The Ecstatic (Formerly known as The Experience Magazine) is an interactive Black Arts Publication aimed to examine pan-African ideas + race + identity + the celebration of spiritual practices across the wide range of black experiences. The editor & other artists featured are a collection of bold & unapologetic talent documenting & taking control of our stories; shedding light on all people of color about our various perspectives & upbringings. Using a mix of Sci-Fi + mythology + hip-hop + afrofuturism + Eastern + Pan African philosophy; Editor Jay Stone looks to create an eccentric world building platform that explores life beyond the Western World. It challenges elitist & western perspectives on black bodies + art + love + global politics + spirituality.
THE EXPERIENCE MAGAZINE
CHIEF EDITOR >>> JAY STONE WRITERS: SHAVONNE TAISHA + FVDGENASTE97 + JANEL YOUNG + JULIUS PEARSON + MELYSSA WILLIS + IFE LOVE + IMAMU AMIRI BARAKA PHOTOGRAPHERS: LUISANNA TEJADA + ROD PORTER + JONATHAN ALONSO + NATALIA VERAS ILLUSTRATIONS: CHERI WELSH + AISHA PURVIS GRAPHIC DESIGN HANDLED ENTIRELY BY JAY STONE
BEHOLD THE VISION! 10 EDITOR’S LETTER ( 1 ) 14 MADD SOULAR 16 ACT 1: SUPERMAJIK / BAPTIZED IN FIRE 20 SOUL POTENTIAL >>> JANEL YOUNG 22 Don’t Mess Up the Kids 23 SUNRISE KINGDOM FRONT PAGE HEADLINE 24 Technology & Ethos >>> Amiri Baraka 26 Finding Forever >>> Lala 32 Mamba Mentality 34 AFRONOVAA >>> Ali Santana 42 Colors Saved My Life >>> Kadeem Phillips 50 INTERLUDE / Revolutionary Ties >>> Shavonne Taisha & Jay Stone
58 ACT 2: BOOGEYMEN & THE EMBASSY 60 I Ain’t No Joke >>> Dilson Hernandez 71 EDITOR’S LETTER ( 2 ) 74 SOUL POTENTIAL >>> JULIUS PEARSON 76 The First Notion >>> Jahmel Reynolds 83 The Opponent: Excerpt From “Be Like Water”
92 ACT 3: ROSES
94 Mood Musik >>> Uniq 102 SOUL POTENTIAL >>> Ife 104 The White Raven >>> Harlito Perez 112 Be You 114 EDITOR’S LETTER ( 3 ) 116 Seeing Sounds >>> DJ Ino 125 Black Business Directory
EDITOR’S LETTER THE PRELUDE
Initially I had intended to launch this magazine the last week of December 2020. I found it oddly appropriate to do so. The year started with the death of Kobe Bryant & I wanted to honor both my grandmother and Kobe before the year’s end. But I knew with my ever evoloving ideas and just how I was managing my time it would have been an incredibly tall task. I also thought about putting this out on my grandmothers birthday but for reasons I won’t explain I passed on that. While working on this I realized I was eventually coming into orbit with Kobe’s birthday. I could have put this out on the 1 year anniversary of my grandmother’s transition but this wasn’t exactly how I wanted to honor the day she died. So here we are 8 / 23. The number 8 holds so much significance in numerology as it represents BALANCE AND POWER. When placed horizontally its symmetrical shape gives you the feeling of infinite possibilities. This is also the #22 issue of what would have been The Experience Magazine, 22 being my master number. But this also serves as a new beginning, #1 of The Ecstatic. This is literally the beginning and end. Balance. As all things should be.
JAY STONE, 2021 Photography : Jonathan Alonso IG @exp.image
THE ECSTATIC 11
In loving memory of Ms. Kush
THE ECSTATIC 13
[ Jazzy Egyptian Musik plays]
ITS HERE ATLAS! DATING AS FAR BACK AS 3,000 BC, BLACK WOMEN OF AFRICA HAVE BEEN THE DESIGNERS OF BEAUTY & FEMININITY WHICH SHAPED THE REST OF THE WORLD. INTRODUING “MADD SOULAR” A NATURAL HAIR PRODUCT FOR BLACK PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD TO UNLOCK THE RADIANCE THAT IS YOUR BLACK HAIR. WORD OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE BEAUTIFUL EXOTIC WOMEN OF AFRICA WHO TRAVELED TO EUROPE, THROUGH STORIES TOLD BY MERCHANTS AND EXPLORERS. SHORTLY THEREAFTER EUROPEAN WOMEN WANTED TO LEARN THE ART OF AFRICAN COSMETICS TO ENTICE THEIR MEN. AFRICAN WOMEN TAUGHT EUROPEAN ROYALTY ABOUT MADD SOULAR & OTHER COSMETICS. TODAY BLACK PEOPLE ARE NOW REDISCOVERING THE TRUE ESSENCE OF THEIR BEAUTY. BECAUSE BLACK HAIR IS BORN FROM NATURE’S MAGIC.
THE ECSTATIC 14
B
BaPITZED in FIRE
BaPITZED in FIRE
THE ECSTATIC 17
THE ECSTATIC 18
THE ECSTATIC 19
If you were granted the opportunity to create a heroic alter ego and exist in this lifetime as that version of yourself, what would that look like? What attributes could you echo in your current life? Take this opportunity to follow your inner, youthful aspirations. Come up with a cool super hero alter ego. They might lead you to an uncharted part of your subconscious desire.
JANEL YOUNG LOCATION: CAPETOWN, SOUTH AFRICA SUPERPOWERS : 1) CREATE LIGHT PRISMS TO SHOW PEOPLE ALTERNATE REALITIES OF THEIR LIVES AND EVOKE EMPATHY; 2) TELEPORTATION DESCRIPTION OF YOUR DAY TO DAY LIFE (INCLUDING LOVE / FAMILY / HERO LIFE) TIGHT-KNIT, NATURAL HAIR HAVING, TRAVELING FAMILY OF 4; MATERIAL STUDIES RESEARCHER, WITH HANDS-ON RESEARCH PROJECTS THAT TAKE ME TO DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE GLOBE TO DISCOVER THEIR RESOURCES. PETS: A SCHOOL OF COY FISH SECRET HOBBY: WATERCOLOR PAINTING
Instagram : @jy_originals THE ECSTATIC 21
4 1 W D LF 8 201
Don’t Mess up the Children (Interlude)
Adults are responsible for teaching children how to observe the ways of their ancestors. In fact, God insists that adults talk to their children when they sit at home and when they walk along the road. When they lie down, and when they get up. In other words, God is saying, “Don’t mess up the children”. African American families are being driven further and further apart from each other, to the extent their children, particularly those living in urban neighborhoods, are growing up without the benefit of having adults in whom they can confide. Consequently, African-American cultural values are at risk of being lost, like teaching children to respect their elders and saying “thank you” or “no thank you” and other forms of common courtesy. God is saying, “Don’t mess up the children”
LIFE IN MARVELOUS TIMES
THE SUNRISE KINGDOM
E!! USIV H L C X E G G HI RISIN L STAR OO Y SCH S BO SAVE M FRO CE POLI NG. OTI SHO
ALSO IN THIS EDITION: HONORING THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY
“THE BLACKWALL STREET MIRACLE” SURVIVORS SHARE ACCOUNTS OF “MYSTERIOUS GODLY BEINGS” HELPING RESIDENTS “FLY OUT” OF DANGER & PRESERVING THE HISTORICAL AFFLUENT BLACK CITY
From Raise Rage Rays Raze: Essays Since 1965 © 1969, 1970, 1971 by LeRoi Jones
Machines (as Norbert Weiner said) are an extension of their
inventor-creators. That is not simple once you think. Machines, the entire technology of the West, is just that, the technology of the West. Nothing has to look or function the way it does. The West man’s freedom, unscientifically got at the expense of the rest of the world’s people, has allowed him to xpand his mind–spread his sensibility wherever it could go, & so shaped the world, & its powerful artifact-engines. Political power is also the power to create–not only what you will–but to be freed to go where ever you can go–(mentally physically as well). Black creation–creation powered by the Black ethos brings very special results.
THE ECSTATIC 24
ISBN: 0-394-71706-6. This essay first appeared in Amistad2, published by Random House, Inc.
