| Vashtie Kola | |
|---|---|
| Born | Vashtie Kola April 23, 1981 Albany, New York, U.S.A. |
| Years active | 1999 ─ present |
| Website | |
| http://www.vashtie.com/blog/ | |
Vashtie Kola (born April 23, 1981 in Albany, New York), often stylized as Va$htie, is an artist, director, designer, party promoter and entrepreneur.
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Kola was born and raised in Albany, New York and is of East Indian and Afro-Trinidadian descent. Vashtie moved to New York City in 1999 to attend film school at The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, where she studied directing/cinematography. At the same time, Kola interned at RSA/Black Dog Films and HSI while working part-time at a store in SoHo.
In 2005, she was signed to Box Fresh Pictures as a Director alongside Anthony Mandler. Many of her first videos were done with this company, including videos for artists such as Beans, J-Status and Tony Hussle. At the same time she was also writing music video treatments for established directors such as Anthony Mandler, Lenny Bass and Dr. Teeth. She wrote the treatment for Common's video "Testify" which starred Taraji P. Henson and Wood Harris. During the same time, Vashtie styled and modeled for the clothing line, Billionaire Boys Club.
In 2006, at the age of 25, she was asked to re-vamp the company of Island Def Jam as Director of Creative Services. Antoine. "L.A" Reid, president of Def Jam, said she would be "the one to keep the building cool, someone in tune with downtown cool and pop mainstream." She currently still acts as a creative consultant for major brands and companies such as Universal Def Jam, Atlantic Records, Highline, among others.
In March 2009, Vibe listed the "31 Most Stylish People Under 31" with Vashtie coming in at the 23rd spot among names like Kanye West, Rihanna and Justin Timberlake.