Abe Lincoln - All Black Everything

‘I don't just want to be another passer-by on this planet, I think it's important to leave something behind to be remembered’, says the co-founder of the clothing label All Black Everything. Abe Lincoln is a designer from Cork City, Ireland who has been developing his clothing label for just over 2 years. He specialises in printed t-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts but is continuously developing his brand to include other garments. He is currently working on a collaboration T-shirt for Dj Kryder and his affiliates who will be supporting the world biggest DJ and Producer Tiesto later this year on tour.

Abe has also recently released his debut mix-tape entitled ‘Liquor Spillages & Dillinger’s’, which is now available via Download. I thought I’d catch up with Abe himself to find out his inspirations, sacrifices and his plans for the future.  

‘I'm from Cork City in Ireland, a place where not many people choose to do what they want and instead, end up following the same route as other people such as college, apprenticeships. They end up waiting everyday for work to be over, rather than love every minute of it, by doing something they like, which is what I do’ says Abe, who decided not follow the traditional education route and instead embark on a road to success with the development of his clothing label All Black Everything.

‘Around the end of 2009 I started to play around a little with Microsoft paint, just messing around and creating images, sketches and stuff. I always had an eye for designing and creating and decided to keep up this new hobby I had found’. In order to further his creativity he decide to teach himself a bit of graphic manipulation on Adobe Illustrator which he is still continuing to learn. He continues ‘this opened a lot of doors for me. I decided that the designs I was making weren’t much good on a blank canvas, so my friend suggested printing them to T-Shirts and other garments.  

‘After our market research we found out it wasn’t a cheap business to get into, but we persevere. At this stage my friend DJ Ja Ja and I were already operating a YouTube channel. Ja Ja would do remixes and send them to me, I would then put together a video for it using recycled clips from the internet and post it on YouTube, at first we weren’t getting many hits, so it was just a hobby and not a business, but then our views began to grow to a couple of thousand which made us realised it was the perfect way to help get the brand out there. At this stage, the brand was named Pennies & a Dollar, or P&D for short‘.

‘I then came up with one T-Shirt design that changed everything, this was when I came up with ABE aka ‘All Black Everything’ and decided it was the perfect name for a brand, so Abe Brand was born. I started to sort out all my designs and images and focused on making them crispy clear in order to represent us well. We then started a Facebook page where we would upload our designs and our newest remixes on YouTube, this is where the hard work started, but we’re still working hard, its a never ending cycle’.

Abe tries to keep his personal life separate from his business life as he concentrate on building a brand that is almost a 24/7 job, but according to him that’s just the way he likes to have it. Before he began his business he made a promise to himself self to focus more on being happy with what he does, than to focus on making more money than he can count. He explains ‘I value legacy's and hope to leave my own some day, I don't just want to be another passer-by on this planet, I think it's important to leave something behind to be remembered for.

‘I have a lot of hobbies, most of them have sadly been put on hold and pretty much forgotten about at this stage, as I really don’t have much time for them, he identifies this as part of the sacrifices he’s mad, he says ‘I've turned into somewhat of a hermit, a line by Wretch 32 I think describes me right now, "I'm the type of guy that will have no life, just so I can shine like disco lights", what this line means to me is that all the times I've refused to go on nights out with friends, family, I’ve sacrificed them for working on the brand to ensure it become exactly what I want it to be.’

His hobbies include playing sports, musical instruments and his love for cars and motor sports, which, he still has even today. He recalls ‘I've played pretty much every sport you can think of, I played a lot of basketball during my schooldays and also rugby and soccer. There was also a stage in my life where I would spend literally hours playing the guitar, from the time I came home from school until it was time to be quiet and let the neighbours sleep, no doubt my fingers didn’t enjoy that stage of my life.

