Gold Minds

A true Renaissance Man of art, music and subculture, Kaves aka Michael McLeer, tells of his early days bombing the buses in Brooklyn, break dancing and going on tour with House of Pain. He tells of the rise of his band, The Lords of Brooklyn as well as his new careers: acting and owning a popular, family-run restaurant.

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The inception of Rap Music: NYC, early 80's, writer-publicist, Bill Adler was right there, at the very beginning of Def Jam helping explode the movement worldwide. He talks with Claw about all of it as well as growing up in Motown, writing for the Voice and People Magazine and the cultural significance and future of Hip Hop.

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The queen of Hip Hop fashion, April Walker gets real with Claw. From early Brooklyn days with Run DMC and Biggie, to huge success with her own company, Walker Wear. This is a strong woman who can tell it like it is and you should listen.

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Current Ambassador of NYC Graffiti, CES talks with Claw about his origins in Westchester and the Bronx, crazy old jobs, and “painting all night and racking everyday”. Woah, and then getting his Instagram hacked!

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Guerrilla marketing pioneer and social commentary artist, Ari Forman talks with Claw about growing up wild in 70's Hollywood in an "alternative lifestyle" where Mom showed him porn. Moving to Philly, he had to survive "Warriors" style runs daily, just to get to school, and avoid the gangs. He may also be the king of the cease & desist with his brilliant Menthol 10s sneaker, biting both Nike and Newport at the same time!

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Real Deal NYC OG and one of graffiti's most infamous writers, PJ talks with Claw about graffiti and gangs, from Chicago to the Bronx, bootlegging T-shirts for 70's bands and taking revenge for getting stabbed in the chest.

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Videographer and self-appointed, ambassador of Islam, Aymann Ismail talks with Claw about experiencing 911 as a young Muslim boy in New Jersey, scaling dangerous heights to make the ultimate video, and becoming a meme at the Republican convention.

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Hugo Martinez is one of the most controversial figures in graffiti. A polarizing figure, yes - yet so, so crucial. His vision of what seminal graffiti represented, as well as what it could be, helped to shape its evolution. He influenced the public, but also writers themselves, by imbuing the sense that this was, indeed, "real" and important art. Born in New York City, that art, and those writers, now identifying as artists, became the archetype of what has become a worldwide cultural phenomenon, forever altering our view and appreciation of what art is and can be.

Find out more: http://www.martinezgallery.com/

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Dave Ortiz has been one of NYC's most influential tastemakers in so many fields - street-art, skateboarding, BMX, sneaker culture and streetwear. He talks with Claw about getting there, the wonders of New York, and about where he's going next... vodka? Mmmm.

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Artist Cey Adams talks about growing up in Jamaica, Queens where graffiti was his life and it was all about "bombing the buses". He then gets into his time at Def Jam working with Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool J and Jay-Z as a creator of legendary hip hop graphic design.

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Claudia and Brad sit down with #1 dad Stash 2 and reminisce about the good old days - writing graffiti, printing t-shirts in bathtubs, literally birthing streetwear and sneaker culture. The current fashion wave owes so much to Stash for being a pioneer in product and lifestyle design and creating a lane in business that merely didn’t exist before. On this podcast he discusses his wins and his loses - and comes out the end, back on top.

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Theo talks about starting the Lunachicks in high school and getting discovered at a Limelight show by Sonic Youth. She an Claw get into female empowerment, punk parenthood and Theo's latest music and fashion adventures.

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Claudia sits down with Danny Danko and gets schooled about one of her favorite subjects- marijuana. Danko shares his vast knowledge of all things WEED, his start from dealing illegally to now- being HIGH TIMES MAGAZINE’s leading expert on strains. Thus, spreading the culture globally from it’s original outlaw roots. He even dabbled in the dark arts of graffiti. Find out more, give a listen.

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Infamous graffiti artist turned Dept. of Corrections Warden turned current day artist and thinker, Trike1 talks with Claw about being the "King of Buses", his basketball scholarship, how he helped keep baby Claw out of trouble and all her little graf-crew safe when in the slam. They also discuss drone graffiti and the future of street-art.

