Launch Hepicat: Pan-African Streetwear
Donation protected
Hepicat, a pan-African clothing line.
Wear our gear and you wear a story.
What will your story be?
Help us launch! Pre-order your Hepicat Tee now!
Your donations and support will help us to:
- Set up and print our first, retail-ready run of t-shirts and tank-tops.
- Design and launch an online store.
- Continue the development/design of GOLA, a visual storytelling language, based on African heritage and culture from Louisiana. Hepicat's designs are rooted in this language.
Hepicat is a streetwear line with deep roots. Inspired and driven by a love of African cultures, politics, street art and Afrofuturism, our clothing is interactive. Hepicat designs can be read, each design tells a story. Our mission is to make people aware--of their roots and their power to bring change.
Hepicat is the root-word of Hip and thus, Hip-Hop. Hepicat means "one who is awake"--one who STAY WOKE. Bebop Jazz Cats brought it to us from the Wolof people of Senegambia, West Africa, shortened to Hepcat/Hep. If you were Hep, it meant your mind/skills were sharp.
Hep was turned into a product by the music industry--it became Hip(and customers of Hip, who became Hipsters!). Later, poor black and brown kids in urban America liberated the phrase and made Hip-Hop.
Hepicat brings that consciousness, fearlessness, and creativity right back to the source--to the Mamaland. Hepicat is a state of mind and call to transform our history into our futures(wake up).
Our Designs:
Hepicat's premiere line will keep you cool this summer with some fresh T-Shirts and Tank Tops. For our Fall/Winter line we'll launch warmer gear like sweaters and hats.
Our designs are screenprinted in New Orleans on high quality, unisex, 100% cotton shirts.
Style No. 1 - Fitted Hepicat Tee - 100% Soft jersey cotton. Colors: Cardinal Red Tee/White Design; Green Tee/White Design; Black Tee/Red Design; Heather Orange/Red
This shirt features the HEPICAT Storyboard design.
Style No. 2 - Relaxed fit Hepicat Tee - 100% Heavyweight cotton. Colors: Cardinal Red Tee/White Design; Green Tee/White Design; Black Tee/Red Design; Canvas Tee/Black (Pictured above, on the right(shown style not yet available!))
This shirt features the STAY WOKE design.
Style No. 3 - Tanktops - 100% Heavyweight Cotton. Colors: Navy Tank/Red Design; Heather Gray Tank/Purple Design
This shirt features the HEPICAT Storyboard design.
Our designs are screenprinted in New Orleans on high quality, unisex, 100% cotton shirts.
What is GOLA?
(Gola, a restyling of Ngola/Angola, one of the sites from which Black people were kidnapped and brought to the Americas.)
GOLA is an contemporary African language project. Its purpose? To express/represent the experiences and proverbs of African-descended people in the state of Louisiana, USA through a symbol-based language. Its goal? To recognize the unique history and culture of Africans born in the Diaspora.
An ambitious undertaking, yes--but we have all the inspiration and roots we need.
GOLA is based off storytelling cultures and languages of West Africa and writing techniques from graffiti and caligraphy.
For people who choose to use GOLA, its meant to express the growth of African roots and culture outside continent in the countries where we've settled. GOLA will also serve as a model to other Black Diasporic communities who want to create new methods to express their unique history.
And, naturally, because GOLA is born from a pan-African source, it will become a bridge for people into learning about the multitudes of African people, history and cultures.
Please donate and share this project with your friends, family and networks. When we hit reach our goal, we'll send you and your fam Hepicat gear and GOLA artwork! is a contemporary African Diasporic language project. (Gola, a restyling of Ngola/Angola, one of the sites from which Black people were kidnapped and brought to the Americas.)
GOLA is an contemporary African language project. Its purpose? To express the experiences and style of African-descended people in the state of Louisiana, USA through a symbol-based language. Its goal? To recognize the unique history and culture of Africans born in the Diaspora.
An ambitious undertaking--nut we have all the inspiration and community we need!
GOLA is based off storytelling cultures and languages of West Africa and writing techniques from graffiti and caligraphy.
For people who choose to use GOLA, its meant to express the growth of African roots and culture outside continent in the countries where we've settled. GOLA will also serve as a model to other Black Diasporic communities who want to create new methods to express their unique history.
And, naturally, because GOLA is born from a pan-African source, it will become a bridge for people into learning about the multitudes of African people, history and cultures.
Please donate and share this project with your friends, family and networks. When we hit reach our goal, we'll send you and your fam Hepicat gear and GOLA artwork!
