Inside the Lower East Side Block Parties Where J Balvin, Omar Apollo and More Perform

When Abhi Janamanchi and Ryan Wright were looking to open a physical store for their two-year-old brand Le Père, it was about much more than a storefront to house their clothes.  “When we opened the store, my hope in both the location and also just the way that we’d set it up is that it would really be a hub and a hub for our community,” Janamanchi, who is the brand’s director, says of the Orchard Street space on the Lower East Side. Last week, J Balvin held a release party for his new album “Rayo” at the shop; in July, Denzel Curry debuted his album, “King of the Mischievous Soul: Volume 2,” there; rapper Cash Cobain performed new single “Rump Punch” from the building’s fire escape in June, and in April, Omar Apollo did a surprise pop-up concert to celebrate the video for his song “Spite,” climbing onto a car roof as the video played in the store.  Janamanchi and Wright are “not fashion people traditionally,” coming into the industry from the indie record label Awal where they worked with artists like Steve Lacy, Apollo, Rex Orange County, Girl in Red and more. The events started organically: Janamanchi, who is 30, is close

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