Technology & Ethos Vol. 2 Book of Life by Imamu Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones)
Think of yourself, Black creator, freed of european restraint which first means the restraint of self determined mind development. Think what would be the results of the unfettered blood inventor-creator with the resources of a nation behind him. To imagine–to think–to construct–to energize!!! How do you communicate with the great masses of Black people? How do you use the earth to feed masses of people? How do you cure illness? How do you prevent illness? What are the Black purposes of space travel? It staggers the mind. To be free go let the mind do what it will as constructive progress force, availed of the total knowledge resource energy of a nation. These white scientists on lifetime fellowships, or pondering problems at Princeton’s Institute For Advanced Study. So that a telephone is one culture’s solution to the problem of sending words through space. It is political power that has allowed this technology to emerge, & seem the sole direction for the result desired. A typewriter?–why shd it only make use of the tips of the fingers as contact points of flowing multi directional creativity. If I invented a word placing machine, an “expression-scriber,” if you will, then I would have a kind of instrument into which I could step & sit or sprawl or hang & use not only my fingers to make words express feelings but elbows, feet, head, behind, and all the sounds I wanted, screams, grunts, taps, itches, I’d have magnetically recorded, at the same time, and translated into word–or perhaps even the final xpressed thought/ feeling would not be merely word or sheet, but itself, the xpression, three dimensional–able to be touched, or tasted or felt, or entered, or heard or carried like a speaking singing constantly communicating charm. A typewriter is corny!! The so called fine artist realizes, those of us who have freed ourselves, that our creations need not emulate the white man’s, but it is time the engineers, architects, chemists, electronics craftsmen, ie film too, radio, sound, etc that
learning western technology must not be the end of our understanding of the particular discipline we’re involved in. Most of that west shaped information is like mud and sand when you’re panning for gold! The actual beginnings of our expression are post Western (just as they certainly are pre-western). It is only necessary that we arm ourselves with complete self knowledge the whole technology (which is after all just expression of who ever) will change to reflect the essence of a freed people. Freed of an oppressor, but also as Touré has reminded we must be “free from the oppressor’s spirit,” as well. It is this spirit as emotional construct that can manifest as expression as art or technology or any form. But what is our spirit, what will it project? What machines will it produce? What will they achieve? What will be their morality? Check the different morality of the Chinese birthday celebration firecracker & the white boy’s bomb. Machines have the morality of their inventors. See everything fresh and “without form”–then make forms that will express us truthfully and totally and by this certainly free us eventually. The new technology must be spiritually oriented because it must aspire to raise man’s spirituality and expand man’s consciousness. It must begin by being “humanistic” though the white boy has yet to achieve this. Witness a technology that kills both plants & animals, poisons the air & degenerates or enslaves man. The technology itself must represent human striving. It must represent at each point the temporary perfection of the evolutional man. And be obsolete only because nothing is ever perfect, the only constant is change.
Page 26: Lala, 2021 Photo by Luisanna Tejada Design by Jay Stone
Art is a tool of healing for many. So when an artist finds themselves in a space where they feel controled & have their creativity caged in; the love disappears and gets reduced to simply “a job.” As artists we cannot be the caged bird; our creativity serves as a lightning bolt for our self-reflection and our sanity. If its not, why exactly do you make art?
THE ECSTATIC 27
JS: Tell us about the time you realized you wanted to be an artist. LA: When I Realized I Wanted to be an Artist ~ I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. I was never any good, but it brought me joy just to sit down and draw or color. I had art classes in elementary school, middle school and high school. My creative classes were always my favorite. For most of my life, I wanted to be a veterinarian. When the time came to apply for college, I knew that I didn’t want to be in school for that long and vet school would be too much for me. Once I got into college, I entered undeclared and picked my major/minor a semester later. A goal of mine is to own a business. So, I majored in business management and minored in art studio. After having taking many courses for my major, I quickly realized that I wouldn’t be learning the necessary material for entrepreneurship. It was classes dedicated more to working in a firm setting. I later switched my major/ minor and was an art studio major with a business administration minor by the second half of sophomore year. During the time that I was in school, art was bringing me stress, instead of being fun. School sucked the fun out for me and I wasn’t even learning most of what I wanted! I would just like to say that school isn’t for everyone. I didn’t go to an art school, so that may be a different experience, but I suggest not going to school for art. I’ve learned more on my own than I have in four and a half years of school. So, because school was bringing so much stress, I wasn’t sure I’d take art seriously after graduating. I took a concepts course, which was one of my favorite courses I took in school. I can count on one hand how many classes I enjoyed, but I’m glad to have at least a few that I thoroughly learned from. The concepts course basically helped me develop the concept behind my work today. It pushed me to brainstorm highlights that not only embody me as a person, but is a representation of the content I intend to share. It was then that the subject matter behind my work began to evolve. When I finally reached the concept that embodies LARTSYS now, I realized ‘I want to be an artist’. I knew I wouldn’t be able to take it seriously until after finishing school. When I graduated December 2019, going into 2020, I started taking art seriously. It’s also the time I decided that the highlights wouldn’t just be the representation behind my artwork, but practices within themselves. THE ECSTATIC 28
FINDING FOREVER
JS: There are a lot of spiritual and empowering themes in your work. Was this always the case? If not when did the transition towards these subjects & concepts begin? LA: The concept of my work took about a year to evolve into what I subconsciously wanted it to be. During the evolvement of my concept, I still wasn’t sure whether or not I would pursue art seriously after graduating. The transition of my concept conspired while I was completing the second half of college. When my concept came to be what it is today, I made the decision that I would be an artist. Since then, spirituality has always been apart of my concept. When I started researching spirituality, the content of it resonated with me so deeply. I learned more of what I already believed to be true as far as spiritual concepts, I just didn’t realize the terminology for my way of thinking and that so many others think very similarly to the way I do. From the first piece I created, the same highlights have been incorporated. I created my first serious piece, which is apart of my first series, during my last semester of college. The series, titled ‘Discover Thy Self’, was for a capstone course.
ABOVE Lala, 2021 Photo by Luisanna Tejada IG @luisanna.tejada
OPPOSITE: The Calling ART by Lala IG @lartsys2.0
OPPOSITE: We Are One ART by Lala IG @lartsys2.0
JS: Which piece of yours embodies who you are the most and why? LA: I would say the piece that embodies me the most at the moment would be “We Are One”, the last painting of the second series I completed last year titled ‘Pathway Towards Enlightenment’. This painting embodies me the most simply due to being a representation of higher awareness and depicting the importance of love and nature. I am in a lifelong process of personal development where I work on being a better version of myself everyday. That doesn’t mean I don’t have off days or days where I feel low, because I do. It means that the journey incorporates those emotions as well, allowing myself to feel them, accept them and grow from them. It means that I don’t beat myself up when I’m feeling low, but instead give myself even more love by understanding and moving forward. Love is the closest thing we have to magic and in my opinion, the most important thing we have as beings on this planet. Love for ourselves, as well as one another and the earth we all coexist on. We should respect this blessing we are able to call our planet and home and treat her with care, in the same way we should with ourselves and each other. We’re all human beings living a temporary human experience, who are all connected and ultimately one. I’ve come to realize all of that and I’m working towards doing better, something that I believe every human being should shrive to do simply because we all have flaws and things we can work on to make us better people, a better version of ourselves. I think “We Are One” symbolizes that and embodies many of the concepts I believe in. JS: I learned that you are not only an artist but a spiritualist, herbalist & personalist. How do each of these three practices factor into your day to day? And in your art? LA: Yes! Along with being an artist, I am a spiritualist, herbalist and personalist. These practices factor into my day to day by being things I make sure to dedicate my time to. As of now, my spirituality practice is private, but I do plan on sharing that highlight of the
brand in the future. I focus on things that raise my vibration and ultimately make me feel good, including meditation, yoga, oracle card reading, crystals, optimism and so on. My herbalism practice is in the works and I am self training. I believe plants, nature itself, is a healing property that we should take greater advantage of. My personal development practice is a concept I share through my YouTube channel and is something I work on daily. That practice includes reflection, healing, growth and more. I hope to write a book, (maybe more) one day to expand this practice. These practices factor into my art with symbolism. Spirituality is different for each person, but it’s something that I feel everyone can agree is a beautiful experience. I enjoy painting with green, herbalism is always incorporated with some type of plant life or nature. Personal development is implemented in my work with the message of love and growth. JS: What is the message you want to come away with from your artistry? LA: The message I want to come from my artistry is awareness and love. Awareness and love for ourselves, the beings around us, as well as this planet. I have a feeling my work will evolve in ways I can’t even imagine, but I don’t ever see it changing from the highlights that embody it today. I’m confident with the concept behind my work. I put so much energy into a piece when creating it and I just hope that energy resonates with whoever may be in contact with it. The highlights that are incorporated in each piece is also something I hope the viewer can take away, spiritualism, herbalism and personal development.