Wear our gear and you wear a story.
What will your story be?
Help us launch! Pre-order your Hepicat Tee now!
Your donations and support will help us to:
- Set up and print our first, retail-ready run of t-shirts and tank-tops.
- Design and launch an online store.
- Continue the development/design of GOLA, a visual storytelling language, based on African heritage and culture from Louisiana. Hepicat's designs are rooted in this language.
Hepicat is a streetwear line with deep roots. Inspired and driven by a love of African cultures, politics, street art and Afrofuturism, our clothing is interactive. Hepicat designs can be read, each design tells a story. Our mission is to make people aware--of their roots and their power to bring change.
Hepicat is the root-word of Hip and thus, Hip-Hop. Hepicat means "one who is awake"--one who STAY WOKE. Bebop Jazz Cats brought it to us from the Wolof people of Senegambia, West Africa, shortened to Hepcat/Hep. If you were Hep, it meant your mind/skills were sharp.
Hep was turned into a product by the music industry--it became Hip(and customers of Hip, who became Hipsters!). Later, poor black and brown kids in urban America liberated the phrase and made Hip-Hop.
Hepicat brings that consciousness, fearlessness, and creativity right back to the source--to the Mamaland. Hepicat is a state of mind and call to transform our history into our futures(wake up).
Our Designs:
Hepicat's premiere line will keep you cool this summer with some fresh T-Shirts and Tank Tops. For our Fall/Winter line we'll launch warmer gear like sweaters and hats.
Our designs are screenprinted in New Orleans on high quality, unisex, 100% cotton shirts.
Style No. 1 - Fitted Hepicat Tee - 100% Soft jersey cotton. Colors: Cardinal Red Tee/White Design; Green Tee/White Design; Black Tee/Red Design; Heather Orange/Red
This shirt features the HEPICAT Storyboard design.
Style No. 2 - Relaxed fit Hepicat Tee - 100% Heavyweight cotton. Colors: Cardinal Red Tee/White Design; Green Tee/White Design; Black Tee/Red Design; Canvas Tee/Black (Pictured above, on the right(shown style not yet available!))
This shirt features the STAY WOKE design.
Style No. 3 - Tanktops - 100% Heavyweight Cotton. Colors: Navy Tank/Red Design; Heather Gray Tank/Purple Design
This shirt features the HEPICAT Storyboard design.
Our designs are screenprinted in New Orleans on high quality, unisex, 100% cotton shirts.
What is GOLA?
(Gola, a restyling of Ngola/Angola, one of the sites from which Black people were kidnapped and brought to the Americas.)
GOLA is an contemporary African language project. Its purpose? To express/represent the experiences and proverbs of African-descended people in the state of Louisiana, USA through a symbol-based language. Its goal? To recognize the unique history and culture of Africans born in the Diaspora.
An ambitious undertaking, yes--but we have all the inspiration and roots we need.
GOLA is based off storytelling cultures and languages of West Africa and writing techniques from graffiti and caligraphy.
For people who choose to use GOLA, its meant to express the growth of African roots and culture outside continent in the countries where we've settled. GOLA will also serve as a model to other Black Diasporic communities who want to create new methods to express their unique history.
And, naturally, because GOLA is born from a pan-African source, it will become a bridge for people into learning about the multitudes of African people, history and cultures.
Please donate and share this project with your friends, family and networks. When we hit reach our goal, we'll send you and your fam Hepicat gear and GOLA artwork! is a contemporary African Diasporic language project. (Gola, a restyling of Ngola/Angola, one of the sites from which Black people were kidnapped and brought to the Americas.)
GOLA is an contemporary African language project. Its purpose? To express the experiences and style of African-descended people in the state of Louisiana, USA through a symbol-based language. Its goal? To recognize the unique history and culture of Africans born in the Diaspora.
An ambitious undertaking--nut we have all the inspiration and community we need!
GOLA is based off storytelling cultures and languages of West Africa and writing techniques from graffiti and caligraphy.
For people who choose to use GOLA, its meant to express the growth of African roots and culture outside continent in the countries where we've settled. GOLA will also serve as a model to other Black Diasporic communities who want to create new methods to express their unique history.
And, naturally, because GOLA is born from a pan-African source, it will become a bridge for people into learning about the multitudes of African people, history and cultures.
Please donate and share this project with your friends, family and networks. When we hit reach our goal, we'll send you and your fam Hepicat gear and GOLA artwork!
Organizer
Dane Verret
Organizer
New Orleans, LA