Capturing the essence and feel of every artist’s personality he’s worked with, Remain3K’s ability to capture a vision has been utilized to help artists showcase their brand all over the world. After designing for some of the most famous artists around the world, Remain3K is now using his eye to hone his craft and show the world the diversity of his artwork.

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Launching his career in 2012, Three King$ (3K) has been creating original works of art for many major artists. A native to Chicago, 3K later transitioned to Atlanta, opening the door for more major opportunities to create the cover art for names such as 21 Savage, Yo Gotti, Migos, YFN Lucci, Blackbear, Gucci Mane, among others. In 2017, the Chicago native pressed pause just for a second to focus on his own music project, One Crown 5 and hosted by DJ Scream and DJ Fly Guy, which was greatly received by the streets. Navigating back to his first love, Remain3K’s simplistic and sharp with visual aesthetics combining photography and distinct elements of design.

To keep up with him, you can follow him on Instagram & Twitter @remain3k.

Check out some of his work below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAeX788H9gc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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The post Remain3K Shows Fans How To Turn Graphic Design Into Art appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The weekly series about passion, perseverance and the pursuit of dreams, features Chicago Artist, Hebru Brantley whose work delves into political and social issues with a conscious focus on playful insight and the optimism and possibilities of youth. Brantley’s raw talent has put the Chicago art scene on the map with celebrities like Jay-Z, Lenny Kravitz, and George Lucas, lining up to add a Brantley piece to their collection.

Much of Brantley’s work is aimed at children growing up amid Chicago’s South Side gang violence and poverty, just as he once did.  In this episode of Hear the Roses, Brantley shares the meaning behind the young superheroes, the Fly Boys and Fly Girls, reflects on his journey, and opens up about his creative process and his purpose.

Listen: https://soundcloud.com/heartheroses/hebru-brantley

Listen: Soundcloud.com/heartheroses

HEAR THE ROSES is also available on partner sites The Museum of Light, Fusicology, and RESPECT. Magazine

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The post Hear the Roses Podcast features Chicago-Based Multi-Disciplined Artist, Hebru Brantley appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

This podcast was recorded on Saturday, January 21, 2017, the day of The Women’s March. On this historic day, millions of people around the world came together to march in solidarity for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families, recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our world. Jamel Shabazz’s iconic photos are a testament to the beauty, diversity and humanity that we are striving to preserve.

January 26, 2017 — Hear the Roses Podcast features iconic photographer Jamel Shabazz whose journey through Brooklyn’s streets in the ‘80s to drugs, graffiti and hip hop has served as the world’s “visual medicine.”

This week Roses features photographer Jamel Shabazz who shares his journey from capturing some of the most iconic photos of ‘80s Brooklyn and the emerging hip hop scene to how his photography has a deeper purpose as visual medicine.

Listen: https://soundcloud.com/heartheroses/jamel-shabazz

 

Listen: Soundcloud.com/heartheroses
HEAR THE ROSES is also available on partner sites The Museum of Light, Fusicology, and RESPECT. Magazine

The post Hear the Roses Podcast features Documentarian, Jamel Shabazz appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

THE MUSEUM OF LIGHT: Just as an alchemist transforms led into gold, do you feel that being an artist relates to that of being an alchemist? Do you view the artist journey and your creative expression, as alchemy?

ROBERT GLASPER: I feel like the transforming of something into another thing as far as the alchemist goes in music is basically understanding all of the elements of the genre that I’m in. Once you understand the element, you’ve got to study the element, and you actually can authentically replicate that element, then, at that you point, you know the ins and outs of it, and you can change it. I feel like that’s what my band does. We’ve all studied and we know the history of the music and all these different things and we know sonically what makes one thing sound different from another thing. So that allows us to have the tools to be able to go from one thing to another and change things. And even have the tools to try to do something that is different that we haven’t really heard as far as we know. A lot of that really comes from studying all types of things. Some people know genres from a far when they hear it and never really played it or lived it. So it’s very important to be in it and then that really helps.

