Issue 12: Folklores & Festivals

SUMMER/FALL 2018

ISSUE 12

Folklores & Festivals 0

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I S S U E T W E LV E

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INTERVIEWS W/ ± LILO ALLEN ± YOUNG ENTERPRISING SOCIETY ± JOJO WEST ± TIA RICHARDSON ± RAHN HARPER

CONTENTS

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tales from our editor

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issue 12: folklore & festivals

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poetic feelings, festivals & future w/ lilo allen

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#instameetmke

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yes: the brand, the lifestyle, the movement

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“i’m doing me” interview w/ jojo west

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making the connections: rahn harper

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new folklore: community art & society shifts w/ tia richardson

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a summerfest visual recap

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on the run: summer/fall fashion

A B O U T O U R F E AT U R E D C O V E R A R T I S T ––

TIA RICHARDSON COMMUNITY MURAL ARTIST LOV E R O F C R E AT I V E C O L L A B O R AT I O N F O L LOW @ C O S M I C B U T T E R F LY D E S I G N R E A D M O R E A B O U T H E R O N PAG E 3 1

CONTRIBUTORS

E D I TO R - I N - C H I E F / L E X I S . B R U N S O N C R E AT I V E D I R E C TO R / C A R S Y N TAY LO R S H O OT E R / M A H D I G R A N S B E R R Y

FA S H I O N E D I TO R / VATO V E R G A R A L E A D FA S H I O N S T Y L I S T / R O S H A B R I S T E R FA S H I O N S T Y L I S T / JAC O B S T E G A L L

& WE COULDN’T MAKE THIS ISSUE POSSIBLE WITHOUT / K E LV I N “ DAY N AG E ” C R O S S

RAHN HARPER

L AU R E N “ H O N E Y ” G R A N I E L A

TIA RICHARDSON

T I F FA N Y B E A N

D I S T I N C T I V E D E S I G N S BY TO M I R A

ROB RANDOLPH

THE CLASSIC SHOPPE

L I LO A L L E N

W E S TO N R I C H S T U D I O S

PA P Y R U S & C H A R M S

F E AT U R E D FA S H I O N M O D E L S

M I LTOW N V I C I O U S

# I N S TA M E E T M K E P H OTO G R A P H E R S

YO U N G E N T E R P R I S I N G S O C I E T Y

SUMMERFEST

J OJ O W E S T

SUMMER SOLSTICE

E L I JA H S E B A S T I A N

CopyWrite Magazine Media & Design, LLC currently runs as a Milwaukee-based organization. All images are not licensed or owned by CopyWrite. For any questions regarding photos, future advertisements, future employment or any information about any featured artists, producers or creators, please contact us at copywrite.mke@gmail.com.

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@thrudirtyeyes // shooter: elijah sebastian

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

I S S U E

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TALES FROM OUR EDITOR. * Puts on the beat to One Trick Pony off of Nelly Furtado’s album Folklore* Tradition.

The word carries weight. In the same way, it carries history through the generational knowledge that defines who we are, where we are, and what we will be. It’s repetitive, identifiable, and collective acceptance make it taboo, and in the same breathe makes it valued by those who break away from its methods and those who carry it forward.

While the thought of carrying tradition may seem so laden in survival method for some of us, it has only recently occurred to me that we redefine what tradition is in our everyday actions, spreading them through the act of making, the act of doing, the act of telling, and most importantly, the act of living. Each of us (consciously or subconsciously) are a part of the force that will make our practices become pertinent to our legacies in the same way other practices became crucial to the generations in which we derive.

But how do we know that these are traditions?

We know because they have not vanished into time, as fads do. We keep rekindling them and celebrating them, some of us more than others, with the way we choose to live our lives. Who I am, as a creative woman of color, is defined by traditions. The markings of their power linger in ink on my skin (an ankh drawn into my side), in the cut of my clothes (flowy robes & hair wraps, belly shirts & fresh kicks), in my choice of words (mixed linguistics balanced with colloquial interpretations or situationally proper forms of speech . . . let’s put it like this, it’s not called a “Lexi-con” for nothing LOL), in my work (cultivating community through storytelling & art, amongst other things) . . . Really in all the things that make me, me.

The way I know these things are a part of me is because they were shared with me actively, and I grasped onto them as if I had been born with them already embedded deep within my flesh. Now they are things I celebrate proudly and share with whoever will listen because they are a part of my soul.

The folklore of creative thought & Urban culture is what has made me who I am daily. With annual communal festivities that concentrate and commemorate what are very normal acts (to me) are spaces where we can all observe & partake in these soul feeding traditions.

Summertime at CopyWrite is always busy for that exact reason (It’s a beautiful & necessary stress).

Festivals are happening almost every day and culture is thriving in the heat. We become inspired as people are so ready to share what they have been working on during the hibernation period of the year (which is all but 2 months in MKE LOL) and we are invested in making sure we continue to spread that aura.

What we celebrate is only relevant to the lifestyle we live & the traditions we can’t live without.

So where the performative nature of the creative world become a big marketing scheme, a chance to eat some savory fugazi, and toe the line of cultural appropriation, I would like you to remember that it all comes from somewhere.

To my everyday creatives, who are carrying tradition, revamping it, starting it, and making it look sexy, don’t forget to let the world know: We live this sh*t. /Dirty

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SHERMAN PARK RISING 4715 W. Center St.

INTRO

¡Fes-ti-val! (Say it with some extra umph) Celebratory spaces pop-up overnight as if they have always been there. Barricading streets for several blocks, hauling in food trucks, pitching tents, building stages and setting up shops that display art, craft, and of course, culture. These public arenas, meant to insight human interaction and feed communal interest, do something to us. We become a part of the narrative that is bigger than our Elote cravings & hunts for Africa-shaped wood earrings. One that exists only in a murmur once the tables break down, the tents are folded, and the street is left bare, returning to just a “normal” crossway for Urban living.

We speak of these events like folklore as if they don’t happen daily. We pass on our stories through word of mouth (or generational shift to Instagram) to share what we experienced and highlight what it was like to be a part of that moment.

If we look deeper we may see that the festival is just the periodic focus in on what already exists around us.

This music is not new, but concentrated. This food is not exotic, but seasonal. The art has been made, but here it is tangible. The festival life unifies our appetites for all the things we love but are limited in our indulgence.

