The Truth In This Art: Stories That Matter

In this episode of The Truth In This Art, I sit down with Tyreek Morrison!

About Tyreek Morrison: Tyreek Morrison is an Atlanta-based collage artist who describes himself as "dad first, collage artist second." Born in New Jersey and raised in Atlanta, Morrison uses collage, found materials, paper, paint, and drawing to explore Black American life through memory, identity, and everyday experiences. His daughter just turned one, and this episode was recorded right before his first Father's Day. His father is an oil and acrylic painter, and Morrison grew up watching him work through the night blasting Wu-Tang Clan—those early memories shaped his understanding of what it means to be a working artist.

We talk about how becoming a parent has completely transformed his relationship with time and work. On days with his daughter, he's fully present—no phone, no studio. But when she's not with him, his work schedule becomes insanely focused. He doesn't leave the studio. Even when he's not actively creating, he's studying. Morrison discusses the three-generation legacy of creativity in his family and how his work ethic was reinforced when he toured with Lil Wayne after high school, witnessing firsthand how relentless dedication translates to success.

Morrison explains his philosophy that collage is parallel to Black American traditions of making something from scraps—whether soul food in the kitchen or sampling in hip-hop. He talks about his influences, including Barkley Hendricks and the artist behind Gorillaz, and how skateboarding played the biggest role in his creative thinking. 

We also talk about the expectations placed on Black artists to constantly discuss identity and trauma, the competitive-yet-supportive creative energy between him and his father, why he views Instagram as "a big buffet of artists you could bite off of," and his upcoming projects including Atlanta Fine Art Fair with Mason Fine Art, Scope Miami, a solo exhibition in New York City in spring 2027, and his Future Fair baseball piece incorporating real dirt.

Follow Tyreek Morrison on Instagram at money team to see his work.

Photo courtesy of subject.


The Truth In This Art is supported by William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, the Maryland State Arts Council's Creativity Grant and Mayor's Individual Artist Award - Creative Baltimore Fund (Baltimore). 

Host: Rob Lee
Music: Original music by Daniel Alexis Music with additional music from Chipzard and TeTresSeis.
Production:
  • Produced by Rob Lee & Daniel Alexis
  • Edited by Daniel Alexis
  • Show Notes courtesy of Rob Lee and Transistor
Photos:
  • Rob Lee photos by Vicente Martin for The Truth In This Art and Contrarian Aquarian Media.
  • Guest photos courtesy of the guest, unless otherwise noted.
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Creators and Guests

Host
Rob Lee
The Truth In This Art is an interview series featuring artists, entrepreneurs and tastemakers in & around Baltimore.
Guest
Tyreek Morrison
an Atlanta-based contemporary artist working in collage.

What is The Truth In This Art: Stories That Matter?

The Truth In This Art with Rob Lee is an arts and culture interview podcast connecting arts, culture, and community. Sharing stories that matter through in-depth conversations with artists and creatives — photographers, filmmakers, designers, musicians, chefs, writers, and more. Guests share studio routines, community roots, career insights, and the ideas and choices that shape their projects. New episodes, show notes, and transcripts available here.

Music Welcome

Rob Lee: to The Truth In Its Art, your source for conversations connecting art, culture, and community. These are stories that matter and I am your host, Rob Lee, except no substitutes. Today, I am thrilled to welcome my next guest on to the program, an Atlanta-based collage artist whose work explores black American life through memory, identity, and everyday experience. Drawing from childhood nostalgia, skateboarding, fashion, and popular culture, he transforms ordinary moments into layered visual narratives that center young black subjects and celebrate stories often overlooked.

His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally with sold-out shows that resonate both inside and outside traditional art spaces. So joining me today is Tyreek Morrison. Welcome to The Truth In Its Art. My gee, thanks for having me, bro.

Thank you for coming on. It's one of those rare things, right, where, you know, I've all interviews that I've done, I was able to tap in with someone randomly. You know, I was at your booth at Future Fair and then you like popped over. I was like, oh, hey, man.

Tyreek Morrison: Real organic like too. Yeah.

Rob Lee: What's an awkward? I love the organic thing. And I just like, hey, you know, I do this podcast, right? So as we start off for folks that are unfamiliar with you and undiped, I like to have folks introduce themselves using their own words. So if you will describe who you are, what you do and what's important for people to know about you.

Tyreek Morrison: Man, well, first off, my name is Tyreek Morrison. I was born in New Jersey, raised in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm a collage artist. You know, I like to say that I'm just a vessel, man. I'm just a vessel. I'm just giving out my perspective. You know, me as a young black man, navigating through this world, man. I use collage as my voice.

But you know, that's about it. I would say back in the day, Jack of all trades, but that's always the king of nuns. So I'm just that collage artist. Dad first. Yeah. Collage artist second.

Rob Lee: And I mean, it's that time of the year or two where the dads are getting their, uh, their due, you know, they're always supposed to be getting their due, but Father's Day is this weekend, my G.

Tyreek Morrison: Oh, damn. I didn't even realize that this is my first. This is my first Father's Day for him. I thought it just turned one. You know what I'm saying? It's the first official one. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I guess I'm looking forward to that. We'll see what I get.

Rob Lee: It's going to be in high in socks. It's always. Hey, I'm looking forward. I love socks. I'm looking forward to them. Socks. I put them on my feet all the time. They're great.

Tyreek Morrison: You feel me? Like they underrated for real.

Rob Lee: They're underrated. So going into it, like when I look up your, your bio and look at your background and even, you know, it's funny. Like when I talked to, to Rachel, um, before Future Fair, she talked about you and your, your dad and your work, right? And then being able to see it is like a naturally gravitated to it and experienced it. I think you can get the visual.

You can see it online, but when you're there in front of you, experience it, you know, that's a whole different vibe. So for this sort of initial question, um, like real question, I like to like, you know, dive into memory and nostalgia. So I believe that, you know, the best work sits somewhere between those two, nostalgia and novelty, right? 100%. So what is the role of nostalgia in your work?

Tyreek Morrison: Man, it's, it's really the bridge. It's the bridge. Like I try to bridge the gaps between generations through my work. So like, let's say I had this piece that sold before we could really like show it when we met at the fair and it was a kid, um, cleaning his shoes. It's called just like new and that shoe that he was holding was a Nike. It's an Air Force one that they don't make anymore. It got the jewels, which I'm at the small schools.

Oh, nice. And I know a lot of people in today's time don't appreciate or know about the jewels, which, but they know exactly what it is to clean your shoe, especially an Air Force one. So I, in that instance, I use the jewel, which has a bridge. So where it's like, uh, older fellow may come through like, damn, I had those or I wanted those, you know what I'm saying? And they relate to the piece, but a younger lad may, you know, relate to the same piece. And it kind of forms like a discussion. Like, I just try to, you know, bridge the gap with the nostalgic points, man. Yeah.

Rob Lee: And, and I think like the reason that I've been recently playing last year, exploring that and really looking at nostalgia novelty, like novelty, this conversation is an example of novelty for me in that it's not novelty as indisposable as novelty as in this is a new thing, getting to know a new person. Like I can read and do all of that stuff, but being able to have this interview and this conversation with you this moment with you, that is new as novel. And then the nostalgia piece, like albeit we're, you know, doing this through new technology, but the idea of having a conversation and really letting it cook.

It's something that's a little bit more nostalgic. It's not, you know, just throw the mic in your face. Yeah, bro. So what's your hot take? Oh, cool. Let me clip that. Exactly.

Tyreek Morrison: 30 seconds. Like just catch you on the street. Quick interview. Yeah. Micro waves, microwave. It's a lot of it.

Rob Lee: I mean, look, you know, my bank away stuff ain't always good for you. Sometimes, you know, you got to get it in, but, you know, sometimes a nice fresh, you know, I did this chicken earlier. It was fire. You feel me held you over, right? Look, if I have the opportunity not to put on the grill low and slow, son, you feel me?

Tyreek Morrison: Like, hey, it's worked away, man. I'm a go, I'm a go up and over microwave any day. Yes, any day. Yes. You feel me?

