Letter From The
EDITOR...
2020 so far has been an interesting year. We are all trying to make sense of what going on in the world, so the team and I over here at Untapped Hip Hop Magazine wants to bring a little bit of sunshine to you with this Spring 2020 issue of Untapped Hip Hop. We have some really dope artist from all over the world featured in this issue & I’m proud to have them be apart of this movement / brand that we are building. Thank You! To everyone out there with your continued support of what it is we are creating because it keeps us motivated to create and execute our ideas and plans for the next steps of our plan. Without you Untapped would be an empty shell & being able to work with and create with you means the world to us. Tap Into Your Potential!
- D.Will
CONTRIBUTORS K2B GRAFF
Facebook: kiib graff - k2b graff Instagram: @K2b_graff Email: koudebebom@gmail.com
BLAKE SIERRA
Website: psychorags.wixsite.com/ mysite/art
JOSHUA DIGGS
Instagram: @finessegawdmasterpieces YouTube: Finesse Gawd Masterpieces
ELIJAH CARR
Instagram: @milo_photog Website: www.milophotog.com
TAPPED IN WITH JUSTIN BUA
Facebook: Justin Bua Instagram: @justinbua Twitter: @Bua YouTube: Justin BUA Email: bua@justinbua.com
All art submitted to this issue is own and copy-written by their creators.
K2B GRAFF KOU DE
BEBOM
GRAFFITI GIRL FROM FRANCE
WHO IS K2B?
My name is K2B & I am a graffiti girl artist out of France. For 20 years I have been a graffiti artist, and for the past 5 years I have been doing it professionally. My passion for drawing and hip hop started when I was very young, and when I got my hands on spray cans I knew that this would be the way for me, my art took an important place in my life.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU HAVE ENCOUNTERED AS AN ARTIST? Graffiti culture is more widely accepted nowadays than it was a few years ago and the entourage that I was able to build during my time are very proud of and supports my creativity. One of the challenges that I tend to face the most often is to always be constant & consistent, to successfully paint according to the moods and events that affect us. The administrative part is sometimes difficult, but I would say that the main challenge for myself and most creatives is being able to evolve in our art and to learn constantly.
HOW HAVE YOU GROWN AS AN ARTIST?
I have evolved accordingly to my experiences, my history, & my origin imbued me with oriental influences, my fighting spirit pushes me to always take up new challenges. I also like to express my feelings in my works of art. Always be observative, balance your training and pleasure, and never give up on yourself.
BLAKE SIERRA F L U I D A S PA I N T
ART IS MY WORLD
WHO IS BLAKE?
Art is my world! My name is Blake Sierra, I was born and raised in the beautiful paradise of Newport Beach, Ca. I have been a creative since I was two years old and my grandfather put an easel on a patio a brush in my hand and a key to my kingdom. The natural beauty around me was embedded in me and I was taught that I could perceive the world from whatever perspective I allowed myself to have. I realized that life was as fluid as paint.
WHAT GIVES YOU THE PASSION TO CREATE?
I believe I can turn the simplest object into the most far fetched dream or vision. This sparked everything in my imagination to create a world based on dreams. Art has stuck by me and manifested past life. I have lost things and learned how to keep them alive. A perfect example is when my grandfather passed away. The last time I saw him was with an orchid sitting in front of him and I snapped a photo of him and this beautiful flower. I happened to be going on a trip I could not cancel and knew I would lose him before I returned. I had my grandmother go get this flower and kept it living two years after he passed
away. It became a symbol of life for me, a symbol that my art will live past my own life. I choose to create art to put a piece of my perception into a world that can carry on far beyond what my body can. I have become a person broken down into so many fragments scattered around the universe. People carry a piece of me in their homes their daily lives. I hope my art serves as a reminder of the inspiration that people have brought to me and the universe we share it with.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS AN ARTIST?
