Step Inside, Turning Ugly Grin.

The collective masked madness known as Slipknot has recently released their latest creation upon the world and have taken to the road once more to share their sicness with every one of you. Slipknot has been one of my favorite metal bands of all time and continues to impress me with each release. Although some hit harder than others, they always have a solid build in their arsenal and their latest endeavor is no exception.

5: The Gray Chapter is the first release since Paul's death and Joey's departure from the group. This had a lot of us in question of what would become of the band we all know and love. Would the death break the band up forever? Would the departure of the long-favored drummer make a huge declining impact in their sound? As the record starts, all of these questions are proven useless as you realize this is just another growth in the band. Their is evolution here. And it sounds fucking amazing.

Slipknot made their way into my city last month to which I was unable to attend. This left me sad lol. But, I took matters into my hands and decided to ask all of my Facebook friends to share their photos in an effort to live the experience vicariously through them. I wanted more than anything to see a good photo of Sid, that dude is my metal hero. I held a contest with the best photo of Sid and the best overall winning a free art pack from yours truly as well as an original illustration of their favorite member. Long time supporter and fellow Maggot, Roxy, provided me with the winning submission of Sid and her choice was Corey. I love depicting their new masks every time they come out with a new one. Their look is always so much fun to create and Corey's new Frankenstein face is no exception. A mask within a mask, Corey's mask is truly spooky. The second winner wanted an illustration of Corey as well, so I felt it fitting to depict his mask without it's top layer. Each one was super fun to create and were striking reminders of how much I love to draw and paint, especially with a good soundtrack such as this one.

"To each his own
Life can do with one less watered-down excuse
There comes a time when we can't take the same abuse
My god, it would've taken just one word to stay away from you
Now that this is over you can tell me it's no use."


Stay Creative,
BLUE731

9"x12" ink on mixed media paper, digital colors
For comission of your own Slipknot or other band illustration, contact me at blue73100@gmail.com

Devising Virus.

The ship has left the dock once again to embark on a new journey throughout the cosmos. The collective force known only as Deltron 3030 came through San Antonio on a stop earlier this year and brought a live band with them (including a piece of The Mars Volta with Juan Alderete). The show was very energetic and it was nice to see these space fiends perform a great set. The city came through too, packing the venue with a surprising amount of people. Deltron has been one of those suuuper underground groups mostly known only to true heads.

I found Deltron by chance years ago, likely through a random find with Hieroglyphics. I used to hear the name Del The Funky Homosapien thrown around a bit and wondered "What the hell kind of name is that!?". I was pleasantly surprised when I began to hear more of his music and his, well, funky style. Del's delivery is very rhythmic and fluctuation in tone. Spit over Automator's otherworldly beats and Kid Kola's erratic cuts make this combo a very special one. Having never seen Del perform live before, I was in for something very new and exciting. The live band addition made for a dope show and this set was reminiscent of that ill Cut Chemist show I caught years ago (and one of my favorite of all time across all genres). A splash of high energy and pulsing cuts across button-pushing drum tracks gave me nothing but smiles the entire night.

Del is definitely someone who approaches lyricism from a shy spot between left field and that place in your mind you rarely visit. I drew the piece in the following days after the show. It wasn't til recently that I finally found time to lay some colors down. I found myself travelling to that same rare place when I colored this, trying some new shape exploration. I had two colorways for this one, finally settling on this warner toned background. It is definitely the launching pad for the next step in my art that I am excited to share with you all very soon. For now, enjoy this fun and colorful character known as Deltron 3030.

"Infiltration hits your station

No Microsoft or enhanced DOS will impede

Society thinks their safe when

Bingo!--hard drive crashes from the rending"

Stay Creative,

BLUE731.

9"x12" ink on mixed media paper, digital colors
For purchase of this Original painting, contact me at blue73100@gmail.com

(Prints to follow)

Duel of The Liquid Sword.

So here we are. Twenty years later after the release of one of hip hop's greatest releases of all time. A record that would change the face of hip hop as we know it and bring light to a brand new era of music--period. Twenty years ago the Wu Tang Clan hit the scene with a fierce explosion of lyricism, kung fu samples, and a number of MCs previously unheard of in one single collective with Enter The 36 Chambers. The Wu hit with the speed and force of a true Shaolin blow, leaving many trembling in awe of this new arrival. For myself, I didn't find the Wu until my senior year of high school, many years after the release of this record. I was immediately hooked though when I heard Ghost's Supreme Clientele and one of the next to follow was the classic, and often revered as one of the greatest solo releases from the group, Liquid Swords.

