or more on car insurance.
NOW WE TURN TO SOMETHING or more on car insurance.
NOW WE TURN TO SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND VERY SPECIAL.
IT’S A STORY DECADES IN THE
MAKING THAT SHEDS LIGHT ON THE
POLITICS OF TODAY IN THE
BROADEST SENSE.
BROADEST SENSE. I’VE BEEN WORKING ON PARTS OF
THIS FOR THE LAST FEW WEEKS AND
I BELIEVE IT WILL INTEREST YOU A
LOT.
LOT. IT BEGINS AS A STORY OF CRIME
AND DRUGS, POLITICS AND FASHION
IN 1970s HARLEM WITH SHOOT-OUTS,
DICE GAMES AND A DRUG EPIDEMIC
THAT SPARKED A NATIONAL
CRACKDOWN IN POLICING.
>> ON THE STREETS OF NEW YORK
IT’S CALLED CRACK AND THE DEALS
GO DOWN QUICKLY.
>> WITH CRACK SO CHEAP AND
ACCESSIBLE ON INNER AT THE
STREETS AND A WAITING LIST FOR
DRUG TREATMENT PROGRAMS SO LONG,
NO ONE IS EVEN GUESSING HOW
WIDESPREAD THE EPIDEMIC OF CRACK
BABIES WILL BE.
>> THIS SQUAD OF WHITE IS
HEADING FOR PATROL DUTY IN BLACK
HARLEM.
HARLEM. THERE BEEN CHARGES OF ABUSE AND
MENTALITY.
MENTALITY. >> THE U.S. MURDER HIT AN
ALL-TIME HIGH IN 19 0.
NEW YORK WAS GROUND ZERO.
RUTHLESS GANGSTERS LIKE NIKKI
BARNES SCARED THE CITY AND MANY
SAW IT AS A PROBLEM OF BLACK
INNER CITY NEIGHBORHOODS WHILE
GANGSTERS OUTSIDE NEW YORK
TERRORIZED NEW YORK.
GANGSTERS ASSASSINATED MOB BOSS
BIG PAUL.
BIG PAUL. AND NEW YORKERS LIKE DONALD
TRUMP CALLED FOR A CRACKDOWN AS
LOU AND ORDER BECAME A NATIONAL
POLITICAL MANTRA.
POLITICAL MANTRA. >> I HATE THESE PEOPLE.
LET’S ALL HATE THESE PEOPLE
BECAUSE MAYBE HATE IS WHAT WE
NEED IF WE’RE GOING TO GET
SOMETHING DONE.
SOMETHING DONE. >> CRIME TODAY IS AN AMERICAN
EPIDEMIC
EPIDEMIC EPIDEMIC.
EPIDEMIC. WE INTEND TO DO WHAT IS
NECESSARY TO END THE DRUG MENACE
AND END ORGANIZED CRIME.
>> THERE WERE NEWLAWS ON THE WAR
DRUGS.
DRUGS. THIS WAS THE VICE PRESIDENT THAT
RAISED THIS MAN.
DANIEL DAY, BORN IN HARLEM IN
1944, HE DID WHAT MANY YOUNG MEN
DID TO SURVIVE, HUSTLING,
GAMBLING, FINDING WAYS TO MAKE
MONEY UNDERGROUND.
MONEY UNDERGROUND. WHILE SO MANY OF HIS PEERS WERE
CUT DOWN BY DRUGS OR VIOLENCE OR
PRISON, HE NOT ONLY SURVIVED HE,
HE THRIVED BY BUILDING THE
PERSONA DAPPER DAN.
FIRST AS ONE OF THE BEST DRESSED
HUSTLERS IN HAR LEP, THEN AS A
SALESMAN, THEN TURNING HIMSELF
INTO THE FASHION ICON HE IS
TODAY, ORIGINATING A LUXURY
STYLE FASHION COMPANIES WERE NOT
OFFERING.
OFFERING. TOP HOUSES LIKE LOUIS VUITTON
AND GUCCI DID NOT CATER TO
HARLEM’S COMMUNITY.
HARLEM’S COMMUNITY. HE SAW A MARKET OPPORTUNITY.
HIS PEERS.
