Joker brand

In 1995. Estevan Oriol (then known as DJ Scandalous) and B-Real from Cypress Hill sat down with their Soul Assassins brother Mr. Cartoon to discuss a new venture. At the time, Mr. Cartoon was struggling to balance his time between the development of his artistic vision, unique tattooing style and the expansion of his fledgling clothing line, Joker Brand Clothing. It is there that the story of Joker Brand Clothing begins.

Joker Brand is internationally recognized as one of the most authentic and original urban/street wear clothing lines in the world. As a company, Joker Brand resisted the flossy trends of the late nineties, maintaining its connections to the street community.

Based in Los Angeles, Joker Brand Clothing's head designers Mr. Cartoon and Sick Luck, drawing much of their inspiration from the same streets they spent their teen years cruising. Their designs are synonymous with west coast urban culture, from the low rider car clubs, to the graffiti and skate crews, both Mr. Cartoon and Sick Luck have earned their reputations, not only for their bomb gear, but for their artistry as well.

Mr. Cartoon is considered to be one of the premiere tattoo artists in the World!. Having done ink on most of today's biggest stars (Eminem, 50 Cent, Xzibit, Method Man, Limp Bizkit, The Neptunes & The Transplants Rob Aston).

In addition to being Joker Brand's C.E.O., Estevan Oriol still makes time to direct music videos for artists such as D12 and Cypress Hill. He is also an internationally recognized photographer, working with magazines such as Rolling Stone, The Source, Details, and Vibe.

Joker Brand Clothing continues to maintain its links to the streets. With the support of their expansive Hip Hop family, including such phenomenal artists as Cypress Hill, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Outkast, Eminem, 50 Cent, Xzibit, Method Man, and Red Man just to name a few, Joker Brand has established itself as one of the most influential voices of the fashion community.

Estevan Oriol began his career in the entertainment industry in the late 1980’s as a club bouncer at several of Los Angeles’ most popular Hip Hop clubs and infamous Hollywood hang outs. It was at these clubs that Estevan first linked up with his Soul Assassin brothers from South Gate, Cypress Hill. Eager to expand his knowledge of the business, Estevan took a job as tour manager for the rap group House of Pain in 1992.

It was in 1992 that Estevan first ventured into the clothing industry. He and Everlast, then the front man of House of Pain, began Not Guilty clothing and specialized in t-shirts and hoodies. Soon after, Estevan ventured out on his own creating the Scandalous line based on his experiences as a DJ.

In 1995 Estevan took up photography, cataloging the outrageous experiences he was having out on tour. When off tour, he began to take pictures of his homies from the neighborhood.

He soon discovered that he had a gift for capturing the raw essence of street life with his photography. Estevan took the opportunity seriously and with in a short time, he became one of the most sought out photographers of the Hip Hop community. His work has been featured in dozens of magazines world wide including The Source, Details, Vibe, The Fader, and Rolling Stone.

Having earned his nickname though his drawing abilities and personality, Mr. Cartoon was introduced to design through his rudimentary career as a graffiti artist in the 80’s. His inspirations are Jack Rudy, Bob Roberts, and Baby Ray. His style of art, known as fine line tattooing, was invented in the prison system but was popularized on the street by Jack Rudy in the 70’s. Hanging out at Bob Roberts famous tattoo shop “Spotlight” led Mr. Cartoon to get tattoos and eventually design patterns for people.

He has since found his calling in hip-hop culture through the creation of tattoo art, magazine illustrations, album covers, and backdrops for music videos, TV shows, and the trunks of low riders. His artwork revered, Mr. Cartoon is a member of the select Soul Assassins family of artists.

