There's hope for critical artistic expressions beyond dispute: Frank Shepard Fairey

LA based street artist Shepard Fairey (1970) graduated from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. Frequenting the skateboarding scene as a youngster, he used his professional stenciling skills on clothing and skateboards designs.


The contemporary artist relates to the authentic aspects of hip hop culture and freedom of speech. 


This man's clearly driven by street art imagery in all its forms( posters, stencil art, collage, screen printing, wheat pasting, ...), using his talent to criticize socio political situations such as war, materialism or propaganda in a witty, emotive and slightly commercial way. 


His Andre the Giant (Has a Posse) stencils and stickers started out as an inside joke.  The wrestler's unique and goofy face was transformed to a simple black and white image which was distributed  in cities all over the US. Later on he added the word OBEY to the popular image with the purpose of making people question authority.  "Andre the Giant has a Posse" is also the title of a documentary made by Helen Stickler .


Guerrilla artists Fairey, Robbie Conal and Mear One collaborated on the Be the Revolution(2004, anti-Bush) street art campaign. In the same year Roger Gastman and Fairey founded pop culture and lifestyle Swindle magazine. 


Furthermore the illustrator founded Studio number one, a creative agency which designs album covers, clothing and movie posters, a reliable income for Fairey's family.


The graphic designer gained fame when he created the iconic style Obama Hope poster (2008) and stickers during the US presidential campaign. The red and blue Andy Warhol 's style resembling piece was based on a photograph by Mannie Garcia(Associated Press), leading to copyright infringement claims. Recurring subjects under discussion concerning  art in public spaces are illegitimacy, fair use and derivatives. 


Thanks to this massive exposure and the caused commotion, Fairey's work has already been shown in solo gallery exhibitions and at the LACMA, MOMA NY, ICA Boston, MCA San Diego, National Portrait Gallery Washington DC and at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.


Remaining loyal to urban culture, Fairey performs on stage as DJ Diabetic and MC Insulin. He even collaborated with DJ Shadow. Banksy's film Exit Through the Gift shop, an inside story of street art,  contains footage of Fairey, Ron English, Space Invader, Swoon among others.


Despite long- winded art critic disputes about the originality and value of his versatile creations, this reporter of peace has become a  street art symbol as well as an asset in contemporary art. Two of a trade never agree. 

Article written by Ann Timmermans

Keep it real

Hip hop music is not restricted to wordplay, flow, beats and rhymes. It represents freedom, righteousness, equality, knowledge, understanding, wisdom and tolerance.


A hip hop artist remains in quest for facts, peace, unity, love and fun.
 (The Roots and Bahamadia, push up your lighter: I' m living life within a labyrinth of nonsense, stimulating the mind, inclined to rap about facts I never fake facts)

 A real life MC can only be credible when he's telling the truth. Honesty and pride are essential aspects to earn respect.
 ( Mind power, A Tribe Called Quest: it's about your spirit...a weak foundation doesn't make a good home, reality and intelligence, see your life for what it is)

Genuine hip hop artists awe listeners by means of meaningful lyrical contents, their well reflected thoughts entering the public's ears, possibly altering their attitudes and views. This soulful rhythmic storytelling is a true inspiration for a generation.

Authentic hip hop expresses reality, messages integrity, keeps it real.

Self-determination, education and self-realization enable a clear view on the choices you make in life. To become a meaningful Master of Ceremony who teaches lessons, one needs to comprehend and master his own life, norms and values. The right attitude in life's crucial to be part of a hip hop nation.

(Jurassic 5, Get it together: I'm trying to live my life right, I don't want to lose my soul, pay with my life, you got to be your own man and handle your biz)

Hip hop's powerful freedom of speech platform voices unjust issues of racism, politics, sexism, homophobia, unfaithfulness. It analyzes socio political structures and rejects any form of prejudice and discrimination.( speak truth to power) Therefore critical thinking is a bare necessity in motivating change of the game. This goal can be obtained when expressing yourself, your opinion, your struggle and frustration in a respectful creative, cultural, original, experimental or emotive manner....

