Jabari Hall-Smith

 

 

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work mainly focuses on spiritual, mental and physical freedom for all life and I try to achieve a Taoist-like high/enlightenment through creating film, music and dance (image, sound and movement). I believe that the relationship of these three elements can create a gateway to that illumination. My strongest influences over the years have been Sun Ra, Lao Tsu, Ice Cube and Sun Zu and the wisdom that’s found in everyday colloquialisms and hood slangisms. Specifically for my work in M3: MC's, Mics & Metaphors, I focused on creating a animated visual metaphor for the emcee’s ego or swag(‘-ger) through a superhero persona, visually I take my cues from Afrika Bambaata, Rahmelzee, George Clinton and Dragon Ball Z creator Akira Toriyama. My animated character is Checkman (God Body) aka Wave The Penalty, he is the common rappers’ superhero, the ultimate guardian of the emcee creed. Checkman’s powers are derived from a pair of Tehuti Scrolls (or more specifically, from the Kosmic Kush inside each scroll); these scrolls tap into a limitless energy source called The Shabaka Stone. The Shabaka Stone endows Checkman with the power to enhance his flow and swag to unbelievable levels, which Checkman does by taking two puffs of the Tehuti Scrolls and proclaiming: "Mama!!!...by the power of Shabaka Stone...they gone love me!".

Hiphop, is the science of 5 elements (Knowledge, Emcee, Dj, B-Boy, Graff Art) spawn from the oppressed people’s desire to free them selves from tyranny and all forms of slavery. The emcee is the Master of the Ceremony, the messenger between the physical and the spiritual worlds; a master linguist the messenger uses his/her toolkit (i.e. metaphors, say-the-sames, A-B-A-B patterns, flows, swag, etc…) to perform the necessary rites to move the crowd and deliver the message, thus completing the ritual/ceremony.

 

BIO

 

Jabari Hall-Smith is a Los Angeles based artist who is as well versed in traditional mediums as he is in digital and theoretical forms. Jabari’s work draws from his research of global counter culture movements, divination systems, youth sub-cultures and the avant-garde to create images that provoke and inspire his audience. Jabari strives to create work that illuminates a freethinking social swell and peaceful rebellion against the oppressive slave/master dichotomies that dictate “so-called” social norms. He received a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Howard University (2002) and a Master in Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts (2005).