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Artist Statement

I began composing art (draw, paint, and sculpt) at a very
 early
 age
 ‐ 
my 
uncle 
was 
an 
artist 
and
 challenged
 me
 to 
get
 better 
every
 time 
I
would
 visit. 

He 
held
 me 
to 
my
 word
 and 
I 
to 
his. 

I
 would
start
 with
 copying 
his
 comic
 books
 and 
later
 progress 
to
 drawing
 and 
creating 
my
 own.

 Soon 
in
elementary
 school

 I 
was 
the 
"kid” 
who 
could 
draw.

 That 
title 
followed
 me 
all
 my 
life.
 At 
an 
early
point 
in
 my
 life
 HIP
 HOP 
found
 me,
 most 
likely
 from 
the
 same
 uncle
 who
 was
 an 
artist.
 I
 distinctly
 remember
 one
 summer
 visiting
 Youngstown 
and 
listening
 to
 "Jam
 on 
It
" and
 watching
an
 older 
kid
 do
 graffiti
 while
 my 
cousins
 were
 popping
 and 
locking.
 That
 was
 the
 spark,
 I 
tried
 my 
best
 to 
bring
 everything
 I
 saw
 in
 Ohio 
that
 summer
 back 
to
 Hampton
 Virginia.
 Naturally
 this
led
 to 
me
 picking
 up
 a 
spray
 can 
because
 of
 Ramo
 on
 "Beat
 Street" 
did.
 After
 countless
 run‐ins

 with
 the
 police
 and
 VDOT, I 
found a
 little 
local
 fame
 for
 writing
 on
 bridges
 and
 tagging
 everything 
I
 could 
find.

 Later
 while
 attending
 the
 School
 of 
Arts 
in 
Virginia
 Commonwealth
University
 I
 changed
 my
 major 
looking 
for
 a 
new 
direction
 a
 few 
times. 

I 
started 
in 
the
 fine
 painting
 discipline
 then
 went 
to
 Graphic
 Design
 and
 later
 ended
 up
 with
 a
 degree
 in
 Communication
 Arts
 with
 an
 emphasis
 in
 Illustration.

 I 
excelled
 where 
I 
could
 use 
my
 graffiti
 background
 with
 text

 and
 painting
 skills
 together
 to 
tell
 unlimited
 stories.



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