love. The most loyal relationship I have is with the hands I have to create my vision. Be a dreamer. Be a believer. Be passionate. Never lose sight of your god given drive to create. Whoever doesn’t I never think before I create, it is something see the vulnerability it takes to be an artist in my blood, because I accept myself and doesn’t deserve a seat in your Gallery. my perception no matter how imperfect Show everyone who you are. You are the me or my art is. It is in this imperfect that only you, the only one capable to share I find beauty. I think the most valuable your unique experience. You are special lesson I have learned from being an and one of a kind, just like your art. There artist is to be inspired by everything. Be is only one of those paintings, one of inspired by things you hate and question those experiences frozen in time and that why you hate, learn by things you love one piece of frozen time can change the and question things you don’t. Speak world. Know that you have the key to your your mind through art. Art is something own kingdom and others are lucky to have that will always replace words for me. It is a look into your heart. something felt not said. Don’t ever let anyone tell you your art needs improvement. Stay true to your experience because that is what art reflects. This experience will last a lifetime and beyond, believe in the strength of your work. Keep giving the universe a piece of yourself because that defines
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JOSHUA DIGGS
ART WAS AN ESCAPE
I USED ART TO FIND SOME PEACE
WHO IS JOSHUA? My name is Joshua Diggs, originally from the *DMV, Capitol Heights to be exact. Right now, I work security for the National Gallery of Art in DC. I’ve been drawing for as long as I can really remember but I guess you can say I started at around age 5. I picked up painting in late 2015 so about 5 years or so with that. My digital work is probably less than a year old. *The is DMV is the 3 states of Maryland, DC, & Virginia
WHAT IS YOUR ART TO YOU?
Honestly art was just an escape. I had a semi rough childhood and I used it a lot just help escape my reality to find some form of peace. Eventually when I figured out, I was decent and liked to do it just for fun that’s when I really took it seriously. I would say circumstances created the artist that I am today. Guess you could say it was a blessing in disguise. I knew in high school, so early 2007. Just I was pushed the military way and it kind of took away from my artistic dreams so to say. My art is accepted to an extent. My surroundings tie in with this answer because working at the NGA (National Gallery of Art) I don’t see a ton of representation for the black community. I would say this lack of representation is really what causes my art to come across as pro black so to say. That’s why I’m always seen drawing black characters or figures. Feel there’s a void of positive black examples in the art world. With this said
my art is accepted by the people it looks like.
I always get a lot of love and respect from our people. On the other side of the spectrum I always get the very excited, “Oh My God! You draw!!!!” individuals until I show them what I’m drawing and then the excitement is kind of gone and it’s more so, “Oh, well that’s nice” or my least favorite line, “That’s fun”. I hate when people tell me that. The biggest I would have to say is a lack of support. Art is never viewed as something you can really make a living from and most people, I run into just think of it as a nice hobby. Nothing more. It’s hard getting support from family and friends when it comes to my art. Strangers tend to show more love and support than people I’ve known for years. Besides the lack of support the thing I’ve had to overcome the most is the constant comparison of my art to another’s. It’s an ongoing struggle I deal with daily, but you must be secure in yourself and your gift to know that I can make it work for me and nobody else has what I have.
WHAT DOES YOUR ART TO YOU?
Man, to be honest I think about it all the time. I was just a kid drawing stick figures and the cartoons I saw, getting excited when my art slightly resembled what it was supposed to. Now I’m taking on drawing real people and shocking myself at how good they turn out sometimes. I’m more than happy to be able to see the growth I have had as and artist because it has not always been easy. At one point I couldn’t draw hands to save my life and now I draw hands like almost everyday and are amazed at how much I’ve grown in that area.
else’s vision for your life and neglect your own. Another piece of advice would be to work on the stuff that you hate to do. Never let fear control or manipulate what and how you create. Attack it head on, figure it out and kill it every time until you master it. It is really the only way you will get better.
