Scheme: How did you two meet?

Rasu: Daoud and I both went to Syracuse from 1991 – 2000. I started SU in 1996 so Daoud was leaving Syracuse while I was coming in as a freshman. During my sophomore year I befriended a brother by the name of Dahkil (Daoud’s business partner in Sunshowah Films) who was already well acquainted with Daoud. That’s pretty much how it started.

Scheme: When and how did you decide you wanted to launch a clothing line? How long has your line been in existence?

Rasu: Coup detat Brooklyn officially launched October 7th, 2004 so we’re approaching our 3 year anniversary. The concept originally developed when Daoud went away to South Africa and came back to the US.

Daoud: After going abroad and being exposed to a more global media that included a broader and more informative view on the current affairs of the world, I became dissatisfied with the propaganda being spewed through the media here and the shallowness that was being expressed domestically by artists and designers. I started creating some designs for t-shirts that coincided with what we stand for and at the same time held and aesthetic that reflected our style and fashion sense.

Rasu: The designs were dope so we thought it could be profitable. We later decided to create the brand coup d’etat Brooklyn. This was our way of injecting the industry with substance and overthrowing the garbage that is being spoon fed to the public. We’ve taken an oath to stick to our original concept while designing and never put a message on a t-shirt just to make sales.

Scheme: Who makes up your team? Who designs? Who markets?

Rasu: Coup d’etat consists of Daoud Abeid who is founder and head designer; Suhail Smith, designer; and myself, Rasu Jilani, co-founder. Daoud is the brand’s creative director, covering everything from designing to brand identity. I handle all of the business aspects of the company: sales, marketing, accounting, etc.

“Our babies are doomed if we continue to rely on Hip Hop or any other form of mass media to educate them. Teaching our children is not something that should be on auto-pilot. It takes a conscious and collective effort.”

Scheme: How did you come up with the name coup d’etat BROOKLYN?

Rasu: Coup d’etat means “a sudden blow or change of state” in French, and is more commonly known as a “sudden military overthrow of a government.”

Daoud: I initially came up with the name, because we were tired of the state of fashion choices out there. We decided to create an alternative, while staging a takeover that better represents our social standards and ideals. The term Coup d’etat seemed to fit perfectly.

Rasu: Brooklyn was added, because it is where the concept was born, and as a brand we are inspired by life.

Daoud: Right! We also share the idea that when you want to see change you have to change yourself first and then your community and so on, hence the name coup d’etat BROOKLYN.

“…they’re born out of my dissatisfaction with the social climate and with the intent to fill the spaces and gaps that are created by the imbalanced subject matter of the hip-hop industry…”

Scheme: What impact does music and the hip hop culture have on the pieces you produce?

Rasu: I’d probably have to say very little as far as contemporary music goes. Most of the Hip Hop artists nowadays lack substance and strong content. That said, we try to serve as an alternative commentary to what’s going on in our society. For example, we have a shirt coming out this fall called “Stop Getting Arrested” or codename “Dummies.” The concept behind this design was to counteract the statement we commonly hear in the streets “Stop Snitching.” For us, JAIL IS NOT AN OPTION!

Daoud: Popular culture has a lot to do with my design inspiration many of the ideas are sparked in reaction to the present state of things, they’re born out of my dissatisfaction with the social climate and with the intent to fill the spaces and gaps that are created by the imbalanced subject matter of the hip-hop industry examples of that are our “poison Hip-hop” shirt from last summer and the “Peace, Unity Love and Having Fun” shirt coming this fall.

Rasu: We also try to extend beyond our immediate environment with our design concepts. For instance, our “Teach The Babies” shirt is our most popular and universal design. It speaks to everyone no matter the race, creed, culture or social standing. Our babies are doomed if we continue to rely on Hip Hop or any other form of mass media to educate them. Teaching our children is not something that should be on auto-pilot. It takes a conscious and collective effort.

