If you’ve seen a man in braids driving a blue car around Denver, you’ve caught a glimpse of rapper Catch Lungs. The local musician believes in the importance of a musician’s wardrobe and draws inspiration from friends, the internet and around the world. Eclectic in his music, as well as his style, Catch Lungs shows us what his style is all about.
Tell me about yourself and how you got started as a rapper?
Catch Lungs: A big influence was my mom, who had me when she was 15 years old and was always playing Dr. Dre and Nas when I was young and that became my music too. When I was 15, I was hosting two radio shows and I gave myself the name J.Flud. I started freestyling on the radio and I secretly really wanted to be a rapper but I always felt like my family would be ashamed. The radio hosting/freestyling led me to crack out of my shell and I really went full force after high school. I’ve had a passion for writing since I was a kid and it’s been in me since I was young to want to be in this culture. It’s a part of me.
Tell me about the name Catch Lungs.
CL: In high school I was selling mad weed. I had a connection from California who had organic weed, I named it Margarita Trainwreck and it was fire. People’s lungs fell into my hands, smoker’s lungs fell into my hands, figuratively speaking, for money. So I named myself Catch Lungs. However, a name change could be coming up. There’s older music that I’m not aligned with anymore and it might be time to move on from it. Maybe I’ll just chop Lungs off and go by Catch.
How would you describe your style?
CL: I would say I do whatever I want. Whatever mood I’m in is whatever I go with, from wild cowboy western all the way to street style with no shirt. I wear Supreme sometimes but I also wear all thrifted sometimes, so I could have an outfit that cost $2000 or an outfit that cost $10 and still flex either way. My fashion is avant-garde sometimes when I put my outfits together. I have influences from all around the world.
You’re a designer as well?
CL: Yes. It’s part of creating my brand and who I am for the world to see. I aim to change the world with my music, my style, my perceptions, how I live, I feel I can express that through fashion. I want to create pieces and create a world for somebody to step into and an aesthetic that’s different from anybody else.
How important is fashion in a musician’s life?
CL: It’s very important because it brands you and stamps you as who you are. I feel like I’ve had an opportunity to take my style from zero to 100 in any direction and I can do that any day of the week. I feel like I’ve created something for myself where I’m not boxed in. I could wear overalls with a straw hat or a suit with my hair slicked back. Having fashion involved in your music is always a part of your brand, and your style is conceptualized into the bigger picture of who you are. Make sure you’re personalized in your own way.
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