It’s hard to believe that My Ninja! first launched in March. The past ten months literally felt like almost 10 years of awesomeness. Thanks to you, the fans and supporters, we have been able to take our vision and let our dreams come true.

For those of you who do not know, My Ninja! was a creative thought in the back of my brain for the past few years. I wanted to create something meaningful, away from my musical work, touring, and production. It was a passion project. With no experience in fashion or design, and help from talented friends around me, I was able to take my dream and make it come true.

My Ninja! is not a design, nor a shirt, but a statement that allows individuals to connect along the constant cultural blending our generation faces. Touring the U.S over and over again, I began to experience how music has been becoming more and more colorblind. Back in 1995, I could remember listening to Theo on 92.3 The Beat, saying, “Erase the Color-lines.”  I wanted to create something that reflected that.

We released over 30 shirt designs this past year: Classic Spring 2009, Summer 2009, Fall/ Winter 2009, and one limited edition shirt for the Warner Bros feature film, “Ninja Assassin.”

What better way to begin this journey than to throw a party with all of your closest friends. That’s what we did. It was a fun night, and from that moment on, I knew this was going to be a crazy ride.

Our first designs…

Some of my favorite photos from this past year…

Fall 2009/ The Social Trust/ Megan

Fall 2009/ The Social Trust/ Rootbeer

Fall 2009/ The Social Trust/ Piper Hinson

Spring 2009/ Imani Waddy/ Jenny & Mike

B-Girl Shorty of the Beat Freaks/ Dpd & Kenny Ahn

B-Girl Shorty of The Beat Freaks/ Dpd & Kenny Ahn

Spring 2009/ Kenny Ahn/ The FAR*EAST MOVEMENT

Summer 2009/ Shinobi Studios/ Mike

Summer 2009/ Shinobi Studios/ Heather

Summer 2009/ Shinobi Studios/ Piper

Summer 2009/ Shinobi Studios/ Mike

Summer 2009/ Shinobi Studios/ Andi & Mike

Major props to The Beat Freaks for reppin’ us hard this year.

My Ninja! x The Beat Freaks x Blended Events

I had to make a mixtape for our Summer 2009 line. This was probably the most fun. It was great to work with all the homies to make something great. The F.R.E.S.H was originally written and recorded back in 2007. I wrote the song with my good friend Flynn Adam, who wrote the hook. At the time, there were no live drums. Everything was programmed. Because I thought the song was a great reflection of our Summer line, I rearranged the music, and recorded live drums and bass on the track. FM was down with track, and Pigeon John hopped on. The rest was history.

Pigeon John and I working out an arrangement at 4th Street Recording in Santa Monica, CA (July 2009)

Aiko Tanaka also killed it on, “Let’s Go,” track 3 on the Endless Summer Mixtape. She came in the studio. I gave her the rhythm, and together we wrote the lyrics. Many people don’t know this was her first time recording. My creative idea was to have a female Japanese rap over some electro 60′s rock. Peter Daily hopped on the end of the track. Aiko and I plan to finish the song sometime this year. Watch out!!!

After the release of our mixtape, we had to throw a little party to celebrate. I had to say, our Endless Summer Party this past year was truly amazing. I think we threw the party of the Summer. We had the best tacos in LA, beach balls, an open bar, and the King Cone Ice Cream Truck. Denkym and The Wierdoz killed it on the turntables, and who could forget performances from Peter Daily, Pseudo Rebels, Pigeon John & Flynn Adam, and FM. Big thanks to all of you for coming out! Shinobi took gazillions of photos. Check them out here.

My Ninja! is fortunate to work with really great directors, and video artists. Big ups to Earnest Rhea, The Social Trust, and The Mighty Fifty. Here are some of my favorite videos this past year.

The F.R.E.S.H. MV by The Mighty Fifty/ Earnest Rhea

Fall 2009 Photo Shoot (BTS) by The Mighty Fifty

Fall 2009 Video Look Book by The Social Trust

B-Girl Shorty x My Ninja! Teaser

Rockin’ with FM on the Epik High Tour in the U.S.

With Rootbeer at UCI!

One of the biggest highlights of this past year was when we did a collaboration with Warner Bros. for the film, “Ninja Assassin.” Big thanks to Cashmere Agency for making this happen. We received an enormous amount of press and marketing on this project.

My Ninja x Ninja Assassin Limited Edition Tee/ Shinobi Studios/ James

My Ninja! would like to thank all our friends and family for helping us along the way. We look forward to this new year.

We Love. We Live. We Balance. We Forgive. Repeat x