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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | MAY 28 - JUNE 3, 2021 | 7
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WORCESTERIA
Help support ‘starving’ artists Parker Carlin Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
Joyner Lucas, left, and Mark Wahlberg appear in the music video for “Zim Zimma.” PROMOTIONAL IMAGE
Joyner Lucas hangs with Wahlberg, Lopez and Diddy in video Veer Mudambi and Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
A pandemic didn’t slow Joyner Lucas down much, did it? While most of us barely got to see our friends in real life, Lucas was mingling with an all-star crowd over this past year, at least judging from his recordings and videos. First off, Will Smith put out a remix of Lucas’ song “Will,” wherein Smith replied classily to Lucas’ hero worship. Then, in April, Lucas dropped the music video for “Ramen & OJ,” a collaboration with rapper Lil Baby which centers on the idea of being unable to return to the person he was before he was rich and famous. Now, he’s out with a new music video for his song “Zim Zimma,” from his 2020 album, “Evolution.” The song itself is pretty much an upbeat club banger, with a great hook. Really, it’s the video itself that’s of interest. The first part has Mark Wahlberg “borrowing” Lucas’ BMW, and giving a demonstration of
typical Boston driving. The second part has Lucas hilariously asking to borrow comedian George Lopez’s car ... one which he never lets anyone touch and refused to sell to Jay Leno! Lastly, Lucas races in tiny toy cars with rapper Diddy. The video, directed by Lucas and his longtime video collaborator Ben Proulx, might not be one of Lucas’ deeper works, but it’s definitely a good time. (VDI) Your handy guide to Worcester food pantries — When a 10th grade U.S. history class tries to address an issue as part of a State Civics project, we know it is serious and widespread. The project required students to identify and address a specific need in their community — the class chose food access. Their simple and elegant solution, called “The Community Cupboard” brochure, was a student-led effort in which they gathered the names, addresses and requirements for places to access food, then entered the inforSee LUCAS, Page 8
Since art is a beautiful gateway to creativity, design, attraction, and captivation and local businesses seek to attract customers, their relationship should become symbiotic and consequentially support one another through artist support and expressive decorations; restaurants especially like to decorate their walls, and artists make a living off of essentially selling their decorative creations. One of the best ways for artists to keep from “starving” — as the saying goes — is for local businesses to showcase the work of local artists in their establishments by allowing any customer to buy the works that are displayed around them. This is exceptionally beneficial for restaurants as customers spend prolonged amounts of time sitting
and enjoying the environment around them. I have been to restaurants before that adopted this practice and it made the experience far more enjoyable and lighthearted. Not only did it give me something to look at while I ate, but it made things personal. Being an artist myself, I greatly appreciated knowing that the art on the walls were from people in the community like me who want to be able to sell artwork to local people who would appreciate it more than shipping precious works across long distances. Furthermore, imagine going out to eat and being able to add a piece of beautiful art to the tab along with a good meal, both made by someone nearby. It would benefit the artists, the businesses, the customers, and the community as a whole. Parker Carlin lives in Uxbridge.
Local businesses to showcase the work of local artists in their establishments. FREE-PHOTOS