The celebration, the festivity, the vastness becomes our freedom to “sample”, what should be life.

In Issue 12, we highlight the pulsation of festival season in MKE, focusing on people and organizations who have discovered that communal connections, everyday passion, and creative understanding make the heart of Urban culture and the spirit of societal elevation. No samples, but full course truths.

Immerse yourself in this celebration of community and culture.

This is Folklore & Festivals. /CW

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“MILWAUKEE

SOUNDS LIKE”

Milwaukee sounds like death in the summertime…

Sounds like How are we going to get away with this?

sounds like street festivals and church carnivals and

Sounds like how can we keep LETTING THEM get away With this?!

don’t go on that side of town unless you know exactly what you’re going for…sounds like high school football star almost steals

Sounds like a mother’s tears. Your aunt’s worst fear of having to bury her own son.

Sounds like funeral processions...like increasing homicide rates

beer, changes mind, pays for junk food, doesn’t get to steal the beer

Remember when Milwaukee sounded like childhood in the summer?

before someone steals his life.

Like open fire hydrants during heat waves Sounds like stolen cars.

Most popular is a Honda Civic to be specific,

And good Humor Ice cream trucks and arguing when you cousin steals the gum ball out of the face of your teenage mutant ninja turtle bomp pop

sounds like seven shootings in one day…like memorials on Street lamps & trees…like candlelight vigils and then balloons release…sounds like when are we going to do better?

Sounds like Sesame Street and yu-gi-oh and dragon ball Z if you were born in the late eighties Sounds like power rangers and the amazing word of Richard scarry

Like hit the lake as soon as the weather breaks but make sure Sounds like when summer fest had rides. you don’t stay too late because MPD is always looking for someone

And free public museum field trips on Mondays and free park lunches

to violate. Sounds like false allegations followed by molestations of our brown

Now just sounds LIKE...

babies…illegal cavity checks.

Like unlived adulthood.

License? Check. Registration? Check.

Like unloved babies.

You don’t mind if I take a look in the back seat?

Like remember the time when?

Just cooperate and this will all be over quick

Sounds like all we have left are memories.

STOP CRYING boy, them handcuffs ain’t that tight…

Milwaukee sounds like death in the summertime.

You’re breathing just fine…you’ll be alright.

And we’re just waiting for the city’s season to change.

Oh shit…I think he stopped breathing…the kid’s not breathing

So change.

Sounds like he stopped breathing...

LILO ALLEN

@papyrusncharms // shooter: mahdi gransberry

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POETRY

S G N I L E E F C P OE TI L S & F U T UR E S F E S T I VA

Poetry speaks for itself and sometimes you get a little extra to top it off. Check out our chat with Lilo Allen to learn a little more about the women behind “Milwaukee Sounds Like.”

CW: “So poetry? How did you start doing that?”

LA: “I have been writing for a really long time since I was a kid. There is one teacher in particular, her name is Bonnie Brusky . . . She was my middle school teacher at Samuel Morris and we did a poetry semester. She pulled me to the side and said ‘You’re really really good at this. You shouldn’t stop’, and she bought me a journal. I still have it. She is the reason that I am a poet . . . to this day.”

Inspired by poets like Jill Scott, Lilo is the type of poet that writes when she feels the need, reflecting on personal perspectives including her experiences as a Black woman, a plus-sized woman, somebody from the Northside of Milwaukee, and all the other magical nuances triggered by urban life.

CW: “What wakes you up in the morning?”

LA: “Purpose. There are a million and one things I have to do as soon as my feet touch the carpet. I’m a Capricorn, so my life is pretty much color coordinated and planned to the T. But just the drive to be able to provide for my family, really.”

Lilo was raised as an only child but as the youngest cousin in a huge family. Because of this the elements of bullying and being left behind have always created a space where she continues to grapple with her sense of belonging and fitting in.

W ITH L I L O A L L E N

LA: “My childhood is coming full circle now that I’m getting to know the bits and pieces of myself that I didn’t know as a kid.”

As she explores parts of her identity her past has presented her with new fuel for the future . . .

CW: “What do you have planned for your creativity?”

LA: “I am writing a book. It is called Coffee & Other Addictions. For me everybody knows coffee is my thing.

That’s my jam. But also I think of it as an extended metaphor for other things I have habits of. Some of those are being broken and some of those are being embraced. Like F*ck it. I need a latte every day.”

Not only as a poet but as the owner of a local jewelry business called Papyrus & Charms, Lilo has been very prevalent in Milwaukee festival culture. She was featured at this years PrideFest and is constantly vending her artistry from the most intimate to the more massive festivals & local events. Rumor has it, that she has been involved in the planning of MKE Black Art Fest.

CW: “What is your connection to Urban festival life?”

LA: “Festival life was always a big part of my childhood growing up. I think for anybody [in Milwaukee] really since we are the city of festivals. I will say that ever since AfroFest ended there really hasn’t been anything that caters to primarily Black people . . .

Everyone else has a culture festival here.” (We 2nd that motion). “But I am a festival person so I love it.”

She is determined to be a part of the change she feels is vital to our community, supporting urban creativity, and of course,

BL AC K AR T.

POETRY

LA: “My end goal is to open up a permanent brick and mortar in Bronzeville.” (This summer she participated in the city of Milwaukee Pop-Up MKE program, where a storefront retail space was provided for temporary vending.) “The dream is for it to be a Co-op, to put other Black & Brown artists on. I’m definitely about cooperative economics and collaboration.”

With her degree in Business Communication, and grassroots initiative, anything is possible.

For the record . . . Lilo is approachable.

LA: “I think it definitely depends on how you met me, it can change your perception of me. If you know me through Facebook or Twitter, it may be like, Damn she has a strong personality. But then you meet me and I’m 5’1, I have this little a** voice and I sneeze like a Pikachu.”

Perspective is everything and her consistent development of confidence in body positivity, self love and care is starting to unfold for this creative as she brings her community and story with her.

CW: “Do you have any advice for future poets?”

“ Say what the f**k you feel . . .

Be as unguarded as possible and be truthful to yourself

FI R ST.”

