THE SOURCE UK INTERVIEW
Share
THE SOURCE UK — EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
“BROOKLYN REPUBLIC ISN’T A BRAND… IT’S A CULTURAL ARCHIVE.”
A Conversation Between The Source UK and Supreme of Brooklyn Republic
THE SOURCE UK:
A lot of people know Brooklyn Republic because of the visuals — the comic book aesthetics, the vintage hip-hop influence, the washed fabrics, the storytelling. But where did all of this really begin for you?
Supreme:
Honestly, Brooklyn Republic started before I even understood what branding was.
It started with environment. Family. Energy.
I grew up around Black creativity in different forms. My mother worked around the Alvin Ailey world, so I was exposed to discipline, movement, performance, elegance — Black art at a very high level.
At the same time, outside the house, there was hip-hop everywhere. Graffiti. DJs. Beat tapes. Park jams. Basketball courts. Street fashion.
Brooklyn Republic became the collision of those two worlds.
THE SOURCE UK:
That balance between sophistication and street culture feels intentional in your work.
Supreme:
Because that’s how I grew up.
A lot of people try to separate Black intellectualism from hip-hop culture, but in my family those things existed together naturally.
My aunt taught at Spelman College, so education and Black history were always part of the conversation.
Then you had people around me connected to music, entrepreneurship, and culture in completely different ways.
I learned early that culture wasn’t one-dimensional.
THE SOURCE UK:
You’ve spoken before about the influence of Maureen Yancey on your creative outlook. What did she teach you?
Supreme:
She taught me the importance of protecting legacy.
Watching how she carried herself after Dilla passed… that changed me.
She understood that hip-hop history can disappear if nobody preserves it.
That stayed with me deeply.
A lot of what Brooklyn Republic does is preservation. We document moments, feelings, sounds, memories.
That’s why our collections feel emotional sometimes.
We’re not just printing graphics on fabric.
We’re archiving culture.
THE SOURCE UK:
That explains why your designs often feel like pieces of history.
Supreme:
Exactly.
Every collection is supposed to feel like finding an old magazine in your uncle’s basement… or discovering a lost VHS tape… or opening a crate of vinyl records.
I want people to feel memory when they see the clothing.
THE SOURCE UK:
Your uncle Grandmaster Caz also influenced you creatively, right?
Supreme:
Absolutely.
Caz taught me about the power of words.
Hip-hop pioneers understood branding before corporations did. Your name mattered. Your style mattered. Your reputation mattered.
Watching people like Caz made me respect typography, logos, slogans, identity systems.
That’s why words are such a major part of Brooklyn Republic.
A phrase can become mythology if it hits people the right way.
THE SOURCE UK:
And then there’s the Wu-Tang connection. You’ve credited John “Mook” Gibbons as a major role model.
Supreme:
Mook changed the way I think creatively.
Wu-Tang wasn’t just a rap group — it was world-building.
It was martial arts, comic books, Staten Island street culture, philosophy, fashion, slang, chess, cinema, entrepreneurship… all blended together into one universe.
Watching that movement taught me that a brand can become larger than product.
That’s when Brooklyn Republic evolved for me.
I stopped thinking, “How do I make clothes?”
And started asking, “How do I build a universe?”
THE SOURCE UK:
That cinematic feeling is all over your work.
Supreme:
Because I’m inspired by storytelling.
Some collections look like old comic books.
Some feel like 90s Source Magazine covers.
Some feel like dusty cassette tapes or vintage kung-fu films.
Hip-hop taught us that everything can be sampled and reimagined.
That’s what Brooklyn Republic represents.
THE SOURCE UK:
There’s also a strong emotional connection to Brooklyn throughout the brand.
Supreme:
Brooklyn gave me perspective.
It taught me resilience.
It taught me creativity under pressure.
In Brooklyn, people create masterpieces with limited resources every single day.
That energy shaped me.
Brooklyn Republic isn’t about luxury in the traditional sense.
It’s about cultural richness.
THE SOURCE UK:
Do you see Brooklyn Republic as fashion or something larger?
Supreme:
Much larger.
Fashion is just one language we speak.
Brooklyn Republic is about documenting the people who built the culture — the DJs, dancers, graffiti writers, mothers, hustlers, producers, educators, dreamers.
The people history sometimes forgets.
We want the clothing to feel like monuments to those people.
THE SOURCE UK:
What do you want younger generations to take from the brand?
Supreme:
Curiosity.
I want somebody to see a shirt and go research the reference behind it.
Maybe they discover Dilla.
Maybe they discover De La Soul.
Maybe they learn about Alvin Ailey.
Maybe they study Black art differently.
If Brooklyn Republic inspires somebody to dig deeper into culture, then we did our job.
THE SOURCE UK:
Last question. What is Brooklyn Republic at its core?
Supreme pauses before answering.
Supreme:
It’s memory.
It’s family.
It’s survival.
It’s hip-hop.
It’s Black creativity without limits.
And it’s proof that culture never dies if the right people keep carrying it forward.