BP’s Introduction 

Hey everyone.  I am honored to not only get this out there but to be honest introduce ya’ll to a homie here in the Pacific Northwest who is an amazing and dope artist.  I’ve actually met him through my nephew who is part of the Class Project.  You may have heard of them.  They were the crew that Juxt challenged to shoot the “Darkroom Series” Gallery with just mobile devices.

Tony Sosa aka @taylorswiftgang on Instagram and EyeEm, has some great imagery on his feed.  I featured him on my Sunday Shoutouts quite awhile back.  This interview was going to happen either way, but he also won runner-up to the Canvas Pop/ FX PhotoStudio/ Juxt “Where I’m From” Contest recently.  I posed to him if instead of just an interview about him but if we could also highlight the project that he was currently working on.

I believe he was fairly new to Hipstamatic but he wanted to utilize the app to work on a project for Trayvon Martin and his family.  He had already decided to get his community, the Seattle Hip Hop community, involved in this project.  Portraits of artists who stand united against racism and in support for Trayvon Martin and his family.

Sosa, you know I got mad respect for you and the crew and am honored to have you and them on the Juxt site.  Let’s GO!

Artists for Trayvon Statements

“I felt compelled to be a part of the project because I’ve been similarly profiled & attacked. Being part of the project means adding a voice to the collective asking to be heard” – DJ DV One (Rock Steady Crew)

“I wanted to be a part of this project because I am no different from this young man. I am black. I wear hoodies on a regular basis and live in a predominantly white city. Should I be feared? To me this project was about making it clear that no matter what background you come from, we can all identify with this man.” – Kellen H. (The Good Sin)

“I’m involved with Anthony’s project as a friend, and because I believe in the work, which is simple, potent, and as relevant to Seattle youth as it is to anyone that’s walked outside and felt unwarranted judgment from others” – Roger H. (10.4 Rog)

BP: BP T:  Tony Sosa

BP: What made you want to do this project?

T:  I think it was combination of different events throughout my community that sparked my ambition for this project. I live in South Seattle, which is known to have its fair share of neighborhood crimes, and in the recent past, amongst young children & teens. This incident with Trayvon Martin was the tipping point for me, regardless of where it happened.

BP: What is the message you are portraying in the project?

T:  There is a bit more to the “I am Trayvon Martin” aspect in this particular piece. I display all the photos in Black & White with the hopes of giving the viewer that feeling of being colorblind. The artists involved are clearly people of different backgrounds, but displayed in black & white, it’s hard for the viewer to differentiate the race. There in lies the ultimate message, we’re all the same, regardless of color.

BP: How has the Trayvon incident affected you personally?

T:  I’m the proud uncle of a 2 & 13 year old girl that currently live with me. To think that they could be a random act of violence scares me. Hate doesn’t recognize innocence, so if this incident hasn’t hit my family or I directly, we still sympathize because we know what it’s like to raise children. I also know the feeling of losing someone at a very young age because of a violent act.

BP: As a mobile photographer and a cinematographer, what is the vision of this project and what are your hopes for the project and future projects such as the Artists for Trayvon project?

T:  As far as this project goes, I’m taking it one step at a time. Right now it’s just a display piece for Instagram. Aside from only displaying on IG, I was intending on printing the pictures onto canvas pieces using some prize money I won from another photo contest. Once that happens, if I can find a venue in the Seattle area, willing to let me display the photos for public viewing, that’s another great step! As far as future projects go, I haven’t really thought that far ahead. I tend to work in the moment, and right now, I’m focusing on completing this piece, in hopes to keep the awareness going. Whatever the outcome of the Trayvon Martin case, we’ll need to remain active and ensure that our youth stay safe.

BP: Tell us about yourself, loves likes, dislikes, inspirations, artist background.

T:  Since I LOVE talking about myself so much, I guess I can tell you a bit about moi. I tend to try my hand at many crafts, but I’m pretty sure I have A.D.D. so I also tend to stop pursuing them pretty quickly for new hobbies. DJing has always been an art I’ve admired. I was probably about 9 or 10 the first time I witnessed DJ DV One. He was doing an in store set at my friend Valentines Barber Shop back in 95-96, and I was blown away. I knew one day I would be doing that! My friend had a setup in middle school that we’d used to play around on, mix records & try to scratch by taking notes from Q-Bert videos. I started taking the craft more to heart when I was about 19, luckily with a good mentor & amazing DJ, BlesOne, showing me some tips and tricks. He had me spin some low key b-boy battles when I first started, after that it was just practicing as much as I could with my crew. I feel like there will always be room for improvement with my DJing. Plus, I love it too much to drop it like another hobby.

Same idea goes for our photography/cinematography. There are no limitations when it comes to these arts. There is always a concept or an envelope waiting to be pushed, so my crew (Class Project) and I are always taking positive steps to help accomplish whatever is presented for us. We have a Vimeo website that showcases small pieces of work we’ve done. That URL is http://www.vimeo.com/classproject for those who are interested in viewing. My friends & business partners of Class Project, Joseph & Roger, are currently working on a piece commissioned by Wing Luke Museum in Seattle that will run till the end of May, I believe. As far as work I’ve done, my most prized piece was for Make A Wish Foundation, which can also be found on our Vimeo page. I have a few other projects that are currently under wraps at the moment, one of which is a clothing line my girlfriend and I are working on, but you won’t get much more info than that ;). Keep an eye out on my IG feed for info pertaining to that particular project. Hopefully we’ll have it up and running by the beginning of June.

If I can, I’d like to thank all of those who made themselves available for my project, and to those who I still have left to capture. Special thanks to my crew, Class Project, and my girlfriend Reina. Also, thanks to everyone on IG showing support, you guys are truly an awesome community. Plus, my mom was happy I was doing this, so special I love you to Mom & Dad!

Juxt thanks Sosa and all the artists for their contribution and dedication.

Contact Info:

Sosa: itsdjsosa@gmail.com / Twitter: meestersosa

Roger (10.4 Rog): habonr@gmail.com / http://104rog.bandcamp.com/

Kellen (The Good Sin): sinseer206@gmail.com / http://TheGoodSin.bandcamp.com

Mike G. (Clockwork): miguelrockwell@gmail.com

DJ Supreme La Rock / http://supremelarock.blogspot.com /
http://www.supremelarock.com

Isabella Du Graf (Jazz & R&B Songstress): http://thesoundsismusic.blogspot.com

Malice & Mario Sweet (R&B Singers): http://www.mariosweet.com /
http://malicemariosweet.bandcamp.com

About Author

Brad Puet

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