A New York rapper with three decades behind him and a custom streetwear label built on bold colour share one idea: make it yourself, and make it honest.

Hip hop and street fashion have always grown from the same pavement. Both reward people who refuse to wait for permission. Gramzunkut, the New York rapper born Gabriel Baez, and Selfmade Leathers, a custom streetwear brand, come at that idea from different directions and land in the same place.

Start with the name. Read quickly, Gramzunkut looks like a drug reference. Baez means something else by it. The name stands for truth in its strongest form: potent, raw and uncut.

That is what he says he has given hip hop for the last three decades. Truth can shock, and people are not always ready for it. The self-described “five borough thorough don” has never watered it down to make it easier to hear.

His lyrics come from three chapters of one life. The first is survival: growing up around the violence of New York City’s streets.

The second is the grind. In the fiercely competitive hip hop scene of the 1990s he criss-crossed the country, carving out a name in the promotional side of the business.

The third is ownership. He moved from being an artist signed to a label to an artist who owns one. Along the way he learned to tell the sheep from the wolves, and to spot the ones dressed up as either.

The hardness in his writing is only half the picture. Tracks such as “She Bad”, “Wanna Ride on My Wave” and “Cuddle” are about the wins: the celebration earned on a long road to making it as a hip hop artist in real life.

His music has been showcased on major New York stations including Hot 97 and Power 105.1, according to his team. Their argument for why is simple. Listeners today want things unfiltered, and Gramzunkut has been unfiltered since the start.

The same self-made spirit drives Selfmade Leathers. The brand makes custom pieces rooted in street culture, from hand-painted jackets to detailed accessories, each one crafted by hand as a one-off.

Colour is its signature. Where much streetwear plays safe, Selfmade Leathers leans into a vibrant palette inspired by city life and the subcultures that fill it.

The brand sets itself against mass-produced fashion. Each piece is treated as a canvas for the wearer’s own story, which is why it describes itself as a movement as much as a label: a community of people who would rather stand out than fit in.

One works in verses and the other in leather and paint, but the message matches. Say what is true, make it with your own hands, and do not sand off the edges for anyone.

Listen to Gramzunkut: Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, SoundCloud

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