Chase B Discusses Lids Fitted Hat Collab

Nowadays, Chase B is known for being behind the turntables as Travis Scott’s DJ. But he wasn’t always touring the world as a successful musician. Roughly 13 years ago, he was clocking in as a retail associate at the Lids store in the Pentagon City Mall in Washington D.C.  

Chase B reps his hometown of Houston heavily, but he also has a deep connection to the DMV. He attended Howard University from 2008 to 2012. He says his time in the district is what truly shaped his love and appreciation for streetwear. 

“Wearing ball shoes, New Balances, Asics, Jordans 15 and up, I learned all of that from being in DC,” says Chase B. “That four years that I spent there was when I learned the most about streetwear culture and fitted culture.”

On March 14, Chase B’s relationship with Lids comes full circle. He’s releasing an official collaboration with the retailer, an eight-pack of New Era fitteds featuring logos of iconic teams like the Yankees and Dodgers. There will also be caps for the Astros and Nationals to nod to two meaningful cities in his life. Special pop-ups are planned to celebrate the release: The first will take place at the Pentagon City Mall on March 8 with an activation in New York City to follow.

Custom fitted hats have become a booming market since the pandemic, but these are more than just unique color swaps and interesting patchwork. Chase B’s hats are a maximalist’s dream. Each of the six panels features a different pattern, from fire engine red corduroy to RealTree camo. The inner lining is doused in galaxy print satin and the underbrims are tinted baby pink, a detail popularized by Darius “Frosty Preme” Drumright and Hat Club in 2019 that has become a fan-favorite in the fitted community ever since. Chase B’s chaotic-yet-beautiful approach is inspired by one of his favorite sneakers of all time, 2007’s Nike SB “What The Dunk.” 

“That’s the coolest shoe of all time,” says Chase B. “The biggest thing though was executing it right. The concept is very, very difficult. You can obviously throw a whole bunch of fabrics and colors around, but to make it make sense is the hard part. I wanted to make sure I dealt with it with care and respect.”

Ahead of the release of Chase B’s first fitted collab, we caught up with him to discuss how it all came together, his all-time grails, other projects he has in the pipeline, and more. 

How did this partnership with Lids come about?
A year and a half ago, I was on tour with Trav and we had a show in Philly. All of us are really close with Michael Rubin, so they had a meeting there. I was introduced to Lawrence Berger, the chairman of FanzzLids Holdings. My last job before I went into music was actually at Lids in Pentagon City Mall when I was over at Howard. So I told him the story. Everything kind of clicked. 

A couple weeks later, we started emailing about potential collaborations and what a design might look like. Last year, NBA All-Star Weekend was in Indianapolis, which is where the Lids headquarters is at. We landed from Houston and went straight to the headquarters and just started cooking up. I had this idea for this hat for years now, even honestly probably while I was working there because I’ve always been a fan of “What The Dunks.” I think that’s the coolest shoe of all time. I didn’t know exactly how I was going to put it all together, but I knew the concept would be fire. It probably took me 45 minutes to an hour to make it all make sense. It’s a whole full-circle moment.

You always have a fitted on. When did that become a signature part of your style?
It started when I was at Howard in college, when I found out you could actually wear hats in class. It’s not like I’m bald or nothing like that. I literally have a full head of hair. I just think hats mean a lot. I love baseball too. It’s all-encompassing when it comes to sports and representing where you’re from. 

Cities like New York have a whole culture around fitteds. Is there something like that in Houston?
The Yankees have never changed their logo. In Houston, we have a bunch of different logos to choose from. There’s a whole bunch of different patches. Houston’s hat culture is crazy because everyone’s going back to reference these different times of Astros culture. There’s the Nolan Ryan era. There’s the Bagwell era. I can’t wear it in LA at all, but I used to always wear the maroon joint with the broken star for maybe three years because it went with all my fits. That’s a whole different logo from what I’m wearing right now (Editor’s note: he’s wearing an Astros hat from his collaboration). We lost the Oilers. We love the Rockets, but nobody really wears NBA hats. Everyone here loves the Astros.

Do you have any particular memories connected to fitteds?
DC in general has shaped my whole fashion sense. Wale said recently that the DMV is quietly the most influential region of the world. I always credited DC for everything I know about streetwear culture. They’ve never been afraid to take risks when it comes to fashion. Wearing ball shoes, New Balances, Asics, Jordans 15 and up, I learned all of that from being in DC. That four that I spent there was when I learned the most about streetwear culture and fitted culture. 

I remember Wale was shooting the “Nike Boots” video at Howard Homecoming my freshman year. I was catapulted into this introduction to everything. It was a special time for real. I miss it.

Why did the “What The” concept feel like the right one for your Lids collab?
I wanted something different. It feels like a sneaker drop. I don’t remember the last time a fitted hat felt like a sneaker drop, where it’s that crucial for people. I already see it on reseller markets. There’s so many different panels and ways to play around with fitteds. I just thought that this was a different angle to take. Until this collaboration, I was hoping nobody else did it before I got the opportunity to. The biggest thing was executing it right. The concept is very, very difficult. You can obviously throw a bunch of fabrics and colors around, but to make it make sense is the hard part. I want to make sure I dealt with it with care and respect.

