Over the weekend I had the opportunity to meet with local artists Mike Lee and raodee. These two started up team Rekloos, a group of hip hop artists. They have been doing graffiti ever since they knew how to buy a can of paint. They were inspired by local and international artists such as Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Jackson Pollock. When I interviewed them, I was struck with how often they spoke their minds. They spoke from experience in the hip hop community and communicated their respect for artists that preceded them.
Lee and raodee just finished up a sneaker show on March 13th at the Middlesex lounge in Cambridge, where they met Big Auks who is now also part of the Rekloos crew. At the show they exhibited painted sneakers that have a comic book style.
Rekloos has 8 people in the United States and about 13 people in other countries. Big Auks elaborated on the way Mike and raodee’s art has an impact, “These guys are sharp, people aren’t ready for it yet. They are so far ahead of time that in ten years everybody will love their stuff.”
Mike and raodee work with many mediums: spray paint, photography and digital art. They believe there is no limitation to the ways they can express themselves. Rekloos hopes to have animation coming by the beginning of next year. raodee believes that, “At this day and age we are doing stuff that other people are scared to do.” People are sometimes surprised that Mike Lee and raodee can work together on a piece. They worked together on a film in which one of them vomits up a sneaker. That film was shown at their sneaker show.
Rekloos is a versatile organization; they work with photography, make tattoo designs, and do mix tape covers. Their graffiti background shows in their work. They have a unique ability to depict fantasy worlds. Mike Lee captures sexy, cartoon-styled characters in positions that get the imagination running. These action figure portraits truly make you want to collect them all. raodee’s pieces are collages of images, encased in letters that make you feel like you’re walking through a mural. Their works are edgy, yet playful and adventurous. Their pieces would look nice on the bottom of a skateboard.
Hip hop cannot be restricted to one aspect of life. Hip hop shows in every thing you do. Rekloos will force you to change the way you think of hip hop. Mike Lee, raodee, and Big Auks frown on commercial hip hop. They all agreed that commercial hip hop isn’t creative and the lyrics are all the same. When Mike Lee, raodee, and Big Auks go to a show they don’t act like everyone else. They try to get a reaction out of everyone else. “If we go to a hardcore show we draw happy puffy stuff”, says Mike Lee. He is tired of people producing generic products. Rekloos’s approach to art is different and passionate because they are willing to do what it takes to become good artists. Mike Lee’s friend told me that he stays up to all hours of the night making art. I would like to see Rekloos turn their niche for depicting characters into a video game like Dragon Ball Z.
Check out Team Rekloos at www.rekloos.us