OPPOSITE Lala, 2021 Photo by Luisanna Tejada
FINDING FOREVER 30
The key, though, is being aware of how you’re feeling and how you need to be feeling. It all starts with awareness. KOBE BRYANT
ABOVE [UNTITLED] Photography by Rod Porter IG @suedeporter
THE ECSTATIC 33
TITLE / AFRONOVA
ARTIST / ALI SANTANA
PHOTOGRAPHER / LUISANNA TEJADA
INTERVIEWER / JAY STONE
ALI SANTANA
Experiences and environement are key components in the evolution of an artist. Its basic Nature vs Nuture. Some folks grow up in a family full of artists and that becomes the focal point of their lives. They are blessed to have their inner child & creativitycared for in a way which mostly is absolutely understood and not judged. How that all ties together, experiences and environment, sets in motion the type of artist that individual becomes.
THE ECSTATIC 35
My parents incorporated their art practices into all aspects of their lives including raising a family, and I was always encouraged to express myself creatively. As a child, If I was bored or upset, my Mom always had pen and paper handy and would tell me to transform that emotional energy into artwork. To this day this method still informs my creative practice and is therapeutic in making sense of daily life. I’d make photographs, sculptures, drawings, paintings, collages, and videos but it wasn’t until the ‘No Knock’ music video that I directed and animated for my college thesis project that I truly felt empowered by combining several mediums to create timebased art.
AFRONOVA
JS: You come from a family of artists so creating is in your blood. When did you begin your career as an artist? AS: I grew up during the cultural renaissance of the 80s & 90s in Brooklyn, New York. My mother is a photographer and my father is a filmmaker. My Dad would edit films on his analog Steenbeck flatbed machine with me on his lap, and my Mom would sit me in a highchair on the dry side of her in-home darkroom as she developed her photographs. We had two refrigerators at one point. One for food and the other for film!
JS: What are some of the sights and sounds of growing up in Brooklyn that inspired you & would influence your art? AS: I grew up in the Fort Greene/ Clinton Hill / Bed Stuy area of Brooklyn. The community was an intergenerational network of artists, entrepreneurs, wage workers, and families. I remember hanging out on the stoop of my apartment building, the Summer block parties, and the sounds of the neighborhood on weekends when folks played their music LOUD. Biggie lived on the next block over and would sometimes hang out on my stoop but I was too busy playing tag, hide n seek, and riding my bike to care - until he filmed the ‘Juicy’ video around the corner.
New York City was an amazing place to grow up. There was so much inspiration and culture everywhere. My mom would bring me on her photojournalism assignments all around NYC as she’d document protests, rallies, concerts, parades, traveling circuses, archaeological excavations (The African Burial Ground), and countless other adventures. These experiences provided valuable life lessons in art, travel, situational awareness, resourcefulness, media literacy, and survival in NYC.
AFRONOVA 37
The gentrification of Brooklyn changed my community drastically over a short period of time. I watched my next-door neighbors who were homeowners get swindled out of their house by shady developers who demolished the building and built a luxury condo in its place. A lot of familiar faces and businesses dissapeared and now homemade Black Lives Matter signs replace the actual Black people that used to occupy those spaces. Gentrification has been a recurring subject in my work probably as a way for me to better understand and process what was happening. In 2010, I directed a music video for a song called ‘Bed Stuy’ by Spec Boogie (Robert Cave). The idea was to capture some of the neighborhood relics, businesses, and community in Bed Stuy before they were displaced by the aggressive gentrification sweeping through Brooklyn. Robert had an archive of vintage photos of the neighborhood taken by his dad and I mixed them into the video to compare and contrast with the footage that we shot in the neighborhood. I’m really glad we made that video because it documented that moment in time. JS: As a multi-disciplinary artist and digital creator tell us about how you came about your particular medium and which piece of yours resonates with you the most? AS: I’ve always enjoyed working with collage because it encourages free association and out of the box thinking. I cherish my resourcefulness and like combining different mediums and repurposing existing materials to generate new ideas. I love working with my hands but digital collage opens up so many more possibilities for animation and abstract storytelling.
We sampled a bunch of archival video footage from the actual show, combined with animated illustration and motion graphics to create a video collage that told an abstract and authentic NYC Hip Hop story. I collaborated with a few talented friends and we worked remotely during a pandemic and social unrest to channel some of that wild 2020 energy to bring this piece together. JS: What has been the most challenging aspect of your 2020? How has it impacted you and how will that be reflected in your future projects? AS: 2020 will be remembered as the year that everything changed. I’m still in disbelief that we’re dealing with as much as we are while still adapting to our new reality. In 2020 I was planning on performing my live audio/visual shows for an international audience but those plans came to a halt in mid-March when the Pandemic ramped up. We’ve basically been in lockdown for close to a year now and I miss communal events, live music, in-person teaching, and collaborations, however, I appreciate the extra time spent with family. I’m being intentional about using this time to reflect and rethink priorities and goals for the future. I’m realizing that there are no rules. Maybe there never were, but I’m excited about radically reimagining life, love, work, community, and creativity in our new reality.
One of my favorite projects to date is a music video that I directed for Stretch and Bobbito featuring Method Man and Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang clan. The song was a remixed freestyle from their legendary 89Tec9 radio show when a relatively unknown Meth and Ghost came to the radio studio to kick a live freestyle in like 1992. THE ECSTATIC 38
Instagram : @boombaye
A
A N S T AN I L A
MELYSSA Instagram : @cocoroism
LOCATION: HARLEM, USA SUPERPOWERS : 1) TELEPATHY 2) TIME TRAVELING DESCRIPTION OF YOUR DAY TO DAY LIFE (INCLUDING LOVE / FAMILY / HERO LIFE) COCO RU IS YOUR AVERAGE NYC CITY GIRL TRYING TO MAKE A NAME FOR HERSELF WITHIN THE INDUSTRY BUT ALSO TRYING TO ESTABLISH STABILITY WITHIN HER PERSONAL LIFE. SHE SPENDS HER DAYS DOING VARIOUS ODD JOBS WHILE MOONLIGHTING THE NIGHTS AS A DJ BUT ALSO AS A SECRET SUPERHERO. AFTER HER ANCESTRAL POWERS FULLY ACTIVATED ON DECEMBER 21, 2020, SHE’S BEEB ANXIOUSLY DEALING WITH HER NEWFOUND POWERS OF BEING TELEPATHIC AND THE ABILITY TO TIME TRAVEL. COCO HAS BEEN LEARNING HOW TO KEEP BALANCE WITH HER NEW POWERS AS WELL AS JUGGLING HER RELATIONSHIPS WITH HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS. AS WELL AS TRYING TO KEEP HER OWN WELL-BEING TOGETHER IN ORDER TO SURVIVE IN NYC BETWEEN HER VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS AND CONSTANT NEED TO FIND TRANQUILITY. HOWEVER COCO SOON FOUNDS OUT THAT HER ANCESTORS TOOK PRIDE IN THEIR POWERS AND WERE USING THEIR POWERS TO REDISCOVER THE FAMILY’S GENEALOGY THAT WAS UNFORTUNATELY DEMOLISHED AND RAVAGED. PETS: A BLACK PUG NAMED FLAVOR FLAV OCCUPATION: : DJ + STYLIST + WRITER + AND VARIOUS OTHER SKILLS/JOBS. ALTER EGO / SUPER HERO NAME: COCO RU / DIVINE FEMINIE
THE ECSTATIC 42
Instagram : @lifeofdeem
THIS ONE RIGHT HERE GOES OUT TO MY TAURUS BROTHER WITH THE DREAM, NAH MEAN? - JS
He said
“each of these pieces mean a lot to me; they all represent the women who made me who I am.” Glow like Leroy you should seen my good friend Deem grinning from ear to ear. When I think of Kadeem he’s always smiling. Even when faced with with hardships he still straps up, pushes through and can find the light in the dark. His newest exhibition is an exercise in illuminating that aura he proudly displays. “Colors” is a full blown dedication to all the women throughout his life that have helped shape him into the man & artist he’s today. With well over 20+ pieces Deem weaves & blends different colors & themes together in correlation to the woman he’s illustrating. Telling the story of how he thinks of each woman & how they’ve left an impact on him & the lessons he carries today. His mom + his partner + family & friends. An artistic technician with the brush, Deem’s intricate precision & attention to detail comes through on each work. Listening to him explain some of his work I remember how far he’s come since I met him back in 2016. If you follow him it’s very much documented how turmuluous out his work schedule is along with finding time to be who he is: an artist. From working odd jobs with slave shift hours to his battles in corporate environments one thing that is a constant is his drive to be a great artist. Even as some of the art community that we once thrived in became barren & uninspired; Deem powered on. Colors is the latest chapter in the evolution of a great artist & man. I admire Kadeem & his consistency. Being engulfed in this experience had me thinking how parallel our lives are. Especially the importance of the cast of largely women who played vital roles in our upbringing as black men. Just as important, the role art and colors play in saving not only our souls but our sanity.
