50 negus
This series was inspired by iconic Rap Artist/Actor 2Pac and his “50 NIGGAZ” tattoo which symbolizes unity to bring together 1 black man from each of the 50 States in the United States. 2Pac knew they would be stronger than any weapon; even an AK47 (Kalashnikov assault rifle). “NIGGAZ” is also an acronym for 2Pac, meaning “Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished”. I wanted to do 2Pac inspired Art but wanted to approach it from a different angle, so I reimagined the “50 NIGGAZ” concept and created “50 NEGUS”. The word “Negus (noun) a ruler, or the supreme ruler, of Ethiopian origins” from it I created my own acronym “Noble Enlighten Godly Unfukwitable Spirit”. This series now includes 4 designs of 2Pac holding an AK-47 riffle that has “50 NEGUS” superimposed on it. As with most of my work I created it first digitally in photoshop and made prints on repurposed mailer labels.