“Being socially conscience, and political doesn’t mean that you have to look unfashionable…”

Scheme: Who or what is the key influence or driving force behind what coup d’etat BROOKLYN produces?

Daoud: Balance. We are looking to add some balance to the lopsidedness of the options that are widely available to our market. Most brands out there lack substance and in the most part thrive off of exploiting the plight, tragedy, and flavor of urban community.

Rasu: I would also have to say constant strive for quality: both visually and in terms of the finished product. And, of course the babies are always our inspiration.

Scheme: Who do you target your line to? Who is your audience?

Rasu: We’re targeting the line to anyone looking for clothing that represents what they are passionate about. Being socially conscience, and political doesn’t mean that you have to look unfashionable, right?

As of now, we have a very broad audience ranging from teenagers to adults. I’ve seen children as young as 5 years of age to grown men in their 50’s rockin’ a CDTBK piece. What we’ve found is that the teenagers love our items for the colors and graphics, while the adults appreciate the line’s content.

Scheme: I love how you describe and define your t-shirts online. Is this a conscious effort on your part, meaning are you against people wearing your items and not understanding the bigger picture or meaning behind its creation?

Daoud: We understand that this aspect of our site would be both beneficial and necessary to some of our supporters. Many people don’t know the history behind some of the designs we create so we wanted to make sure people understood the story behind the shirt. For example, we received an email from a father who wrote that he told his elementary school age son who was writing a report on Malcom X to check our site for information.

Rasu: If we’re going to put something out into the universe, we are held accountable for it. So like Daoud mentioned, background information is a necessity for understanding the concept of each design.

We created a shirt featuring Muhammad Ali during the brand’s first year. Ali united a divided country by using sports to get attention from the masses. Once he got it, he told you how he felt about the sociopolitical conditions in this country. His backbone was his religion and his passion for what he believed in. Everyone would call Ali the greatest, but Ali would tell you: “Allah is the Greatest”. Hence, the concept behind the design.

Scheme: Please explain how designs like Vote for Huey and Baby Soldier came about?

Daoud: These particular shirts are a perfect example of designs that were inspired in reaction to popular culture. We’d been discussing doing a Huey shirt but were having a hard time coming up with a creative way to execute the concept. I was somewhere and someone was wearing a vote for pedro shirt. When asked who Pedro was a bunch of kids were like, “…you know from the movie.” Later on I remembered Huey Newton ran for Congress in the 70’s and decided to design the shirt using a picture of Huey when he was in prison. It was a two-fold concept because we wanted to educate people about Huey and at the same time express that we were not satisfied with our political leaders and ideally would like the option to vote for a leader with some of Huey’s goals.

“Baby Soldiers “was conceived in reaction to the rise of “bling” culture. The urban community is buying and promoting more and more diamonds without considering the destruction that the diamond industry has created in many African countries.

Scheme: Would you two consider yourselves modern day activists?

Daoud: That’s exactly what I am. As times change, the way we teach and influence change HAS to change. In the past, people staged protests and formed organizations. As we know, a lot of progress stemmed from those movements. We live in a different time, people are more content with the state of things; so we use art to stimulate thought and shine light on some of the imbalances that are put out there by the media. I’m a filmmaker as well so I also use films to strategically bring light to social issues that are relevant to my community while simultaneously entertaining the audience. If we wanna see change, we have to live to change something. That requires being active.

Rasu: I guess I never really considered myself an activist. Poor Righteous Teacher? Yes! Socially Aware? Yes! If makes me an activist, then so be it.

Scheme: What else can the public expect from coup d’etat BROOKLYN?

Rasu: Constant Elevation. This Fall you will see jackets, hoodies, crew-necks, sweatshirts, and our staple, t-shirts. We can only get better with time and we continue to create from our hearts. Just as the world continues to change, CDTBK will continue to create. Our motto is “live to change something,” and we will continue to produce clothing for those who believe this to be true.