Today we’d like to introduce you to Saint Knick Gunna.
Hi Saint Knick, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Born and raised in New Orleans, LA. Spent most of my summers with family in Inglewood, CA. Rap has been of hobby of mine since the 8th grade and I recently decided to take it serious in the past few years. I’m always looking for new outlets to explore my artistry. My creative work history is of various fields including music, modeling, film, fashion design, architecture, and culinary arts. To escape the turbulence of life in New Orleans, I relocated to Los Angeles in late 2017. Here I am.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It NEVER was a smooth road. I grew up in an extremely dysfunctional household, lol. In hindsight, one thing that probably saved me was my parents’ concernment for a good education. As an adult, one of the earliest obstacles for me was losing my mother, older sister, and nephew in a three months span. This left me with not much family to depend on at a young age. Over the years, I’ve also lost two best friends and countless close friends to gun violence. In February of last year, a trip home for Mardi Gras resulted in me being shot multiple times. My recovery was long and painful but it also brought me much needed insight, growth, and enlightenment.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Music is my number one passion. Being from New Orleans, I grew up with music all around me – particularly jazz, blues, and bounce. I played the piano, trumpet and saxophone as a child and eventually started writing raps as a hobby. My style of rap has traditionally been southern trap rap but I tried something different on my most recent project “Valencetine Day.” I experimented with different harmonies to create a more melodic sound. I’m extremely excited and proud of how it all came together.
About five years ago, I opened a “pop-up food boutique” in New Orleans called Gator Bait NOLA, serving traditional creole cuisine with a twist. I would combine various culinary styles with creole cooking to create a sort of creole hybrid of dishes. I now have a new business, Roll Call NOLA, that pushes a unique concept of specialty egg rolls. The most popular are the Seafood Spinach Dip Rolls and the Gator Gator Rolls. I believe that these finger foods would be a great addition to the already diverse L.A. foodie scene.
I’ve always thought of myself to have a unique flair for fashion. Did some modeling over the years but I’ve always wanted to jump on to the design side of the industry. Last year I started my fashion brand Heaven On Valence. I’ve designed and released some basic wear just to build brand awareness, but my main focus is perfecting these cut & sew items that I’ll push as the staple pieces for the line. Although I plan to have men’s and women’s collections, I find myself giving special attention to designing the women’s pieces, lol. The ultimate goal is for Heaven On Valence to grow into a major luxury fashion house.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Freedom. I’m more productive when I have the least amount of restrictions in life. So as long as I can create and be productive, I’m happy and at peace. Consequently, me being productive also allows me to provide for those around me and contribute to their happiness. Just spreading happiness in general brings me joy tbh.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: heavenonvalence.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saintknicolas/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saintknickgunnaxiii/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/saintknicolas?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqnplaHUBNJSvFIGi4sRwRw
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/knickgunna
