Hip-Hop Wired: First and foremost, what’s each of your roles in Madbury Club?
Ellington: I do everything from writing to shooting [photography]. I’ve pretty much been there since day one. Right now, I don’t even think I have a title. We just do so much together that it just kind of all blends into one.
Vinny: I’m the main photographer and videographer for Madbury. I also take on the role of resident chef here at the laboratory.
Bryan: I guess I’d say that I’m one of the creatives, but like Ellington, I do anything that needs to be done to get our vision to where it needs to be. I think we all are kind of like, “Do whatever; make it happen” kind of guys just to make sure that stuff gets done and looks good.
Hip-Hop Wired: Being a team of creatives, how important was it for you guys to work and live in the Big Apple?
Ellington: For me, I always felt like New York was the best move to make, because everything’s here. There’s every type of business in New York. There’s tech… If you want to be a stylist, you can come here and do that. If you want to be a filmmaker, you can come here and do that… You can do everything in New York. You look around and you see people your age doing the same kind of stuff, and it makes you want to work harder. LA is a good place like that too, but it’s different. It’s just a laid back feel there. It’s not constantly on the go like New York is.
Bryan: New York is just the biggest concentration of culture. Everything is happening here first. You go to a club and they’re playing music that’s not going to be anywhere for the next six months. Style, whatever, it’s hard to get away from being first on the wave of everything. That’s just where New York is at.
Vinny: Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to grow up here. I don’t know if I ever want to settle down here, but this is where I wanted to grow up, be it growing up in my 20s or growing up as a kid. I just wanted a lot of my growth and finding out who I am to happen in New York, because it’s so diverse.
Hip-Hop Wired: Now on the subject of growth, what have you discovered in your journeys across New York that has helped mold your worldview?
Ellington: I feel like New York is a place where you can live your whole life and still get lost. There’s just so much going on and we do a lot of photo shoots and we go places that we love, but we also discover places that are completely untapped. I think that every borough gives you something different too. There’s just a whole world out there. You can always find something new no matter if you’ve lived here 10 years or 50 years.
Vinny: The cool thing about New York is all of the hidden gems that it has. You can walk into the most unassuming place, like an Italian restaurant, and they could have the best food you ever had in your life. There’s so much in New York that’s un-walked. Everything is changing so quickly, you can’t really keep up—it’s impossible to have seen all of New York.
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