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Publisher, journalist, curator, Miss Rosen lays it on the line with spiritual hacks and naked observations of our modern capitalist culture. She and Claw dwell a bit on their history together but then dig deep into our era's big issues!

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Kunle Martins aka Earsnot, talks about being inspired to run away from home after seeing "Kids" on motel cable, beating up homophobes and breaking bones skateboarding to work.

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Roger Gastman discusses "Beyond The Streets", his massive graffiti and street-art museum-worthy exhibition in New York City. Claudia revisits his happy days as a spray-can "cap” entrepreneur, spending his profits on delicious pizza. They chat about their history together at Swindle Magazine, the future of publishing, and she grills Roger on his favorite graffiti artist... tune in to find out more.

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In this episode of “Gold Minds”, Claw Money and Freedom both discuss: Slowly experiencing graffiti become a movement, and the culture as a whole, growing up as a young artist, The Freedom Tunnel, The people that lived there.

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You can follow Claudia Gold aka "Claw Money" -(@clawmoney)

You can follow Chris Freedom Pape - (@chrisfreedompape)

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In this episode of “Gold Minds”, Claw Money and Nick Heller both discuss: The stigmas behind mental illness, 9/11, how he copes with his anxiety, his work on Instagram as New York Nico, the origins of his production company Heller Films, as well as his film Big Mike Takes Lunch

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Nick Heller is a human, just like you and me, that goes through an illness that unjustly has massive social stigmas tied to it. He is also an extremely talented film maker, that truly loves his city, and is extremely passionate about capturing people living in it, so the whole world can experience their talent, and beauty.

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You can follow Claudia Gold aka "Claw Money" -(@clawmoney)

You can follow Nick Heller - (@newyorknico)

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In this episode of “Gold Minds”, Claw Money and Arthur Soleimanpour both discuss: Starting out in the City, why he chose to move here in the first place, working his way up from being a PA to a producer on various projects, to becoming a creative director, as well as eventually starting his own company “Parks Dept”, and what they are all about!

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What is it about this city that constantly pushes people to reach for more? With scenery as majestic as any part of the city skyline, and as tragic as homeless families begging for money on the street; it’s almost like it is subconsciously programing us, to make our dreams come to life, with just the right amount of inspiration, and fear. There are very few people in the city that create with the intention that Arthur approaches his content with, he puts the ball in your court and forces you to define it.

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You can follow Claudia Gold aka "Claw Money" -(@clawmoney)

You can follow Arthur Soleiimanpour’s company “Parks Dept” - (@ParksDept)

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In this episode of “Gold Minds”, Claw Money and Laurie Henzel both discuss: Feminism throughout history, The early days of “Bust”, being a working mom, living in New York, #MeToo, gentrification, politics, and the France riots.

We have so much further to go, when it comes to equality for women, but have also come so far thanks to incredible women like Laurie Henzel, and the social progress that “Bust” magazine has aided in. What started as a passion project for Laurie, became a powerful voice and really helped set a positive tone, in what is easily one of the most important social movements to exist in human history. It really comes to show, when people organize their time, resources, and really believe in a cause, great things can be accomplished. We have so much to learn from them.

It was an incredible honor to capture her story

You can follow Claudia Gold aka "Claw Money" -(@clawmoney)

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In this episode of “Gold Minds” Claw Money and Isaac “West” Rubinstein, both discuss: Early graffiti culture, Early Childhood involvement, Streetwear, Supreme, Branding, Innovation in Graffiti, and Being an artist.

As a wide eyed young kid, he explored graffiti culture, style, technique, and made them a part of his essence as a person. Always learning, and progressing on every level, Isaac is truly a testament to what grind, determination, passion, pride in your work, and discipline can get you in this life. 

There are so many gems in this episode.

We hope you learned as much as we did!

You can follow Claudia Gold aka "Claw Money" -(@clawmoney)

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In this episode of “Gold Minds” Claw Money and Martha Cooper, both discuss: Growing up in a photography household, Being in the Peace Corps, Traveling Asia, Starting out as a photographer, Photographing Graffiti, her upcoming Documentary ”Martha”, and the scene overall!

