is extremely crucial in that world, and I feel they are closely related.

RESPECT.: What does respect mean to you?

To “Respect” means to show and receive love mutually in my opinion, if you know me you know I am here for the culture, not for the bread that comes later.

The post RESPECT. Interview: Matt Garrett Represents Ethik & Breaks Down How the Business Works appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The post New Beat Tape: The Doppelgangaz – “Speak Awn Eht” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Curious to learn more about this world as well as its architects, we caught up The Doppelgangaz to discuss their upcoming album Peace Kehd, the difference between the “Smang Life” and the “Black Cloak Lifestyle,” why Reason is an ideal production software, rappers’ annoying conservatism and why weird looking people are just more interesting to rap about. To immediately immerse you into The Doppelgangaz world, the first question has been omitted.

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Matter ov Fact: We’re anal as hell. If somebody saw our process, they would think we a female trying to preserve her virginity. We anal as hell. [pauses to let the joke land]. We nitpick, we zoomin’ in and fixin’ shit. We’re mad anal when it comes to this stuff.

RESPECT: I noticed that a lot of your music videos are activity-based. I’ve seen you guys ice skate, go to arcades, row on a lake. Why do you guys choose to present yourselves in this active way?

EP: Initially all the stuff we did for Lone Sharks was to first of all, just to break the rap mold, definitely. That’s why we did shit in the forest and at the Renaissance fair. We just didn’t want to do the typical stuff. So that was the initial intent behind it, but I just feel like we like cool different backgrounds and activities and the idea of just relating to the song and trying to make the videos be based on the song. I like for us to just use videos as a creative outlet and whatever we want to do, we just do it. If we want to go to an arcade or a lake –

MoF: – If we’re hitting up a new area, we like to see what that area has to offer. Maybe they have something going on like a certain spot or place that’s known, so we like to hit it up and see what’s going on.

EP: There’s too much beauty –

MoF:  – Especially in New York state. I think people don’t realize how beautiful the whole state is. There’s all kind of beautiful looking shit out here. There’s more to the state than just tagged up walls.

Is there a difference between the Smang Life and the Black Cloak lifestyle?

MoF: Yeah, the Black Cloak Lifestyle is using whatever tools you have to get things accomplished. That’s what that represents. And Smang Life is like this shorty right here -[points at a pedestrian] – doing whatever you want to do or like to do with whoever you want. I don’t care if it’s a dog or an adult or whatever – I’m not gonna say whoever.

EP: – It could be an object!

MoF: It’s about not feeling any type of guilt or bad about yourself or shame. Because once you’re engulfed in that lifestyle, you’re all about fulfilling your desires and you don’t really care what anyone thinks about it. So If I want to have sex with a goat, I say you know what, I like having sex with goats, I’mma just do that shit.

EP: Otherwise, you’ll be like a murderer. You gotta get it out, especially sexual –

MoF: – A lot of people suppress their sexual desire and they start raping people and killing people and all kinda wild shit.

EP: Or they start trying to put on a show and always act like they want a bad chick or the baddest looking chick. Nah, man, whatever she looks like, or whatever the thing [that attracts you] looks like, just go in.

MoF: Don’t suppress yourself! Because that shit comes out in a negative fashion. I feel like a lot of people who are locked up for sexual crimes, maybe they’re gay and they suppressed that shit because they didn’t want anybody to know. Nah man. Just get it poppin’. Do what you do and enjoy yourself out here. That’s what Smang Life is about.

You guys rap about bodies a lot, especially gross ones. What is it about the body that intrigues you?

MoF: I think it relates to us appreciating the human, especially the female body. We can appreciate it in all shapes and sizes. I know that both of us don’t have a specific taste when it comes to females. Females could be on one end of the spectrum to the other end. We’re talking 250 and up, we’re talking about twigs, gassy white to Africa black. We don’t give a fuck, really. Because everybody has something about them that’s unique to them. I don’t mean to sound like an informercial, but people have unique qualities that I can appreciate. Shorty might have like one breast that looks different than the other, but that one titty look good as motherfucker, so we can appreciate different things. We like describing everything. When it comes to ailments, how people look, all that, we notice everything.