WORKS BY KADEEM PHILLIPS IG @LifeofDeem
COLORS SAVED MY LIFE 45
ABOVE [UNTITLED] Photography by Rod Porter
She Said... Nobody else ever loved her thats why she gets high enough to soar towards the universe above her. Vividly remembers every man that forcefully touched her. Every alley she was used in. Every hustler that paid her. Every level of hell shes been to and the one that shes trapped in. The one she fails to escape even though its of her own construction. She turns and asks why do you even care This is her way of external validation
THE ECSTATIC 48
INTERLUDE
It took so long for me to understand. I rushed you into royalty, shuffled you into the very house I wished to escape. It was a cage. I was so lonely. I knew that then. I know it now. How could I ever try to cage something as wondrous as you?
I WAS BARELY A KING
Revolutionary Ties By Shavonne Taisha (Marshall-Wells)
The crowd dances to their seats, as I am backstage scuffling to put on my costume. White noise surrounds me, as I succumb to the lights above. “30 seconds until on stage. AND GO!” I stumble out. My skirt tickles my ankles as I take a deep breath, I glide across the stage sprinkling my magic along hard oak floors. The shadows rise, and fall like the tides of my life and here I am once again staring into the audience awaiting my next move. TALL. THICK. GREAT HIPS. DEGREES.. Check. “Don’t speak unless spoken to.” “Don’t react.” I’m being called to perform. Big BLACK BOLD, FEMME energy. Sorta like Assatta, sort like Sandra, sorta like Korryn, sorta like Ma’khia , sorta Issa, sorta ALL OF THEM. Black women are often told they can’t be bold. They can’t be loud, they can’t twerk. God forbid you assert yourself. God forbid we tell you “NO.” Suddenly the curtains open wide leaning against the wood frames of the stage. Black women are front and center. Somehow they are always wrong even when in defense of their own lives. “She must be angry.” “She deserved it.” We’re living up to stereotypes, we can’t breathe. Shots glisten our body with red paint. Pergatory welcomes us. The news highlights our sins. Yet again we rise. Everytime a black woman is denied her freedom, another generation is poisoned. As the creators of the universe we reserve the right to be whoever we want. Standing in our power, in a bonnet, who cares.
THE ECSTATIC 53
Assata Shakur stated in her autobiography, that when the FBI was looking for her, she knew in order to camouflage herself all she had to do was wear a wig, and dress like a maid, or nurse. She knew that assimilation and respectability politics governed our people. She knew that no one would suspect her to be anyone greater, if she wore what was the norm for us. She wouldn’t be considered a threat. Korryn Gaines was murdered. Yes, she was “lightskin”, yes she spoke back and up. Yes she had her son in her arms. And yes she knew that black bodies deserved freedom at all cost. Meghan Thee Stallion was shot, ridiculed, and laughed at. People made jokes, “He must’ve realized she was a man.” “Tr*nny,” “H*e,” all the vulgarities to describe a woman in tune with her sexuality, figure, height, body. Black women don’t get to be the Princess unless they have to kiss a frog. We cannot be seen as vulnerable, delicate, or tender without a Eurocentered look. Slim face, slim waist, straighter nose, pastel clothing, corporate background. The curtain draw close, And before the lights are out, I take one final breath. She takes one final breath. I bend down. She bends down. Chest touching my knees. Chest touching her knees. I fold. She folds. The curtain closes. And even in our darkest moments, I-- she, we cannot be dimmed.
Instagram : @shavonnetaisha
PAGE 52 PRISONER 3 Artwork by Jay Stone
PAGE 55 PRISONER 4 Artwork by Jay Stone
“....AND YOU WERE ALWAYS SOMETHING MORE THAN
ARTIFICIAL [UNRELEASED COVER OF THE EXPERIENCE MAGZINE #22] Graphic Design, 2019 Artwork by Jay Stone & Fvdgenasate97
DILSON HERNANDEZ INTERVIEW BY JAY STONE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROD PORTER
Powerful voices that rest within a few of us should be nurtured and appreciated. For its that particular voice, that when presented is enough to move mountains. And ultimately helps bring the changes we want to see in our societies.
Instagram : @dilson.music THE ECSTATIC 61
JS: You have such a powerful and necessary voice. Having seen some of your performances whether that be spoken word or music, the passion and energy are very BOOMING. Tell us about this gift of yours. How did you get into music & overtime poetry? And tell us about your craft…. DH: Watching videos of Hendrix playing guitar floored me. I wanted to be just like him. My pops brought home some busted up guitar that he found at work one day and the rest was history. At the time, I was really expanding my music taste. Started listening to a lot of old shit. The bluesy riffs of guitarists like Carlos Santana and B.B. King, the funky guitar groove in songs by James Brown and Rick James, the mambo in Anthony Santos and Luis Vargas’ guitar, all moved the hell outta me. I wanted to emulate it, if not, take it a step further. When it comes to bars, it was kinda similar. I studied the classics. Ultimately, it was my two favorite rappers Tupac and Eminem that made me want to write 16s on random pieces of paper I found lying around the crib. Tupac’s message and revolutionary spirit touched me in a way that no rapper every could. He’s such an influence to my politically charged music. Em’s technical approach in his lyricism is what got me. His crazy punchlines and intricate rhyme schemes is otherworldly. I was dead tryna be him. Flow by flow, bar for bar. It was pretty embarrassing. (laughs) When I got to college, them 16s turned into spoken word when I came across a performing arts group on campus called Phenomenal Voices. I never came across such talented writers honestly. Every week the spoken word artists would try to outdo each other, everyone hungry to top the next person. Most importantly though, they introduced me to the world of spoken word and I’m forever grateful for it. It not only made me a better writer but it also introduced me to the stage. I tell people all the time, I am a lot more comfortable on stage than I am in my everyday life. That might be hard to believe but its true. I’m an entirely different person. A straight savage. Silence has been such a present figure in my upbringing, which is why I was (and still am) a pretty quiet and reserved person. When i’m performing though, all bets are off. All that bottled aggression and passion evades and wilds tf out. My anxiety is mellowed out. My charisma is on a 100. Confidence over 9000. On stage, I finally feel like I’m in control of everything that surrounds me, including myself.
JS: Of all the instruments you play, which is your favorite and why? DH: Guitar, without a doubt. I mean, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me playing guitar. It was literally my first introduction to making music. I can’t really explain the feeling I get when I solo but is out of this world. Down-right godly. I just close my eyes and let the spirits takeover haha. I know it sounds crazy but it has to be true. I
invoke so much emotion when I’m out there playing dem strings. With every note-bend I channel my higher self and just let my hands be, cleansing every trace of bad energy. Not to mention niggas eat that shit up (laughs) It’s my favorite ego-trip. There’s moments when I play an easy riff and people’s jaws will still manage to drop. Maybe it’s because music is a universal language and doesn’t rely on
words to get an emotion across. The sounds speak for themselves sorta speak. When I’m on stage, in my best pastor impersonation, I hypnotize the congregation with spellbinding sounds pouring out of my guitar and into the ears of audience… There’s no better feeling.
