University Red

This white and red shirt, which was the very first t-shirt design, it was the only way for me to begin to work through what had happened.

Not a day goes by where I don’t think about the homeboy, Rico. That’s one of my best friend’s older brother. 

It’s crazy cause our sons are the same age. Rico is like my big brother, super charismatic, just a good dude. Even when you’re not around and if he cares about you, he’s going to honour you.  He ended up passing away. 

Dealing with all of these tragedies while being stuck in Canada, not a day goes by where I don’t think of these people, especially Rico. 

The thought of Rico for me is similar to how people in California feel about Nipsey Hussle passing. Rico being older and always being a big brother figure, you’d see what he was doing and it was tight and you could pull game away from it, and losing that felt like, “I’m not safe” and “what about me?” 

It’s not something I’ve processed, I’ve thought about it and understand what happened, but, it’s not something I could forget, it doesn’t sit well with me nor something I’m able to accept in peace, but, by creating this piece, I’m able to honor him in a small way.

The red ribbon was an accident but it turned out that the red ribbon can be flipped to honor those living with HIV/AIDS. A portion of profits are donated to The Teresa Group in Toronto, who helps children and families affected by HIV.