Built By Culture Featuring Angelo Baque | Open Palette Podcast | Episode 14

In this episode of The Open Palette Podcast, host Brian Camacho sits down with Angelo Baque, founder of Awake NY and a respected creative force in fashion, culture, and community.

Titled Built by Culture, this conversation explores Angelo’s journey through New York City, his roots in streetwear, the importance of cultural identity, and how community continues to shape everything he creates. From building a brand with purpose to staying connected to the people and places that influence the work, Angelo shares insight into what it means to create with intention, represent where you come from, and leave a lasting impact beyond fashion.

This episode is about more than clothing. It is about culture, storytelling, legacy, and the responsibility that comes with building something that speaks to the people.

Tune in to Episode 14 of The Open Palette Podcast, where art, culture, and community come together through real conversations.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to the Open Palette Podcast where art, culture, and community come together through real conversations. I'm your host, Brian Camacho, and this episode is brought to you in partnership with the Museum of Graffiti's Artist Studios as well as Awake and Why. Big shout outs to each and every one of you who've been tuning in, and of course, big shout outs to our sponsors and our supporters. I want to thank each and every one of you who have been tuning in week to week. Please make sure to subscribe, like, share, and comment. Now let's get into today's show. As today's conversation explores the intersection of fashion, identity, and community. For many brands, clothing is the product, but for some clothing becomes a vehicle for storytelling, representation, and creating opportunity for others. Our guest today has built one of New York City's most respected streetwear brands by staying deeply connected to the people and culture that inspired it. Through thoughtful design, community initiatives, and commitment to the authenticity. He has shown how a brand can become a platform for meaningful impact. Today we're talking about culture, creativity, entrepreneurship, community building, and the responsibility of using your platform to create opportunities for others. Please help me in joining us today, Angelo Bakke.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

How are you doing, man?

SPEAKER_00 1:14

It's a pleasure, man. I'm doing well. Please, yes, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

Take it away.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

So for those, uh, this is a great opportunity, and thank you first and foremost, once again. Um, I myself am out here in New York City. For those who are tuning in and have been supporting us, you know that we've been in New York City with the goal to shoot 10 episodes within five days. Um, today was sort of an off day in the daytime for me, so I thought just go around, walk around the city, Soho LES area, do some shopping. And um, it was noted on my, you know, on my checklist to make it a point to stop here at awake NY. And um I had lunch prior to getting here with a friend of mine, and I asked her to stay with my bags as I took this walk because I didn't want to be lugging everything around. And um, with my luck upon the arrival here, um, the gentleman uh Angelo Bake was sitting right out front. And um, I shot my shot, as you should always as well. Any chance that you get and any opportunity that you have in front of you, seize the moment. I take my chance and um I introduce myself. I let him know that I have a podcast called the Open Palette Podcast and would love the opportunity to shoot and have him on the show. And um, to my surprise, he was openly and open and willing to do so. And um I was ready to set a date and set a time, and you you made it a point to say, let's do this right now. And um, and it's very important that whenever these opportunities arise, you jump at it and you're ready and prepared. So thank you.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

No, thank you. I I I think also if if you don't mind me asking, please, please do so as as you walk by me, I I peep your subwear t-shirt. Right. I haven't seen a subwear tee in really in a really long time. I was a big fan of subwear. I'm a big fan of stash. So that was like right off the rip, like just wearing the right t-shirt, which for us, you know, the culture, the generation we come from, like the t-shirt was the way how we identify, who we're down with, the tribe that we run with, the things that, you know, just so much is said in a graphic. For sure. Right. So then that's how the conversation started. And then you name drop two people, Mr. and Scuff, who are like my brothers to me, who I love, you know. So the doc connecting and then the trust, like me without knowing you, now suddenly I felt like I knew you. I was like, okay, you got a t-shirt on of a brand that I respect. And you know, you mentioned two names that I that I don't take lightly, and I know for a fact they wouldn't take lightly to it if I was like, hey, I met Brian, he says he knows it, they'd be like, I don't know him. For sure. I think also just like a piece of the hustle in the game that a lot of youth don't understand. You know what I'm saying? Like how like just a quick two-minute interaction can lead into opportunity. Yeah, you know, and uh yeah, man, like, yeah, damn. Uh appreciate it, man, that you're even interested in wanting to talk to me.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Thank you for sure. It's a pleasure. Um, definitely see the work that you've been doing and putting down for the representation not only of the culture, the community, but the city of New York. Um, so for those who may not know, who is Angelo Bake behind the brands, behind the clothing?

