Fine Photography by Tim Knox .. www.timknoxphotography.com
This painting was done by me and Ibrahim a model/activist/alchemist/ and comrade 4 life....look out for him in vibe, source &,vouge ...hes doing his thing.
his link... www.myspace.com/spookbtd
also check out yang chi...and concep (winner of MTVs art battles)... www.myspace.com/concepcompany...heres some vids of the things we doin...
MILAN TATTOO CONVENTION- This is an annual convention that takes place in Milan, Italy. It features some of the illest tattoo artists from around the globe. It was my first time attending and I was dazed by all the booths of sick ink pushers doing their thing!! I got some work added to my sleeve- an mayan god named Pauhuatun, my boy Ethan Morgan hooked it up, and my shorty got a half sleeve, a beautiful traditional chinese landscape from this dude YZ tattoos. Shige of yellowblaze.net was also there but unfortunately booked for like 3 years!! DAYUM
p.s. there's a lot of other good youtube videos of the convention i was too busy running around to really capture everything
TATTOOING VINCENZA- I have a sister stationed in Italy.As soon as I came back from the convention she had a big ol list of soldiers that needed some ink. I ended up being pretty busy out there. Heres some fliks of the work i did. DAISY-I tried to research this flower and found a gang of different daisys most if not all are under the bellis family but they got a lot of freakin daisys out there and Im sure they all have their own properties and stories to tell.. sorry if Im being vague on this one but i'ts late, I did not get much sleep last night and its a leap year and tommorows the last day of FEB. so I gotta finish this months newsletter...ok ok so bust it since the daisy is one of the most common and basic flowers in its beauty and simplicity it is a symbol of innocence... I didn't make that up ...anyway -heres a picture and a video..
CELTIC CROSS-Many sources of ancient wisdom note the number 7 as a prime sacred number because of the union of a male number (4) and a female number (3).In some cultures even numbers would be considered female because they had the ability to be evenly cut in half and therefore reproduce. Many growing civilizations were laid out in quadrants using squares crosses and right angles. Round villages were replaced by square ones with the intention of directional quadrants north east west and south. They also linked to 4 elements, winds, guardians etc. Some knuckle heads believed the earth was flat and had 4 corners... crosses made of imaginary straight lines from the 4 corners of the world were created where the lines would join..like a primitive latitude and longitude. Crosses symbolized male gods before christians used this symbol. It would represent god's sacrifice which took place in the center of things.
The symbol that is known to the majority as the "celtic cross" was known to the Hindus as the "kiakra" a sign of sexual union the cross within the circle (phallus within yoni). The Gypsies whose original home was Hindustan, used both elements (circle and cross) as sexual symbols they marked a male horses leg with a cross and a females with a circle and hoped that they'd hump and not run away, like all cross designs this one too was adopted by Christianity.
The shamrock is a symbol of Saint Patrick and to the country of Ireland. Some symbology like that of the 3 heart shaped leaves representing the triple mothers of celtic lore was given to the clover. However this symbol was not solely Irish. Its name came from the Arabic shamrakh which was an emblem of a lunar Godess of pre Islamic Arabia. The shamrock was not greatly liked by Christians in Ireland so a new notion of a 4 leaf clover being luckier was taking place also because 4 was the number of the cross.
Still some others believe the original root of the cross symbol had a zodiacal nature. DRAGON VS. PTERODACTYL -The beginning of a quick color back piece of 2 savage beasts duking it out. Pterodactyls are actually not considered to be dinosaurs. They are classified as pterosaurs because they do not have an upright stance like dinosaurs. Pterodactyls are classified as reptiles and are very closely related to dinosaurs. They lived during the Cretaceous period about 144 to 65 million years ago. There are many different species of pterodactyls. One of the smallest Pterodactylus had a wing span of only about 20-30 inches. The largest prtrodactyl found so far is Quetzalcoatlus (look at the mayan tattoo I did reference the name), which could have a huge wingspan of over 40 ft. Pterodactyls were suited well for flying. They had very light hollow bones and wide leathery wings. The body was long and very thin. Pterodactyls had good eyesight which was important for finding food. They were carnivores and ate fish and other animals caught from the oceans. They may have been scavengers on land as well. Pterodactyls lived in many parts of the world. They flourished for many millions of years before they became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period about 65 millions years ago.
