Conversations: Kimee Brown
One on one with music curator and fashion enthusiast Kimee Brown on music, fashion, moving to another city, and personal life.
Words by Foli Creppy
KIMEE BROWN
Kimee Brown has been the co-founder of a start up cannabis company, a writer, a world traveler, and a vibe curator churning out some of the best playlists on the internet. Today we are going to take a moment to dive into Kimee’s world and learn more about her plans for the present and future along with her personal philosophy on life.
Music seems to play a vital role in your life. I've witnessed this through your storytelling ability and your social media presence. Would that assumption be correct?
KB: Definitely music is a huge component. I probably listen to music more than watching TV or scrolling through social media. I'm listening to music right now (Solange - Jerrod playing in the background). Music puts me into a good vibe. My TV is never really on unless, I’m watch a reality show. Similar to how men play video games – that is how I feel about reality TV. It's the ghetto shit I love, but as for music, it plays an essential role in almost everything I do. Being a fan of Hip-Hop, I remember when Kanye West released College Dropout and feeling like now here is a rapper I could relate to – I feel like a lot of my guy friends would probably say Reasonable Doubt was their first or favorite album. I couldn't relate to anything Jay Z was talking about on Reasonable Doubt when Kanye came out talking about college and fashion, I was like, "This is so me!"
I also remember when I discovered SZA on SoundCloud, she was like nothing I'd ever heard before, a unique sound to her voice, and she also used skits from movies that I love – she had a skit from Eyes Wide Shut on one of her mixtapes, I'm obsessed with that movie to-date. She also sang on trap beats, this was before Bryson Tiller, if I'm not mistaken, but Love Galore has to be my favorite song of all time by SZA.
I've never listened to anything by Solange or SZA.
KB: What! First off, Solange's birthday and my birthday are one day apart, so listen to her music. I can make you a Solange playlist with only four songs and that would be enough – Solange is that girl. I also met her in real life. Yeah, she's exactly like (Paused for a second to think) knowing that our birthday is days apart she was exactly what I thought she would be – I met her and she was completely herself, felt like I was her friend forever.
That’s dope. That is how it should be though. Like when you meet somebody who you look up to and they are exactly who you imagined them to be, if not better. That is always a plus for me.
KB: Yeah, agree, I did meet her through someone who was her friend. So the interaction was different - as opposed to running up to her on the street - someone might have a different story if they met her that way versus meeting her through someone within her inner circle. You know? So, the way that we met was more so on an even ground. Where she had the space to be herself, although I think she would be herself wherever she goes like for real.
I feel like that is how you should be anytime you enter a room. Granted, you are not going to be the same exact person as everybody – but at the end of the day, you should always be yourself or some variation of yourself.
Before this conversation, we spoke about friendship, being social, and having a social group of people who can reach out to for various things. I want to speak more about that, have you always been a social person, where making friends and connections is easy for you or was it a skill you had to develop with time?
KB: For sure, always been a social person. My parents had me young, so it took a village to raise me and I was always around my family. My mom used to joke about my cousin calling her up and offering to babysit me. She never had a problem finding babysitters cause people would call for me. As an adult, I think about all the things I would say as a kid and I would say some of the craziest shit, things adults would say. Not that I was cursing or being disrespectful, I would just say how I felt, it's funny cause I was picking up on vibes back then when I was much younger. People would say things like ‘How do you know that?’ or maybe they were shocked that I would just say things or how I felt. So they would always have me around to kind of like be funny but also real. It was pretty interesting. I always enjoyed being around my older cousins, like truly.
Through high school I won everything, prom queen, homecoming queen, awards all that. On the flip side, I was very serious about school. I always took honors classes, and made the dean's list in college, on top of all the other shit, I always wanted to be smart. But then you reach adulthood and for me, I got lucky because I met a group of friends, then “we” started making friends, and so on. So that was like a blessing, as far as making friends. Then I also had a group of social friends, we would travel deep everywhere, now those groups of friends became my inner circle and still are till this day. So yeah, I guess it has been easy for me, or maybe it is a skill I'm naturally good at.
I remembered a reel of you guys traveling to these exotic places, I thought that was dope but also you guys moved like a unit, and I don't think you guys were related to each other, but the overall cool thing was that you all were having fun.
