Skip to content Skip to footer

Toronto-based fashion house Volaré is making more than just clothes

Volaré is a Toronto-based fashion company that is paving its own lane. From day one, the fashion house has been different from most brands in the game because they aren’t just making clothes…

They are using their platform to connect with like-minded creatives in the “6.” Slowly, they’ve been forging a community that’s not only helping Volaré be at the forefront of an emerging fashion scene but many of the up and coming fashion brands in Toronto too.

While Toronto is not recognized for their contributions to style just yet, it’s up to brands like Volaré to help push that culture forward. But that all starts with a vision and dream.

After interviewing Volaré founder Mark Breiva, speaking on behalf of himself and his team, he explained their reasons for creating the brand. He told me,

“We are looking for every opportunity… We are here to create and that’s all it is. Volaré is a platform to create with no boundaries.”

Looking at the landscape in his city, Breiva and company saw a void that they could fill. Volaré’s main focus became creating artistic freedom for all people.

Designing for the company back in 2013, Breiva and his team finally put their “ideas into reality” and came out with their first Meek Mill hoodie in 2016. Little did they know this hoodie would open up a world for them to build their platform.

We all know how important influencer marketing is when it comes to building successful streetwear brands, but it still needs to be authentic. It has to fit that artist’s vibe as Breiva explained,

“[Relationships] are good for exposure… Just curating the artists we want to surround ourselves with and attach ourselves with.”

That is exactly what they did. With one Instagram DM and a few calls, Breiva and his team were able to get in touch with Tory Lanez and send him over one of their first Meek Mill hoodies, based on Meek’s DC4 album.

“A couple days later my messages were blowing up because he [Tory Lanez] wore it on stage and one of his team members got a hold of our page and was like Hey, Tory loves your shit we want to meet you guys.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNuwMJvAVIl/?taken-by=volareofficial

From that point, Volaré knew they would be able to grow and get their name out on social media for all to see. Unlike most companies, Volaré’s objective was not to just sell every DC4 hoodie they can but to keep making them for artists and get their style out there.

Building a strong foundation with reputable users would eventually help provide the success all clothing lines yearn for. Even if the piece that helped them gain that attention was hotboy considering it featured Meek Mill’s image on it, that didn’t stop them from creating it and putting it out there. Breiva explained,

“I wanted to make that hoodie. I’m gonna keep making, we’re not gonna be selling, if we get it to the artist, we get it to the artist, if we don’t it is for art.”

Breiva later went on to mention that building his career did not only start with online designing and selling. He had the idea of building a community that comes through interacting with other people that share the same ideas and styles.

His ideal way of doing this was by starting up an event that brought the fashion community together — enter THE NIGHTMARKET. With no major tradeshows like Agenda or Hypefest ever popping up in Toronto, Breiva took it upon himself to push the envelope in hopes of one day bringing that same major exposure to the city.

THE NIGHTMARKET is not essentially just for Volaré, but for other smaller artists all over to come together to:

“Evolve as fast and as consistent as possible to be ready for the bigger thing. We want to act as the person that we needed when we were struggling in the beginning, so we can hopefully help that someone else.”

This market invites new vendors every week for an opportunity to show off and sell their products getting 100% of the sales. This gives artists the chance to make an actual profit from their work while building personal relationships that can help them down the road.

This resembles the original vision of Mark Breiva and the Volaré team had since day one. The fashion house has motivated many to do more and has allowed others to realize that they don’t need a store to sell their clothing.

When asked about any advice he had for up and coming creatives looking in from the outside, Breiva had this solid piece to take away:

“Do what you want to do. Think about all the options and go for the best one. Really just think about the negative side of everything too and how you can make it better before you even start it.”

You don’t need anyone but yourself to do what you want to do. Word to Mark Breiva and Volaré!

Who is Yung Bans? The 19-year-old artist paving his own lane in Atlanta rap

Yung Bans, the 19-year-old up-and-coming artist coming out of Atlanta Georgia, has been rapping every since the 6th grade and finally began his music career throughout his high school years.

He was able to quickly grow to fame with his hit single, “4Tspoon” featuring Playboi Carti, at just 14-years-old. This single reached over 1,000,000 views on Youtube and over 5,000,000 views overall.

With “4Tspoon” getting his name out, his career had just begun.

His next feature in XXXTentacion’s new song “ILOVEITWHENTHEYRUN” helped make him known with over 30 million plays.

Working with big-time artists such as Playboi Carti, XXXTentacion, and Ski Mask The Slump God helped guide him and develop his own style.

Yung Bans’ brilliant idea of collaborating with other rappers, both famous and up-and-coming like himself, allowed people all over the country to hear his voice.

Collaborating with voices such as Carti, Lil Water, Smokepurpp, Lil Yachty, and Yung Lean, gave him guidance, fame, and perspective throughout his growing music career.

His love for rap and his style of music developed from major artists as well such as Lil Wayne and Chief Keef. He looked up to their music and built his own style: mixing rap with more harmonic music.