As I got older, I developed a big interest in cars and motor sport. I'm a massive fan of drifting and try to attend as many ProDrift events as possible over here in Ireland, it's a fast growing sport over here, I hope once the brand gets off the ground that it can help me get involved in the drifting scene also through sponsorship of cars and drivers. All these hobbies have been put on the back burner to allow me to build a brand and image to hopefully capture the eyes of people globally someday, it's safe to say I'm both mentally and physically worn out from it but in the words of Cee-Lo Green "why close my eyes, I'd rather sleep when I'm gone"

At the moment they’re are operating a YouTube channel which has accumulated close to 100,000 views in addition to their Facebook, Twitter and Tagged accounts which they use to promote their Online Shop where they sell clothing such as T Shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts. They have also use their social networks to promote their debut mix-tape entitled Liquor Spillages & Dillinger’s, which they both agree have been ‘rather successful’ and ‘without these websites it's safe to say we would be nothing, this has allowed people from all over to globe to view our designs, clothing, stock and mostly importantly make a purchase’.

‘Our YouTube channel has been blowing up over the past year or so, with our most successful remix out of all being our Written in the Stars remix feat. Tupac & Eminem, its received over 33,000 views alone and been download thousands of times and it's received nothing but good comments’ They agree that this has really set the mark for their brand and helped people notice them, yet their  work doesn’t stop.

‘There have been many remixes after that which have gone well into the thousands of views mark and many more to come. If you look at music videos lately the "all black" theme is being used a lot in the clothing worn, what our brand does is blends in with this trend and helps promote it even further. You don’t need to be wearing luminous clothing in order to shine, let your talent speak for you. The name Abe to us actually stands for All Black Everything, we also incorporate Abraham Lincoln into the brand a lot to give it more character and basically give it a figurehead.’

If Abe wasn’t a designer he’d ‘probably be working at something to do with cars, possibly a mechanic or car salesman. He says ‘It might sound like a monotonous job and at times it would be, but it's probably the only thing I would enjoy doing. I'd love to have unlimited spending power and be able to buy what I want, when I want, but I think the fame is more important, not for me myself but for the Abe Brand. I want this brand to still be here when I'm gone and show that I came and left my mark on the earth and that I created something big using just my own mind from such humble beginnings.’

He continues ‘A legacy is something much more valuable than money. I'm very particular when it comes to brands, If I don’t like a brand then I don’t like it, its simple as that, two brands I admire much more than others though are Rogue Status and Crooks & Castles, both LA based brands. I don’t know if it's the fact I have some fetish for gun imagery than I don’t know about yet or what but those two brands appeal to me on another level completely, especially Crooks, as once said there the Louis Vuitton, the Gucci of the street, and it's true, their gear might have gone up in price and got more expensive but the quality and originality is sublime and something we aim to have with our brand’.

‘The brand is built up from inspiration. I don’t just sit down and decide I’m going to design something, I design once I get an idea. I must say music is the biggest inspiration, I'll sit down and listen to some rap or even some metal for a while and let my mind just run free and get illustrator up and start creating, it's a really enjoyably process once it goes right’

‘At the moment we are only beginning to work with people, we have only reached that level now and it's a good place to be at. We are going to be working with many UK grime artists, DJ's and more to help promote our clothing and also our own remixes. We have been in touch with a DJ by the name of Kryder recently one designing a collaboration t-shirt for him and his crew for their upcoming tour with the man himself Tiesto, where they will be performing in places like Ibiza, Las Vegas and many more.

‘This has been the biggest opportunity for us yet and one we’re taking it on headfirst, it's an exciting idea and I can’t wait to see the outcome so keep your eyes peeled.’ He’d still like to work with a lot more mainstream artists as he is a fan of musicians such as Devlin, Pro Green and Giggs, he says ‘it would be awesome to see them performing while wearing our clothing.’

‘As far as other brands go we are open to work with anyone, the more the merrier as long as it isn’t some neon clothing brand’ In the future they hope to branch in both the clothing and music sides of the brand. They hope to see their stuff on sale on many online stores across the globe as well as see some celebs spotted in our clothing, but until then ‘the work rate isn’t slowing down and were going to keep on going, so keep supporting us’.