HIS PEERS. DAN KNEW THEN WHAT MANY
CORPORATIONS WERE IGNORING.
HARLEM HAD STYLE, CUSTOMERS AND
IT HAD MONEY, ESPECIALLY FROM
THE GANGSTERS.
THE GANGSTERS. HE INNOVATED A WHOLE NEW LOOK,
BUYING UP GUCCI BAGS AND BAGS
FOR THE LOGO AND MARKETING THAT
AS A NEW STREET CLOTHES
AND MARKETING IT AS A STREET
STYLE, A DOWNTOWN MIX OF LUXURY
UP TOWN.
UP TOWN. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS GUCCI JACKET
WITH THE LOGO FEATURED ALONG
WITH THE CUSTOM LEATHER TRIM.
IT REPURPOSES THE ICONIC GUCCI
FOR A NEW JACKET.
DAN’S CUSTOMERS SAID THEY KNEW
HE WAS MAKING SOMETHING
ORIGINAL.
ORIGINAL. THEY WEREN’T PAYING FOR THE
GUCCI LOGO, BUT FOR REMIX.
THE STYLE BECAME A HIT WITH
UNDERWORLD ANTI-HEROES LIKE SOME
OF THESE GANGSTERS.
DAN LINED SOME OF THE BOATS WITH
BULLETPROOF MATERIAL UPON
REQUEST.
REQUEST. ATHLETES AND MUSICIANS STARTED
TO ECHO THE SAME STYLE.
HERE ARE HIS JACKETS FOR MIKE
TYSON OR WALTER BARRY, SPORTING
THE JACKET COVER.
AND THE SAME LOOK FAVORED HERE
BY THE RAPPER, THE FAT BOYS OR
RAPPER LL COOL J, WEARING A
TRACK SUIT COVERED IN THOSE
LOGOS.
LOGOS. STARS RANGING FROM BEYONCE TO
SALMA HAYEK WOULD GO ON TO ROCK
DAN’S SIGNATURE STYLE.
AND DAN’S HARLEM SHOP GREW FROM
THE ATTENTION.
THE ATTENTION. HIS CUSTOMERS PAID EXTRA FOR THE
DAPPER DAN LOOK, THEY KNEW THEY
WEREN’T BUYING A GUCCI PRODUCT,
JUST LIKE ANDY WARHOL’S FANS
KNEW HE WAS MAKING ART, NOT SOUP
ADS.
ADS. BUT THE FASHION HOUSES DID NOT
SEE IT THAT WAY.
THEY CRACKED DOWN, SUING DAN,
SEIZING HIS PRODUCT.
MORE HEAT FOLLOWED.
SUBPOENAS FOR HIS HARLEM
CLIENTS, RAIDS ON HIS STORE
THERE WAS EVEN A TALENTED YOUNG
LAWYER SONIA SOTOMAYOR WHO
SHOWED UP ONE DAY TO HELP HER
CLIENT LEAD A RAID.
SHE DID EVERYTHING BY THE BOOK
AND EVEN COMPLIMENTED A MINK
COAT HE HAD IN THE SHOWROOM.
DAN HAD MANY CUSTOMERS AND
ARTISTS ON HIS SIDE, AND MOST
CULTURE ECHOES SOMETHING.
PICASSO JOKED BAD ARTISTS COPY
AND GOOD ARTISTS STEAL.
HE OPENLY REMIXED OTHER ARTISTS
LIKE YOU SEE HERE, VELAZQUEZ.
BUT THE FASHION HOUSES HAD POWER
AND MONEY ON THEIR SIDE, AND
THEY RAN DAN’S SHOP OUT OF
BUSINESS.
BUSINESS. HE WENT BACK UNDERGROUND.
FOLLOWED SOME FINANCIAL TROUBLES
AND SAD DAYS WITH THE NEXT STEP
AFTER HIS LIFE’S WORK WAS SHUT
DOWN.
DOWN. NOW IN HIS 70s, WHAT WAS LEFT?