THE MUSEUM OF LIGHT: Artists are often labeled as “stars.” Just as a star radiates light and the planets then reflect this light, do you see your work as an artist like that of a star? Is this “light” that stars radiate merely the evidence of this journey of becoming a star/learning to radiate light?

ROBERT GLASPER: I see my work as a light to people. I feel that because I’ve been able to read feedback from people from social media, talked to people at shows, I get a lot of insight on what my music does for them. And even for some music, my intention wasn’t for a certain feeling, but for somebody else it resonated a certain way. I was like, ‘Wow. I didn’t have that in mind when I wrote this song.’ For them it’s like something else. It’s great. You never know what your music is gonna do for people. It’s very good to be open and honest about your music because people are going to interpret it different ways anyway. So being a cookie cutter and doing what somebody else does, for what? They’re going to have their feeling about what it makes them feel like. People can feel when something is pretentious. They feel it when it’s not honest. I try to always be honest because that’s what’s gotten me this far. People telling me how my music has changed their life or changed a situation. It let’s me know that was a light for them. I think that’s great and what motivates me.

THE MUSEUM OF LIGHT: When an artist is not “creating” it is often labeled a “creative block.” How do you navigate this space, how do you find the creative spark in the dark, and does it require courage to create from this unknown space? Describe this process.

ROBERT GLASPER: What’s helping me create and find that spark? It’s funny a lot of people when they create, musicians, we tend to say, All right tomorrow at 2 o’clock, I’m going to sit down and write a song. Like they got the universe on lock. Like at 2 o’clock that’s when the Gods are going to give me this beam and the song is gonna be written and this amazing thing. I don’t do that. Pretty much since I started playing, recording music, I’ve always had voice notes on my phone because I get inspired by so many things in my life: riding a train, walking down the street, in the bathroom. Like a song might play in the bathroom while I’m taking a piss and it inspires another thought. And as musicians, thoughts come and go really fast. So we let go of more than we keep, just naturally. So I try to record as much as I can to keep as much as I can. Immediately I pick up my phone and I sing whatever idea it was in my phone. And that’s how I recorded 95 percent of my music by doing that because I get inspired when I’m not in front of the piano. Seeing the piano doesn’t inspire me. Life inspires me. So whereever that might be, I always carry my phone so I can try to capture that moment. Then, I’ll work on it later. Flesh it out and make it something. But that’s what I’m inspired by: life. It could be anything. Any person, any song, a bird. The other day I saw this hummingbird flying around the tree. Somebody had a little hummingbird feeder with sap in it and boom. It inspired me somehow. I took out my phone and sung a melody. I might not use it for six months, but when it’s time, I’ll go back and listen and will be like, Oh, I can use that as a tag for that song or ending or bridge or anything. I just try to record all my ideas.

THE MUSEUM OF LIGHT: If you want to know what alchemy sounds like, listen to Robert Glasper Experiment’s work. His new album, ArtScience, out today, is transformation at its finest. It’s among pop music’s most eclectic merging of genres, incorporating jazz, R&B, Hip Hop, drum and bass, and more.

In addition to addressing the fusion of Art and Science in the album title, Robert also expounds on it on the album’s opening track, “This Is Not Fear.”  As the production moves from battling, frantic saxophone and piano solos, the music calms to allow Robert to speak. He says, “The reality is my people have given the world so many styles of music, so many different styles. So why should I just confine myself to one. We want to explore them all.”

As Robert’s voice fades, the music shifts again and so on. He follows this course for the duration of the album, refusing to limit himself creatively. It’s the way alchemists transform lead into gold.

Photo Credit: Mathieu Bitton

The Museum of Light is curated by: 

Billy Johnson Jr., Adell Henderson, Joslyn Rose Lyons, Rafael Casal, Matt Smith, Malik Buie.

