Photos by ShotByEstrada for Fearless Leon
Last Thursday, I walked up to 101 Lincoln Avenue in the now called SoBro part of the Bronx to a small protest. Protesters gathered to bring awareness to the omission of Black and Latino artists in the Swizz Beats x Bacardi’s “No Commission” show. While the show vowed to bring contemporary art and music culture back to the Bronx, the artist lineup only included (1) Bronx artist. This alarming fact is what had community organizers riled up since the area where the show took place has already started to go through gentrification (real estate name: The Piano District). I thought it was important for me to mention this fact to show that our community cares about the bigger picture of what happens anywhere, not just in the Bronx. Gentrification has changed the lives of many of us in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens and the Bronx is next.
This is my 2nd time at No Commission and I was just as impressed with the execution as I was last year in Miami. The No Commission Art Fair included artists Swoon, Kehinde Wiley, Mike Falcon, Pablo Power and many others. The night started with a special DJ set by DJ Noire which was followed by a set by Swizz Beatz himself. Swizz brought us back to his Ruff Ryderz and Roc-A-Fella days with tracks like “Money, Cash, Hoes”, “Wild Out”, and “Down Bottom”. The night ended with a performance by A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg, and Cardi B.
Knock yourself out with our best flicks of the night.
For more NO Commission news visit the Dean-Collection.com
