King Buckley Is a Rapper/Editor-in-Chief of His Own Fashion Magazine

At one point in his life, if you were to ask Mel Buckley, AKA King Buckley, where he saw himself in ten years, he might have said on the basketball court. The former University of South Florida basketball player once earned a living playing ball overseas. But things changed, and Buckley eventually found a new path: music.

These days, he's less known for his moves on the court than for his intimate vocals and crafty lyricism. The same drive that led him to the hoop now not only fuels his music grind but also inspires him to pursue his other dream job, serving as the editor-in-chief of his own magazine.

“I’m not going to work for anybody. I work for myself,” Buckley told us while sipping on a glass of Seagram’s Gin.

Buckley's first single, “Sex-a-Sode," dropped in 2008. As his music began to make rounds on the internet, the Chicago-born artist spent time as a songwriter working with a duo known as the Office. Over time, Buckley switched his alias to King Buckley and found his voice flexing both his singing and rapping skills in recent singles like “Hustla Muzik” and “Countin'.” 

While building his music career over the last six years, Buckley has been simultaneously working to create a new lane for himself with his publication Regime Magazine. Why, one might ask, did he choose to venture into an industry that's currently in hospice? Buckley believes in his little publication and thinks it can become Miami’s premier hub for fashion and lifestyle influenced by the music industry.
“With print — it’s pretty much dead,” Buckley admits. “So, what we’re doing now is we do one special issue every year. We look at all of the seasons in fashion and all of the lifestyle events that happened, like a recap for the end of the year.”

The focus of Regime's inaugural cover story in 2013 was Chris Drama Pfaff of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory fame. Within the last three years, Regime has featured other reality TV stars on its cover, like Love & Hip Hop's Erica Mena and Stevie J and Joseline, who debuted their engagement photos on last year’s cover.

The concept for the magazine was inspired by Buckley's former manager, who had his own magazine called JM, and his ex’s passion for fashion. Once he began to build the magazine in Texas, Buckley felt that Miami would be the perfect place to for his idea to flourish. He wasn't concerned over competition like Ocean Drive and Haute Living. They targeted a different audience and market than the one Buckley was after. “I see us adopting lifestyle, music, and any expression where art is prevalent and needs a forum. That’s our lane. We give unique style a voice.”

Throughout the year, Buckley has been working to bring the magazine to life online with Regime’s new website. Along with updates on urban trends in fashion, Buckley also runs interviews with Miami DJs and provides event coverage. 

He's still working to improve his newfound digital headquarters for Regime, but the rapping editor-in-chief claims there will be plenty of updates by the time his forthcoming mixtape is done. With his upcoming video for his single “Countin’” on deck and the next issue of Regime in the works, Buckley aims to keep his pen game strong in print and on the mike.