I AIN’T NO JOKE 63
DILSON HERNANDEZ JS: Whats your favorite piece of yours and why? DH: That’s a hard pick. I feel like I would come up with a different answer every time that I’m asked that question. But if I had to choose, it’d be a song called Bendiciones (Blessings). This song embodies the eternal relationship between music and spirituality. It speaks on how people seek solace from music during times of pain and hardship. As the universal language, its crazy how music alters people’s moods or even perpetuates them, regardless if you understand the lyrics or not. Theres something spiritual about that; how even though we may not lyrically comprehend a song, we’re put in a sonic trance. Music just happens to be one of my religious sources but I also dedicate this song to whatever faith speaks to the listener. Just like any religious text, Bendiciones can be interpreted to whatever suits your spiritual liking, wether your Buddhist or Muslim. Shit, even atheist can relate. They have faith too. Whether it be faith in not believing in a deity or faith in just believing in people or science, faith is faith. This song also marks the first time that I decided to incorporate Dominican themes into my music and fuse it with other elements. I’ve been meaning to get to that for years, so when I finally did it I was so proud. Bendiciones is a combination of Bachata, Blues, Soul, Hip-Hop/Spoken word, and Dancehall/ Reggaeton… I know lol It’s alot, but it sounds good trust me. This song is a perfect embodiment of who I am as an artist. I listen to so many different styles of music and I strive to dabble in all of them. I never understood how interviewers ask a random trap artist who their biggest inspiration is and they be like “…Marilyn Manson”. Like what? (laughs) You can’t find a trace of Manson anywhere to be found in their music. But I think thats just their fear of being different. You gotta be versatile though. Especially if you have a diverse music pallet. Gotta put that shit to use. And that’s exactly what Bendiciones does.
JS: I’ve always been a fan of “Ayo Ma” and I encourage the readers to check it out. What is the story behind that piece? DH: I’ve sat with “Ayo Ma” for about two years before I actually wrote it. I realized that I didn’t have any uplifting or revolutionary pieces catered to women’s liberation. This surprised me. I’ve written various poems and about “the struggle” in its various entities, but never about the struggles that women experience on a day-to-day. Ain’t that some shit?
A lot of “Ayo Ma” came from my own personal experiences. As a kid I watched grown ass men embarrass themselves, and make women extremely uncomfortable. That really angered FYI: I haven’t recorded Bendiciones yet but i’ve me. The lack of respect you hear coming out performed it quite some times. As of now, its just two of these dude’s mouths is unreal. And the fact guitars; I’m playing rhythm and my homeboy Luis that this type of mindset is perpetuated in our plays lead. I’m gonna record it soon though and add music is so trash to me. As an artist I barely other instruments to it. So be on the lookout for that! even feel comfortable talking about women THE ECSTATIC 64
Z
writing is therapy yall. For sure. But writing could be just as toxic as it is healing. I’ve fallen into that trap so many times before
‘CONVINCING MYSELF THAT I WAS HEALING’ so I have to be very very very weary of that.
society really) over-sexualizing our women. It’s so oversaturated. Even when writing a sexual piece, I’m very careful in how I’m getting my message across. Rather than writing from an ego-driven perspective, I try to speak on a mutual exchange of passion and lust between two bodies; instead blatantly saying I beat the pussy up..up..up..up. I don’t write many sexual pieces though, I generally keep it at a minimum. But most importantly, “Ayo Ma” was inspired by the many conversations I’ve had with women. The sad part about it is that I got more of an incentive to write the poem after hearing traumatic stories from my family members, women i’ve dated, and friends. It’s funny because I criticize guys for doing the same in my poem lol I aint safe either. Cat calling became a lot more real to me when the women that I love gave me more insight on the severity of their experiences. I’ve had friends tell me that they don’t feel comfortable wearing tank-tops or even short sleeve shirts when its hot outside because they’d be showing off too much skin. Or when an ex of mine had to break down to me why women don’t respond to “hi” or “have a nice day”. I’ve never understood why women didnt reply back to greetings or compliments, and even lowkey found it disrespectful (smh). She told me that replying back is basically an invitation. As obvious as that may be, my dumbass couldn’t even put 1 and 2 together. I had
no idea until I finally decided to ask. Until I finally decided to listen. But that is something we as men have to do more often. We have to learn to listen more and value our women, regardless of your personal or non-personal relationship with them. Ayo Ma is the first of many I guarantee you that. JS: What are some experiences you’ve had growing up that helped influence the person you are today as well as your artistry? DH: Traveling for sure. I’ve always credited global history for the downfall of my Catholic beliefs lol Once I learned about how other cultures lived, especially in regards to religion, I really started questioned everything. Once I got to college and studied aboard in service programs in Haiti and India, I got a first-hand glimpse of the outside world. India especially stood out to me. I chose India because I wanted to travel to a place that was completely left of my Western way of life. From religion to language to food, I was in for a culture shock. I remember walking into a restaurant in India, seeing swastikas engraved all over the furniture, and being like “uuuuhhhm... I don’t belong here.” The director of the program had to break it down to us. We had no idea that the swastika has been a religious Hindu symbol for centuries, waaay before the Nazi’s jacked it and made it a symbol of hate. It’s wild tho cause jackin positive symbols is such a common tool in white supremacy, i.e. the foul flip of the notorious “n-word”, but that’s a conversation for a different day... Anyways, these experiences basically taught me to be more
I AIN’T NO JOKE 65
accepting of people, especially if they live a vastly different lifestyle than you. Mind you, I’ve never really been the judgy type but I def caught myself a few times saying “They’re weird for that” or even laughin at people’s clothes.
Naste and Elise Bryant, that I felt reassured in my dedication to community. It was pretty much a domino effect after that. I had many conversations with coworkers and friends of mine that reignited the flame in me. So throughout the second half of 2020 I thought to myself, what more can I do to bring On the artistry tip, I’ve been so inspired by change? What else can I do in my 9-5 and art the vulnerability of spoken word artists at to bring change? What else can I do OUTSIDE events I performed at. But no other poets blew of my 9-5 and art to bring change? I felt the me away quite like my fellow Bronx poets at need to reassess my contribution to black libslams hosted by Project X. One after another eration. That meant attending protests, giving these poets would kill it, including their perall my monnies to bail funds, facilitating virsonal stories and trauma into their art. Like, tual events focused on racial oppression, and they were really out here pouring their deepwriting more pieces about police brutality and est fears on stage for a group of strangers to the prison industrial complex, to name a few. digest. Shit was wild. From a personal standpoint, I’ve been workA majority of my spoken word arsenal, at ing on bettering my emotional awareness that point, was mostly socio-political poems and my overall mental state for the last few so, I decided to finally open up and write months of 2020. I was such a late bloomer poems about my addiction, love problems, though. I felt like everybody, early on, was my speech impediment, family issues, the on that 2020 self-healing wave but I was over struggles of being a broke ass nigga, etc. Shit here sulking in depression and addiction, not was wild dark. I had a lot of pent up sadness looking to change anything. I was fine with inside that I wasn’t fully dealing with. I took being stagnant. Summer was rough for me. it even a step further though. During my Res- It’s weird too cause Summer is usually when idency at The Inspired Word, I showcased a I feel most alive. But luckily I had healers in one man show basically about me and famimy corner, like my friends Fvdge and Jennily’s life, ending the show with one of the most fer, that helped sharpen my self awareness vulnerable pieces I’ve ever written. Writing and uncover trauma. I had friends, family, is therapy yall. For sure. But writing could and a dope ass girlfriend that were there to be just as toxic as it is healing. I’ve fallen into listen. Ultimately though, it was up to me. Self that trap so many times before (convincing awareness is one thing but if you yourself are myself that I was healing), so I have to be very not dedicated to take action then you’re going very very weary of that. nowhere. JS: With all that has taken place in 2020 , how have you spent your time reflecting on self-empowerment and how that pertains to the community at large? DH: Fam, when I first heard the news about George Floyd I felt so defeated. I was numb. For days I felt so emotionally distant from the outrage cause I was like, “Oh, this shit again”. I started thinking about all the lives we lost to state violence (including those we’ve never even heard about) and just felt so defeated and pessimistic about the future. It wasn’t until I talked to my revolutionary homies Fvdge
I had to challenge myself to figure out why my mood “randomly” shifts. Why do I succumb to depressive episodes? What causes that?, instead of just writing it off as “that’s just who I am”. I had to be more conscious of what I put into my body. I had to move more. I had to talk to my grandfather about his early life, and notice the same toxic patterns that I also fall victim to. I had to honor and be hype about my schedule instead of dreading how busy I am. I had to become more grateful of my blessings and let go of the “what if”s and the “I should be in a better place right now”.
