Thirstin Howl the 3rd’s ‘Bury Me With the Lo On’ Book Documents Lo-Life Culture

Thirstin Howl the 3rd has documented the culture of the infamous Lo-Life crew in a new book about the collective he founded. Thirstin teamed up with photographer Tom Gould for Bury Me With the Lo On, a book featuring interviews, archival pictures and recent portraits of key players from the Lo-Life crew.

For those unfamiliar, Ralph Lauren's prominence in hip-hop can be traced to the Lo-Life crew. Two of Brooklyn's most prominent polo crews, the Ralphie’s Kids and Polo USA, joined forces in 1988 as Lo-Life and forever changed the hip-hop fashion scene with their influence.

Other Polo collectors like Raekwon, Action Bronson and Just Blaze also contribute to the book.

The Gift Shop at Redbull Studios in New York is putting together 10 limited edition box sets of the book (published by Victory Editions) to sell at their event on July 7 from 7 to 9 P.M. E.S.T. Just Blaze will be spinning at the event and Thirstin and Tom will also be in the building.

XXL previously spoke to Thirstin Howl the 3rd for an oral history of Polo in hip-hop. In that piece, the rapper spoke about what drew the Lo-Life crew to the Ralph Lauren line.

"More than anything, from a fashion standpoint— ‘cause there’s many stages of Lo Life— fashion wise, it started because there were a lot of people in Lo Life who were the dirtiest and the kid who got laughed at about his clothes when he was younger," Thirstin said. "The kid who didn’t have nothin’ because his family was poor so he was the bummiest in the class. That’s what made Lo Lifes. Muhfuckas that didn’t have anything; and it made them go get it. Just to be ridiculed where we from, you know how Brooklyn do, Brooklyn is real harsh. Even in the jokin’ and the rankin’ as a young kid, when they talkin’ about reality, it’s harsh. And they makin’ a joke about it. So Lo Lifes is actually built off of that, man."

Following the event, Thirstin Howl the 3rd's Bury Me With the Lo On will be made available online. You can pre-order the 264-page hardcover book now at this link. There are only 1500 copies of the first edition, so grab one while you can.

20 Albums Turning 10 in 2016