DARK & COLD

I was making my way along to Uptown Records in D'Arblay Street, London, back in June 2002 and was passing the Dark & Cold shop in the same street, when I encountered a hip hop posse doing their thing to camera outside on the pavement. So I ended up taking a snapshot of the moment, which is the photo at the top.
I thought I'd do a piece about Dark & Cold here because they are more than just a fashion store.
Underneath the top picture is another image showing the shop front which was taken in October 1997 and in the window in amongst the hip hop gear you can see an issue of Touch magazine and The Source. Later, in 1998, the situation was reversed when The Source magazine from the USA did an article about the UK hip hop scene and Dark & Cold was given the spotlight treatment, singled out as being one of the best clothing shops to visit in London.
The item under the 2nd photo is one of the earliest features I have on the shop and was published in Touch magazine in May 1995 when Dark & Cold had only been in biz for 6 months.
Not only did the shop stock the latest hip hop garments, they also sold records, mags, DVD's and other related lifestyle stuff and the next article, which appeared in Undercover magazine in 2002, is a short review of one of Dark & Cold's compilation DVD's called "UK Hip Hop Untapped - Vol.2". These were made by and released under the Dark & Cold banner and showcased the best of UK's underground hip hop scene - so as well as special performances at the shop itself, material also included promo videos, live action, behind the scenes footage, interviews and so on.
Which brings me back to the posse in the top photo!
For those of you who didn't spot who it is, I can reveal all and let you know that it's the Bury Cru. This actual performance I captured is one of the goodies that crops up in "Industry Lockdown Vol.1" DVD, which is the bottom item featured above.
And Dark & Cold are still going strong today.