Rob Lee: So in addition, like building on memory, right? Your background includes splitting time between New Jersey and Atlanta. I always try to like get that Keenan Thompson Atlanta accent. It's a funny bit. I'll share it with you.

Tyreek Morrison: I'll talk to the rest of this guy down, interview him if you want guy down. I was trying to tell you, like, you got to know it.

Rob Lee: Growing up between those two places, like I was in Atlanta for five minutes, it had to go on a flight. I never really was in Atlanta, but I've been in New Jersey a number of times.

So yeah, how did growing up between those two places sort of influence your, like creative perspective, even like life perspective, because art is life and they sort of blend together.

Tyreek Morrison: Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Man, I'm gonna just say off top, like I moved out here in 2004 with my family. I was in like the fourth, fifth grade, you know what I'm saying? But when I lived in New Jersey, we'd go back and forth to New York. That's where my whole family's from. So we I rarely spend time in Jersey on my house in school, then after school, go straight over to Berries, St. Berkeley, you know what I'm saying? But I remember like growing up, like New York was on top. The music like was hip hop, New York was in its bag. Hot 97, you know what I'm saying? I remember when cameras dropped purple, hey, Kanye Santa, Rockefeller college drop out first album, my cops, you feel me like, I just remember in New York being on top.

So it's like, I'm in this like in that, you know what I'm saying? Like I remember my dad, he had a deal with Def Jam, where he had a clothing line where he was painting on jackets. And I'm going to the Def Jam building with him, like seeing that just getting all of that energy. But it's so ironic that as soon as we moved to Atlanta, Atlanta took off with the music. Like this next music came out, so was your boy like I'm in skate and rink dancing. I'm in a dance crew now you feel me? Like it's just I feel we moved at the perfect time for me to like, just like fully dive in Atlanta and get that culture because it was bubbling. You know what I'm saying? So it played a super role in like just like me being super observant at a young age in New Jersey and like seeing what's going on around me and taking in what my uncles are wearing and what they're doing and what my mom's doing, how she's doing her friends here, how she's coming in with the coach bags, Gucci, Deezu, and then coming to Atlanta being even more of a fly on the wall, even more of a sponge taking in like the skating rink culture. You know what I'm saying? Discount mall culture.

Like I didn't know that fake clothes existed in San Mucela. And so it's like all of these coaches are now like just kind of like formulating into this big jumbo that I'm taking part in. Like it was just it's perfect timing. You know what I'm saying? Perfect timing.

Rob Lee: It's like that camera saying it's like, you wasn't there. You know, it's like that.

Tyreek Morrison: Oh yeah. Come on man. Come on man. It's one of those things and camera is in the courier. So I got to always like rep the courier's gang over here. You know, oh, it did. I don't know.

None about a courier. We're villains. But it is a thing like you mentioned that 2004 like sort of era like I was in like, I think sophomore freshman sophomore college and damn everyone always hits me with the guy I referenced early. He did the same thing by the way.

I was like, yo, I look like a 41. That's all that really matters. Nah, bro.

Black don't crash man. I'm still with the same age. So in it, I remember that sort of transition and I also remember being in an environment. Right. So like when you know, I remember when the snap music was popping. I remember when I remember like that Joe stuff was running stuff. All of that.

Right. I remember you'll love this. I remember leaving between classes to go to circuit city to get the CD of college dropout. Man. That was how deep it was for me at that time. Right. That was the first CD ever. First album I ever purchased was college dropout. Yeah. Life changing album.

Rob Lee: And then the last thing before I move into this next question I'll say is by the time like sort of that era is like, you know, 19 right? And then by the time I wrapped like sort of two, three years later, I'm hanging out with nothing but New Yorkers, all of the stuff rubbed off and degree where I'd earned like a nickname. I was getting into like, like clothing battles with one of the like the most fashionable dudes there. One day we came in wearing the same fit.

We did not get dressed together. My G he's like, yo, I gotta, I'm gonna go home. Rob's wearing the same thing I'm wearing. So I got to leave and change and come back.

Tyreek Morrison: How did that happen? What was y'all wearing?

Rob Lee: I think it was like, I think it was like a knee-to-heat shirt. And it was so it was the shirt with the craziest part is like some jabo's and some Nietzsche joint. And it was just a little two on point.

It was too close. It's like, yo, y'all in a dance crew or something? Like, what is this combination? Yeah. And it was one of the rare instances because he was, um, he was a Crip. And it was like, you know, I happen to have blue on that day. He said, you're rocking the right colors. I'm gonna leave. I'll be back.

Tyreek Morrison: Yo, bro, that's wow. Matching clothes but yo, what quit? What sneakers did you have on?

Rob Lee: I don't remember the sneakers super well. I think it was actually, I think I had, um, I think I had boots on. I think I had Timbaland's on. And I had like field boots on though.

And he had like the regular button. So that was where that point of distinction was at. But I didn't stick out being a Baltimorean with only the New Yorkers in the New Jersey guys.

I just was like, Oh, you're one of them. Exactly. Yeah. And it's just something being in a scene or being around it. Culturally, it rubs off for you. And that's why that sort of, whether it be artistic, like you're from a certain area, you get embedded in like that scene or like culturally you're from it. So speaking on scenes, you know, let's talk about some of these creative influences. Like I've seen you've cited skateboarding, fashion, music, it's influential in developing your creative voice before fine arts. So how so? Talk a bit about that.

Tyreek Morrison: 100% man. Yo, like I say that skateboarding, I was looking at that piece as a reference behind me, but skateboarding played outside of my father naturally, you know, grown up in that artistic world. But like skateboarding played the biggest role in my creative thought. Because it's like before skateboarding, I was just heavily into basketball, you know, music, fashion. I was heavily into fashion around the time I started skating. And I'll say this, when we when I first started going to school in Atlanta, it was 2007, eight around this time I'm wearing like American cup products, true religion, fancy, denim, that type of fashion, like, you know, doing all my school shopping and cellho still. But in Atlanta, they're wearing like they need you. And, you know, clothes like that, they were a little behind with the fashion. But I remember my first day going to the school out here, this kid roasted the

Rob Lee: hell out of me

Tyreek Morrison: in front of the whole class, I got the class fast and be late thinking I was a shit. I go to my teacher and his kids scream out that boy got on church pants and girl shoes. I was like, no, he said girl pants and shirt shoes.

But he said a real country and funny to class laughs at me. But after that, you know, I looked at my outfit, looked at how they were dressing. I knew I was a bit ahead. But I also liked the idea of being different. Like, you know, I'm saying like, yeah, if y'all don't like this, they're gonna hate when I pull up in some skinny jeans for the skateboard.

You know, then just doing it for the fashion, aspect of it. But like, fastly realizing that me getting on the skateboard would change my whole outlook on life. Like, I think a lot of people don't realize when you skate, like, you look at everything different, your attention to detail on a day to day basis is totally different from like, just a smooth, well paved ground. You thinking about all the things you could do on that ground. Like man, I could power slide, just be so smooth on it, I could like bomb that hill and not have to push, you know what I'm saying? Or like, looking at a stairs that you're counting the stairs as you're walking up and out. Because it's like, okay, I can jump down.

It's like, you're looking at different architecture. And you're like, just your brain is going. But outside of just that, when you skate, you're now diving into so many other cultures, like the rock star culture. You know, I'm saying you're listening to rock music.

You're listening to like French jazz from the 60s. Like, yo, it's just, it's a melting pot of just culture, you know what I'm saying? It just rubbed off on you. Like you said, like, you were going to school with the D, with the New York people, and it rubbed off on you. Being around skaters of all races rubbed off on me totally. You know what I'm saying?

And it rolled over into the art for sure. Because if you like skate, it's a lot, bro. Because if you like skating, you like skating videos. And like the camera angles they get, it's a fisheye angle most of the time. So it's like kind of a warped image that you're looking at. I put that in my art all day. All day. So like my art is heavily inspired by skating, whether the topics show it or not, you know, a lot of people don't know that. Wow.

