ASAP Ant, also known as YG Addie, is one of the lesser known members of the musical group ASAP Mob (comprised of industry heavyweights such as ASAP Rocky, ASAP Bari and the now deceased ASAP Yams) and the only member of the rap coterie hailing from Baltimore. Ant has had success in the music industry, collaborating with stars like Lil’ Uzi Vert, Hoodrich Pablo Juan, and Maxo Kream but he may be most well-known for his clothing line, Marino Infantry.

Rapper ASAP Ant’s clothing line, Marino Infantry, is bringing more fame to him than his music. (Courtesy photo)

“I’ve always been into music since I was a young kid. I’ve known ASAP Yams forever and I’ve had my clothing line since I was like 15. Me knowing Yams triggered my meeting Rocky, we were playing around and I ended up styling him and eventually I became a part of ASAP Mob,” Ant told the AFRO.

First appearing in ASAP Rocky’s “Pe$o” music video, Marino Infantry has quickly taken off and has been seen on stars like Playboi Carti, Metro Boomin and Kendall Jenner. When asked about his accomplishments within the fashion industry and how they set him apart from most Baltimore rappers and designers, Ant attributed his success to his global and innovative mindset.

“I’m not the typical Baltimore rapper. My mind isn’t focused on Baltimore, I’m thinking about New York, LA, Paris and money. I’m a creator I’m thinking outside of the box. The average Baltimore rapper is just not thinking outside the box. These kids will be happy if their music is played on 92 Q. You can’t sound like everyone else, you gotta think global, you can’t only think Baltimore,” said Ant.

“I’m letting young kids know, you can be a creative, you can be anything you want to be. I just came back from Japan. I did my own tour overseas. I’m just showing young kids that you don’t always have to focus on Baltimore 24/7, you have to expand your mind.”

“I get love but it’s a lot of crabs in the bucket in Baltimore, you feel me? People have told me I’m not repping Baltimore right, but I don’t know how else they’d want me to rep it.  I’m the only one pushing the boundaries and pushing the culture forward for Baltimore. People may not understand it but the love always going to outweigh the hate.”

Some may wonder why a young Black male from West Baltimore who went to Milford Mill Academy chose to produce a clothing line largely mired in skate culture, a pastime stereotypically reserved for suburban angst-ridden White teens, but Ant purposefully chose a more underrepresented side of Baltimore to draw inspiration from.

“Baltimore has an underground skate scene and to me skating, clothing and hip hop go hand in hand. I’m inspired by Ice Cream skate team , that’s what triggered me to want to do a skate brand and got me into streetwear. I didn’t want to do anything generic, I wanted to set myself aside. I don’t want to do anything the average person is doing. Since the 80’s stars like LL Cool J and R.Kelly were wearing Dapper Dan, gold chains and wearing airbrushed T-shirts. Hip-hop has always pushed fashion forward. We urban young  Black kids since we were born. We had style and fashion and hip hop go hand in hand. It’s been like that forever.”

Ant plans on continuing work on his line and is planning on bringing a pop up shop with Marino Infantry products to Baltimore and refuses to slow down anytime soon.

“I have a lot of plans for the future, I really want to get into anything. I don’t like pinning myself down or planning things out but I’m always working, I’m a creator. A rapper follows trends, he’ll do whatever’s hot at the time so you know he’s generic. Pharrell, Andre 3000, they were creators.  A creator will look for a new sound and try to push the culture forward, a creator will do different sh-t and still remain comfortable without forcing it. That’s how I think of myself.”