The Perspective Magazine (Volume 1: MSU)

T H E

C O N T

Ryan Thomas Creative Director

Jordan Thornhill Visual Artist

Dezman Thomas Digital Content Editor

Born and raised in Detroit, MI, Ryan Thomas is a photographer that prides himself on capturing amazing and creative images. He has recently expanded into a creative director role as he gains new insight and starts to be a part of many projects. He started the Raw Perspective in order to highlight black culture and creatives.

Jordan Thornhill is a videographer that dedicates time into the film making process. A photographer later inspired to go into videography by his passion for visual art. Jordan comes from humble beginings being born in Detroit, MI, and is the oldest of three children. He was gifted his first camera in 2018 from his father, who later encouraged him to give the arts a chance.

Dezman A. Thomas was born in Detroit, MI in 1998. He is a visual artist who focuses on telling stories through his work. His passion for art began in 2016 where his brother, Kolby Harris handed him his first camera to shoot with.

Dezman’s main outlets of creativity are photography and GRAPHIC DESIGN.

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R I B U T O R S Kendyl Claxton Managing Editor Born in Detroit, MI. Kendyl has a passion for writing and creating content for people to relate to. Since the age of 15 she has found herself journaling whenever she has found the time. She graduated from Michigan State University with a major in English and minor in Creative Writing. Kendyl now serves as the Managing Editor of the The Perspective Magazine.

Isaiah Anderson Content Producer Isaiah “Zeke” Anderson is a multi-media creative and content producer from Oak Park, MI. He specializes in curation and content creation relating to music, streetwear and sports. He finds inspiration through music, especially hip hop, r&b and jazz. Recently his main outlet of creative work has been his mutlimedia page The Home Team and playlist Tha Mix, which he releases weekly.

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Letter from the Creators Perspective is the way we look at things thorugh our own point of view. Everyone has their own perspective of this world. Our goal is to showcase more than just our own views to the world. The Raw Perspective is a creative hub that will highlight different black creatives and black culture.

The Perspective Magazine is the first step in giving black creatives a chance to share their own aspect of the world. The first volume is focused on students at Michigan State University. These young entreprenurs have done an amazing job in their respective fields while still dealing with a college student lifestyle. In this first volume you will see some of the young talent and learn about how they got to where they are now.

Ryan Thomas

Jordan Thornill

Dezman Thomas

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T A B L E “Pain into Art”

DJ Freckz

Lee I Think We Got Another One

O F

11 14

“We Create the Culture”

17

Breaking Down Bars

16

18 22 Stay Ribelle Takes Paris Perspective Magazine 6

C O N T E N T S Greatest in Disguise

Sights in Maria

The Bigger Picture

24 25

Sustsainability Meets Raw Optics Fashion

29

Ssoullful Touch

34

The Brand Consultant

28

32

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In 2019, Raw Optics was formed by two college freshmen, Ryan Thomas and Jordan Thronhill. These two men were high school football teammates and ended up suitemates at Michigan State University. While in school, Jordan had brought a camera in his room and the two always used to play around with it during their free time. During their winter break Ryan decided to get his own camera. After practicing with the camera for so long the two decided to make their own photography business.

Raw Optics was supposed to be a hobby more so than a business.

The two creators envisioned it as just the name of the instagram where they would post their pictures. They began taking pictures of close friends, events on campus and more. It wasn’t until summer time that the name Raw Optics really began to spread. There were a number of events during the summer that the two photographers went to just to take pictures. They genuinely wanted to practice and enjoyed taking pictures so much that they did it free of charge.

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Once they returned to campus things picked up even more. They began to shoot popular events such as Spartan Remix and tailgates. Eventually, people began to inquire how much it would cost for them to shoot their own events. After these inquiries the two decided to make Raw Optics more so a business. Their goal was to capture people’s best memories as amazing visuals.

Since they began Raw Optics has been a part of several creative projects. They have covered several graduation shoots, business headshots and even expanded into videography. The two young photographers don’t have a favorite style of photography but they do specialize in portrait photography. Now, they are a part of Creative Culture Studios in Lansing. The studio serves as a place for them to do studio photography and work amongst other creatives. Also, they have recently collaborated with the graphic designer Dezman, who will be the leader of the graphic design aspect of their business.

Recently the two have hoped to expand Raw Optics. “At some point we want Raw Optics to be a household name. When people mention great black creatives we want our names to be one of the first ones you think about,” said Ryan Thomas. One day the two hope to have more people part of the team and be able to help young creatives in any way possible.

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“A visual artist who focuses on telling stories through his work.”

