09/28/2026
From the very first Gang Starr record, āManifest,ā I was a fan. I was already locked in with the music and the cultureāand then, in 1989, life gave me the chance to meet the people behind it.
I met Guru, DJ Premier, and H.L. Rock at the Lincoln Center concert series. After making some custom T-shirts for them, we became cool, and before long I was getting invited to their shows, music videos, and trips to visit Empire Management.
That opened the door to an incredible circle of people. I met members of the Gang Starr FoundationāJeru, Lil Dap, Malachi the Nutcracker, Fat Gray, Gusmo, and many others. These werenāt just names on records anymore. They were people I was building real relationships with through art, music, and the culture.
Guru eventually hired me to create a few logos for BaldHead Slick Records, the label he had started while developing and producing new groups.
Then came Jeru.
Jeru got signed to PayDay Records, which had its own in-house graphics department. They created a logo for him, but Jeru wasnāt feeling it. He wanted something different.
So one day, Jeru and I met up in the city. We jumped on the train heading toward Brooklyn, and along the ride he started explaining exactly what he envisioned. He wanted a caricature of himselfāsomething that felt like him.
I pulled out my sketchbook and started drawing.
A couple of sketches later, Jeru loved it.
The label didnāt.
But Jeru stood by it and insisted: āThis is what I want.ā
And thatās how the character came to life.
When āCome Cleanā dropped, the character showed up everywhereāstickers, promotional items, soap, condoms, and more. It became part of the visual identity surrounding one of the most memorable records of that era.