Rob Lee: So is there when you think of skateboarding and skating and sort of what's a, just a figure, what's the figure or the dick that sticks out that it's just like, I really appreciate their style, whether it be from the sort of athletic component, whether it be from the fashion component or just how they carry themselves. Because, you know, like I've been around, I've seen it in the music. I've seen it sort of culturally, even some of the restaurants that I go to now, like the people that own is like, yeah, I was a skater for a while. I'm like, yeah, I can see the boards.

I see the decks. And I interviewed one of the earlier in the series. I interviewed one of the owners of like one of the bigger skate parks here in Baltimore, like Charm City Skate. And we had a really tight conversation. So just kind of being around it and it's, you know, it hits so many different things. But what's the figure that comes to mind for you?

Tyreek Morrison: Man, off top, I'm gonna say from the filmers side of things, I'm gonna say William Strobeck, the filmer for Supreme. And he owns a board company called Violet Skateboards, man. I love how he films. And he got a lot of backlash for it at first, because it was so different.

But he kept to it and now a lot of people mimic it and skateboarding. So I'm gonna go with William Strobeck, his perspective is dope. And on board, I'm gonna say it's so many, but I'm gonna just throw out LeVar McBride off top. LeVar McBride was like one of the people skating at Air Force One.

You could tell after the session, he was going back to the hood, you know what I'm saying? And this is in the early days, like the late 90s, early 2000s, like he's at the height of his skateboarding career. But he's still skating in the fly shit that my uncles were, you know what I'm saying? And making it look so ill, though, like sagging his pants at a ridiculous, you know, pause, but like, it looks so fresh. It's like, bro, he shouldn't be on a skateboard. I always thought that was fresh, man.

Rob Lee: And I'm detecting sort of the theme too of just folks that are like outside of the box or in your instance, the way that you were describing your dress being ahead of the time, like just being off of center, right? And, you know, there's something about it. And, you know, I like to, if I'm gassing myself up, I like to say, like, I got a lot of, I got a lot of sums of this, a lot of people copying what I do, because I was a little early.

Tyreek Morrison: Man, look, you doing it right. You know, you doing it right. They following the leader, man.

Rob Lee: Get used to it. I'm like, look, you got to pay homage though. Like, look, where's my gift?

Tyreek Morrison: Yeah, like, you got a lot of suns backing up on a gift this Sunday. Look, it was like, what are we doing guys? Come on, man.

Rob Lee: So talking about the art of that, you know, working in collage, you touched on it early, working in collage as your primary medium, capturing those, those ordinary moments and ordinary people. But, you know, with that, that intent and that focus on black life. So why did collage and how did it come about?

Tyreek Morrison: Man, so I remember like, it's funny, I will always paint after like a crazy breakup or some shit. Like I just paint, you know what I'm saying? If I was after I skate, go home and paint. And I would just paint cartoons. That's like every human being knows how to paint or draw a cartoon.

Right. And I was just doing that as a therapeutic release. And then one day I painted something that was dope.

It was actually fresh. And like a lot of people are like, oh, bro, you should like take this serious. And I'm like, I can't get out what I really want to get out with these damn cartoons.

You know what I'm saying? So I started going around a city. I was inspired by this French artist. I want to butcher his name. I'm looking at his book right now. This old French artist, he would go around France ripping down wheat pastings off the wall and then layering them and like pulling away from them.

And it'd be crazy color schemes. But I got into that bag. I started ripping off wheat pastings downtown and applying them to my opinions. So like it'll be a cartoon with like a wheat pasting face. Like I remember it was a King Vaughn album that dropped and he had like a little kid as his album cover. I put that little kid face like pieces of faces on like Mickey Mouse body.

You know what I'm saying? And it looked kind of funky. It looked cool.

It like kind of gave it a different language. Like I could kind of speak through it. And I figured like, man, you know, I'm gonna start looking for wheat pastings with like full faces.

So I could like make reconstruct a full body. And, you know, I've got lost in that. Honestly, it started about like three years ago and I never stopped. Like never stopped. Still like this people hungry is all wheat pastings, you know, but yeah, it started with the wheat pastings just being outside skating around ripping down wheat pastings. And it's, you know, as I got into it, I realized like, bro, collages, then they're like, it's going to be a wild take again.

This is my theory. But I feel like collages the medium of life in a sense. Because if you think about it, like those clothes you said you were wearing back in a day, you, you were the camera, those clothes were collage pieces.

You put the shirt, match of the pants, you know what I'm saying? It's kind of like collages almost like a formula for like, even speaking in a sense, like our words are just collages collages of different words. But I don't know, I started doing collages. I started kind of like, like making little formulas and how it makes sense. You know what I'm saying? But yeah, kind of stuck with it.

Rob Lee: That sort of comparison with the clothes and the collage, presented the start in my head of, I think that works even with how you were describing sort of taking this piece or this element from that wheat paste and so on. It's the same as like, yeah, I got like a tank top on under this shirt and I removed the shirt. Now it's a whole different visual.

Tyreek Morrison: It's like moving a layer. Yeah. Exactly. It's just layers, bro. And it's crazy because it goes through clothes. If you even think about, I'll take you a little bit deeper like, bro, if you think about as a black man, right? Just black people in general, if you think about the scraps that we've been given to our life, right? Yeah. Think about the scraps that we had on a plantation, what we did with those scraps we made so full, collage greens. You know what I'm saying? Hip hop, sampling, sampling music, like how did he sample like all of that? You know, Osley brothers can make beats for biggie marriage and blinds. It's all sampling collages, it's scraps that you can make a masterpiece.

It's from the 80s. Yeah. So I feel like collage is like one of the mediums that like, once you figure out a, like the formula, kind of resonate with all different aspects of life, it'll be that much easier to put them together.

Rob Lee: Here's a, you know, playing with the food thing. This is a tangent I was not expecting, but I think it is interesting when you talk about the sort of scraps or even when there's a technique that's done, right?

Like a really skillful technique, but it's super black. That's diminished for a long time because I know that, you know, folks have this sort of deprecation of let's say mac and cheese. Mac and cheese is almost a perfect dish. It is a black dish and you have some like highfalutin black folk. Oh man, it's just, it's just noodles and cheese. It's not even as like, it's a maculant and we weren't even given anything.

We came up with that and it's sort of, we have had the scraps, we do that, we make that the way we make that pop. You know, oh, it's just street art. Oh, well, we like this black art now. So let's make this, these crazy sales or if we do that thing like, Hey, here's this thing that has let's say French technique using mac and macaroni and cheese. It's just like we have this approach. So we can do the full spectrum and it's something about it. It's just like, what part of it that you guys don't like or you feel weird about? Cause we got the full spectrum.

Tyreek Morrison: Exactly. They just, they don't like the part where it came from us and it's actually amazing. A thousand percent. They don't like it and today realized how they can benefit off of it.

Rob Lee: So often because you, you saw me in person, six, four, right? And you know, I'm a six, four black guy and I've been asked like, so why don't you do like a sports podcast?

Tyreek Morrison: Bro, oh my gosh. Yeah, I look, I give them the wild gas face. I give them the wild gas face. Bro, yo, I, oh my gosh, yo, you know, it's crazy for years because I have a lot of like ties to the music industry. Like skating for Lil Wayne, like young money. I was asked so many times on my life, why don't you rap? Start rapping. I'm like, bro.

Like why, why would I do that? Like, no, like you got, we got to think outside the box man. You know what I'm saying? Everybody not a rapper or a basketball player.

Rob Lee: No, no, no, no. See, look, I'd do something really goofy and like, oh yeah, I was playing lacrosse for a while. Just pull out the, just like, yes, you know, just, you know, just like, girl, you know, I'm going to the Olympics for curling, you

Tyreek Morrison: know, and I'll be like random for it. Like, yeah, long jump.