The young Mike Jack once said, “If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change”. As cliche and lowkey corny as that sounds, it’s real shit. I realized if life is kicking my ass now, I don’t stand a chance when I actually start to live out major career goals. The general public, media, and/or the “powers that be” will exploit the fuck out your weaknesses. We’ve seen it so many times before. So I had (have) to get better, not only for myself, but for the world that I look to influence.
PAGE 69 THE GAMES WE PLAY, 2019 Artwork by Jay Stone
EDITOR’S LETTER
Have you ever been in a deep funk so bad it was a struggle everyday to accept your path. Where you close your eyes so you let your diary cry. And that one page can tell you what your 365 been about. That’s a lonely space. My grandma used to ask “Jay why the sad face?” Now she resides in the stars & part of me feels lost. But demons & inner turmoil cant conceal me; the moon hides, the clouds part then the sun rise & skies reveal me. Trying to find the way out I wonder if Pattern ever gon reveal that or else I’m outta here. The universe is listening be mindful what you say in it. So my mind continues to warp & bend. Life all depends on what you believin in . The realest work is in the inside; admiring the external is for models & the terrified.
THE ECSTATIC 71
THE ECSTATIC 73
JULIUS PEARSON Instagram : @myfavoritecoloris
ALTER EGO LOCATION: NEO TOKYO SUPERPOWERS: AN ANCIENT WEAPON FOUND (A DAGGER) THAT IS POSSESSED BY THE ORIGINAL OWNER AND WARRIOR. A WARRIOR THAT FOUGHT AMONG OTHER WARRIORS WITH WEAPONS THAT WERE MADE OF ENERGY THAT CAME FROM GODS. THESE WEAPONS ARE ALL DIFFERENT AND TO DEFEND THE LAND FROM EVIL. THE DAGGER I CAME ACROSS ACCIDENTALLY EXPLORING MOUNTAINS ON A DAY TRIP OUT THE CITY. I HAD FALLEN THROUGH A CAVE AND KEPT HEARING A VOICE GUIDING ME, LONG AND BEHOLD I CAME ACROSS THIS DAGGER. IT AWAKENED THE WARRIOR OLIVER A ONCE TROUBLED MAN LIKE I. WITH THAT BEING SAID, WHEN THERE IS TROUBLE I BECOME THIS WARRIOR. SPEED. AGILITY. FIGHTING STYLE. STRENGTH. DESCRIPTION OF YOUR DAY TO DAY LIFE (INCLUDING LOVE / FAMILY / HERO LIFE) I AM PRETTY MUCH A LONER BUT WITH MY NEW POWERS FROM THE DAGGER I BECOME THIS SOCIAL PERSON TO HANDLE SITUATIONS. I HAVE A CLOSE FRIEND SCOTT WHO IS EXTRA SMART AND HIS FATHER IS A WEAPON DESIGNER FOR THE MILITARY. SCOTT ALSO DESIGNS AND MAKES GEAR SO HE IS THE ONE WHO DESIGNED AND MADE MY COSTUME. I’M SO FOCUSED ON PROTECTING THE CITY THAT I USUALLY HAVE NO TIME FOR ANYTHING ELSE. BUT THERE IS A VILLAIN IN THE CITY NAMED VIPER WHO ALSO HAS AN ANCIENT WEAPON (STAFF). I SPEND MY DAYS TRYING TO STOP HIM AS HE HAS A SECRET ORGANIZATION THAT CORRUPTS THE CITY. PETS: NO PETS SECRET HOBBY: SKETCHING OCCUPATION: DELIVERY BOY ALTER EGO / SUPER HERO NAME: WRATH. THE 6TH WARRIOR
THE ECSTATIC 75
JAHMEL REYNOLDS THE 1ST NOTION VARIANT 001
THE ECSTATIC 76
TH e
the
EL ReyN O HM A
SEY Of S Y d J O
dS L
E N O
FiRST NOTiON VaR I a n T
INTERVIEW BY JAY STONE
“I always sought that freedom, or sought how to stay in the vibrations of unlimited potential”
JS: Call you tell us about being a crytpto artist? JR: I’ve been a crypto artist for a month and I’m already having some of the best experiences I’ve ever had as an artist. This is really a new frontier and I believe that every creative should educate themselves and tap into this space. Usually as artists we have to wait a while to see the full value of creations, some even die before that, but through crypto it’s almost instantaneous in certain cases and if not you definitely recieve indicators financially or otherwise that you’re in your purpose. JS: Being that you are a film-maker one could suggest you’ve been a big fan of cinema for awhile now. When did you know it’s what you wanted to do as a form of expression? Or did more traditional forms of visual art come first? JR: I knew I wanted to make films since I was in high school. I always drew and made up my own stories, but I was in highschool when I came to the conclusion, but I still fronted on myself and didn’t actually pursue the dream until I was 20.
JS: I can see many different themes & styles in your work like science fiction, afrofuturism, surrealism, and others that might not find in most traditional forms of black art nor are they celebrated much in black culture. What inspires you & how would you define your style? JR: My uncle is my favorite artist and my first creative influence and was a diehard comic book fan. whenever he wasn’t home I would sneak into his room and read his comics, this was early 90’s Brooklyn so while I was reading the boys on the block would be blasting rap or dancehall out their cars, and all of that combined became my aesthetic. The Comics, Music, Brooklyn, people, and my experiences.
THE FIRST NOTION 79
ABOVE BOREDOM, 2021 Jahmel Reynolds
JS: How has this helped you overcome challenges you’ve faced in your life & growth? JR: Creating something in your head, bringing it into reality and have it positively recognized is an affirmation to trust yourself and your decisions and when you have that trust it empowers you to always push forward. JS: What is your favorite piece & why? JR: I honestly don’t have a favorite piece, I love them all. JS: What does this quote mean to you? “I always sought that freedom, or sought how to stay in the vibrations of unlimited potential” JR: My girlfriend said this, our goal is to always evolve in all aspects of our lives, not just the creative, but to always be our best selves.
the
FiRST NOTiON
BELOW KANG THE CONQUEROR, 2021 Jahmel Reynolds @jahmelr
N
THE ECSTATIC 81
AN EXCERPT FROM “BE LIKE WATER” 83
THE ECSTATIC 84
THE ECSTATIC 85
THE ECSTATIC 86
THE ECSTATIC 87
He Said...he had no trust in his heart. Cause one day this woman betrayed him and tore that all apart. Felt there was no way to fix it or to hide the psychological scars. Til one day a new woman came along that tried to help him start. She was genuine; made him believe it was safe to fall in love again. Soon he let go of his anger and defenses. Said that it felt right cause nothing was wrong. The anxiety in his mind didn’t tell him leave her alone.
