By Cameron Lee
March 19, 2024
Photo: Keilan Alexander
Jonathan Kainessie, superior identified as Jonny Kaine, is big on legacy. The 23-calendar year-aged West Charlotte indigenous with Sierra Leonean roots aims to transcend generational gaps in Black culture by his manner models. With his hottest fall, he pays tribute to culture-shifting figures like Malcom X, the Charlotte Black Hornets (a Negro Carolina League baseball group), and political hip-hop pioneers General public Enemy.
I assume that there’s a disconnect, and what they [older heads] feel is, what they did, you know, is not coming down and transcending our era, but I’m an example that it is, and Im honoring that, stated Kainessie.
Several may perhaps know Kainessie as the DJ for rising Jamla/Roc Nation rapper and fellow Charlotte native, Reuben Vincent, but he has been setting up his style model, Jonny Kaine Fitted N Clothing since 2021. His initially official drop was a Buzz Metropolis Series selection of fitted hats, customizing some of his most loved baseball caps rising up with his signature Afrocentric stylings. Kainessie introduced his first big fashion piece in 2022, the Jonny Kaine Equipped N Clothing Quilted Reliable Letterman, a varsity jacket that harkens back again to streetwear manner of the early 90s when makes like Karl Kani and Cross Colours dominated hip-hop tradition.
I really just wanted to bring light to a time in which I truly feel like Black culture was incredibly unapologeticSo for me, I really feel like the timeframe that shows that the most is the late 80s, early 90s, the Spike Lee era, that entire type of vibe, mentioned Kainessie.
Though Kainessies inspiration for his style is extremely a lot rooted in connecting Black culture, his eye arrived from thrifting with his relatives at places like Benefit Village and Goodwill as a kid– an encounter that helped form his trend sensibilities.
I have the variety of mom and dad where they would go to Goodwill and discover the Polo Ralph Laurenthey instilled it in me, it’s not about how a great deal you devote, it’s about what you acquire, you know, high quality.
And high-quality and originality is what drives him. His mantra 100% Organic is crafted on currently being genuine and natural.
It is a way of life, its a way of existence. You know, it is the way that you move and do issues that are meant for you, and not forcing anythingyou’re relocating organically, Kainessie mentioned.
He also likes to preserve his releases rather constrained in quantity, as he hones his storytelling techniques with every fall, commonly accompanied by a quick narrative movie and a stylized photo shoot. His most up-to-date short film for his Legacy capsule, directed by Charlotte videographer Kiyana Christopher, tells the story of a young child hoping to stay up to his lineage of Black qualified baseball gamers in his relatives. With an impressive creation crew and solid showcasing innovative path by Arial Robinson, story by Elijah Smith, and a cameo by Archive CLT founder, Cheryse Terry, the film provides palpable texture and a sense of property for the launch.
Kainessie, who has been DJing for Vincent given that 2021, met the budding rapper shortly in advance of his initially hat drop, at Fitteds CLT. He was weighty into classic clothing, and Vincent asked Kainessie to design him for the Glimpse What You Did audio online video shoot in Raleigh, a music from Vincents Jamla/Roc Country debut, Love Is War, released in early 2023. They quickly discovered popular floor with equivalent backgrounds, each developing up in Charlotte with West African roots. Vincent, whose spouse and children is at first from Liberia, and Kainessies from Sierra Leone, shaped a collective, Third Environment, alongside with Vincents cousin Nuke (Nuku Muingbeh), longtime buddy Abdul Yates, and artist Lani (Jalani Maxwell), a corporation that serves as a hub or umbrella for their collective talents.
We all have the identical frame of mind, identical similar backgrounds, you know, way of daily life developing up, he said. So understanding that, what have been performing is not just impacting us, it’s not just impacting Charlotte tradition, but it is impacting, you know, men and women hundreds of miles absent.
Kainessie, who grew up in a songs loving residence, began DJing when he was 14 yrs aged, catching the bug after fondly remembering aiding his father carry crates as a kid through the vinyl turntable period, falling in appreciate with the rhythms of Afrobeats, R&B, and hip-hop. Now he is accompanying Vincent on national tour runs with the likes of Pusha T and Dreamvilles Bas, who they will be signing up for for far more than 20 dates throughout the country this spring. He also layouts all of the 3rd Globe and Reuben Vincent merch that is bought on tour.
Kainessie not only pays homage to vintage Black American culture with his outfits, but to his West African roots in Sierra Leone and his childhood dwelling in West Charlotte. He signifies all of the third globe babies by means of his brand name, Jonny Kaine Equipped N Apparel, and hopes to encourage existing and upcoming generations to link with their roots.
You can acquire attire from the Jonny Kaine Equipped N Apparel “Legacy” line by way of his official web page. His spring and summertime collection will be releasing in the coming months with some additional collab drops all over the calendar year. You can stick to Jonny Kaine, Jonny Kaine Fitted N Attire, 3rd Entire world on Instagram for updates.
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