EP: The idea of perfect is wack. When I was young and I would draw portraits and faces it was always a weird looking person. And I just think it’s more interesting. The hourglass, beautiful chick is discussed in every song, so we wanna talk about somebody else. And it’s just interesting to talk about that. And ailments, medical things and medical terminology are just a new world of words to use.

The post Beneath the Cloaks: An Interview with The Doppelgangaz appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

It’s actually intriguing how much the verses speed up the song. When the chorus kicks in or the instrumental plays out by itself, the song seems to occur in slow motion: the synths echo, the bass tremors and the sounds just generally linger. But during the verses, things return to normal, allowing an extended moment of clarity before the instrumental slows things down again.

To clarify, the song doesn’t drag just because it’s slow. The slowness works. It’s just impressive how well the song’s pace is regulated. Both producers and rappers could learn something from The Doppelgangaz. Listen below. Peace Kehd is out two weeks from today.

The post New Music: The Doppelgangaz – “KnowntchooTahLie” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

There’s no telling what we’re getting for their upcoming album Peace Kehd, which is out on February 18, but based on “Holla x2” and Dop Gang‘s seeming satisfaction with it, it should be a treat. Watch the video below and read our initial breakdown of the song here.

The post New Video: The Doppelgangaz – “Holla x2” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The post New Music: The Doppelgangaz – “Holla x2” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

If The Doppelgangaz were to be depicted in animated form, the only people capable of rendering properly them would be the folks at Augenblick Studios, the studio behind Superjail! and Ugly Americans. That isn’t an insult. From the content to the production to the raspy delivery, Hark! is a grimy, seedy affair. In the world that Matter Ov Fact and EP describe and create, distortion, depravity and general bizarreness reign supreme: nothing is left uncovered by dust, dirt or muck.

This sounds bleak, but the appeal of this smutty world is how committed The Doppelgangaz are to its absurdity. On the first verse of the album, Matter Ov Fact unflinchingly says, “When he’s not engaged with Fem Dom with his friend’s mom/He’s trying to get this nigga E to drop some ‘n’ bombs.” Right after this he continues rapping; there is no pause or jokey ad-lib or emphasis on the last words to tell you to laugh. This is just a fact of the world, nothing special. This is a feature of Hark! as a whole. On “Oh Well” EP discusses a woman’s response to his phalloplasty; on “Smang Life” Matter Ov Fact hooks up with a woman who has “Roe vs. Wade” tattooed on her back. The examples are endless. But this is more than The Doppelgangaz “just being cool.”

The general atmosphere of  Hark! is far from accidental. From the crackly “Skin Yamulke” to the wispy “Sun Shine,” Hark! commits to this sooty universe even in the production. It’s as if the world itself is just as enlivened as its zany inhabitants. The best example is the aptly-named “Barbiturates,” which features a yawning sample that rocks between the winding piano and the softened drums like the pendulum of a hypnotist. The track itself is on barbiturates.

Clocking in at about 38 minutes and containing 3 interludes, Hark! is a bit on the brief side, but it’s worth a listen nonetheless. Though punchline rappers are far from an extinct species, Hark! shows us why their numbers are dwindling. Rapping well (and also being funny while doing it) isn’t about constantly notifying the listener of your skill through “vocal winks” – pauses, ad-libs, emphasis on the last word, etc. Rather, it’s about having the confidence to rap well and have faith in the listeners’ ability to acknowledge your skill. This is what The Doppelgangaz bring to the table. Their dizzying internal rhymes and multisyllabic rhyme patterns don’t need to be capitalized or highlighted; they’re perfectly legible as is. In the end, even though the title basically means “Listen!” it’s more of a declaration than a command. EP and Matter Ov Fact don’t demand our attention: they deserve it. Don’t sleep.

The post Don’t Sleep: The Doppelgangaz – Hark appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.