KB: Yeah, we are. Even with me living in Atlanta, I've never been able to (paused) replicate that here, which has been like a big thing for me as well – but I realize I don't have to, now I just go visit them when I feel like it. I try not to miss things like events or trips and they include me in everything still, so I appreciate them also for always keeping me in the loop.
To good friends.
KB: To good friends. (sips wine)
In the past, you were a co-founder of a cannabis lifestyle brand and now you're currently working in the tech field, can you elaborate on the why you transition between the two fields?
KB: The cannabis industry was really scary at that time. My business partner, a good friend of mine, had already started the business. She hit me up and was like I need your help building this brand. So I joined and was handling creative direction – building the brand, the site, the branding package, social media, etc.
Then we started doing events. Cannabis became legal but it was still very new so there was nobody doing anything cool, it was just like men throwing events, where you're asking yourself "Is this a safe place to be,” it just felt sketchy. So Pink Stone was mainly founded to be a safe space for women but also to normalize cannabis. But it was so risky, nobody wanted to jump out there and release a cannabis brand public. Plus, my business partner also had a government job which she didn’t want to lose. Ironically our core audience was all government workers so it was just a touchy time. I think we were ahead of our time. If we were to start when Washington, D.C. started opening dispensaries, we would have been much more successful.
As soon as cannabis started gaining traction I moved to Atlanta and while trying to enter the workforce here, I just didn't have the energy to focus on Pink Stone and I needed to figure out life. There was also no space to foster the career I wanted because in DC it was government-based and moving to Atlanta I was able to position myself within the tech industry, which allowed for a more creative space for me.
You mentioned "needing to leave.” Any particular reason ?
KB: I was working, but I was going out 3-4 days a week. Drinking, open bar every other night, going to work hungover, just being wild. I also had coke days, pill days, and playing with my ex, it was a lot. DC is just like New York, they are big on hospitality. My friends were in certain industries, if there was a liquor brand events, or something new coming out – we were invited to attend.
So like, whatever comes your way, that seems fun, you are willing to say yes rather than no.
KB: Basically, and it seems like it wasn't going to slow down. I remember thinking, I have to get serious about my life. So it was fun but I had to get the fuck up out of here, So I left, transitioned out of cannabis and started focusing on myself here. Even now, I'm in Atlanta and I finally feel like I’ve reached that goal that I set for myself out here, and it's like "Alright time for the next phase". My life is like checking boxes, you know? Like education check, higher education check, career check… in the future it will be marriage check, kids check.
I want to pivot a bit, self-expression regarding fashion seems to play a key part in your life outside of travel and art. What is your favorite brand or designers?
KB: Wow, this is a tough one. You know I think people look at my Instagram page and think I know fashion (laughing), I love that thought. It's something I enjoy, I feel like such a fake bitch (laughing). Growing up, I thought I would be a fashion designer, people would ask “what do you want to be when you grow up,” I would always say fashion designer. My grandmother is an amazing seamstress, she was one of those individuals who knew how to sew anything, she created a lot of my dresses when I was younger. However, I never took a liking to that part of it. Then, fast forward years later and you're working in retail, now that's when you get to develop your sense of style – you know? You're working in fashion, you're around it every day, but then I realized fashion is something personal to me, not selling clothes, so I quit.
My style has seen so many changes over the years, but I remember getting into athleisure super early. Remember when Kanye started dressing Kim Kardashian in "athleisure wear", I was like yeah this is my whole aesthetic and so I feel like that lane has been my life for the past decade in terms of my personal style. I've always been a sneakers girl, my dad definitely wanted a boy, so sneakers have always been a thing, I've always tried to mix and match sneakers into my looks, so when this athleisure wave came I was already tapped in. I do have brands that I like. However, I don't watch fashion week or anything like that. Maybe if something hits Twitter I'll pay attention. Overall some of my favorite brands are Jacquemus, Y-Project, Ottolinger, Zara, Balenciaga, Martin Rose, and Margiela. Those brands have been my style aesthetic for the past 10 years. Jacquemus gives me dressy but fun vibes. It is structured so sometimes I feel like I am wearing architecture – which is what I love about Margiela. It also feels like you're wearing architecture. Y-Projects is fun, Martin Rose is also fun, and Balenciaga is elevated basics for me.
I think for you...please feel free to tell me if I'm wrong here, but if I had to define your style, it seems to be whimsical but kinda tomboy-ish in a dressy way.
KB: That sounds about right.
