While Bishop Brigante is best known for his music, battle rap legacy, and his dabbles with acting, there’s a whole other lane where his success is really starting to proliferate.
In 2019, the critically acclaimed rapper launched a new fashion brand inspired by his hometown and current residence, Toronto. Before Drake had the world referring to the city as The 6ix, Bishop was rapping about Section 6 to rep for his neighbourhood in Scarborough, Glamorgan Avenue. For Bishop, those are The Ends. For those unfamiliar with the term, “the ends” is slang referring to the neighbourhood you’re from; a term you’ll hear quite often in cities like Toronto or London, UK.
Bishop rocking a Lucky Green hoodie available on TheEnds.ca
The Ends, boosting the tagline, “Wear Where You’re From,” gives people a stylistic approach to representing their hometown, neighbourhood and nationality, with vibrant, trendy looking streetwear. The fashion brand launched with its signature red hoodie and the company has been on an upward trajectory ever since. An impressive list of well-known artists have embraced the line like Wu-Tang fan favourite Method Man wearing it to perform, or Canadian icons like Maestro Fresh Wes and Kardinal Offishall rocking the brand on National TV. There’s even been sightings of The Ends on one of the biggest platforms in the world, The Joe Budden Podcast, with co-host Officially Ice sporting a red on black piece while discussing the hot topics of the day.
All of that combined equates to millions of people being exposed to the brand, and it sets The Ends up for what is sure to be a highly successful 2023 campaign. And when it comes to exposure, the company’s latest news could be its biggest move yet. Bishop has given us the inside scoop on a new promotional campaign where The Ends will be featured on super-popular American game show Wheel of Fortune. For at least four episodes, The Ends will have the honour of being showcased as a prize on the game wheel that contestants spin.
I recently had a chance to connect with Bishop to discuss the Wheel of Fortune feature, the brand’s growing success, his favourite The Ends custom piece / collaboration, the likelihood of him releasing new music, the upcoming tribute to Pat Stay, and more.
Officially Ice representing The Ends on The Joe Budden Podcast
Q&A: Bishop Brigante
HipHopCanada: Bishop, thank you for taking the time to sit with us about some exciting new developments surrounding The Ends. Jumping right into it, how did the opportunity with Wheel of Fortune come about?
Bishop Brigante: Well, if anyone knows me and my history in any of my ventures, I’ve always been an outside the box kind of thinker. I thrive on doing things that most people would deem impossible, let alone even think about. So I’m constantly dreaming up ideas and plans that can take my brand to the next level. One day, I’m sitting at home watching Wheel with my girl, and I said, “Man, I need to see The Ends on that wheel as a prize one day…”
We both came to the conclusion that it probably costs an arm and a leg to make that happen, and then we moved on from the topic. But the idea just brewed and I couldn’t let it go. Nothing was online about how to make this happen, so it made me even more hungry to make it happen. I went into my creative bag, thought outside the box, made a few phone calls and suddenly I was on the phone with the actual staff at the show. Every single star aligned and it was a go from there. It’s still kind of surreal to be honest because I’ve been such a huge fan of the show my entire life. So to see something that I’ve created become a featured prize on the Wheel is crazy to me. Just to see it spin on the wheel is enough for me, But putting the brand in front of 10M viewers a night is priceless.
HipHopCanada: How many appearances will The End be making on the show?
BB: Right now, there has been four episodes taped with The Ends on the wheel as a prize. We’ve got the first one airing on Feb. 22 as a part of Teen Week, and three more episodes are being featured on College Week in April.
HipHopCanada: Have Pat and Vanna been blessed with The Ends gear?
BB: I’m working on their customized pack right now. [Laughing] That would be even more crazy to me to see either of them throw a hoodie on.
Bishop in a royal blue crewneck available on The Ends
HipHopCanada: Can you touch on The Ends’ plans for 2023, aside from gaining major exposure through a staple of network television?
BB: So far, I’ve been exploring the idea of putting The Ends in select stores that really support the brand. I’m so used to being strictly online, but a lot of stores have been reaching out to get pieces for their shops and customers. We’ll be adding new variations of pieces like shorts, crop tops and new styles to go with them. Lastly, I’m developing a fundraising division of the company to give back to the communities that need support out there. The Ends is much more than just a clothing line representing where you’re from. It’s also about giving back to those places as best we can. So those are some of the goals leading the year for me.
