The Swag Mag

Men with Swag: Christopher Williams

2009-09-23T17:38:00.001-07:00

As I look out on my balcony and see the fog surrounding my city, I am convinced today is going to be a bright one. Sure enough, the sun peeks from behind the clouds as if to say, “Don’t worry. There’s still a little summer left for today.” The summer seems to be the time when my city’s local men love to display their swag and I can’t blame them. The summertime is the best time for men to do this, especially with D.C. women putting their bodies on display for these men. However, as stated in the last entry, no matter how easy it may seem to approach a woman, you still have to be on your ‘A Game’ and while you have several men who are not swaggering it out on every corner, there’s always that diamond in the rough.

To honor my city and my love for a man who is upholding the ideals of a man with swag, I’ve decided to feature a local D.M.V. (D.C., Maryland, and Virginia) male with swag every Wednesday during the months of September and October. Thereafter, we will move on to another city that will feature four different males. The goal is to reach every major city in the United States and who knows, that male could be you or someone you know. When I decided to take on the task of imparting my wisdom of swag, I realized it was going to be a huge task, especially with discrediting a lot of ‘myths’ of what swag truly means. Even though it’s easy to sit here and type all of my thoughts and organize them for you, it’s hard for me to physically display them since I am not a man. Posting and sharing photos of swag icons like Diddy, Jay-Z, T.I. is all well and good, but it’s another thing to interview and get real with the everyday man.

As I kick off this celebration of the average male with swag, I wanted to begin with someone that I have known for a very long time. I sit her reminiscing about the days when he and I walked the hallways of Nicholas Orem Middle School in Hyattsville, MD. He and I have come a long way from those days of puberty and the exploration of what it meant to become a man and woman. He’s blossomed into a man whose opinion I value and trust and I’d like to think the same is true of me for him. I am amazed at his accomplishments in life from his bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design to his work in creating various pieces of graphic art to his site, DMV Stylez (http://dmzstylez.wordpress.com). He is truly a man who displays himself as one who is comfortable in his own skin and is not afraid of anything, well except GOD. He continues to grow daily and at times challenges me to become a better me. As I sat down to type out the questions I would ask him, I realized that his swag truly has grown quite quickly within the past three to four years. I would like to introduce you all to Christopher Williams.

Dana Chris:

By definition, swagger means “to walk with an air of overbearing self-confidence”. What allows you to carry yourself this way?

Chris Williams:

Although the definition may say that, I don’t really go by it in that sense. I wouldn’t say that I’m really overbearing with self-confidence in that case you’re just a straight up asshole, I mean let’s be serious! And I’m very far from that. Nobody wants to be around an asshole…I know I don’t. I don’t feel or think that I’m better than anybody else. I might be able to do something better than that person but that doesn’t constitute me as being better than them, just in that area they lack. But I have enough self confidence to the point where I don’t come off as a total arrogant asshole but more as a person who really believes in himself. I do EVERYTHING with confidence and that’s a must! Watch how I swag this interview your giving me (laughs)! But seriously, the main ingredient or catalyst in swagger is that confidence you possess and if you don’t have that then saying you have swagger is irrelevant. I have to believe in myself before anybody else can, so saying that, if I don’t have that main ingredient, who else is going to have it for me, right? Can’t take it from somebody else that’s called “Swagger Jackin’” and that’s a no, no!

DC:

You were born and raised in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area. How do you think the Washington D.C. Metro Area has influenced your self-confidence?

CW:

The people and trending style of the Metro area influenced my self-confidence. You look at other people and analyze how they may act, way of dress and how they carry themselves. You stop and ask yourself, “Do I want to be average or do I want to be above average?” You meet people for a reason. And when you meet those people they are either going to be your positive outlet or your negative outlet in your life. I surround myself with positive people that bring my confidence level up and push me to do great things. I have no time for negative people who only want to bring me down because they want me to be on the same level as them.

