A year later, when Katsabanis was 12, Esther began dating Jose Cabado, a Miami- Dade Police detective in the special crimes bureau, concentrating on sex-related offenses. This is something Stitches’ haters have publicized on blogs and social media pages.
“I can’t control who my mom dates,” Phillip says. “He has never done me wrong. If people want to talk bad about it, that is their problem. I don’t give a damn about it.”
The couple shares an orange West Kendall house with 25-year-old Dimitri and Alexander Jr., now 23. It’s plastered with Christmas lights and is decorated with stones that say things like “Happiness is homegrown.” When New Times visited July 1, no one answered the door after several knocks.
Despite his claims of being estranged from his father, Katsabanis and his brothers post photos on their Instagram accounts that show a tight-knit brood. When “Brick in Yo Face” went viral, Dimitri put up a photo of Katsabanis with the caption: “4 million views for my little bro... Stitches!!!!” An image Alexander Jr. Posted in mid-June shows the three brothers baring their teeth for the camera. “At the end of it all, the only thing that matters is #family,” read the caption.
When reached on his cell phone, Alexander Jr. Declined to comment on behalf of himself and Dimitri. “[Stitches] doesn’t want to involve his family in his music,” Alexander Jr. Says. “And I’d prefer to keep my family and my personal life out of his business.”
Phillip says he always maintained a close relationship with his mother despite moving out at an early age. “I have a good family,” he says. “But I grew up really fast and wanted to be independent.”
In school, former classmate Alexander Rimas says Katsabanis “would freestyle... roam the halls and do whatever the fukk he wanted.” Rimas says he does not know anything about Katsabanis’ being expelled or having a juvenile criminal record.
Miami-Dade Schools data is private since he was a minor. The only proof Katsabanis got in trouble is a March 29, 2012, court document that states the then-16-year-old boy received probation for an unspecified crime. And he has no criminal record as an adult.
His brothers are a different story. In May, federal prosecutors charged Dimitri and Alexander Jr., along with 18 others, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and identity theft, among other crimes. They allegedly masterminded a scheme to obtain iPhones at discounted prices by stealing personal information. The brothers are accused of pilfering at least 1,249 cellular devices from Verizon, which incurred a loss of more than $545,500. They had to post a bond of $50,000 to remain free pending trial, which is scheduled for October 6.
During their brief phone conversation with New Times, Alexander Jr. And Dimitri insisted their alleged crimes have nothing to do with Stitches. But they backed up their little brother’s claims that he earned a living selling blow. Moments after that call ended, the rapper called New Times to threaten legal action and bodily harm. “If you write anything bad about me,” he warned, “I will sue you.” Four hours later, he added, “I’m serious, my nikka. Anyone who brings negativity on me or my family, that person is going to see me the next day. I don’t care about this music shyt.” Days later, after a reporter emailed him to check facts in this article, he replied with a phone call full of expletives and then followed up with a text message: “I hope your fake story is worth the ass beating that you gonna get lil nikka. Doubt me I dare you sucka.”
About a month after he was put on probation for the crime he won’t talk about, Katsabanis dropped the “Lil Phill” handle and began his metamorphosis into Stitches. “That was just a different time in my life,” the rapper recalls. “I was just a kid back then.”
The first major addition to the Stitches persona was, of course, the stitched smile around his lips, which he says was created by Steve Santacruz, owner of Empire Tattoos, a gritty shop on Washington Avenue. “Steve has been my boy for a long time,” he says.
Photos of the new ink popped up on Alexander Jr.’s Instagram feed in September 2012, three months after little brother had turned 17. The following month, he stopped using the Lil Phill handle on Twitter and deleted the rest of his first incarnation’s social media presence. Before the year ended, he had added the AK-47 tat to his face.
He tells New Times the stitches tattoo is a metaphor for his strong belief in the old rap adage that “snitches get stitches.” The rifle was just done on a whim. “It’s my favorite gun,” he says.
Katsabanis also started flaunting his money. He would hang around South Beach, regularly cruising into the Whole Foods at Alton Road and Tenth Street for a six-dollar juice flanked by toughlooking older guys and decked out in jewelry, says one employee of the grocery store who didn’t want to be named.
“I figured he was a hustler — he always pulled up in nice cars, like a Mercedes,” the employee says. “He was a young kid with a lot of shyt that young kids don’t usually have.”
Around that time, Katsabanis befriended Leonel Carrera, an amateur boxer and a member of Chicago’s Almighty Imperial Gangsters Nation. Carrera, who is six years older than Katsabanis and goes by the social media handle “Leovelli,” had been convicted of armed carjacking in 2005 and, seven years later, added convictions for grand theft and dealing in stolen property. He’s facing six other felony charges, including battery on a law enforcement officer and strong-arm robbery.
“He’s my boy, my best friend,” Katsabanis boasts to New Times and says he has trained with Carrera for years.
“I’m a brawler,” he adds. “Trust me.”
Carrera is the guy wearing the Pinhead mask in the “Brick in Yo Face” video. When the clip went viral, he linked to it on his Facebook page and wrote, “ma lil brotha making history.”
At SoBe’s Empire Tattoos, Katsabanis also met Karlen Moodliyar, a Miami R&B singer known as “Pretti Sly.” With his GQ looks and tattoos from his ankles to his neck, Pretti Sly owns a top modeling agency, lives in a Miami Beach mansion, and rides around town in a pearl-white Bentley.
After hearing Katsabanis rap, Pretti Sly introduced him to Circle House’s Lewis, who was confounded. “Here’s this kid with a Mohawk and a bunch of tattoos,” Lewis says. “I didn’t know if he was crazy or cool. In time, I got to know him personally. He really has the passion. I wish most artists had his drive.”
In the past year, Katsabanis has been to Circle House Studios at least ten times, Lewis says.
Also, several tracks for his mixtape No Snitching Is My Statement were produced by Atlanta-based 808 Mafia and famed Miami hip-hop genius Scott Storch.
On October 31, 2012, Katsabanis married a petite brunet judicial assistant named Erica Duarte. At the time, he was 17 and she was 28. In 2008, she was a contestant on the first season of MTV’s Paris Hilton’s My New BFF.
In 2013, the couple had their first son, Rex. In mid-August, Erica gave birth to their second child, Rocco. On his Instagram, amid the images of him smoking weed and holding piles of cash and guns, Katsabanis sporadically posts photos of Rex, who is a Baby Gap model in the making with wide blue eyes and short brown hair. The captions reveal a softer side: “He is what I am most thankful for. #myson #champion.”
“Being a dad is the greatest feeling,” Katsabanis reveals. “It puts a real smile on my face every day. Nothing else does.”
Asked if he felt it was appropriate to post pictures of his son next to drugs and guns, Katsabanis replies: “I don’t give a shyt.”
type of shyt.