Want to see Lilo perform one of her amazing poems? Be on the lookout for her feature at Lyrical Sanctuary this September. /CW

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@ISSA.FLY.GUY @ESEBVISUALS

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COMMUNITY

Having a seat at the table has become the culture’s new expression for being a part of the discussion, the impact, and the successes that form institutional power, social hierarchy, and any other status that gives you a voice.

However, there is a caveat to this placement.

Not everyone can have a seat. So why not just make another table? CopyWrite sat down with Young Enterprising Society to discuss how they have made the table, increased the number of seats, created standing room, hooked up the conference call, and are plotting on room for growth.

Que El-Amin flips through a presentation while he, Mike Wayne, Khalif El-Amin, Lawrence Norwood, Justin Goodrum, and Hank McGowan sit around a conference table with Monte Eady and Jonathan Cousin on the line. Proposals and plans are discussed (impressive ones we must add) as they focus in. As this interview is the next order of business they shift their attention to a slightly different agenda.

CW: “What is YES? Of course we have heard it’s a Brand. It’s a LifeStyle. It’s a Movement. But what does that really mean?”

Que: “It really is all those things.” (He proceeded to tell stories of how members like Sierra Payne has become the owner of a home healthcare business after her crazy MTV days and how Hank as a club promoter spoke up for YES while club owners tried to stiff them during a party.)

Que: “I could speak about everyone in the room. Of course the t-shirts were a part of the brand but it has become way more than that. The lifestyle at the time was being seen and being at the top of our social class. But the movement is all the stuff that came after that, like building businesses, having families, and being able to teach the next generation. Like Hank alluded to at the end of the Texas Black Expo, ‘We are the new Ol’ Gs’.”

To be specific YES’s mission is “to be an international epicenter for financially, politically, and socially progressive individuals. Serving as a hub, YES mobilizes people, information, resources, and capital for the greater good of its members and society at large.”

Khalif: “The movement piece is very deep because it shows the vision . . . We had the brand and the lifestyle so everyone tried to box us in as a fashion company or just a t-shirt line. But we were going to sell these t-shirts strictly for marketing purposes. But as the wildfire started spreading, [we] used it as the moneymaker until we could solidify these other initiatives.”

So you may be thinking what are those other initiatives?

Well YES seems to dabble in it all. Their current initiatives include community revitalization, project management, and their STEAM program which teaches science, technology, engineering, art, and math through interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to children. With this not only are they helping to cultivate the next generation but they are active in the redistribution of resources and wealth.

Where YES’s impact has definitely made noise in Milwaukee, their reach socially and more impressively professionally has sounded off in other metropolitan cities such as New York, Houston, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

Mike: “One thing that being a member of YES has taught me is that the things you do in life and the lifestyle you live have to be real . . . all these places we have touched, we have tasted the city and did the groundwork. I’ma be 100, a lot of people have taken our template of what we have been doing but I’m glad we could be their motivation.

Each of our core members have something remarkable about them that they bring to the table. With us being a mostly Black-owned company that’s hard to say because a lot of people don’t stick together. But for us to be here standing strong with what we have done in the community, with our movement and lifestyle, is remarkable.”

Monte: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” *Bursting randomly loud through the speaker.* The entire room joined in soft laughter.

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COMMUNITY

No matter how remarkable the YES team truly is, nothing this organized, connected and Lit forms out of thin air. Though it took a little prying, their origin story is quite “unique”.

YES’s success was the residue of many failures.

Between brothers—Que’s 2008 listing site and social platform lack of buzz, and Khalif’s 2011 party pooper—there was a link missing in their individualized endeavours that would soon all make sense.

Que: “I’m going to give you the real spill. I always just saw Khalif as my little brother or whatever. He had a party at his house and it was crackin . . .”

Khalif: “We didn’t even have to go to the club.” (He snarked.)

Que: “But then we went to the club and I swear it was a line wrapped around the corner. I asked Khalif how much money did they pay him to bring all these people and he said ‘Nothing. I paid them to have the party.’ I said ‘Hell No! This ain’t never going to happen again’.”

Khalif & Que: “And it never happened again!”

The YES brand became a culmination of Khalif’s people skills and Que’s ability to make a product and its business backing. Plus, with the help of the newly poppin’ Instagram, it gave them a visual platform to market the t-shirts and events like never before.

Que: “Thank you Instagram!”

CW: “Collectively what are the things that YES is the most proud of?”

Khalif: “I think the amount of lives that we have been able to positively affect. From second graders in New York to 70 year olds here and everything in between. To look back at these last six years, it’s like, ‘Damn! We really did that’.”

Que: “If I could give you one thing, I would say the first YES Tour*. It was colossal and monumental. All the [YES] superpowers came together at one time [2013].” *YES Tour is a combination of social networking and community events that the YES members plan in different cities. The results of these tours are wild, creating platforms that showcase the lifestyle and movement components of their organization. It’s like a traveling festival.

Que: “We came to the cities and did our thing.” (That means they partied LOL.) “But at the same time we gave free haircuts. They did a cookout for us in Lafayette

Louisiana. We had a three-on-three tournament. We did Pamper My Princess. We did all that and recorded it [production by Von Harris] and then released the movie at Fox Bay Cinema. We also had a soundtrack.”

STUNTING! CW: “So where did you guys even get the money to do all of this? Was this like a combination of everybody’s funds?”

YES: “Yes!” (They all said adamantly.)

Khalif: “Here is the nitty-gritty. I was coaching at the time so I wasn’t able to leave with the rest of the group. I flew in a day or two later. Que and I knew how we wanted to fund the trip but we really didn’t know how we were going to do it. Talk about sacrifices! The day before I flew out I sold Que’s green Taurus. They were on the road. I was texting back and forth with Que. He wanted $2,500 for it and the guy said he would give us $2,000.

I asked Que if he wanted that $2,000 he said, ‘Hell yeah’.

I put the money in the account and nobody knew.”

Mike: “I never knew that. Wow.” Khalif: “That’s the real.”

CW: “So they could have got down there and there could have been no money?”

Hank: “We would have made it work!”

Que: “Sometimes that’s what you have to do. If you really say you believe in what you believe in then you will make it happen . . . I mean I still came back to Milwaukee without a car. If we hadn’t found the money we would be frauds and wouldn’t be sitting here today.”

