Vashtie Kola

Vashtie Kola

NAME Vashtie aka Vash Money aka Vashius Klay aka Vashtizzle aka Vashteezy aka King Vashtie aka Chainsaw aka Vashtie Spumanti aka Teen Wolf aka The Female Don... WHAT DO YOU DO? I Direct Music Videos and Commercials. I Design and have my own clothing brand Violette. I Creative Consult for other brands. I'm a Music Selector for events...I'm avoiding using the word DJ because I don't have record-carrying history to use that title. I throw parties with friends, like my 1992 party with Oscar and another party with Q-Tip. In short, I'm in the business of making stuff...fun stuff. WHAT SHIRT DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY? I chose Jeremy Lin! Why did I choose him? Well that is a bit of a long answer. I'm not really a sports person - although, as I've gotten older I've been able to appreciate sports more. I do, however, love all things New York like The Knicks (The Giants, The Rangers, The Yankees, etc). I've been keeping up with the games and I had a cold case of Lin Fever this season. He's been exciting to watch! I also love an underdog and Jeremy Lin is the epitome of an underdog who conquers all and ends up "Linning"! WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING/ WATCHING/ LISTENING TO? I'm terrible, I rarely read. The last book I read was "Just Kids" by Patti Smith and I was smitten. She's so fly and her stories of "Old New York" are fascinating. Since my Friday night parties with Q-Tip are on hiatus, I've been watching Dateline religiously every Friday night. I'm obsessed. I've also been watching a lot of Netflix. I'm working on watching all the films from all cinematic movements; French New Wave, Italian Neo-Realism, 90's Gen X, etc... As far as new stuff - I'm currently listening to Big K.R.I.T., Joey Bada$$, King Krule (formerly Zoo Kid), Frank Ocean (Always), Pyyramids and Santigold. I've also been listening to Mobb Deep, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, Fiona Apple & Deee Lite. WHAT WAS THE LAST GREAT MEAL YOU ATE? Most of my life I've been Vegetarian and Vegan and lately I've been getting into Raw Foods. Last night I ate the Raw Pizzetta from Caravan of Dreams. It sounds weird, but its seriously amazing...Pumpkin seed crust, sun-dried tomato marinara, pesto, arugula, avocado, heirloom cherry tomatoes, olives and cremini mushrooms! WHAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU TREASURE? That's hard. I most treasure the opportunity I've been given in life, especially knowing where my parents come from and knowing where and how I grew up. To be a responsible (somewhat) adult with a fun career, making my own choices, surrounded by friends who love and support me is something I don't take for granted. I also treasure the Polaroid portraits that I've been taking of everyone I know. People come and go out of life all the time and I like the idea of keeping them all together in one place. It makes me feel like I will always have them with me... WHAT IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE YOU HAVE EVER BEEN TO? Oslo, Norway. I went a few years ago and I was blown away. Just flying into it was unreal...lush green and raw mountain-scapes. There were a lot of blondes, but natural blondes and they all had this super unique look. It felt like I was in a movie, like where they might have filmed "Willow" or "Lord of The Rings" or something in a "far away land..." I also love Paris. It's breath-taking. I love the architecture and the culture. It's very inspiring... WHAT DO YOU LIKE/DISLIKE? I like stepping on lit cigarettes, putting my finger in my cats mouth when he yawns so he bites down on it when he closes his mouth, people watching, overhearing arguments on the street, window shopping (online), drawing on everything, dancing off beat, hot weather... I dislike ignorant people, being rushed, raisins, cooked mushy fruit, being told what to do, trying on clothes, brown clothing, cold weather, inconsistency... WHOSE SENSE OF STYLE DO YOU ADMIRE? Since we're on the topic, I totally admire Patti Smith's style. I love her mix of masculine and androgyny, its completely effortless and unconscious. I like when personal style is uncontrived and unique, so many people create their "personal style" based of other people. There's so much personality lost when people bite someone else's style. WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ON THE NEXT DEERDANA SHIRT? Bjork!!!

Photo by Ben Shapiro

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