www.Urbanamericanews.com January 2004 Volume 3,3rd Edition
By Faisal Muhammad

If you have children and love hip-hop, you would probably recognize this name. If you don’t, let me take this opportunity to introduce an artist who is worthy of your study and admiration. We caught up with Kadir Nelson at Code Lounge on a brisk Friday evening thanks to the Miami Beach Black Host Committee. Kadir means “strong” and “powerful” in Arabic and his art exemplifies his namesake. His art transports its witnesses through time into worlds equal to Hollywood’s most spectacular special effects. He has illustrated over ten children books authored by Spike Lee, Will Smith, & Jerdine Nolen, whose book “Thunder Rose” is one of the best told tall tales about a little black buffalo girl with the power to control lightning and manipulate metal. Kadir’s pictures bring the words of the fable to life and makes the big legend of little “Thunder Rose” believable. His illustration on Swizz Beat’s album cover “Ghetto Stories” encompasses the bittersweet spectrum of the street life.

When asked, “Who is Kadir Nelson?” He looks around & humbly says, “Kadir Nelson is an artist whose been painting his whole life, whose work has a spiritual foundation, and is dedicated to portraying that concept and giving the people in the work or viewing the work a sense of nobility.” Kadir’s uncle was his first teacher. An art instructor by profession, his Uncle always encouraged him and equipped him with art supplies. Kadir graduated from the Pratt school of Art and Design. But it was around the age of three when his small hands could first grab a pencil and control a line that Kadir began to hone his craft. “I don’t think I have any choice in what I’m doing when it comes to being who I am and doing artwork,” Kadir says “It’s part of my DNA. It’s nothing that I can change. It’s just (a matter of) allowing it to be.”

His depictions include portraits of Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez in Major League Baseball’s 2002 All Star Game Program. There’s also the surreal mural “Timelining” the life of Marvin Gaye on the walls of Marvin’s Room Recording Studio where the legendary singer was immortalized on many of his hits. Gaye’s daughter Nona was brought to tears at a haphazard meeting with Nelson when she saw the image of her smiling father coddling a young Nona upon his shoulders.

Most of his depictions are not portraits. Rather, his work draws mostly from a study of life and a deep well within him that can conjure up images of “everyday people” doing every day things in extraordinary ways. His latest work entitled the Africa Series is a collection of small originals. “I always liked to look in books about African adornment... & the way they see beauty,” he says. “Whether it be scarification or adornment or how they accentuate their beauty, it really fascinated me. Being African American, I wanted to put my interpretation of my ancestry to canvas and stay true to the way they see themselves.” A young girl from Kenya approached Kadir & asked him “have you ever been to Kenya?” Nervously Nelson replied “No!” The young coed from the land of the Massai uttered, ‘You get it. You see it how we see it.’

Kadir’s resume of clients include Debbie Allen, Ice Cube, Nike, and countless others. Bearing his art to the world is his mission. It is a personal mission not compromised by his commercial success. ‘As long as you’re doing your own work and your keeping the energy alive and your spirits up you’ll be okay. But when your only doing the commercial stuff...you get burned out,” he advises.

Kadir works at home and his wife is a full-time Mom. His two little princesses (Aya and Amel) are constantly orbiting around him, so following a structured work schedule is not always possible. This has not prevented Kadir from producing a collection of art rivaling Prince’s vault of music. On his website (www.kadirnelson.com) designed by his brother, there is an encyclopedic body of work inspired and done by Kadir. Strikingly, his creative process is void of rituals or overemphasized discipline. Nelson produces complex masterpieces with relative simplicity. “The most important thing is to be relaxed so you can sit down and let it come out,” he remarks. If not, “it’s like trying two forces open a flower. You got to let it do its thing. It starts with an idea. I get an idea from music, things I read, something someone might say-just from living. Then I do some research, some sketching and then, it’s finishing the piece and naming it,” he casually remarks. “Much easier said than done,” I think to myself. “Do you think art has the power to heal,” I ask him. He replies, ‘I think any type of creative medium has the power to heal.” Art can heal and Kadir Nelson performs surgery on canvas’. A glance at his work stirs-up that feeling in all of us. That feeling makes us fortunate for our lives and bridges us to the lives of others.