THE ECSTATIC 89
Tamir 4EVER Cheri Welsh, 2021 @la_femme_cheri THE ECSTATIC 93
THE ECSTATIC 94
UNIQ + ZIK M
+ ZIK M
D MU O O
D MU OO
IN A WORLD FULL OF HATRED JOY IS MY PROTEST
UNIQ Instagram : @uniqbeing THE ECSTATIC 96
For many musicians, creating and curating the sonic aesthetic that will soon become the soundtrack to our summers + beginnings of our days + more is a crucial part of the creation process. We then are granted the luxury of being engulfed in their world dissecting every detail. Trying to then piece together where in our day is this the “particulr vibe.” We do this in the hopes that it brings us closer to the artist. We ask: what is it did we learn about the artist in this specific time in their lives? JS: Can you describe the feeling being a musician gives you? UB: I think the thought that sticks out the most for me when describing myself as a musician is purposed filled . As a kid I never really felt gifted in any other realm outside of music I wasn’t the best student I wasn’t good at math but I understood music I felt it deeply. When I discovered new music it would affect me so profoundly I would lose my self in the piece or the song it never mattered what genre of music . Being a musician has shaped my identity everything I do is rooted in music and being a musician it is my life’s purpose . JS: When did you first get into songwriting? When did you realize getting into music was something you wanted to pursue? UB: I began songwriting at 13 and began performing seriously in my late teens. I never felt like I could really express myself in a social setting so I always took to music and writing songs in order to express myself. It has always been a healing mechanism, a cathartic event. I realized music was my only escape when I was in high school I had a tumoltous experience and could have easily gotten lost in gang activity but music was the only thing that grounded me and introduced me to a differ-
ent world it allowed me to become the person I am today it allowed me the space to be vulnerable and release the pain I held within. JS: Who were some of your earliest influences as a young woman? UB: I have always been extremely influenced by black culture more so than my own. I am Salvadoran, of indigenous descent. And although I respect my culture and my ancestors, creatively nothing spoke to me more than soul music. R&B and Hip-Hop were major tools in shaping my sound, my being, my lifestyle. Missy being the most formidable source of inspiration, in a world where the industry was more male-dominated than any era in the 90s. The misogyny and portrayal of women was overly sexed-up but she was powerful, creative, and ingenious. She truly pioneered what it was to be a female producer, songwriter, and beat maker. She was and is an absolute visionary. I could list all the other girl groups and artists in that category but we all know that Missy helped shape the music then, as well as how she shaped it today.
JS: There has been a lot thats transpired over the past year with the pandemic along with the continued police brutality that’s raged on across the nation. How has the current social climate inspired you musically? UB: Most of my music in the past has been about how I’ve felt my experiences. This album is no different. In the past my world consisted of love quarrels and battling depression. I’ve wondered if my music has reflected that. However these current times make me feel hopeless in a way I’ve never felt before. Being on the front lines of displacement and gentrification have helped open my eyes to the tremendous injustices that occur daily... Shit, generationally. Once I got up in its face there was no way I couldn’t feel that pain. There was no way I could speak on anything else. The deaths of Eric garner, Khalif Browder, Sandra Bland were nails in the coffin for me. My last project features really touched on all these topics but with this upcoming ep I am focusing on joy and love and relationships and getting back to the basics of true love and commitment I guess in a world full of hatred joy is my protest. JS: What are some lessons you learned in 2020 that you’re carrying over into 2021? UB: I have learned to choose joy there are so many triggers and trauma and most of our identity as POc is our explored trauma so my protest is joy again that’s how I choose to combat these modern day demons with love. JS: What can we look out for from you in the next couple of months and beyond? UBI am releasing an ep centered in love and relationships and modern day Covid romances and navigating solitude and romance in these time you should expect that by the end of the summer .
THE ECSTATIC 99
CAPT. TRAY Aisha Purvis, 2019 @purvis_illustrates
THE ECSTATIC 101
THE ECSTATIC 102
IFE Instagram : @ifelovee
ALTER EGO LOCATION: NEW JERSEY SUPERPOWERS: HEALING & MIND-READING _________________________ DESCRIPTION OF YOUR DAY TO DAY LIFE (INCLUDING LOVE / FAMILY / HERO LIFE) _________________________________________________________________________ I WAKE UP AND THANK GOD FOR ANOTHER DAY. I STRETCH FOR 30 MINUTES IN MY GARDEN WHERE I INVITE THE SUN INTO MY BODY AND THEN SIT DOWN WITH MY TEA AND JOURNAL BEFORE OPENING MY HOME TO CLIENTS…. AFTER PICKING THE CHILDREN UP FROM SCHOOL AND GETTING THEM SETTLED… I SET OUT INTO THE WORLD AND MEET MY PARTNER IN THE SKY WHERE WE TEND TO THE CRIES OF THOSE IN NEED OF HEALING. PETS: ELEPHANT SECRET HOBBY: GARDENING & MAKING TINCTURES OCCUPATION: THERAPIST ALTER EGO / SUPER HERO NAME: GODIVA
THE ECSTATIC 103
Instagram : @harlitos_way Instagram : @fvdgenaste97
THE WHITE RAVEN
HARLTIO PEREZ INTERVIEW BY FVDGENASTE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY LUISANNA TEJADA
THE SYMBOLIC MEANING OF THE RAVEN IN NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN LORE DESCRIBES THE RAVEN AS A CREATURE OF METAMORPHOSIS, AND SYMBOLIZES CHANGE/TRANSFORMATION. IN SOME TRIBES, THE RAVEN IS CONSIDERED A TRICKSTER BECAUSE OF ITS TRANSFORMING/CHANGING ATTRIBUTES.
THE ECSTATIC 105
FN: Bumping into you selling your work in the Lower East Side was super surprising and immediately caught my attention. Your work is incredibly complex and detailed. Can you talk a little about what inspires you to create these characters and what is the reason for using African masks ? HP: I appreciate that a lot. I tend to spend a lot of my time creating. It’s my job daily and the main inspiration behind it is knowing the fact only I can manifest them. The characters just come from a higher source deep within my subconscious mind. Most of the time I’m not really aware of what I’m currently making before its made. It just comes out , the African masks came out organically as well, sometimes I feel like ancient indigenous spirits connect their energy with me when i create and i become a sort of vessel for creation. FN: Tell me about the beginning of your journey in the art world. When did you start creating? HP: Well my Pops is a tattoo artist and my mom use to draw too so naturally it was passed down to my brothers and I. Every since I was a young boy i was drawing, I use to draw odee odee anime characters but ventured out and tried different styles of art as well. I was enrolled in Art and Design HS but i didnt go to class , I had serious anxiety problems and would just like to cut school and do stupid stuff . I was drawing every once in a while , back then id think of concepts and would stress over artists block until i turned 21 then i started drawing every single day in a collage like form with a regular black pen and without thinking of concepts , just drawing and flowing , asking myself questions , reflecting on what ever problems or thoughts i was going through at that moment. It became sort of a daily meditation that was forced to evolve overtime the more i connected with that state of creating.
THE ECSTATIC 106
THE WHITE RAVEN 107
FN: I actually own a piece of yours that you gave to me cause you made it on my birthday last year. I FN: How / Does your work comment on current couldn’t help but notice it was on some type of mesh social or political issues ? material. What are the mediums you use? HP: Its levels to it... some pieces you may observe pain from the product of the environment. Some HP: Word you connected with that piece immedireflect the history of our ancestors. I have a piece I ately. Once I saw that I knew it’d be in good hands. That mesh-like material was something my neighbor spent nearly a whole year to finish called “Project S.D.S” (Project Seven Deadly Sins) which is a piece blessed me with. I love pen and paper but really i’ll create with any medium i can get my hands on. Even that shows different groups of people segregated. Each group reflects a specific sin and shows charif I lack the knowledge on how different mediums work together, i’m not afraid to experiment, try, fail, acters that are inflicted by it. From a greedy king and repeat. Plus most of them “fails” are transmuted or corporate businessman to a prideful fly guy or social media star. All the way down to a lustful into beautiful mistakes instead. group of nude individuals to a sleepy bunch of lazy sloths. This is our modern day society. DaiFN: Walk me through your creative process when ly fighting these types of temptations constantly making pieces? What is the environment you work conflicted with sin in our everyday choices. in? HP: Most of the time i’m creating underneath a rock, with some music in the background thats ideal for me. Theres no real creative process to it. I feel the less energy I put into the thoughts of my pieces a more pure spiritual energy would go into them . Plus its fun for me to try to interpret and find the hidden meanings and concepts int he pieces themselves. FN: How did you develop your one liner technique ? HP: From constant hours of drawing I built a confidence to try it out. One day I was just like “Yo I bet i could do this without lifting the pen from the page” and I succeeded. So I started recording it on video for proof. They aren’t the average one liners either, they were simple yet clean and full bodied individuals usually made with a nice bold paint marker. I like drawing them its been a minute I think ima do some more soon for sure.
FN: What are your overall goals as an artist ? Speak em into existence. HP: Overall as an artist i’m going to change the vibrational frequency of earth and the universe through creation. I plan on spreading my art world wide. Possibly getting into animation later down the line. I wanna be that spark that ignites flames though out the lands. That thought that was brought by the wind and carried in and out of people’s ears. Maybe to even go down in history as the God Of Art.
