Kings of Rubble

For FGUK Magazine

In the early 1970s the Bronx was burning. Blocks abandoned, buildings torched, the borough written off. And inside that wreckage a group of young men did the thing no one expected: they called a truce, ended the gang wars, and made room for what became hip-hop. Kings of Rubble takes that as its premise, that the people who rise out of ruin are not its victims. They are its royalty.

Shot by Cole Witter for FGUK Magazine, the story crowns its cast in the clothes and casts for the bearing that history demands: Eric and Vincent leading, with Masa, McKinley, Sonny, and Yabi around them, a crew rather than a lineup. The styling does the coronation. The casting decides who can wear it.

Kings of Rubble. Not in spite of the ruin. Because of it.

Casting| Spirit³

Creative Director & Producer| Iman Mariah

Photographer| Cole Witter

Stylist| Caleb Phillips

Lead Models| Eric & Vincent

Supporting Models| Masa, McKinley, Sonny, Yabi

CD Assistant| Jake Jaffe

PH Assistant| Ross Collab