It wouldn't be Black History Month without art, and what better way to mark the illustrious time than drawing figures we all know and love?
On Thursday, Philadelphia-based artist Justin Richburg posted the celebratory piece to his Instagram that finds Barack Obama, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Allen Iverson playing dice while Oprah, a fully-costumed Black Panther, Rihanna and Tupac, among others, look on. You heard me.
Other figures in the photo include Michelle Obama, Kevin Hart, Mike Tyson, Will Smith, Charlamagne Tha God, Denzel Washington as well as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan being kind of present in the form of their former jerseys hanging on a clothing rack.
While not a bad drawing as far as technique goes (everyone being easily identifiable should be worth something), conceptually, it obviously drew some pretty strong reactions from shock to wanting the artist to square up. While the image made the rounds on social media, one user pointed out its reference, a shot of Migos and Gucci Mane playing dice between two tour buses, down to the clothing rack and cash on the ground. "Truly incredible that they were able to make that from this," @trevorbnj noted.
If you think about it, pulling from the past is what all the greats do, and it's also worth noting the artistic liberty taken in swapping bottled water for Henny.
bro I got a few questions firstly is that Charlemagne in the far back left ?
nigga just did some street art in the stall his bag full of krylon
Some users were clearly moved by the art, but for all the wrong reasons.