FN: How do you know when a piece is finished? HP: I can’t front sometimes I look at my pieces and feel I should add an extra face or two, maybe a line here and there. I usually follow my intuition and when I tell myself its done, I told myself that for a reason and its done. But the work is never Done! LOL
THE WHITE RAVEN
NASIR The Amethyst (Jay Stone) Cheri Welsh, 2021 @la_femme_cheri THE ECSTATIC 111
U O Y BE
) E D U TERL
(IN
“BE LIFTED, BE GIFTED, BE SPIRITED. BE YOU.” THE WORST FORM OF IMPRISONMENT IS THE IMPRISONMENT OF THE MIND. FOR THOSE CONFINED WITHIN THEIR MIND, KNOWLEDGE OF SELF IS THE KEY. LOVE WILL SET YOU FREE AND LET YOU BE YOU. WISE EYE ALWAYS OPEN. NEVER BLIND TO SELF. BE YOU
ARTWORK BY Aisha Purvis, 2019 @purvis_illustrates
A .P
EDITOR’S LETTER While the moon glows I search for the truth. I accept what has been and the uncertainty of what’s to come. The things we work on within ourselves; they will always be around. Overcoming what becomes of your shadow is an everyday process. I learned in 2020 that Rather than hide to turn around and face everything I’m not cause that makes me everything I am. Peace comes and go as does happiness. Both are not destinations but a state of mind. I‘ve crashed from the comforts of the moon before; landing with flaming wings on a mission. The gift I was given is one I shouldn’t run from despite the amenities that comes with that. Some people only love you for what you put out. People will raise you up to tear you down and celebrate your redemption. But those ppl can be kept at a distance and away from your chamber of peace. I am a vibrational desire for all my needs. I’m accepting and expecting the lessons that come my way. This Western world Sometimes can be high on judgement & villainy; but That’s why All superheroes where disguises in trilogies. I embrace who I am and what I own. The light of the future casts the shadows of tomorrow word to DOOM
DIVE of the MOON RUNNER, 2020 Artwork by Jay Stone THE ECSTATIC 114
DJ INO SEEING SOUNDS VARIANT 001
ARTIST / DJ INO
PHOTOGRAPHER / NATALIA VERAS
INTERVIEWER / JAY STONE
STYLED BY / FVDGENASTE97
JS: When did you discover your love for music? What introduced you to it & how did it lead to the desire to become a DJ? DJ: I was introduced to music by just being interested in being a DJ. That’s what initiated everything. Music was always around. Whenever we had electricity in the crib, my brother would just start playing music. Dancehall was very popular in Haiti when I was around. It was like that everyday, I was just in the room listening to everything. One day I decided to do it myself and I really started to fall in love. Like I mixed 2 songs together and I realized I just made music. I started doing this when I was 12 or 11. That was the boost it was really just being a kid and just playing around. I would’ve never thought I’d still be doing it till this day. I always feel like it’s so expansive, like there’s always something new I can learn about being a Dj. What I mean by being a DJ is being a translator of music that already existed, or a curator walking around a museum carrying art. I walk around with music, I curate an experience and I feel like there’s always gonna be a new way to do it. It’s so expansive, and of course I’m expansive as well. And I like to think that looking within I think there’s a lot of new ways I can be expansive and be myself with that shit. JS: I feel you. You always know how to set a chill vibe but you also know how to turn up. I peep the old school joints you slide into your sets. So in the islands how were you introduced to American music? DJ: There’s a lot of American influence on the island. In Haiti you’ll find the way we dress is americanized, the way we talk slang is mixed with American languages. Sometimes the words mean different things because it’s blended with our culture. It’s always like that even through the TV and music videos. I know right now that drill music is a thing in hip hop creole. The way I got into all this Hip Hop American music is honestly through other Dj’s looking through their folders. It’s a big mix of growing up in Haiti, seeing the US
as a better place, you know how it’s advertised. JS: What have been some of the challenges you’ve faced as a young Dj / Artist ? What’s your definition of success? DJ: One of the challenges I face is actually trying to get a grasp of what I’m trying to put out there as far as content, as an extension of myself. I’m very unconventional as a dj. Yes I was influenced by my brother who used to play all the time but he changed gears and focused on other things, I kept going with it, and a lot of the things that I know became self taught. I remember when I first got my controller, that was a new experience because I always played off my laptop. Just being able to own these self taught strategies. Like I scratch differently than other dj’s who learned correctly. It’s very important to me and I encourage others to play in their own way. So I guess a big challenge is owning the way I play. Even when I play my own music, people always want to suggest songs. Really its just embracing myself and my way of being. JS: So tell us about your particular style? What kinda atmosphere sonically do you aim to create when you’re spinning or putting together a playlist for an event? DJ: I always go for nostalgic moments and nostalgic feelings. Because music is everywhere, the way you talk, the way you step. Your organs are making mad noises inside your body no cap. It’s trying to create a way for people to feel connected to a song. When you’re able to create that experience, its not only about an event its not a pop up, only about a song but also about a memory thats personal to them that I didn’t even know connected them to me. I love being soulful with my music. Letting people sing and dance their heart out.
THE ECSTATIC 117
I’m definitely a musical nerd. I try to stay open minded when it comes to music, I try to explore different kinds of music, which can create different kinds of experiences. Instead of being general Dj I want to create spaces that make you wanna come to my events because you wanna listen to DJINO. JS: Who were some of your inspirations coming up? Did you have any other inspirations outside of music? DJ: So many inspirations coming up; one definitely being my brother, Kelly. Hes the one who got me started cause he was right next to me like “if I can do it you can do it too!” I grew up listening to radio a lot, cause you know in Haiti you just pop in the battery and listen. I would hear alot of Dj’s especially a few famous ones in my country. I would always try to listen to the next song coming in or I’ll brainstorm what song can come next. I really like Jazzy Jeff, when it comes to scratching, and DJ Bastard. In Haiti it was more about transitions and song choice. I’m also inspired by Grand Master Flash, cause it was really him just playing around and shit everyone thought he was messing up the record but he knew what he wanted to hear and look where we’re at now! Also being an educator, having a chance to work in Brooklyn Museum in High school and which taught me a lot about teaching being around the arts. I’m also in school for art, I’m an art historian. I’m always trying to educate in a way and thats why I created chillive for collective knowledge where we can share information and transition them to lessons, like talking about a painting all of these things are transitions. All of this is incorporated in being a DJ. On a surface level they really don’t have anything to do with each other, but all about how you interpret it that makes a difference. I always liked bringing people together which makes Djing easy, but also like can we have a conversation and make that inside voice louder so other people can hear it. We’re all learning and we’re experiencing things for the first time and that doesn’t mean you’re going to be an angel because we’re all just
figuring shit out. JS: Tell us about CHILLive and what do you hope to build with it going forward? DJ: Let me tell you how Chillive even started. In quarantine I was in the crib a lot, I wasn’t being very creative. I was worried about when it was going to be over, like when I was going to play again ? I felt stuck, I had so many ideas and so many projects and then I felt like you know what if it’s going to be like this let me find a way to pour all of these creative projects out someway somehow. I started Chillive as a way to do that. On Wednesday’s at night I would go live on Instagram, play some music and talk about whatever was going on in my head whether it be mental, political whatever it is. It was just like all of this in your head, where do you pour all of this out. So I wanted to create a space that was very soulful, having conversations about mental health, exploring underground artists that I know and we’ve had talks about love, about regrets, transitions. All these words mean so many things to so many people and I wanted to create a space for people to tell me what is on their mind and just let it out. My focus is to get people to feel comfortable with having uncomfortable conversations, it’s an experience we’ll have dope artists talking about their art, playing chill music so this is what Chillive is about!
Instagram : @dj_ino_ Instagram / Natalia Veras @cultureface
THE ECSTATIC 120
JAY STONE, 2021 Photography : Rod Porter
BLACK BUSINESS SHOUT OUTS BLACK NILE RESTAURANT SAVVY BISTRO RUSTIK TAVERN ANCIENT AURA JEWELRY EACH & EVERYDAY CCCADI SMILE NATURAL PRODUCTS GHETTO HEAVEN NYC CULTURED KINFOLK GNA STUDIOS I GOT YOUR BLACK CLOTHING