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BADMAN BABYBOY
In their Bushwick studio, Malkam and Erick are looking for the perfect font for the newest BadmanBabyboy hoodie. The hoodie is baby blue and supposedly size 4xl, although we all agree its a large at most. Erick shows Malkam a bold font, in which the capital letters are backed by outlined moons. They like it, but realize a friend of theirs uses the same one in his designs. “This is no time to be cliche,” Malkam says. It could be something of a motto for Malkam, the Jamaican born artist who's been working on BadmanBabyboy for all of his adult life. His designs have gained traction recently, after the rapper Ski Mask the Slump God wore a BadmanBabyboy Chuckie t-shirt in the video for “DoIHaveTheSause?” but Malkam is the first to admit that being an independent designer is a grind. He makes the pieces to order, creating each design with the help of his co-creator Ana Slade, Erick’s embroidery machine and a print shop in the West Village. He started creating in high school when, before going to school one day, he realized he was not feeling the pair of pink slacks he had on.
“This is no time to be cliche.”
He decided to take matters into his own hands and spent the morning drawing a complex and precise pattern all along the legs. His friends at school were astonished; they wanted to know where he'd gotten the pants. It was then he knew he was onto something. Now he watches as designers like Dior create pieces suspiciously similar to his own. It’s not surprising; most mainstream designers have scouts in the younger artist scene to seek out trends. Malkam isn't fazed. He does his own thing and he does it well. He’s known for selling his pieces out and about. With his quick wit and warmth of spirit, he’s entrancing to be around. Malkam is also his own best customer, rocking exclusively BadmanBabyboy pieces from head to toe. Well, almost to toe; his shoes today are a pair of leopard print lace ups which majestically match with every piece of his he tries on. A pair of pink and blue basketball shorts with “Babyboy” vinyl printed in tiny glittery letters, a “Fuck Supreme” hoodie, a yellow crewneck with three dragon flies screen printed and then embroidered over with a delicate brown thread. As Malkam shows us his pieces, Erick continues working on the new design, having landed on a font (simple italicized block letters) he starts up the embroidery machine.
The Babyboy logo, a baby sitting naked except for a red bucket hat, has been cleaned up since their last round of designs, despite Malkam’s insistence that it’s better messy. Erick, who has his own embroidery brand “Mirror Services,” acts as a sort of conscience to Malkam, guiding him gently but never impeding on his creative flow. Malkam has ADD and speaks of it with pride. He knows it helps and hinders him, he’ll get an idea and run with it only to be distracted by another which he feels deserves the same attention. He’s right to follow his instincts; the BadmanBabyboy collection is elegant, bold and walks the fine line of trustworthy and surprising which so many designers strive for. In the studio we watch as the machine whirls away, embroidering one color at a time by Erick’s direction. As the baby forms under the needlepoint, Malkam beams with pride. I wonder if this sweatshirt is for anyone specific but my guess is Malkam will wear it out himself, and it won’t be long before a stranger in the street buys it right off his back.