SPEAKER_01 4:23

Angelo Bake. That's like one of those existential kind of like uh questions. I mean, today, first and foremost, I'm a father, I'm a husband, you know. Before I even talk about like creative director, entrepreneur, you know, for me, the most important thing is my family and my friends and the time that I spend with them. Everything else is kind of like whatever. You know what I mean? Like, I'm really grateful to have the business that I have and all the opportunities I have. But I think, you know, what I really want to stress for anyone who doesn't know me, and now you're gonna do a quick Google search and see all the cool things that I've been able uh that I've been able to work on and bring to fruition. Like, yeah, make sure you give your mom and your dad a hug today, you know, tell say your family how much you love them or your your partner, you know what I mean? Like that's if anything that I've learned over the years and being in business is like that's the only thing that matters.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

For sure. Yeah, family, friends, community, and and then that's what it's all about. Yeah, and with your brand awake, that is one of the staples and the importance and representation that you show here. When building this brand, when did it click for you that that was the need, that was the necessity?

SPEAKER_01 5:37

Um, so you know, we're going into year 10, December will be 10 years. Um, that I've been independent and I started awake. And um, I think of the first drop I did, and wanting to build like the visual identity and seeing what was happening in New York at the time, you know, it was we were going through like a pretty harsh wave of gentrification, and specifically here downtown, there was uh like a huge whitewashing of culture, and I think also you m throw in like social media in the sense where like if I wanted anything alternative, I grew up in Queens, like I had to come downtown, you know. So whether it be any kind of music genre with the exception of hip-hop, right? But like anything that's not hip-hop, you had to come downtown, skate, graffiti, you know, like there was like literally one graffiti store back in the day, Soho Down and Under, that we just became Soho's at, and then it became Scrapyard, and now they're out of business, you know, and Pearl Paint, which was the racking spot. Like, you would meet other graffiti riders, you know what I mean? Like um, that literally was it. And then you had all these like really cool stores below 14th Street, like you know, Mondo Kim's, Babitos Footwork, Fat Beats, The Supremes, the Unions, the Stussy's, all these kind of like meetup places, and also like before, like not the date myself, but also like before cellular and mobile devices, we would go off of landmarks, you know, like I'll meet you at the cage, yeah, or I'll meet you at the Dinky, the DK and Y sign on Broadway, you know, Broadway House then, you know, at one o'clock, you know, you can wait there for your man to show up, you know. Like, so like that's kind of the era that I grew up in, and I felt a lot of that was missing in uh 2016, and reminding people of what the cultural landscape, you know, physically looks like in New York City, you know, like growing up in Queens, like I always talk about growing up in a West Indian neighborhood. I didn't grow up in a Latino neighborhood. My parents are from Ecuador, but like all my neighbors are were Isla Guyanese or Trinidadian, you know, so like I in spirit I feel West Indian. You know what I mean? Like I like like today, like I I listen to Super Cat as much as I listen to Hector Lavoe, you know what I mean? Like that, because that's kind of like the environment I grew up in. So and then when when it was time to shoot the first look book for Wake, I really wanted to remind people what New York looks like. New York is black, brown, yellow, purple, gay, straight, trans. You know what I'm saying? Like that's the New York I grew up in. You know, I worked retail from 18 to 28, you know, and I worked for everyone. You know what I mean? So like I never, yeah, man, like all the kind of like weird like neighborhood homophobia and discriminatory ideas, like all that shit was early out the window for me, you know, because yeah, that's like that's like all the jobs that I had early on were like working in weird stores like Canal Jean Company and can and Urban Outfitters. Not that Urban Outfitters is weird today, but like the staff used to be like they used to take weird people to work in the stores. So like I always vividly remember this dude, Angel from the Bronx, who was Puerto Rican, and he was he listened to industrial music. I didn't know anything about industrial music, but like he put me onto bands like Meet Beat Manifesto and shit like that. And it's just like, yeah, man, I'm like anyway, not to go too far off topic. I just like I wanted awake visually to represent that New York that still existed, too. The thing is just like it wasn't really about tapping into nostalgia, but just reminding people and taking control of the narrative of what New York is and what New York youth looks like.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