Rob Lee: Yeah, right, right. So with those sort of ordinary moments that are captured, like, you know, and relatable too, like you touched on sort of like new, right? And sort of using the brush and in the shoot, I've been there. I've been there. That's spot. Like I remember this, this period, probably when I was trying to keep up with the New York homies, it was a lot of Jordan's coming out. I gotta brush these joints.

I was scheduling time scheduling time to clean. So having those ordinary moments that are super relatable, why those moments rather than celebrity or spectacore, some of those, those trappings that feel, and maybe I'm leading, but that feel more trendy of, you know, I don't see too many crowns popping up on your work if you know what I mean here.

Tyreek Morrison: Oh my gosh. Yeah, right. It's man, it goes back to just like that authenticity, like, like how you want to, I feel like everything is going to sound crazy again. But I feel like most of the things that we do, like, throughout life, like just like making ends meet or like just putting together that meal. Like, I feel like a lot of stuff that we do on a daily basis is like, it needs that spotlight. You know, I'm saying like, it's so much stuff I witnessed throughout my childhood that we all share memories up throughout our childhoods, even though we might not have lived in the same state, like, that I feel like it needs spotlight, like it needs to be told on canvas, like we should go to museums and see these stories.

You know what I'm saying? Just as well as we see like, you know, random people playing in parks or laying by lakes and shit, like, it's like, bro, I want to see the like, I don't know, I want to see the candy lady. I would like to see the candy lady.

Somebody's reference, like, you know, somebody's perspective of the candy lady, we've all had them, you know, or like, Rich Auntie, I did this piece called Rich Auntie. We all have that one Auntie with no kids, but she's like, you know, say that she likes you. She's going to give you some bread.

She might take you out to eat, shopping, if you're a girl, like, man, I like telling those stories because it's great. I like finding really impressive how much, like how many people relate to these stories. Like that's always like a kick, like, because I'll be in a studio just working and like, oh, I'm gonna sign a line on this, this money spread, you know what I'm saying? Or I had this piece called Hot Cheetos and Capri Sun, this kid who sold candy and scope, it was a crowd around his piece. Everybody was like, Oh my God, I understand this.

Like, I was not expecting to see this kid in scope, you know? I like to sign a line on those stories that, you know, aren't celebrities or aren't like well known to the masses on TV, man.

Rob Lee: That speaks to, I did a, this comes a day removed from me doing this, this panel, leading this panel on independent media. And that speaks to kind of what I was touching on. So, you know, in this nearly 1000 episodes, I'm not like, I'm connecting and talking with people either that more and more that I've met because I've been doing it for so long, or that I just generally, I just find interesting. I'm not looking for, all right, who has the biggest name that I can like, try to like get the rub from them, if you will, and get this thing over by leveraging so to their name and notoriety and their trending. And it's just like, if that happens, that's fine, but it's not like I'm looking for the big name.

I'm looking for someone who I think is interesting. And even when I was at like, like Future Fair, which goes into the next couple of questions that I have, I, I remember I was taking notes and I was like, what's the story? That's what I was doing. I was writing it down from that perspective. And when I talked to my art friends who are based up there later, they're giving me their take on what they're seeing as artists and in sort of like, oh, I like this work or a lot of paintings or whatever it is. I'm there, like, I'm looking at it from the quality, but I'm looking at it from the artist as well. You have someone that's really technically proficient at something that's good, but the work doesn't speak to you. It's like, oh man, this is, this is great.

This looks amazing. But what's the story behind it? You had like, oh, this is interesting. And, you know, as you know, talked to touch on earlier, you and I like chatted it up a bit. And I was like, Oh, absolutely. I think when I was on the train back, I was like, I had to hit this dude up real quick. What's this information? Because you can lose.

Tyreek Morrison: That's hard. That's hard. That's hard.

Rob Lee: And I'm a journalist. My first interview, man. Yo, I think that formula that says working with

Tyreek Morrison: is so important in today's time where everybody's cloud chasing and giving us interviews that we've seen a million times. You know what I'm saying? Like, bro, you'd be surprised how many diamonds you're doing interviews with that are going to age so amazing. You know what I'm saying? Like, he got to interview this early with someone so like, oh, yeah, I'm telling you that formula is fire. Appreciate it. Fire for sure.

Rob Lee: So talking about the, let's talk about the work that you and I were like just talking through a little bit, you know, we spoke about one of your pieces, you know, at Future Fair back in May, where you mentioned that you were using like real dirt to capture this like effect in this, this image reflecting baseball and sliding into home. So is there one, talk about that for a bit because I know that that was labor intensive and like right now. But also talk about the significance of the materials that you're sourcing and using in your work.

Tyreek Morrison: No, for sure. That piece that you're referring to, man, I actually didn't put a title on that piece. I left it as untitled because it was one of them pieces where I was getting cooked.

Like, the pieces fighting back, like for real. First off, like, I don't know why I just try to make it hard for myself. Like, I was like, yo, I'm only going to use paper, this gray spray paint that I only have a little bit of this pencil that I have to sharpen with a razor because I don't have many pencils over here. And yeah, that's it.

I think I might have like a little bit of tan spray paint, but it wasn't the right tan. But it bro, I was trying to like get the, I have put an umpire in the back of that kid. Yeah. And once I did that, I destroyed the piece. I was like, oh, shit. This looks really bad.

I have to put a floor now. And I was like, bro, I don't know how to paint that well. But I'm gonna figure this out. So what I did was I started shadow like shading it with a pencil rubbing it away, looking bad the whole time. Spray paint. It was such a war row that I was like, bro, I need to put brown or red in there.

And I was like, I refuse to go to the store and get paint that I'm not going to use. So I was like, man, let me take a picture of it outside. And as I was outside taking a picture, I looked down and saw an ant pal. And I was like, yo, the red clay is all out here.

Pick it started smearing it on the piece. And it was, it came along so crazy. Like, bro, and I was like, fourth quarter to like last second, I was like, bro, I'm gonna turn this around and leave it. That brought it together perfectly.

Rob Lee: Was that in Atlanta or? Yep. Right here in my it's one of those things that here's something like I had an ex girlfriend who she ruined a pair of white shoes because of that Georgia red clay as she kept saying,

Tyreek Morrison: bro, it does not come out easy. It doesn't come out easy. At least it's staying like, bro, to stain it for like for life for real. It's nasty.

Rob Lee: So you mentioned that that's that's just something that even ties to like, this is just part of the if you want to go hokey with it, you know, it's like, yeah, you know, this is just part of the roots of Atlanta, you know, you could do that.

Tyreek Morrison: Oh, for sure. For sure. I could easily, I could easily be dramatic with it easily. But at the end of the day, man, it was just working with the scraps. That's all it is. Right with the scrap.

Rob Lee: Yeah. And so you touched on sort of the collage pieces, the sort of those weed pace. Is there any other and maybe it is the scraps, right? But is there any other sort of consideration that you're making when you're sourcing those materials? Because, you know, I think I'm getting it that it's definitely like, you know, work what you got, work with those scraps really figured out. And also sort of there's a self-taught component to, you know, that's totally self taught.

Tyreek Morrison: So totally, totally. That's the illness part about it. That's when you know, you're doing something right when it comes together like that. Because my dad, you know, he's a he worked with oil acrylic.

He never really benched into the collage lane. So it's like, once I started doing that, he was like, Oh, you're on your own. He was like, he was just teaching me how to paint skin because I'm like, man, I want to learn how to paint humans. And he was like, teach me.

I'm like, man, I want to this lane is already taken up so much. You know, saying so. Once I picked up the paper, he's like, All right, let me see what you got with that. Like you're on your own. That he wrote me a bit and you're like, So yeah, no, it's beautiful. Definitely self taught. They still learning.

Rob Lee: That's one of the things. And I'm going to move into sort of these, these couple of questions here related to, you know, that that's sort of three generations. Now, you know, we talk about dad, son, and now you got it, you got a kid who have you. And, you know, it is always interesting when you have that, that moment to either do something with your dad or show your dad what you're doing, I guess.

