Yakob Tesfaye, a freshman in the Visual Arts department, took the top prize at DESA's 2024 Arts as Activism competition. His submission included the original artwork, SLICK RICK (pictured left), and a video (below).
From the artist:
"The project was for the hip hop 50th anniversary edition of the yearly school wide arts as activism competition. Slick Rick is one of my favorite rappers and I believe he is a great example of an artist who has the ability to use his craft to send an empowering message. With this piece and video, I commemorated his legacy and dissected the message of his most famous song “children’s story,” taking inspiration from his use of his playful yet deeply impactful style."
Yakob's work is posted here with his permission and is copyright protected.