I WANT TO TELL YOU, THIS STORY
COULD END THERE, BUT THAT THING
ABOUT ARTISTS COPYING AND
STEALING, IT CAME FULL CIRCLE AS
ONE OF THE FASHION HOUSES THAT
SUED DAN WAS NOW COPYING HIS
SIGNATURE LOOK YOU SEE HERE FROM
1989, THE DAPPER DAN OUTFIT, AND
GUCCI ECHOING IT IN THIS RUNWAY
JACKET IN 2017, IGNITING
CONTROVERSY OVER WHY A
CORPORATION GETS TO DO THE VERY
THING IT SUED DAN OVER.
THEY FIRST CLAIMED IT WAS AN
HOMAGE, AND THE STORY MIGHT END
THERE WITH BLOWBACK UNTIL PEOPLE
MOVED ON.
MOVED ON. BUT THEN GUCCI PARTNERED WITH
DAN TO REOPEN HIS BOUTIQUE IN
HARLEM SO THEY COULD MAKE
CLOTHES TOGETHER, UNITING THE
FASHIONS OF THE RUNWAY AND THE
STREET UNDER ONE ROOF, AND
OFFERING AN ALTERNATIVE ENDING
FOR TWO STYLES THAT WERE SO
RIVALROUS, THEY COMPETED AS THEY
COPIED EACH OTHER.
THIS ALL INCLUDES DAN’S
TRIUMPHANT RETURN AT THE HEIGHT
OF FASHION AT ANNA WINTOUR’S MET
GALA THIS PAST MAY.
DAN SAID PEOPLE COVETED HIS
FASHION BECAUSE HE DECONSTRUCTED
BRANDS TO THE ESSENCE OF THEIR
POWER CRESTS THAT SIGNIFIED
WEALTH, POWER AND PRESTIGE.
HE CLAIMS MY CUSTOMERS WANTED TO
BUY INTO THAT POWER.
DAN BUILT WEALTH, RESPECT, AND
POWER FOR HIMSELF AND HIS
COMMUNITY AND LOST SOME OF IT
WHEN THOSE CORPORATIONS CAME FOR
HIM.
HIM. IT’S A TESTAMENT TO HIS WORK AND
THE SPIRIT OF HARLEM THAT HE NOW
STANDS TALLER THAN EVER ASTRIDE
THESE TWO WORLDS, DRAWING
RESPECT AND POWER FROM BOTH.
MY SPECIAL GUEST TONIGHT IS
DAPPER DAN.
DAPPER DAN. THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
>> THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
THAT WAS EXCELLENT INTRODUCTION.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
>> YOU HAVE INSPIRED A LOT OF
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. HOW DID YOU PERSEVERE WHEN AS WE
SAW THERE WAS SO MUCH COMING UP
AGAINST YOU?
AGAINST YOU? >> YOU KNOW, ARI, I THINK THAT
WHEN YOU’RE BORN POOR AND YOU GO
THROUGH TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS,
YOU EVALUATION THAT ABILITY TO
BOUNCE BACK.
BOUNCE BACK. EVERYBODY KNOW HOUSE TO DO GOOD.
WHAT WE LEARNED EARLY ON HOW TO
DO BAD.
DO BAD. SO COMING BACK WAS JUST MY
BLOOD.
BLOOD. >> WE LOOK AT A YOUNG DONALD
TRUMP.
TRUMP. >> YES.
>> YES. >> BAD-MOUTHING HARLEM.
WE LOOKED AT PRESIDENT REAGAN
SINGLING OUT THE DRUG EPIDEMIC.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THE
EXCESSES OF CRIME AND VIOLENCE
IN THAT ERA THAT YOU HAD
SURVIVE?
SURVIVE? >> YOU WOULD HAVE TO HAVE LIVED
IN IT TO UNDERSTAND, RIGHT.
AND AT THE TIME, WHEN THE RICO
ACT PUT A LOT OF MINORITY PEOPLE
IN JAIL, BUT AT THE TIME THERE
WAS A MAJOR CHANGE TAKING PLACE.
YOU CAN ARGUE THAT WE HAVE A LOT
OF MEN OF COLOR IN THE NATIONAL
PENITENTIARIES AND THROUGHOUT
THE COUNTRY NOW, BUT YOU HAVE TO
HAVE SEEN WHAT A CRACK BABY
LOOKS LIKE, YOU KNOW.