Lastly don’t accept “constructive criticism” from everyone. Not everyone is going to be proud of your progress or want to see your goals come to fruition. So make sure if they are giving you advice that they are not only practicing what they preach but are also supporting on a continuous basis not just showing up when they feel a piece Honestly, I would say never let anyone, and should’ve went this way or you should have did this instead of this. I don’t care who they are, deter you from I’ll leave you with my motto that I learned your artistic aspirations. I did and it was a long time ago. “More than ART, it’s a the worst 6 years of my life. If you have a LIFESTYLE.” Live, breathe and love your art, place you want to take your life don’t be and trust me when you do the success influenced by others who can’t or won’t see the vision you have for yourself. Don’t will follow. waste time trying to live up to someone
ELIJAH CARR M I LO P H OTO G
My name is Elijah Milo Carr, aka “Milo Photog” and I was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. I’m a photographer who mainly takes photos of other creatives and as of late a graphic designer. I have been involved with photography for about 6 years now but have only started getting into the world of graphic design which I’m still relatively new to. Back when I first went to college, I originally started as a Journalism major because I like to write and tell stories and one of the classes I took at the time was a photography class. In all honesty I only took that class because I thought it was gonna be an easy class for me, once I started taking photos with my DSLR, it’s like something in me changed, I didn’t just find another hobby but a passion that I really came to enjoy doing. A couple years later, changed my major, got my BA in photojournalism, and I’ve been a professional photographer ever since. The moment I knew I wanted to do photography was the moment I took my first batch of photos. Prior to photography, I didn’t have any creative outlet to go to so in a sense I
NEVER BE AFRAID TO TA K E T H AT NEXT LEAP
felt kind of stuck. Once I took my first photos, I immediately felt this sense of accomplishment just by creating something. Ever since then, I have valued each and every one of my photos as more than just a picture but a literal representation of the world around me and how I view it. I think that if it wasn’t for the people surrounding me supporting my dream and supporting my craft, I probably wouldn’t be doing what I do today. Some of my friends happen to be artists as well so I take all the praise or criticism they give me and I use it to hone in and try to perfect my photography. I’m also very thankful of how supportive my family has been because they could’ve simply written off my photography as just another hobby or phase that wasn’t going to amount to anything but instead they have been immensely supportive of my craft and have been so since the day I started. Of course there were some challenges I faced when I first started out like actually having the money to afford all the equipment. When I got my first camera, I was still in my second year in college and had just started saving money and a camera, especially a professional
one, is a big investment. I took out a loan and bought my first camera but realized there’s a lot more equipment I’d have to get to take my photos to the next level. There was also the issue of getting exposure and having people see my photos. I loved taking photos but I had to get out and look for ways to get people to see them, from posting them on Instagram, to entering them in contests. It wasn’t until people started reaching out to me, asking for photo shoots, is when people started to see my photos more. Comparing my first photo to the photos I take now, I have definitely evolved as a photographer. My first photo was a photo I took on my college campus of a lonely park bench on a gloomy day. A lot of my photos when I first started were gloomy and didn’t really have people in it because I was an introvert who didn’t really like talking to people and was going through some personal issues back then as well. Now the photos I take are full of people and have these stories to it that I think completely eclipse my older photos and the reason is in huge part to the people around me telling me to keep pushing forward and trying my best with my photos. If I were to give my younger self any type of advice, I would say never be afraid to take that next big leap into your craft and always have confidence with your photography . There were times where I was given certain opportunities and I decided not to take them because I was
either too scared or just not confident enough in my photography. I was always very critical with my work and it resulted in photos getting deleted or never being seen even though they were good photos. Now I have a lot more confidence in my photos and I believe it shows because I am willing to take creative risks that I was too afraid to take and I know I’m only going to grow more with my photography.