HipHopCanada: Which The Ends custom piece / collaboration are you most proud of?
BB: I can’t pick just one! I’ll tell you this though. Every single time I witness someone showing off their hoodie with the list of streets, I almost get teary eyed. Watching people explain different places that they grew up at and what those places meant to them, really shows how much community means to all of us in the world. I’ve sent pieces to so many different places in the world I never believed I would, like Australia and Sri Lanka. Like, someone in Sri Lanka heard about The Ends and bought some pieces from me. That’s mind blowing and truly a blessing that people from that far away relate to the brand.
HipHopCanada: Do you have any locations where people can check out the merch? How do people get their hands on the gear if they’re out of town?
BB: Right now, everything is online at TheEnds.ca. But yeah, like I said, I’m just getting into The Ends being in stores very soon.
HipHopCanada: One of the biggest things that showed people The Ends meant business was Method Man rocking a piece. What led to the Iron Lung representing for The Ends?
BB: Meth has always been just a solid friend to begin with. One day he called me cause he had a show in London he invited me to, so I just brought him and Red a couple pieces. Right before he went on stage in front of over 10K people, he put the hoodie on and wore it for 80% of the show. That shit was epic to me. I think that’s one of my favourite highlights to date, next to Kardinal and Maestro wearing The Ends on National television, or the countless times that Royce has either wore it on stage or just in his everyday life. Every single piece of support means the world to me, it’s just a little more special when my peers see my vision and actually rock with it for more than just support for their homie.
Method Man representing The Ends
HipHopCanada: Along with Method Man, you’ve had an opportunity to connect with a lot of interesting people through The Ends. Can you touch on one of the experiences that stood out the most?
BB: I would have to say when Officially Ice wore The Ends on a couple episodes of The Joe Budden Podcast. Not only is that my favourite pod of all time, but now one of the hosts is casually wearing The Ends on multiple occasions for millions of viewers to see. I can’t even tell you how many calls and messages I received about that. I met Ice years ago on a Royce tour and I also have history in battle rap with his brother Arsonal. Since the day I met him he was just a solid dude and I’ve always had a respect for him. I can’t even express the appreciation for him and all of my peers in the entertainment world that have represented The Ends the way they do. It means everything to me.
HipHopCanada: Switching over to a couple of other areas where you’re a staple, starting with the battle rap scene. How did you react to the death of Canadian battle legend, Pat Stay? Will you be taking part in the Feb. 25 tribute event in any way?
BB: The loss of Pat Stay was the biggest blow to battle rap period. The most kind, loving, talented and charismatic person that Pat was, made him an incredible father, an amazing friend, and the most cherished and celebrated battle rapper of all time.
When I got the news, I was heartbroken. As you could see, every one was crushed from all over the world. The tribute event that KOTD is throwing is the perfect sentiment to remember Pat with. They are donating all of the proceeds from the event and PPV to Pat’s family so I encourage everyone to tap in either live or online. Tickets and PPV are available at KOTD.tv. Salute to everyone over there making history once again.
HipHopCanada: Once an MC, always an MC… you’ve clearly got a ton on your plate with The Ends, but do you have any plans to release new music this year or down the road?
BB: I drop music when I feel like something needs to be said. I’ve been constantly recording and creating, so when I get to the place where something needs to be said, I’m a poke my head out and talk that shit. Cause I’m still nicer than 90% of the game out here, and the other 10% is a bunch or inspiring emcees that keep me interested. Until I pull up and bar out again. [Laughing]
HipHopCanada: Papoose was just named the head of hip-hop over at Tunecore, and he urged artists to “ditch the majors.” Can you give me your thoughts on this sentiment, and do you have any advice of your own for young artists in Toronto trying to get on?
BB: I’m more interested in Kardinal becoming the Global A&R for Def Jam. We need more of our icons out here getting spots at these companies to represent for us. So salute to him because he’s always had the right pulse on the game forever. As far as “ditching the majors” goes, I’ve always been jaded by major labels from time. It’s literally just a shitty credit card with unbelievable interest rates. Stay away from them as much as you can.
Kardinal Offishall representing The Ends at the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiere
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