Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973)- A Rock and Roll pioneer, she was one of the architects of what today is now known as Rock in its many forms. She was a pioneer in her life, music, beliefs, and her relationships being a bi-sexual woman in her day. Her style was fierce, loud, and extremely soulful.
Dr. Moses "Musa" Powell (1941-2005)- A martial arts master teacher and practitioner from New York. Moses Powell was a master student to , he was so skilled at Juijitsu that he developed his own style and system called Sanuces Ryu and he still ha students such as Anthony Muhammad teaching today. Moses was a teacher to the Nation of Islam, law enforcement, and even the FBI.
Oddisee (born 1985). Amir Mohamed is a Sudanese American musicians who both rhymes and produces instrumental music. The basis for his work is hip hop, but it expands to other genre's such as Jazz, Soul, and house. I first became aware of the brother on a visit to DC back in 2008 and have been a fan of him and Diamond District since. His work is extremely skillful, well crafted and thought-out, and balanced with thought and care-free. I think many my age would agree that he is one of most talented to do it. On constant rotation. Support him now by seeing him perform or buying his new LP.
Dawud Anyabwile (born 1965)- Illustrator and co-creator of the Brotherman Comics stories, I first became aware of his work as a teen, and later became rejuvenated by it as a young adult. I have written about this brother in magazines, and social forums because his outlook and approach to life, his views on Black family, and his stunning artistic abilities are a guiding light daily. Go support this living legend now by getting "Brotherman-Revelations" for your kids.
Octavia Butler (1947-2006)- Octavia was in incredible mind. An incredible writer, and a predictor of future. My mom read her work and introduced me to her 15-20 years ago. It wasn't until I was in my late 20's that I actually read and understood her work. In fact, she is the reason why I now love to read and share books with others. Her work in fantasy and science fiction has inspired so many with her talent for describing, telling, and bringing you in. I beg you, read her work and check out Octavia's Brood-an anthology of writers inspired by her work.
Ava DuVernay (Born 1972). I know most of you know Ava so I don't need to do the whole bio. But I'll say that I became aware of her work when she released a little documentary called "This is the Life" about a L.A. hip hop scene that produced some of my favorite MC's. And imagine how stunned I was when I realized I'd been listening to Ava rhyme on Project Blowed and didnt even know it was her. This is the 3rd time I've drawn or painted Ava. Yes. Go watch her latest film "The 13th" about prison industrial complex and its relation to slavery.
These are a few illustrations from last year that were commissioned by a Bay Area Tech company last year for Black History/Future month. There are more, but these were my favorite. If you would like to purchase a print of any one of these email me at info@robdontstop.com 8"x11" mixed media on paper.
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