Meet Yanni BK | Creative

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yanni BK and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yanni, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind my success are the two cities I have been blessed to call home. I spent most of my childhood in Brooklyn, New York raised by a family of avid hip-hop fans. During the 14 hour car rides to Atlanta with my aunt and cousins, we listened to Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint” album on repeat. Watching movies like Crooklyn, Paid in Full and Juice at a young age influenced my storytelling/rigid style of visual documentation. Many people would acknowledge my old school aesthetic and homage to early 2000s trends all of which I adopted from my hometown.

Once I moved to Atlanta in my teen years I learned that my skills were more than just a hobby, they were a lifestyle. With the motivation from friends I made in school and on Instagram, I started taking photography seriously. Still repping BK heavy, I developed a business for myself, BK Shot You. Being in Atlanta pushed me to make something of my own and perfect all areas of my business, whether that be film, photography, videography and the early stages of my clothing brand.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Hitlist BK cannot be defined. With my ability to capture key moments in not only my process but others as well, I am able to present an artist to the world. Creating a moment and telling a story through my visual displays sets me apart from others. There is power in capturing things in the moments and being able to piece it together to tell a story. When creating my mini documentary videos I am able to step into the element of a featured creative and highlight their creative process in a way that is authentic and in-depth. Even with the campaigns for my clothing brand every single video, picture, post has a story behind it. Each and every campaign is throughly broken down in my notebook beforehand to make sure it’s executed for the best of my ability. I hope that after reading this article people can recognize the amount of thought and creativity that goes into my work. It’s not about just slapping a cool logo or slogan on a shirt but it’s about what you do with it, how you created it, what it means and who is buying it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When I am traveling to new places I personally like to try to get the most authentic experience of the city I’m visiting. So when my friends come to visit me in Atlanta I like to take them to food spots that isn’t available back home in Brooklyn. I know it’s cliche but I always have to start my Atlanta food experience with some wings; my favorite spot to get wings is the Hans right across the street from Greenbrier. Once the wings are out the way I have to make sure we go to Krog Street Market to get dumplings from Gu’s and ice cream from Jeni’s. Followed by a walk down the belt line. Finally to finish off the trip brunch I’d go to Toast on Lenox. The food there is amazing, the drinks are great,

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I think a big part of success is knowing when to recognize those behind the scenes that helped with getting you to where you are. First of I would like to recognize my family for always aiding me with the supplies and support I needed to pursue my creative endeavors. Being native to New York and coming to Atlanta at just 16 years old it was important that I established a community of my own in my new home. My friends have been an INTEGRAL part of my success. Starting with Story, Sunjori, Robert, Rico who were some of the subjects in some of my earliest work. Their belief in me allowed me to be able to cultivate my skills over time into what they are today. My best friend Sierra and her family opened up their home to me these past few years giving me space to venture into clothing and fashion. In their basement I was able to spend countless nights hand printing my entire first collection under my brand HitList BK.
Lastly I would like to thank Ms. Nia Imani Ryan of Eban Noire Consulting for taking my business to the next level. With her services Ive branched my creative endeavors back in my hometown of Brooklyn, New York. There is a lot of work that has to be done to create and without the structure of her management it wouldn’t be done.
There are so many characters in my story that has helped along the way. I hope to be able to recognize everyone in my documentary coming soon.

Website: hitlistbk.com

Instagram: instagram.com/hitlistbk

Youtube: YouTube.com/hitlistbk

Image Credits
@bkshotyou