Bee's in Black Cat Alley | an interview with NEW muralist Mi Salgado

/ Black Cat Alley /

The art in Black Cat Alley on the East side of Milwaukee (E Ivanhoe Pl, Milwaukee, WI 53202) is iconic. From breathtaking imagery, bold colors, creative use, and even moments of controversial application, it is a place in the city like no other. If you have been to Black Cat Alley within the last month, you would have surely noticed that a new cohort of artists were selected to create new murals to become a part of its growing narrative of public art. Excited to see the work in action, CopyWrite visited Mi Salgado as she worked on her piece, Life’s Pollinators.

The original design for Mi’s mural was based off of a painting she curated in 2020 during quarantine. Before Covid happened she had been working on a body of work to submit to a gallery show. However, when the world shut down and those opportunities were no longer an option she decided to redirect her creative focus.

Mi: “I wanted to come up with a piece that defined how working hard can turn into something beautiful and working together can [do the same]. In some way we are all connected.”

She pointed out how the bees pollinate, flowers grow, and we sustain life and beauty through those actions. Her mural shows these components together in a larger than life abstraction of honey combs, flowers, and bee’s together in splashes of orange and yellow warmth. 

As a self taught artist who only began to dabble in professional work in 2018, Mi is excited to be a part of the list of names who have blessed Black Cat Alley with their work. Being a professional artist was never really something Mi had considered for herself, but when she had the opportunity to take on a commission it changed her trajectory and pushed her to explore the craft a little more.

Mi: “I started off drawing and doing a lot of pin work. Then that turned into painting. From there I also picked up wood burning. So I have been practicing a lot of different disciplines. 

Though the discussion of public art in Milwaukee has only recently become a priority in the city, Black Cat Alley has been making its way in that arena since 2015.  New to this side of the creative world we asked Mi what she has learned so far as an up-and-coming talent:

Mi: “It’s not easy!” She laughed. “One thing I think I suck at is creating the statements. It’s a whole process. You really need to know how to write.”

Writing about your work is something many artists neglect, thus they leave others to create the narrative for them. Mi has been using her family and friends as resources to make sure what she is writing is being interpreted in the way she delivers it. It’s something she is still learning and working on.

Creating more public art is something Mi plans on continuing to do. Now that she knows the process she constantly looks at mural calls to see if there is one that might fit. With Black Cat Alley being one of her first murals and the space having so much notoriety, Mi has a jump start into a very niche but competitive field. 

CW: “What do you think about the shift in Public art rapidly appearing across Milwaukee in the last few years? Why do you think such a shift is occurring?”

Mi: “I want to say Milwaukee is experiencing a whole new art scene. There are a lot of young professionals and stuff like that. I think that could be a reason. There are so many unknown artists here. I think that’s something Black Cat Alley is trying to do, [give] unknown artists an opportunity. I think it’s also like a new culture.

She also mentioned wanting to experience the public art scenes in other places which may fuel inspiration for more work.

Though this is Mi, first public large scale solo mural she has helped kids create mural work in the past. The difference she notes is having the ability to use your own concept and let it flow freely. Even in her current piece, she modified the way in which the composition wraps the bump out in the alley where her mural is and also the type of flowers the bees will pollinate. These modifications are a part of the process and a part of the story that makes working in public spaces so special.

For any artist thinking about stepping into the public art scene, Mi suggests that practice is everything.

Mi: “Don’t give up. Keep submitting. Your first application will be the crappiest one. Just keep practicing. Try to make that resume and artist statement better. Try to perfect that application.”

And clearly the practice is worth it. 

Next time you're “on the East” make sure to stop at Black Cat Alley to see Mi Salgados piece, Life’s Pollinators, and other amazing murals that are sure to inspire.

Lexi S. Brunson /CW

Nile x Nile “FREE LUNCH” Mixtape Pre-Release Event ( write up)

/

“..And It ain’t a Mosh Pit if aint no injuries!” (Travis Scott)- Words that I truly believe Milwaukee’s own, Nile x Nile, takes to heart as I reminisce on the energy of this night. At the official Pre-Release event for his “Free Lunch” Mixtape, The atmosphere was set and instantly permitted for a diverse audience as well as styles of music, given to us by the opening performers for the show. Walking into this loft-style home turned stage area, the first thing that I was greeted with was the merch table, t-shirts covered in the Free Lunch cover art logo and ‘Lunch’ Boxes; a kitchen bar, and an aesthetically pleasing living room with plants everywhere, shelves filled with books and artifacts, most of which shared space with the performing artists on the platform stage which stood maybe about 4ft. high, leaving enough room on the floor for an intimate crowd... Right before the festivities (and the rain) I caught Nile outside of the spot and chopped it.

CW: I am here with the superstar of the night, Nile, at his {mixtape} release for Free Lunch, how are you feeling, Nile?