Not only did his style of music develop, but his lifestyle did as well. He grew up being different, a loner, and embraced his uniqueness, whether it be his clothing, music type, or interests.

Despite his love for the industry, he came into contact with some trouble in his life when he was faced with murder and burglary charges at the young age of 15.

After being placed in a detention center for four months and then put under house arrest for the majority of 2017, he had no way of going on tour and developing his rap empire.

While growing up alone in Atlanta, Georgia, running into trouble with the law was not a big surprise for him. Through this consistent hardship throughout his life, he is able to portray this struggle and share his experiences through his music like in his track “Lonely” featuring Lil Skies:

I got all kinds of drugs for when I get lonely,
lonely When I get lonely, lonely (I got all kinds of drugs)
When I get lonely, lonely

His only way of gaining popularity was recording at home and getting his name across the internet. The songs “It’s Snowing” and “YEA!” allowed him to gain fame by the time he was let off from house arrest.

Through his way of collaborating with other artists to get himself known, Yung Bans grew very close to the recently murdered XXXTentacion.

As a way to remember X, Bans came out with his new single “So Long My Friend” to commemorate his lost homie. This song as a tribute for X still shows Bans’ style of combining rap with a unique melody.

He starts off by saying “So long my friend. One life, you can’t get it back” and then continues to how both, he and X, had rough childhoods trying to reach stardom:

“We got one life, tryna make it out And them young niggas in the drought… Keep my head above the water, I don’t want to drown.”

With 1.7 million views on Worldstar and 3.1 K views on his YouTube account, Yung Bans has once again released a hit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH7svYG2C4E

In just a few short years, Yung Bans went from unknown rapper to one of the hottest up-and-coming artists in the game.

Trust that this is only the beginning for him too.

Who is Jay Critch? The next big thing in hip-hop coming out of NYC

Growing up in the Clinton Hills section of Brooklyn, Jay Critch is an NYC rapper on the rise. He first started making music when he was 19, uploading his songs to SoundCloud and fast forward to just two years later, he’s one of the hottest artists in the game.

Blowing up just a year into getting into music, Jay’s success has been calculated. His song “Did It Again” finally allowed him to achieve his goal with over 800K views on YouTube and over 6 million plays on SoundCloud within the first week of being released.

His potential was seen by many and he was offered a deal with Rich Forever, Rich The Kid’s record label, upstarting his career. Rich The Kid liked the song so much he offered to record a remix of “Did It Again” featuring himself. They even shot the video for it.

This collaboration blew up across the internet with over 3 million views on YouTube and over 5 million plays on SoundCloud. This was only the beginning for Jay Critch.

His other collaboration with big-time artist PnB Rock allowed many to see his talent. Releasing “Okay Fine” with PnB in April of 2017 gained themselves another 1.4 million views on YouTube just making Jay Critch’s name even bigger.

Growing up as the middle child in Brooklyn can make it very difficult for a kid to rise up and be successful in any industry. But it’s also what separates him from most of the new rappers today.

We was Brothers before anything

A post shared by Hood Favorite (@jaycritch) on

Jay’s unique style, which appeals highly the streets of New York, has now spread across all over America and is something kids in different cities can relate to. Basing most of his songs on his experiences while growing up in NYC gives him a unique perspective.

During an interview with Genius, he gave insight on the lyrics of one of his hit songs: “Fashion.” He explains his lyrics:

“I get the bag (Ahh)
Like the north face”

Critch said because growing up “everybody that went to school in New York knows if you ain’t have the North Face your bag was no good.” Adding in details like this make his music so relatable for many.

His music is relatable to many. His lyrics are true and that is what makes his songs likable to all. Once again in his song “Fashion,” he talks about his life and the struggles he has gone through.

Had to flex up On these n—-s ‘Cause they doubtin’
I’ve been ballin’ on these n—-s so they foulin.”

He explained how “When you’re doing your thing, n—-s gonna try and shoot you down and gonna try to do what they can to stop your shit.” Working through the hate and the setbacks, Critch has dropped over 32 songs within the past year.

The story of all the haters trying to bring him down gave him the power to pull through and achieve success.

Perhaps he is trying to make his music give hope for others as well. Keep an eye out for more Jay Critch joints dropping from his SoundCloud.

He still hasn’t even released his first solo project yet, so you know he’s got a lot in store. The sky is the limit for the NYC rapper.

Listen to Jay Critch’s hottest tracks on the Kulture Hub Spotify and follow us:

2 Chainz is fighting to save the iconic Pink Trap House in Atlanta

The Pink Trap House, a location that has grown to be a tourist attraction for many living in or visiting the city of Atlanta, Georgia. Although most see this house as an area where 2 Chainz filmed his Pretty Girls Love Trap Music Album, this “landmark” has history behind it.

The house started out as a crack house for dealers to sell their drugs out of before getting transformed by 2 Chainz. After leasing the house out himself to film his album, he evolved it into a Church and then a free HIV testing clinic.

