Welcome to Bobby Hundreds’ Ted Talk… err, Guest DJ set. Hundreds is the pioneering co-founder of global streetwear brand The Hundreds. The artist, designer, storyteller has released two books: the bestselling memoir This Is Not a T-Shirt and NFTs Are a Scam / NFTs Are the Future — a recent deep dive into the intersection of creativity and commerce as it all pertains to how we experience the internet.
Hundreds is also a massive music fan and his sonic fascinations are as boundaryless, and carefully considered as the rest of his artistic endeavors. Need a primer on LA’s current (and thrillingly diverse) hardcore punk scene? Hundreds has you covered. Want insight into the origins of the Odd Future collective happening in and around The Hundreds’ flagship store on Fairfax? That’s here too. Plus, personal reflections on quintessential LA rapper Nipsey Hussle whose life was cut tragically short when he was murdered in 2019 outside of his own clothing store The Marathon. And, crucially, the oft-repeated (but always needed) reminder to make your living by doing the thing that has 100 percent of your heart.
Read on for his selects and a quick summary of the knowledge he’s dropping about each one. Click into the player to your left for the full audio experience.
The following has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Nipsey Hussle – “Grinding All My Life”
Nipsey was a huge, huge influence in our lives, in our careers, and in the culture. Especially in the golden age of streetwear, Nipsey was there all along. And he was a big part of The Hundreds history as well.
We did a lot of work together, but we also just really enjoyed sharing information and knowledge. Nipsey was one of the smartest people I knew, not just within the game, but in general. I've met people from all walks of life across all different types of business paths. Nipsey had such a unique point of view because he sat at the intersection of so many different points of culture. So that was one of the most devastating parts of his passing and him being taken from us — I knew what he was going to be able to do for the city of Los Angeles, what he was already in the process of. In the wake, we've had a lot of amazing young people come up behind him and kind of take over. The torch has been passed. But I think we have a void there, with Nipsey, that will never quite be filled. It's a true LA tragedy.
High Vis - “Choose to Lose”
High Vis is an amazing young punk band coming out of London, they have hints of everything from Britpop to post-punk to maybe even [a little bit of] pop-punk. They're good friends of ours. The singer is Graham [Sayle] and his girlfriend Marina did the art for [the band’s upcoming collab with The Hundreds]. She's an amazing young tattoo artist and so it's a really wonderful collaboration that showcases the breadth of The Hundreds.
Buggin - “Gratitude”
I would be remiss if I didn't discuss how hardcore [punk] is so foundational to the DNA of The Hundreds. I think so much of contemporary streetwear owes a little bit of respect and credit to what hardcore built. We can begin with it as a music genre, but really if you zoom out to the culture and the community around it, that's where I learned a lot of my DIY ethic. ‘Zine making eventually bled into blogging and self publishing… just the independent spirit of creating something that you can stand on, on your own outside of gatekeeping. That's a very hardcore philosophy.
I’m a romantic when I talk about hardcore, it's still very much a part of our lives. We just came off of doing a big collaboration in 2023 with [hardcore record label] Flatspot Records. We worked with Speed, Buggin, and End It — some of their key bands that they've been promoting.
Hardcore [in a way] is built to fail. So much of my attraction to it [when I was growing up] was the fact that it could never go mainstream… that music was not built for pop radio. It was very abrasive to the ears of people who weren't within the culture. If you never went to a show, there was no way that you're going to understand it. It was like a secret handshake club. But now it’s opened up a lot thanks to bands like Turnstile and Scowl that are getting some traction with Coachella and pop radio.
[Another big difference now] from when I was growing up, is that even though it was a really cool club to be a part of, it wasn't necessarily the most inviting for somebody who looked like me… somebody of color, someone who's Brown.
Nowadays, when you look at the hardcore landscape, especially going to shows here in Los Angeles, it's such a diverse crowd. And there's so many women now that are part of it. All genders, all races, all colors, and you're seeing it all up on the stage. [Chicago-based] Buggin is a good example of that, a [hardcore band with a] Black woman singer. It's not abnormal. This is very typical now, to see this at shows. People from my generation, we trip out. I never thought I'd see the day where there would be such diverse hardcore bands up on stage, speaking and singing to diverse audiences. But it just shows you how far we've come.
So the Buggin song that I landed on [to share] is “Gratitude.” It's a Beastie Boys cover, so it kind of ties together generations. And I love the Beastie Boys for what they did for hip-hop. Also what they did for punk rock was really foundational for my life and my understanding of culture. When I hear this cover, it has the power to turn my day around.
Fred again.. - “leavemealone (Feat. Baby Keem)”
Fred again.. had a week long stint here recently, at The Shrine. We took our staff, and there were a lot of USC students in the crowd the night that we chose to go. For whatever reason, the crowd was even younger than usual. We're out in the middle of the pit. Ben [Shenassafar, co-founder of The Hundreds] and I, who are now in our forties, are standing out there dancing and having a good time. I felt really uncomfortable at first. I was like, “I shouldn't be here, this is crazy, these kids are like my son's age, and I look like an idiot.”
… But in the middle of that set, he started playing “leavemealone,” a drum ‘n’ bass song. And again, just as I'm watching hardcore right now have its resurgence, we're seeing the same thing happen with drum ‘n’ bass. I'm a jungle kid also so [when that song came on] I’m like, “oh it’s a drum ‘n’ bass song!” I just leaned into it, and then all the kids around us started jumping up harder. So, you know, sometimes you’ve got to get a little uncomfortable, be a little bit out of your element.
For me, that's where all inspiration begins. You’ve got to step out of your shoes into somebody else's shoes for a moment and just see how it feels to look at the world from their angle and their point of view. Once you do that, you're a more empathetic person, you're more rounded, more evolved, and then your creativity can transcend walls. … So, that's what it felt like going to that Fred again.. show.