Thug Life Army

Legendary Hip Hop pioneers DJ Kool Herc, Father of Hip Hop, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Caz, Melle Mel, Chief Rocker Busy Bee and the first female luminary of hip-hop, Sha-Rock are all lending their names and their likenesses to launch the first ever vintage hip-hop clothing company called Sedgwick & Cedar which debuts in Spring 2005.

Sedgwick & Cedar is where the cultural revolution of Hip Hop began. On one fateful night, on August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc's sister Cindy Campbell decided to throw a back to school party in her building's small rec room at 1520 Sedgwick Ave. Kool Herc introduced extended break beats, which mesmerized the jam packed crowd. Soon, he had to take the party outside and down the street to Cedar Park, drawing thousands throughout the night to see the birth of the art form. At Cedar Park on Sedgwick Ave., fates converged, joining those who would turn out to be some of the most creative people to ever hit the music scene. DJ''ing, MC''ing, B boys party shouts, hot wired street lamps, battles and tagging were born forever and young pioneers with no blueprint innovated and created art from the deepest depths of the harshest conditions.

The collection which consists of men's and women's Vintage and limited edition "collector party flyer tees," track suits, hoodies, old school hats, leather and wool melton jackets retailing at $28.00 to $400.00. The collection can be found mid March in specialty retail stores such as Dr. Jays, Epic, and Man Alive.

Sedgwick & Cedar founded by Ray Riccio, (an executive with substantial apparel, brand management and urban distribution experience most notably with Startera) started as an idea that Riccio had after researching the roots of Hip Hop. He then found and contacted Grandmaster Caz of Legendary Cold Crush Brother's. The two men later met at Grandmaster Caz's South Bronx apartment where Riccio presented Grandmaster Caz with the vision of Sedgwick & Cedar and the full-scale business plan. Grandmaster Caz loved the idea so much he quickly contacted the other Hip Hop pioneers and Sedgwick and Cedar took off.

Sedgwick & Cedar believes they will change the world of urban apparel forever, much the same way these first parties changed the music industry. Riccio says "We will respect the history of Hip Hop creativity and style. We are proud to be associated with the founding pioneers in such a special way. They decided to come together as a group to launch the first company to bring urban apparel back to where Hip Hop began. Our name, Sedgwick & Cedar, which represents the authentic birth place of hip hop clearly speaks to the vintage positioning of our brand."

For more company info try http://www.sedgwickandcedar.com