Akademiks is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 brand of urban

Urban culture

Urban culture is the culture of towns and cities. In the United States, Urban culture may also sometimes be used as a euphemistic reference to contemporary African American culture.- African American culture :...

 clothing

Clothing

Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...

 popular with devotees of hip hop music. The label

Brand

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...

 was founded by two brothers, Donwan

Donwan Harrell

Donwan Harrell is founder and creative director of the New York-based luxury denim line Prps. He is also one of the former top 10 designers at Nike. Harrell is the founder and Creative director of the urban clothing line Akademiks. -References:...

 and Emmett Harrell, along with another group of partners.

Akademiks was popularized in 2001 by Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 rapper Fabolous

Fabolous

John David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...

 whose lyrical content advertised the brand. He also wore an akademiks velour

Velour

Velour or velours is a plush, knitted fabric or textile. It is usually made from cotton but can also be made from synthetic materials such as polyester. Velour is used in a wide variety of applications, including clothing and upholstery....

 on the inside cover of his debut album Ghetto Fabolous

Ghetto Fabolous

Ghetto Fabolous is the first album by East Coast hip hop artist Fabolous. The album was released on September 11, 2001 and was received critically by mixed views, but was a commercial success. It reached #4 on the U.S. Billboard 200 with 143,180 copies sold and had three singles which were all...

.

In 2005, the label achieved a degree of notoriety when its advertisement

Advertising

Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

s on New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 MTA

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...

 buses, which included the tagline

Tagline

A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product , or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product...

 "Read Books, Get Brain", were banned. Although MTA officials had not originally realised that there was any double meaning in this phrase, it was later pointed out that "get brain" was in fact a slang

Slang

Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...

 term for "receive oral sex

Oral sex

Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...

" along the lines of "get head". Akademiks released another small group of ads for the MTA in early September, 2006. The ads are clean and without controversy.

Akademiks has gained popularity in the clothing industry due to the number of celebrities who wear the brand's PRPS

PRPS

Prps is a New York-based luxury fresh denim brand which was established in 2002, and was founded by former Nike designer, Donwan Harrell. The brand motto is "Bruised, never broken"....

 jeans, such as rappers Dizzee Rascal

Dizzee Rascal

Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...

 and 50 Cent

50 Cent

Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...

.

The name Akademiks is spelled akdmks, or occasionally AKS, on many of the company's garments. Some apparel also bears the Akademiks "A.S.A.P." insignia, standing for "Akdmks Small Arms Patrol".