As far as the style, this plays a major role in your self-confidence. You feel really good about yourself when you cop your favorite sneaks or that item(s) of clothing that you always wanted and it just makes you feel brand new. This boosts your confidence. I get what I like and not what everybody feels is “in style”, you know? I don’t follow trends. For example, this skinny jeans shit is NOT and WILL NOT be for me, but you see a lot of teenagers dressing like that…why because it’s the “in” thing to do right now. Instead of doing “them”, they are doing everybody else. I stay in my lane on this one.

DB:

Several musicians, actors, and actresses have come right from the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area. Who are some local artists and/or celebrities that have influenced your swag?

CW:

The two that pop in my head instantly are Wale & Raheem DeVaughn. Wale for his style of dress and love for sneakers and I have pretty much the same interest. Raheem for his different approach musically. His style of neo-soul sound makes him stand out. Swag is about style too and both of them possess that in their music and in their personalities.

DB:

In your experiences, have you found that women in this area respond more to a man with swag?

CW:

I think they still respond more to men with money got damn it! (laughs) Money and Swag bags the chick. Hmmm, that’s a tossup so it depends, because not all females are about what you have but what you can offer. I guess it all depends on the type of female you’re dealing with and what she likes.

DB:

There are a lot of celebrities that have this newly desired quality. In my last post, I named just a few of those celebrities whom I felt embodied the quality best. If you had to choose one male that embodies the word swag, who would it be and why?

CW:

Damn, that’s hard answer because all of them embody that quality. All of them have that “takeover” appeal where they command attention. I really can’t pick just one say I’m going to have to say all three! I know you were hoping for me to say Diddy, huh? LOL…

DB:

Actually I thought you’d say Mr. Clifford Harris, but I do agree! They all have a unique swag of their own. Since I am from the D.M.V., I know firsthand how unique our sense of style is compared to other cities. How would you describe our style?

CW:

Our style is just that…DMV. We do us! We put a spin on our wardrobe no matter how crazy it may be, but we make it our own to fit our personality. So I will say we have our own uniqueness.

DB:

You also have a blog site that is about the D.M.V., http://dmvstylez.wordpress.com, which features a lot about who we, the D.M.V., are and your logo is amazing! How has your artistic side influenced who you are at heart?

CW:

Thanks. I just love art, plain and simple. Life is art and everywhere you look art is definitely around you. Art is a form of expression, similar to music as you know, so my graphic design let’s me do just that. A lot of my friends love my personality and the type of person I am, so my art shows my personality and I want people to see my personality even if they don’t know me personally. To me it’s a stress reliever too and it lets me zone out and be in my own world for a little while.

DB:

I read a lot of your articles on your site and saw that you are also an individual who is aware of what is currently affecting our community. How does being a community activist coincide with being a male who has swag?

CW:

We should all be aware of what’s going on not only in our community but the world whether it is good or bad. You have to stay in the know about everything. The two coincide because the focal point would be you and what you can do to change a negative to a positive. Instead of adding to the problem, how can you change it to be effective instead of it being affected?

T.I. and Jay-Z are perfect examples of their swag coinciding with their community activist efforts. T.I. is serving a year in a day sentence for purchasing semi-automatic weapons. When he was sentence, he was required to do community service, so what did he do? He went out to different cities and communities (including D.C.) and talked to younger kids about him growing up being a drug dealer---the mistakes, tragedies and repercussions that come with that lifestyle and the importance of education. He turned his negative into a positive and not only touched the lives of others but showed them how to improve in life and not get caught up in life.

Jay-Z had a special called “Water for Life”, in which he linked up with the United Nations and went into African villages that didn’t have a sufficient amount of clean water and changed their lives by providing fresh water to them. Here you have two major players being aware of the troubles plaguing not only our community but the world.

I have an article on my blog about a woman in Cameroon who was found with a new strain of HIV. Blacks are the most effected when it comes to the HIV/AIDS virus and that’s fact. It’s serious out here when it comes to that. So being involved shows the confidence you have in yourself to know that you can challenge not only yourself but other people to put forth an effort to turn a negative situation into a positive.

DB:

With that being said, what are some concerns/ issues in our community that need to be highlighted?

