Dopetracks Beat Battle
- Example One
- full image
This is promotional artwork I did for Dopetracks, a vibrant, online hip hop production community. I was given full creative freedom (and two days to finish).
With this piece, I wanted to express the spirit and character of battling, rather than its technical side. The men in the photos aren’t hip — and I doubt they ever entered a beat battle — but we can appreciate their grit and determination. Their expressions convey the spirit of individuals who are battling against the odds, whether as underdogs… or as defending champions.
On a side note, I think this piece may also have a slightly unintended splash of humor. Dare I say, it seems to be mocking the “fame” aspect of battling. And I think this is not lost on beat battle competitors, whose up-all-night lifestyles are far from glamorous (and whose prime motivation is respect of peers, not fame and fortune).
November 16, 2009