Vashtie Kola, New York’s Downtown Sweetheart Emerges

By Leesa Davis

New York City hipster Vashtie Kola is full of surprises.

One day Kola could be writing the outline for a film, or directing music videos for such artists as R&B singer Solange and Cleveland rapper Kid Cudi. Other days, Kola switches gears to become a fashion designer for her trendy t-shirt line Violette.

Kola admits she’s not yet sure of her ultimate goals, having already accomplished several career milestones. “I don’t really know what I want to do,” she says. “I’ve found myself doing so many things. Life just takes you through these different places.”

The 28 year-old Albany, NY native of Trinidadian descent has made her mark in several roles in the music, fashion and film industries. With her tomboyish style, multiple career endeavors and fixed motivation, Kola has been known to march to the beat of her own drum.

After a year as a creative director for Island Def Jam records, Kola says she wanted to pursue her passion in directing and designing.

“I had to make a decision,” says Kola, who is a graduate of New York University’s School of the Arts. “Do I continue down this path of working the corporate ladder and going further in this direction or do I jump out of the nest basically and fly on my own? And that was pretty difficult.”

Ultimately, Kola left Def Jam to pursue other opportunities. Now, she has a full roster of projects she’s juggling as New York City’s “Downtown Sweetheart” as she’s called in the industry. Her current activities include hosting a weekly party at New York’s Santos Party House with rapper/producer/DJ Q-Tip and DJ Rich Medina.

She’s also making an entry into acting, having been tapped for the role of Tanuja in the documentary-style short film, “A Night at the Opera,” directed by friend Nemo Librizzi, who chronicled the history of the Bloods and Crips gangs in the 2005 documentary “Lay Down Old Men.”

The film follows Librizzi, who in real-life has been a fixture on New York’s art scene for decades, as he dates women of different nationalities in hopes of choosing the right girl to bring to an upcoming opera. In what appears to be a fitting role, Kola says she plays an East Indian girl that is in touch with the black community.

“It was comfortable for me because I didn’t really have to go out of my own self to play this part,” Kola says, noting the ease to which she moved in front of the camera to act.

Of all her activities, Kola says her primary focus is expanding her fashion line Violette. She chose its name out of fondness for how the color purple has been symbolized in some cultures. The color has been known to represent royalty, strength, nobility and power in some cultures, she says.

“I didn’t want the name to be clichéd or obvious, but rather something a bit hidden,” Kola says.

The name was also fitting, Kola says, because of an old photograph that she cherishes of her mother wearing a violet colored sari in Trinidad.

“The entire image itself seems to have a violet hue,” she says. “It sits on my desk everyday and reminds me of how blessed I am to have the opportunities my mother never had.” 

Watch Human Nature Editor Chris Windham with Vashtie