True story. Things like the YES Tour gave their organization the momentum and connects to build their initiatives like the STEAM program, another component they are proud of.

CW: “Tell us about this positive energy you are creating in schools with the STEAM program.”

Que: “We have been doing the STEAM program for 5 years now. We started in New York at the YMCA in Harlem. We saw how education was being taught. They are still teaching that same lie that you go to school, get good grades, then you get a job. But that’s not necessarily the case when you are African American . . . We want to make sure we help our communities create their own opportunities . . . We can’t just say we want employment and ask for handouts. We have to create more jobs and opportunities for our people.”

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COMMUNITY

Hank: “It definitely was a wake up call.”

He described how they had actually went to two different YMCA’s on two different sides of town. When they were talking to the kids one little girl stood up and said she wanted to be an astrologist, while another little boy said he wanted to be a business owner and engineer. YES sensed a disconnect between the ambitions of the predominantly African American site and the one that was more diverse.

Hank: “We noticed that some of these kids are getting this information but not all, and if that’s the case we have to keep working until it’s everywhere through and through.”

The program is based on science, technology, engineering, art, and math because those are the fields that are growing in today’s society. This summer they will be serving over 150 students with their curriculum. During the school year, they work with 12 schools from both middle and high school.

YES has found that the students find them relatable and the feedback shows that their positive contributions form a more accepting perspective is indeed changing lives.

Let’s check the stats: 89% of STEAM students have enrolled in college or joined the military after their program.

82% said they felt more confident in taking science.

59% say they have interests in starting a business since the program.

Simply put, if this is the impact then this is definitely a movement we should be buying into.

CW: “What is it that makes you keep doing this?”

Hank: “Everybody should. Especially as an adult you should have some ties to your community . . . Here it has been dedicated to the work. I haven’t seen anybody get ousted.

I have seen people slow up on good hard work, dedicated work, and those are the ones who fall off the train.”

Khalif: “I will add to that. It’s the people. YES is all inclusive . . . There is no formal membership. You write yourself in, you write yourself out. We have seen it over the last six years. People are so hyped up. They see the parties. They see the clothes. But [when] we actually ask them to put in some work—they run. But we have been blessed to have some good anchors that’s helping to [keep] us down.”

Mike: “People have seen the things we have done but what they don’t see is the hard work behind it. They don’t see the sacrifices, the fights, the countless hours. They don’t see that dedication but that is what has made us so strong. I tell people like this all the time, ‘Friends are like good air; you never see them around but you always feel them there.’ ” Justin: “It’s the impact for me. I first started out as an intern. For a long time I didn’t want to be in pictures or be mentioned so they wouldn’t think I was just doing it for the attention. I was more interested in how two older Black men built their own company.”

CW: “Did he just call y’all old?”

Peep this, YES’s oldest member ever would be the late King Roe at 33 years old. He died last year of a heart attack. His memory still lingers over YES as they strive for more success.

Lawrence, who is King Roe’s cousin, told us the story about how King Roe introduced him to YES and how he had to learn how important every members’ role is.

Lawrence: “I’m thankful that he introduced me because at that time I was fresh out of college and was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I was able to build that relationship [with YES]. Now we are more so a family.”

At 33 and younger, these individuals have created major opportunities for their community that some take a lifetime to make.

So what’s next for YES? Que: “Our next initiatives include 10-for-10, where you donate $10 or 10 hours to your alma mater. We are having a homecoming event for our exclusives in the city at Trusted Gallery. Then we are also doing The Blueprint as an ode to Jay-Z. It will be a tech, e-commerce, and manufacturing accelerator, and we will be giving away cash prizes [up to $2,500 & other business perks].”

We hope this inspires more people in our community to stunt in life. Never forgetting that your platforms can make a difference and teamwork indeed makes the dream work into a reality.

S/O to Envy Perez, Sierra Payne, Lauren Sallis, and Janie Monee who could not make the interview.

In memory of King Roe. . .

“Go Hard.” /CW

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY MAHDI GRANSBERRY

INTERVIEW W/ JOJO WEST

“I’M DOING ME”

CREATIVE

All too often we point out the glitz and glamour of being creative. We dwell on the product and harp on the visuals, but it is the act of making; the time, the energy, and the craft that isn’t seen that really define an artist. Jojo West is challenging the norm by removing the millennial stigma of social (media) control over her artistic practices and focussing in on developing her professional playbook to ensure a sustainable career, and break the starving artist stereotype once and for all. As we gather her thoughts on her path to creativity, we also dig into the balancing act that is perpetuated by creative collaboration versus individual wellness.

CW: “What do you define yourself as, when it comes to creativity?”

JW: “I’m definitely an all-around creative person. Growing up I knew I wanted to be a graphic designer and a photographer. But now that I’m getting older, I’m branching out into other things. I see myself being a creative director, instead of doing just one type of art form . . . Eventually, I would like to own my own business because I want to do my own thing. I definitely want to be a Boss Lady one day.”

Though JoJo is only recently directing her ambitions into Boss Lady status, her strategy to sustain is already showing to be quite fitting of that title. She is currently enrolled at UWM, getting her B.A. in Design & Visual Communications while cultivating her own aesthetic in graphic design, photography, and creative concepts.

JW: “I’m very self-sustaining. People will say like ‘Jojo why did you do this? You could have asked me’ and I’m like ‘Yea, could have but I didn’t want to’. A lot of y’all be having ill intentions. The truth is people don’t want to genuinely help you out [without wanting something in return]. That’s why I have learned to do a lot of the things, I would normally have to ask for, on my own. I have learned how to style and do makeup . . . so I can provide that for my models when I shoot.

Many of my skills are self-taught and have grown from there.”

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IMAGES BY JW

CREATIVE

Her creativity started young, before even reaching middle school age she was writing poems and drawing just about everything. Jojo wasn’t quite sure what art form would stick but she knew that what she enjoyed was very real for her and making it tangible would be her goal. Even picking up the camera at twelve years old, she was invested in self-expression and eager to try it all.

JW: “I loves the Artwork,” she smiled with a gleam in her eyes.

But reality hits. Art is fun until it’s not. Until it becomes the work, it becomes structured, your creative juices don’t flow freely like they used to, and the thing you once loved becomes the tipping ground from childish dreams into adulting woes.