For sure. Definitely agree with you on that, and it's definitely shown through the work that you're putting out. Um, I want to touch on a topic here and where um you spoke of many different streetwear brands and the streetwear culture, and where some may say that streetwear culture may be dead. We are here in your store, in your space, and it is well alive and thriving. What do you say to that misconception to those that may not understand that with time comes change and evolution and growth, but doesn't mean that the culture is dead, we're just growing.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Well, I think that that's that's multiple questions in one. And I think the first the first part is is streetwear dead? I don't know. You know what I'm saying? Like, first of all, who came up with the term streetwear? Great, right? It was somebody that was trying to commodify this culture that we built because before I don't know, 2010 or whatever, like that term didn't exist, you know. So in the early 90s, like the brands that I looked up to, that wasn't streetwear, it would they were just called underground brands, just like underground hip hop, right? There was like no real genre to name it, right? So, and then when you when like that kind of slowly phased into like what would be called urban in the early 2000s, right? So like we go from you know uh triple five soul, PMB, uh two black guys, you know, 5001 flavors, like all these amazing brands from the early 90s, and then suddenly it just leaps frogs to like Rockaware and Mecca and Fubu, and you know, because it started getting commodified, right? And and very rightfully so, the people that were helping drive sales, right, which were hip hop artists, took control, right, of uh the apparel, um, but then kind of like in a way, you know, like left all that 90s stuff behind, right? A lot of those guys didn't cross over and they didn't make it to the 2000s, and uh, you know, for many reasons, I don't know why, you know. Um and uh there was nothing really like so. And then once it got into like Macy's and Bloomingdale's, whatever, right? It got super pop and commercial, and you could get Echo and Middle America, right? And then we get into like mid-2000s, and now suddenly you have your you know, ice creams and Supreme starts coming into like more mainstream culture. Now suddenly we have to like, all right, some higher up is like we gotta make money off of this. For sure. So like once again, we have to make money off of this because it wasn't just Jay-Z MM profiting off of those brands, there was other people involved in those brands that helped manufacture that shit.

SPEAKER_00 12:29

For sure.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Once again, it's just like we gotta bottle it and commodify it. So I think the commodification of streetwear is dead. I don't know so much. We're just in another iteration of this right now.

SPEAKER_00 12:42

Okay, that's true. Thank you for that insight there. Now I want to speak to the idea of brand collaborations. A lot of people, you know, hear that those two words together and get excited. They get excited off the idea of being aligned with certain brands without the full depth and understanding or thought process of owning your own IP and representation alongside these individuals. Can we speak to that? I know you've aligned yourself with many different brands and has and has always made it a point to have a wake front and center representing your brand alongside these different companies. Whereas sometimes there's a fight with these companies per se, where they want what they want, and at times can be an oversight for what is the bigger picture as a whole for artists and brands. What is your stance on that and and how do you maneuver through those places?

SPEAKER_01 13:36

Well, I think if you go into any of those partnerships without naming names and thinking you're not compromising yourself, right, you're delusional. You know, there's some compromise, you know, the minute you're you enter into one of those deals, and you kind of have to know what are your boundaries, you know what I'm saying? Like what are you what are you willing to do, what are you willing not to do, and really hold hold tight to that line because you know it's almost like that Dave Chappelle sketch with fucking uh uh Charlie Murphy and um what's his name? Um uh you know oh oh Ashley Larry. Um no, not Ashley Larry, uh you know something about uh Rick James. Oh the Rick James skin, yeah. Rick James is a habitual line stepper. For sure. These corporations are habitual line steppers. So like they'll tell you one thing and then they'll keep pushing and keep pushing and keep pushing, and next thing you know, like you're eating a big bowl of shit. You know, you don't understand how you got to that point, you know. But you know, and once again, that's from experience, you know, like it goes from eating a big bowl of shit to like I ain't doing nothing, you know what I'm saying? Like, this is my stance, this is where this is where this is what I'm gonna do, this is I'm gonna deliver. And you have to be willing to walk away. You know, like at this point where I'm at with the brand and as a creative, like there isn't really there isn't really like a a dollar value to to quantify like what you know, like what I'm willing to compromise, my like our street credibility. I feel like that's our biggest, that's our superpower, right? Like that's our our authenticity and our street cred credibility as a brand, you know, that people know that our word is our bond, you know what I mean? And we we have yet to lose the trust of our customer. Because basically we played ourselves, you know what I'm saying? Like, so and that comes with time, you know what I'm saying? Like, I've I've had many situations where like it just wasn't worth the money, you know what I mean? And I had to go through those situations in order to understand what am I willing to do and what am I what I'm willing not to do?