N: I'm great right  now, couldn't be better, thank you for coming. 

CW: So, I remember your last album release and that was lit! You’ve been talking about the different changes that you’ve gone through between now and that time- creatively, what does this particular {mixtape} mean to you? I know that you've been hinting towards how this album speaks more to who you are.. who is that exactly?

N: Well I'm more of a person who likes to take chances. I bet on myself all the time anyway so I think this is more fun, it's more free, more of everything that I actually feel that I trust in myself. 2017, I came on the scene when I dropped the “Adult Swim”  song with the music video and everybody was lovin it and they was like ‘who the hell is this?’ That was when it was just me at my own mercy, working at my own pace, really just understanding my own vibe. I think that where I'm at now- I just went back to my own roots, just kinda trusted  myself more. I'm working with a lot more people and I'm loving the growth.

CW: Now when you say ‘going back to your roots’ and trusting yourself more, what do you believe in the past, in more detail if you don't mind, contributed to that distrust that you had with yourself; Was it working with people, was it working differently, using different methods, was it that you weren't as enthusiastic as you had put on?

N: Sure, it was just more so, as I started seeing little successes- I think Milwaukee creatives have this thing where that ego bug bites us a little... people kinda feed off of that and allow that to get to their heads... so I feel like I had to go through weird ego deaths; I feel like a lot of creatives here on the scene do. When I went through my ego death it was more so like a transition before I went through it; you drop a song, its successful, people care about it and then you gotta chase that same feel, and then you start making shit that's not really you, it's not in the same playing field of what you love or what you do. You start losing yourself on that road of that journey of what you wanna accomplish in your career, so I just went back to “Imma do what I love doin”- listening to all the songs that I like listening to- the stuff that really kept me grounded, and I just fed off of those inspirations that I will need to be the best version of myself again...more comfortable with the person that I am- in the skin I'm in and the person i'm going to be one day.

CW: That's great, I really relate to that myself because that death of the ego is so real, especially as  a creative because everything is connected; Being creative, being social, being a person, you really gotta check yourself especially when you know that you're great..

N: And it's okay just to feed the ego a little bit, you know what i'm saying, you just have to have conversations with that ego and say ‘hey, understand, you are working hard and you’ve put yourself in this position. Now it's time to go hard. You can't sleep, you can't settle for less and you gotta keep putting in the work.’

CW: You said that after you got back to yourself that you started listening to all of your favorite songs- is that a part of your album making process? Is that new for you; do you usually do that as a transition into album mode?

N: Something like that, I guess people could consider it an album- this is a mixtape. I just want to get into that realm where I trust myself, and on top of me trusting myself, it was more so the music that allowed me to trust those spaces I was in, so whether it's the creative dance records, fun records that you'll hear on Free Lunch, or the rap lyrical content stuff, alot of those influences will be heard through  the music as well because you’ll get the version of me that's a student of the game- I'll forever be  a student. You can never really master this rap music stuff. You can get to a perspective- a point where you are doing very well for yourself and you understand what you want and what you need to do in life, but you can never master being an artist because you just have so much learning to do, so much growing to do, and there's so many forms of it. So that's where I'm at. I think what this project is doing is allowing me to be in those realms that I'm comfortable with, even the ones that I'm uncomfortable with; just being more relatable, being more personable, being more fun. Being relatable is what I've pushed for so long and so I feel that I accomplished that a little more with this one.

CW: I love to hear that! Now to actually talk about the Free Lunch Mixtape- why that title? What does that mean?

N: It's actually funny- I'm actually gonna rebuttal- so “Free Lunch” is basically food for thought. in my mind, when you hear any of the songs, you'll get a chance to receive it, listen to it, and “Free Lunch” will be whatever the listener receives and what you utilize it for, so even if its a record that takes you back in to space nostalgically, you're like ‘man I relate to this because I was in a mode like this or a moment like this in my life.’ That moment, that song- what you shared with Free Lunch is for you today, you get what I'm sayin?; the lit aggressiveness, the turn up, that fun, that moment was shared with you on top of the nostalgic, personal records that are speaking to your flaws and, you know, you challenge yourself to be better, or just livin in this space where you question yourself a lot. I feel that a lot of people question themselves before they really understand what they want to do in life... I remember myself just being a kid in my room like ‘man I need to turn this up if Imma do music, man. I need to really take myself seriously, I need to get a job, go work or put some money behind what Im tryna do’; those conversations that were inexcusably real and you just telling yourself what you need to hear. I just feel like  Free Lunch is that for everybody.

CW: How does that relate to how you chose to design this {cover art} design here on your merch?

N: So this design that I got on my shirt was designed by my boy Colin Mitchell. The place that we’re performing at is actually their home, so they're allowing us to perform, it's kinda like a house party and shit. That's kinda dope. He had more of an understanding of what I was saying when I was telling him the information about the songs I sent him- about what Free Lunch meant for me...he basically just came to the table with both of our ideas and made it one...some of it is, of course, just me representing myself, like the little dragon tail all the way around and the food on the outside and the even the bagel in the middle, a lot of this stuff gets a little deeper and Colin can definitely elaborate a little more...