 Basically it is all about positivism, peace, living right and the significant presence of love. This is the only way this art of poetry can become food for the soul and for thought.

However some youngsters prefer the futile temptations of money, power and fame to the essence of hip hop.
Ego-driven hip hoppers vulgarize the valuable essence of music.

( A Tribe Called Quest: Phony rappers who do not write, who do not excite, you play yourself in front of your enemies, lying to no end, MC's for me make things happening, talk about a world but in a form of rapping, I got to keep it real)

 Music lovers aren't the slightest interested in cursing ghetto talk about though pimps, pussy, ho's, bimbo's, drugs, glamour and dough. All bitches want to suck my dick lines and rhyming lies are not to be considered food for the soul. That's literally called dropping shit.
 (De la Soul, Stakes is high: I'm sick of bitches shaking asses, I' m sick of talking about blunts, love for the fact of no longer loving yourself kid)

 These self-indulged ivory towers all want a piece of the pie but are not aware of the fact that they are in it for the wrong reasons. Hip hop's merely a commercial convenience to these haters, not a way of life. They are not able to keep it real or do right. If you don't care, don't talk to the snare!
 ( NWA, express yourself: not what society wants u to be, rap 4 the pop charts, exaggerate- a little fiction)

They twist the constructive bases of respect and authenticity into a foul abusive concept. In stead of talking sense, they talk nonsense to get in groupies' pants. 
 (Slum village, Forth and back: Don't make no sense, you ain't got to grab the microphone to pay your rent, too many so many so called mc's rapping, put your shit down, you can't make it happen)

 These unashamed superficial MC's utter disrespect by declaiming homophobia, violence and sexism due to the simple fact that they lack self respect and self reflection. The right of freedom of speech expires when you disrespect human rights. Hip hop creates, innovates but never denigrates.

These fools of society misuse the artistic, social, political and economic impact of music on society, forming a distorted, foul image of hip hop culture.

Moreover this prejudiced bullshitting obstructs the road of significant hip hop towards liberation of the arts. It simply perverts musical sincerity .

As I recall music's a matter of the heart, not of appearance!


(Slum Village featuring Dwele, tainted: Is it real love? Your man is doing things I can't really say, don't sound so good, it sounds tainted to me, it's the same thing in love as in music business, people smile at you when they really want to frown, that's just the way tainted folk get down, just keep it real and we'll see, keep love from being tainted)

Article written by Ann Timmermans

Face the music

Artists create to convey ideas and emotions. Art is able to depict the truth in another manner. 


Each culture is imbued with vocal and instrumental sounds, differing in rhythm, melody and harmony. 


Music plays a central role in everyday life and is not merely used for entertainment. 
It adds atmosphere to ceremonies, social get-togethers, rituals and communication. Musical notes mark important moments in life e.g. celebrations, weddings or funerals. 


The power of musical compositions can not be denied. Vocal or instrumental sounds have a significant effect on listeners. Musical works evoke and manipulate our emotions, intellect and psychology,  reduce negative emotions and lower stress levels. Listeners primarily seek diversion in music because of its significant calming or moving effect.


Many great philosophers( Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, ...) wrote emotion theories as feelings add to the meaning of life. In The Republic Plato stated that music has a direct effect on the soul, brings lightness in life and gives wings to the brain. He believed music turns people into better, harmonic humans. 


It has been scientifically proven that pieces of music have a prodigious impact on the brain. Instrumental, relaxing or classical music improves concentration, filters out distractions, enhances creativity, comprehension and encourages the study process. 


Music therapy is used to treat seizures, ADD, pain, depression, insomnia and low energy levels. It even seems to lower blood pressure and it reduces the heart rate. 


Be it hip hop, acid jazz, punk, dub step or fado, musical languages all have their own worth. All soothing art of sound brings people together, sedates and gives pleasure. Therefore there is no need to dance to somebody's tune. Let it be music to our ears.


Article written by Ann Timmermans

Soul food! The afro-American kitchen

Soul food cuisine consists of an selection of traditional afro-American dishes and originates from the traditional African kitchen. 

