Original subtitles

Downloaded from YTS.BZ

[slow electronic music]

Official YIFY movies site: YTS.BZ

[clattering, sliding]

[man] So, like, what goes through your head when you're painting?

[Mike] Uh... a lot of the times, nothing.

So, a lot of my best paintings I've done,

I'm so much in a zone that I don't even remember painting.

Like, some of the stuff... it just--

you know, it's, it's kind of like God, God takes the wheel.

When I'm thinking about the layout, stuff like that,

I'm thinking about how to better the last thing that I've done.

That, that's my thing, is, is try to...

...get, get the best out of every project

and try to make this project better than the last project.

And that's how you just keep on advancing in what you do

and just fine-tuning yourself.

And that's my main thing.

Definitely an original laundry room.

[upbeat music]

[sirens wailing in distance]

Hey, what's good, everybody? Mike Norice here of Break Your Neck Urban Customs.

You already know what it is. As usual, I want to update everybody on the latest

and greatest that Break Your Neck has to offer.

No more delay. Here it is, the latest... Sonic joints.

Pay attention to the Swarovski crystals here.

It's the ultimate right here.

Uh, the Sonic. And, and pretty much starts from here.

It's like he, you know, uh, Sonic rolls.

He rolling through the shoe,

and he-- Pay attention to the crystals.

And he's coming out, and he pops out right there.

We have the customers outside, waiting, waiting on these shoes.

Never seen 'em before, so we gonna get to see firsthand

what they feel about 'em.

- All right, here they go. - Oh, yeah!

- Wow, they are good. - They're fantastic.

Oh, my God. They're amazing.

- [indistinct chatter] - [laughs]

I've done custom artwork, from Elton John to Mariah Carey.

[hip-hop music]

We've done 16 pairs of shoes for Tom Cruise.

This is the Swarovski crystalized Hollywood shoe.

Here it is, right here, filled with Swarovski crystals.

And, by the way, this is only available at Fred Segal.

I've done hats for Madonna.

I've done, uh, things for, um, The Game.

I've done a lot of, a lot of different things.

I'm a designer, a real-life designer, you know?

And I'd just like to really just break down the stereotype

that society has towards Black men like myself.

You know, it's-- We're not all just,

you know, drug dealers, gangsters, and... bums.

Well, you know, I have fun. People always say...

"Why do you work so hard?"

And I don't really look at it as work.

Like, this is, this is what I love.

I love designing. I love art.

I love all the intricate things about the fashion game, especially the art, art game.

You know, this is, this is what I do.

This is the life I lead.

- [soft hip-hop music] - [waves crashing]

Los Angeles is the mural capital of the world, FYI.

Them gonna come from all over and do a mural over there, even though they're not from LA.

I'm doing a mural tour called Artfully United,

where I do a mural in, in different hoods all across LA.

[spray paint hissing]

I grew up in a Blood neighborhood, in Watts,

and my whole thought process behind the Artfully United tour

was to just get into, like, a, a form of advertisement,

in a sense of positive messages.

I've seen so many people have been a, a victim to their environment.

And why not try to slowly turn these circumstances to give them a sense of hope...

...uh, a sense that they can believe, you know,

in something better than where their-- their current situation?

You know, if they don't dribble a ball

or can put a couple of rhymes together,

they, they, they feel that they don't have, uh,

a way to even get out of the hood.

Not even make it out of the hood,

I, I really would love to change the mentality

of the hood, you know?

It, it's one thing to move out,

but why not try to change the, the area

that they live in, you know?

Change the circumstances that the hood is, you know?

A-- anything can be changed, I believe.

[hip-hop music]

Artistically, I have my character, the BYM boy,

that is gonna be on every single mural,

to recognize and show everyone's inner youth

so they can relate to the boy with positivity, direction,

and some type of hope in the community.

And that's really the main factor of this mural tour.

[spray paint hissing]

This is the first wall for Artfully United right here.

We're on Slauson and Hoover, the heart of South Central Los Angeles.

For everybody that's been to Los Angeles,

lives in Los Angeles, you know where this is at.

The theme just gonna be like this.

- White wall, black letters... - [man 1] Yeah.

- Yeah. - ...character.