This is how Dezman Thomas would describe his position in the creative world. A photographer turned graphic designer, who is known for his flyers and graphic art. Attending Henry Ford Academy School for creative studies he always was surrounded by art. Even at home, he watched his father make album covers using the Adobe Photoshop software. In 2016, decided to take his first step in the creative world and bought his first camera.

When he took this step he wasn’t alone as his friend, Kolby Harris, began to do photography as well. They were partners that started their own production company together. While they started as initially just photographers the two would eventually gain interest for graphic design.

Dezman had given no thought to graphics until one day he was asked to make a flier. At the time he didn’t create fliers he took on the challenge and fell in love with the creative process of it. The two were able to work together for two years as they would shoot campus events and have friends model for them. In 2018, Kolby Harris passed away.

“Once my brother passed away, art became a form of expression for me. It was like an outlet. I was able to express the emotions I didn’t know how to put into words”, said Dezman. At some point, Dezman put the camera down and decided to focus mainly on graphic design. He has done many of the flyers for organizations on MSU campus, created business logos, designed cover art for artists, and has even worked on graphics for clothing brands.

As of now, Dezman has been honing in on his Blender skills. Blender is a 3D-modeling software that allows the user to play with lighting, shading, and textures realistically. He has used this software to create many of his graphics in the past few months. Also, Dezman has been looking to get into videography.

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Mu

usic

“We Create the Culture!”

If you have ever been to Creative Culture Studios you have heard the saying, “We Create the Culture.” Joshua Jennings and Jason Dixon have opened their own creative space for artists to work in. Creative Culture Studios is in the Lansing area on East Michigan Ave. The studio contains two music production studios and a photography studio. There is also a multi-purpose lounge area that has been used for podcasts, music videos, and more. They offer a wide range of services such as beat production, recording, mixing, mastering, photography, videography, and graphic design.

In the process of creating their vision, they wanted to add more to the studio than their own businesses. They have built a team of young entrepreneurs that are looking to make their mark in today’s world. From a visit to the studio, anyone can see the various business owners working. Each individual focuses on creating their own culture within the respective fields.

Being Black students at Michigan State University, there aren’t spaces for creatives to work. Students are left with traveling home or working out of their living spaces to display their creativity. Jennings and Dixon’s mission was to make the studio open for those students looking for a space. “We were in Lansing most of the time and just wanted a place up here to create. We didn’t have anything before Creative Culture. Back at home we may be able to get appointments sometimes and working from home there were too many restrictions,” said Jennings. This studio is their place where they feel free with no restrictions.

Creative Culture Studio is one of the many accomplishments the owners have had within their music production careers. Jennings is an audio engineer specializing in mixing and mastering artists’ work. In addition to music production, he is a DJ that has worked on multiple levels. Dixon is a producer who focuses on creating beats. The two of them have worked with several artists. Currently, they are working on a project together called We Not Leaving Till Its Ova. The album is a collaboration between Jennings and Dixon that features the artists they have worked with.

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CREATIVE TEAM J3 - Audio Engineer Bandman JD - Producer RT - Photographer/Videographer JT - Photographer/Videographer DEZMVN - Graphic Designer Johnny Green - Audio Engineer 2030 - Audio Engineer

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“When you’re a DJ, you’re the party. When somebody books you to DJ, essentially, they’re telling you to put on a performance for them.” James Moss is an upcoming DJ that goes by the name DJ Freckz. He first started learning how to DJ at an event in fall 2019. At the time he was shadowing his friend, J3 Entertainment.

This party was the first time he was able to get on the turntables and gain valuable experience.

Since this experience, Moss has been booked for open houses, pageants, and parties. A vast range of events requires Moss to have a distinguished taste in music.

For him, that is not an issue as he has been open to new music. In fact, every Friday he takes the time out of his day to listen to all the new music that has been recently released. By doing this he can constantly update his playlists and have a limitless amount of music to play for his events.

People may think that playing music is the only thing a DJ may have to worry about when working at an event but that is quite the opposite. Not only is the music selection very important but you must know how to interact with the crowd. Moss emphasizes that crowd interaction with the music is the key to creating a great atmosphere for events. As a DJ, you must be comfortable with utilizing the microphone to get the crowd to react to you in a positive way.

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Brian Jackson has been rapping since the third grade. He grew up listening to Eminem and was a die hard fan. Once he got to middle school he began listening to more artists from his hometown, Detroit. Though he had been rapping the majority of his adolescence, his first song wasn’t released until he was 16.

During high school BJ began to take his music career seriously. He created singles and even took the time to create a few EPs. At the time, like other artists BJ would find beats on YouTube that he could rap on.

