I was born in Wisconsin, but I quickly moved to Nigeria as a toddler.
When I was a boy, I was sagging my pants like everyone else. Some boys become men and continue to sag their pants because that's their form of rebellion.
If I'm shopping at the Gap or Old Navy, I'm saying that I'm an ordinary person: I don't want to be seen; I don't want to stand out. That's a statement. If I'm wearing a leather jacket, there's something about me that's kind of a rebel. So everybody says something, whether they want to or not.
My father raised me to build computers, hardware. Literally, as an 8 year old, I had a soldering iron and circuit boards, and this was in neighbourhoods that wouldn't have a whole lot of money or anything. And I figured out ways to just hustle.
I'm the guy on the corner that is slightly peculiar but fun and funky.
America is haunted by an apparition steeped in slavery, and I wanted to remind everyone that, 'Yo, we've got to handle this.'
I began my studies in a sound and electrical engineering program, but I ultimately created a major called 'Ritual Art.'
I believe what Wondaland is doing is creating depth.
The one thing that I learned in college, actually, was that you may reach tremendous highs and tremendous lows.
In Brooklyn, all the kids call me the 'Willy Wonka of the Hood.'
The affinity towards suits was a functional thing for me early on because I was thrifting at secondhand shops, and it was also initially a way of grieving - my father had passed, and he used to wear suits all the time.
While the majority of my childhood memories are beautiful, I also have experienced the challenges that Nigeria has faced since independence.
Willy Wonka had his chocolate factory; I have my Fear & Fancy Parlor.
I myself have been scrutinized by militarized police, but I know officers who actually handle themselves in a certain way that makes me feel safe.
My style is not specific to the antebellum South, but it's heavily inspired by the Jim Crow era.
Jesus' birthday is commercialized, so of course, Black History Month is commercialized.
Nothing I'm doing is without its predecessors.
My name is Jidenna, which means 'to hold or embrace the father' in Igbo. It was my father who gave me this name and who taught me countless parables, proverbs, and principles that made me the man I am today.
When I brought home a 98 percent on a test, my father would say, 'Ah, ah, where are the other two points? Go and get them, then bring them back.' My father and Nigerian culture has always stood for excellence.
Most of the suits I try to wear are bespoke.