And, you know, it never changes. So like, I do outside of this, I do a movie review podcast. And I have my dad come on just randomly to sit with me. I was like, yo, I want to do a review of this old John Claude Van Dan movie.

You know, I think it was like, impact. And the reason I wanted to do that, he used to rent tapes from like blockbusters back in the day. And we will always have like fish fries and watching action movies. He would get like four or five action. That's what we used to do every Friday.

Tyreek Morrison: That's hard, man. Rest in peace, blockbuster.

Rob Lee: That's hard. And, you know, we said that my dad's a veteran, right? We sit here, have him next to me in the studio, and I'm trying to go back and forth as a podcaster. And I'm like, yeah, so the scene in this movie, he was like, daring the headlights. He was like, I know what you're doing. I respect it.

I have no idea what I'm doing here. And it was so funny. I was like, I got the veteran shot. And he tried and then he's like, yeah, man, man, that was kicking a lot of ass. And that was like, I hear you.

Tyreek Morrison: We're gonna be real chill with it. That's fire, man. This is such a moment being able to bring your dad on board. What you're doing, man?

Rob Lee: Yeah. And, you know, and he's seen me, seen me do the podcast live, just the other stuff that I've done. And it's just like, he's not completely familiar with it. But also you can see there's that degree of pride and appreciation of it. And it's just like, yo, you like it. I love it. But also I'm a little bit like, Hey, am you doing that?

That's what you do. So talk a bit about that relationship with you and your dad. Because like when I met you, I met him right after and that was just like a crazy combo.

Tyreek Morrison: Yeah, man. Now it's just organic, yo. It's like, of course, naturally throughout my life, he's been like trying to give me like, you know, tap into my artistic side. But I like, let's take a backseat to skateboarding and DJing and everything for years. And it wasn't until like, to be honest, it wasn't until I started pulling down on we pastes where like, I just dove into it deep. I'm talking about quit everything cold and toast turkey because I felt like I finally had a way to express my thoughts and my perspectives. So it's like, it's real dope. He prowled every step of the way. It surprises him how fast I'm kind of like blowing up, I guess, but it's kind of like one of the things that I look at. I feel like he looks at it like this too. Of course. It's about time. Like, yeah. Like, of course, like it's about time.

Rob Lee: I was waiting for you to be like, it's about time. We knew that. We knew that.

Tyreek Morrison: Yeah, like, all right, bro. Let's get it.

Rob Lee: Oh, yeah, let's keep it rolling. Let's keep it rolling.

Tyreek Morrison: Exactly. Exactly. Yeah, look, about time you listen, but when are you going to listen? That's the part. That's the part because it's like, I'm like, okay, if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it my way.

Yeah. I'm that type. Of course, I'm that type. Of course, they would want me to paint, but I have to do it my way.

Well, of course, I'd be with the gallery that you're with, but no, I have to do it my way and then we can collab with the gallery. You know what I'm saying? So it's one of them things where still we be bumped ahead of it, but it's never necessary. It's always like productive. You know what I'm saying? Absolutely.

Rob Lee: Absolutely. Because there is that sort of subtle competitive thing that happens. I know that happens with my life. Yeah, I think my way of doing this is right. Well, I'm going to do it my way.

Tyreek Morrison: We'll see. We'll see. We'll see. Exactly, bro. It's definitely the competitive stuff with the like, who was waved at the right way. But yo, the beauty of it is I was actually living with my dad like for a year when I started doing the wheat pastings and that competitive nature, like living in a house with my father, like just us two, you know what I'm saying? Four bedroom house, every room is filled with canvases because we both had a competitive thing where it's like, yo, what you working on?

All right, this is what I'm working on. We both blast in different genres of music throughout the house and we're like, we wouldn't talk the whole day. Like, bro, we both have like ridiculous work hours. So we wouldn't speak to like three, four in the morning. Like when we both kind of like taking a break, maybe about to go to sleep, maybe about to go back in.

But I wouldn't even say it's a competitive nature. It's just like we're feeding off each other, man. Like, I can honestly say staying in that house, me and him, 800 Betsy Ross trail, that house definitely like sparked something in both of us. We just started taking chances without working, like feeding off each other energy.

Rob Lee: When you're sequestered away, you're like, I got to get this in. And, you know, one of the things before I move into the second part of this question, it's a bit where whatever, like my dad goes out of his way to tell, like, you know, I always been doing sort of both things, the journalist thing, the day job, the journalist thing, day job. And my dad would meet different people. He's like, yeah, you know, my son, he runs whatever the company is, he runs the department.

And I was just like, that's not even accurate. But it's like he elevates me to a level. I'm waiting for him one day when I'm like doing this is the only gig. And he's like, yeah, you know, my son, he made microphones. It's like, that's not accurate.

Tyreek Morrison: Oh, yeah, bro. Because he builds it up so much. I was like, yeah, you're going to disappoint some people. Yeah. Bro, parents got to do that. That's like an important fact that they're going to do that. It's a proud thing.

Rob Lee: So, so building on that, you know, how has becoming a parent yourself influenced the way that you think about legacy storytelling and the subjects that you choose? Because, you know, it's a thing when, when that click happens, it's like, I got to do this. I got to think about it with a little bit more consideration.

Tyreek Morrison: Yo, honestly, I haven't reached that part yet where it put like, you know, shit in my narrative with the work. But I can most definitely say that it's like, I was already a workaholic before Marlee was born. But I understand the importance of time like no other now. So it's like the days when I have my daughter, I'm not working.

I'm not even on my phone. It's just like, I'm fully in the moment with her. But the days when I don't have her, bro, my work schedule is insane. Like, bro, I push it to the limit every like full day work. Don't leave the studio. Like this room, I'm in. I don't leave it. Even if I'm not working, I'm studying. You know what I'm saying?

Or like, I'm watching an art documentary or looking up like some type of interview that they don't have on YouTube, like we were talking about. But yeah, no, she definitely like, like, like refilled that battery in my back. But like an extra set of batteries like it's dangerous how much I work. I love it. I love it. But she hasn't shifted the narrative on the word to shut like, you know what I'm saying? I feel like I got to stay true to the message that I'm trying to get out to the world. Yeah. Can't let it shift too much.

Rob Lee: And I think that's a big piece of it. It has the distinction. It's just like, you know, you have a moment that you're like, all right, like I'm doing this like for the most part, not much has changed and sort of how I go about these interviews and so on. There's been a progression.

There's been perhaps a polishing of how I do them. But I think in some of the conversations and what people see from it, I start to acknowledge so the importance of it. And as you were touching on earlier, it's like, Oh, right, you know, these are maybe some of the first interviews that someone has done or I hold a certain like, all right, let me make sure this is let me put forth a good effort. Let me even more than I normally would. Let me make sure because I feel like a little responsibility, especially for artists that this is their first conversation. It's not changing too much, but I'm thinking about it of, all right, in two years and three years, what does it look like?

What does it sound like? And even last year, I did what I call the run it back series. And I was really like focusing on artists that I'd interviewed early in the game. So like going back to 2019, 2020, and then seeing like over the last five years where you're at in your career, and I can see the delineation and like how I was and interviews men was like, man, that's a whack question or that's not a right question. And now like having time removed and like now in some ways almost revisiting the crime scene of like, all right, let me do a better interview this time. I'm not going to the first one was like a little man on my part and really trying to but I think understanding the potential responsibility is not the same as current has not the same in that shift or that sort of bit of consideration.

But I think there is something that you're keeping it the same, but sort of the intention may be a little bit different or you look at it a little different. And one of the pieces of feedback that I got probably about four years ago was in that year that was 2022. I did almost an interview a day. And buy it 300 plus right by and you know, someone was just like, yeah, when are you going to take a break because you're going to burn yourself out? And I was just like, that makes sense. So I started to think about like, all right, how do I fit what I'm doing in it and not just, you know, initially just rejecting it. So I was like, all right, let's find out what that sweet spot is. Like I can do a lot and I can work off of that and understand that without changing it too much, but at least listen to the folks because it's coming from a position of I'm caring about what you're doing. And I was like, let's see what it is.