Focusing on music in high school definitely had some difficulties. Producers are typically looking for the “next big hit” which resulted in producers not wanting to work with up and coming artists. It wasn’t until college that BJ met a producer named Chris that he could actually work with and develop his music even further.

BJ is an artist that focuses on all types of music and is never scared to switch his flow up. Although he has a wide variety of music he is known for his punchlines in many of his songs that relate to his day to day life. Bj’s main way of creating is to write how he feels.

He says, “It really all depends on what I’m feeling at the time. When I write is just what I’m feeling at the time.

It’s kind of like therapy, I’m venting on the paper.” His first time ever writing was over the instrumental Dear Mama by Tupac. At the time he was in high school and he wrote about his struggles, everything he was going through at the time.

One thing that BJ realized early as an artist is that you can’t do everything by yourself. Aside from the music, there are aspects such as cover art, music videos, and even marketing that require assistance. He considers his team to be those that support and are around him. His friends help him with thinking outside of the box and coming up with different concepts to use for his visuals. Not only has he put careful consideration into visuals but he also is learning more of the marketing side of the music industry. As an independent artist he works on creating his own image of himself. He focuses on the people that have supported his music from the beginning and wants his work to be known as completely genuine.

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Inside Detroit’s Cass Technical High School, you can find the “The Sean Anderson Studio of Infinite Possibilities”, also known as the Adidas Sound Lab. The studio is equipped with a digital sound and mixing board, instruments, and microphones.

For many of the students that attended the school, this gave them an opportunity that they never once had. They were free to create and work with music like never before.

Lee, who had been making beats since he was younger, took full advantage of the studio at Cass Tech. At the time, it was a hobby and something he did to take his mind off things. He started his passion early but it wasn’t until his collegiate career that he took it seriously. In 2019, while attending Michigan State University Lee was motivated by his peers to take music seriously. Once he made this decision he began to develop a balance between school and music. He challenged himself by making at least 2-3 beats per day.

One of the strategies Lee used to get his name out there to others was that he was constantly sending his beats to Detroit producers. Eventually, Smoke Beats helped him get into a Helluva beat boot camp where he was able to show off his skills to the people. Once this happened, his

talent was noticed and many more connections came along the way. Since that day Lee has produced songs for Sada Baby, Babyface Ray, Tay B, Peezy, and more. While he has done so much work with Detroit artists he doesn’t just limit himself to Detroit-style beats.

Even with all of this success, Lee stays humble because he has bigger goals he hopes to accomplish soon. He aspires to create his own record label company. He understands how big of a goal this is but is slowly working his way towards it. Lee continues to produce for various artists while also pursuing an Electrical Engineering degree from Michigan State University.

Between his early music success and his college education, it is no doubt that we will be seeing his name even more in the future.

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Fas

shion

At 21 years old, Ryan Smith was able to participate in an experience like no other. As the owner and creative director of Stay Ribelle, he was able to showcase his brand during the Paris Fashion Week. This opportunity not only allowed Smith to put the brand out for the world but also display the true spirit of Detroit fashion. He was excited to be able to network and use the experience to grow his brand. During the week he was able to have eight looks be a part of the show.

Smith is not new to the fashion industry. Stay Ribelle was created in October 2019. The truth is that Smith had his own clothing line when he was in high school first called Kings Clothing with another fashion designer, Sheldon (owner of Etrange Studios). One of the main things Smith wanted to avoid was being stuck with one logo and known as a person that only designs t-shirts. Therefore, he took a break from the clothing lifestyle for a few years and then returned with Stay Ribelle, a streetwear brand.

As many people do, Ryan finds inspiration from his daily encounters with movies and songs but also from the people around him. He gives credit to his mom, owner of Detroit Girls Rock. Being able to see how she handled her business and produced quality clothing allowed him to format his own. “I used to always play around drawing as a kid and one day wondered how it would look if I started putting my art on tees,” Smith said.

After the release of his first clothing items in 2019, the brand took off. When Ryan started his brand, he didn’t know the pandemic would be in his unforeseeable future.

However, for him, the pandemic created opportunities for him to expand his business. Ryan held his first pop-up shop for people to come and buy his merchandise. In his efforts, he utilized a U-Haul truck and put his creative spin on the presentation. Since Stay Ribelle has been part of many pop-up shops around Michigan and has even participated in two in Atlanta, Georgia.

Stay Ribelle’s success continues to grow as Smith looks for more ways to better improve and develop his brand. As someone that used to be considered a rebel, he hopes that everybody will find their way in his clothes.

