Rap-Art 2, Artists.

Now on to the artists…

I was one evening aimlessly surfing the internet and came across this illustration of 'Put a Ring on It':



It grabbed my attention (it's of Beyonce, so duh!)... and I discovered Nour Tohmé, the girl behind the incredibly creative drawmeasong project, where music and visuals come together in a series of wonderful - and fun! - illustrations to some of the world's most iconic songs. And that was that… Love at first sight... Although this happened months ago already I remember well how I went weak at the knees just seeing the works! I knew there and then I wanted these posters to be the visual part of Rap-Art. I mean, look what Nour says about this, how is this not the same manifesto as mine???

So it became a matter of convincing her - always such a scary subject. Honestly, a 'no' would have crushed me at that point. Writing-wise, I felt inspired and I don't think there would have been a way of stopping me haha!

Excerpt: "...Research has shown me that underrepresented communities stay away from gallery spaces simply out of deep-rooted distrust and misinformation that “art” is out of their reach and they wouldn’t be able to “understand” it. My goal is to continue changing this attitude and encourage ALL people, regardless of backgrounds, to visit gallery spaces and see that art is inclusive and fun and relevant.

...With Rap-Art, I am working hard to do events that would bring together rap music and visual, more “tradiditonal”, art, as, like you, I believe the two are essentially the same thing.

...I think your works are amazing, and simple, and musical, and so creative, they would be perfect for the message…"

So I sent this to both the email address and FaceBook, just to be sure, just to be absolutely sure, that Nour receives the message. A few days later she replied that she'd love to come to London and do it. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I was a happy bunny for a long time after that!
Around then, I went with my family to Paris for a few days and Nour and I had the chance to meet for tea and get to know one another a little bit. Just think about it, I went from not even daring to dabble in art up to a couple of years ago to having a meeting, for my own art event, with an artist in Paris. Ah that felt nice :)

It also felt nice (and by all means, still does!) to have had a prospect to work with a girl so talented and interesting and open-minded and hard-working. It was ("is" because we are keeping in touch?) an honour.

Now, for every Thank-You or Birthday message (even ones to Sofia's little friends) I use drawmeasong postcards and know that mine is already a unique gesture. Also, as I was getting the prints out of their frames to send them back to Paris, I decided that I really didn't want to part with them.

So, for an amazing price, they are now hanging on the walls of the hallway in my building and make me and my neighbours so happy! 

Now on to the boys…

As predicted (feared?), boys were a lot of work - I music-researched for days non-stop: Soundcloud, Facebook, events, Twitter, YouTube - you name it I've likely checked it out. Musicians, collaborators, mentions, collaborators of collaborators - there's A LOT of material there. But  my music taste is quite "limited", there are particular sounds that I enjoy and I listen out for what I enjoy... Although admittedly, during some of the searches I have begun to discover how awesome Grime can sound, which I was reluctant to give a chance to before. I've listened to a few VERY talented grime artists.

Anyway, as always, some musicians were unreachable - no contact details anywhere at all - some did not reply, some had manages that I chickened out of calling, some asked to be payed. But Rap-Art is non-profit - free for everyone to come and bring friends to and enjoy their evening, so, obviously, I couldn't. Maybe one day when Rap-Art is properly established and going in the right direction the artists will say Yes more easily - I'm telling you, there's some amazing music to be shared live!!! I can't WAIT for people to hear what's out there.

But let's go back to what they have already heard:

Dee Riginal. Now this one is a musical gem I'm proud of finding and also such a great guy! He came on time, hours before the gig, and spent almost the entire day at the gallery with me despite being completely sleep-deprived. His is AWESOME MUSIC and an irresistible attitude.

Next up: DIPS, who took me forever to find but turned out to be a cousin of the man who provides the speakers for the night. London is tiny! DIPS had very strong energy, I could see people really enjoying his set, which is all I ever ask for…
Oh but this tune is NICE, non?

Now, from the next artist, I won't lie, I didn't expect to hear a reply (and i honestly have no idea why) but I did (!!!!!!!!!) Richie Saps makes BEAUTIFUL music - the slow beats and type of flows I got so attracted to a few years ago when Hip-Hop became part of my life. I can confidently tell you that if you still haven't seen Richie live then you've missed out on a great experience.

Finally, last but so definitely not least, Shane Chubbz came back! Here I was, banging my head against the table certain that I can't make this event happen, when I received a DM asking me if he can perform for the second time. 'Flattered' was not the word. This time Shane came as part of The Contract to promote their awesome Jam on Scones EP. It was a GREAT performance, as per usual.
Update (sort of): It seems Shane's decided to no longer make music, which I personally find quite sad, but which also means we had the opportunity to see him live that no one will again. It was an honour.

So here we go, Rap-Art 2, done completely on my own, for better or worse but of course for better - giving me the memories and maybe the confidence that I could do this again (that's a tricky one though, as I never believe I can do this again. Why IS that???).