Did it take some convincing to do something that crazy?
Not really. I was kind of shocked at how open everybody was. They were very receptive to it.

Are you into some of the other customs with the special colors and patches?
I love it, man. I love what Loso is doing. I love what Jae Tips is doing. Jon Stan. All of that. I think it’s important because I remember there was a time where fitted hats were dying down. That just wasn’t the style. It was more like a snapback thing. To see it bounce back more fire than ever before is really cool to me. I’m just happy to be a part of it.

Is there any reasoning behind the specific patterns you used or the placements of them?
The corduroy was very important to me. They were all inspired from different hats that I have collected over the years. Like the RealTree, there was a big collection with that maybe a couple years ago. The whole story with the pink brim was super important. I wanted to respect that. At first, the visor was a tweed material. When I first got it, it looked cool, but something was off. We looked at it for two weeks. People don’t really like when you touch the visor. Everything else is fair game. We made it brown. That’s when I was like, “All right, this is the coolest hat of all time.” 

Did music play any role in creating these?
Not really. I was listening to that 2010, 2011 Dom Kennedy era of music. I was just making sure my mental was in that space. 

The biggest inspiration was this book I’ve been reading on maximalism. Obviously, [the hats are] inspired by the “What The Dunk,” but maximalism is the approach. I’ve been studying that book and how to make things chaotic but harmonious at the same time. This hat is a great nod to that. I didn’t want to just OD. There was still a method to it. 

Is there any significance to the eight teams you highlighted?
No. A lot of people are mad. I really wanted the Tigers. But these are just the fitteds that I wear the most and I see the most in passing, even from people that aren’t from these certain cities. I always see the Braves, White Sox, Dodgers. Yankees are just automatic. And then I also love how the navy blue outline of the logos is still represented on the side patch for the Nationals and the Cardinals. 

Did you bounce any ideas off of Travis or any other members of the Cactus Jack family throughout this process?
The idea itself, not at all. I don’t think anybody knew what I wanted to do until I got to the headquarters in Indianapolis. When it was finished, that’s when I started sending it to Trav and to David [Stromberg] and all my homies that wear fitteds everyday just like me. They’re all excited for me. It’ s about time I have my own hat. 

Do you have an all-time grail hat?
The most fire fitted is the Staple Pigeon joint with the pigeon on the front and the little bird shit on the top. I still want that hat so bad. I got to track that one down. 

Jeff, if you read this…
7 ¼, bro. That shit is tough.

What about a sneaker?
The Undefeated 4 is something I always wanted. I hear those are getting retroed. I’m not mad at it. I’m going to get seven pairs of the new Undefeated 4, one for each day of the week. I never had those, but that’s my all-time favorite Jordan.

Since the start of the year, you’ve been consistently posting on your Tumblr page, Be Very Afraid. What inspired that?
I’m not the most active on Instagram. Going back to this era of 2008 to 2010, everybody had blogs. I just wanted something where I could post more than what’s on Instagram, even if it’s a random song from a random artist that I just stumbled across. That’s what I’m on right now. If it’s on that page, it’s directly from me. I didn’t want anything getting misconstrued. Instagram is getting a little boring. People are reluctant to post on there. It’s so many rules to this shit now. I just wanted somewhere that was like a free-for-all.

What are your thoughts on where streetwear is at right now?
The crazy shit now, everybody’s so rich, man. Everyone wants to wear all Louis, which is fire, everybody looks great, but I can’t imagine being in high school now where a $300 T-shirt is the minimum. When I was coming up, there were the Lot29s and Gino Greens of the world. It wasn’t Balenciaga everything. 

But I see a resurgence of streetwear brands coming up, just more entrepreneurial things coming from the ground up. And obviously, long live The Hundreds store. That’s a huge blow to everybody in the culture. The Hundreds was the first brand that I took a deep dive into. I’m excited to see what goes on in the next five years. Everything goes in cycles. 

The biggest thing is to make things a little more exclusive again. You actually have to go to LA to The Hundreds store and get the shirt. I think we could use a revamp of that kind of energy. I think that’s what streetwear is built on. That’s why people want these crazy pieces now, like the Louis Speedys and all that, because you can barely get ’em. As long as we keep that going, I think we can revamp the whole thing.

Any other drops in the style space on the way from you? Are there other ways that you’d like to extend your reach within fashion?
Man, me and sports are aligned. I’ll just say that. Me and sports have a lot going on together, so I’m super excited for the rest of the year. Things are going to be rolling out over the next couple months. A lot more leagues. A lot of official stuff. This isn’t the only hat with Lids that’s coming out this year. 

And I know there’s a whole rumor of this Jumpman Jack that’s coming out. 

Is it all rumors though? There’s no Chase B colorways of the Jumpman Jack on the way?
There’s definitely something on the way. What you see online isn’t it. You’ll see it soon.

Any updates on the music side for you?
My album is 96% done. It’s a mix or two away from completion. As far as the whole gang, the Jack Boys are always working. Everybody has so much heat. It’s incredible at this point. The album’s almost making itself now. Everyone’s super locked in at the studio every day. When everybody’s ready to give people what they need, it’s going to come out. Everybody’s cooking so crazy right now. It’s lovely to see it, man. Glad to be part of it.