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Next year is the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Since our founding in 1973, the culture has grown exponentially. Other elements of hip-hop are often overlooked in favor of rap, but it’s important to remember that graffiti, which evolved into graphic arts and murals as much as dance, was integral to its development. It’s no surprise that graffiti’s roots run deep in this city known as the Mural Capital of the United States.
“Graffiti is the oldest form of hip-hop,” says visual artist Christian “TAME ARTZ” Rodriguez.
He and artist Bill Strobel worked together to create a mural honoring Philadelphia artists who had a positive impact on the art form. The “Know The Elements” mural at 900 Cecil B. Moore Ave pays tribute to his four elements of the hip-hop pillar, including DJ, MC, graffiti his writer and breaker. This mural shows the importance of unity and the global influence of hip-hop culture.
Michele of DJ Jazzy Jeff, Leaf the Lost Cows, Bboy Box Won, Queen Joe and Ladies of Hip-Hop are among the Philadelphia figures depicted in the mural. The team behind the mural wanted young Philadelphians looking for a tribe to recognize themselves in the artist’s signature on the wall.Through workshops and murals, Mural Arts’ Restorative The Justice Guild program and the Rec Crew collaborated on this mural.
TAME ARTZ explained why the project is important to the culture and community.
“The concept started about three and a half years ago when I envisioned a mural that never existed in Philadelphia, as far as I know. I grew up not far from there, and I would always look at it and say to myself, ‘I have to do something there. Two years ago, Kali Silverman (Mural Arts Project Manager) called me and asked me to help with a mural that had been destroyed. She recognized that the artists I was working with were on my crew, and we developed a truly organic relationship. After finding out she was her manager on the project, I pitched her the idea and she went from there,” she shared TAME.
“Basically, TAME saved my butt,” added Silverman. “The murals in question are tagged and we understand how important it is to have local artists who are connected to the community. We worked at Thompson & Lehi in Old Richmond. But TAME knew some of the artists who worked there, so it was very helpful, and we knew it had to happen,” she said.
Culture grows faster than expected, often leaving voids. The question is how do you choose who to appear on the mural without overlooking anyone?
TAME explained the decision process as follows. I designed the mural so that the intention was to be festive rather than abbreviated. You have personalized the project for yourself. As someone who has lived the culture and made many friendships within it, I have made hip-hop’s origins personal without detracting from them. We wanted to make sure the murals reflected living people, as murals often reflect people who have died. The second step is to pick a few friends who represent all aspects of your culture. These two criteria helped narrow down the list and highlight individuals who truly embodied their hip-hop work. Another aspect is that we wanted to reflect the community. I wanted the community to reach out to these artists if they wanted to collaborate with them,” he said.
The work also helps dispel the notion that rap and culture are one and the same, when in fact rap is one of the elements.
This mural pays homage to an often overlooked subculture of hip-hop: women. Women have been present since the beginning, and TAME recognized their contributions through her Michele Byrd-McPhee. She is the founder of Ladies of Hip-Hop, a non-profit organization that empowers girls and women through the culture and art of hip-hop. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Temple University and a master’s degree in nonprofit arts management from Drexel University. She has worked at the Brooklyn Academy of Music as Production Her Coordinator and Late Night with Seth Meyers as Senior Music Her Coordinator. She also teaches marketing at Texas Tech University. Her introduction to the culture was through dance.
“The Ladies of Hip Hop will be 20 in 2024. Prior to that, I ran Montage, an all-female dance company in Philadelphia. I’m in my 50s and I’m literally going through this alone, partly because the women’s problem in hip-hop comes down to us being the primary caregivers. We disappear a little bit because our activism generally doesn’t get much support when things like that happen: I danced during my pregnancy and my child grew up in that culture. I think hip hop is a reflection of society as a whole, we women face the same struggles everywhere, but I think things are changing because I can tell and share my story. TAME stands by me, which helps,” Byrd-McPhee said.
There is a constant battle between old school artists and new school artists who reap the benefits of pioneer sacrifice.
“You have to remember that you can’t recreate the Golden Age,” she stresses. “We have to think about the future. The key is education and technology. It’s really hard to get them to see the value of social media. Allow people to amplify your voice and benefit you.This is an all-black problem that black people will hold tight to until they disappear.We will do it in a way that creates opportunity. We have to learn to share our artists.”
Mural Arts Philadelphia and artists such as TAME ARTZ and Michele incorporate a love of community and art into their work.
For more information on Mural Arts Philadelphia or the “Know the Elements” mural, visit muralarts.org.
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