Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Ralph Lauren

Thirstin Howl III

Brooklyn, New York City Founder of Lo-Life, rapper, author, producer, director, actor, and hip-hop and fashion historian.

What does the Lo-Life Crew stand for? At first, it stood for Polo Life, but that second syllable, Lo referred to being at the bottom, you know, down, dirty, grimy, low life. But in the new millennium, we had a transition. We turned it into love and loyalty. Myself, my frame of mind changed, my everyday activities changed, but I was surrounded by the same friends from 30 years ago. I wanted to introduce this new frame of mind I was entering. I had suffered a lot of consequences of my actions, but they were probably the best things to happen to me. Incarceration introduced me to (Cleveland Browns running back) Jim Brown’s “Amer-I-Can Foundation for Social Change” program, and that really helped me to grow. I ended up getting a job at MTV, freelance, and that introduced me to film production. Now I’ve got people fighting over me. I can build a set anywhere. I can frame anything. I take advantage of everything I see, wherever I go.How do you think you got your role in the Lo-Life community? In the beginning, when we went hard in the streets, your status was based on how real you were. Where I lived in Marcus Garvey Village, I was one of the people who represented as a leader. I was always a protector to my friends and to my family. It’s just the way I am. As for what Lo-Life became, a lot of it came from me as an entertainer. My first single that dropped, the Brooklyn Hard Rock, nobody really knew who I was, yet, but the Polo mesmerized them. It’s not even that I was trying to push or promote Polo. There’s no image to this. No gimmick. I just came as myself. Lo-Lifes are real big in that. Be yourself. Be who you are. Stand up and be that person.Why do you think Ralph Lauren fit with who you are? Ralph Lauren was the first designer I ever saw that was seasoned. He came every season, gave you multiple logos, multiple styles. I never witnessed that before in a brand. Constantly switching. That’s when it became a drug, because among Lo-Lifes, we were real competitive with each other. I’ve never been in one of those country clubs, but that’s an actual thing that’s going on, depending on your walk of life or where you come from. They live it in their own way. But the streets is where we made it a religion. That’s the difference.