Today we’d like to introduce you to $HOOTA AK.
Hi $HOOTA , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Well it’s been a really long trip, I was kicked out of my house when I was 16 because I didn’t get along with my father. I’m 23 now and we don’t speak. I started making music with a friend of mine cause I was scared too do it by myself. I booked my first show at that same age before I even had enough music to fill a set time. I started making solo music when I was 18 and living in a whole new city with who is now my ex wife. We had gotten evicted after losing our jobs due to COVID so we moved out to a whole new city some hours away where we were staying with a friend of mine. My ex and I split up and she moved away and I stayed here in the city with my roommate and I produced the album I made called “Dummy Boy” and the single to the album called, “Too Much”. It’s a really heartfelt album which tells a love story from beginning to end, and that’s what led me to doing my TikTok live show called, “Water and Kindness with Meep”. It’s basically an online Live show where I encourage other people to be kind to as many people as possible while not forgetting that being kind to yourself is the most important thing you can do, and a very small but effective way to show yourself kindness in my opinion is to make the choice to drink more water.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s definitely been anything but smooth. For me the biggest struggles in my life so far have been maintaining a place to live. I’ve had so many different jobs you name it I’ve probably done it for a while. Mostly kitchen work since I was 16 but also grocery stores, pool construction jobs when I was 17, door to door salesman, anything I could do to get some money I have done, but battling homelessness is my biggest problem and it’s something I’m always having to deal with. Right now my day job is in a kitchen and I may be facing homelessness again after this lease is up
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a musician, a painter, and I’ve created my own brand called “O*52” which is what I publish my music under as well as my clothes and my skateboards. Recently I’m really proud of creating the first O*52 Skateboard which came in the mail a couple weeks ago. But overall I would say I’m most proud of my determination to make this happen despite how many odds are stacked against me. I still continue to create art and clothes and music and paintings and even perform shows and appear on podcasts all while dealing with an inconsistent home life. Everything I have achieved and accomplished I had to do it by myself. And I’ve wished so many times for a good crew of people to stand by me but that’s kind of a far fetched wish in my position. So I’m most proud of myself that I’ve never given up, or even seen giving up as an option. I would say what sets me apart is the sound of my music and the boldness of my designs for clothes and paintings. I always hear the same reaction from people which is usually “I’ve never heard anything like this before” or “I’ve never seen something like this” that’s always something that lets me know I’m doing the right thing.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I had a pretty hard childhood honestly, and there wasn’t a lot of bright spots. I was bullied severely to the point I had to change schools every single year and I would frequently miss more than 30 days in a school year. I would say my favorite childhood memory is when I first learned how to skateboard when I was maybe 8 years old. I’m not nearly the best skater in the world, if anything I would say I’m halfway decent, but I’m just as passionate now about it as I was when I got my first Walmart board. So learning how to skateboard would be my answer
Pricing:
- I have skateboard decks that I sell for $85 a deck
- O*52 T-shirts are anywhere from $40-$50
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shoota_ak?igsh=MXdnb2d2eXNvcXRzbQ==
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/zM5Wnu5RuIdEAtuANz
