My good friend Elle Clay always laughs when an interview or article refers to me along the lines of a “Hip Hop Princess” or anything to that effect. “They don’t know that you’re a dirty white boy underneath it all?!” she always exclaims.

My love for Metal and Rock has deep roots. Although I grew up in the hood (and love Hip Hop), I befriended a lot of young white boys who skated and bmx’ed in my downtown area of Albany. They put me on to a lot of great things; like Hardcore & Metal Music. I was already into Rock Music from my own interest (Metallica & Guns N’ Roses), but I’m sure MTV and my sister helped to influence that.

Anyways, some of the cool local hangouts where I grew up included a venue called the QE2 where most good shows occurred – mostly hardcore and metal shows. Any kid with brains who wanted to be out of the clutches of their parents at home knew to be where all the cool happenings were happening and I was one of them. I got to see a lot of great performances and shows, and I learned a lot about the culture…mainly to stay far away from the pit, but to always have your arms up to shield yourself just in case.

This shoot was fun and exciting. After compiling and editing the shirts we would shoot, the idea of painted faces came quite naturally. Kiss and The Misfits were big on stage dramatics and makeup, so it only seemed right to do the same. Although Pearl Jam, Lollapalooza and Sublime don’t fit the category of Metal whatsoever – I just really liked the shirts and wanted to add them in also.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: AMANDA LOPEZ

MAKEUP BY: CAMILLE THOMPSON

FULL LOOKBOOK HERE.