“Overtake Don Overtake Overtake” by Fela Kuti plays as I type.

‘1080p’ (1920×1080 pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT. 709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vertically; the p stands for progressive scan, i.e. non-interlaced. (as per google)

This is one of the many nick names granted upon myself throughout my years growing up in NYC, but also the one that stood out the most. To me it represented clarity. Not just visually appealing clarity, but also the buildup of a million other pixels to make an appealing image. Just as our bodies are composed of millions of cells, 1080p is made up of many interactions, conversations, networks, which have influenced who I am today. Growing up in Brooklyn and being raised in cultured neighborhoods, from Crown Heights, Flatbush, and Williamsburg, before it became it’s own providence in this day, Brooklyn has shaped me to be the man I am. To say I mastered this all by myself would be a blatant lie. First off I owe A LOT of credit it to Hip Hop. Not just the music but the essence of the culture. The music does influence as well because behind the beat, tempo, hook…you’re able to interpret struggle, hustle, poverty, and poetry all in unison. Similar to the environments that raised me.

I was raised in a household of family who migrated to America from Guyana, which makes me a first generation American. The Caribbean has so much culture to offer. Which leads to why I gravitate towards the beats, colors, and vibes of what mainstream would consider the ‘urban’ realm. It’s the cultural connection of it all which I love the most. Understanding your roots allows you to grasp the direction you’re willing to head. I’m a NYC public school system survivor which only means I managed to make it out of the 12 year institution, no harm, no foul. I attended college for a couple years which I really appreciated because education is pretty awesome, but after graduating I realized this wasn’t something I could afford so I decided to join the workforce and retail it was.

Retail exposed me to a mass amount of different, period. Co-workers, customers, humans, non identifiables, kind of different. But it became a new form of school for me. In this new territory I was able to learn from everyone and everything within my surroundings. Human interactions, product knowledge, organization, all your common fundamentals of retail, which at the time I didn’t realize, I would be using to my progression years later.

The encounters I’ve experienced in life continue to formulate the person I am. The interactions weren’t always easy nor pretty. Battles with addiction, ‘depression’, lust, greed has all afflicted my evolution as a human. Once again that moment of vulnerability as an artist kicks in, but I see this as a way of understanding who we all are. There are moments in our lives where we are caught with our guard down, broken, or in need of uplifting, which is where I find the opportunity to tap into this person.

First the number, although we all have birth names to identify us, our real identity lies behind our social security. To bring things to perspective, it’s been written, in the beginning there was the ‘word’ not to be mistaken for the words we use today, but mathematic equations. Math makes sense because there is always a definite solution to an equation, 1+1=2, 10x10=100, etc; always has and always will be. Mathematics is it’s own language which is used to help our daily functions in more ways than we can possibly realize. 1080p broken down by the digits is as follows the 1 = man (1 human, individual, singular) 0 = no man has greater value, 8 in the middle is the spirit which = infinity (infinite spirit, energy based meaning forever going because energy never dies, its just transferred into a positive or negative force) 0 = no man has lesser value, and the P = Perry (person, power, prosperity). The equal sign, arrows, and dots represent balance/energy/frequency. Since energy never dies, it’s either transferred or received. Everything changes once you start to emit your own frequency rather than absorbing the frequencies around you. It’s when you start imprinting your intent on the universe rather than receiving an imprint from existence. This became my focus for the bigger picture.

I spent a couple years trying to ‘graph’ this but it wasn’t until I kept seeing NYC’S own, ‘SNOEMAN’ stickers everywhere. His tag is insane because he managed to turn his name into an ambigram. For those who are familiar with the sticker know, when you you flip the ‘SNOEMAN’ sticker it reads ‘NEW EONS’. My :::mind was blown::: but it inspired me. So I got to writing and after many attempts I was able to create my official tag. A way of writing 1080p that’s visible when read upside down or right side up. An identity was now solidified.

The reinvention of self is something we all need to take a moment to tap into. Far from an easy process to take on, but I highly recommend it. Its a mixture of holding on, letting go, and literally going boarder line insane (if not completely losing it). You have to leave a little in order to gain a little, it’s all about balance, yin and yang. Taking the good with the bad and bad with the good and then you’re able to understand the symmetry of self. It’s an ongoing process, with rewarding benefits, continue to feed the spirit, balance the mind, and nourish the soul. Dead the ego, and rebuild from ground up.

Connect the dots…

Peace.