It’s Wednesday, which means it’s Women’s Crush Wednesday! Here at CitrusRap, we are always showing love to the amazing hard-working ladies in South Florida. Since there are so many influential women who are constantly grinding, we decided to highlight their extraordinary contributions to their community, weekly.
Countess Brown from Miami sees fashion more as an experience than just an aesthetic. There is more than meets the eye with her eccentric and futuristic style. Even looking through her brand, 12:AM, countess is all about detail. From eye-grabbing color palettes to arrangement of garments and fabrics, her craftsmanship is top-tier. Even putting together a variety of patterns in ways we never seen before, shows she is some to pay attention to. Brown without question, showcases that she is the future of fashion. Her creativity is endless.
The young seamstress shows her tenacity for fashion and her eye for design. She sets an accurate example of how black women are multifaceted. After attending her 12:AM METROWAVE fashion show in 2019, she mesmerized me with her Vol.1 collection. The line revolved around “Free Earth, militant elements and being unapologetically black. Within the same year, Countess featured onto Vogue for being one of the standouts in fashion during the iiiPoints music festival.
Not only is Countess Brown is a designer but an electrifying stylist that will have you stand out in the crowd. Step into the room and you may cause people to have whiplash. In the last few years Brown has worked with notable artists such as, DynaDyne, Yoshi Tompkins, Euro Trill and Twelve’Len. It won’t be long until a high profiled celebrity would be seen wearing her hand-crafted pieces. I imagine Solange, SZA, even the great Andre 3000 being some of the people to reach out to the Miami native.
It’s Wednesday, which means it’s Women’s Crush Wednesday! Here at CitrusRap, we are always showing love to the amazing hard-working ladies in South Florida. Since there are so many influential women who are constantly grinding, we decided to highlight their extraordinary contributions to their community, weekly.
You might have seen her put together a curated a mix on Instagram live, witnessing her spin records seamlessly. Perhaps you were blessed to be in her presence, to witness the lively energy she brings when she’s spinning at an event; such as Miami’s Best Life R&B Festival back in 2018.
Nonetheless, The multifaceted South Florida queen, Oli VVV is coming at our throats this year with everything to offer. From dropping bars on her colorful, self-produced single, “Impress Me”, to setting the vibes with her flawless sound selection, Oli shows that she’s a force to reckon with. The South Florida creative is making her way through this male-dominated industry by showing versatility and skill. She has the power to maneuver crowd however she sees fit is beyond impressive. Indeed, the way she weaves in and out of genres will satisfy a variety of listeners.
It’s Wednesday which means it’s Women’s Crush Wednesday! Here at CitrusRap, we are always showing love to the amazing hard-working ladies in South Florida. Since there are so many influential women who are constantly grinding, we decided to highlight their extraordinary contribution to their community weekly.
Last year, I was attending an event and what caught my eye was these giant infused brownies filled with M&Ms. I quickly walked over to the booth to purchased one. Not only were the brownies possessed a hypnotic smell, they were also delicious. The Brownies took me to a different state of mind where I felt a sense of euphoria. The owner then pops out and was very welcoming and her sense of style was truly distinctive. Fast forward to the present day, MaryBytes: Special Treats owner, Cat Gustave has created different flavors of treats and curated empowering events to showcase feminine energy and light.
In our latest conversation, we talk about her booming business, MaryBytes, events she’s curated and much more.
Who is Cat Gustave?
Cat would be described as a very rare gem. She’s a 5’2 sweetheart that loves to create. She’s a workaholic and loves to help her community. She displays her true self on and off social media. Some would say she’s an extrovert, some would say she’s an introvert. She has an androgynous style to her physique. Ambitious, motivated, passionate, committed… Nothing can break her, and nobody can make her either. She’s truly one of one.
Tell us how did you get the idea of building a business involving edibles?
The idea ofMarybyte’sSpecial Treat was birthed in late July 2015. Back in high school, I started my first business which was Cathy’s House of Sweets. In addition, I was only carrying regular homemade treats for less than two dollars which became one of my biggest accomplishments being 17 years old. Over time, the traffic of the business wasn’t heavy due to the fact that I graduate, so instead of letting it die out, I rebranded it. One night I experimented with my friend/model, Caleb Elijah, by making small brownie bites. We made a fresh batch for a local event hosted by mutual friends, and we sold out all of our brownies within an hour. After that day, Marybyte’s Special Treats became a household name.
What is the background behind MaryByte’s Special Treats ?
Marybyte’s Special Treats is an organic medicinal brand that specializes in providing medical care to all appropriate ages and conditions. The concept behind our brand is to satisfy our customers/patients’ wants and needs every chance we can. We used the idea of supplying our customers/patients with treats mainly to create a cool and tasty experience for each purchase. As our business grows, we are finding new and exciting ways on how to consume our medication!
What sets your brand apart from others ?