Do you have a formula for when to buy clothing? I have my own "thing" on how and when I purchase clothing but I don't know if I'm being too methodical and weird about it or if there are other people who think about these things.
KB: Yeah, my methodical approach to purchasing happens because I know the price gonna fluctuate. I'm like umm... this just dropped, let me wait for like a month and see if the price drops. If it's something I want and I can find it for $200 cheaper I'm going to buy it, I never buy anything like it's urgent. A good example is when the Margiela Cowboy Boots dropped. I was like I'm getting that, but I know Margiela, a year from now they will drop an easy $500 off, when those Cowboy boots came out they cost $2,200. I'm not paying that amount for cowboy boots (laughing). I just waited until I felt like the price was right for me.
I feel that same way but with Graig Lauren, I never purchase things at full price because normally stores like Ssense would often have those items on sale.
KB: If you shop enough with these brands you'll notice it. But there are moments when I know things are gonna sell out and I'll purchase the item, if it is within my budget... like when the Martine Rose jersey dropped, I knew it was going to sell out and she doesn't restock, so that was an item I purchased right away.
So you are not a collector in that sense?
KB: Well, most of my pieces are “collector” pieces for sure, everything I have I can wear 5 years from now and the pieces I'm collecting are stapled pieces. For instance, I'm collecting Tabi's boots, that's a collector thing, now I have 3 pairs of Tabi's and I want the Mary Jane next, so I guess in a sense yes, I identify as a collector (laughing).
Change course a bit, I wanted to ask you something a bit more serious. What has been biggest obstacle of your life, where you felt like you wouldn't be able to overcome that obstacle but you did anyway?
KB: I mention this briefly but I think my biggest obstacle was leaving Washington D.C. because I had to start my entire life all over again. Leaving your comfort zone is hard, whether it's a relationship or even your hometown, especially when shit isn't that bad for you. Making that transition to Atlanta was difficult, not culturally because Atlanta and D.C. are the same, but dealing with simple things like finding your favorite grocery store you know, things like that. You feel like you don't have a sense of community. Of course, I knew people here but I still felt alone. But then at some point, I realized moving anywhere feels like high school. Your freshmen year, you're like WTF, you getting lost everywhere, can't get to your classes on time and shit, and you don't know where is Building A or Building B, but by sophomore year, you’re a bit more acclimated. Your junior year, you’re really that bitch. You have a few friends, your brunch spots, your DJs that you go to the club or party because they are playing there, and now you have a sense of community. Senior year, you like bitch I already did that, I can navigate life now just like how you have to learn to navigate life after you graduated high school.
Also, that was my biggest obstacle because I did it alone. When I moved to D.C. I moved with my best friend so we had each other, coming out here and not having her was hard, and we have been friends since we were children, so those little small things would affect me. But there is nothing like moving somewhere and figuring out things on your own, you gain a sense being able to do anything.
My last question before we wrap up, was there any positive influence in your life?
KB: I feel like I had the opportunity to meet a lot of different women in my life and at different points. Those are the people I admire and who influenced me. For example, I remember my high school black history teacher, Ms. Bryant, for me she was "that girl". She was smart and she coached from high school through college, I just appreciated her for giving me life advices and how cool she was. Another person that I had the opportunity to meet was when I moved to Washington D.C, I was trying to figure out what to do with myself. There was a girl that lived about 2-3 doors down from me, I would see her only go to and from her house to her car and then go to work, I was like who is this girl?
Come to find out my friend knew her, so one day my friends were hanging out with her and when I was walking by, they called me over and introduced us to one another, after that, I got to know her, she worked in HR and that was the career path she wanted for herself. She helped mold me for HR and helped me get my first gig, however, I knew I didn't want to work for the government sector and that was her career path, that also why I moved to Atlanta because I was able to continue my career, but on a creative level aspect. So I'll meet someone that I admire and be like "Teach me" and the rest I'll figure out. I think those women I just mentioned have been my biggest influence in going to college and figuring out my career path. Now my friends are my biggest influence, they own businesses and I love that. My best friend is a dermatologist, and she recently came out with her skincare line with 5 products, she gets to make a name for herself within the skincare industry but also as a black dermatologist, I think that is so cool.
Kimee, thank you for taking the time.
KB: It was a pleasure.
Foli Creppy covers fashion and style in New York. More about Foli Creppy
Aug 08, 2024 – Updated Aug 12, 2024More in Journal
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