And really fight figuring out what that sweet spot is. It's not 322. You've had 322 interviews in a year. It might be a hundred. It might be 150, but being able to spend a bit more time with them, being able to spend a bit more time in process. So one of the things.

Tyreek Morrison: You would do two interviews. Sorry for coming here. You're doing two interviews a day.

Rob Lee: At a point, sometimes I was doing 18 in a week, six in a day.

Tyreek Morrison: So I don't like how long do your interviews last? Like an hour? About an hour. Yeah. Man, yeah. Not two interviews a day. There is more than 22 more hours in that day. Oh, I'm a full time day job. My gosh.

Rob Lee: Ah, so yeah, it was, it was becoming a big comfort zone and like 14 hours in that day.

Tyreek Morrison: Yeah. And it's still a thing that can be done. And you know, and I didn't have a problem with it, but I think sort of, and it goes to what you were touching on earlier about like, you know, being where you're at, like you're in the studio, you're working towards it. And I was just like, all right, I'm rusty because I'm only doing interviews.

I haven't had a chance to go to a gallery to go to a show to check out. Oh yeah. So those are the things that were being left. And instead of me just spending time and making an output, right? I was like, let me do the content and feel good with whatever the number is, but really doing it with a bit more intention and being able to go to like a future fair or being able to, let me watch this documentary.

Tyreek Morrison: Let me get some insights from it. Keep your head to the streets. Yeah.

Rob Lee: Yeah. And that's the thing that got lost. And I think realizing some of the people I'm having on us, like, let me do my job to be better at what I do. It was all in that process. Always looking at his process. Yeah.

Tyreek Morrison: It's still working.

Rob Lee: It's still working. Oh, I'm always working. Yeah. Oh, I was about to say, man, like, man, Rob, and I tell you my, like my theory on work is, it's so different because like, um,

Tyreek Morrison: I got heavily influenced by like my dad, who I, you know, grew up, my earliest memories. He's working, working all through the night, blasting, Wu-Tang or whatever. But then like, as I reached adulthood, like graduating high school, I went on a road with my bro Wayne, Lil Wayne, right? And that's where I seen not only like, you know, I've seen the benefits of hard work on my dad's side, my parents' side. They got us from the shelter to projects to the mansion to, you know, I'm saying so on and so forth, through, you know, hard work. But like going on the road with Wayne and seeing like, oh, this dude doesn't stop working.

He doesn't stop working. Like it's studio. Okay. Now we've got a video shoot. We're going to go skate. We might have a concert, but his home is the studio. And he's not just in there, you know, recording. He's in there listening to beats feature.

You know what I'm saying? Like he's working and it doesn't stop. Like I've never seen him not smoking weed and I never see him not working. It's one of the things where it rubs off on you. It's like, man, this is where hard work gets you. Seriously, not from the materialistic aspect of it to the notoriety aspect of it. Like, you know, this is one of the greatest rappers of all time. And to this day, he's still in a studio.

He doesn't leave. And it's like, I don't know that rubbed off on me. It's like, man, I love the aspect of working on something and like, you know, I'm saying just working. Like, I don't know, it's something about working when you're working on something that you love,

Rob Lee: not, you know, it doesn't feel like work. It just feels like a mission that you could complete a part of it, but you'll never truly complete that whole mission. You know what I'm saying? I love that part of it.

No, I'm 100% in agreement. And, you know, like, like just today, like I had to do, it was just like networking, but also it was being at a conference and that was, but it's specifically at an arts related conference. Yeah. There's like, oh, so I'm doing multiple jobs here. I'm like doing some edits and all of that and having a home studio. When I bought my house, I was just like, I'm going to be a two bearer.

I'm converting one of them rooms into the studio. Man, listen, important. It's that and when you love it and when you do it, because I've had folks, when I mentioned sort of like the amount of stuff that I do, they look at me like, Ew, that's too much.

Tyreek Morrison: They don't understand it. It's just right. Whatever the number is, and that's the important thing of it. Like if, you know, because I've had this conversation, you know, before I move into these last two questions of the real questions, I've had this conversation with photographers and I would ask them like, yo, what's the best camera you have? And I remember listening to the one of the guys mentioned to me.

He's like the one I have on me. Whatever that's that's camera. And I've applied that with having recording gear.

Like right now, well, before we started, I sent over some audio that I recorded from the panel that I did and I'm going to turn it into a podcast. And so I had that with me. Yeah, I had that gear. My gear is such that I can put in a fanny pack and I can get a whole recording studio situation done. That's hard, man.

Rob Lee: That's hard. And then the other piece of it is, it's just. Like, you know, whatever feels right. So like I've had conversations with folks who are painters and they're like, yeah, you know, I may give myself a goal of, you know, I want to do 12 paintings this year or whatever the number is. And I'd ask, like, do you feel like accomplished if you hit 13 or do you feel bad if you hit nine? And it's like the numbers, the number, whatever I get and what I don't feel comfortable with it's, it's on me. And I like that sort of, unless it's like some sort of commission thing, that's a little different. But if you're creating and you're making and you're hitting your goals, that's for you to decide what's acceptable for you. Yep. Yep.

Tyreek Morrison: It's all, it's all about perspective. You know, some people form a success is it's like success. Like whatever success is to you, like I can never be that person that just like puts a number on a amount of pieces I'm a pain or credit. Like ever. It's like, I'm not gonna lie. Like I'm a cinema studio and I'm only gonna show any of the work that I do. Like that's the, that's the, it was part, like I'm looking at like a host, like it's eight pieces to my right of like these military kids. And it's like, I look at that like an album. It's like, I'll drop it when it's time to drop, but for now, we're just gonna sit over there.

You know what I'm saying? Unless the collector comes through studio visit and press me to buy it. But the number of pieces then like, nah, I'm a Sagittarius. I can't do that. Oh, Sagittarius.

Rob Lee: You tell me.

Tyreek Morrison: Oh, you're lucky. That's why you're doing what you do. That's why you're creative, bro. You're optimistic and that's where the work actually comes from, bro.

Rob Lee: That's true. That's true. That's true. Something like, bro. So let me hit you with these last two real questions. And here's the first one, you know, what are, you know, one to two sort of like top tier, like things that you do to build and sustain like your career, you know, as an, as an artist, a self taught artist. But like, what do you, what would you say you do? Like, what's the primary thing to build and sustain?

Tyreek Morrison: Work and study. Work and study. And, um, like, whatever, like, for me personally, like, I'll surround myself completely with my interests, like within art. Like, so I'm like right now in my studio, I'm surrounded with books, like materials, equipment, scraps of paper all over the floor that I may, may or may not use, you know what I'm saying?

But everything around me, I'm surrounded totally. I'm totally consumed in my craft. And that, that keeps the inspiration going. And I just say like, Oh, you know, I'm always inspired, but I damn sure I'm always inspired. You know what I'm saying? When I step into the studio, man, but yeah, a big part of it is just surrounding myself totally and what I listen to BPMs, like what I'm taking in.

You know what I'm saying? Sonically, it has to like inspire me to work. So I just like totally like consume myself with it. It's a murder.

Yep. Even the people who I speak to, it's like, if you don't, um, and not everybody has to be an artist, but you have to respect the fact that, you know, I'm like, I'm doing this. So if I'm talking to somebody or say somebody keeps hitting me up to go skateboard, a lot of my friends, it took them a while to realize like TJ is not coming back outside. You know what I'm saying?

It's like, if you're somebody who's going to call me about something that's like totally just like left field or ignorant, I don't, you know, I don't pick up. I just surround myself with this totally because I understand a mission at hand. You know what I'm saying? Whatever you do, you got to surround yourself with that. Like, you know, a jack of all trades is a king of none.

Rob Lee: Just, and I think, I think when you're around at your mercy, your depth, you are giving yourself the capacity to create. It's like the Pharrell thing, right? Where it's a boy, P, uh, where it's sort of this thing where it's just like, you know, when that opportunity is this paraphrase, but when that opportunity comes, just make sure you're ready for it.

