Kuf Sweet Mother Shirt

“Africa is the Future”, “I Wear African” “DRC Clothing ” etc are just a few of the African inspired clothing lines that have allowed Africans (especially in the diaspora) to show their African pride. For two years, Ghanian clothing line “Kayobi” has been taking it a step further with its politically-charged-meets sometimes -humorous statements such as “Make Fufu not War” (which happens to be one of its bestselling tshirts). Founder and creator of the line, Kwabena Boateng spoke to Jamati Online about the beginnings of the brand, its unique selling points, and the future.

Jamati: When was Kayobi started and why?

Kwabena: Kayobi has always been an idea I had when growing up, being in a big family of seven boys, clothing was an important part of my life. In high school, I inscribed my initials KOB (Kwabena Oppong Boateng) on everything from folders, books, and shoes, and even got a silver dog tag custom-made with that inscription. It was when my little brother who had the same initials stole the dog tag from me that I realized I was onto something special. Fast forward to Accra Ghana on 08.08.08[August 8, 2008] when all the years of ideas and planning finally led to the printing of our first design ‘piece in Africa’.

Jamati: What does Kayobi mean?

Kwabena: The word ‘Kayobi’ translates from Japanese as ‘Tuesday’, this is in reference to my name Kwabena Oppong Boateng. Kwabena is the Twi name given to a child born on a Tuesday in the Akan Tribes of Ghana, coincidentally ‘Kayobi’ sounded phonetically similar to my initials ‘KOB’. Why a Japanese word? I have always had a love for the Japanese design and art aesthetic. ‘Kayobi’ therefore was the perfect play on words.

What it means personally to me is to chase one’s passion, and to never give up on a dream or idea however crazy or hard it may seem.

Jamati: As you know,there are many tshirt brands relating to africa such as “Africa is The Future” ,”I Am Africa” and ‘Jamhuri Wear” etc..how does Kayobi differ?

Kwabena: I think all the brands have something to bring to the table and Jamhuri Wear and Africa is the Future have been around for a while and have a large following. I think what differentiates Kayobi from these brands is mainly the fact that are brand is mainly image driven and have strong socio – political and cultural underpinnings. Despite these serious messages there is always a lighthearted aspect to our clothing.

Kayobi is also probably the only Africa streetwear brand which has dabbled in Accessories (bags and iphone/ipod cases 09 collection) and Canvas Art.

All our designs are available are limited edition hand screen printed art. We will also be releasing protective phone and laptop skins very soon so keep your fingers crossed.

Fufu Billboard

Jamati: We see  that you have an interest in politics and sociology. Did that help shape the message of your shirts? I have noticed that they are like political statements/slogans especially the “Make Fufu not war” and “Weapons of Mass Destruction”.

Kwabena: I studied politics and sociology at the University of London, I have worked in the UK Parliament, Civil Service and briefly at the Foreign Service of Ghana. I strongly believe everyone should have a profession and a passion. My profession is in public policy and research and my passion is in fashion. Some are lucky and have a profession that is their passion. I simply decided to teach myself photoshop and illustrator whilst learning everything about fashion. Kayobi believes in chasing dreams and seeking eternity.

I guess unconsciously allot of my our designs have a political slant but our intention was not to create a political clothing line but rather one that will provoke thought, questions or discourse about the positive aspects of Africa and its people. Each Kayobi shirt is not only a piece of art but a billboard for the United States of Africa Brand. We have purposely kept our brand name ‘Kayobi’ and logos hidden from the focal images of our designs to make the message ‘king’ and not the brand name. Everyone who purchases our t-shirts officially becomes an ambassador of Brand USA.

We believe we can make a lasting change through our clothing and hope to start donating a portion of our profits towards African or Diaspora related charities in the near future.

Jamati: Describe Kayobi in three words.

Kwabena: African, Inspired, Dopeness

Jamati:Would you say that virally promoting your brand with the videos we have seen on the Kayobi group  facebook page is part of your marketing strategy?

Kwabena: The Kayobi Marketing strategy is very people-based. As much as possible I try to have a personal connection with all my customers. This starts with all our shirts being hand-printed (sometimes by myself), print our packaging, and there is a hand written personal thank you message added to every order. Due to this attention to detail, our customers are our biggest marketing tool. The company is mainly an online-based entity, hence the reliance on viral marketing and social media tools such videos and blogs. We hope to bring more entertaining and thought provoking content to our facebook and twitter followers very soon .

Jamati: Why do you think the “Make Fufu Not War” shirt  is one of your biggest sellers?

Kwabena: I think it’s a biggest seller because most people are amused, confused or shocked when they see it. People are used to t-shirts with saying ‘Make Love Not War’ or the Johnny Cupcakes shirt,  ‘Make Cupcakes Not War’ which I based our shirt on, but no one expected FUFU to join the equation. Its just hilarious;  fufu sounds like a funny word and I am certain many Africans who grew up in the West in the eighties were teased about eating fufu. We simply made fufu cool for Africans and accessible to none Africans with a reference to a hippie pop culture saying.

Jamati: Tell us about the summer collection. How does it differ from the previous one?

Kwabena: Our summer collection does not differ greatly from our previous 2009 collection because most of the designs were created just before I moved from Ghana to the UK in the  summer of 2009. Hence the designs were only available to friends and family. We spent most of 2009 setting up the brand in the UK and decided to introduce the brand to the West by adding new color ways and a handful of new designs that were not previously available such as the “Make EBA Not War” t-shirts. There is a greater emphasis on quality in our summer collection, we introduced our 100% Turkish cotton shirts for women, introduced seam tags and printed tags with hidden messages that only customers that have purchased from us in 2010 will know about.

Jamati: Where do you see the brand expanding in the next few years?

In the next five years we hope to introduce our men’s cut and sew line which I predict will turn African menswear on it beer belly. On a more serious note, we hope to have a greater presence in Nigeria and South Africa and introduce more accessories to the Kayobi brand. Kayobi celebrated 2 years as a brand on the 8^th of August and, by our 7^th anniversary,  we hope the brand will have grown into a Classic African Brand and a story of triumph for young Africans with a dream.

Get your tshirt at the website. We will definitely be rocking ours soon!