Rap About Money

I was named after Tom Waits; I grew up listening to Neil Young, John Hiatt, and J. S. Bach. But when I was about eight, my, then, best friend introduced my to rap. It was a pivotal moment for me. A frustrated boy, I was able to live vicariously through the brutal rhymes spat by the likes of DMX, Xzibit, Tupac, and Eminem. I also developed a taste for Nelly — the song I associate most with my elementary-school years is Ride Wit Me. I don't think my parents were too keen on this, but it was the most rebelling I ever did. 

Since then, I have had a mixed relationship with rap. I went a number of years refusing outright to listen to it. I am now very much in love again. 

Anyway, this image is the first of a series I am starting. My model series is still available, but I will probably not be adding any further subjects to it. This series is going to be my favourite rappers, screened by my favourite lyrics. There are a lot of brilliant rhymes, in rap, but I'm not necessarily interested in the best, most lyrical ones. Rather, I'm using the ones that strike me, that I hear myself spontaneously repeating. The idea was inspired by a t-shirt I saw a few years ago, the exact artist of which I do not know. It was a picture of Biggie, screened by Dead Prez lyrics (fig. 1)

fig. 1. Biggie

Like the model series, this one isn't really groundbreaking, just specific. I just want to create something that speaks to me, and speaks for me. That is to say that some artists use expressionism, in one form or another, to express their emotions, but I don't. I'm trying to find something real and recognizable to convey my emotion. I'm not saying that I am a straight thug, out of the South Side Bronx, who moves bricks, and carries a chromed-out Mac; I'm saying that rap is part of my life, and by using it in my art, I'm revealing something about my identity. 

I digress. This first piece is of Lil Wayne, an artist I haven't always enjoyed. I didn't used to enjoy his flow, or his voice, or really anything about Mr. Cash Money. Tastes change, I suppose, and I found a number of tracks that did move me. The words, here, are from his part in Yo Gotti's I Got Them. I first heard the song in the third instalment of Bird Peterson's amazing Drankenstein series, and was immediately hooked. 

This piece is still just a digital image; I have yet to print it. It will measure about 8"x12," but I might try to do some analogue enlarging, to get it larger. I completed it today, October 2, 2013.