The thunder storm in Johannesburg on Thursday night did not stop Casey Veggies’ fans from waiting one hour and 30 minutes outside the Braamfontein Puma Select store to meet their icon.

Puma Select’s latest coup was bringing the American rap sensation to South Africa, along with Peas and Carrots founder and creative director, Anwar Carrots.

“Did you let ‘em guys in? Let ‘em in man” exclaimed Anwar as he noticed that some people couldn’t get into the store because of the invitation-only protocol.

“Yo! F**k that invitation only sh*t,” he emphasised in that deep voice, followed by a giggle behind the mic like he was about to drop a verse.

After the groupies were let in, and people settled down with their drinks, the room filled up with the sound of cameras clicking. The meet and greet kicked off with a few shout outs from the floor starting with Boaston Society thanking the guys for putting in the effort and making an event such as this possible.

“The main purpose for this was to have a form of cultural exchange, so the guys can also know more about our local street culture”, said a member of Boaston Society.

Casey Veggies sounded excited to be there, especially since his career is still in its early stages. Already, he finds himself in South Africa doing conferences and shows.

“I started when I was 13 and I’m 21 now, so I’ve been doing this for eight years and now we here in South Africa and I’m glad that I made it. It’s definitely an eye opener for me,” stated Casey.

“Sh*t I didn’t even think that there would be so many people here,” Anwar shouted immediately after Casey’s comment.

Casey Veggies and Anwar have been with Puma for a long time. Anwar has collaborated with the clothing brand in designing new threads with them through Peas and Carrots – while Casey is also endorsed by the brand and Puma also hosted his latest mixtape Fresh Veggies.

Anwar’s interest in our local street culture came through his recent collaboration with Puma. The majority of the t-shirt designs contain different elements of our culture and his interpretation thereof through the Puma lifestyle brand. The designs are exclusive to South Africa and only 50 of them are available for purchase at the Puma Select store for R350 each.

That speaks to the exclusive lifestyle Puma pushes with their brand. Having a t-shirt designed by Peas and Carrots x Puma gives the consumer a certain level of street cred – it will be rare to bump into another person wearing the same t-shirt.

That in itself is already building a street culture while cultivating the one we engage in by involving influential people from different spaces, like Casey and Anwar.

The meet and greet closed off with people taking pictures of the designs. Casey and Anwar were the highlights in the selfie game. Casey took a groufie (group selfie) which he also posted on his Instagram account. Casey will be performing at the Puma Select store in Cape Town for the Levels Brand weekend event hosted by Boaston Society.

http://instagram.com/p/uge3XKydpu/

Only Puma Select could have hosted a night spent with different cultural exchanges as epic and interactive as the one that took place this past Thursday.

Words: @Thy_Black_Hippy

Photography: @Ric3hard

Follow: @CaseyVeggies x @PumaSouthAfrica x @AnwarCarrots