Slave traders forced native Africans on slave ships to work in America during the 15th century. The slave traders were real cheap skates, feeding their workers at the lowest cost possible. They fed the slaves leftovers and vegetables such as cabbage. Most of these products were unknown to the oppressed hard workers, who made African style recipes with them. They developed recipes made with lard or pig feet. These recipes were passed on orally as slaves weren't allowed to read or write.

A fusion kitchen arose when the African kitchen was influenced by the kitchen of native Americans, who ate corn and wild berries as well.

The first soul food cookbook entitled "What Mrs. Fisher knows of old southern  cooking" was written by Abby Fisher (1881). 

The term soul food became popular in the sixties.  . 

The sharing of food, seated all together around a table, is one of the basic elements of soul food. Soul food is meant to be eaten with soul mates and friends in a cozy setting.

Collard, mustard or turnip greens, sweet potato pie, peach cobbler, gator meat balls, Memphis barbecue, southern buttermilk chicken, Brunswick stew, Creole chicken gumbo, oven barbecued baby beef ribs, uncle Raive's calve liver casserole, crab cakes, fried yams, green bean casserole, cole slaw, black eyed pea casserole, tamale pie, .... You name it, soul food has it!

Blacks and whites are now eating soul food together! 

Article written by Geert Jan Van Laethem

Soul food recipes

“The Yesterday's New Quintet Angels”: west coast jazz at its best

I would like to introduce an amazing musical project to the music enthousiasts among you: the electronically influenced jazz sounds made by musical genius Madlib.

In 2001 Madlib broke new ground when he created the jazz/hip hop album “The Yesterday's New Quintet Angels”. 

The album was made by four musicians: Ahmad Miller, Monk Hughes, Malik Flavours and Madlib. Three of these names appeared to be fictional... 


A real West-coast flavored mix of jazz and hip-hop created in an experimental way.

Madlib continued producing other albums under these pseudonyms as well as under his own name Otis Jackson Jr.

In 2002 The Yesterday's New Quintet paid tribute to Stevie Wonder, remixing all Wonder's classics with an unmistakable YNQ-sound.

Later on he also paid a warm tribute to Weldon Irvine(2004) and to the Joe Mc Duphrey Experience.

All these musical scores are all really laid back and unique.

So prepare your ears for a relaxed trip when you listen to this music!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab6qIQs6lTs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j1rZRymdRI&feature=related

Article written by Geert Jan Van Laethem

Raising questions: street artist JR

JR and Marco , Face 2 Face, 2007

JR(France, 1983) is an internationally known photographer, street artist and activist. He started out as a graffiti artist until he discovered photography. Nowadays he makes oversized black-and-white photographic canvases.

His controversial artworks consist of socially tinted photos, video, prints, books and street art.
JR collaborates with local people on his artistic projects, listens to and is interested in people in an attempt to bring communities together.

His aim is to bring art into the streets, where people who would never go into a museum, can be reached. He explores new ways of exhibiting in an urban environment. According to the artist the streets and walls add extra meaning to his pieces.

The urban activist wants to evoke critical reflections on society. His humanist works tackle concepts as identity, sexism, freedom, preconceptions, violence, commitment, ...

Portraits of a Generation(2004-2006, his first 28 mm project), an initially unauthorized project, is a collection of huge close up portraits of young Parisian ghetto inhabitants plastered on the walls of their homes in order to change the spectators' view on the social representation of these human beings who are often treated as scum.

In 2007 JR photographed Israelis and Palestinians for his second 28mm urban project entitled Face2 Face(e.g. Portraits of twins brothers 2007). The large scale black and white portraits were illegally shown face to face in eight towns on either side of the Separation Barrier. The project’s goal was to show the citizens' similarities in the expression of emotions as well as the complexity of the situation in the Middle East. Another combination of art and laughter to break down stereotypes. Gerard Maximin also made a film about this project: Faces.