CW:

The HIV/AIDS crisis is a major issue and concern that needs to be dealt with immediately. Health Care and Social Security is another major debate. Lastly, would be the homeless around the area D.C. area. It’s a lot more but those top the list for me.

DB:

If you could leave any lasting impression on males about what swag is and how to achieve it, what would you say to them?

CW:

I have just three steps for those to follow! First, PLEASE KNOW and LEARN what swag is. Ever since “Swagga like Us” hit the airwaves all of sudden “everybody” has it! That term is being thrown around too loosely. Secondly, be confident enough to stand out and make a statement for yourself and let your presence be known in a social setting but don’t overdo it. Thirdly, develop your OWN and most importantly MAKE IT your own!

I am always looking for another male to feature in my blog. My goal is to take this quest for swag to the next level and have these blogs become an urban treasure. If you know any male that truly defines swag or if you think you define swag, please email me at swagsearch@gmail.com. Please include the individual’s name, age, place of residence, occupation, a brief bio, and a head shot photo along with a full shot. You will be contacted via email if you’ve been selected, an interview will take place and you will be notified about when you will be featured in the blog. Good luck and happy swagging!

Lesson One: Presenting your Swag to a Lady

2009-09-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know guys like to think that they are on their 'A Game' when they are trying to 'holla' at females, however let me tell you this:

MORE THAN HALF OF YOU ARE NOT ON YOUR GAME!!!

Remember the definition of Swagger? Well, you need it to approach a female. We DO NOT want a male to approach us if they don't have swag and there are several signs that tell us that you, my friend, are lacking in the Dept. of Swag.

When you approach us with your homeboy's around. While females love to be the center of attention, we don't want you to approach us with you, Jamaal, Dante, Lewis, Jon, and Drake staring down our throats. TOO MUCH!
When you ask your homeboy to ask us to come over. Uh, I really don't think this needs explaining. Clearly you lack confidence. It's okay, buddy, we don't bite.
When you say, "Aye Ma/ Slim/ Shawty/ Yung/ Baby/ Mama". It's so easy to do what every other dude does and label/ call females by these terms. A nice, "Hey, how are you doing" or simple compliment, like comparing us to a beautiful famous woman will do.
When you can't look us in the face. If you are approaching us, the general thought is that you already think we are somewhat attractive, so why not make eye contact? This tells us you are not only confident, but aren't full of bull.
When you fumble over your words. This is pretty much like number two and shows your lack of confidence.
When you constantly talk about yourself and OVER PRAISE yourself. Yes, I know, it seems as if I am contradicting myself, but here's the thing; Yes, we LOVE men who are full of themselves, however, on the first approach, DON'T OVER DO IT!!!
When your get shot down, your response is "I wasn't even pressed anyways!" Umm, yes you were homeboy! It amazes me how salty men can get when they are shot down! Please have some swag and take it! MAN UP!!!

While these are only a few indicators of a man who lacks swag, trust me, there are more, there are somethings you can do to enhance your swag. First, what does your physical appearance look like? You can approach a female in your gym clothing, but just know that you MUST be on your toes. If you are in a suit, street gear or whatever you are wearing to work, school or play just be sure it looks neat and well put together. I cannot begin to tell you the many times I have turned down a guy based on the clothing he had on at the time. Most importantly, be sure you wear your best accessory, your smile! If your teeth are not 'up to par', then smile with your mouth CLOSED!!!! Prayerfully, you are well groomed with a fresh shape up and are clean shaved. If not, then hopefully your look still looks put together. Be sure you are smelling oh so right! Men never forget the smell of a woman, but truth be told, women NEVER forget the scent of a man! It's one of the things we NEVER forget about any man we encounter.