The once crack house was rebranded as the Pink Trap House and it acted as a safe haven for Atlanta locals to express themselves, and get physically and spiritually healthy.

The house changed the meaning of a “trap house” and has shown the people of Atlanta the positive things that can sprout from the negative connotation.

The current owner of the building, Matt Rohrig, is planning on having it destroyed and 2 Chainz is doing everything he can to prevent that from happening.  He sees the Pink Trap House as an ATL landmark, equally as important as the Eiffel Tower for Paris or The Statue of Liberty for New York.

“Definitely the Eiffel Tower of Atlanta… I don’t think they would knock down the Statue of Liberty”

However, people still see the Trap House as a spot that reflects the idea of drug dealing and substance abuse. Local Church pastors are coming out against the house saying how it is a bad environment for local families. Greenforest Community Baptist Church Youth Pastor, Al Hollie Jr. said,

“THE LAST PLACE YOU’D WANT RELATIVES AT IS INSIDE A TRAP HOUSE. THE LAST PLACE YOU’D WANT YOUR CHILDREN AT IS INSIDE A TRAP HOUSE… BECAUSE THE DAMAGE IT DOES IS GENERATIONAL.”

2 Chainz is trying to show everyone the way he views the trap house. He sees it as a place making the community of Atlanta better for generations to come.

“We changed the connotation of Trap house from something that was considered negative to something that was considered positive… We gave back to the community.”

According to a recent interview with TMZ, 2 Chainz has mentioned that he is thinking about getting in touch with Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta, to propose a plan to save the renowned Pink Trap House.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR8hsaStRbo

This is just the beginning of 2 Chainz’s campaign to save the Pink Trap House.  Will he be able to collaborate with Mayor Keisha Bottoms to make it an Atlanta landmark or will Matt Rohrig end up destroying the icon resembling the growth of Atlanta, Georgia?

So why did Cristiano Ronaldo leave the Real Madrid powerhouse?

Questions are stirring around the world of why Cristiano Ronaldo has left the dominant Real Madrid.  

Since first signing with Real Madrid in 2009, Ronaldo has built an empire by winning 16 titles including two La Liga titles, two Copas del Rey, four UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, and three FIFA Club World Cups.

Despite only being a part of the team for 9 seasons, CR7 was able to gain the title of the all-time leading scorer with 451 goals scored.

It is obvious to say that Cristiano Ronaldo has made his mark on Real Madrid, but why would he leave after all the fame and success? Sources say that CR7 simply yearns for new challenges.  

Real Madrid Football GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

Born on the small island of Madeira, Portugal, Cristiano was the youngest of four children in a poor household. This difficult lifestyle forced him to act on his own, doing anything necessary in order to gain success.

His perseverance and genuine love for the sport propelled him into new experiences like playing with better teams and meeting more coaches. And it did not go unnoticed, especially by his family.

“He slept with his football, it never left his side.

– Godfather, Fernao Sousa

Despite the poor living conditions and being diagnosed with a racing heart at age 15, Ronaldo kept working hard and kept moving on from one team to the next.  This lifestyle of overcoming challenges is the main reason Ronaldo said he was leaving Real Madrid.

At a recent press conference when announcing his contract with Juventus, Ronaldo states, 

I don’t like to stay in my comfort zone, I like to seize new challenges. After the experiences in Manchester and in Madrid, I’d like to mark the history of Juventus. I like challenges, again, and I hope everything will go very well.

Some people question why Ronaldo went to such a large team towards the end of his career.  Most soccer stars move to smaller teams to end out their career, but Cristiano Ronaldo is not like any other footballer.  

He knows that he is older, but he also knows of his capabilities. A few months back, the coaching staff of Real Madrid did a physical examination of Ronaldo and saw that he had the body type of a 23-year-old, ten years younger than he actually is.

christiano-ronaldo-leaves-real-madrid
Sports Illustrated

Ronaldo’s eagerness for a challenge is most likely not the only reason for moving. The fact that he made a four-year deal for € 100 million with Juventus was surely a great motivator for him.

As one of the highest paying contracts in Serie A history, this offered Ronaldo the opportunity to grow his empire in the soccer game and his entrepreneurial lifestyle. He’s launched a clothing line, a footwear brand, a hotel chain, numerous smartphone apps, and more during his journey so far.

With this knowledge Ronaldo knew of his capabilities and decided to embark on his journey to a bigger team that can offer more for him.

Not only is Ronaldo trying to challenge himself by moving to Juventus, but he decided to leave for other reasons as well. Ronaldo reported that he was not content with some of the promises that were not kept by the President of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez.

There was some turmoil between the two but Ronaldo did not have any bad words about Perez during his announcement of joining Juventus. The relationship between CR7 and his past team are still great and he will always cherish the moments he shared with them.

He is physically and mentally fit for more challenges in his career and is eager for what is to come next. Ronaldo is a go-getter. He says he will not stop until he faces new challenges so that he can overcome them. Based on his career, he has proven this true and will prove it again at his new home in Turin, Italy.