CW: “Is there anything specific that inspires you?”

JW: “If anything, what inspires me is my future because I’m putting in so much work now. I don’t regret any of the decisions I have made in the past . . . I’m getting to this age now school-wise, where people think I should be done already. But that’s not my reality. I did the college thing right after high school and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the school I was at. I didn’t really comprehend the effort that it took to be in college. I was just happy to not be a kid anymore and have the ability to chill in the Third Ward with my homies and have a good time. I didn’t have the work ethic that school required so I dropped. I just started to work and I was very unhappy and depressed. I ended up applying to AmeriCorps and I spent 10 months of my life volunteering, traveling the country, and helping people recover from natural disasters.

Once I got back from that I noticed a change in myself.

During that time in my life I had gone through so much emotional and mental stress that I finally realized like, ‘You can do this girl. You can handle anything that comes your way’. Before I wasn’t really pushing myself to do much but after, I just had this new idea of how I wanted my life to look.

I knew it was not going to come easy. So I knew I would have to put in some footwork, some handwork, and really try.”

As inspired as she became with herself, she also had to take even further steps to secure her focus.

(Now here is the part of growing up adults often forget to add to the equation.)

JW: “Really now I’m just focusing on me. I had to drop a lot of my friends because they couldn’t understand that . . . It’s not even to be rude or cruel or because I just want to let you go. It’s just that I am genuinely stretching myself too thin . . .

Of course, there are people who are not going to like it but they are not doing my homework for me. They are not writing my thesis. They are not listening to these lectures that run three hours. I’m putting in the work, thinking about my future, and I have so much to look forward to. I have so much to look forward to because I am planting my roots now.”

Considering, the lifestyle definitely shifts who you can take with you. As a creative thinker, Jojo’s elimination of more social obstacles only protects her free time to do more productive things like finding new ways to direct her talents.

CW: “How do you come up with your artistic concepts?”

JW: “I see something. I could see a color or the way something is shaped. Being able to see something out of nothing definitely helps me come up with concepts. Someone could have a certain hairstyle and I can automatically tell that they would look good in a certain setting. I choose my models based off the concept and my concept based off the model. I like for them to be able to reflect on a personal level.”

Concepting is one of Jojo’s favorite parts of the creative process because it makes her photography so much more in-depth. She admitted that even though it’s a no-no to say, she really doesn’t care about making money off of photography because it’s the one time where collaborating with people just seems to work out favorably and the connections made seem to be more lasting.

IMAGES BY JOJO WEST

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ARTWORK BY JOJO WEST

So I decided to create my own experience and go through the entire process of creating a magazine. Luckily I was in my last semester at MATC, and the professors wanted us to do a project that showed our entire skill set within the Adobe Creative Suite . . . I was like ‘Oh well I will make a magazine.

That will be simple’. Yea, it was not simple at all. . .” Don’t we know it! LOL “. . . but it was a very fun and fulfilling process.

I saw that I can do something like that. Even though I had all these obstacles in my way . . . I put my entire heart and soul into it and the fact that a lot of people did respond well to it was [confirmation] like yeah, I’m supposed to do this. I’m supposed to be a graphic designer. I’m good at this sh*t.”

Speaking of concepts, this issue of CW is all about the Urban folklore and festivals, so how does Jojo connect? Well if you haven’t noticed by now, she is creating new traditions. What she will pass on with her story as a creative is the ability to start over, redirect, and go against the grain. Let’s be clear as day, as a woman of color Jojo is not the norm and setting her own standards with hard work and newfound dedication will contribute to the cultural change needed in the creative world. Now when it comes to festivals, we hate to disappoint you but they are really not her thing (the big crowds and bad behavior she can live without).

However, she is known to attend a street festival or two with some major coaxing and won’t pass up a cultural affair (like Afropunk) if she has the means to get there.

CW: “Being a creative, do you feel there is a lot of pressure to find a balance?”

Jojo has found that only the opportunities she makes for herself are the ones that people feed into and once they feed into them, they always want more. Her project, The 1692 Mag, where she creative directed, shot and designed a full visual editorial, is a prime example of finding balance in a system where she once had no sayso. Check it out at jojowest.co/the1692-magazine JW: “Yea. People have so many expectations of you . . .

[For example] the reason I did that entire project was because I got tired of going into job interviews, and they would look at my resume and claim that I don’t have much experience. But I’m a college student, I don’t really have time to do free internships, work, and get good grades.

Well, her Instagram bio says: “25. blah. Creator + Designer + Photographer of @the1692.mag + Artistic Director of @healglow” (Yup, she is the Artistic Director of one of our favorite local candle lines . . . See there is always someone dope screaming in the background, Don’t bother me, I’m too stressed trying to be great).

And well, indeed . . . She is good at this sh*t!

CW: “You have seen yourself grow as a creative.

You have found out what you really want and how you want to go about it and it seems like you are not going to let anything stand in your way.”

JW: “Pretty much. I hate to say it but people really tend to get in their feelings when I don’t want to do a project with them or go out for drinks with them. I’m like ‘Bro, I have been up since 5:30 a.m.!’ The fact that some people really don’t take into consideration your lifestyle because of what they want you to do with them . . .” She shook her head in disbelief.

“Its like, you know what, just go! Y’all can go and have y’all drinks, I’m going to focus on me and making my life better.”

BLOOOOOOOP! Read that last quote again. It might save a life!

CW: “Do you have any final thoughts?”

JW: “I just want people to understand at this point in my life I am putting myself first. As much as I do want to be creative with other people, I’m doing me. I know it sounds selfish, but I haven’t had the chance to really take care of myself in a long time and this is my chance . . .”.

A chance to be the next wave of creativity.

We are rooting for you, Jojo. /CW

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MUSIC

Banging out a set at Summer Solstice, playing a big stage at Summerfest . . . It’s been a long time coming. His name is often mentioned as wild stories, and good memories have fallen from the lips of past CW interviewees. “He was there when I . . .”, “He was a part of . . .”, are the phrases attached to his story told by others as he has been the thread that sews together the origin story of many of our favorite locals.

But enough of that Urban legendness. The best way to tell the story is to get it right from the source.

So who is Rahn Harper?

