Freak City: A Home for L.A.’s Electro-Rap Fashion Weirdos
Photo: Dana Boulos
In some neon-streaked dimension where Beat Street meets The Matrix, you’ll find the ghetto futurisms of Freak City, a hybrid retail space and electro-rap club situated in the heart of Hollyhood. It sits smack dab on Los Angeles’s famously star-lined boulevard, and if you peer through the display window, you’ll see what appears to be an abandoned multi-level department store. That’s exactly what the space used to be, before a pair of stylish strangeoids that go by Justin Time and Vally Girl barricaded themselves into the mall’s deeper recesses, covered the walls with Day-Glo graffiti, and unbolted the back alley door. Open for business.
With their outsize personalities and salvaged styles, Freak City’s crew has become a magnet for that segment of hip-hop that prefers its swag surreal. Kreayshawn had her birthday party here. Lil B, Peaches, and M.I.A. all performed within these decrepit walls. A recent Riff Raff press shot shows him standing in their tagged-up phone booth. There’s even a new compilation — Sounds of Freak City Vol. 1. — and Vally just did a stint as touring stylist to Nicki Minaj. Despite the acclaim, the place remains approachably grimy, a half-hood, half-haute space where old school rap collides with that new social media-inspired goal of putting everything on display. Click through to see the Cut’s latest Style Tribe bare all, handmade outfits notwithstanding.
Vally Girl, co-owner, designer, stylist, singer "I'm wearing my own design. It's called 'I'm a Tool,' and it's coming out in the fall. I lik...
Vally Girl, co-owner, designer, stylist, singer "I'm wearing my own design. It's called 'I'm a Tool,' and it's coming out in the fall. I like to make things kitschy and playful, but also really serious. Like, a lot of people really are tools, so why not have fun with it?"
Photo: Dana Boulos
Justin Time, co-owner, producer, promoter "Sometimes I dress ghetto and sometimes I dress fancy. I try to mix 'em up. This is a wannabe Loui...
Justin Time, co-owner, producer, promoter "Sometimes I dress ghetto and sometimes I dress fancy. I try to mix 'em up. This is a wannabe Louis Vuitton jacket. Girls used to make fun of me for wearing bootleg shit but I've been so underground my whole life, now I can have fun with commercialism and mainstream ideas."
Photo: Dana Boulos
Justin: "It all started with the music. Vally and I were playing around town and I convinced her to go in with me on a commercial space. The econ...
Justin: "It all started with the music. Vally and I were playing around town and I convinced her to go in with me on a commercial space. The economy was fucked so places were open to cash up front. Our first parties were called Hollyhood. We just wanted a place for our creations and our friends."
Photo: Dana Boulos
David, buyer, stylist, digital artist "When I was 15, I started a swap meet selling vintage clothes I'd been collecting on the side. My pers...
David, buyer, stylist, digital artist "When I was 15, I started a swap meet selling vintage clothes I'd been collecting on the side. My personal style is a broad mixture. I think a lot about basic things. Water, sand, marble. This is an Aquafina logo I got off of my water bottle, maybe seven minutes ago. I think blue is a really strong color."
Photo: Dana Boulos
Casio, shop dog, enforcer Vally: "Casio basically does whatever he wants. He pees where he wants, wears what he wants, eats what he wants. W...
Casio, shop dog, enforcer Vally: "Casio basically does whatever he wants. He pees where he wants, wears what he wants, eats what he wants. We answer to him. He's a baller, so he needs to have bling on at all times. Everyone always thinks he's a girl because of the jewels, so I put a little bowtie on him."
Photo: Dana Boulos
Chanel Casteneda, model, actress Photo: Dana Boulos
Justin: "I try to treat the space like I was performing. Just go with the flow, like surfing. Freestyle inspiration."
Photo: Dana Bo...
Justin: "I try to treat the space like I was performing. Just go with the flow, like surfing. Freestyle inspiration."
Photo: Dana Boulos
Warholian thugs in rhinestones and faux fur.
Photo: Dana Boulos
Vally: "People come in and want custom pieces made so I make them costumes, make 'em look crazy. I pick up different wavelengths, so it all just ...
Vally: "People come in and want custom pieces made so I make them costumes, make 'em look crazy. I pick up different wavelengths, so it all just comes to me. I'm drowning in ideas all the time." Photo: Dana Boulos
A spontaneous performance picks up on the second floor.