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Paris Fashion Week 2022

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Makhi Boggues is a fashion designer and owner of the brand, Greatest in Disguise. As many people do Makhi was working a 9-5 job in high school. He worked at Foot Locker and many times he would spend his paycheck right back into the store. While at work he would always critique the clothes there and think of ways he would have redesigned the pieces.

Eventually, he realized that he would rather design his clothes and invest in himself instead of other businesses.

Once Makhi decided that he wanted to start his own brand he began to sketch and play with quotes. He knew from the beginning that he wanted a unique but straightforward logo that always caught people’s attention. Eventually, he came up with a logo and business name, GID (Greatest in Disguise). Makhi considers his clothes to be in the streetwear aspect of fashion and makes many different pieces of clothing.

Durags, hats, shirts, and pants are just a few of the GID pieces that have been created so far.

While talking to Makhi he mentioned that his favorite piece of clothing to design is pants.

Many people may hear Greatest in Disguise and wonder how that name was decided on to be the name of the brand. Makhi is someone who tends to stay to himself and will be quiet amongst many people. He has always been somebody that will create his way and go against most trending things. Therefore, at times he would refer to himself as being the greatest in disguise. Makhi believed since he was the greatest in disguise then it would be the perfect name for his brand.

One of the many things Makhi loves about having his own fashion brand is seeing people in his clothes. It means a lot to him when he gets positive feedback and sees others enjoy the designs he came up with. The good reviews are what push Makhi to grow his work. He has participated in many pop-up shops throughout Michigan. Also, GID had a few clothing pieces that were featured in the NOIR Fashion Show at the University of Michigan. As he continues to have his brand featured in so many different things one could only expect big things in the future for the Greatest in Disguise.

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At the age of three, Rohna discovered her excitement for fashion. As a kid, she would create outfits and style dolls. Thirteen years later, Rohna found herself becoming involved in the brand RipzNTearz. This brand focused on distressed and bleached apparel. Rohna served as the face and co-designer of the company before launching her brand, Top Tote by Rohna.

Top Tote by Rohna was created in 2020 after Rohna gained her inspiration from attending an event at the Eli Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University.

Learning how to screenprint on canvas bags formed a love for her. After the event, she decided to order the supplies she needed and began practicing the screen-printing process.

One of the things Rohna was passionate about was sustainable practices in fashion and using resources to the best of her abilities. Therefore, combining sustainability and fashion through the totes was the goal for this brand. She focuses on creating durable high-quality totes that are reusable, versatile, and built to never lose their purpose. There is a variation of ten tote bags of different designs, styles, and sizes. Some of these designs are the In My Carryall, Patchwork Denim, crossbody, and micro bags. Every year, she tried to release limited edition and limited quantity totes for National Holidays and special occasions.

As Rohna continues to create these bags and come up with new designs she focuses on making Top Tote by Rohna recognized as Detroit’s source for sustainable bags.

She wants people to immediately connect the bag to her brand whenever they see the “IN MY” design.

As a designer, one of her favorite things to see is people wearing her custom tote bags. She is filled with joy when she notices someone wearing it to a local restaurant, concert, pop-up shop, or event. She enjoys seeing people appreciate and wear the products she has created. As she has just graduated from Michigan State University she plans on pursuing both entrepreneurial and professional endeavors.

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Photog

graphy

In 2020, the pandemic resulted in many people picking up new hobbies and finding new interests. August was one of the people that found a new creative outlet during the time. As she found herself constantly taking pictures on her phone, she gained an interest in photography. The lockdown gave her the chance to work more with what she already held a passion for.

August is the creator of her own photography business, Sights in Maria. She specializes in landscape photography and creative edits. The natural lighting that she gets from nature shoots is the main reason she likes landscape photography. During her photoshoots, she tends to already have an idea of how she wants to edit the picture she takes.

Each shoot she comes in with a new idea as she tries to create a new aesthetic every time. One aspect of her pictures that is usually the same is that she adds a grain effect to them. The right combination of grain and lighting gives her pictures a fil aesthetic that she loves.

Photography prints were something Sights in Maria began to do in 2021. She got the idea from the people around her who were asking for printouts of some of the landscape photos she would capture. Being able to see her work on a canvas instead of digitally on a screen is something that stood out to August. It allowed her to see the pictures she captured from a different aspect. Some of the items featured in her prints include skylines, cars, protests, and more. It is easy to read the mood of the pictures as some of them have vibrant colors throughout while others give a more serious feel using the black and white concept.

As of now, August focuses on her photography work but she soon hopes to expand into videography. She enjoys the creative process and work it takes to edit videos. One of her goals is to eventually shoot a documentary. As of now, she continues photography and just participated in a photo exhibit at Michigan State University, called A Visionary Showcase.

