Your Social Network (Pt. 2)

The connections we made and the  people we met were amazing thus far. We were offered another vending spot by Slapdash promotions, this time for "Post Traumatic Fresh 6".

We researched who was on the bill and started obtaining contact information on two particular artists. One was Purple Republic representer Michael Millions. His flow accents what we recognize as  the" Fly Life". It's not the new version of what some Hip Hop culture has embraced: staying high and bragging about it. It's being cool in your own skin. Enjoying your passions and creating your own path. Expressing how proud you are of the unique gifts your Higher Power has bestowed upon you. Mike Millions let's the public feel his words 
through clever rhymes and great beat selections - mainly through family members/producers NameBrand and HardWork. We blessed Millions with the shirt you see above and were hype to see him adorn it on stage the night of the show.

The other artist we reached out to was one-third of RVA pioneers Suburban District, emcee and VCU student Tim Porter. We saw his energy on YouTube, heard his explosive and truthful delivery on one of Suburban District's first albums, "Don't Mind Us, We're Just The Future", and instantly  knew he was a perfect candidate to sport one of our first designs.  Tim was very supportive and gave a great performance that evening. 

Our fan base grew exponentially after that night due to not only showing the city that  quality was our main focus, but because some of Richmond's most established artists recognized Grape as an official brand, one they could incorporate into their live show and wardrobe.


Receiving an "@ mention" on Twitter from Maybach Music Group recording artist Audra The Rapper and shaking hands with Richmond-legend and nationally-known emcee Skillz made this event change the way we viewed our presence.

In the dark confines of Broad St. restaurant The Camel, we met Audra for the first time, established a relationship that has grown into sponsorship, and met a myriad of other influential members of RVA's Hip Hop community.  Sales were great and hundreds more stickers were handed out and eventually seen plastered in venues we hadn't even frequented yet.