This interview took place Tuesday April 28th while the Knicks played the Hawks in game 5 of the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Knicks would eventually win the game 126 – 97
Looking Stupid: Hey man, is now still good?
…are they gonna give him 3 at the line?
Brandon Jenkins: Yooo. What’s good man
Man I just tuned in. I hate how streaming shows you the same Capital One commercial the entire game
LS: There was that sweet spot for a few years when they hadn’t figured out the contracts and they’d have like, sports arena ASMR during commercial breaks. I’m gonna miss that
BJ: Yeah now it’s Samuel L Jackson and Jennifer Garner running it up during every timeout
LS: Probably pays better than a lot of their straight acting gigs at this point, right?
At first I thought doing this during a Knicks playoff game was stress for you, but I forgot you’re a man of New Jersey. Are you kinda team agnostic since the Nets moved?
BJ: lol yeah. I didn’t feel as weird about it cause I’m also a Bron fan. But the reality of not having a core team to root for has started to become real
And it makes me feel like a basketball fraud
People always like to you should be a BK Nets fan since they moved from Jerz. But it’s not the same
LS: A certain amount of sports feelings is probably good for you, yeah
BJ: Yeah like I copped a Knicks hat as a trial run
LS: Oh you’ve bought in, it’s starting!
I feel like NJ to BK was a tough move, vibes-wise
For some reason I was more ok with the Raiders moving to Vegas than the Warriors moving to San Francisco
BJ: Vegas is kind of like Mad Max with glitter everywhere.
San Francisco is kind of like glitter with a few Mad Max types ruining things
When they take a team to a place that kind of needs it or is on the rise you’re like okay cool
But when they take it to a place that feels like the establishment it’s like mannnn nah
LS: The Warriors move just felt very tech related, whereas the Raiders owner was not liquid and ran the team from his fiefdom (the Walnut Creek PF Changs)
BJ: I was slightly into the embattled team owner in previous years. Now I’m just like damn they’re almost all insane
Like all of NY is fearful of getting banned from MSG lol
LS: After some recent things that have come to light about the Grizzlies and Giants owners in particular, dumb and loud is almost adorable
That surveillance article about the Garden was striking! Lol
BJ: Military grade tools while you’re buying a $17 hot dog is insane
Owning a team is kind of like being a king
You got a little castle. A sigil.
A group of people you tax heavily while producing entertainment as a distraction
Go to battle against other factions
I could see how owning a team could be a pipeline to becoming a techno Joffrey Baratheon
LS: I feel like you become a techno Joffrey Baratheon and the way you wield your subsequent sport ownership is a symptom of that haha
There’s more than a little “you’ll all see” vibe to our current batch of demi gods
BJ: lolol
LS: Also, the Knicks a fucking cooking rn, it’s nice to see them actually utilize their bench in an offseason run
BJ: Yeah. There’s a reason Thibs had to go
He was hitting Brunson with the D. rose playbook
Wait. So how you feeling about the future of the warriors
They’re in those years… Coach gone. Draymond still attacking everyone . Steph is an elder statesman
LS: I am post-feelings with the Warriors, but I will say, I happened to be at a local bar when the first playoff game was on, and Curry had a little magic, and people just kept coming in and watching, and it felt like the old thing for a night, and that was really nice
Play-in game, whatever it was, the one before the Suns smoked them
You’re a fantastic interviewer, in your professional opinion, if you were me, how would you pivot to asking you about your roots in journalism?
BJ: This is it. This is the pivot haha
I’m like beyond the flow and the strategy. It’s Kyrie. Whatever the court calls for, is the play you make
But um my roots run to my time at Mass Appeal in like 2012-13ish
I was working at a creative agency and they purchased Mass Appeal to relaunch the publication. And I was eager. So it was right place right time
LS: Usually people start out at the scrappy thing that gets bought out, what was it like being on the other side of that?
BJ: I mean it was still scrappy. Like there was a reason they let me contribute with no experience whatsoever lol
But it was cool man. Mass Appeal was like a college or real poppin high school. It was fun
And while there was a barrier because we weren’t like a big outlet, there was no internal barrier
If you had an idea you could make it, within reason
And we had Sacha Jenkins. The goat of it all. Rest in Power.
LS: RIP. Legend.
That feeling that if you had an idea you could make it, is that the germ of you idea for a magazine of your own? It feels like the roots of Deep Cuts could stretch back this far, am I off base?
BJ: Na that’s 1000% it.
Guys like Sacha were all about the independent, DIY (but get your money), radical media. And the whole place was like that.
I tell people you can tell a Mass Appeal person. I would say you’re one.
It’s an outside the system type of energy. A POV that doesn’t regard popularity as the most meaningful value
So Mass Appeal was the seed. And Complex was kind of the fertilizer.
LS: I wrote some pieces I’m really proud of for Mass Appeal actually! A few years after you had moved on
It’s funny I had a question rooted in meeting you when you were on-camera at Complex that was along the lines of “you’ve largely made your bones in new media, why was a magazine always the goal?” Then you said mass appeal and I was like “oh right my bad”
BJ: Yeah lol. Like that’s all you have to say
Even the name is kind of ironic but also hopeful. Like a middle finger with a grin
That was where my taste expanded
LS: frighteningly enough, for me that was VFILES
BJ: I recently rewatched my VFILES episode where I talked about being in the club with Floyd Mayweather. I miss doing stupid things
LS: That’s what I’m here for!
