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A$AP Bari Interview: Vlone, A$AP Rocky, A$AP Yams, Fashion, Playboi Carti, Virgil Abloh & More! Hotney 9 Streams • 4 years ago

Sauntering in with a stitched Chome Hearts face covering, A$AP Bari’s presence is immediately felt. “I’m on my Ye shit,” he says with a smirk, as the word “architect” isn’t enough to describe the fashion designer, mogul and creative director. To be “different at all times” is what he set out to accomplish in life, and looking back, he’s done just that.

The A$AP co-founder and “Mr. Vlone” himself has played a huge part in the ascension of hip-hop’s current regime. Whether it be the clothes A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, Travis Scott or Lil Yachty rock on the daily, Bari’s calling has always been to “influence the influencers” — emanating his streetwear sauce and refined “lifestyle” in every facet. “I’m like a fashion drug dealer… I sell clothes like drugs… I’m selling MY product.” he said, describing the exclusivity of his founded brands in VLONE and ENDLESS.

In his first-ever on-camera interview, Bari sat down with OGM host Hakeem Rowe to speak on his roots in Harlem, A$AP Mob's formation A$AP, Rocky, Yams, Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, Virgil Abloh, VLONE, the SoundCloud era and so much more in this extremely special Our Generation Music exclusive.

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FULL STORY 💻: https://bit.ly/3khPmYm

CREDITS:
Hosted by: Hakeem Rowe
Shot by: Saint Hillaire
Edited by: Sam Sikora
Produced by: Jon Barlas
Research by: Mateo Braxton

STAMPS:
0:00 - Intros
2:08 - Bari’s birthday message
2:42 - When did fashion become an interest for Bari?
3:37 - Brands he was up on early, fashion inspirations
4:40 - “The lifestyle of Lil Wayne,” his impact on Bari
5:55 - The fashion lifestyle, “military school,” inspired by Ye, Pharrell
7:36 - “I was a weirdo in the hood”
8:51 - “I’m like the fashion drug dealer”
9:45 - Early days of A$AP, how the group came together
11:15 - Meeting A$AP Nast, Jadakiss “Paper Towel Headband” influence
13:55 - Teenage years, Teyana Taylor, A$AP Yams
17:40 - “Home [Harlem] is the Hollywood of New York”
20:04 - “The first day I met Yams, he was my best friend.”
21:35 - Forming A$AP Mob, A$AP Rocky, the “crews” of Harlem
24:10 - Teyana Taylor being responsible for A$AP MOB’s inception
25:10 - Bringing Rocky into A$AP
27:28 - Rocky born to be a superstar: “Rocky didn’t have songs, he had freestyles. Who he was in the hood is who he is today.”
29:30 - A$AP inspired by Cash Money, Master P, Weezy, UGK
29:43 - ‘LIVE.LOVE.A$AP’ being timeless, how his first-ever project was accidentally deleted then reborn
31:48- Bari’s role in A$AP during their early years: Creative directing, Fashion. “Yams was the mogul. Rocky was the rapper.”
33:36 - Bari on life: “Being different at all times.”
34:18 - The impact of A$AP in the culture
35:18 - Bari on Playboi Carti
36:58 - Bari on Lil Uzi Vert
38:23 - Bari bringing Uzi and Carti together, 16*29
39:02 - Lil Yachty working for Bari before he rapped
39:38 - Bari’s impact on our generation of superstars
41:25 - Bari on Travis Scott, “Quintana” cameo: “Travis when always been crazy [talented]. He makes his own beats… He’s the vision, he’s smart as hell.”
44:41 - Early London drill, “I’m not rapper,” but his feature with Skepta went crazy. “‘It Ain’t Safe’ started drill music in London.”
47:44 - Bari on Skepta: “He’s such a f***ing visionary. He changed my life.”
48:49 - Bari’s “big moment”: Him forming and owning Vlone, the messaging behind the brand
50:50 - The exclusivity of Vlone: “It really became a lifestyle.”
53:18 - Vlone’s impact in the SoundCloud era, how it bred community, culture: “Vlone, live alone, die alone.”
55:12 - “I design for the people. I don’t design for me.”
56:00 - Vlone’s influence on the new form of fashion: “If it’s a lifestyle, imma live it.”
58:40 - Paris Fashion Show, Lil Peep walking for Bari’s line
1:00:15 - Why he didn’t put Vlone in stores: “I sell clothes like drugs… I’m selling MY product.”
1:03:33 - Bari being able to “influence the influencers.” Chrome Hearts, Virgil Abloh
1:06:00 - Its all a lifestyle for Bari
1:07:01 - Bari wearing MARNI and influencing the rap game… again
1:09:00 - “You let a GOAT be a GOAT”
1:09:45 - What makes Bari connected to clothes, his style: “This shit isn’t on me, it’s in me. It’s in my blood.“
1:12:28 - This is Bari’s first interview, most expensive piece
1:16:24 - Bari on Virgil: “An angel sent from heaven.” Comparisons to Tupac.
1:18:32 - What separated Virgil from everyone else, what he meant on Bari
1:20:54 - Ghost designing, Bari on Drake, Damien Hirst
1:27:12 - Bari on Kanye West
1:28:28 - Bari’s relationship with the “Drake of China” Edison Chen, the toll Yams’ funeral had on Bari
1:32:15 - Bari speaks on Vlone controversy, the future for him: “As a designer, I don’t drop albums, I dropped masterpieces.”
1:34:57 - Message for Our Generatio