Rap legend Heavy D will be posthumously honored with a sculpture in his hometown of Mount Vernon, New York.
The Jamaican-born rapper, whose given name was Dwight Errington Myers, died in 2011 at the age of 44.
Called “Peaceful Journey” after the title of a Heavy D song, the sculpture is being created by New York artist Eto Otitigbe and will be placed in the Fleetwood neighborhood of the city. Otitigbe is a polymedia artist whose works, which reference Blackness, power and technology, have been exhibited nationally and internationally for over 15 years.
The commissioned sculpture will be a landmark feature of the 42 Broad Street West, a mixed-use luxury rental development. It is scheduled to be installed by year-end. Placed at a highly visible plaza at the corner of Broad Street and Fleetwood Avenue in Mount Vernon’s Fleetwood neighborhood, the monumental work of art will be on view for pedestrians, as well as drivers exiting and entering the Cross County Parkway.
ArtsWestchester and 42 Broad, (a joint venture of Alexander Development Group, The Bluestone Organization and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management), chose Otitigbe from a large pool of artists who submitted proposals for the site-specific sculpture commission. The cost of the sculpture is estimated at $100,000.
Growing up in Albany, NY, the artist was a bit removed from the NYC hip-hop scene that he loved and was always inspired when he heard about hip-hop coming out of places other than the five boroughs.
“The sounds coming out of Mt. Vernon with Heavy D, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth were really unique,” Otitigbe explains. He continues, “I wanted to pay homage to the Mt. Vernon community that had such an important place in hip-hop with this work of art.”
The artist, explains that the song the sculpture is named after “offers a thoughtful and complex picture of the lives of Black and Brown people [living] in places like Mount Vernon, the Bronx or Los Angeles,” and that Heavy D’s music was transformative for him in his youth.
He elaborates: “This sculpture offers me a chance to pay tribute to Heavy D, R&B music, and hip-hop culture, all of which had an immense influence on me as I navigated my youth.”
Read the full story over at ArtsWestchester.org.
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