Fore more on The Museum of Light visit:

http://themuseumoflight.com
https://instagram.com/museumoflight/
Tweets by museumoflight

The post Conversations in Light: Robert Glasper – This Is What Alchemy Sounds Like appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Artwork by Dread Solo

“This is grown man rap”

Refreshing would be an understatement. Not just the music itself, but Shabaam Sahdeeq himself in 2016. In the midst of over-saturation, female clothing, and delusional trap lords, SS is a pure testament to remaining thorough as a recording artist. Remaining  humble. Remaining raw. You don’t need to sell your soul or ride the “in” wave to be respected.

The New York City native has a list of commendable stripes. You can read more about that below in our interview with him if you didn’t know. If not, do your research.

Today we present the video premiere for Shabaam Sahdeeq and J57‘s latest “GMR” single (directed by Rhugid Lee for Rhugid Productions – cuts by Dj Eclipse). It’s pointless to break down the video in writing form if you can just click and watch it about four inches below. But do know it’s the perfect creative overload – finding himself doing live painting on the busy streets of NYC. On that note, rest in peace Sean Price. Forever.

‘Timeless: of the Collection‘, a new full length LP from SS and company, is coming very soon. You can read more about that below also. Peace and love:

RESPECT: Before we get into it we want to thank you for your time. If you were to just gain a new fan of your music today, what would you want them to know about Shabaam Sahdeeq?

Shabaam Sahdeeq: I want them to know that I’m a forever-growing and learning embodiment of the hip-hop culture. I’m a father, husband, artist and black man. A very humble and cool individual, but don’t ever take my kindness for weakness. I was told in Africa that “paintings are frozen music“. So, I feel that I’m right in my lane. I’m an emcee, painter and a barber.

R:You’re ranked as a veteran emcee with multiple stripes. What is one of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned over the years as a recording artist?

SS: The most valuable lesson I’ve learned is to never lose your love or passion for your music or whatever you do. Some people get so caught up in chasing money that they lose site of what made them love to create and express themselves with the arts in the first place.

R: Aside from recording music, you are a talented visual artist. Can you tell us a little bit about your artwork and how the two crafts echo one another?

SS: Well to start with – emcee’ing and graffiti are two of the four hip-hop elements. So me being a hip-hop head, it’s only right that I fell in love with those two. My visual art sometimes says things my words can’t articulate or vice versa. I think they go hand in hand well. My art work is urban, abstract, and experimental mixed media. I think a lot of music artists have the gift of being artistic in more ways than one. It’s up to them to embrace it and run with all of them.

You have a new record coming real soon titled Timeless: of the Collection and mentioned you were very proud of this body of work. Do you mind telling us a little bit about the project?

SS: Timeless: of the Collection is a four-part series of albums. Each will have a different beginning title but all of them are from the collection. And every single will have a piece of art that goes with it that I hand painted. The cover of each album will be from an artist that I respect or collaborate with like yourself (Dread Solo).

R: Its apparent that family is very important to you. You’re open about it on social media and in your records. What has it been like trying to balance the family man and the recording artist positions over the years?

SS: My family is very important to me. The balance is not hard because my family knows what my passion is. The music is therapy for whatever I’m going through. I work a day job that’s flexible for me to travel and do tours. I spend time with my kids. I go out with my wife. If your hear me talking about streets it’s from my time running them in the past. I spend most of my time these days in my man cave with my music equipment and art supplies – when I’m not at work or at shows. My family is my first priority over everything.

R: Can you give us a little background on the new “GMR” visual? It looks like it was a fun time.

SS: It’s a special video. I shot it right after Sean Price died, and right before I moved out of New York City to Atlanta with my family. It was a bitter sweet time. It was shot by my boy Rhugid Lee that I ran into in Manhattan years after being in prison together. We always said when we get out that we are going to pursue our dreams in different areas – his being film and mine being music and art. We combined the two and did something real special. I told him about the concept my manager Big P came up with to be painting as I moved through the city – even in the middle of traffic and Lee helped me pull it off. I was doing a Sean Price memorial painting that I finished by the end of the video – which was later gifted to Sean Price’s wife Bernadette. It’s probably not the illest one she received, but it came from the heart.