Dragons are dope, for those that don't know they are magical and spiritual beings that look like crazy reptilian serpents. Many cultures perceived them in many different ways. Some had them depicted as huge giant creatures and some as small as a thimble. In most Asian cultures the Dragon is usually seen as wise and benevolent, A ruler of the weather, great respect and honorary symbolism have been associated with it. In China some Emperors used the dragon as a symbol of their royalty, 9 different types of dragons are shown in their literature, temples, homes and palaces. At birth Dragons would represent the male and the Phoenix would represent the female. In most European cultures dragons are more malevolent, however there are few exceptions. Native Americans thought of dragons to represent the primal forces of nature and the Moche had them all over their ceramics. So many tales legends and mythological stories tell of dragons and their magical powers. GAELIC WRITING- The words Faith, Love and Hope are written here with the triquetra separating each word. Gaelic is a Celtic language spoken in mainly Ireland. There are also Irish speakers in the UK, the USA, Canada ( and Australia. According to the 1996 census, 1.43 million people in Ireland claim to have some knowledge of Irish, 353,000 of whom speak it regularly. The main concentrations of Irish speakers are in the Gaeltachtaí, which are scattered mainly along the west coast of Ireland and have a total population of 82,715, 76.3% of whom speak Irish. Irish is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, also known as Q-Celtic. It is closely related to Manx and Scottish Gaelic, the other Goidelic languages. There is some degree of mutual intelligibility between them, particular between the Scottish Gaelic of Islay and Argyll, Ulster Irish, and Manx. The grammar and vocabulary of these languages are similar, but the spelling and pronunciation is different, especially Manx spelling. Irish first began to appear in writing in the form of Ogham inscriptions during the 4th century AD. When St Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century, Irish writers began to write in Latin, while at the same time, Irish literature written in the Latin alphabet began to appear. The Viking invasions of the 9th and 10th centuries lead to the destruction of many early manuscripts, so most surviving manuscripts were written after that time.
The Triquetra is an ancient symbol of female trinity. It is composed of 3 yonic vesicas (vessel of the fish) interlaced with a circle around it. It is a gateless design and protective symbol.
This is some video footage of my producer Heks Heat he is the CEO of Sleeping Dragon Entertainment and has produced songs for Joell Ortiz...he also produced many joints for 5FM..we are currently working on a couple more singles.. here he is producing a track in a matter of minutes!!
So I just finished editing some footage of a show I rocked out in the H-Bomb. They got a real dope scene out there with many talented and passionate musicians. Hip Hop is so pure out there..not watered down and commercialized. People really support hip hop and love it.. they are eager to buy your music! NYC is way different, too much competition and haterade! My boy BBC hooked me up with a good slot. I met so many chill folks out there too.. an ill artist named Article, a beautiful singer Karina Nistyle, a hard hitting emcee Big Shang, a ill DJ Comp1, and DJ Mad Sounds! BBC is pretty big out there he promotes the best hip hop shows and events in the h-town area he's booked Rakim! He's also got a hot shirt company (Three Sunz Apparel) and does a monthly called the Bench... heres some info on my H-Town familia...
Peace to all my fam out there.. February has been a busy month with alot of plans going on...I've been trying to promote like crazy and am currently going cross eyed in front of a computer screen...i think im going to take a long internet break and just paint for a while because the cpu is making my stomach hurt and im not feeling that so much.. heres to Feb 08 !!
Here are some of the new songs I've been working on, and an old classic as well. I have big plans musically for 2008 and will be dropping 3 separate projects. I will keep you all updated on when things are dropping and where you can get a copy.
Religion 101- this track was released on the 5.F.M. mixtape. Im rocking on a beat that The L.O.X. put out. I think the track was called Recognize produced by D.J. Premier and released on their second album "We Are The Streets". The song basically explains my beliefs on life and God.
Early Morning Tai Chi- Ahhh I love the vibe that I captured on this joint, and hope to make more music like this soon. An ode to the early morning bliss one feels walking in their hood. My boy Yang Chi is hitting up the hook with me as well as doing the add libs. This was a beat produced by my boy Nick from Skilloughby productions, he is also a DJ so if you need beats or a DJ for your party get at him his link can be found on my myspace top friends. It is also the first beat he produced.