In 2008, JR made a documentary film called Women Are Heroes. It was selected at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. The film on the dignity of oppressed women draws attention to women's stories on conflicts, violence and their hope on a better future. The artist mainly met men on the street, but realized women held the community together.

In 2008 the versatile artist went to Morro da Providencia, an infamous favela in Rio de Janeiro, where he pasted portraits of its female residents on houses in co-operation with Brazilian youngsters.

Wrinkles of the City( Los Surcos de la ciudad)questions the memory of a city and its inhabitants . Los Surcos de la Ciudad depicts the lives of old inhabitants of Spanish Cartagena. These portraits of living city memories were part of the Biennial at The Shanghai Art Museum.
Although he mostly refrains from the art world , Sotheby's sold his work and work of his was included in Tate Modern's Street Art exhibition(2008).

He received the 2011 TED prize( $ 100.000 ) for global change in an innovative way. Socially conscious as he is, he uses his money to help the featured people in his projects. He paid for a cultural centre in the favela, used prints on vinyl to make waterproof roofs.

This anonymous artist is a master in creating a space where spectator and subject fuse in an attempt to make people think critically all over the world. Or as I would say: JR is a true welfare worker by means of the arts.

www.jr-art.net

Back

Ann Timmermans

Beat Streets mag is back with a monthly edition! We are looking for submissions of articles and photographic material. 

Interbeton, an attraction for graffiti artists, squatters and urban photographers

Squatters took over the site of Interbeton in Ghent from the moment it was no longer in use. The terrain became a homeport for artists and a place of inspiration.

Graffiti artists were able to fully explore their passion without the fear of seeing their pieces being destroyed after a few days as it occurs in the Graffiti alley, Werregaren by the large amount of tags.

The entire building site, with walls as far as the eye can reach, was in need of a layer of paint. Roa, Blue and many others took advantage of the opportunity to share their pieces with the outside world. The majority of the walls were coated with latex paint, which is an excellent foundation to show large scale paintings to full advantage.

The site was a cosy, sociable and safe environment thanks to the squatters who were always in for a chat. It was a hospitable setting where no distinction was made between race, class and whatever. Anyone was welcome at the gigs and parties which were regularly being organized.
The sign boards of Interbeton are the towers, featuring master pieces of graffiti artists without fear of heights. These artworks are still to be admired up to this day.

In the meanwhile practically all annexes have been demolished. The towers will remain, in future these will be renovated by the city of Ghent . A cultural center will be constructed on the abandoned harbor site.

The question arises whether we are really in need of a new district. Wouldn’t it be preferable to breathe life into this environment with a mix of architecture and culture.

Interbeton will be remembered by many artists for a long period of time.
There should be more similar spots where illegal graffiti is being tolerated, in order to brighten up our gray city.

Article written by Cypress Photo

The sound of tomorrow

Avant- garde hip hop the new movement? Naturally it is as every culture evolves in its own way.

Hip hop experienced its golden age with the straight up boom bap sound of the nineties.

The heroes from back in those days were DJ Premier, DJ Babu, Gangstar , Wu-tang clan , Mos def and Talib Kweli … There is a whole list of names which could be added to the history of hip hop in the nineties.

The beats had grooving strong kicks and snares, yet somehow the music pieces remained simplistic in a fashionable way. Cut up samples in addition to mixed in vocals of old records spiced up the track’s appealing sound. Some of those artists are still in the game continuing their work.

For sure these musicians had their idols and examples from the eighties, such as DJ E3 and Afrika Bambaataa who produced a very electronic sound at the time.

Nowadays we notice an evolution towards a worldwide mixture of strong boom bap sounds and the electronic sounds of the eighties. In other words... our world has changed, provoking a compatible sound.

The new kids on the block have so many new techniques and synthesizers at their disposal, that the variety of sounds has virtually become inexhaustible. The moods and vibes they are unleashing upon the world’s eager ears are now easy to discover through media like Youtube and Wimeo.

Even though music labels struggle to make profit from record sales, these hip hop musicians keep on doing it, pushing boundaries in search of a new type of quality music.

