An Interview With Edward Sylvan
My ALPHA brand is pretty popular, so in the wake of the protest for George Floyd last year, I donated the profits from my sales to support the protesters’ legal fees. This ultimately sparked my interest in police reform. As I continue to elevate in my career, I’ll utilize my platform to bring awareness to these issues and spark a positive change.
As a part of our series about music stars who are making an important social impact, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing PanamaDaPrince.
Commencing his musical career at the mere age of sixteen the budding musician, PanamaDaPrince, knew that his prominence was inevitable. The New York City-born musician, fashion designer, and creative director, hails from the East New York section of Brooklyn. He yearned to be a positive influence for future artists. PanamaDaPrince, was influenced by the ambidextrous creative Kanye West. He drew his inspiration for his music through studying the greats of the fashion and entertainment industry. At the inception of Panama’s career, he was a musician-opener for vast notable celebrities. He served as a vital show opener for Wu-Tang & D-Block at Webster Hall in 2013. In addition to opening for rapper Lloyd Banks at Stage 48 the subsequent year. PanamaDaPrince, the multi-creative, initiated his musical career with aspirations to transcend every obstacle. Since the dawn of his career, he has successfully taken on the entertainment industry head-on.
As he continued to elevate in his musical ascendancy; Panama’s brand heightened. The rising musician was presented with various industry junctures. Panama, acquired the opportunity to model for international fashion houses, Jeremy Scott x Adidas. The Adidas x Jeremy Scott print campaign was the mere onset of his modeling accolades. Shortly after the print campaign was broadcasted he was chosen to model for the Sabit Fashion show. In which the fashion show debuted on BET.
As PanamaDaPrince transitioned into a household name his television appearances emerged more frequently. Throughout the duration of his career he has made numerous television appearances. As his brand elevated he’s made cameo appearances on Vh1’s Love & Hip Hop Atlanta, Hip Hop Squares, Uncommon Sense, Joking Off, Wild N Out, and MTV’s Hip Hop POV. In addition, he was sought to be a celebrity interviewee on several radio shows and prominent podcasts. Panama appeared on a variety of shows such as “Vegan Pop Eats” on Fios, “Let It Off podcast”, “ThaLSpot Show”, DTF radio, “Cause & Effect podcast”, “Heat Check Show”, “Flava of the Mic”, and “The Vagabonds Podcast”.
As Panama continued to advance and prevail in his music career his songs picked up syndication. His songs became virtual success as his song “Annihilation” picked up rotation on “Music Choice’’. Furthermore, his music acquired distribution by large streaming houses iheartRadio, Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, and Pandora. Similar to his brand, his music began elevating in popularity. Thus landing his hit song “Tim Duncan” in rotation at Flight Club in New York City.
Post-pandemic Panama, released the highly anticipated “Mase Flow”. The song & music video featured hip-hop legend Fatman Scoop. The song was a virtual success obtaining nearly 30,000 views. Adding to the accolades of Panama’s hit single “Mase Flow”, the video was circulated in the heart of New York City. In which, landed “Mase Flow” on a billboard in Times Square.
Fashion being an immense zeal of the musician, Panama, launched his ALPHA clothing brand. He consolidated the knowledge he obtained from networking within the entertainment industry and started his brand. Commencing his clothing line ALPHA in 2016, PanamaDaPrince merged his two passions, fashion and music. “Transcend every obstacle” & “lead the pack” quickly converted into the clothing brands mantra. With Panama merging his relationships and connections throughout the duration of his fifteen-year career, ALPHA flourished. Growing in its own notoriety, ALPHA has appeared on “Teyana & Iman” on Vh1, “The Rap Game” on Lifetime with Jermaine Dupri, “Black Ink Crew” on Vh1, and the Netflix film “Beats”.
In addition, a vast quantity of celebrities have supported the ALPHA clothing brand. The enormous talent which has supported the brand include “Stranger Things” actor Caleb Mclaughlin, Swizz Beatz, Michael Rainey Jr. from Starz “Power”, Hot 97’s DJ Drewski, Cortez Bryant, rapper Latto, Teyana Taylor, NBA champion Iman Shumpert, Rasheeda from Vh1’s Love & Hip Hop, rapper Dreezy, supermodel Shaun Ross, Oshi* from Vh1’s “Black Ink Crew”, comedian James Davis, director Chris Robinson, radio personality Angela Yee, singer Justine Skye, actor Woody McClain, Hot 97’s Hip Hop Mike, supermodel Ashley Graham, rapper Dave East, and Melyssa Ford.
Panama continues to elevate in his entrepreneurial success. Thus he continues to distribute his music as his ALPHA brand grows. Currently, the notoriety of Panama’s influence has allowed him to collaborate with mainstream brands such as Casio / G-Shock. Additionally leading him to host Jason Lee’s, CEO of “Hollywood Unlocked” birthday celebration.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit of the ‘backstory’ of how you grew up?
