F.M. PHENOMENAL: January 2009

Chris Julian, Ibn Jasper, Don C., Virgil Abloh, Taz Arnold, Karl Lagerfeld, Kanye West, Fonsworth Bentley, Mr. Hudson and the future Mrs. Shannon Abloh

Since I got back from Paris I've been reading some of the most absolute, dumbest comments that I have ever seen about our trip to Fashion Week. The comments were so dumb that I can't even believe that the people who wrote them even know how to use a computer. People were saying that we dress "gay" and that we're "clowns" among other things. And for the record, aint NONE OF US "gay"or a "clown". What's so funny to me about it , is that we dress like grown men. We are all approaching, or in our 30s, and we have style, money, and a vast knowledge of fashion. Has this hip-hop, street sh!t made everybody forget what a man REALLY is, or supposed to look like?

Ibn Jasper, Chris Julian and Fonsworth Bentley front row @ Lanvin Men's show

Every show that we walked into, the escorts wanted all of us to be in the front row because they honored the style that we brought and respected our presence. And the thing is, what we are actually doing, is showing the fashion world that American men, let alone Black Men, know how to really get busy when it comes to the fashion game. Everyone in the fashion world thinks that Black, American men can't dress because we wear everything baggy and boxy and our clothes just straight up don't fit right. It's the truth whether you like it or not. There are only 3, truly respected American men in fashion, and they are Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs. Kanye is on the path to being the 1st American Black Man that high-end fashion buyers will be wearing with his Louis Vuitton collaboration, following Pharrell's collaboration with the fashion house for the LV "Millionaire" sunglasses that he designed (sunglasses are accessories, not clothing). The Pastelle line (Past. Tell. Museum) is a high-end fashion line, not a clothing line, that is why it's taking so long to perfect. And it's going to be expensive too...

Don C., Virgil Abloh, Kanye west, Taz Arnold, Chris Julian and Ibn Jasper leaving the Ann Demeulemeester show

I was 1 of the top 5 barbers in the city of Chicago from 1995- 2004, and I actually used to make beats and produce songs for my good friend Bump J. from Chicago. I produced and recorded his 1st album "Live From Bedrock" in the living room of my old loft. I say that because I made a choice to stop producing music once Kanye hired me full-time as his personal barber and image consultant. I made that decision because the way I look @ it, in music you can only get $15 a year out of a person from selling your album. On the other hand, in fashion, you can get @ least $500 a week out of a person just from the amount of product that is produced and sold in this industry. So, since I'm a pretty smart guy, I'm about having the least amount of responsibility with the biggest pay-off possible. Why would I waste my time and energy in an industry that is not going to deliver on that principle? You heard Jay... "Roc a Wear did $80 million in 18 months".

Virgil Abloh, Ibn Jasper (kneeling), Taz Arnold, Mr. Hudson, Kanye West, Fonsworth Bentley, Don C. (kneeling) and Chris Julian backstage @ Lanvin Men's show

And let's not forget that we are from the streets of Chicago, aint nothing sweet over here. We aint no punks! Getting dressed up and stunting on people is all a part of the Pimp/ Player culture that we were raised in. You guys might have just seen that type of stuff in movies like "The Mack" and "Pimps Up, Hoes Down", but that is what we grew up around, lived and saw everyday. To this day, my father says that he raised all of his sons to be Pimps. I already have broken and scratched up knuckles from steeling on and smacking the sh!t out of dudes that tried to underestimate me and call me out of my name. If someone wants to be the next victim I would be more that happy to grant them that wish...

Karl Lagerfeld, Taz Arnold and Kanye West in a photographer's photo book from Fashion Week last year

People disrespecting Taz really need to check themselves also. This dude is such an O.G... Back in the 90s Taz had, damn near, more Polo than all of the NYC Lo-Life crew. Our boy Reg used to come back to Chicago, from L.A., with pictures of Taz's pieces in a big family sized photo album. He's also a borderline musical genius that can play a bunch of instruments, as well as being the lead guy in the music group SA-RA. And when you go into his house, you'll see a bunch of big a$$ Dr. Dre plaques all over the place because he was 1 of Dre's ghost producers that produced half of the "Chronic 2001" album. The rapper Hitman was also Taz's artist, another contribution that he made to Dre and Aftermath. So while some of you are running around trying to tell us what "Gangster" is, your idea of it is from the blueprint that we drew up. Yall need to look, listen, observe and respect the Gods so you can acquire some knowledge...

Kanye West and Ibn Jasper @ Dior Couture show

We pop them thangs too, don't get it twisted....

I'm not on no tough sh!t, I just know how to defend myself. I learned how to shoot guns correctly in my highschool R.O.T.C. class.