The Dorian concept, Mike Slott, Delic, El Producto, Flying Lotus, Prefuse73 and Dynooo are merely a fraction of the future sound.

Crews like Antipop Consortium, Def-Jux and Cannibal Ox have found a way to communicate a poetic message through skillful wordplay on the new sounds of hip hop. In the UK scene rap became grime, where verses were spit on heavy bass lines and slow beats of dub step and grime.

The youth and veterans out there are searching for new ways to create an innovative sound and approach to hip hop music. We can only sit back and enjoy the new cultural hypes…

So if u ask me, bring on the avant-garde hip hop sounds!

Article written by Geert Van Laethem

Links:

Dynooo

Dorian concept

Streets ahead of the ordinary

Faile, work on wood

FAILE(1999) is the Brooklyn-based artistic collaboration between Patrick McNeil (b. 1975, Edmonton, CA) and Patrick Miller (b. 1976, Minneapolis, MN). The two friends met in high school and later on kept in touch whilst attending art school.


The duo created A Life in collaboration with Japanese filmmaker Aiko Nakagawa who left FAILE in 2006. A Life expresses the interaction with its environment, the deterioration of artwork caused by exposure to the elements. The detritus of the city wall was a constant inspiration …


They changed their artist name into Faile, an anagram of A Life. The trio started focusing on street art by means of large-scale screen prints, wheat pasting and stenciling recognizable pop culture images. During the early years of their career Faile’s artwork was marked by assemblage and dynamic experiments in public urban spaces.


Street art was only featured in a few galleries in New York, in spite of its history of graffiti and its status of the city of contemporary art.


Faile’s style and characteristic culture-driven iconographical language make their work very recognizable. Socio-political themes, criticism on society, consumerism and mass culture in addition to both sacred and profane cultural influences (the use of religious artifacts) are depicted in their projects.


FAILE’s recent work is marked by the consistent juxtaposition of dualities (love/hate, violence/beauty, peace/war), recurring themes which are represented by recognizable visual elements.


Their work is characterized by a certain ambiguity which allows the viewer’s open interpretation in order to be able to relate to the work. Their creations’ meaning is open and emphasizes the audience’s interactive experience.


In addition to the common street art media, they chose a wide array of media ea sculpture, architecture, multimedia, music, design and books in limited edition.


Faile and twenty one other internationally renowned artists such as Banksy, Shepard Fairey and Takashi Murakami were invited to show their work at the Spank the Monkey exhibition (2007, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art). This show was crucial contribution towards the institutional acceptance of street art.


A year later Street Art(Tate Modern, 2008), a group exhibition featuring street artists Blu, Sixeart, JR, Nunca and Os Gomeos included Faile’s work. Thanks to this exhibition Faile was able to reach a large public. Their work increasingly received more media attention.


Street art embraces hip-hop aesthetics, fixes its eye upon to the masses expression in an attempt to regain and embellish the urban environment. Contemporary art shouldn’t be restricted to museums and galleries but be available on every corner of the street.



Article written by Ann Timmermans

More information and pics:
faile@faile.net


http://www.faile.net/

BEAT DRUNX - Drunken Master Strikes Back

Beat Drunx album Moment of Clarity

The Beatdrunx are back…



The Belgian hip hop crew Beat Drunx stems from the work of One Cell, whose musical touches are influenced by a wide range of music styles since he previously worked with rock, jazz and deep funk bands.


MC’s Rubski, Acrid Cast(former member of Outspoken Members) and DJ Court-A-Sock (Grazzhoppa’s DJ Bigband ) joined One Cell in the formation of the Beat Drunx.


They have previously been asked as support act for GZA(Wu Tang Clan) Roots Manuva, IAM, Kerry James, The Opposites and Zwart Licht. They are regular guests at Belgium’s most renowned hip hop shows such as The Hop (Studio Brussels) and LDBK (Laid-Back/FM Brussels).


After their debut album Brewed and Bottled they kick ass with their high underground standard.


