The Era of the Multi-Disciplinary Artist

Song of the week: Nigo & Tyler, The Creator: Come On, Let’s Go

I recently discovered this song on the way to the office. Couldn’t believe it slipped by me, and now you know about it. Brought to us by way of streetwear legend Nigo’s album “I Know NIGO!”

With that said… Let’s get into today’s piece. (Grab some coffee, it’s a DEEP DIVE)

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The Vince Staples show just premiered, and in the 2nd episode you’ll see that he’s trying to secure a bank loan.

When asked what his job was, Vince told the loan officer he was a multidisciplinary artist who cycles through different mediums of expression.

That scene lead me to an interesting insight about Hip-hop.

Rappers have always been multidisciplinary, because Hip-Hop, by definition, is a culture built for the multi-hyphenate.

I might even go a step further and say…

The best artists of the last 20 years (or a generation, to be technical) have all been multidisciplinary artists. 

Many of them are Hip-hop artists because Hip-hop isn’t just rap music. It’s a full fledged culture based on four pillars:

1. DJ’ing

2. Graffiti

3. B-Boying

4. MC’ing

By definition, some of Hip-hop’s earliest acts were doing one, if not all, of these things.

They were artists, and multi-disciplinary ones, at that. Each cycled through different modes of creation from dance to writing, to spoken word etc.

It’s a legacy that is very much alive today.

With that in mind, let’s talk about some today’s best artists and how their art extends to different mediums outside of music.

DONALD GLOVER

For multi-disciplinary artists, it’s not enough to do another form of art — it’s about exceeding expectation and becoming a master of the craft that makes it magical.

In that sense, Donald Glover is the quintessential artist.

He’s traversed every medium from film to apparel, and music. As time goes on, who knows what he’ll do next.

ARTISTIC THEMES

1. Surrealism

2. Existentialism

3. The Human Condition

DONALD’S MEDIUMS OF EXPRESSION

I. FILM

As many Donald Glover fans know, he got his start writing the show 30 Rock on NBC — the hit show that came from the comedic mine of Tina Fey.

While on 30 Rock, Donald gave the world a glimpse into how multi-faceted he was by starting his rap career with his debut mixtape, Sick Boi.

As his rap career continued to take form we saw more of Donald in the TV world so it only made sense that he would eventually create his own tv show.

That eventually lead us to…

ATLANTA

All of Donald’s experiences as an artist reached a new peak when he & his artistic collective Royalty gave the world Atlanta.

Although his relationship with the show eventually became a love/hate one, Atlanta is one of the most important tv shows in the 21st century because of its social commentary, creativity, and commitment to showing some real authentic Atlanta Sh*t.

II. MUSIC

A. Early Mixtapes

After 30 rock, Donald Glover would go on to become an actor on the highly acclaimed tv sitcom community, all while pursuing his rap career. He eventually shed the actor between shows and became Childish Gambino, the rapper.

B. Royalty & Because The Internet

Gambino’s mixtape Royalty proved to be his breakout moment culturally. It dropped right in the middle of Hip-hop’s Blog era and further proved Donald Glover’s capacity as an emcee.

The momentum created by Royalty and its tour also set the stage for Glover’s second studio album that sent his career into the stratosphere:

Because The Internet.

The lead single “Redbone” became a huge song in the culture, and it even went on to become a part of the soundtrack to Jordan Peele’s debut film “Get Out.”

From there, the world became fixated on Donald Glover’s ability to create, and his 2018 single “This Is America” became a cultural phenomenon because of it’s layered meanings and uniqueness.

It even gave Glover his first #1 on Billboard.

III. APPAREL

Although Donald Glover hasn’t done much in apparel (yet), he has shown that it’s a space he’s willing to dabble in when the right partner presents itself. In this case, he worked with Adidas on a line that incorporated all of his skill sets thus far.