Secondly, choose your words wisely. The easiest way to get to a woman when she already has her gaurd up is to compliment her and follow it up with a light/ corny joke. The goal is to get her to smile and/ or laugh. Once she does that, your foot is in the door. The only way you can loose is if you fall into one of the NO NOs listed above or say something to turn her off. Keep the conversation light and ease your way into asking her for her number. The easiest way to be sure that you walk away with her number is to keep the conversation about her for as long as you can with a few things about you. Naturally you will have to give up the vitals, your name, if your available, where you are from and what you do and anything else she may ask you, but for the most part, be sure she knows you are into her by keeping it about her. Try not to have every word out of your mouth be slang. You want to show her that you are intelligent and not just some hood guy. Women are more likely to let their guard down if you use proper English with a few slang words here and there.

Lastly, make sure you walk away with her smiling as well as you. Make sure she knows how interested you are in her and how you enjoyed the conversation and that you look forward to talking to her soon. As a pointer, I have included various photos of men who have swag and the choice of clothing they wear to show that they do. While you don't have to have the labels or money that they do, pay attention to how their clothing is well put together and pressed to look neat. Look at how well their hair is groomed and you can bet they smell good. Finally, all of them know that the best accessory they have on is their smile.

Until next time ....

Swagganista

Sean "Diddy" Combs in a well tailored suit and with a smile

Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter in street wear and unkempt shaped-up haircut

Clifford "T.I.P." Harris in a country club/ dressy casual look

Swagger 101: Intro to Swag

2009-09-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

As I walk around Downtown Washington D.C., I have been noticing more and more people loosing their sense of Swagger. I see it in teens and adults ... male and female alike. Some are walking with their head held low, making obscene comments, acting out of order, or simply just not aware of themselves at all. Yet and still these same individuals claim to have "Swagga" aka Swagger. Are these insecure and loud people even know what the word Swagger means? My inner gut, which most of the time is correct, tells me that they have absolutely no clue! All they heard was Kanye West's lyrics on "Swagga Like Us" and soon after claimed that they were swagged out like Mr. West. The lyrics are:

"Mr. West is in the building,
Swagger on a hundred, thousand, trillion ..."

And what about M.I.A.'s lyrics in "Paper Planes", which were sampled and used in the song with Jay- Z, T.I., Lil' Wayne and Mr. West.

"No one on the corner has Swagger like us."

It's no wonder there are all of these folks running around claiming to be swagged out, but you look at them and relize that they are everything but just that. So, how do you become "swagged out" if you have no clue as to the meaning or orgin of the word? Clearly, the writers and performers of the above songs are not going to sit there and break it down for you. However, it needs to be done.

This is were I step in and take over. First off, let's define the term. Merriam- Webster defines it like this:

Swagger: (verb)
inflected form(s) swaggered; swaggering

to conduct oneself in an arrogant or superciliously pompous manner; especially: to walk with an air of overbearing self-confidence
boast; brag

Okay, now that we understand what it means, let's use it in a sentence, correctly.

Tina has such a swagger about her when she walks into a room.

While this is not a blog about English and grammar, I do think it is needed to establish the proper way and manner to use this word that has become over used by people. Now that we have covered that portion. let's talk about how to carry yourself. How can you have swagger?

You must love yourself!- If you don't think YOU are the shit, then who will? When your confidence is through the roof, no one can tear you down!
Hold your head up high to the sky!- NEVER look down when you walk! (Unless its to check to be sure your aren't stumbling onto something) When you hold your head up high it is an outward display that you are proud of who you are and that you exude confidence in every sense of the word.
Walk with your shoulders back and chest out!- This is NOT to get anyone to pay attention to your anatomy, rather its another means for you to say with your body you are IT!
Choose you words wisely!- When you speak of yourself to others, speak VOLUMES about YOURSELF! Don't allow anyone to speak low of you and when they do, check them right where they stand
Choose your company wisely!- Did you notice the combo of artists on the track "Swagga Like Us"? Every single one of them has the swagger of 100 men individually. YOUR COMPANY should be just like this; FULL of people with swagger.

This is a lot to take in and digest, however it can be done and I encourage you all to try it out. When you exude swag, then others can see it. However, this is only the beginning. As we continue to learn about how to have swag, I will break down the other areas that are included to become a ....

Swagganista