"Meeting with Mac-Man, Learning About His Music, and Fashion Designing It With Kevin Colston"

Popping up in the blog world to check in and show off more fellow dream chasers striving to meet their goals and find comfort in the reality of their dreams. In this blog interview, I'm peeping out more people from my hometown working on music, and then making my way to Detroit to hop into the fashion department. I don't think you all are aware of what Indiana has to offer, but it's a lot! First up is "Mac" who I linked up with to discuss some of his music. Mark Dixon II (or "Mac") is a 23-yr.-old native from South Bend, Indiana, who is usually missing in action-due to keeping a low profile- until given a microphone and a stage.

Mac dropped his first song his freshman year and has been working with local artists including  Bosstype, City B, Marlo, Swisher Jones, Bino Cannon, Zig Da Kidd, Wally West, B.East, and Heyzues since. He has also performed for the mix-tape release and show for "East Meets West" (Wally West and B. East), and plans to have his own show after he attracts more fans. After learning about some of the artists he's worked with, I asked Mac what type of crowds his music attracts, and he replied,"People who like conscious rap, hip-hop heads...I'm not really sure. I get new types of fans with every song. A lot are unexpected. I hope to get all different types though". 

After inquiring as to what his dream was, Mac replied, "I'm gonna say making music is apart of my dream. My dream is to get  as many people to understand me as best as I can. Music is just my favorite way to do that." He seeks inspiration from his encounters with people and uses them to his advantage-whether positive or negative.  As far as the industry goes, I asked Mac his opinion on talent, status, and materialism and how it relates to the music industry..."Umm...I think its really all opinionated. People like what they like. And if you wanna make it, you have to get people to like you. Or just do what you do in hopes that people will like you. When it comes to the music industry, people will even have an opinion on what they think talent is. They will have an opinion on what status is, and they'll have an opinion on who has more or less. It's not like sports where there is a proven winner and loser...Materialism is sadly what 80% of the industry today is made up of. You might even be able to say the word in that sentence." Mac is still making moves and is continuously working on ways to express his messages through his music. Check out some of his work:

 https://soundcloud.com/macdilla410/m-a-c-codiene-cups

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With so much working going on back home, I've been trying to reach out and check out my friends in other parts of the world, so I caught up with my part-time friend, Kevin Colston- the creator of the clothing line, Loud Pipes- to see how his line is coming along. Kevin, 25, is working to be a millionaire by 35 and have his bachelor's degree in Engineering by 30. Alongside focusing on his studies, he's been tending to his clothing line, Loud Pipes. Kevin says, "I've been working on my clothing line for about a year now. Honestly, something just came to me one day and put this burning feeling into me just to do something. I would've never guessed that it’d be designing clothes". After asking where he got the name "Loud Pipes" from, he responded "The “Loud Pipes” name was something I made up one day on the line working at Nissan. I was talking to my home girl Brooke (one of my other inspirations) about cars and I was talking about making shirts. So I asked her what she thought about the “Loud Pipes” name and ever since then it’s been a wrap." 

Kevin isn't focusing on one specific type of art, but he is more focused on assuring he creates a line that people will take an interest in and love. The Loud Pipes logo is definitely an eye-catcher and I wanted to know where the idea came from, so I dug deeper into my inquiries to figure that out. "The logo was something I just thought of after I came up with the name. That's where the headphones with pipes came from. But I had this amazing artist, Mike Mass, who brought my vision to life. He captured exactly what I was thinking in my head. Shout out to him for that". When not in his books, spending time with his family and fashionista girlfriend (who owns her own clothing store), or working on the clothing line, Kevin is working on creating a non-profit organization that specializes in math tutoring. Fancy guy, huh? He's AIGHT. Kevin also opens up to share some of his inspirations with me: "One of my inspirations is my past. Its times I failed (in my eyes) that hurt me bad and gave me low self-esteem. I don’t want to be back in that position ever. Another of my inspirations is my girlfriend. Her ambition, her drive, the intellect that she brings to our relationship inspires me to do better for myself and us as well. To have a woman that’s so supportive is a plus to all aspects of my life." 

When in the fashion industry, there are a multitude of opinions and preferences, so I asked Kevin if he was concerned about the type of image his clothes may portray in relation to stereotypes, and he stated, "Honestly, I could care less about the stereotypes...because regardless of who you are or what you do you will always be stereotyped in some form or fashion. I’m all for the people. If they love it (which I think they will) then that’s all that matters to me. It’s not like I’m putting guns and drugs on my line. It’s far from that. Honestly, I think it’s more of a race thing.  And that’s for any race. White people see us dressing “urban”, and they automatically assume the worst about us. Like if we see white people dressing “urban” we say “they’re trying to be black” or they’re "dressing black”. It goes the same for blacks on blacks. If we see blacks dressing “preppy” or talking “white” we say “oh they’re trying to be white” or “look at that Oreo”. I think style contributes a lot to the media and status is society. Perfect example, in President Obama’s first term, I remember him throwing out the first pitch at a White Sox game and the media had the nerve to say “Why didn't he wear baggy pants?” “Why is he wearing straight leg pants?” That goes to show that no matter who you are the media will talk about the clothes you wear. It’s sad really. But my clothing will be more urban and “upscale urban”.  

I took an interest in his response because although not all African American/Black persons think this way (and possibly not all Caucasian/White persons either), he spoke truth in his statement in how we perceive one another because of our apparel selection...which some of us need to work on. We switch back into focus towards his clothing line and he lets me know that the Loud Pipes website will be up within the next 6 months, and although he has been focusing only on men's clothing, he is working on women's and children's clothing as well. Although working independently, Kevin will be forming a small group dedicated to the Loud Pipes clothing line in the near future.  I then asked Kevin about any upcoming news for Loud Pipes, and he said "Yea just watch out for it because it’s going to hit hard and keep hitting until we knock out the competition." So, on that note, keep your eyes open!

Here is a link to the Loud Pipes Facebook page: Loud Pipes

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