On Labor Day Friday August 29th, Vybz Kartel will grace the stage at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the 3rd time this year. The concert is expected to be another sold out affair.
Jermaine Parker, Trench Town born, White Plains Road street hustler turned Kingston Fashion store owner, the only Black-owned Clarks shoes franchise in the Bronx, has a message for the World Boss.
“Kartel, come check me in the Bronx. I want to put you in a Blakk Hyenaz jacket and a Clarks boot, straight outta Kingston Fashion,” he boastfully declared.
For Parker, this isn’t just about fashion for Kartel.
“This is more than clothes—it’s Trench Town to the Bronx, it’s Yard to foreign. It’s legacy,” Parker reminds.
It’s about history, culture, and legacy.
Back in 2010, Kartel, alongside Popcaan and Vanessa Bling, released Clarks, a track raced to the top of reggae and dancehall charts globally. It became a Jamaican cultural anthem that drove Clarks shoes to unprecedented popularity across Jamaica and the diaspora. In Jamaica, New York, England, Toronto and other Jamaican diaspora communities, the song turned the iconic Clarks footwear into a symbol of status and style. Today Clarks is one of Kartel’s biggest songs and is considered by many, one of the most influential dancehall singles of the 21st century.
“Clarks sold out worldwide after that song,” Parker recalled. “Kartel put them in the history books. Every Jamaican abroad felt a sense of pride because it was our culture, our style, dominating globally.”
Parker, who migrated from Trench Town to the Bronx more than 20 years ago, says he crossed paths with Kartel in the 1990s as a youngster who had just migrated to the Bronx, USA. This was before the artist cemented his “World Boss” moniker. That encounter left Parker with a dream: one day, he would outfit Kartel himself. Now, as the dancehall giant storms New York once more, Parker sees the perfect chance to make it happen.
At Kingston Fashion, Parker curates a mix of international luxury brands like Gucci, Prada, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana—alongside his own urban wear brand, Blakk Hyenaz, which merges Jamaican street grit with global runway flair. But the centerpiece, the heartbeat of his store, remains the Clarks boots immortalized by Kartel’s song.
Kingston Fashion in the Bronx is waiting with open arms. Parker showed Caribbean National Weekly, a black Desertstorm Clarks boots, a blue Wallabee, professionally cleaned with a brand new toothbrush and a his and hers, Blakk Hyenaz jacket ready for the King and his ‘Queen’ Sidem. Parker reminds the World Boss that “Brooklyn will roar for you, but the Kingston Fashion in the Bronx is calling your name.”
Will Kartel answer Parker’s call? After all, nuh Kartel sing sey, “di new Wallabees hotter than sulfur.”