What was the most marked expansion in your taste from your time at Mass Appeal?
like, what was the clearest expression of how your taste expanded during that time
BJ: I had a little interview show called “Off The Wall” it was a “this or that” question thing.
One time an artist I wasn’t interested in was coming in and Sacha wanted me to interview them. And I made some comment like “aww man don’t wanna talk to him”
Mind you I’m young and not a pro. My show was so unserious lol
And Sacha was like yo that ain’t it man. This is the job. Like you’re in a good spot and you can do good work and you’re basing this off your impulsive personal interest?
Like in so many ways I was out of pocket. And over feeling myself or undervaluing the moment. Maybe both. I do the interview and I remember learning a LOT, enjoying the convo and just having a shockingly rewarding time. And I got it. IMMEDIATELY.
The ill shit was Sacha ain’t even circle back. I came to him and told him I was wrong and that I really enjoyed the interview. And he hit me with a light “be curious. That’s the job.” So that opens my aperture allowing for my taste and work to expand.
I guess that’s more of a lesson than taste. But the lesson helped me expand my taste.
We also had a record label and Boldy James, Alchemist, Freddie Gibbs and Pusha T and Roc Marci were signed there.
LS: I mean, that’s bigger than any one thing, that’s kinda everything
Sorry, go on about the label
BJ: That was like the core rap syllabus. Mass Appeal pushed me further into the underground. Like toward MF Doom.
Also it was a graffiti magazine. Mad writers would pull up. Like I met EAZY and Sacha took me to Lee Quinones childhood apartment.
It all trained me to absorb codes. And purist culture. And be outside.
It was a big switch going from that to Complex and like meeting a LeBron James
LS: Right, how does that education manifest in that setting?
BJ: At Complex?
LS: Yeah
BJ: Well some of the Complex guys were former Mass Appeal guys from the first era. So they had some of that in their system, even if it wasn’t prevalent in the larger brand voice.
But when something was on the fringe and floating toward the center, that education helped you to be able to spot that
Like “Hey this thing is happening”
I think it led to frustrations as well
Remember I’m kicking it with Sean (Stout, videographer and director) everyday too. So we’re both on the outside energy
So we were hyped to celebrate counter culture. And when complex wasn’t necessarily focused on that it fueled the need for a DEEPCUTS.
That’s where the name came from. Complex was like Top 40. DEEPCUTS was born to celebrate your favorite song on the album.
LS: Sidebar, it is crazy that there’s just like, a whiff of jersey club in Taco Bell ads rn
BJ: Sometimes I’m still in disbelief. Like people used to HATE Jersey club outside of the state
Now I see it and I feel like drunk Drake after the Raptors playoff run
LS: You’ve had this concept (for Deep Cuts) in your heart and head for such a long time, what was that gestation like? I know it almost manifested as a physical magazine at least once or twice. How did the idea evolve over time?
BJ: Man I don’t think I’ve gotten a good sleep ever since I said I wanted to make DEEPCUTS. just the reality of knowing it was on the to-do list was torcher
Over time I think I let go of the narrow idea of what it had to be.
There’s things I would have done different. Like it could have been smaller swings, sooner and more often.
Instead of plotting out this massive swing without all the right resources.
Now I understand that it’s medium agnostic. As long as the energy of it is honest.
LS: That’s so huge to say out loud, the “smaller, sooner and more often” part
BJ: Yeah man. And people tried to tell me. But I was like no!
LS: How did you finally land on this first iteration of DEEP CUTS? How would you describe it to a stranger
BJ: Man it was my homie Nick at Nike. He’s also from Complex but is a Mass Appeal type person in his taste and approach.
I showed him drafts of DEEPCUTS and he was like okay let’s do some Nike stuff thru thru the DEEPCUTS lens
To a stranger I say it’s a context and product company. We’re here to make thinks with intention and interest. Not looking to leech on to convos that are already happening.
We’re not foul baiting lol
LS: What were those drafts like?
BJ: We printed some dummy copies of the magazine and showed him the effort. The scale. Like hey we’re trying really hard.
I think as a curious person and someone who shares a similar lens, he got what it was and what it could be
LS: What is it about Foamposites that made them the stand out focal point for the first DC project?
BJ: They’re fucking awesome
LS: I agree. The rollout has been so panel/in-person focused, is there an intention to widen the footprint of these in person events?
BJ: Yeah that was just our first swing. The goal is to do a lot in person. Be it parties, screenings, talks.
So much of my initial thought was product focused. But after the Nike project I’m thinking so much more heavily about IRL and the magic that comes from putting people in as space together
LS: It feels like providing IRL context is more important than ever
BJ: Yeah man. It’s wild to be living in an ahistorical, post literate society.
Context however it is delivered is more valuable than even.
LS: With that in mind, do you have your sights set on the next thing?
BJ: Definitely. We’re working on it all right now. Print, video, experience. And many shorter but impactful swings.
There’s a lot of people who have something to say and offer and we want to create a lot of entry points for people to contribute
LS: What does delivering the ethos of a magazine like Mass Appeal look like in that format, over a diverse number of lanes beyond a magazine/website
BJ: It’s just passion man. Like it’s doing things they feel right. It’s hard to explain but not that hard to feel.
It’s not chasing numbers or trending sounds on social. It hitting the homies up and taking about things we think are exciting and taking a run at it