Adidas x Coachella

In partnership with Coachella, Adidas created an airdrop where fans given the chance to get a pair of their shoe collab with Donald Glover for free.

The Catch?

They HAD TO wear them on the fair grounds that day.

The even doper thing about this collab is that it also includes short-form content featuring Donald Glover and comedian Monique.

PHARRELL

Pharrell was the first of this generation to be show that you didn’t have to walk a straight narrow path. You could be cool by being you. You could be a N.E.R.D.

The culture knows that whatever Pharrell does is gonna be provocative, left of center, and unique in its presentation — all of the characteristics of an incredible artist.

ARTISTIC THEMES

1. The Human Experience

2. Creativity

3. Afrofuturism

MEDIUMS OF EXPRESSION

Since hitting the scenes in the late 90s, Pharrell has touched everything from Fashion, to film, text and music too.

He’s continuing to blaze a trail by stepping into the world of creative ‘marketing via his work with Edelman, and experiential with his music festival Something in The Water.”

I. APPAREL

Depending on who you ask, Pharrell’s greatest form of creative expression isn’t music, it’s actually fashion.

Pharrell is the mind behind two streetwear brands that defined the 2000s — Billionaire Boys Club, and Ice Cream.

Pharrell’s also had a major hand in working with brand that define today like Nigo’s Human Made, and Louis Vuitton, of course.

Lastly, he runs an auction house online called Joopiter, and frequently releases content that shows the level of care and depth he puts into design.

II. Music

When it comes to music, Pharrell’s career as 1/2 of the Neptunes is a thing of legends.

At one point in time, he and Chad were responsible for half of the records on Billboard, and later in his career as Chad took a short hiatus from producing, Pharrell moved into the world of film scoring — eventually doing the soundtrack for Despicable Me 2, and Hidden Figures.

The former gave us the massively successful “Happy,” and launched his career into an even higher realm.

III. Film

Pharrell latest form of artistic expression is a foray into the world of film. In October 2024, he’s slated to have an animated biopic premiere in the style of LEGO characters.

Tyler, The Creator

Tyler jumped onto the scene back in 09 with the collective Odd Future (OFWGKTA) and immediately shocked the scene with their skater aesthetic, punk rock-like antics, and left of center sound that would eventually make Tyler a cultural icon.

ARTISTIC THEMES

1. Self-acceptance

2. Fame

3. Personal Struggles

MEDIUMS OF EXPRESSION

“I just make s—. I honestly wish I had the deep, like, answer. Bro I’m like ‘Yo I wanna do this’ and like ‘oh let’s do it’ and we figure it out and we try to execute it at the illest level that we can and that’s what it is.”

I. Film

Tyler’s commitment to the visual arts is incredibly present in everything he does from his music videos all the way to the tv show he produced called Loiter Squad.

Tyler’s says that his taste in film is widely inspired by Wes Anderson, and his influence comes through heavily in a lot of his work from the way that hte shots are composed to the palettes that he chooses in his work.

This video below does a great job breaking it down further:

II. Music

The discipline and rigor that Tyler has shown to his live performances of the years also show the creative director chops that shine through in his other mediums of expression as well.

In it, you can the see an appreciation for the finer details of stage design, lighting, costume etc.

III. Apparel

Tyler is very interested in the world of fashion and has steadily increased his presence in the sneaker world, through his apparel endeavor Golf Wang x Golf La Fleur.

Golf Wang functions much like a diffusion line to its Le Fleur counterpart, and as of recent, Le Fleur has seen Tyler partner with several brands like Converse.

Courtesy of Hypebeast

“Converse Le Fleur” that was widely heralded in the sneaker world, and just last week Pharrell announced that Tyler had a new collection dropping with Louis Vuitton.

Courtesy of WWD

KENDRICK LAMAR

We definitely can’t have this conversation without talking about Kendrick Lamar.

He cites influences including Gordon Parks and George Clinton, and his commitment to creating a holistic experience for the audience from the album themes to stage show is second to none.

