Since 2018, Rashad Hosea’s The Wealthy Store has been a staple in Detroit’s hip-hop and fashion communities. But on Thursday, the Oak Park store was engulfed in flames, with a posted surveillance video from Hosea’s Instagram account showing an apparent arsonist setting the building ablaze.
“I was completely caught off guard,” Hosea tells Metro Times. “I mean, I want justice. I need to see why — what’s the motive? Just to make sure I’m moving right across the board.”
The store had been the main headquarters for Hosea’s Wealthy streetwear brand and a favorite of Detroit’s hip-hop scene. It had a mural painted inside by local artist Sheefy McFly and hosted events for hip-hop artists like Babyface Ray, Pretty Brayah, Sada Baby, FMB DZ, Jugg Harden, and even served as the location for Babytron’s first album release party. National celebrities like comedian-actor Marlon Wayans, DJ Pressure, and NBA players Dwight Howard and D’Angelo Russell have also stopped by over the years.
Hosea previously told Metro Times that he launched the brand with a mission to promote generating generational wealth within Black communities. He started the company in 2016 and moved into the 1,000-square-foot storefront at 8126 W. Nine Mile Road, Oak Park two years later.
“With our brand, we try to make it the people’s brand,” Hosea previously said. “Like, when people think of wealth, they think of money, but I think of legacy. I think of passing knowledge. I think of helping the community, inspiring the community. There are people that look up at us. We try to change the narrative for real on how people view young Black men from Detroit.”
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According to WXYZ-TV, authorities arrived around 2:30 a.m. to find the building burning. Nobody was hurt, and an investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact 248-691-7512.
Hosea has not made any immediate plans on whether he will rebuild the current building or seek a temporary alternative location. In the meantime, fans can order remaining inventory from his website, thewealthybrand.com.
But he guarantees that The Wealthy Store will be back.
“I wanna stay there, but it will take about a year to rebuild the whole spot,” he says. “I want to stay there because I feel like if we come back to that spot, we get some new good energy from the city, it will be better than it was.”