7.24.10 [MY1ST]

Location: Skin City Body Art

Artist : Nicki Garrett

Canvas: Juiceee

no matter where you end up it all means nothing if you dont remember where you came from

for me Durham is the home of my whole entire family

my mothers side was all born here

my fathers side all migrated via Clinton, NC

Durham is very diverse in its culture and can easily take you to two completely opposite sides of the spectrum in just an heartbeat

you can go from "Welcome to Durham" ganglife to one of the top ten schools in the country in Duke all within one mile of each other

you can call it what you want

but im proud to be from the Bull

never in the future will you find me to be some rich snob that doesn't remember where he came from

Durham will always have a place in my heart

what about you?

-OJAY FAISON

7.22.10 [COMEBACK SEASON II]

first haircut since June 5th

inspired by Drake's HalfMoon Fade on the Comeback Season cover

only difference is that i opted to not get my sides tapered

"Haircut Hiatus... OVER, I call it COMEBACK SEASON"

-OJAY FAISON

7.10.10 [1997]

DOM KENNEDY - 1997

-OJAY FAISON

7.3.10 [MIYA BAILEY]

this is Miya Bailey

he is the owner of City of Ink in Atlanta, GA

an amazing black tattoo artist (17 years exp.) that has an great list of black celebrity clientele

from Durham's own Rapper Big Pooh of Little Brother, model/actress Eva Pigford, TI's wife Tiny, Big Kuntry of PSC, singer Sammie and more.

most of Miya's tattoo's are free-hand, you rarely see one done by him that is obviously a stencil which makes it that much more impressive

he specializes in African American Art tattoo's which is what intrigued me the most abt him

you rarely see amazing black tattoo artists so that another reason why im such a fan

in a recent blogpost about his experience at a Chicago Tattoo Expo he said

"black people just went to the booth who had the cheapest prices... Very sad... A cheap price over good quality is crazy to me... But hey to each Its own...."

so true, i know a lot of people down here say the same thing when i see others getting tattoos at the tattoo parlor that dosen't have the cheapest work but obviously has a higher quality

what made me do this blogpost about Miya Bailey is not that i just discovered him and wanted to write a bio about him.

but bc he will be in Asheville, NC from July 26-31st to do tattoo's

and let me say i am SICED

i haven't found all the information about whether its a convention or what but just to know that one of the most famous black tattoo artists in the world will be a few hours down the road is exciting to me (well more than a few) haha

it's a chance to get top-quality work and also be able to say that you have a work of art on your body that no one else will have.

in order to get a tat you must call 404.525.4465 and make your deposit before he touches down here in NC

check out his website

and some of his work

-OJAY FAISON