In 2025 I did a coffee blog. I reviewed 65 coffee stores in the span of 52 weeks. It kept me active as a writer, forced me to go out of my house to travel and socialize and continued to keep me inspired. For 2026 I wanted to embark on another challenge. I want to show everyone the behind the scenes to my brand Differently Uptown. I want you to see the thought process, the people in my life creatively and how I go about most releases. 
4UCAPS UPTOWN FITTED SHOOT 12/20/25
I Consider Nya to be one of my heavy hitters. Super reliable,fashionable and easy to work with. She is also very vocal, creative and full of personality.
I only had one interaction with this individual prior to the shoot. We locked in and executed this shoot well.
Prior to the shoot there were some mishaps. The original deli we were supposed to do a photoshoot at were hesitant to do the shoot so I went up to my block and took some shoots. I was able to use a bakery and deli over there. The photographer Neeno had a great vision and for the first time I felt as if I didn't have to instruct anything. It felt very natural and in sync with what I wanted. The shoot took nomore than an hour. Anyone that knows me knows that I don't like to put in too much time with shoots because then it feels like socialization which we can do afterwards.
The brand came together in 2017 but there were clear signs years prior that I was going to start designing clothes. I learned how to sew pretty early in life and would do mini projects. I would cut my jeans into shorts and sew patches onto them. I used to hot glue fabric onto my air forces to give the impression they were super rare or limited. In 2017 I got bored of wearing nike tech and started looking into embroidery and screen prints. I went to this place called Planet Embroidery to design some shirts and sweatpants. Initially I wanted to design clothes for myself and my best friend but then I learned that orders came with minimum amounts to make. I had to get 20 plus shirts and 14 plus sweatpants. With all that money spent I had to start selling them. I would sell things from the trunk of my car. I would not necessarily promote them but word of mouth spread fast. It became a great hobby.
4UCAPS Differently Dodgers & Uptown Bombers Shoot 1/17/26
Sunny pulled up all the way from Philadelphia for the shoot. I wanted to recreate the character Mookie from Do The Right Thing and I felt that Sunny fit the description. 
Day has been one of the most consistent photograpers for the brand. Majority of my work has been photographed by Day.
I reimagined the Sal's Pizza workshirt for the shoot. Originally there was supposed to be a woman wearing the workshirt but due to the inclement weather she was unable to come. I used my personal piece for Sunny to execute both fitteds. Improvising appears to be one of my strengths. My main goal this year is to master the art of storytelling. I want every single piece I create to tell a story. I want it to reflect my inspirations and vision. Spike Lee's work has been inspirational to me growing up and my love for Brooklyn essentially came from his films. To be able to wake up one day and head to Brooklyn to set this shoot created an authenticity that I hope everyone can feel when I release these hats. 
This was a rerelease of a hat that I dropped last summer. It was supposed to be a 3 hat drop around the time but New Era made some mistakes. Fortunately I got all 3 hats just in time for Black History Month. I met up with my home girl Mikayla who just started photography. The original model had a "cough" and couldn't make it so I called a Brooklyn creative Justin to do the shoot. It was 7 DEGREES that day. I must emphasize how grateful I am for both to show up. You can look at Justin's face and see he is sick of it but he showed up. 
We Got Coffee At The House