Backayard Street Style Flex KGN 5 NEW YORK- Yaard n’ Abroad

By Caos

“A me pop off me tag dem (Mm-hmm)
Me new Benz it a mad dem (Mm-hmm)
Everyday me swag dem (Mm-hmm)
Loius deh pon mi bag dem (Mm-hmm)”-Stylo G

The uptown street dance made its name by launching its first international staging in Brooklyn, New York on May 17, 2019 and you know I had to be there to check it out!. Kgn 5 has grown to become one of the must attend events in Jamaica, and now patrons are already asking for another staging in New York. True yaardie fans got a glimpse and feeling of home for a few hours and I was particularly interested in seeing how it is that the Kgn 5 team would make this possible. Lover of street style, fashion and lifestyle, it is important for me to see a whole experienced being had at any event feature that I do. One does not go without the other, and this is shown by the promotion, setup and execution of any event. With that said, let’s see what the night brought with it.

Yaard n’ Abroad
One thing that I have definitely found out about Jamaicans is that we are EVERYWHERE! And I mean, everywhere. Ever heard the term ‘likkle but wi boasy’?, well for me, this is an accurate description of my country and its people. I said this to say, as long as the party is worth attending, our people will always roll out. Kgn 5 New York showed me this.

So, a little twist is that I almost never made it into the event due to leaving my identification to show that I am over the legal drinking age. No worries though, I got that sorted and entered without any hassle.
It was a little different from partying in Jamaica where showing of identification isn’t a major necessity and I respected it very much that the security made sure that all had their i.d., no matter who you were. Walking through the crowd, I took notice of the street styles and one thing that I especially notice love about New York is the freedom one has when it comes to their own fashion and lifestyle choices.

We know it’s coming up to summer when colours are definitely popping up everywhere. Beautiful mixtures of prints, patterns and textures, was the order of the night and Kgn 5 New York wasn’t short of this. If you didn’t know this before, you know now, I love to see persons who know how to accessorize their outfits to bring it up a notch. Let me be a bit more specific, simplicity is key but with the right accessories ( yes that includes footwear), one can turn any outfit into an unforgettable experience. One thing we know and appreciate about New York street style is that there is a deep love for sweat suits and hoodies, but pairing that with the right jewelry, shoe or bag will push the swag to ‘swaggerific’.
I will always purport that fashion and lifestyle can have boundaries, but I do not believe that those boundaries should stop anyone from really expressing themselves. Learn the basics and you can never go wrong. Research your skin tone, the complimenting colours that take your style anywhere you want it to go. That’s what the core of style represents, and if you feel that having great style it isn’t important, just try it one day, I promise, you will never go back.

KGN BOSS
Draw likkle brakes!
So if anyone has been following the journey of KGN 5 from its inception, we know that it was and still is one of the ideal events where uptown and downtown street style, music, fashion and overall experiences can be appreciated. Kareem Weathers a.k.a ‘Kareem Big Dreams’, the KGN 5 boss is the blueprint of what this whole event is about. I got a chance to talk to him to find out how he felt about this staging and for the future of KGN 5. Decked out in a black long sleeve crew neck tee, fitted black jeans, a black military inspired vest and face mask by Jamaican designer Denalli. Topped off with a lime green pair of Balenciaga sneakers and gold accessories, the KGN Boss was out to make a statement.

I asked him how he felt about the turnout for Kgn 5 New York and what his future plans are for this rising brand. “To be honest, this staging has been in the works for years. For this past New York staging, there were a lot of challenges. Normally parties going on the international scene from Jamaica, would partner with New York promoters. We’ve had dialect with a few promoters but it just didn’t come to fruition. So for that I’m more than thankful for the support. For our first staging, it exceeded our expectations.”

Kareem also mentioned that the next international staging should be for August,by the end of summer, all goes well in Florida. “The next New York staging should be before the time gets cold lol” .
As Khaled himself would say “Another One!” .
It was a fun night, great vibes, music, liquor and friends. Of course you know I had to link up with some of my Yaardie friends that were there also (ha ha ).
Check out some more highlights below
See you on the flipside…