The Phantom

The Phantom ©2011 b/w pencil rendering. Alexie F was a contributor in two of my books. When the discussion was made that he would be doing a book of poetry, he asked me to do a drawing & a poem. Not necessarily to collaborate. The drawing is one of a series of masks drawings I am working on. The rendering is based on the person behind the mask, may not be the person on the mask..though it is the same person. The frenzied background represents the uncertainty of the emotions of an artist. It is purposely unfinished & chaotic. 

Well to explain the gist of this drawing, one must first know some of the history.

Alexie (F) & I go as far back as when the devil was a baby….lol … Raised in the same projects literally not far from the birth place of Hip Hop.  He was always a funny yet mysterious cat.  Even as a 13 year old “Afro Boy” as my home girl & I referred to him as.

When we got to reconnect as adults I learned that we were almost one in the same….minus the obvious. Our love for rock n roll, visual art & theatre, was eerily the same.  Our obsession for masks & music would probably make others gag… His goofy azz personality has me laughing literally on days that I don’t feel like laughing. The experiencing of as I quote a fellow poet …you know who you are girl, “the mental mist” that we artists go through is something that only few can comprehend.

 I learned that this man sacrificed love to continue his passion of music. Something that many would not accept, but somehow I got it. Our backgrounds are very similar. I realized, if I were a dude… & I’d  look in the mirror, I  would probably see him looking back at me….lol …He has over-come a lot.  Some things many don’t know & will never .

He turned a difficult business transition, into a portfolio a great artistic collaborations & interviews with some of the best talents in Hip Hop including pioneer Grammy award winner Easy Mo Bee (which will appear in the Hip Hop Documentary THE LOST TAPES by Just In Case It Rains Productions), hip hop artist & collaborator Randy Mason, & Rebel Diaz's own floetess & activist Lah Tere…just to name a few.

His love for music also is filtered another passion; art. In 2009 Alexie (F) joined my husband & my company A.T.B. Fine Artists & Designers LCC as a consultant.  As a son of a musician/painter, his art appreciation is uncanny. He has collected art from my portfolio as well as one of my husband, Anthony’s works called Mother Nature VIII from the Mother Nature series. Thanks to his other passion, Alexie will be doing interviews (here on Afro Boy) of visual artists such as Anthony Burks & Dan Springer. Back in 2009 he did an interview on me as part of a 3 pt interview. 

So to know the man, you have to respect the heart.  Not many can, have or will.  But that is the beauty of this guy.  The mystery is what makes him who he is. Instead of trying to break down that wall, just appreciate the cat, & what he is giving you. 


Peace to my brotha Al....mad luv 4 ya...But......YOU ALREADY KNOW