SPEAKER_00 15:49

Yeah, great point. Thank you for that insight on that. I have a question for the future you for the for the for the brand that you've built. If tomorrow you woke up and awake is no longer established, what is the message, the meaning, and the purpose behind everything that you've built that you wanted people to take away?

SPEAKER_01 16:10

That's a good question. Um I'll say this like I would hope that 10 years from now people reflect on the body of work that I've been able to do with this brand, and it's it's it's we've been able to create inspiration for the next generation coming up. Where like we're the case study, like you can do it this way, like you can be intentional, you can do give backs, you can, you know, prioritize, you know, people of color uh in the creative space and still be cool. You know, for me, I always think back to like the native tongues, you know. It's like they were the first it was the first time that I saw like you can be alternative and weird, but still be cool and get girls, you know what I mean? Like it's like you could be conscious and you could be fly. For sure. You know what I'm saying? Like you don't have to be wearing like a hookah shell necklace, like fucking rest of development, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, for sure. You know, no disrespect to them. You know, so it's like I think about that today. It's like you can actually move with intention and purpose and have a moral compass and still look fly. For sure. You know, so like I don't, I mean, it's probably the first time I've said that, you know what I mean? But like that's what I that's the energy that I want to give. It's just like we can we don't have to be like brand X, we don't have to be brand Y. We're awake, we're awake New York, this is who we are, you know what I mean? Like, that's probably one of the most important lessons that I learned working at Supreme is just like we worked really hard to create our own lane. We weren't thinking about nobody else, you know. So that's why for me, like same thing with here at Awake, like I ain't thinking about nobody else. I'm just thinking about us, what we're doing, and you know, really honing in our vision because I'm still figuring it out. Like, I don't have a definitive like idea of what awake is, you know, like there, you know, yeah, there's some things that we won't do and some things we will do, but then there's also such a large space for freedom, you know, like we're not restricted by certain things, you know what I mean? Like, like if you know you woke up tomorrow and you saw fucking like Ralph Lauren did a short video with like ASAP Taiwai and bike culture, you'd be like, what the fuck is you know?

SPEAKER_00 18:25

Yes, I totally get it.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

It don't make sense, you know what I'm saying? Like, we don't have those restrictions, we don't have cultural restrictions, you know. Like we have the freedom to move how we want to move, so long as it feels authentic to us, right? That's really that's how that's how my compass works, right? For the things that I want to work on, you know, like it just has to make sense for us, and it can't seem like a stretch, right? But there's certain brands like a like uh like a Ralphie that like it, you know, there's only so much they can do because they built that world and that's their world.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

For sure. Yeah, definitely very important for you uh designers, artists, and alike out there, take that into consideration. Pay attention to what's going on around you, the mission, the purpose, and the energy you care for those out there to you know perceive and accept when they're stepping into your space. With regards to up-and-coming designers and creators that are looking to you know work alongside you and what you have going on here at Awake and why, how can they go about tapping in with you? I know you have a creative work program that you facilitate here. Can we talk to that?

SPEAKER_01 19:27

Um, yeah, just hit me on the DM.

SPEAKER_00 19:29

Hit you on the DM.