Photo: Dana Boulos
Labanna Babalon, energy healer, twerker, rapper "I do a lot of twerking, I do stuff with my booty. My friend Travis brought me here and I st...
Labanna Babalon, energy healer, twerker, rapper "I do a lot of twerking, I do stuff with my booty. My friend Travis brought me here and I stayed, basically. We're just like minds. I'd describe my style as alien, or cosmic priestess. I'm mostly wearing stuff I got here at Freak City."
Photo: Dana Boulos
"I do Internet energy healing on YouTube, sending positive loving through my ladyparts to the world. I'm going to make an app. The Internet is li...
"I do Internet energy healing on YouTube, sending positive loving through my ladyparts to the world. I'm going to make an app. The Internet is like training wheels to having a telepathic society. I'm trying to aid people into seeing the matrix for what it is."
Photo: Dana Boulos
Justin: "When we came up with Freak City, it was inspired by the music I grew up listening to: old-school electro, funk, early hip-hop, all the b...
Justin: "When we came up with Freak City, it was inspired by the music I grew up listening to: old-school electro, funk, early hip-hop, all the breakdancing stuff. Now I realize I want to take that toward the future, because now it's the Internet generation. So Freak City is the future of street life, of street style."
Photo: Dana Boulos
Die by Disney.
Photo: Dana Boulos
Photo: Dana Boulos
The entire space is covered in graffiti.
Photo: Dana Boulos
Justin: "When we found this place it was just storage – an old department store, abandoned. It stood in my mind for months, like, 'Could this cra...
Justin: "When we found this place it was just storage – an old department store, abandoned. It stood in my mind for months, like, 'Could this crazy place be it?'"
Photo: Dana Boulos
Albert Alen Weathers, designer for Trill, gets his hand Solo on. A conspicuous mini booze bottle looms in the background.
Photo: Dana Boulos
Hula Dula, actor, self-proclaimed Hoe House Ruler "I'm what a person would refer to as stuck betwixt dimensions. I am half cartoon and...
Hula Dula, actor, self-proclaimed Hoe House Ruler "I'm what a person would refer to as stuck betwixt dimensions. I am half cartoon and half human. And yes, I've got my fishes in my shoe. I found them in the L.A. River. They were swimming and I said, 'Wait a minute, y'all need to come home with me. I'm gonna adopt a fish and put him in my shoe.'"
Photo: Dana Boulos
Black leather is as common as neon hair dye.
Photo: Dana Boulos
A blonde in a beanie swerves after the donation-requested open bar.
Photo: Dana Boulos
The no-Nazi, pro-beer movement has a strong foothold here.
Photo: Dana Boulos
Justin: "We're heavily influenced by living in a big city, by Los Angeles and urban expressions."
Photo: Dana Boulos
Somehow more tough and more femme than Skrillex.
Photo: Dana Boulos
Fashion so hard it hurts.
Photo: Dana Boulos
Improvised art.
Photo: Dana Boulos
Justin: "We turned down an MTV reality show. Freak City is too real for TV at this point."
Photo: Dana Boulos
Vally: "We basically just woke up in our dreams. This is our place, this is what we dream, sleep, and breathe."
Photo: Dana Boulos
"I'm doing a mixtape that's coming out soon. I want to get kids into this idea that the booty is both the Venus fly trap and the apple, the tree ...
"I'm doing a mixtape that's coming out soon. I want to get kids into this idea that the booty is both the Venus fly trap and the apple, the tree of life. It represents pleasure, trying to get rid of the shame in sexuality."
Photo: Dana Boulos
David: "I love this store because they reference so many genres. Sticking to one specific era or style is so boring. I mean, Home Depot is one of...
David: "I love this store because they reference so many genres. Sticking to one specific era or style is so boring. I mean, Home Depot is one of my favorite places to shop as far as fashion goes."
Photo: Dana Boulos
Photo: Dana Boulos
Partygoers lounge on a massive duvet spray-painted to resemble a yin-yang. Yes, that is a Diet Coke clutch.
Photo: Dana Boulos
Justin: "When we started at our first space, everyone was trying to shut us down, neighbors were slashing our tires, the cops kept showing u...
Justin: "When we started at our first space, everyone was trying to shut us down, neighbors were slashing our tires, the cops kept showing up, all kinds of crazy shit was happening. Now we can be loud, have music late, have as many guests as we wanna have and paint the whole place in graffiti if we want."
Photo: Dana Boulos
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