What makes an art form legitimate? A lot of people will say money, but long before it can make money, there needs to be hubs under which people can gather, and acknowledge it. One of the people that documented the culture, and co-created one of these hubs, in the form of a book named “Subway Art”, is the living legend Martha Cooper.

We hope you enjoy this interview as much as we did!

You can follow Martha Cooper on Instagram - (@marthamoopergram)

And follow Claudia Gold aka "Claw Money" -(@clawmoney)

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In this episode of “Gold Minds” Claw Money and DJ A-Trak, both discuss: his origins, honing his skills with his brother, becoming a world class DJ, working with some of the biggest artists in the music industry, how "Fools Gold” started, and his mission with that brand.

DJ A-Trak is a driven, extremely caring person, that is starting to give back to his community, and uplift up-and-coming artists. He does this by giving them a platform, that uses his brand and the clout that he has grinded tirelessly for. A child prodigy, A-Trak practiced his craft in secret, after being inspired by scratching sounds that he had never heard before. If there was ever anyone that deserved success, it’s Alain Macklovitch aka DJ A-Trak

We hope you enjoy this interview as much as we did!

You can follow A-Trak on Instagram - (@atrak)

And follow Claudia Gold aka "Claw Money" -(@clawmoney)

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In this episode Claudia and Roxy Cottontail, both discuss Promoting shows, her origins, being an unsung hero, and the post 9/11 lower east side party scene.

Some people do things specifically to get noticed, others, get noticed as an outcome of what they do, and then there are those, that "do" regardless of ever getting noticed. Roxy, was a massive figure in the lower east side party scene, getting to work promoting shows for diplo, as well as other globally renown DJs, she worked hard to bring people together to have special unique experiences, that might never happen again.

We hope you enjoy this interview as much as we did!

You can follow Roxy on Instagram - (@roxycottontail)

And follow Claudia Gold -(@clawmoney)

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In this episode Claudia and David "Chino BYI" Villorente, both discuss graffiti , working for "The Source", his origins, his volunteer work, and his new collaborative book "The ABC's of Style”

Not everyone volunteers time to help a normal stranger, much less, entire groups of at risk youth, and first time offenders, but David does. He gives kids another shot at life, instead of letting them start a cycle of recidivism, that ruins so many lives. Long time artist, designer, writer (graffiti, and The Source), and fellow incredible human being, David shares the darker parts of his past, that shows how he could have easily been one of those kids. He is living proof, that they aren't lost causes, that all they need is a little bit of love, support, and community.

We hope you enjoy this interview as much as we did!

You can follow David on Instagram - (@chinobyi)

And follow Claudia Gold -(@clawmoney)

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In this episode Claudia and Janette Beckman, both discuss Culture, Hiphop, Photography, Taking pictures in the 70's, and being a woman in male dominated industries.

It takes a special type of intuition to do what Janette does, that even most normal photographers don't have, because Janette doesn't always work in studios, taking pictures with extremely controlled conditions. She goes out there into the scenes, to discover groups of people are really creating special pieces. An explorer of people and culture, she has documented some of the biggest music movements to happen in our country in the last 30 years when they were still just starting out.

Janette is adventurous, so sweet, talented, courageous, powerful and simply brilliant in every way that a human can be.

We hope you enjoy this interview as much as we did!

You can follow Janette Beckman on Instagram - @Janettephoto

And follow Claudia Gold -@ClawMoney

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In this episode Claudia and Clark Kent, both discuss the origins of hiphop, the differences between rappers, and lyricists, community, sneakers, his origins, as well as a pretty controversial topic that surrounds hiphop.

Not everyone is lucky enough to find their true calling in life, and an even smaller number of people are fortunate enough to find it in their childhood. Clark is proof that it does take a community to cultivate, inspire and grow artists. Sometimes that means being given a sarcastic shot at DJ-ing a park jam in the 70's as a child, only for them to find that they were in the presence of a true prodigy.

Clark is sincere, kind hearted, and extremely knowledgable, he really proves that HipHop goes so far beyond just being a style of music.

We hope you enjoy this interview as much as we did!

You can follow Clark Kent Instagram - @DjClarkKent

And follow Claudia Gold -@ClawMoney

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