Inking for Nipsey Hussle

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I’ve been trying to make more of an effort to work more in my sketchbook as a way to not have to look at a screen all day and to just get my hand back while taking a step back from digital illustration. It’s been really nice and I highly advise it to any visual artists to start doing it again. It’s only right that I uploaded this illustration I did dedicated to Nipsey Hussle. I’m still distraught about his murder. And I don’t want his passing to be something that came and went like most news we hear and rally around. So here’s my small contribution to the man whose contribution has been HUGE to the disillusioned and disenfranchised, to the Hip-Hop community, and the world as a whole.

Who Are The Real Thugs?

You know what’s [not so] funny?  I made this illustration the LAST TIME.  But I didn’t want to release it because I actually personally know a good amount of good cops.  So I didn’t want to generalize a group of people because it’s unfair to do that.  Too bad a lot of these cops don’t use that rationale when dealing with a person of color.

I hear people voicing their disappointment in the fact that people in Baltimore are rioting, wondering why they would destroy a CVS when that’s the only place for them to get food?..  But the better question would be “Why in the hell is a CVS the ONLY place to get food?!?”  Our oppressor has NO conscious.  Keep that in mind when you want to push that peace shit in these dire times.  Bloodshed is what America is built on.  The spirit of this country is built off the oppression of others.  And when did property become more important than a persons life?  I see that 3/5′s law is alive and well in the minds of too many brainwashed Americans.  The effects of colonialism are alive and well in the minds of too many brainwashed Americans.  Our oppressor cannot be taught love and acceptance when their identity stems from hate and fear.  How does one teach a whole system to collective stop terrorizing you?  KRS-One said it best, “There will never really be justice on stolen land..”  So my message to the people, is to stay WOKE.  In every sense of the word, wake up!  Stay on your toes, pass our TRUE [before slavery] history down to your kids and every respectful person you come into contact with.  Speak your mind and know yourself.  Don’t take anyone’s shit and don’t let anyone speak to you just ANY kind of way.  Stay strong y’all.

PEACE.

Bloods & Crips Peace Treaty Tee

I revamped the design and now I'm selling it. Order yourself a Peace Treaty Tee before it's gone!

This is something I’ve always wanted to illustrate.  I imagined what if I was 22 in 1992 and I made flyers to bring awareness about the Watts Peace Treaty.  Don’t forget y’all, something ill happened after the LA Riots…

“On April 28, 1992, gang members in Watts, both Crips and Bloods alike, signed a “Cease Fire Agreement,” an unprecedented agreement between rival gangs in Southeast Los Angeles. The “Peace Treaty” simultaneously sought to deal with “human capacity building” in an area blighted by social ills induced by poverty, abuse, neglect and oppression. Gangs such as the Bounty Hunter Bloods, PJ Watts Crips, Hacienda Village Bloods and Grape Street Watts Crips were part of the treaty of 1992 that mitigated violence and tensions between these rival neighborhoods.

The success of the Cease Fire led to an immediate decline in violence in Los Angeles the following year, and laid a strong developmental foundation for many community members, gang and non-gang youth and adults notably included, to seek to change their environment.

As a direct result from the gang’s efforts, Los Angeles is currently experiencing a 40-year low as it relates to gang homicides and gang related violence.”

(source)

PEACE.