NITRAID Anti Babylon Equipment

Welcome to a world were things most definitely run in the opposite direction of everything you know. Well, at least things run a little different from your point of view. The world may need twenty four hours to make it a full day with sun up and sundown and you can only squeeze that much out of these hours. But on the other side of this planet people have mastered time and make more of a day than you would think is humanly possible. Welcome to Asia, welcome to Tokyo, Japan.

People seem to work harder there for their goals, way harder, but in a way that just makes them smile. In Tokyo, people seem to absorb the energy that the city exudes and make it their own. Young people mixing their own talents with influences of Western pop culture and thus creating a brand new, idiosyncratic sight of things which then is given back to us here in the Western world. Anyhow, things that are meant to become great have to have their roots deeply implemented grown into in their own respective subculture.

The story of NITRAID is a story of some idealistic people living in a fast paced world where the only thing that seems to matter is money. When you hang out with your crew you easily find out that money doesn’t matter at all. Well, sure it does, but all the ideas you have about the world, about friendship, your own philosophy is what matters and here is where things took off and began to take shape. But before, there was clothing and there was music. In Shibuya-Tokyo eight Hip Hop MCs (BIGZAM, DABO, DELI, GORE-TEX, MACKA-CHIN, SUIKEN, S-WORD and XBS) were about to change the rules of the industry, the music industry in Japan, that is. The NMU (Nitro Microphone Underground) was formed and although they performed and produced everything themselves, they soon gathered a huge following. So bug that the first 20.000 copies of their first album sold out in the blink of an eye, another 150.000 (!) were sold after repackaging and re-releasing it through Def Jam Japan.
Twenty weeks of chart stardom, countless live performances (Fuji Rock Festival 2000) and awards by the shipload the conglomerate drew more and more attention. Because of their aggressiveness and their first „über-album“ not only the Japanese streetculture community took notice, but also major high gloss mags like The Source had a few pages on that „new thing“ from Japan.

Well, it would have been easy to hook up with any big name in the industry, getting sponsored, getting paid, but from the beginning, everything they did was self-controlled, doing their own thing is the idea of the whole foundation of the N.M.U. It wasn’t long before three members of the original rooster thought it was time to develop a clothing line. Thus, NITRAID was born with a very import subline: Anti Babylon Equipment. Well said, since everything is watched over very carefully you can expect only the best things from NITRAID. You might not see the wheelinvented anew but every aspect that can be twisted around is. Like a cardigan that your Dad would’ve worn gets a slightly different look when you sport it with a small tag that tells everyone where you’re at: Anti Babylon! The water that you drink, yes they have their own bottled water, the urban camouflage in bright red, everything seems to be a statement. Even the classic Ivy League wear that got turned against what it stood for. Using the force of the opponent against him, easy as that. Sun Szui style. Mature. Thoughtful. And this is the part were they differ from limited edition brands with animals on their shirts and the bling. When they bling they do for a reason, to show how stupid bling is when the world around you is falling apart in high-speed.

There is the occasional collabo, not all things can be done by oneself, but if they collaborate they do it on their terms. When snowboard manufacturer Burton collaborated with NITRAID for a recent collection it is needless to say that the stuff will burn a hole into the mountains when you go out to show people that you have to live in a Babylonesque environment but also that you won’t take all that shit all the time. Desert Camouflage, Jungle Camo, a mix of high end materials, so people know you won’t back down ever. You cannot be missed in these. There is one item that in particular caught my eye. A Panarai watch, to be honest, this thing takes the cake. A straight Panarai watch that says PANARAID on the front. Stealth to the fullest in high circles and on the field and sometimes stealth means not blending in but screaming out loud. With starting their own record label and breaking record sales in Japan with their very first release already, they make sure they get heard. So everything looks fine to this point and if things continue this way then NITRAID can be much more than what most of Japan’s are right now. An excellent concept that has grown from its roots to a prosperous big tree that stretches out to the very vast aspects of modern life. A silent revolution straight from the underground, young and angry but very much capable of doing strictly business. [henne]

www.nitraid.com