You can now have a look at their Online Shop as well as contact them via Facebook and Twitter.

Shadez The Misfit - Misfit Maximus

His performances at I Luv Live propelled him to the centre stage of the Channel 4 EVO Music Rooms where he was described as ‘one of the best unsigned acts’. Since then, he has rubbed shoulders with the likes of Drake, Cee Lo Green, Kelly Rowland, and B.O.B, so his dreams of featuring with Andre 3000 or The Noisettes may soon become reality. Shadez The Misfit is a musician from South London who has just released his début mixtape Misfit Maximus.

I thought I’d catch up with Shadez himself to find out more about where it all started, who his influences are and what he has planned for the future.

'Everyone has music in them. Only the gifted have the ability to share it with the rest of the world. I always saw music as a way of venting my thoughts and feelings and story telling or creating scenarios with melody’, he explained when asked what music meant to him and how he initially got involved. ‘I found it hard to keep a diary so I saw music as a way to illustrating my journey but also adding emotion with beats. It was purely me knowing that I can bring something different to the table so I decided to pursue it' in which hie means his career in music

He decided to take his music professionally in comparison to just being a hobby because of the ‘response from the crowds and people in general, he explained ‘I started out doing open mics events, performing at I Luv Live. I wanted to see how the crowd would respond. From there people started asking me for more material so that for me confirmed it all'.

He would say that one of his greatest achievements was wining Channel 4's EVO music rooms where he was described as 'one of the best unsigned acts'.  He explains 'this was a huge milestone which really impacted my career. It gave me a chance to perform alongside Plan B and the fun loving Criminals, music has taken me to a lot of places. I've been able to meet and be in the same room as people I consider to be great. I feel the best place is yet to come. I am still growing as an artist but  I’ve been fortunate to meet Jamiroquai, Drake, Cee Lo Green, Kelly Rowland, B.O.B and Tyler the creator.’

'I'm grateful to have worked with a lot of talented artists in music. Most recently I've worked with Ski Beatz who has produced for many US stars such as Jay Z , Curren$y and Jim Jones. I've also worked with Toddla T on the Redbull Mixtape.'

So would you say you've made a lot of sacrifices and if so there are any regrets? 'Yeah I have. I've made many sacrifices in life and in pursuing my music career. I feel my biggest sacrifice is sleep. It can be hard balancing music with your studies and living your life on a low battery. What's worse I'm a workaholic so I don't know when to stop or rest. I don't really have regrets or don’t see it as regrets, I call it learning life's lessons really. I strongly feel that if I didn’t go through those lessons, then I wouldn't be where I am now, knowing I have the opportunity to become something bigger than myself.'

He would say that is main inspiration is 'God', he explains 'I feel I owe my all to God after coming from a place where people doubt you and don't believe in you, to doors now being opened and being seen as a new influence in UK music scene. I feel that my prayers are being answered one by one'. He feels that another inspiration is 'life itself' although he has faced struggles, hurdles and negative experiences; they've each contributed to him as an artist giving him something to write and say. Also, he can't forget the' support from friends and family who always have his best interest at heart and inspire him to be better, especially his Mum!

Some words of advice he would give to up and coming musicians would be 'to understand yourself, there's no rush. In such a competitive market, knowing what you stand for and your niches are key for people to understand you as a character and as an artist. Always aim to do what has not been done, there's no point living your career being compared to others. Most importantly be yourself, don't try to be something your not, there's no need to live a lie   People like sincerity and knowing that the music is coming from you.

In the future he would love to work with Andre 3000, The Noisettes, J*davey, Muhsinah and Everything Everything. He says 'their sound and what they bring to music is very unique and I would love to see what we could make in the studio. This year has been great so far and there's still a lot more to come from the misfit in 2011. Expect more music and more visuals. I'm just trying to represent something which is not heard in the UK, good experimental music. 

You can now download Misfit Maximus via his Official Site, add him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.