Thank you for the interview. One love!

Official Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Artwork

The post Video Premiere: Shabaam Sahdeeq – “GMR” + Interview appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

On the inspiration behind Wave[s]:

“Wave[s] was something that was inspired by not wanting to alter the music to fit a concept. But wanting to allow the music to stand as we felt or we recorded it. That was the goal with Wave[s], we wanted to create feelings. It was originally going to be called Feels but to stick with the water concept, I called it Wave[s]. We wanted to pay attention to doing something different with the sound and exploring elements of music that we thought would make things more fun and felt as opposed to just heard.”

On the album artwork by Hayveyah McGowan:

“I’m a person who didn’t give a lot of time to artwork for songs. Looking at the music and how we were trying to elevate the quality of that, we felt like we needed to elevate the quality of the artwork as well. So Hayveyah, I enlisted and commissioned pieces from by sending her the music at a very early stage. One song at a time so she wouldn’t get distracted by the others and had her paint to the music based on what she felt.

On working with Kaytranada for “Your Love”:

“Your Love” artwork created by Hayveyah McGowan

On the inspiration behind “Alchemy”:

Alchemy – by Hayveyah McGowan

Hayveyah on creating “Alchemy” Artwork:

“It [Alchemy] was really heavy with the metaphors so I felt like I needed to be more conceptual with this piece at the time. I was studying Egyptian art and the study of pyramids and how they connected to the sun.”

On working together:

“I didn’t really tell her anything at all. I would just be like ‘Make sure you’re listening to this song only when you paint’. She’d be asking me questions and I’d be like ‘Is that what you want to do?’ [Laughs] I really wanted it to be completely up to her. So whenever I got paintings back , luckily I loved them, but even if I didn’t I wouldn’t have been like ‘Oh, we need to do this one again’. I really wanted it to be her interpretation of whatever she felt.”

Wave[s] is now available for purchase on iTunes. Hayveyah McGowan’s artwork is available here.

The post Mick Jenkins Speaks on Inspiration Behind Wave[s] appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Along with the fire album, there’s no doubt that it came with a fire album cover right ? Right! According to MTV News,  the bursting colors amongst the cover was actually the artwork of a  Sanja Tošić (a Slovenian artist) who sold the image for less than $80  on Shutterstock. Although the Slovenian artist is aware that the Georgia rapper used her artwork, she claims that she is not about it but then again why would she? Considering the amount of love and attention that the cover is getting on social media, I think it’s safe to say that Sanja will probably be receiving a boost in sales soon if not already thanks to Future.

If you’ve heard the album, you may have noticed that there’s a song called. “Thought It Was A Drought” that holds a golden line. The line that you may have already heard while riding in your car or at the intro of a concert simply goes: ” I just fu**ed yo bi** in some Gucci flip flops!”. If you haven’t taken full advantage of this song yet, it might be essential for you to listen as soon as possible. Although it’s possibly one of those lines that will get tweeted repetitively for the next two weeks, it is nevertheless one of the catchiest and most memorable lines off the album.

Last but not least, you have Future’s single “Freak Hoe” that’s practically on everyone’s  playlist . Not only do the words and the hype beat go hand in hand, but I think we can all agree that this song has already landed at our nearest strip club. Although I’m not sure if it’s ever gonna take the spot of Too $horts’ Shake That Monkey at the club being that it’s only been out for 3 days, there’s no doubt that there’s going to be space cleared for the booty-bouncing single . This goes to say,get ready for new twitter videos, insta videos, and vines because this song is definitely here to stay , for now anyway.

The post 3 Things You Need to Know about Future’s DS2 appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.