I was drawn in and really didn't understand why. GZA approaches the mic much differently from Ghost and, at first, it kinda through me off. GZA's steez is a much more complex and intellectual than most MCs--I knew I liked it, it just took me a while to understand why. The first GZA record I heard was Beneath The Surface and it GOT me, yo. When I heard that joint I caught myself enthralled by, well, his Genius! It seems I was finding myself drawn to the Wu's solo efforts a bit more at this time and it was always the sophomore record that I found first for some reason. But when I revisited this gem for the first time, I got to see how he built up to Beneath The Surface. Liquid Swords is a little less polished than his follow up (some may argue for the better), but it is nevertheless seen as one of the best Wu releases of all time. And their catalog is DEEP, son.

The concept of the Liquid Swords title (as well as RZA's Digital Bullet) is something I always loved about Wu. They have a unique way of playing with words and titles of songs. I mean, imagine...a LIQUID sword? A DIGITAL bullet? Come on, that's just hard, yo. This always pushed me in my own writing and even in titling works of mine. Just keeping my brain in that mindframe is definitely something I can say Wu helped influence. GZA does this often in his music. He just has an intellectual labyrinth about his rhyme schemes that gets me excited. It makes you think twice, thrice, sometimes multiple times on so many levels. I am always a fan of anyone that can get me to think like that or surprise me later with those little gems like when I found out years later that the Liquid Swords cover is actually a chess board with animated pieces.

How fresh is that?


Here's to 20 and counting.
"Woofers thump, tweeters hiss like air pumps
RZA shaved the track, niggas caught razor bumps..
..Now watch me blow him out his shoes without clues
Cuz I won't hesitate to detonate, I'm short fused"


Stay Creative,
BLUE731.


11"x14" acrylic and inks on bristol
For purchase of this Original painting, contact me at blue73100@gmail.com

Donuts.

BOOM. Dilla. Dilla Day. Dilla Month. All throughout February. Name the top five producers of all time. Dilla, Dilla, Dilla, Dilla, Dilla, because he dropped hot fi-ya lol. Naw naw, all kidding aside I thought what better way to pay tribute to a musical mastermind than to embody him in a style I have been having a lot of fun with lately. These little animated characters have been providing me with so much fun and smiles as I create I thought it would be a great way to pay homage. Then, to one up myself, I made him a donut.

For those of you unfamiliar with Dilla (and the donut connection for that matter) I suggest you fire up your YouTubes and Groovesharks and Spotifies and get ya school on. Dilla was (is) one of hip hop's dopest producers who passed away in 2006. I can honestly say I am not the know-all of Dilla. I am not the most familiar with his catalog nor have I always been a die-hard fan. I just know One Won't Do is BY FAR my favorite shit. The Shining is my favorite Dilla rec. Only One Can Win is my favorite instrumental. Jay Stay Paid is my favorite release after he passed away and Dilla will forever be revered as one of hip hop's absolute GREATEST, continuing to be missed my millions the world over to this day.

If you don't know Dilla, you'd be surprised that you probably do. Dilla has worked with sooo many of hip hop's greatest talents including Slum Village, Common, De La, DOOM, Royce, Busta, Tribe, Pharcyde, The Roots, Badu, Madlib, Ghost, D'Angelo, Mos, Chino...man the list goes on and on and on like a cross-country train ride for fucking days, son. Straight up. So check the liner notes of your old classics, there's a good chance he had a hand in it.

As for this piece itself, I had to include a few things to further drive the Dilla point home. One, the halo. Rest In Paradise, Dilla. Two, the classic MPC2000. Warm analog flavor we all love. Three, the fresh ass fedora hat. Four, that chin strap and mouthpiece, the wings for the same as the halo, and the donut for his record Donuts. Dilla you are missed by many and we all feel your presence when we tap into the source whilst we create.

RAP IN PARADISE DILLA.

"Whole body blingin' like 3-P-O nigga
And when I pull that fucker out
It attracts the gold diggers
With them big ol' jelly, Smuckered out."

11" x 14" acrylics and inks on bristol
**SOLD**
**Special Edition prints available @ blue731.bigcartel.com

Ubiquitously Deevilish.

last year i came across a new group that infused a fresh sound of rap into my speakers and hedphones. i came across them by chance through Tech N9ne's Bad Season mixtape. the mixtape itself was (is) SUPER ILL and one track had these two rappers that stood out from all other features on [Bad Season]. the skills these two cats possess are uncanny and they struck a deep chord within me. the duo is known as CES CRU. and these dudes are BEASTS on the mics.

it's been a while since i've heard rappers approach the mic with such lyricism as these two. their style is something you would normally hear in hip hop, only with a different sound of course. CES has nice multis, great control of speed, and overall commanding rhythm on the mic. rap today is over 90% garbage, so it's been a refreshing experience finding CES CRU and the sheer awesomeness they carry in their music. the intelligent flows of Ubiquitous and the thought-provoking imagery of Godemis have definitely caught my attention. CES has been around for a minute and the unique sound of the two meshed together has got me keeping a close eye and ear on these two. i suggest you do the same.