What separates my brand from other brands is the quality of my products and our great customer service. From the taste to the freshness, to the potency of treats. Majority of customers that return to purchase more always give us extraordinary feedback about how good our products are and how on-point our customer service is. We know how to stay in our lane when it comes to the cannabis game to make sure I’m always giving 100% of myself, no one else.
As an Event Curator, what do you find most difficult/easiest while planning an event?
Very good question. The easiest part of the planning event would be producing the event from finish to start. I love planning and organizing events, so that’s the best part for me. As far as difficulty, I feel like booking and finalizing acts, production, vendors, etc. would be the hardest part of building an event. Making sure everyone is on board and on the same page as you can get a little out of hand sometimes
My success will look like a diamond. Bright, shiny, and expensive.
Cat Gustave
Earlier this year, I attended WMNS March & it was truly a powerful experience. Can you tell us a little more about the concept behind WMNS March?
WMNS March is a movement curated by Marybyte’s + Friends for women to chase their dreams and showcase their genius. Our movement is presented during our annual event set on National Women’s Month in March to celebrate women working in the community. We aspire to motivate women to build foundations, expose their craft, and connect with other women of the same interests. #WMNSMarch promotes collectivism amongst women to further grow; especially since women are the divinity of the Earth. Marybyte’s + Friend’s mission is to enlighten women of what can be done when joining forces together. We firmly believe that we women must embrace our value and highlight our worth to progress as ONE. Combining each of our individual, powerful forces for the biggest outcome we have ever seen as a collective! Each year, we like to shed light on the topics and situations most women are not vocal about.
When did you know you wanted to become a creative director ?
I knew I wanted to become a creative director the moment I began film class in my sophomore year of high school. I signed up for the film as my elective every year after that until I graduated. With that in mind, I fell in love with creating art through a lens and I never stopped since.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years ?
In business, I want to own my first medicinal storefront for Marybyte’s within the next 5 years. Also, I want to be a key director for celebrity clients when it comes to music videos and short films. That’s my current interest when it comes to my career but knowing me things can definitely change at any moment. In my personal life, I want to secure multiple properties (business and family) and develop a family of my own in the next 5 years as well. I always wanted acres of land for my own farm to secure necessities for the future. I want to ensure my kids and family have nice healthy lives as we grow day by day, even if we are living in a suburban area. Not looking into marriage, but a few little minions running around would be ideal.
What do you love most about yourself?
The main thing I love about myself is how fast I can bounce back from my losses. I learn the best through my personal experiences and I never let the bad ones get the best of me. I can definitely say I am pretty tough and hard on myself sometimes to each my own perception of “perfection,” however I can guarantee it makes me stronger.
What motto do you live by ?
My favorite motto I live by would be “Experience is the best teacher.”
From CitrusRap to the world, we’d like to say Happy Birthday to Wvsted Potientivl’s member & 430 Entertainment signee, Mikey More!
Formally known as “Flo” or you probably caught his freestyle videos going viral a couple of times on Twitter. He is one of Broward County’s very own and a top prospect in the South Florida music scene. With a name that has been ringing in ears for a while, Mikey More is celebrating his 24th birthday as one of the best and well-respected artists down here.
To set off his day, he treated us with a birthday single entitled “Ham Mercy”, produced by Florida heavy hitter Nuri.
Enjoy your day Mikey and thank you for always being a great artist.
One thing for sure, we have all experienced a time where love was not exactly on our side. Miami native & songstress Lina Reign created a 4 track EP entitled Love Ain’t Sweet. This project will take you through a whirlwind of emotions. With song titles like ” You Got Me”, “Moody”, “Oh Boy” and “I Love You”, expect to fill up your glass with a lot of wine. I had the chance to talk to Lina about her newest project & the concept behind it all
This project came from a place of revival. I say revival because I wanted to take a risk and try a style that came more naturally to me. I wanted to incorporate more soul, more spice to my music and that’s exactly what this EP depicts. This will be my first official EP, I am very excited for my supporters to hear what I have in store. This EP has a little taste of everything, from woman empowerment to vulnerability, from knowing what you want and what you don’t want from love.
Everything I write comes from a deep place of truth. I have lived this and hope to bring some comfort to those who relate. This is the start of my long journey ahead of me. There’s so much more from here to come but right now Love Ain’t Sweet is the start button.
Lina Reign “Love Ain’t Sweet”
After the first listen, you can hear Lina’s pure truth pouring through the speakers. Love Ain’t Sweet is available on all music platforms. If you haven’t already check out our conversation that we had with Lina Reign back in March, here.
Swagskool Airlines signee SpaceJamThePilot took a quick trip to the West Coast and came back with a banger visual solely dedicated to his favorite cannabis dispensary Cookies. Produced by The CΞΛSΛRS, SpaceJam glides on the track with a melodic cadence which simply creates a 4/20 joint (no pun intended). Director Young Kez spotlights SpaceJamThePilot in his comfort zone while copping some of the dankest strains. You know that saying “like a kid in a candy store? Well, that describes SpaceJam mood throughout his visit. Later on, he links up with some homies & ends up at a local food truck to satisfy their munchies.
