Vashtie Kola Explains Why The Model-Slash-DJ Term Should Die

Photo: Derrick Salters/WENN.com 

Fresh after Vashtie Kola made headlines for partnering up with Puma for a second time, the Lower East Side darling is in the press again.

The Indo-Afro-Trini tastemaker and all-around creative was interviewed by Faran Krentcil for ELLE about her career background and why she believes the term “model-slash-DJ” should be deeded. For those unfamiliar with Vashtie Kola, our guess is that you’ve been living under a rock or in a cave. The ageless wonder was named as VIBE Magazine‘s “31 Most Stylish People Under 31,” and interviewed by The New York Times, which called her a “role model for young tastemakers”.

A proven designer who has worked with Nike and Beat By Dre, Vashtie has directed music videos for before-they-were-stars artists such as Joey Badass and Kendrick Lamar. When she talked about helming talent for the camera, the Albany, New York native spoke about her time at film school. “In film school, I would talk about directing music videos, and people would scoff, but music videos are narratives, and they’re art, and they’re a love story to life… at least the ones I make!”

With the buzz from her R698 and States Mid with Puma fresh in the air, the former tattoo artist detailed how she answers exactly what she does for a living. “I just say, ‘I’m an artist.’ I hate when people—women especially—have to narrow it down. I don’t use the “DJ-slash-model” [label] because it’s so small, and it’s never the full story,” she told ELLE. “I usually just say, ‘I’m an artist!’ I make things. That’s pretty vague, but I’m in the business of making things, and traditionally, historically, artists did more than one thing. Warhol was a painter and a filmmaker. And people in New York or any major city, we’re all doing many things. It’s not really that unusual.”

[via ELLE]

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