The Beatdrunx’ live reputation in addition to Acrid Cast’s and Rubski’s wordplay and lyrics tear the roof off. They bring about many spontaneous bar brawls, making it nearly impossible to get a pint for the first row listeners amongst the excited crowd.


Moment of Clarity is a dark and sinister album as for the beats composed by One Cell who produced it with a stirring up kick and snare. DJ Court-a-sock’s scratching skills lighten up the record. The experienced crew delivered nice work but I am sure they are able to make even better albums in the future.


Article written by Geert Van Laethem

http://www.myspace.com/beatdrunx#ixzz0urBFBazZ

Scraper bikes, a green ghetto movement

I was dumbfounded when I heard of this positive biker movement. Originating in Bay area Oakland California, youngsters perform stunts whilst going for rides on their customized bikes.


Average bikes are transformed into scraper bikes by applying self designed patterns, adding hard plastic and paint sprayed tin-foil.

A scraper is slang for an American modified luxury family car. Since such a car is an unknown luxury for ghetto inhabitants, they decided to turn their own means of transport into a unique status symbol.

Scraper bike parades brighten up the streets in the United States, inspiring richer hip hoppers to add large multi-coloured rims to alter their scraper cars.

Young Champ AKA Baby Shamp, MC of the Trunk Boiz, invented the scraper bike. Posting his song Scraper Bike on youtube did him credit, introducing his invention to the whole world. The track spread the message that his bike not only looks good but moreover keeps youth from the danger in the neigbourhood.

In this manner Baby Shamp paved the way for a green American movement. Let's hope it will find its way to Europe.


Article written by Geert Van Laethem


Links :


http://www.myspace.com/datrunkboiz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geIsWq5xOSE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCEQxOCFHJw&feature=related

The Compositive Two: Compositive thoughts

Mister Critical and Elpo, AKA the compositive two, create their own musical language.

The creative duo has previously been programmed with DJ Lefto and Jurassic Five at the AB in Brussels
Their album Compositive thoughts is now for sale.

I was amazed when I listened to this magnificent record. The compositive two compiled a great debut album with enchanting, dreamy melodies. They succeeded in accomplishing a complete conceptual record of smooth jazzy sounds, spiced up by skimming soul grooves.

I assume MC Elpo's politically committed and has proven he's able to jot down nicely developed concepts.

Congratulations, guys!



Article written by Geert-Jan Van Laethem


Downlad their songs for free: : tctwo.bandcamp.com

Contact info:


thecompositivetwo@gmail.com
www.tctwo.net

Streets ahead

Street art is a worldwide cultural phenomenon of revolutionary art which questions the existing environment. Street artists use urban settings as a platform to reach everyday people in order to influence the collective behaviour. Their pieces have their own language to communicate activist and social themes.

A large variety in street art media and techniques can be perceived, going from murals, installations, video projections, wheat pasting, flash mobbing, over stencil graffiti, LED art, poster art and sticker art to large graffiti master pieces made with aerosol paints or marker pens.
Graffiti is an initially unconventional art style which is associated with hip hop music. Hip hop, a subculture of our times, consists of several elements such as DJ-ing and scratching records, rap and beat box , graffiti and break-dance. MC’s spread their messages by rapping to beats.


Hip hop graffiti originally emerged from the inequalities poor urban youth in New York city were facing. Many poor residents were confronted with racism, class struggle, violence and total chaos. Imprisoned in their social situation, disenfranchised youth used this urban art style as an artistic resistance to authority. In New York Julio 204 and Taki 183 tagged their names in public spaces to reject their poor environment during the 1970’s.


The first hip hoppers voiced the frustrations of urban minorities on vehicles such as subway trains, public buildings, roofs, billboards, ... Graffiti artists use their pieces as a means of expression of the subculture, sharing their views on political and social misconduct in a dysfunctional society. It is not merely used to utter criticism but also spreads positive messages to inspire youngsters.


Street art is booming. Street artists as Aérosol and Banksy have achieved commercial success and seized the opportunity to show their art in museums or galleries. Or how underground became mainstream.


Article written by Ann Timmermans

N.W.A - Express Yourself