WHEN YOU SEE WHAT A CRACK BABY
LOOKS LIKE, AND IF YOU GO BACK
IN TIME TO SEE WHAT THAT DID, TO
SEE A BABY CRYING THROUGH THE
NIGHT AND SEEING FAMILIES
BEGGING AND WALKING AWAY AND
LEAVING THEIR CHILDREN, IT’S A
DIFFERENT FEEL.
DIFFERENT FEEL. >> WE HAVE A CULTURE I WOULD
ARGUE ACROSS DIVERSE COMMUNITIES
WHERE THERE IS A GLORIFICATION
WITH THE DRUG AND GANGSTER LIFE,
WHETHER IT’S THE GODFATHER AND
THAT’S ITALIAN MAFIA, OR THE
HARLEM GANGSTERS WE’RE TALKING
ABOUT OR SCAR FACE.
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO YOUNG PEOPLE
WHO LOOK AT THIS HOW TO TAP INTO
THAT WITHOUT BEING DESTROYED BY
IT?
IT? >> THAT’S THE IRONY.
THE THING I’M TRYING TO ESCAPE
FROM, THEY WERE GLORIFYING.
IT TURNED OUT THAT WAY.
BUT THE MESSAGE TRY TO GIVE TO
YOUNG GUYS IS, YOU KNOW, WE, THE
GANGSTERS, WE WERE NEVER AND THE
CULTURE WAS NEVER ABOUT
GLORIFYING AND STAYING INVOLVED
IN IT.
IN IT. THE CULTURE WAS ABOUT THE
GANGSTERS WAS TO ESCAPE IT, AND
THEN THE RAPPERS CAME ALONG AND
CHANGED THE MESSAGE.
THEY CHANGE TO IT MAKE IT LOOK
GLORIFIED, MAKE IT LOOK
HONEY-COATED, AND IT WASN’T
HONEY AT ALL.
>> I WANT TO TAKE A PAGE OUT OF
MUSICIAN NOS, WHO IS VERY
FAMOUS, WORKED WITH MANY
ARTISTS, TALKING ABOUT YOU.
BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE
CULTURE IN HARLEM AND BEYOND
KNEW ABOUT YOU, EVEN AFTER YOU
WERE SHUT DOWN.
TAKE A LOOK.
>> HE HAD THE FORESIGHT TO DO
BACK THEN WHAT THEY JUST STARTED
DOING MAYBE TEN YEARS, FIVE
YEARS AFTER HIM.
>> WOULD YOU BE AT THE HEIGHT
YOU ARE NOW WITHOUT THE STARS
AND WITHOUT THE STREETS, AND
WHICH MATTERED MORE IN
SUPPORTING YOU?
SUPPORTING YOU? >> IT’S A COMBINATION OF BOTH,
BECAUSE THE STARS ARE IMPORTANT
BECAUSE THEY INTERPRET THE
CULTURE OF THE STREET.
AND THE REASON THE STARS
GRAVITATED TOWARDS ME IS I WAS
THE STREET.
THE STREET. THEY WERE BUYING IN TO THE LIFE
THAT I WALKED AWAY FROM.
SO THE CREDIBILITY WAS ENORMOUS.
I’M THE GUY IN BETWEEN WHO CAN
TAKE THEM THERE, WHO CAN GIVE
THEM THAT CREDIBILITY.
AND THAT’S WHY THEY GRAVITATED
TOWARDS ME.
TOWARDS ME. >> YOU WRITE IN HERE THE ONLY
PEOPLE WHO WERE EXCITED ABOUT
HUSTLING WERE PEEP WHO DIDN’T
ACTUALLY HAVE TO DO IT EVERY
DAY.
DAY. >> EXACTLY.
>> EXACTLY. THE STREET HAS A LIGHT SIDE AND
A DARK SIDE.
IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND THAT,
YOU’LL BE THERE WHEN IT
IMPLODES.
IMPLODES. EVEN A PERSON LIKE MYSELF, AS
SKILLED AND AS KNOWLEDGEABLE OF
IT MYSELF, I HAD TO REALIZE THAT
YOU CANNOT BE IN IT AND NOT OF
IT.
IT. SO EVENTUALLY I HAD TO PULL,
WITHDRAW.