STRANGE MUSIC ALL DAY, BABY!!

"i got you a box of chocolates/a blunt/and a single rose

a pot to piss in/since matter dont money/a change of clothes

call it karma/come on let me paint your fingers and toes

i gotta get you comfy/before i get on the road."

"im the freshest thing out/gettin scooped on tour

cuz im hot for the moment/like a soup de jour

tryna hang with me hard/like shootin doors

or a stand-up fighter/tryna shoot Couture/Randy."

11" x 14" inks on bristol
Currently not for sale.
(individual images below.)

Money Spheres.

Deevil Don't Mind.

Accordion Folders.

one of the greater collabs of our hip hop generation came together with the combination of two dope ass MCs & Producers. being a proficient beat-maker AND an MC is a feat few can do, let alone do it well. and these two not only have lustrous careers as both, but they also have a great career as the menacing hip hop duo known as Madvillain. combining forces of DOOM's riddling chorus-lacking lyrics laced over Madlibs creative drum and sample loops, these two provided listeners with something new and exciting. and if that wasn't enough, they even created a character for their partnership. the burly masked villain knocks enemies out in a large green trench coat and brown fedora in one of my absolute favorite music videos ever--ALL CAPS. this video is an animated comic book. it is drawn so well and the storytelling is super dope. even the coloring is in traditional old school comic form complete with one of my favorite (now digital) printing techniques, halftones!! i can't express my love for this video enough.

when i first heard DOOM, i was entranced by his villainous ways. when i heard Madvillain, i was surprised that he could still muster up yet another persona so well. but he did. Kid Robot even did a figure of the Madvillain character that to this day i am still upset over for choosing to eat that week instead of copping the figure lol. but hey, my birthday is next week so if anyone can find one for me that'd be super awesome. till then, keep your eyes out for the trademark fedora and green trench coat of the overbearing metal-faced super villain, Madvillain.

"That's why he brings his own needles.
And get more cheese than Doritios/Cheetos/or Fritos.
Slip like Freudian,
Your first and last step to playin' yourself/like accordion."

11" x 14" acrylic and inks on bristol

**SOLD**
**Prints available @ blue731.bigcartel.com

Cause of Revolution.

VIVA LA REVOLUCION!! such resounding words from one of the most interesting MCs of my time. a few years ago i had know idea who this man was let alone what he stood for. i stumbled across a song of his through a frequented website of mine, Faygoluvers.net, by mere chance. it was listed in their weekly songs on the right column. this song changed my life forever. and i sincerely mean that. the words throughout this song filled me with complete exuberance and many "holy shit!"-moments. the delivery was raw & punchy, the beat was sic with a somewhat tribal kick & snare combo, but the lyrics....the LYRICS are what sold me. they struck a chord so deep i completely shut off everything else going on in the office..and immersed myself in this man's words....

the song was a gritty expose on the travesties and lies of September 11. so much information was put into these verses that i found myself immediately researching damn near everything he mentioned in the track as soon as it was over. as the song played on repeat, i found a whole new world of the attacks on the Twin Towers in NY. a world i didn't know existed. something didn't ever sit right with me about the entire attacks, and the topics i was coming across were all too real and began to answer many of those questions. it exposed a side to 9/11 that so many, including myself, had overlooked.

the song was Cause of Death by Immortal Technique.

powerful. i began to seek more of his music after rifling through so much government cover-up and came across Dance With The Devil. i won't even go into the disturbing content of this one but simply urge you to go listen to it if you are unfamiliar. the story painted is VERY grim but all too amazing in its form to not appreciate. i was immediately interested in his odd rhyme schemes too. he didn't always have the common AABB rhythm. often he stepped into AAABBB rhymes and i sometimes found it hard to catch, being used to the former for so many years, but it certainly made him stand out to any others i was listening to then by that alone.

Immortal Technique is quite the intelligent individual. his interviews aren't ever boring and he speaks very eloquently in a no-limitations manner. his rhymes in his songs hit even harder, with gut-wrenching honesty. this guy opened up an entire new spectrum of life for me and i began to question a lot around me, things i had forgotten about since high school. all i can say is thank you Immortal Tech. thank you for opening my eyes and urging me and everyone else to think for ourselves. there aren't NEARLY enough of you in the rap game, let alone in this world..

"And they thought that nobody noticed the news report that they did,

about the bombs planted on the George Washington bridge.

Four non-Arabs arrested during the emergency,

and then it disappeared form the news permanently."

13" x 19" inks on mixed media paper

Currently not for sale.