I wanted to share some materials that were created for a behind the scenes look of “Ghetto Dreams”, a single from Common’s lp “The Dreamer The Believer”. This video was created by my long-time collaborator, Brian “B. Kyle” Atkins, who asked me to participate in order to add more depth and dimension to the experience with some custom graphically-driven cut scenes and splash screens. Being such a huge hip-hop fan and having been given the opportunity to lend my talents to such iconic artists as Nas and Common was a very surreal experience for me. I have followed both of their careers closely growing up, so it was truly an honor to be part of their project. Check out the video here.

I also shared some concept art I created for a possible mixtape that might become reality. The artwork is currently being reviewed by both camps.

NAS x COM Mixtape concept art

Update 1/26/2012: “The Blooming” album art, which I created for Maimouna Youssef, was nominated for a WAMMIE (Washington Music Association) for ALBUM COVER OF THE YEAR!!!!!

BIG Congrats to Maimouna for scoring 3 WAMMIE nominations!!!

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Last summer I had the pleasure of working with the very talented, Grammy-nominated recording artist Maimouna Youssef. I was tasked with the creative direction and execution of album packaging and promotional material for her debut LP, “The Blooming”. This project, starting off like so many others, had me curious as to how much creative input I would have in the execution of my ideas as well as the collective input from all parties. I like to make anyone I collaborate with feel like they have creative control and a lot of freedom with their own input. I understand how important it is for anyone to feel like their project is truly theirs and that they were able to contribute in anyway possible. I was relieved to find out how perceptive and open minded Maimouna was to my suggestions and it really felt like this artwork was a project that both of us truly came together on. Maimouna is a very creative and inspiring person, and really, her music simply speaks for itself. Her accomplishments, from her work with the Roots and Jazzy Jeff, amongst many others, to her LP “The Blooming” are reflective of so many great things to come. This was a truly awesome experience. Make sure you pick up the album!

There really isn’t that much that I can say about J. Dilla that hasn’t been said already. For me his music will forever be the soundtrack to my life. My personal discovery of his music came at a time when I was tired of what most hip hop artists had to offer. Granted, I have been a fan for a long time already, without realizing that he was the main ingredient in the sound that artists like Common, A Tribe Called Quest, The Pharcyde and The Roots have been producing. J. Dilla  was an innovator and a shapeshifter, abandoning his sound in favor of something new and original as fast and as often as he would create a unique style, time after time. To most hip hop purists, DJ Premier, Pete Rock and RZA, amongst others, are the paramount of hip hop production, and rightfully so. I would never disrespect these great producers, take away from their legacy or engage in these debates of opinions, but personally, J. Dilla made music that mattered to me the most. His sound, always changing, challenged how I heard and felt music. It was as if he made music for me personally.

James “J. Dilla” Yancey passed away in February of 2006. I was working at my desk at home and reached out to Brian Atkins, whom I collaborated with previously on a DVD project for The Roots, only to find out that he was at J.Dilla’s wake in Los Angeles. I was shocked and very upset. He was one of the few artists whom I kept on my radar and losing him was going to affect my selection of new music tremendously. Brian also filled me in that he was shooting some footage during the wake and was planning to release it eventually for the fans of J.Dilla. When he asked me to participate in this project, I immediately started to brainstorm. I did alot of early concepts and visual designs, trying to define a look and feel, creating video transitions and DVD menu chapters. J.Dilla’s camp was getting ready to release his LP, “The Shining”, and I got to toss around some ideas for that as well. The DVD was pretty much completed but because of scheduling and red tape, it was put on pause indefinitely. 

Not until February 2011, exactly five years since Dilla’s passing, did we revisit this project. Brian decided to upload this video, now titled “J.Dilla: Still Shining” online, so that all J.Dilla fans could have access to it and I helped him with his goal by creating thejdillaproject.com. This was probably my most personal work to date. It was rough, chaotic and unpolished, but it was honest and organic. It was about one of my icons and I am proud to say that I got to create something official for J.Dilla in this lifetime.

Watch the Documentary here

I was always a big fan of hip-hop and already owned several albums by The Roots, but it wasn’t until the first time I got to see them perform live did I fully realize their ultimate appeal. During their concert in 1998, I noted that some of the members of The Roots were wearing t-shirts with “okayplayer.com” printed across in a clean bold typeface. Intrigued, I logged into this website and discovered what is an information hub for all things related to The Roots and other affiliated artists like D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Common amongst many more. Founded by Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, the website made it possible for music fans to interact with artists and each other by means of a message board. After casually visiting okayplayer.com over a period of a year or so, some of my work caught the eye of then-okayplayer documentarian and video director Brian “B.Kyle” Atkins. He contacted me one night randomly via instant message, when I arrived home half-sober, and explained who he was and what he was working on. After briefing me on his projects, he asked me if I would participate on helping him in collaboration with ?uestlove in the creation of a video project for The Roots, titled “Roots TV II: The DVD”. The documentary took about a year to complete and my involvement included conception and design of DVD packaging, promotional materials and visual elements and transitions that were used in the actual video. The documentary project was completed in 2003 and a lot of things happened since then in my personal and professional life. Still, to this day, this is a very important milestone for myself personally because it was mostly a labor of love. I continued to work with Brian throughout the years, as well as working on my own venture and being a part of the creative team that is now Heavy. I branched out into many different realms of visual design, working with a wide range of clients, from Fortune 500 heavyweights and entertainment giants to local businesses. But this documentary has it’s own special place because, in a way, it was a stepping stone. It allowed me to realize how far one can go if they believe that they can recognize and grab an opportunity when it presents itself, even if in the most unconventional ways.