SPEAKER_01 19:31

Shoot your shot just like you did, you know what I mean? Like you'd be surprised. I read every DM, you know. So, like if the work, you know, good work is good work, you know. Like if you're talented, it's hard to deny that, you know. So I think a lot what happens today is this reluctance to allow yourself to be vulnerable, right? And vulnerability means that you have to open up yourself up to criticism. But you know, like criticism isn't always negative, like criticism means that if I trust you and I really rate your body of work, then that means that whatever feedback you give me, I gotta be willing to accept, hear it, right? Receive it and then apply it. Because now I can't claim ignorance. I can't be like, yo, I don't know why my shit don't look good. It's like, well, I sat down with person X who I respect, and they told me that my shit's kind of whack right now, and I need to work on, you know, my sketching or illustration or you know, uh creative direction, you know. So, all right, so I I've been given my North Star. I need to work on that for the next six months to a year.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

For sure. That's what's up. That's great information. So thank you for that. Before we get up out here, what are some parting words you would like to leave with the people?

SPEAKER_01 20:43

Parting words. Um I don't know, it's kind of you know, just just echoing back to what I said for the intro, you know, uh unfortunately, you know, in the last the last couple years I've lost a few people, you know, from Clark Kent to my friend Spanto, you know, Virgil Ablow, recently our teammate of ours, Roy Martinez, you know, passed away abruptly. Like, just take advantage of every day. You know what I mean? Like, you know, sometimes when I talk to youth, there is, you know, this pessimistic, nihilistic kind of like approach or thought to life, and it's like, nah, man, like the fact that you get to wake up every day is such a blessing, like it's such a huge win already. You know, who gives a shit about the likes on your last post or you know, your fit pick or some dumb shit like that, you know. That's what I'm saying, like really tap into the things that are real in your life, you know, because that's what's gonna get you through the good times, the bad times, you know, like so um, and also just also help you evolve as a creative, you know, like when you're so caught up looking at others, you're wasting your time not working on your own shit, you know.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

For sure. Yes, man. Well, thank you for that. Thank you for your time and for allowing us into your space once again and for opening the palette up to the people here. It's been a pleasure working with you here. For those tuning in, make sure to like, comment, share, subscribe. Make sure to check out awake ny.com or make your way over here to the lower east side and experience this cultural movement and this space here.

SPEAKER_01 22:22

Appreciate it. Shout out, cat.

SPEAKER_00 22:23

Yes, big shout outs to cat.

SPEAKER_01 22:25

Shout out, cat, scuff, mister, KGK, rest in peace touch.

SPEAKER_00 22:29

Yes, rest in keysor.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

Big uh rest in peace, Zax, man. That's my brother, man. Fuck, man. I'm yes, for sure. You know, like short story, man. Like the first um first pop-up I ever did at this store called uh Pro Cell, like nine years ago, I I got Zach Semester to do security, and I was having a meltdown because I felt like the line wasn't long enough in front of the store. Yeah, and Zach might have been like 24 at the time. He was young, and he was like, yo, don't ever let me hear you talk about like talk negative like that. You know, I was like, You're the fucking man. You're Angelo Baket. Don't you yo, to me, you're the fucking man. You know what I'm saying? Like, so like if I believe you're the man, you're the fucking man. You know what I'm saying? Like, yo, he's like, come on, man. He's like, get your chest out. You know, he's like, talk your shit. And I was just like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, I'm the man, I'm the man, I'm the man. He's like, yo, I got you. I always got you. You know, he's like, I'll do security. I never do security, I'll do security for you. You don't even gotta pay me for today. He's like, give me a fucking beanie, yo. You know, he's like, I fucking love you. I love you.

SPEAKER_00 23:31

I was like, one of the realest, man. One of the realest for sure.

SPEAKER_01 23:35

Younger than me, man, talking to me like he's, you know, like he's he's like my OG, man. So like, yeah, once again, somebody else that passed away, you know, like you just don't know, man. Like, I like I'm surprised I'm still here, to be honest. God bless. So it's that's a yeah, man. Rest in peace, Zex. I I love him. I miss him too, man.

SPEAKER_00 23:55

That's a fact. Rest in peace to all the fallen soldiers, all the great artists that we've lost that have been able to, you know, put it down for each and every one of us out here. Thank you once again, Angelo. It's a pleasure. Thank you for this opportunity, man.

SPEAKER_01 24:08

Alright, brother. Peace a lot, man. Peace.

SPEAKER_00 24:10

Peace, y'all.