Bronx Bombers Heavyweight Embroidered Tee

7.5oz. 100% cotton

This piece is one of the top 5 most prized in my portfolio; largely in part to the story behind it. So the following two angles will be provided. 

Artistic angle-

Bronx Bombers is my triple entendre concept dreamt up in 2013, & many drafts later—finished in 2016. When I think of Bronx Bombers, I think of three things: New York Yankees, a WWII bomber jet, & prolific graffiti train writers from the 70s & 80s. This design is representing the concept of all three cooked up into one beautiful, vibrant, colorful & intellectually curious design. This design exudes the confidence of Babe Ruth at bat, fifth inning, World Series 1932—when he called “The Shot” to left center field against the Cubs for his last World Series home run. The jet plane represents the courage & accuracy WWII pilot, Tuskegee Airmen Roscoe C. Brown, when he shot down a 262 jet fighter in 1945. The graffiti trains & subway platform wings are bold like artist ZEPHYR in the early 80’s, with crispy clean execution. The cans spraying are bombs ready to drop into an abyss of artistic imagination.

Personal angle-

The Bronx will always be a special place for me as it was my first destination in 2010, when I arrived on a Greyhound bus bound for Port Authority from Biloxi, Mississippi. Javier, born & raised on 183rd & Southern Boulevard, greeted me at 5:30am & took me & my suitcase straight to his (father’s) apartment in The Bronx. The projects of 183rd is where I stayed on my first visit of 11 days. It had a lasting impact on me, & I will always appreciate The Bronx for hosting me on my first visit to New York (I moved to New York a mere 10 weeks later & never left.)

“Bronx Bombers” inspiration came from a love of my experiences from my first impressions of New York. I almost exclusively created this design while hustling my art in the subway tunnels of the L train, its platforms, & the 6 train, & its platforms. This design was a great challenge because the concept of this triple entendre was easier said than done when it came to manifesting, & it took many drafts over many weeks to complete. Three years to be exact, & it took sketches with pencil, ink, water color, & digital sketches. Would the plane be flying to the side? If so, how do I express the graffiti element, a bomber jet bombing graffiti? & many other questions were posed in the brainstorming sessions over the course of the process. In the end, I found a design I was finally content with, & released it in 2016. There must be a time when you as the artist says—“that’s it.” But the time & struggle paid off, as it is & will always be one of my top personal favorite designs of my life.