RH: “I would say I sort of had an initial push in the scene when it really first started out.” (The scene he refers to is the Milwaukee music scene, that has been cracking the surface of its original underground status, with the help of people like WebsterX). “Web and I went to high school together and our rap journey just kind of began freestyling. It went from four bars to eight bars, to us turning it into entire songs with [us] freestyling at parties, people would just stop what they were doing to watch us rap. It kind of got to a point where we were having conversations that we should really do this.”

And so they did.

Ryan Haller’s (Yup, that’s his government name) start in music is not quite where he has ended up. With a few name changes and some growth in stylistic approach, he has now found his groove and is playing his position “Rah-ther” well LOL. RH: “I don’t know if you knew but I initially started off as Rah Rah The Savage . . . It was kind of a nickname at first because I was kind of just somebody who was chilling and all of a sudden I would just bust out this freestyle. It [was] kind of aggressive . . . and people would be like ‘Okay, you got a little savage in you.’

So it was Rah Rah . . . Then the Savage was added.”

CW: “Like the persona?”

RH: “Exactly. I think because it was kind of different from my regular persona the savage kind of became like a little stick. But then a few years later after Web & I started going from late high school to like early college fooling around [with music] I wanted to pick up a more formal name.”

Rahn crossed over from his freestyles to more R&B like tracks where savagery is not on the menu. On the singing tip, “Rahn Harper”, showed to be a better fit. Taking his high school nickname (Rahn) and his grandmother’s maiden name (Harper) he found a title that is all him.

CW: “For somebody who has never heard your music before how would you describe it?”

RH: “It’s modern R&B. I definitely think there are a lot of rap elements in it but to say I’m a rapper, I would say is not true. There are a lot of melodic aspects to it, even if it is quick and flows, it’s always melodic.”

CW: “In this market that style has not been oversaturated so that will definitely work in your favor.”

RH: “Right. I think taking a more R&B route has actually made it easier to be myself. I think for a long time growing up I saw inner-city kids but I wasn’t necessarily living that life but I felt connected to it . . . So rapping was cool but it wasn’t my culture and my inner thing. So this was a way for me to be a part of that, learn from that, and make it my own.”

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MUSIC

Will somebody please clap for Rahn? *Clap’s for’em* All too often we hear artist try to sell their story off of someone else’s truth; culture biting, forcing the image, riding the wave, but this isn’t that. Consciously he has chosen to express his artistry that is authentic to him pulling from all the genres that have stimulated his love for music.

RH: “I had a lot of different influences in the house but the stuff that sticks out to me about my childhood is pop music. I loved Michael Jackson. I loved the Eurythmics . . . My dad played a lot of funk and a lot of pop in the house. BB King, Freddie King, James Brown, and stuff like that . . . The stuff that I pursued on my own is NSync, Backstreet Boys, and all that.”

He recalls having a DVD of NSync live in concert. He was so into it that he memorized half of their dance routine and would sing along. (So the real question is can Rahn dance?)

RH: “Obviously my parents tell this story now.

They’re like, ‘We should have seen this music sh*t coming then when you were in the third grade.”

Nowadays his favs in music are always changing, depending on who is putting out work and what it makes him feel.

RH: “Although I listen to a lot of singers, I also listen to a lot of rap. Even though I don’t rap [anymore] myself, they end up influencing me with their attitude and perspective so much. Then I may take melodies from a pop artist, but I will get the emotional feel and core from hip-hop.”

A good quality in an artist is knowing who you are. Rahn is clear that his influences have derived from various places and the fact that they can fuel his creative expression without poaching from others makes it obvious why his peers speak so highly of him.

RH: “It’s been a good thing for me, living in a diverse eclectic community . . . For me to find a way to support those groups, be a part of that group but not be a culture vulture and to not be somebody who is just taking from them.”

CW: “Look at you saying all the right things and living your best life.”

RH: “Right. It’s super important though because it would be so easy for me to just bite off pieces of Milwaukee and this scene and live off the benefits.

I could leave the bullshit behind and just take the good parts. So I guess through music too; I have just learned how to be an advocate when I can.”

Rahn has watched his music grow from a dedicated hobby into a real business. When his job as a bartender ended a few months back at the closing of the restaurant, he made the ultimate decision to commit to music and make this his career. It’s a big move for a guy who had one of his first sets performing at Landmark Lanes, where they were forced to play off of one big amp and not the venue’s sound system since supposedly “the past hip-hop shows that came through almost broke their speakers” . . . mmm hmm, right!

But things have definitely changed because since our little chat Rahn will have headlined a set at Summer Solstice & opened up for Machine Gun Kelly at Summerfest. So if we are talking festival life, Rahn has definitely got it going on.

RH: “I grew up on 67th and North Avenue so this Summerfest show to me . . . I mean this is home court.

This is the show that I have been waiting to do. I have been going to Summerfest since I was like 13-14 as soon as my parents would let me out of the house! You know how it goes . . . I would go down there the whole day and camp out . . . It’s exciting for me to kind of think, like I’m the person providing that experience [now] because I was on the other side of that for so many years. One thing led to another and now I’m here.”

CW: “What do you think this experience is going to be like now that you’re on the other side?”

RH: “Wild and loud. These kids are going to want to get lit. I’m really aiming for this show to be a party and be a good time.”

These summer shows are a great move for Rahn who dropped his R&B album ‘Letting Go’, this past May and will be releasing all the other gems that didn’t make the project, for your listening pleasure throughout the rest of the year.

MUSIC

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MUSIC

CW: “So what inspires you?”

RH: “I would say that what inspires me in general but is also really true with music, is connection. I think that for me there is such a personal journey with music.

I connect to the beat. I write the story. I connect to the music. But then even further. . . I take that then the music connects to you. That means you’re connected to me . . .

Maybe a song that I make brings you and your boyfriend closer, then you guys are more connected because you connected with the song. Do you see what I’m saying?”

(Yes we do!)

RH: “To me, music, life, and all these things are such [a] series of connections. Making that connection and bond I think, that really at the end of the day, that’s what keeps me coming back to music.”

Finding that connection is exactly what has gotten him here.

Connecting with people, with music, and with his true self.

With that, there are always pieces of the story we miss.

The truth is Rahn’s testimony could have unfolded way differently with no music, no Milwaukee, and no Summerfest.