Destined-This is Jendog Lonewolf and I bangin out on a sick beat produced by Yonkers own Beat Hustlahs. Jendog is also a talented photographer and you can get at her through her myspace or email-link-
www.myspace.com/ilovejendog and jendog111@yahoo.com
The beat hustlahs are a team of cats that produce and sell nothing but the sick shit-link-
www.myspace.com/gqpriest and keemeneememan@yahoo.com
Call Me-This is a joint collabo with the man of the hour, General Brolly the Ghost. An intelligent man who aside from being a dope emcee also designs websites for a good price so give him a shout if you are in the need to promote yourself or get your business off the ground. He really does it well. The song is self explanatory it's all about call me. Heres Brolly's links-
The beat is produced by my homie out of PA Koore Dub. He's got some interesting music far from the average and also runs an internet radio station. -link-
www.koore.net - theres a link to the station here. www.myspace.com/kooredub
Rotten Metropolis Clothing- How does one define or express the output of creative energy?? To me there are many mediums of expression so I can never only limit myself to one. I have a growing desire to excel in all outlets that are being offered. Art is art is art, whether on canvas, paper, skin or clothing, it is all an expression of the creative drive within us all. You can take it a step further, you have the art of dancing and the martial arts( both these are arts of movement in essence). You have the art of writing the art of acting, the art of music and the art of life. So what is art? I can only define it as being an expression, a language of your choice, a playground of your creation, a temple of tradition, one that can grow with time, patience, hard work, focus and perseverance.
The beauty of collaboration- I could not do all of the things I love without any help. Without support and foundation all this would crumble. My girlfriend has been a major support in my life. A true warrior, and teacher (9th Grade) and one of the hardest workers I know. She wakes up at 6 and comes home at 9 all for the love of students. In a city where teachers are neglected and underpaid she gives 110%. On top of that she is the brains and brawn behind the Rotten Metropolis Clothing Line. All of the hoodies, jeans and jackets are hand sewn customized and cut by this woman. By the way her name is Melanie Sutherland. Heres her link- email her if you are interested in buying a pice from our collection-
melsu@earthlink.net
I do all the artwork that gets printed on the gear you can also contact me for orders or visit our myspace page for more info. Our website should be up and running by the summertime.
The Photographer-We did this photo shoot on the rooftop of the photographers home. We threw a big ass party with food and drinks. The models were getting wasted before the shoot which wasn't a good thing. Our photographer was a lovely lady and talented individual. Her name is Samantha Casolari. I have respect, love, and admiration for the patience,time, and expertise she gave us and our models. I strongly advise anyone in need of a photographer to get at her, she is a shear joy to work with. Heres her link-
www.samanthacasolari.com The Models-I purposely did not want to use just ordinary models for our first photo shoot, not that I don't respect what models do, it takes a extreme amount of patience and dedication to be a model, and you gotta look damn good doing it. However I wanted extraordinary people and average joes to be the models that represent this gear. I cant stand having an anorexic figure setting the standard for what is hip and beautiful. There is so much more involved with the representation of something we all stand for...love and unity..from top to bottom we have-Allison Lincoln-who is a product design manager and aikido practitioner. Below her we have Elfisk Mota who would prefer to be called Xavier, an incredible graphic designer and good friend of mine who also has a career as an exotic dancer. Continuing downward you will find Hermes Rosa-known to the scene as Bazill- a brother of mine and a good hearted brooklynite, he is also an incredible emcee who is working on a solo album, for those that love that ruff BK head bangin shit check him out on myspace- www.myspace.com/bazisill . Under Baz we have-Hsin Jung Lin- aka Sammi who is a designer/thinker/ and also an aikido practitioner (aikidoka). Moving on we have Kareem Barrett- an artist/radio DJ/figure model. All of these people were wonderful to work them and I can't thank them enough. You can see more models, pictures and designs on the myspace page. Oh and those are Bazills legs. The Wall-The wall was done by myself and a homie of mine, Ian Newman (BIG ROCCO) he is an artist and musician who has recently released an album that you can purchase through itunes. He is also one of our models and is portrayed under Bazills legs. Heres his link-
PLANET EARTH/BRAHMA, 3rd Rock from that ball of fire.
An artist, student, and teacher...a wise fool...a creative soul..a lover of life...a hater and lover of ignorance...a man that seeks balance and enlightenment...one who can laugh at how serious Im trying to make myself sound...what a dick.
