The faces of legendary rappers adorn a new Okotoks hip-hop studio.
From old-school lyricists such as Tupac and Biggie to more modern-day artists like Kendrick Lamar and Drake, Artist Avenue's new mural celebrates the long and diverse history of hip-hop.
The mural came into being after owner and hip-hop enthusiast Sarah Moore commissioned the talents of two Holy Trinity Academy Grade 12 students, Ella Dash and Maddie Maher, who have both been working on the piece through August and early September.
"We wanted it to be a timeline of hip-hop going from one end to the other," said Maher, who got much creative freedom while leading the project.
The mural takes the audience on a journey starting in the 1990s with the faces of Nas, Slick Rick, Eminem and more, with rappers Lil Wayne and Kanye West among the artists depicted in the 2000s portion, while the end of the wall shows artists of the 2010s like Nicki Minaj and Mac Miller.
"My mom had been listening to hip-hop for a very long time... in the car, like we'd listen to hip-hop," said Dash. "Everything's kind of connected, so that's what we tried to portray in the mural, the artists, connecting them all together."
Maher added the mural is a great addition to Okotoks.
"It was a great learning process in order to learn about more of the hip-hop culture, and I think it is something that's really nice for a small town... people can learn from the culture and the timeline as well," she said.
The young artists, both 17, have been passionate about art for their entire lives, and are eager to continue on as artists as they go further in their educations and careers.
"You just know from when you're very young that you want to pursue something artistic," said Dash. "It's always in your work, it's always in like doodling in class, stuff like that."
Artist Avenue — dubbed "Okotoks Home of Hip-Hop" — offers programs in all areas of the genre, from krumping and breaking to rap vocals and videography.
Learn more about Artist Avenue here, and follow Dash and Maher's work as artists on their newly-launched Instagram page, twinningout.ink.
Hip-hop has received a great deal of attention in the Foothills recently as Olympic champion Phil 'Wizard' Kim was at Spruce Meadows on Sept. 4 to show off his gold medal-winning breakdancing skills.