You know, and I think there's so many people that I see that quietly I look at it. I was like, yeah, you make the leaves. You're a fake art. You're a fake art. You made a few pieces. It's great. But also, I don't know if you lit this.

Tyreek Morrison: God, man, it's a lot of that these days, man, especially with social media, where it's like, man, it looks good. You know, you're not a market. You're a hell of a marketer, but it's like the conversation is like, like, you know, that they're not truly like a student of it or like they don't really value the like legends who came before them and that, you know, that area. Yeah, man, you got to really like put in that work, put in that pain, man. It's important.

Rob Lee: It's funny. It's almost as if you have the questions or maybe it's just a natural fellow, the conversation, but we're at our last question and you referenced social media a moment ago and this question relates to social media. So how has social media played a role in sort of building your audience outside of that traditional art world system or those traditional art world systems?

Tyreek Morrison: Man, I'm still early in it. Like I'm still super duper early in the social media thing when it comes to my art, like, you know, growing up, I would skate and post my clips on social media and it leads to sponsorships and endorsements, but I didn't really value skateboarding, like how about you find like my art, like it's kind of more sacred, like I respected more. So I could see, I see how social media is working out for a lot of people. And I know it would work out for me once I like really dive in. But right now, like, um, I really like, I'm more of a like in person, like getting my work out there in person, like networking, you know what I'm saying? It's all about who you know, not really just solely on Instagram just yet or social media is just yet, like, but again, I see how it's working. I just see like social media is kind of like, I look at it like a big ass buffet. Like I see it as a big buffet of like all the artists that you could possibly want to bite off of. Yeah. Like it's a lot of trends and it's like, man, it's so, it's so crazy because I see trends like, um, you familiar with Barkley Hendricks?

No. Oh man, bro, you got to look into Barkley Hendricks, bro. Bro, you got to type that Barkley Hendricks is that too. But bro, I do a lot of my collages without background because of Barkley Hendricks. Right.

He would paint his, uh, subjects, but the color schemes with the blank background, like it'll be just a flat color background. Nice. Yeah. Yeah.

Like he would do it so ill and I'm seeing a lot of his kids running around on social media and I'm pretty sure they don't know who he is. You get me? Like, yeah. So it's like Instagram is like, yeah, you could post your work and you know, it might aspire somebody that, you know, go do it just like you, but it's like after a while, bro, so many people mimic it and kind of get the origins of that style and get lost. That's what I'm afraid of.

Rob Lee: That's, I got this, this piece of it, uh, maybe this insight, if you will. I saw him recently. I'm not, I'm not a fan boy. So I did, I didn't go over. I was in DC a couple of weeks ago and I saw one of my favorite rappers currency there and

Tyreek Morrison: he's just outside smoking a joint at random due to what have you. I should say something. I'm not going to say I should go up to the judge. I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to keep it rolling.

But one of the things that I got from, from it, it's just like, you know, it was a lyric, he's just like, I write my winter raps in June and it's just like, I'm not trying to be silly. Well, what's in front of me at this very moment. And I take that into, I teach podcasts and some of my other things.

I'm always working, right? And I don't listen to podcasts that are similar to what I do. I don't really listen to interview podcasts because I think like, you know, you lose something and you know, there's already so many different things out there, whether it be the social media, but it'd be the, the AI that can take away from that authentic voice. And I see this as a euphemism, but I'm selling authenticity. You know, sort of what that brand looks like. So I have to be that because I'm not a sales person.

Rob Lee: Yeah, I'm just a real, real person. So I have to really live in that. And maybe if something slides into how my questions are written or how I'm approaching things, that's great. But when I start talking to like one of these odd niggas, I get real tight. I get real tight. I'm like, oh man, so we think about the spaces and the transformative. Like, shut up.

Tyreek Morrison: That's not how you call it, bro. Like, bro, like, man, who am I speaking to? God damn AI. They be sound of AI. Yes. For real. Yes. They sound of AI. Now you said to pull it up on currency. What's your favorite currency song or album? Mixed tape.

Rob Lee: I really like overcoop. Yeah. And full metal on there is such a good joint. It's good.

Tyreek Morrison: God, yeah. What's the one with him? He made prodigy rest in peace of the late great man prodigy track on that album. And that's on that joint.

Rob Lee: I'm blanking on the name of it, but that is because I like when I saw

Tyreek Morrison: him, I definitely pulled up a Spotify. Yeah, yeah, man, bro, jetlight, bro, trademark, the skydiver, rowdy. What happened to trademark? Trademark rowdy was hard. Trademark was hard. I don't know what happened to them, but yeah, not. I definitely started skateboarding to currency, bro. Oh, yeah. I used to play big role, that jetlight shit, man. But now how you feel about the whole Instagram artist thing right now?

Rob Lee: The Johnny Depp thing?

Tyreek Morrison: Just the art, like just the art, like just artists posting their work on Instagram, like the influx of art. Just how do you feel about it?

Rob Lee: I think I'll speak macroly where it comes to the technology and art. I think that Instagram is an extension of that. I think scarcity is created and it's that's another way to kind of grift from what you're doing. It's just like, Hey, where you're posting that. That's how you get traffic. That's how you get attention. We can turn that button on for you to get more attention, more views to try to challenge the scarcity thing.

If I post every day and people will likely buy it potentially. That's true. But that's sort of what the idea is. And maybe you show some of the behind the scenes stuff. I know people were doing that for a bit.

Tyreek Morrison: So, you know, a lot of people doing that. Yeah. Giving away the process of what have you, right? It gets crafty after a while when you do that. Yeah. In my opinion.

Rob Lee: Like I think, I think a lot of it is literally oriented around how can we extract the recipe from you? Cause we already have the visual and we've already in some ways told folks that it's deprecated.

We could just make this like, you know, I talk with my partner all the time about this and she'd ask you just like, so why is it that the, the guy there owns the tech company wants to be the MMA guy wants to be the rapper wants to be us like, because they went all of it and we gave the shit away. Literally.

Tyreek Morrison: And I get real excited about it. Listen, it didn't get mad and didn't get mad, bro. It's like, give it away, bro. I tell people all the time, like, I remember, um, I won't drop any names, but I remember some work that me and my brother did, like ended up in Kanye's mood board, like on his mood board. And it's like, you know, shout out to Kanye.

He'd go, you feel me? But imagine how many of these brands are looking at artists like color schemes? Or like, oh, I like how they positioned that on the cam, like the canvas.

Like this is a mood board. We're going to bite this, whether they know it or not, bro. Instagram is a lot of big dogs taking bites out of artists. They don't know it yet. What are you like, that's a part of it.

Rob Lee: Oh, one of the things I got, and I'm going to hit you with these rapid fire questions real quick. That was a good thing. But I got this book. I have it in here somewhere, but it's like, you, I know you know about it. It's this, uh, it's basically this Japanese, like color wheel book and it's showing you which color is kind of go together. And how that matches up.

It's like a pretty famous book. I was just like, I'm not going to grip anybody else's thing. I don't really need the inspo. I rather get it from there. And you said something earlier that you get it, bro. You said something earlier and I'm looking in my space right now. I'm in my studio and I have six, I think seven paintings in my house that I did when I 10 years ago and I was like, let me drop dive back into painting and four of them, no, five of them are overly like emotional. They was just like, Oh, you know, this is me processing my feelings on this particular thing.

This is about my brother and me. This is about a breakup and the breakup one, it looks like the low end theory sort of album cover from tribe. So it's like, yo, you know, the thing is right there and this is for me and it's in my space and I get a lot of joy from something that I made that's sitting here. That's not audio. That's not me recording something.

Tyreek Morrison: No, bro, I want to see your artwork. Oh, send me that. Send me that Japanese book as well. I want to see that. I don't think I have that. I got you. I'll send it over. Yo, you had said something early, like you don't look at other podcasters. Yeah.

Rob Lee: I avoid the interview podcast.