WITHDRAW. AND WHEN I WENT UNDERGROUND, I
SAID I HAVE A BULLET IN MY NECK
AS A RESULT OF TRYING TO BE
THERE, YOU KNOW?
I HAD A THREE STORY BUILDING ON
125th STREET.
125th STREET. BUT I STARTED OUT FROM A TABLE
ON 125th STREET.
AND WHEN THE BRANDS RAIDED ME
DOWN, I ALWAYS PREPARED MYSELF
TO START ALL OVER AGAIN, AND I
WENT BACK TO A TABLE ON 125th
STREET.
STREET. AND THEN UNDERGROUND FOR 20
YEARS, MAN.
YEARS, MAN. SO THAT’S SOMETHING I WAS
PREPARED TO DO.
>> I WANT TO ASK YOU SOMETHING A
LITTLE FUNNY THAT IS THE EXACT
STORY YOU DESCRIBE.
NEAR THE END OF THE BOOK,
EVERYTHING IS SHUT DOWN, IT
LOOKS DARK, AND YOU SAY YOU HAD
TROUBLE EVEN SELLING A T-SHIRT
AT THAT VERY TABLE.
>> YES.
>> YES. >> AND I READ THAT, AND I
THOUGHT HERE’S SOMEONE, IF I
MAY, AND TELL ME IF I’M WRONG,
HERE’S SOMEONE WHO HAS
INCREDIBLE PRIDE BUT VERY LITTLE
EGO.
EGO. >> AND THAT’S THE KEY.
IF YOU CAN BURY YOUR EGO, THEN
THERE IS ALWAYS POSSIBILITIES.
YOU KNOW, I’M RIDING AROUND IN A
MERCEDES-BENZ, GUCCIED OUT.
I’M RIDING AROUND WITH A JEEP,
MCM OUT.
MCM OUT. I’M THE TALK OF THE TOWN.
BUT I HAD TO LEARN TO SWALLOW
THAT AND GO BACK TO WHERE I
STARTED AT, AND START ALL OVER
AGAIN.
AGAIN. AND THAT INCIDENT YOU TALKING
ABOUT, WHEN I HAD TO START ALL
OVER, I WAS OUT THERE AND TOUR
BUSES WAS COMING TO HARLEM AND
125th STREET, AND I WAS TRYING
TO SELL T-SHIRTS.
I COUNTED 144 BUSES AND DIDN’T
SELL ONE T-SHIRT.
>> IN A SINGLE DAY?
>> IN A SINGLE DAY.
AND I WAS DETERMINED TO TURN
THAT AROUND.
THAT AROUND. THE NEXT DAY, THE NEXT YEAR I
LOOKED UP, I HAD $100,000.
SO THAT’S WHAT PERSEVERANCE IS.
BUT I KNEW THAT I COULD DO THAT.
>> DID YOU THINK YOU’D BE HERE
AT THIS AGE, AT THIS HEIGHT?
>> MY MISSION WAS TO TALK ABOUT
WHAT WE BE TALKING ABOUT NOW.
I’VE SEEN IT.
I’M THE LAST GENERATION THAT’S
SEEN HARLEM BEFORE A DRUG
EPIDEMIC.
EPIDEMIC. AND I NEED TO REMIND PEOPLE LIKE
OF WHAT WE ARE.
THIS IS NOT WHO WE ARE.
ALL THE CHILDREN THAT’S GROWING
UP NOW AND THE YOUNG MEN GROWING
UP NOW, THEY’RE GROWING UP IN A
DRUG CULTURE, AND I HAVE TO TELL
THE STORY.
THE STORY. FASHION IS MY PLATFORM TO TELL,
IT’S THE BIGGEST STORY, AND
THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO DO.
BUT I THINK THE DEVASTATINGE ING
THE ROOT OF A LOT OF YOUNG BLACK
MEN AND HISPANIC YOUNG MEN IN
JAIL HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH
THE INCUMBENT CHER THAT GREW OUT
OF THE DRUG EPIDEMICS.
>> IT’S A FASCINATING STORY THAT
YOU TELL HERE, AND THAT YOU’RE
HERE TO CONTINUE TO LEAD ON.
I APPRECIATE YOU COMING BY "THE
BEAT."
BEAT." THE BOOK IS "DAPPER DAN: MADE IN