Thank you for having me! I grew up in the East New York section of Brooklyn with my mom and siblings. It was a tough neighborhood, but it really influenced me creatively and made me street smart. My mom always kept me involved in extracurricular activities to make sure that I didn’t succumb to the vices around me.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I’ve always had a love for music ever since I was a child. When I was 9, I came up with my first song while in the school lunchroom. As a teenager, I would sit in on other artists’ studio sessions and intern at a record store. I was always waiting for my chance until I realized that you have to take your own chances. Nothing is given. As my passion for music grew, I needed to play other roles in my career out of necessity. I was my own stylist, booking agent, manager, everything! A lot of creative individuals tend to be artists of multiple mediums. One thing led to another once I realized that I was good at a host of different things.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career? What was the lesson or take away that you took out of that story?
There was a publication a few years ago that I was interested in being featured on. I was well acquainted with the founder, so I figured that it wouldn’t be much of a hassle. Surprisingly, he told me no. He said “I only feature high profile celebrities. You aren’t big enough yet.”. I have no issue being told “no”, but it was the arrogance in his tone that didn’t sit well with me. Nevertheless, I continued to work hard and make strides in my career. Fast forward about two years later, that particular publication wasn’t that hot anymore. The founder reached out and asked to interview me. Naturally, I politely declined. The take away from that story is that you can be up today, and down tomorrow. Always be aware of how you treat people because some things really come full circle. Also, people are always watching you for your progress. Stay diligent.
What would you advise a young person who wants to emulate your success?
Look at me not as a person who you’d want to be like, but someone who you’d want to surpass. Even the people whose careers that I idolize, I want to be better than them. I want to take everything to the next level. The most important thing though is to be your own pillar. Don’t seek validation from anyone to make things happen. If you live for people’s approval, you’ll die from their criticism.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you explain how that was relevant in your life?
It’s one that I came up with myself when I was 17, “Unstoppable Against All Obstacles”. At that point in my life, I had my fair share of ups and downs at a young age. I even survived a near-death experience month prior. Mentally, I was shaken up and physically, I had to recover. It was my will power not only to survive, but to thrive. I planted that idea of reassurance and triumph in my head, and told myself that I can and will always overcome anything.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I can’t necessarily attribute my success to a particular person, but I have had close friends and family who were there for me on a personal level during some rough times. I am extremely grateful for that and they’ll always have a place with me as I continue to ascend in my career.
Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview, how are you using your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share with us the meaningful or exciting social impact causes you are working on right now?
My ALPHA brand is pretty popular, so in the wake of the protest for George Floyd last year, I donated the profits from my sales to support the protesters’ legal fees. This ultimately sparked my interest in police reform. As I continue to elevate in my career, I’ll utilize my platform to bring awareness to these issues and spark a positive change.
Can you tell us the backstory about what originally inspired you to feel passionate about this cause and to do something about it?
As a black man in America, I’m always viewed as a threat to ignorant people. I’ve had my fair share of profiling and false claims perpetuated upon me. I don’t want anyone from the younger generation to have to deal with that as myself and so many innocent black individuals have. These rouge police officers have to know that there will be consequences to their actions. The microscope is on them now.
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest them. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and take action for this cause? What was that final trigger?
I was tired of being a victim. I was tired of seeing innocent lives be taken. I was tired of seeing officers be charged, but not being convicted. Watching that heart-wrenching video of officer Chauvin and George Floyd brought tears to my eyes. I couldn’t be a bystander anymore.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
I know that some of the funds that I donated helped out a bunch of individuals and the cause. I did have one person who was released on bail due to the money that was donated reach out to express his gratitude for my support. Although it felt amazing to be appreciated in that way, I don’t seek recognition for it.
Are there three things that individuals, society or the government can do to support you in this effort?
The government can acknowledge that the legal system is corrupt and make strides towards changing it. They can also release prisoners who are still serving time for minor drug offenses since marijuana is now legal in most states. The police force should have different tiers of officers who respond based on the “threat level” of the call. The same officers that respond to a home invasion or robbery, shouldn’t be responding to someone who is trespassing in a park or pulling over someone who forgot to signal while switching lanes.
Fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or an example for each.
To be absolutely transparent and honest, I don’t wish that anyone told me anything when I first started. Whether positive or negative, I feel like all of my experiences were necessary and vital to my growth as an artist. Imagine if you had a cheat sheet for everything in life. Where would the lessons be? How would you build character? I don’t live with any regrets. I’m just grateful to have made it through everything and to have acquired more skills along the way.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I’m really big on the “each one, teach one” motto. I’m actually in the infancy stages of starting a mentoring program for underprivileged artists and pairing them up with other artists of different mediums who are prominent in their field. There are so many talented individuals out there who just don’t have the guidance or resources. I’d like to help bridge that gap.
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Politics, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
I would absolutely love to have lunch with Will Smith. I’ve been inspired by his career, influence, and cultural impact. Part of my stage name even comes from him. So Will, if you see this, tap in with your boy! Haha.
Thank you so much for these amazing insights. This was so inspiring, and we wish you continued success!
Music Stars Making A Social Impact: How & Why PanamaDaPrince Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.