CW: Well I can't wait to hear the new music. Thank you for speaking with me.

N: I Appreciate you, we’re about to have a great ass night!

A good 20 minutes before the show kicked off with it’s first performer, I ran into one of the opening artist’s, Clayton, and got a few words from him as well.

CW: First off, I'm glad to see you tonight..! 

C: I'm glad to see you too.

CW: I was actually looking at the flyer and was like “oh Clayton’s on the flyer! that's an interesting mix.” So what I wanted to ask first is how familiar are you with Nile seeing that you are a part of his show tonight?

C: Yea, Nile’s the homie. I've actually known him for almost a couple years. We actually had a session way back and then it's been us checking in with each other, sharing each others shit on socials and stuff like that, and every time I've seen him it's just been that good energy- just showing respect for each other as musicians and hanging out whenever we bump into each other.

CW: Me personally being a fairly new fan of you, I've rarely seen you perform still, I haven't been to a lot of your shows. How often do you say ‘I'm a fan of this person. I wanna be opening for them or a part of their rollout..’ What does it take for you to do that?

C: Its just like, if im fucking with their music and them as a person, most importantly, and those things line up its whatever. You need support from me- you’ve been sharing my stuff, fucking with me; its just a recipricating thing, its easy for me at that point. He's a good dude and he makes good music. It's really easy after that.

CW: That's a good point..Being a singer, what is your relationship with hip hop and rap as far as collaborating, or how often do you listen to it? Would you like to collaborate more with rap artists..? 

C: Yea, I would love to collaborate more with artists, rap artists specifically. I love rap music. I listen to it as much as I listen to R&B. I have some faster paced songs where I get into rapping a little bit; I wouldn't call myself a rapper but I love the energy of it. I like switching it up at times, so doing it, listening to it, being involved with it- its a super dope change up for me.

CW: I think that's really cool, that element of rap and singing... Nowadays, you can tell ‘oh this person just sent in that verse or they asked this person last minute.’ That connection feels lost..As far as that process goes for making music, what do you feel makes your music flow the way it does and how do you feel that a collaboration with an artist would go for you, while keeping the integrity of that flow?

C: It's just everything, the way that you feel- when I make music, when I hear the beat or i'm making the beat and the first thing that comes out of my head- I might rap a little bit, slower, I'll sing; I always find a way to get into the rhythm of what I got presented to me, especially if a rapper sends me a beat that they wanted me to work on.. like if I hear the hook and I got room some room where I can sing a little bit- I like those collaborations…

CW: Yes it's like a push and pull, there's gotta be magic between the two. I love that..Now, you said that you and Nile had a relationship that goes way back- what does it mean for you to see his growth and elevation as a peer artist, or just someone that you grew up with musically, if you want to call it that?

C: For sure. Seeing him and meeting him a couple years ago, he was definitely good and I knew that he would only get better. you can see that in people sometimes and that’s why it makes it easier to mess with someone that’s really nice, and on top of that, you're growing, I can learn from you, you can learn from me, it's a mutual relationship, so seeing that and hearing his latest music nowadays i'm like, “yea this makes sense. I would expect this from someone like him,” just based on the energy that I got from him all these years... It's cool to see. I'm excited to listen to the rest of the project..

CW: Same for me! Thank you so much for talking with me and I can't wait to see your set. 

/Naomi-Re’a for CW

Bronzeville Week - Black Friday Music & Marketplace August 13th 2021

/
Aug 13_Bronzeville Week_Music and Marketplace.png

WE STAND FOR ALL THINGS URBAN.

As an unapologetic group of creatives, CopyWrite is in business to change the community. Our promise is to always remember where we started from. We do this by telling the stories that need to be told, showcasing the unrealized artistic potential throughout our community, all while doing what we love: create.

As a true reflection of our mission, our partnership with Bronzeville Week encapsulates many of the ways in which we highlight the creative community. For this year's events the /CW team has curated the August 13th music lineup, including local up-and-coming and established artists. We also are directly linking our communal pool of creative freelancers, who are well versed in creative content making who often don’t get the recognition they deserve. From photography to videography, journalism to creative directing, the essence of Bronzeville is still alive and our team will be capturing that moment. With our pilot office recently opening in the neighborhood, we carry the history of our community with us and know that we stand on the backs of giants who sparked our entrepreneurial freedom. We live here. We work here. We play here. To contribute to the narrative of Bronzeville Week is an honor and of course it will always be for the culture.

/CW

/CW APPROVED MUSIC LINEUP

GENESIS RENJI

DONNA RENEE

NO SEATBEALTS

CLAYTON

SHADI