By Dylan Deprey
DJ The Jenius keeping the dance floor packed during his sets between local rappers’ acts. (Photo By Dylan Deprey)
The golden age of hip-hop birthed a new generation of artists during the late eighties and nineties. Whether it was break-dancing, emceeing or DJing, it emulated a renaissance for those that embodied the street lifestyle. It became the voice of the youth, and left a legacy that reached farther then any aspiring graffiti artist or rapper in the Bronx could ever imagine.
Whether it is the tunnels of Grand Central Station to the basement of Grand Avenue Mall, the legacy still exists. The artistic collective Unfinished Legacy plans to create its own culture for the city of Milwaukee.
Airbrush and graffiti artist Hector Lopez drawing sketches during the Unfinished Legacy clothing line release. (Photo By Dylan Deprey)
Founder, Brema Brema, is nineteen years old. He moved with his and originally from Kenya. In Milwaukee as a high school student, Brema created Unfinished Legacy, a Hip- Hop/Skateboarding clothing company. His passion for photography took him on further ventures to create an artistic group that held the true value of Hip- Hop and focused on street wear, photography, street art and DJing.
“It’s hard coming from a city like Milwaukee, so I’m bringing a group of artists together to do creative stuff and inspire people,” Brema said.
Optic Legacy is Brema’s photography sect of the collective. He is accompanied by Daleshontai Jene, or better known as DJ The Jenius on the ones and twos. The third member is an airbrush and graffiti artist, Hector Lopez.
Unfinished Legacy recently held its 2016 Summer/Fall clothing line release at Tru Skool Inc. on Aug. 6. It was an opportunity for people to see Unfinished Legacy’s new clothing line as well as watch the artists at work.
“I want Unfinished Legacy to be create a culture within Milwaukee,” Brema said.
Brema Brema hard at work during his own clothing line release party. (Photo By Dylan Deprey)
One of the standout additions of the clothing line was a black nylon jacket sporting a melting orange and yellow “UL” logo on the back with a red Unfinished Legacy patch near the lowest button on the front. Brema is 100 percent hands-on with the project. He screen-prints every piece of clothing as well as hand-stitches every patch to hats, jackets and shirts.
As people danced to DJ The Jenius’s mix, which covered everything from Missy Elliot to Wu Tang Clan, others perused portraits and airbrush work that lined the walls. Lopez sat in a chair fashioned from used skateboards. He drew sketches, as well as looked over other aspiring artist’s work.
Up-and-coming rappers and rap groups from Milwaukee including: DOP€, Phat Nerdz, Simon Mustafa, Joshua Being, Uni-Fied Society, ADHD, Mozaic and Hiii Triiibe performed throughout the three and a half hour show. Joshua Being is a Milwaukee Hip- Hop artist, but was born in Brooklyn. He was promoting his Level 2 EP, which is set to release Aug. 26.
“I’m a big supporter of underground Hip-Hop. I’ve sat there and drove off to other states to support Hip- Hop artists,” Being said.
He also noted that prior to the event he had never heard of Unfinished Legacy.
“I’m really big into the industry, and professionalism is key. These guys really made a statement here today,” Beings said.
Although it was a big day for Unfinished Legacy, Brema plans to extend Unfinished Legacy even further into the artistic community. He eventually wants to work as an agency to help local artists find work throughout Milwaukee.
“I feel that all my friends are really creative and dope individuals, and I feel we need to get paid for our work,” Brema said.