That's the theme for every single wall.

Just a huge word. Think about that.

"Forgiveness" right here,

and the boy hanging off of the "S" or something like that.

Or, or something, you know, like...

- [man 1] That's a big wall, Mike. - [Mike] Yeah.

[man 1] Over 90 feet long... over 23 feet high.

- It's gonna be a task, but we gonna make it happen. - [man 1] That's it.

[traffic humming]

[upbeat music]

[man 2] Think we'll use 500 gallons in a year, or more.

[man 3] Yo, this is the suspense.

How do you fit the world's biggest paint sprayer?

[Mike] I don't know, man.

[man 3 laughs]

[vehicles honking]

[Mike] There were so many locations that I went to,

and I explained the tour.

People didn't know what we were doing.

We had to sign a contract, that we were gonna paint it over after three months.

Went back after three months,

and they got so much more business and positive "vibes"

that he didn't wanna paint it over.

[hip-hop music]

"Forgiveness" for my first word is just one that,

that first off, uh, kind of stood out,

and very powerful, 'cause forgiveness

is more about you, the person for doing the forgiving

versus the person that's getting forgiven.

It's to make you think about who you need to forgive,

who needs to forgive you, or things that you've done

that may require forgiveness.

[siren wailing in distance]

A guy was walking by the Forgiveness Wall,

and he was gonna commit suicide, and, and made him, like,

kind of think again, and touched his heart and his spirit.

And he wrote me, just thanking me for, uh, the message that I put there

on Slauson and Hoover. That's really what I do it for.

[hip-hop music]

[siren wailing in distance]

[horn honking]

It doesn't matter how high I am, but it, it gets to you

when you start looking, and-- You know what I mean?

Looking down at stuff, but when you just focus...

...that's how I created pretty-- 90% of Forgiveness Wall,

- 'cause this-- Like I said, this wall is double the size. - [man 4] Yeah.

[Mike] Like, I was going on a ladder like this,

- no help at all sometimes. - [man 4] Yeah.

[Mike] You know what I'm saying? Shaky.

You're using, like, balance, and, you know,

I just think about just relaxing and creating art,

and that's what keeps me just cool.

If I think about wind shaking, balancing, stuff like that, I'd fall.

At that point, I just put it in God's hands.

[Amaris] A lot of people may not know how to attain love,

or accept love, or even give love,

and just having that as a mural, just to even see that word,

it will strike a chord, that love is out there,

and it is a real thing, and they can get that.

- We met in high school when I was... - When she--

...a freshman and he was a senior.

- Four years in a row, best friends. - He was a wild one.

- [Amaris laughs] - [Mike] I mean, we were--

Well, at that time, he was not my type. So...

[Mike] I told her early on that we would be married.

And we never stopped talking since.

Not too many people know that I was born

- maybe seven houses down right here on 113th Street... - [woman 1] Uh-huh. That's right!

- [woman 2] I could tell as well. - [Mike] Yeah.

- [woman 2 laughs] - [indistinct chatter]

[speaks indistinctly]

But, um... And this church really hits my heart

because, um, during the '80s, it was a real tough time for me and my sister

and my mom, uh, with poverty and homelessness.

And we would come here, and they had

a government cheese program, when you stand in line.

- I don't know if people remember the block of cheese. - [woman 2] Yeah, and, oh, yeah.

- [Mike] We would get that block right here. - [indistinct chatter]

So, it's not just about the wall,

it's about my history and where I grew up,

running around as a little kid, around my son's age. I was right here.

So, it was just a blessing that, uh, that they opened up

our, our doors again to allow me to do the mural.

This is my birth house right here. This is where I was born.

[man 1] No way. This one here?

- [Mike] This house right here. - [man 1] Whoa.

It is like the transition between this house... [chuckles]

...where I was born versus where I stay now is totally different.

- [man 1] Right. - You know what I mean?

It was basically me,

my sister, Carmelle, and my mom.

Well, this is, this is where I was born, right here,

113th Street, Watts.

And, uh, out on the corner there,

we would, uh-- That's where we would get the government cheese,

at the, at the church on the corner, you know?

And gangbangers, they would, they would hang out in the alley.

