Art Basel Recap

By Charles Jay Meets Swizz Beatz at

“No Commission” Miami 2018

Designer Charles Jay & Grammy Award Winning Producer Swizz Beatz

Swizz Beatz & Bacardi held their annual “No Commission” Event Collective Thursday and Friday during Art Basel weekend in Miami. He brought artists from all over the world to showcase their work and give creatives a platform to generate revenue for their business. From Panel discussions with some of the elite photographers in the game such as Tyler Mitchell, Deana Lawson & a few others to a two day art gallery & two nights of performances from artists such as Meek Mill & the legendary producer Manny Fresh.

What did Art Basel do for URBANE by Charles Jay? Let’s give you some insight on how Charles Jay got to Art Basel. About a year ago e reached out to Swizz Beatz in reference to product placement and to show him the collection. He wasn’t thinking he would even respond but Swizz responded with some emoji’s and a short “This is dope man”. If you know anything about Swizz Beatz he’s very selective with who and what he supports so this short statement meant a lot more than it seems.

Fast forward last Monday Charles Jay sent Swizz the new “Unbreakable” Capsule collection to Swizz via DM on IG and he responded with a VIP Invite to his two days of “No Commission” with a VIP link to RSVP for all of the events. Charles Jay couldn’t pass up the opportunity given so he called out of work & flew out to Miami Thursday Morning.

Charles attended the panel discussion at Faena Forum that featured the photographers listed above hosted by Aperature magazine’s own Brandon Emberson. They touched on their stories, branding and african american history in the aspect of art that allowed them to get to the point where they are. That night was the first set of performances for the “No Commission” Marquee concert. World renowned DJ Black Coffee performed along with a set by Swizz & several other DJ’s. Charles Decided to bring the “Unbreakable” RUGBY to the show to give to Swizz. Charles stayed in the front row of the 4 hour show until the end where he was able to hand the rugby to Swizz’s security guard. Swizz gave a quick shoutout over the mic to thank Charles for the shirt. Charles knew it didn’t guarantee Swizz would wear the shirt but hey it was worth a try.

Concert over Charles goes back to his hotel & gets some rest for the next days Sip and Paint event. The event started at 1pm and Charles arrived about 5 minutes late. About 20 minutes into the event Swizz Beatz walks into the event wearing the “Unbreakable” Rugby and the look on Charles Face was priceless.

“You don’t expect someone of Swizz’s caliber to just wear a shirt some unknown designer gave him the night before. He’s very particular about everything he supports or is involved in and that showed me he genuinely liked the rugby.”

Swizz wore the shirt for the entire event while taking pictures with fans while curating the event. Charles got a brief chance to talk to Swizz and take a picture and he was shell shocked from the experience.

“Last week I put out everything I had for my order. This week I get an invite from a grammy winning producer to his events at Art Basel. I stepped out on faith and God showed me that he has a plan for me. That experience will be one I never forget and has pushed me to kick this thing into another gear. So I will be taking a lot more leaps of faith in the future regardless of the outcome.”

Experiences like this are ones that can make or break a brand. Charles remained optimistic after putting everything out for his order and it worked in his favor and then some.

“He’s one of the most genuine people I have met in this industry. Most people in this industry just brush you off as if your like a groupie or something because your not on their level. Swizz embraced the brand and the product and that was just another confirmation that this brand is something special. His whole camp came up to me and told me how dope the shirt was and that they want to stay connected with me in the future. That just goes to show the people he keeps around him are very much like him and that shows a lot about his character. This was an unreal experience for me”

What I took from writing this article is that regardless of what you are chasing, there’s going to be adversity and it’s now how you are affected by the wins, but more or so the losses. The losses will show your character and your character will be what keeps the brand going.