CW: “So what is something about Rahn Harper the people don’t know? Everyone has their story about you so we kind of fill in the blanks. What are the things people are not sharing in these tales?”

RH: “Before this music thing I went and pursued a criminal justice and social work degree . . .” (Woah!) “. . . The program I went to at Loyola is all about exposing the injustices within the criminal justice system. It’s a very liberal school . . . I did some internships during school at women & children shelters and things like that . . . and I was going to potentially go into a career in that and get my Masters. But I just felt very called to the music thing. I had always had it on the side but towards the end of college, that’s when I was linking up with Web and coming home and feeling the grassroots movement that was here. Even some of my friends in Chicago were pulling me to the side like you know you could really do this.”

Once he came back to Milwaukee and actually had the time to commit to his craft, the songs got better, he changed his stage name and everything else has taken off. If you asked him at 20 he would have told you music was just fun but now with a few years under his belt and some big opportunities ahead, he is singing quite a different tune: “I’m addicted to this sh*t! This whole thing has been one big blessing I did not see coming.”

We usually ask for a closer in an interview. A quote, a word of advice or a thought to leave lingering in our reader’s minds.

But without being prompted Rahn reflected on his own.

RH: “Many people make good music but what makes a good career and lasting impact is just the relationships and knowing how to talk to people. Curating those relationships you know, with an artist you want to work with . . . experience something with that person so y’all bond. Because once you do that, even if you don’t bond about music, the music is so much better. The people I make the best music with are also some of my closest friends and it’s not a coincidence.”

S/O to Mic Kellogg. You are definitely on his list.

With a confident smile and a positive vibe, Rahn ended his speech just like this . . .

“A lot of things are about numbers and getting money but if you connect with people . . . that is priceless.”

See how everything comes full circle? /CW

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COMMUNNITY ART

New Folklore: Community Art & Society Shifts (An interview with Tia Richardson)

Tia Richardson is a Community Artist.

As 2018 Milwaukee Artist of the Year, Tia is making a change. With creative application, hopeful but still tangible practices of engagement, and absolutely breathtaking work, this artist is doing exactly what capitalistic tradition says cannot be done: create spaces, moments, and legacies that place people over product and make the product a direct reflection of its people. CopyWrite sat down with this community artist to gain insight on why everyone we know (in high places) see’s the New Folklore she is creating, and she just doesn’t know it yet.

TR: “The art that I do is usually done in partnership with people and requires their input and their collaboration. It’s not just art I’m doing for myself in a studio to hang on somebody’s wall.”

TIA RICHARDSON Shooter: Elijah Sebastian

Tia’s community art can be seen all across the City of Milwaukee. Her large-scale murals are always symbolic of the space in which they dwell, and the process in which they are made is just as significant as the final product.

Concept, design, and application are all part of the narrative that Tia shares with others. From brainstorming sessions to painting on-sight, Tia takes what is often a stagnant form of Urban beautification and turns it into space where stories are told, truths are heard, and change can be made.

But the ability to apply collaborative acts that produce creative products that are striking in view, meaningful in creation, and deeply embedded in hope, have to start somewhere.

Unlike most artist we have talked to, Tia has not had time in the past few years to do her own personal art. Making a living off of her passion, and more importantly, working with people to make a communal impact, is higher on her list of priorities.

CW: “How did you start doing art?”

TR: “When I was younger my dad was doing a lot of portraits, and I was just exposed to it because it was around the house. I picked it up naturally . . . It was always something I loved to do in my spare time. [I would] write, illustrate, and create stories. It’s been something that has been nurtured in me all along.”

TR: “Because I’m working with [other] people, they dictate a lot of what comes up [in the art] . . . the kind of art that it is, is meant to share people’s voices and make a space for people to work together in a way that’s new for them. It requires participation . . . So I often get different perspectives that I wouldn’t of otherwise.”

As early as elementary, not only had Tia been drawing, but her parents had enrolled her in art classes outside of school.

She also attended two years at Milwaukee Highschool of the Arts, MIAD Pre-College program, and a year of college at MIAD as well. With a constant shift in her environment, pushed by family dynamics and her father’s constant shift

‘BEAUTY OPENS THE DOOR TO JOIN US’ El Rey Foods, 1320 W. Burnham St. \\ Images provided by Tia Richardson

in employment location, Tia would grow rooted into two very different worlds. One, the city life that was defined by her time spent in Milwaukee; and the other—a more rural reality in places like Janesville, Silver Lake, and Kenosha County.

Finding value in ambitions outside of visual arts, she would eventually shift her focus to cultivate other parts of her story.

CW: “Is there a reason you didn’t finish at MIAD?” TR: “I transferred. I wanted to take foreign language and run track. Track is something I have always done. It was [also] too expensive. Even if I had wanted to go back there, I couldn’t of because I wasn’t interested in taking out loans . . . the combination of the cost and the other things I wanted to explore, like I wanted a total campus experience and more of a well-rounded space to develop me as a person, that I felt like I wasn’t getting there.”

This reality is true for many creatives, especially those of color.

As liberating as art can be, the institutional environment that it comes with can create other voids that are hard to ignore.

TR: “It was something intangible that was pulling me. I loved Fine Art. I loved the aesthetic and the very intense concentrated work, but there was a void that I was searching to fill. I have always been a very introspective person, so I was looking for what satisfies me on the inside and not just looking for a career on the outside. So I wanted to do foreign language . . .” (Tia now is fluent in Spanish, and can read & write in Arabic) “. . . and wanted to run track so I could feel like I was a part of a team. All those components

that help build character, I was looking for, but I didn’t have the words to say you know what, this is what I want.”

All of the things she had been looking for she eventually found and they have respectively become a part of the work she now does. Firmly stated, Tia does not do art just to do it. There has to be a sense of purpose, personal development, and reflection, that makes way for growth.

Her collaborative methods can even be seen as the team she once longed for and the communities she has invested in while helping them to fill their own voids.

CW: “Out of your public works, which one is your favorite?”

