In 2014, the duo Slow Dance released their second album: Hunks. The album ushered in a new genre described by the band as Yacht Rap. “It’s a blend of those smooth 70’s and early 80’s yacht rock standards with hip-hop. It’s what Kenny Loggins could have sounded like had he gone off the rails and done an album on Def Jam. It has saxophones.”

So when it came time to create the physical album, a CD or LP wouldn’t do the new genre justice. The only way to bring the album to life was as a life vest.

The life vest is the album, and the album is the life vest. First, each vest fabric was selected because we felt that it best represented what yacht rap would look like on a life vest. Second, each vest was handmade with speakers that are embedded into the styrofoam neck area and are wired through the bottom to an mp3 player, which clips onto the belt. The vests were finished off with Liner Notes that were sewn onto the back.

The vests were featured in Wakeboarding Magazine’s Best New Gear Guide.