One week ago today our new Leader of the Free World, Donald Trump's Inaugural Ball took place. Many artists who were asked to perform by the event coordinators backed out. One artist who accepted the invitation to perform was R&B singer, Chrisette Michele. Unfortunately, she received a ton of flak for performing. One she's a woman, and two she's African-American. Because of the things that came to light about Trump during the election, people really couldn't understand why on earth she would agree to do the performance at all. This past Wednesday Chrisette Michele did a radio interview with The Breakfast Club. She was met with the same questions her public was wanting to know. Why did she do it and why didn't she speak out. One thing I took away from the interview is that she did not do it for a check, but for a conversation starter. There is a huge conversation that America needs to have and she wants to be the voice of those who are voiceless. She did mention something and as an artist, I can completely understand; she was invited to perform, not speak. So she took to her protest of injustice in another way, by wearing an Alice+Olive skirt with the artwork of Basquiat.
(Chrisette Michele shown wearing Alice+Olive Basquiat skirt with Gospel singer Travis Greene)
Who is Basquiat? Well, he was an artist who did like many artists past and present and used his artwork as social commentary as to what he saw going on in his community.
Jean-Michel Basquiat was born December 22, 1960, in Brooklyn, New York. His father was Haitian and his mother was Puerto Rican. He grew up in a mixed culture household allowing him to speak in French, Spanish, and English fluently by the time he was 11. Around seven, he read Gray's Anatomy which influenced much of his work. Around the age of 13, his mother was committed to a mental institution. A few years later, his father kicked him out after dropping out of high school.
In the late 1970's, Basquiat and a friend began to graffiti under the bridges of NYC. They tagged their work SAMO, which stood for same old shit. His graffiti work got him noticed and he even landed a day job from it. After Basquiat and his friend stopped their graffiti work, he formed a band performing at local clubs selling copies of his SAMO work. One day, he met Andy Warhol in a coffee shop. They became fast friends after Basquiat showed Andy his work. The pair had worked on several projects together. Basquiat's fame was fast rising. He worked with big names at the time such as David Bowie, Blondie, and even dated Madonna before she became famous. When Andy Warhol died in 1987, Basquiat became more depressed than ever. His addiction to heroin became worse and he overdosed in his studio on August 12, 1988.
In 1981, he had a piece titled Irony of Negro Policeman. This piece criticized African-American policeman saying they were pawns. The bars on the hat is interpreted as a cage of their mind, enforcing laws meant to enslave themselves.
In 1983, another powerful piece he created was untitled (History of the Black People). In this piece, he depicts Egyptians with Nubians as their slaves. He included the word salt in the piece to symbolize the Atlantic Slave Trade. A combination of both slave trades made for a powerful piece.
Many musicians have mentioned him in their works. Jay-Z who is a private collector of the artist mentions him on his album Magna Carta Holy Grail on the song Oceans and on his album with Kanye West, Watch the Throne on the song Illest Motherfucker Alive. Rick Ross made reference to him on Lil Wayne's song John, A$AP Rocky on his song Pheonix, J. Cole on Rich Niggas, Nicki Minaj on Lookin Ass, and even his ex Madonna on her song Graffiti Heart. Many others have been inspired or mentioned him in their works too. The Weeknd has even gone on to say that his signature hair, which he recently ditched, was inspired by Basquiat. Fall Out Boy uses his signature crown in their logo. Fashion designers and clothing companies have used his work as inspiration and used Basquiat's art in their looks as well. Forever 21 had a collection including Basquiat's art, so has Supreme, Urban Outfitters, Uniqlo, and Alice+Olive.
Basquiat had a voice, a strong one, He used his voice to speak out on the injustices of his people. Much like Chrisette Michele wants to do in her own way. When on The Breakfast Club, host Charlamagne admitted he didn't see her performance. That leaves me to wonder, in a society like we have today with everything that is going on, many people of all races did not watch that performance and may not have known about her silent protest until the airing of that interview. I neither disagree or agree with her choice. After hearing what she had to say and knowing that everyone chooses a different path, I believe she's doing what she thinks she can. So what do you think? Should she have done more in
protest? Or do you think she did enough? She wants to start a conversation and wants to start working on a solution to heal. Let me know your thoughts down below.