The "Sky’s the Limit in the County of Kings" sculpture. Photo: Noemie Trusty. Courtesy The DUMBO Improvement District and the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.



In the shadow the Brooklyn Bridge, a monument to another icon of the borough has been erected—that of hip hop legend Biggie Smalls.
Standing nine-foot tall, the sculpture pays homage to Kings County musical royalty in both style and function. Adorned with a crown and holding a scepter-cum-microphone, his stainless-steel body is embedded with solar-powered speakers that sound out a playlist curated by DJ Mister Cee, the man credited with kickstarting Biggie’s career.

The decision to pair classic sculptural techniques with modern technology is a bricolage somewhat akin to hip hop itself, artist Sherwin Banfield tells Artnet News: “I’m a traditionally trained figurative sculptor and wanted to take something classic then remix or sample it with something new and fresh.”
Cast in the Brooklyn foundry owned by Bill Makky, best known for bronzing the Wall Street Bull, the work is dotted with references to Biggie, most obviously in the form of his first studio album enmeshed in the piece using resin.
The sonic sculpture is the latest art project funded by Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and the Dumbo Improvement District, two organizations dedicated to enhancing the cultural life of local public spaces. With the 50th anniversary of hip hop approaching, the organizations thought it fitting to celebrate Biggie, née Christopher Wallace, a musician who was a trailblazer for the genre before being killed at the age of 24.

Sherwin Banfield with the sonic sculpture of Biggie Smalls. Courtesy of the artist.

“Giving space to new kinds of monuments and works is what a public art fund is all about,” said Alexandria Sica, President of the Dumbo Improvement District. “This is a spectacular piece that will greet countless New Yorkers.”

Titled “Sky’s the Limit in the County of Kings,” the sculpture was Banfield’s response to a call for New York city artists to propose a work to stand at the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. The Queens-based artist had previously sketched out a design for a monument dedicated to Christopher Wallace, so when his cousin told him about the open call, he promptly polished the shelved project and sent it over.
“The location had a profound impact on the work,” Banfield said. “It’s on a hill, and I wanted viewers to ascend towards a regal monument and be welcomed with open arms and two essential human qualities: the voice through a microphone and love via a heart.”
The Parsons-trained artist has previously received New York commissions for sculptural pieces in Van Cortlandt Park and Riverside Park.
The public art installation is the latest Brooklyn art tribute to Biggie following a pair of murals in Bed-Stuy and a commemorative MetroCard released on what would have been his 50th birthday.
The work will remain on display through Spring 2023

If the good Lord made anything finer than a Black woman, then He kept it to Himself.

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If staying on code was a face, but we won't boycott a shoe company or professional sports League to save our lives! The Flint water crisis was a deliberate act and no one will pay for this crime against humanity.

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They won't let this post on Facebook..." community standards"

I actually read about this a while back and this came in my feed so it reminded me of it. Brazil is known for having escaped Nazis but not migrant confederate white boys.

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WHY????
I’ve seen some crazy stuff at Black people’s funerals over the years. This is in the top three. I have to find the original video, but this edited version is hilarious. Login to view embedded media

I made it all from scratch…here’s the before picture.

I’ll make a video when it’s done and I take it out of the spring form pan.

Until we create our own infrastructure again with us by us we are going to continue to suffer as FBA'S first and the "Greater Black American ommunity" second. We have to stop wanting to contribute to the dominate society and all they giving us is booty to kiss after we make it pop for them.

Jason Black is live on The Business Login to view embedded media

We can't let this crook off the hook with these diversionary tactics! Stay on course!!!!

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This nigga is still bold as ever...

Do you sell your old phones once you get a new one? Maybe trade it in to get some money towards the purchase of a new one? Or do you keep your old phones? I have mostly kept my old phones, mainly because they aren't worth much of anything these days, and I felt it would be a waste to just sell them for a few bucks here and there.

I was thinking about modding some of the old ones, using one as a secondary webcam, maybe use one as a cheap alternative to a security camera, etc. What are some fun thing you can do with old smartphones?

I made sure to be an organ donor at the event of my death. I say when I die, take whatever the hell you need. Take my organs, my eyes, and whatever else you can use. I'm not very religious, so I'm not one who particularly cares to be buried after death. My request for when I die, is for all of my usable organs to be donated, but also, to either be cremated after or the rest of my body to be donated to science.

Would you donate your body to science after death? Or would you rather your family bury you via the traditional means?

Has there ever been a time where you met a famous person? I have not yet met anyone famous. Unless you count the one time I saw Carrot Top walking down the street when I visited Florida. Or at least it looked like the guy. I could be wrong. I am by no means a fan of him, just thought it was cool to see a celeb, even if it's a D list, and forgotten one. :D

Anyway, did you ever meet someone famous? How did it go? What was it like to meet them?

Login to view embedded media Dr. Umar always brings his A game when he's on The Breakfast Club.

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Jaylen Smith was elected the Mayor of Earle, Ark., on Tuesday night, becoming the youngest Black mayor in the United States.

Smith, 18, defeated Nemi Matthews Sr. in a runoff election.

Smith had 218 votes, compared to Matthews’ 139, according to election results.

Matthews is the superintendent of Earle with more than four decades of experience working in the small Arkansas town, which has a population of under 2,000 people and is situated about 30 miles northwest of Memphis.

In an interview with FOX13 last month, Smith, who recently graduated from high school, talked about his goals if he was elected the mayor of Earle.

“First, I want to improve public safety here. Secondly, tear down abandoned houses … transportation here for the community, bring a grocery store here,” he said.

This shit is getting frustating family. I thank God for 6zeros that I have a place to say this shit outloud.
We know AI is fucking dangerous. We allllllllllllll can agree the shit is dangerous. It's now all out in the open too.
Google, Meta, Twitter. There's a gotdamn app that can write blog posts for you with all you gotta a do is just speak a damn word. No human thought process at all.

Whyyyyyy???? Now I'm seeing niggas all over every timeline with awkward person here to hang out photos of themselves. Father God. All those filters you play with are data miners. Rizza broke that down like years ago when the first app fad came out.

And everybody thinks the shit is harmless.

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The trial of former officer Aaron Dean, the murderer of Atatiana Jefferson, is underway and I will be closely watching this one! Justice will be served!!!!

Login to view embedded media Brother Rizza tells The Truth and breaks it down.