He has also developed a line of temporary tattoos and stickers. Amongst all that, US magazines that have featured Cartoon’s work include Low Rider, Rolling Stone, The Source, Hustler, Rap Pages, Details, The Fader, and Tattoo. On the international front, his work has been seen in Japanese magazines like Low Rider, Fine, Burst, H Magazine and Tokion; and also the UK magazine Loaded. Cartoon’s distinctive work has been seen in logos and advertising material for Joker Brand Clothing, Tribal Streetwear, Scandalous clothing, Black Flys, X-Large, Diavolina Shoes, Shady records, and Priorty Records. His intricate art is inscribed on the bodies of the Goodie Mob, Mobb Deep, Cypress Hill, Method Man, Red Man, Limp Bizkit, Eminem, Infamous Mobb, Meeno, Xzibit, Treach and Sir Jinx.

Cartoon illustrations can be seen on CD covers like Tony Touch’s “The Rican-Struction EP”; MC Ren’s “Kizz my Black Azz”, Above the Law’s “Black Mafia Life”, Hi C’s “Sittin in the Park”, Kid Frost’s “Eastside Story”, Old School Jam’s “Vol. 1”, Cypress Hill’s “Los Grandes Exitos en Espanol”, “Skull and Bones” and “Stoned Raiders”, Big Red’s “Big Redemption”, DJ Muggs “1200 Squad”, Penthouse Player’s self titled CD. He also developed logo design for The Psycho Realm.

He was commissioned to apply his design work to Joe Ray’s 1979 Lincoln Continental “Las Vegas” (Two time Lowrider of the Year), Larry Flynt’s Limousine and Oscar De La Hoya’s Chevy truck. His work has been exhibited at the Rocket Gallery in Japan, George’s Gallery in Los Angeles, and The Rico Gallery in Santa Monica.

Like most of the Joker family, Steve Luciano is a product of Los Angeles. Born and raised on the West side, in Santa Monica, Steve has been a part of the West Coast Hip Hop culture since it's conception. In 1990, Steve opened SuperMax, one of the first Hip Hop oriented stores on Melrose Ave in Hollywood. With the help of Estevan Oriol, and Mr. Cartoon, Steve built one of the premiere clothing stores in Hollywood.

In 1993, Steve used his connections in the fashion industry to create one of the original Hip Hop clothing lines, Not Guilty. This venture included Everlast, then currently with House of Pain, and Estevan. Not Guilty was one of the most recognized labels of its time, and is still bootlegged to this day. A year later, Steve Luciano was instrumental in forging what would soon be known as Joker Brand Clothing. Steve has always had a major voicein the development and direction of Joker.

In Hollywood, Steve Luciano is one of the most recognized players behind the scenes. Not one for the spotlight, Steve prefers to do his business behind closed doors. Known as an ultimate closer, "Big Luck" is credited with closing all kinds of deals, from movies, to record contracts, to whatever.

As Joker enters the new Millennium, Steve Luciano has taken on the position of Sales Manager to help guide the rapid growth of the company. He is one of the few people in the world who can go to a car show, a corporate lunch, and a hip hop show all in the same day and get equal respect in each setting. He is a valuable member of the Joker family, and a true soldier of the streets from which he came.

Juan “Lucky” Alvarez is considered by many to be the silent assassin of the Joker family. Although Lucky tends to stay out of the media eye, his visionary designs and dedication to detail have been instrumental in Joker Brand’s success.

Lucky started designing in 1991 with his own company 187 Hudda. Initially the company was very successful, however, due to the controversial name several stores refused to carry his garments. Undeterred, Lucky created Twentyfive. Again Lucky found success in the increasingly competitive fashion game. After a year of being his own boss, Lucky accepted an offer to sell TwentyFive and become the head designer of the company he started.

In 1995 Lucky left Twentyfive and joined the design team at Q Ambient. It was during this time that Lucky decided he wanted to take his life in a different direction. After years of running the streets that surround LAX in Los Angeles, Lucky linked up with the Soul Assassins crew determined to create a new path for himself.

It was 1997 when Lucky finally joined the Joker family as a designer. Since then Lucky has seen his world turn upside down. Splitting the head designing duties with Mr. Cartoon, Lucky often finds himself circling the globe to oversee production in Asia.