MARVIN x Sukii Baby: The multihyphenate is baring her soul (and teeth) for the world to see
Photo by Levi Berlin
“What can I do to make people feel like they’re more a part of my world?” ponders Sukii Baby. The multihyphenate creative hasn’t always been able to let people into her life. Before she would pose as the famed cover subject of Drake and 21 Savage’s 2022 album Her Loss, she was Quiana Yasuka, a mixed-race girl who had been teased for her dark skin and facial features. Now, Yasuka turns her pain into art — and more specifically, her new collection of innovative grills, which seek to foster the same community Yasuka has tirelessly built for the last few years.
Yasuka blends her upbringing in Houston, USA and Iwakuni, Japan to create the collection. Houston is the home of grills, and Yasuka recalls the joy of buying her first three-piece with a “funky little $300” paycheck from her first job: “It was the happiest moment ever because I finally started accomplishing little personal goals,” she grins in her honeyed Houston accent.
Equally inspired by hometown legends like DJ Screw, Fat Pat, and Paul Wall as well as family members who would wear gold caps to replace their teeth, Yasuka would sketch her own jelly grills as a teenager. Now, she’s fulfilling her lifelong dream by teaming up with LA company Crooked Mouth to create low-cost grills cast in biocompatible resin. “I’ve always wanted to put out some type of ocular mouthpiece because I think it’s so important that kids are able to express themselves,” she says.
Read the full feature in MARVIN Issue 18. Click HERE to purchase.
