Fantastic 4, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
16" x 20"

The rap civil war seems to have come to an end. The most eventful thing to happen in hip hop in the past decade. The feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar brought forth some of the greatest diss tracks to ever come out. Kendrick set out to bring competitiveness back in hip hop and that is exactly what he did. It became an all-out warfare where everyone began releasing diss tracks with all eyes on Future, Kendrick Lamar, Drake and J. Cole. The concept behind this painting came to me when I first heard Future & Metro Boomin’s, WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU album. The album that started all the chaos in the hip hop world this year. On the intro of the album there is an interlude in which Charlamagne Tha God says, “It's not a big three, it is a fantastic four”. Alluding to the fact that Future is always left out of the conversation of “the big three”, when Future is just as big and has impacted rap music equally if not more than the other three mentioned in the discussion of “the big three”. I agreed with what Charlamagne was saying and I envisioned it literally. I thought to myself, why not have the “Fantastic 4” (Kendrick Lamar, Drake, J. Cole & Future) replace the Fantastic Four from the comics but keep their uniforms and superpowers as a node to the original comics that I am such a fan of. I decided on replicating a vintage comic book cover with my own take. 

Big 3, 2024
20” x 16”
Acrylic on canvas

Big 3 is a reference to the top three hip hop artists leading the culture consisting of Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and Drake. The concept of these three artists being the leaders of this generation has been floating around for quite some time now. J. Cole was the first to publicly acknowledge 'the big three' title in the hit song, 'First Person Shooter' featuring Drake when he says, "Love when they argue the hardest MC, is it K- Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? We 'the big three', like we started a league". Kendrick Lamar surprisingly felt differently about the idea of there being three kings. He responded to J. Cole and Drake on possibly the biggest song of the year, ‘Like That’ featuring Future and Metro Boomin by saying “Mother **** the big three, *****, it's just big me.” His verse on this song shook up the entire hip hop industry. J. Cole responded, but days later retracted his diss record because of his admiration and friendship with Kendrick Lamar. Drake didn't share the same sentiments and declared war on Kendrick and every other rapper that dissed him. Ever since that verse dropped, it's been an all-out warfare in the rap game. Hip Hop is at a very interesting place right now with some of the best rapping we have seen in years. The war between Kendrick and Drake continues with "nuclear bombs" being dropped left and right. Just when the fans of real hip hop believed lyricism was dead, it's been resurrected in the most entertaining way. The idea for the painting came from the music video for ‘First Person Shooter’ where Drake and J. Cole reenact the iconic Spider-man meme. The Spider-man meme had actually been brought to life for the first time by the respective actors of all three different live-action Spider-man franchises after Spider-man: No Way Home came out in 2021. For the first time ever all three Spider-men (Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield) were in a Spider-man film together. Afterwards to celebrate the release of the film they decided to iconically pose in-costume, imitating the meme. Now, when Drake and J. Cole did it, Kendrick Lamar was visibly left out. I decided to imitate the original meme that came from the 80’s Spider-man cartoon. I replicated the meme and imputed Drake, Kendrick and J. Coles faces on to each respective Spider-man body.

Rap Icons Series, 2023

My latest series gives praise to some of the most iconic, legendary rappers in the game of the past decade. The series takes inspiration from Andy Warhol and his love for pop culture. I have always had a fascination with pop culture from movies to music to fashion etc. What drew my attention the most were the things I related to- things that reminded me of where I came from. When I think of pop art I think simplicity, eye catching, colourful and mass production. I chose to take a more simplistic approach as opposed to my usual detail-oriented approach. Though the work is simpler, the process to create, perfect, and carry out the small details in the pieces was very lengthy. This is ironic to digital pop art, where from afar, the viewer believes that these works were created digitally, but in reality, they took hours of painting. The series is also an exploration of a new style as I continue to search for my individuality and signature style as an artist. Each piece is reminiscent of Hip-Hop magazine covers from the 90's-2000's such as those from Vibe Magazine, The Source, XXL etc. tying down to the idea of mass production in both pop art and magazines. Overall, I hope this work speaks about my appreciation for physical art and the painting craft and proves that digital art does not beat the beauty and talent that comes with painting.

West Coast, 2022
Oil and acrylic on canvas 
18" x 24"

Music has always been critically important towards my work and life in general. Hip hop has gotten me through some of the toughest times in my life, specifically because of the stories I could relate to when there was no one I could go to or talk to about the things I was facing. I chose to specifically focus on rappers from the West Coast because they are who I resonate with the most. While rappers from other places like New York, focus on boasting about what they have or what they can buy, West Coast rappers tend to mostly speak on tough times and life in the ghetto. I love everything about the West Coast culture. Not just the music but the artistry, the fashion and films. I grew up watching classic films about life in California and was fascinated by it. Such films as Boyz n the Hood, Menace II Society, Blood In Blood Out, American Me, Baby Boy etc. To this day, even the way I dress sometimes is inspired by California attire. I am fascinated by the Chicano Art Movement and style that is ever so popular in California and you can see the admiration in many of my works.