If his 1st album or Grammy performance didn’t convince you, then surely the his performance at the super bowl should have.

When it comes to the big 3 of Hip-hop today, K. Dot is the most artistic the trio.

ARTISTIC THEMES

1. Identity

2. Personal Struggle

3. Social Justice

4. Mental Health

5. The Complexities of fame

MEDIUMS OF EXPRESSION

I. Film

Kendrick has been steadily showing the world that he has eye when it comes to film since his first album good kid, m.A.A.d city where he produced a 15 min short film showing the inspiration behind the album.

Fast forward Dot’s most recent album “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” Kendrick had an emotionally charged record named We Cry Together (read: a could has a suuuuper toxic argument)

A few weeks after the album dropped, it was revealed that the track was turned into a 5 min short film — one that premiered at Sundance and other film festivals.

It eventually won a few awards too…

II. Music/Spoken Word

Throughout Kendrick’s albums you’ll notice he uses different devices to tie together the themes of the album:

• On his debut album GKMC he uses vhs-like clips of audio that help illustrate what his childhood was like growing up in compton.

• On To Pimp a Butterfly, K. Dot couched the album in a spoken word piece that unfolded as the album progressed.

• On DAMN. he used DJ drops from a prominent Cali DJ to help set the scene.

• On Mr. Morale, it played like a therapy session with clips from Eckhart Tolle.

Overall, K. Dot’s albums show a commitment to multi-layered storytelling that comes to life once he’s on tour and releasing the accompanying content that comes with the project (such as the short films above).

III. Creative Collective

Shortly before leaving TDE, Kendrick announced the formation of a new creative collective with his longtime collaborator David Free called pgLang.

To date, pgLang has worked with brands including Cash app, Converse, and Chanel.

Through these partnerships he’s brought to life films & products that show a range of inspirations and storytelling techniques. Peep below for an example.

VINCE STAPLES

Vince Staples has had a captivating presence that’s consistently shown he’s a creative with an appreciation for craft.

He’s done everything from tv commercials, to short form films, music, and screenwriting.

Both fans and the media alike love him because his witty humor allows him to tell very sober truths, while still eliciting a laugh in the process.

In Vince’s own words, he cycles through different mediums of expressions, and he never knows what’s next.

It could be an album or a show. But, whatever it is, it’s gonna be dope.

ARTISTIC THEMES

1. Surrealism

2. Existentialism

3. The Human Condition

MEDIUMS OF EXPRESSION

I. Film

Vince first tried his hand at acting with the 2015 film Dope — a coming of age tale that became really popular that year, and as of recent he was featured in ABC’s hit show Abbott Elementary as Quinta Brunson’s love interest.

However, with 2024’s Vince Staples Show, we see his first official foray into TV. With that, we see how deeply committed he is to film as an artform.

In various interviews he talks about the references for the show, which include iconic films like Pulp Fiction. He also mentions the time he spent in acting classes and reading the book “On Writing'“ by Stephen King.

II. Music

Vince’s music has always been a medium where he shows the layers of who he is as human being.

Even the uptempo records that he might’ve made with the idea that they would be sync’d on a movie have undertones of social commentary woven into them which show his depth as an artist.

In his music videos, like the one below, Vince opts for unique camera shots, dolly movements, and an overall approach that shows he’s mastered several forms of artistic expression.

EPILOGUE

This is just a fraction of the work that the artists above have created, but I believe these artists are the ones who come to mind the most when cultural conversations arise about what it means to be a multi-hyphenate.

Hip-hop artists prove to the world that, if nothing else, you don’t have to be one thing.

In fact, you should be all things.

Each of the artists above does at least four or five things and they do them all exceptionally well. What does that mean?

Well. Try not to think of yourself as “jack of all trades master of none'“ — you’re more of a king/queen with multiple provinces.

And who wouldn’t want that?

One.