I’m Going To Be Great! Interview conducted by D.Will
Justin Bua
Art work displayed in this article is owned by and copy-written by Justin Bua
Who I am that’s a great question I think about that everyday, that one of those existential realities where you have to rethink who you are all the time. I’m originally from New York City I was born in the upper west side the upper best side as we like to call it & I come from a time and a place where things were a little more raw and clandestine and we were kids that really navigated the world unbridled by parental supervision, I was at some of the critical nascent moments of the early verging hip hop culture. I was very observant I feel in many ways, I was a dancer, a writer, and a poet. I did many artistic things but the one thing I always came back to was painting and drawing because I always wanted to be great. I felt that I was the purest form of who I am in many ways because whatever we do as artists whether you’re playing an instrument or writing a song or you painting it’s still an iteration of you and the spirit and essence of you is captured in that art you’re just plugging yourself into it. Now you might not be as articulate in one medium as you are in another but it’s still you, if you speak to me in English this is you but if you speak to me in another language it is still you but at a lower vibration because you can’t articulate yourself as eloquently. It’s
something that I knew early on that I had to have a skill set in order to be an able & articulate dialectician and to translate the complexity of my visual language which was very complex I thought, but I knew early on how to take the concept, the idea, and the construct and make it into a visual form. It’s a very weird way to think but I was thinking that way and I knew if I were to pursue music perhaps I could be great at it you know, but there some things you know you’ll never be great at. I’m 6 feet tall, probably with the best training and the best coaches and the best meditative coaches, I won’t be a professional basketball player, Even if I was great by the standards of my peers. With me I feel that I know what I need to get there, I’m very creative but I know that I need a technical understanding that will take me to a certain place and now I need to figure out how to get that. My grandfather was a very incredible letterer he did lettering for Felix the Cat, Prince Valiant, and a lot of the old comics. He was a sculptor and a painter. You could say he was a little bit of a renaissance man in terms of his artistry, so he was a very talented letterer as a painter he was okay, my mom was also okay she wasn’t great she was more of a hobbyist who tried to be a professional
painter. I watched her struggle and try to sell her work, she would stay up all night because she had to have a day job as a secretary and her night reality was just working and painting and I grew up as kid watching her paint and then going Metropolitan museum where she literally stood outside the facade trying hock her goods. I knew early on that this was a business and a hard one at that, because my mom isn’t really selling anything. She’s creative and crafty and eventually went on to open her own business but it was early on when I saw what a struggle it was. My grandfather was more gifted I’m more skilled at his level of artistry than my mom was and he told me to not do this as a career. There’s nothing for you here.
indomitable spirit and I feel like that is the one thing that I have always had. I always had this ability to persevere in the face of adversity no matter what “I’M GOING TO BE GREAT!” it was kind of like a New York FUCK YOU! energy, fuck you! I’m going to make it no matter what you say. It’s arrogance! Even Though I wasn’t great I had to feel like I was in order to continue and persevere as of now where I know where I am, I’m much more realistic about everything I do for other reasons like ingenuity or creativity or challenge. I don’t need the fuck you ether to project me into working hard and getting great. You don’t want to be delusional and think you’re in a certain place when you’re not because I encounter that a lot with young artist where they say they’re the shit, and I did have different mentors and I had they’re just a zygote and will never learn people who tried to knock me down because they feel like they have already and told me that I couldn’t do it, I went arrived and they’re already stuck they’ve to a art high school so I wasn’t as gifted already hit the ceiling they’re already as a lot of my peers who were naturally done with that kind of energy. There is no more gifted than i was from a technical place to go from there you’re done, the level but I was always as creative if not ultimate is when you find someone with more creative than they were in many a wholly curiosity and authentic curiosity ways because I could be heterodox in my and that person will always get better thinking. and grow, that’s the type of person you have to be. My whole life is in the pursuit It is very easy to question yourself when of understanding nature and becoming you are not getting work, or when you better. go to somebody you admire and they look at you like what are you doing? and I feel like I’ve done awesome thing and you’re like shit what am i doing? If this my DJ piece is my most famous piece guy that I admire is asking me this then with 13 million sold but I don’t feel like I have to take a hard look in the mirror that is my greatest me, but I’m never and say what am i doing? You get very going to top the popularity of that, It is self conscious but you have to have an way more difficult now to get a piece out
there because it’s so over saturated with cheap unlicensed art work. I feel now what I’m doing is better but it’s different because the way we gauge what is better or brilliance is because of popularity but the reality is I’ve really yet to do my greatest works. My greatest shit needs to be a culmination of what I have experienced and learned to date. The culture is going to evolve the way it’s going to evolve the aspect of hip hop culture and art will find a synergy it will happen naturally I have now control over it.
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