TR: “Right now my favorite is The Rebirthing of the Earth Mother (which is a piece commissioned for the south-east wall of the Historic Garfield Building on 4th & Garfield, shining brightly across from what will be the Black Holocaust Museum, this coming fall). But before that, it was the one in Sherman Park [4715 W. Center St.]. They are both my favorite for different reasons. Artistically, I was able to do more with the Rebirth, because it was just me [working on that piece]. The Sherman Park mural was deeply meaningful for me and impactful, because of the level of community engagement that I had . . . The film that came from it, and the whole process, is still following me today.”

The people in the neighborhoods, the media, and city officials alike, definitely have noticed the impact of the work Tia has been producing. With quality, thought, and rhetoric for more progressive and positive contributions to our city, Tia

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was awarded 2018 Milwaukee Artist of the Year, and our sources tell us that having Tia as the face behind that title means more than the opposition may suggest. As change becomes critical, the seeds planted with her “crowning” are strategic to making creative hope blossom for us all.

CW: “So . . . the Milwaukee Arts Board awarded you Milwaukee Artist of the Year, why do you think that is?”

TR: “Hmm”, she took a quick second to gather her thoughts. “I think a lot of it has to do with the Sherman Park mural project last summer. And not only that, I feel like that was a build up from the last couple of years where I have been getting these bigger and bigger projects. But I do believe that one really struck people. I didn’t expect the amount of media coverage it would get or even the amount of participation.”

Two members of the board actually nominated Tia, and delivered high praises on the respect they have for her work, assuring that she deserved it.

CW: “But do you believe them? Do you agree? As an artist, there is a place for modesty, but really do you feel like, ‘Yep, that was for me’?”

TR: “I don’t have an opinion on that because it wasn’t on my radar. Some of my good mentors were Artist of the Year and when they got it, I [felt] like they deserved it. So I take it in stride. I don’t disagree. I don’t push it away.

I guess what I’m saying is I don’t feel unworthy of it or feel like I don’t deserve it. I feel grateful for it because it can raise visibility to what I’m trying to do, which is a type of work that is not well visible. When people talk about me as an artist, there are still a lot of people who look at art as more of a traditional thing, as something you can buy and sell. So community art is something I am trying to get out there. Not Me! I’m trying to get the work out there like, ‘Look people. Look what we can do with art.’ Look at community art as a viable way for people to access a part of themselves that they didn’t have the opportunity before just by having this experience. That’s what it’s about.”

And that’s exactly why Tia won that award.

That is also why Tia was asked to be a part of this issue of CopyWrite. Community art is a piece of the puzzle that we have been trying to express for quite some time now. Creative collaboration in itself forms opportunities for interactions that change the way we as members of society move, the way we think, and at its most crucial it helps to change the way we interact with each other. Tia’s practices are tangible. With every proposal, paint stroke, and participatory action from the people she invites to be a part of those projects, she shifts the narrative and allows for new ones to be heard. Tia is actively altering what tradition can look like, by extending her skills in the hopes of what the future could be: creating a New Folklore.

As we discussed how we developed the concept of Folklore and Festivals, you could sense a change of aura in the room. Tia seemed more comfortable with our exchange of thoughts. A smile came over her face and warmth over her response.

CW: “If you were the one speaking Folklore into the future generations, what would you say about those traditions you want to pass on or what would you want those traditions to be?”

TR: “I have a vision of the future, where it’s my cultural vision of the kind of way the world has changed. I have these ideas all the time about how people are in spaces together.”

Tia suggests that in the future things could be as equally invested in people as they are in economics (wouldn’t that be lovely). For example, a grocery store could have booths where they allow for people to come and vend their goods, or just have a table to sit and share with others.

The thought is that there does not always have to be a transactional exchange.

TR: “My vision of the future are spaces where people can gather to just share, whatever that is they want to share, where there is more freedom with creativity. Right now young people are given certain channels in which they have to go through with their creativity. Whether that may be visual arts, dance, music, theater . . . When they start to look at career

‘THE REBIRTHING OF THE EARTH MOTHER’ Historic Garfield Campus, 2215 N. 4th St Images provided by Tia Richardson

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‘Growing Gateways to Unity’ 13th & Forest Home Ave. Images provided by Elijah Sebastian

CONTINUE READING TIA’S INTERVIEW ON THE NEXT PAGE > 36

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paths it’s in boxes. In the future I see it being more driven by a sense of self-purpose. It should be more focused on the inner felt sense of purpose, and that’s going to generate new and more beautiful things, beyond our imaginations.”

She further suggested that what the future generates will be more holistic, less materialistic, and more people-centered because the core values of what we want in a society are more common than what our current acts suggest. She also shared other ideas of spaces where life needs to become a part of the menu. In the same way you could order a cup of coffee, you could request an ear to listen, a hug to be given, a space to share. It is in these places where we restore humanity and build community so that we all thrive.

But in order for this to work, we have to start with the people.

TR: “The system is made up of people . . . My heart is in impacting people and touching other people’s hearts.

A lot of the change that we want to see we can legislate but we can’t legislate an attitude. So when I talk about wanting to see systems change, I believe that at the core what we want is to see people change. And you can’t just change somebody’s attitude at the flip of a switch. That’s the work of community art. Building, connecting, crossing barriers, it goes beyond talking ideologies, and talking

theory, talking in the abstract and saying what we want, don’t want, and debating . . . The way I go about doing that is through my art. This is how I show that I care.”

Caring, cultivating, and creating all in the same communal act. When Tia speaks of the future it is like she is forming it with her mind so that it will be so. Stressing positivity, creating dynamics of Folklore that may seem to contrast the norm but could very much be the wave of better days ahead.

TR: “I see our culture shifting in the future. Where arts and culture will be a cornerstone of American culture. It will be the core, the driving force, the engine. Now the engine is more economic and corporate. It also goes back to the quality of life index. Right now it’s based on gross domestic products and tangible goods. In the future, I see our society gearing more towards these things that focus on the quality of life. That’s what will drive our world. If it was up to me, with my work, that’s the track where I’m headed.”

Excited. Hopeful. Inspiring.

Tia, let’s make it happen! /CW

Commissioned by the Milwaukee Public Schools district in partnership with Arts at Large, Inc. and Elm Creative Arts School.

(Four panels, ea. 6’x9’ Acrylic on plywood. Milwaukee, WI 2016)

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A SUMMERFEST VISUAL RECAP

WHO LET US BACK IN?

BY FREAKISHNERD (FN) & ROB RAN (RR)

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