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Michigan State University is home to some of the most creative and amazing college photographers in the state. Every one of them has its own style and specializes in different things. When it comes to graduation photos, Rassoull James is considered one of the best. He specializes in portrait photography.

Rassoull first began photography in 2017 during the winter break of his freshman year in college. He would go outside and take pictures of anything that caught his eye. At the time his photography subjects varied from plants, flowers, landscapes, or even people. Eventually, he would develop a passion for it and tune his skills enough to create his own photography business.

Rassoull isn’t just a photographer. He is a multi-faceted artist that is capable of many different things. Some of his other work includes sculpting, painting, drawing, and graphic design. Out of all these different things he enjoys photography and creating brushes the most. During the quarantine in 2020, Rassoull added another trait to his catalog. He took a class at Michigan State University that required him to carve a block into an organic shape. The skills he gained from the class gave him the idea to create his own brushes. It wasn’t until the quarantine that he practiced this idea on brushes.

Rassoull’s creative outlets have created many opportunities for him. Photography has brought great people into his life and taught him so many life lessons outside of business. His photography portfolio allowed him the opportunity to work with Michigan State’s women’s basketball team. During his tenure with the team, he gained experience and was able to build so many connections.

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Influe

encers

Lance Johnson The Bigger Picture

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The social media platform, Instagram, first launched IGTV on June 20, 2018. This allowed users to upload videos up to 15 minutes in length. Lance Johnson saw the potential that IGTV had and used it to his advantage. Before starting The Bigger Picture, Lance debated between uploading the episodes to IGTV or YouTube.

He decided that IGTV was the most convenient and easiest way for his followers to watch.

In 2020, The Bigger Picture began on Lance’s Instagram page. The purpose of the show is to connect people and share positivity throughout the show. In the first season, he featured some great businesses and covered important topics. His first ever episode featured the business, Demarco’s Mark. As Lance featured this business, he gave people a deeper insight into their work and felt that the episode set up a great foundation for the show.

Lance gives a lot of his success to his following base and creative team. Since he posts the episodes through IGTV most of his support comes from friends and family that follow him.

The first season alone featured 7 episodes that accumulated over 22,000 views altogether. With all this success, he understands that it couldn’t have been done without his friends, Rodney Banks, and Janae Leslie. The two of them helped Lance with recording and the overall creative process of making the series. After the first season, Lance decided to break down the season into different focuses. Thus, the second season is focused on music and fashion.

As Lance continues to create episodes and have people featured, he looks for passionate individuals that care about what they are doing.

He wants to make sure people understand that he wants someone who is pushing the youth world forward and breaking boundaries. It doesn’t matter if the business is just starting or one that may be very successful to others. If they convey the message of creativity and freedom, then they are perfect for the series. In the end, he hopes that The Bigger Picture continues to have an impact on others and continue to support the people around him.

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Hustler, influencer, and director of the impact are just some of the few words that Andrei Nichols would use to describe himself.

Nichols, also known as Mr. Duffy specializes in a multitude of things. He is the owner of The Duffy Szn, The Duffy Enterprise, LLC., and Good Morning Hustlers. People would consider his wide range of businesses and knowledge as a “jack of all trades” but to him, he’s just being in his “duffy.”

The phrase duffy originated from Nichols watching comedian Southside Ju . At the time people were using the term “in my bag” to signify that they were being successful and working hard. Nichols took this phrase even deeper when he began to say he was “in his duffy.” Changing the term from bag to duffy signified that Nichols was pushing himself even harder and striving for success more than the average individual. As he began to consistently use this phrase to represent all of his hard work the name “Mr. Duffy” became his and a part of who he was.

As a man of different talents and being “in his duffy,” Nichols found himself specializing in providing custom creatively designed and solution-oriented answers to persons or business goals.

He provides these answers by providing strategy, business development, and more.

Nichols’ inspiration comes from his passion for helping businesses find a spotlight or avenue for success. While talking to Nichols he said, “I do my best to make sure that every brand and every business aspect that I have my hands on is value-oriented and people understand the purpose behind what I am doing.” Mr. Duffy believes he grows with the businesses and people he helps prosper. Working with all of these people allows him to pass on a mindset that he constantly wants people to have, which is to invest in yourself and your dreams.

This year Nichols invested in himself by starting his own NFT project this past January.

The DuffySzn NFT Project is a 2-year project and something that he has worked hard on. Mr. Duffy continues to work on numerous projects and has large goals for himself. He is here to help small businesses, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits. He serves as a resource and is working to help build his community.

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You! aw

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“I’m always trying to prove to my 17 year old self that I can do creative things I thought weren’t possible.”

-Virgil Abloh