OUT100: Kingdom (Ezra Rubin)

Photography by JUCO | Retouching by Anna Glen at Wet Noodle

The Moment: August 6, 1991: Frankie Knuckles releases his debut album, Beyond the Mix.

As a teenager growing up in small-town Massachusetts, the closest Ezra Rubin could get to a club were the fantasies of ones he'd create in his head. Now, under his alias Kingdom, the L.A.-based beatmaker constructs expansive soundscapes that suggest just that: imaginary, uninhibited, mind-bending dance parties that teeter somewhere between the past and the future. Vertical XL, his first EP on his aptly named record label Fade to Mind, fuses grime, drum and bass, industrial, hip-hop, soul, funk, and frosty synthpop, while his collaborations with singer Kelela on her recent Cut 4 Me mixtape (also released on Fade To Mind) introduced her as one of R&B's most intriguing newcomers.

Photographed at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on August 22, 2014

Styling by Kyle Blackmon. Groomer: Leah Rial/Exclusive Artists

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