Self Portrait, 2022
22"x22"
Oil on cloth bandana

The Survival of the Fittest series was displayed at GRADEX 107. The series was about my life, but also reflects the lives of others like me coming from bad neighborhood's. As you will notice, the reoccurring theme throughout all of my work in this series is the bandana or paisley print. What it symbolizes to me is the streets, it reminds me of where I came from. The bandana has a reputation of being associated with some of the most rebellious groups throughout history. In modern day society, it is directly associated with gang culture. Wearing the wrong colour bandana in the wrong part of town can literally get you killed. I come from that wrong part of town.  It is where I was born and raised. I felt the need to share my perspective of what life is like where I come from as it's always been a touchy subject for those who do not understand or do not wish to understand. I would like to represent the underrepresented and speak for those who go unheard. I wish to put an end to the stigma regarding underprivileged, troubled neighbourhoods and the people that come from them. I’m tired of feeling rejected by the upper class. Tired of feeling inferior. Not everyone is born with a silver spoon. Not all are given the advantages or opportunities of others. What I have learned is that life is full of choices, and some chose to survive by any means. I was raised to live life righteously. I chose differently from others, but I cannot judge anyone. I have seen a lot and been through a lot in my life and I can only give you a glimpse.

2020, 2020
36" x 48" 
Acrylic on canvas

This is it. This is what I've been working on all year. I started this painting back in January with the intent of moving in a new direction. As an artist I feel like I'm always hungry for the next thing.  I was growing tired of portraiture- I knew I could do that already. I wanted to see what was next, where I could push my creativity. I needed to create work with more substance, I wanted there to be a narrative. I came across this painting called Hü by a German painter named Jörg Immendorf at the AGO a couple years ago that has always been at the back of my mind. In this painting, Immendorf paints this comical scene that takes place in a bar that consists of a bunch of politicians and important people of his time. He paints himself in the corner painting "the end of the world" and Adolf Hitler is trying to peak over his canvas to see what he is painting. I found this so interesting because there was so much going on, so much importance even if it was painted in this comical style. In art history class, I learned about all the eras of art. We focused on the greatest artists from these eras and their contributions to the world. Something I noticed that was so consistent with all the eras was the documentation of the times these artists lived through. I feel like this is so important as an artist- to leave a glimpse of what it was like for us in our time. So that is what I set out to do. I worked on a painting all year documenting EVERYTHING. I don't know if I can call it luck or the opposite, but this year ended up being the craziest year of my life and I'm sure many can say the same. Starting back in January when Trump bombed Iran and almost started World War 3 to the most obvious topic of the worldwide pandemic, COVID-19. I wanted to illustrate all of the most controversial topics. I painted Trump in the center, in front of the burning White House in a Scarface-like stance throwing a fit, which I still feel like could happen any day now as he refuses to leave his role as president. I painted Black Lives Matter protesters in the crowd, Bloods and Crips coming together, a member of Anonymous, Borat saying f*** you to Trump, the KKK, the police, and the infamous McCloskey's who have been labeled as "Ken& Karen". I painted myself alongside the protestors and did this all in the way as to represent our revolt on injustice, racism, and everything else wrong with the world. My placement in this painting also meant so much more to me. I thought of myself as a flâneur - observing in the crowd, painting what I see before me and around me. I thought of my position as an artist in this world. I often think of what my reason for being here is. I don't have the power to change the world or save anyone, but I can show you what's wrong with this world. Within the artwork, I incorporated many aspects that stood out to me this year. This piece was made to evoke feelings: anger, confusion, laughter, and many other reactions for every person who experienced 2020. In the painting, you will find a Mexican child crying in a cage. Behind the child are the bodies of the people found hung all over the United States which surprisingly have yet to be solved. There are also a few other things that have been so prominent in the media that I could not look past like the murder hornets, the strange monoliths, the 5G towers, meteors, and UFO sightings. I even threw in a few things you might not notice at first like the man in the Kobe Bryant jersey, the child in the Black Panther mask, or the Pop Smoke logo all representing their passing this year.  Other notable things that must be seen very closely are The New York Times newspaper where it was announced that Joe Biden has beaten Trump, the brief case with a bunch of needles that read COVID-19 and some top-secret files where photos of children have poured out on the ground exposing Trump and his friend Jeffery Epstein as the Anonymous group had done so earlier this year by leaking incriminating documents online. There is so much more that must be seen in person and even some secrets within the painting that can only be scene under a black light. Hopefully I will be able to showcase it in person in the coming year.

7 Day Theory, 2019
22"x28"
Oil on baltic birch plywood with LED lights

Inspired by 2pacs final album 7 Day Theory. Have you ever heard the saying “We all have our own cross to bare?" In life we are promised only a few things: pain, suffering and death. Every one, rich or poor, must endure a life full of heart aches, losses, physical &emotional pain, etc. We all must suffer. We all have our own ‘crosses to bare’- whatever they may be. Burdens that you live with and carry with you everyday that you learn to deal with. It says this many times in the bible. (Luke 14:27“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”)This piece is heavily inspired by the artwork of 7 Day Theory and overall theme of the album. On the cover of the album it says, “In no way is this portrait an expression of disrespect for Jesus Christ”- Makaveli aka 2pac. What some may not understand is he, (nor I)are referring to him as Jesus. Tupac himself was a very religious and Godfearing man, its evident in all of his music so he would never put himself at that level. Tupac was simply expressing how he felt. He felt that the media had “crucified” him, accusing him of things he didn’t do- portraying him as something that he wasn’t for the whole world to see. He had been a man trying to do good in the world and the world had turned its back on him. Sound familiar? What I want people to take away from this at the end of the day is that Jesus wasn't the only one on the cross. He was there along side “the good thief” and “the unrepentant thief”, one good man and one bad man. All though “we all have our own cross to bare” is a figure of speech, we all do metaphorically have our own “cross”.