Tyreek Morrison: Bro, you know, it's crazy. Like, bro, I like, you know, I know about black fine art. I know Ernie Barnes, Cadarene Nelson, Frank Morrison, Wack. But bro, when I tell you, I don't study them. I don't study them.

I feel like they they bit off of us so much that we should take from them and see if they see if they catch it. It won't be as many trends, bro. It won't be as many trends. You get me? Like, I feel like that's important.

It's important. Like right now I'm heavily inspired by the artist for the Gorillaz. His name is James something, but heavily inspired heavily. His work is amazing. Nobody would ever know unless they heard this,

Rob Lee: you know, I remember one of my buddies, he'd mentioned to me, he's a he's a black dude painter. What have you does portraits and he's doing some don't don't work on a big show for the later in this year. And he will mention some of his influences and they're like all like European dudes. And, you know, he gets some some some crap about it. He's like, oh, you're not black enough. He's like, I'm Jamaican, you know, he's just like I'm like I'm a giant Jamaican.

Tyreek Morrison: That part, though. Oh, that part too. He's Jamaican. He's not black like I'm like, you know, correct me if I'm wrong. Is black an American thing?

Rob Lee: I feel like it is. I feel like that's I'm sure every country that has folks from the diaspora has their version of that, I guess. But I think when it comes to you're a black and at whatever your your role is, you're a black painter, there's a certain expectation you're a black podcaster, AKA why don't you go to force and it's something interesting in it because he identifies as a black person.

He's like, that's in there. But the fact that you guys have an idea of what a black artist should make, he's very telling, you know, it is, it is man.

Tyreek Morrison: I feel like and I could be very wrong. I feel like black, like, oh, you're black, like not your African, you're black. I feel like I could be wrong. I feel like the origins is like totally rooted in American, you know, I'm saying, like just Western civilization. I feel like, like him being Jamaican, I'm black.

He's Jamaican, you know, I'm saying, or like, like, I don't know. It gets deep, bro. I feel like the black thing, like they use it as a blanket statement to cover all everyone who origins might have started in Africa. But it's like at the end of the day, like a Jamaican that's from Jamaica doesn't have the same views or reference points as a black man such as not helping yourself from America. Like I feel like people got to kind of stop doing that unless that person was born in America as a black man.

Rob Lee: You know what I'm saying? It's I think it gets tricky because I have a whole other sort of idea around who gets the American attachment, the American hyphen. Oh, and you have the African American. Never been Africa, bro. Bro, you get me, bro, you get me, bro.

Tyreek Morrison: But I seriously got like, I, you dropped me up in Africa. I'm going to be lost and scared. I've never been, I don't know anybody there. It's like, bro, that's why if I'm being real, like people look at me like I'm crazy sometimes when I say like, I'm not an African American, but I'm just black. Yeah. And I kind of like, I kind of like feel like we should push that harder as ignorant as it sounds, bro.

Rob Lee: Like as ignorant as it sounds. It's a taking ownership of it. And I think it's a conversation around sort of like self identity. And I think, you know, it's a preset. Like we have these folks who, and this is a black person who told him his work wasn't black enough, which was really a strange conversation. Because he's from here. His parents are Jamaican. He's from here. And that's.

Tyreek Morrison: Oh, yeah. Right. It's one of those things. And it's just like, all right, what are we, what are we doing here? And, but, you know, deeper conversation that we're not going to fix today. So I want to move into these last two pieces of business here. The first one, rapid fire, first one. You don't want to, you don't want to overthink these. These are ridiculous questions, but they're fun questions. So you're based in Atlanta.

I got to ask you this. What's the most like outrageous Atlanta food that you've tried? You can hear about a lot of different things, you know, you can have the fruity pebble chicken and waffles with the cognac reduction and the lemon pepper sauce. But something that you've tried. I know you're a picky eater, as you told me earlier. Yeah, I'm going to say peach, peach, cobbler, fried chicken, tender waffles with like vanilla drizzle. And it might have done some Hennessy on it, for sure.

Rob Lee: That is a wild combination. That's something my brother would get.

Tyreek Morrison: Yeah. Atlanta brunch would get weird. They get weird.

Rob Lee: Yeah. I mean, I hear people, people jump on tables there too.

Tyreek Morrison: Literally, Hookah was definitely smoked that morning. Hookah was definitely smoked that morning.

Rob Lee: Now, this is the second one. This is the second and last one. So you're Tyreek, right? So, you know, who's the most famous Tyreek? I think of Tyreek Winners. I think of Tyreek Hill, you know, you know, I think of Tyreek Morrison. Who's the most famous? You know, who's the best Tyreek? If you we have the best Chris as well. So who's the best Tyreek?

Tyreek Morrison: Tyreek Morrison, for sure. Bye-bye. He's the best and most famous.

Rob Lee: Shea, look, he's going to have the longest lasting impact.

Tyreek Morrison: For sure. We're reporting live from the future.

Rob Lee: See you there. We did it. Yep. So we deviate a little bit and have a little fun there. And I want to go back into sort of this last real piece of business. And this is my sage advice question. And this is sort of that, that, that, that advice that you, you personalize and you like connected a way that you can give back to the person listening to, you know, it's a lot of artists, a lot of people that are really trying to get their stuff off. So you want from creating work in relative obscurity to selling out exhibitions and exhibiting internationally. Many times we're creating, making work in that same obscurity, waiting for that opportunity and not sure if it's going to work out.

So lean on your experience and that ascent. What advice would you share for someone who's like, I don't know if it's going to work out or making work, but I'm not sure.

Tyreek Morrison: Man, yo, my advice and I'm not, I'm not where I want to be at just yet. Like I said, that mission is a, you know, it's a long game, but I'm going to say this, like anybody out there listening, if you feel it in your gut, that you're supposed to be doing something that nobody else may seem to relate to, bro, dive deep into it, dive deep into it, man, even if it's not popular right now, dive deep into it and like really like fully consume yourself with that craft and work, study, find a formula in it, man.

Like if you see somebody on Instagram doing it, look at how they're doing it and do it in your way. You know what I'm saying? Like a lot of people like they're not, they're not like studying. You got to study, you know, you got to study. But my, my, my biggest advice I give you is go hard, go hard, man. If they don't get it, they'll get it later.

You know what I'm saying? Trillblazer, Trillblazer, we need more like, we need more black art, bro. We all artists too. We're born artists.

Like just show your perspective, whether it's on canvas through the lens of a camera, like, yo, if it's filming, bro, go for it. Go hard. Go hard. That's all I got to say.

Rob Lee: That makes sense. That's a, that's some sage advice there. So that, that's kind of it for the, the conversation for the podcast. We've covered a lot and there's two things I want to do as we close out here. One, I want to thank you so much for coming on to this podcast.

Tyreek Morrison: Man, thank you. Thank you, Rob. This is my first time doing a podcast, but I probably sound crazy.

Rob Lee: But this is great. This is great.

Tyreek Morrison: Man, I appreciate it. And, um, and secondly, I want to give you the space and opportunity to tell folks where to follow you and all of that good stuff, website, any of that stuff, but also tell folks what's coming up in the, you know, this would be out at the end of this week. So anything that's coming up in the next, in the, in the near future and where to check you out.

Man, you can find me on Instagram at money team, just money team like Floyd Mayweather. Uh, only thing I got on my calendar right now, Atlanta, fine art fair. What is Atlanta art fair? I got that coming up. Uh, I'm going to show there where Mason fine art.

Um, as, after that, I got scope in Miami. That's on the calendar. And I've been working diligently towards a solo exhibition.

I'm aiming for New York spring 27 man. But outside of that, just hit me up on the gram. You know what I'm saying? Don't be weird. And you know, shout out to my daughter, Marty, man. She just turned one June 3rd. And if you go back and listen to this work harder, work harder. You feel me and work smarter.

Rob Lee: And they have it folks. I want to again, I think Tyreek Morrison for coming on to the truth and the garden, sharing a bit of his story with us and for Tyreek.

I am Rob Lee fan of there's art, culture and community. And then around your neck of the woods, you just have to look for it.