My dad has been in prison pretty much all of my life, so we were on our own, um,

and Carmelle, she was my best friend.

Growing up in Watts in the '80s, uh, during the crack epidemic,

it was a tough time in the neighborhood.

My mom was a single parent.

We grew up on welfare,

eating the best grilled cheese sandwiches you could imagine.

[gentle piano music]

So, I remember I had to collect aluminum bottles

with my mom in the alleys.

[Mike] Going to the recycling center on Central and Imperial,

turning in cans just to eat for that night.

I remember that just so much.

I was, um, gathering cans and bottles to feed us,

and we were going through the alleys.

[chuckles] And one man said,

"Are you a church group collecting for--"

I said, "No, we trying to eat tonight."

[Mike] We hit really rock bottom with homelessness

and, um, we ended up going up north to Fresno, you know?

And that, that really, I think, saved my life

and, um, saved just our family's livelihood,

you know, from not living in my mom's Maverick.

As a mother, one of the hardest things to handle

is to see the scars that you put there on your children,

and you just have to deal with it.

But they've dealt with it as an adult, um...

...by becoming who they are, you know.

Giving back to other people and using that hurt to help.

[Mike] If it wasn't for my mom, I don't know where I would be.

The sacrifices that she made

just to shield life's circumstances as much as she could

from them hitting me and Carmelle.

I don't even know how we overcame

a lot of the obstacles that we went through during that time.

[Carmelle] We witnessed a lot of struggle,

but, um, there was a lot of love in the home.

And my mom really instilled in us values that,

um, carried us, um, out of the inner city

into the places where we are today.

[Dorcas] Children need love, and that is the perfect word for a dark area,

which, sometimes, on those streets, I know that it is dark.

We went to get government cheese, and we went to get bread,

and we went to get powdered milk 'cause we didn't have a lot.

Uh, that's dark.

And so, to see "love," it makes you have hope.

And with hope, you can go on.

[Mike] And this is gonna get better from here.

We already have the green light on two, three walls.

- [woman] Hallelujah! - Four walls already, so...

- [applause] - You know, and we'll get some power next summer.

Our next wall is gonna be not far from here,

uh, to the Imperial Courts, uh, housing projects.

- And it's gonna be right across the street from here. - [woman] Sing it. That's right.

[hip-hop music playing on radio]

[Hubert] These same streets we passin' by is gonna be on the news tonight.

Somebody done got shot on one of these blocks

last night, tonight, tomorrow,

up and on through, through South Central.

It don't matter where from. The 20, the 40, the 50,

the 60, the 80th block, all through there.

You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, this Blood hood right here.

All right here, 54th and Gramercy, all these are Bloods.

I'll let you know if you wanna really--

Like, we just left, we just left 8th Ave and Slauson.

That was the rollie 60s.

Now we on 54th.

Ruthelen, right past Gramercy.

People basically coming out of Blood territory.

And then, once you cross over Webster,

you move into 5, 6th neighborhood Crips.

You go back into Crips.

It's just, you have-- Every, every... four, five, six blocks,

I swear, it's a different hood.

It, it's serious. It ain't nothing-- it ain't--

And all of them, they run into each other, they know each other.

Like, these dudes go, go down the street

and they go right through this neighborhood, jump out,

they gonna run right into their enemies.

It's gonna be what it is, vice versa.

While everybody is selling Christmas trees,

getting haircuts, going to the market,

washing their clothes, picking up their kids at school,

it's, it's, it's always live in LA. It's always a gang beef.

Okay, we politicking. You know, just, just, uh,

getting all the generals together to give us the blessing

and point us in the right direction on the wall,

to get all the soldiers together to, to get the wall together.

And we got one of the head generals here,

the city general, Mark.

And, uh, he's gonna be making the phone calls.

- [muted] - [instrumental hip-hop music]

[Mike] We've been working on setting the foundation,

reuniting the gangs through art,

um, making some good connects.

We've already met with the Black Panthers.

Uh, they're on board, because anyone

who's done their research knows that, uh,

gangs derived from the Black Panthers, so you have to start with them.

Activists, community activists, um, non-profit organizations

that work with gangs, um, the gang members themselves, the politicians.

We're gonna need all the support that we, we can use.

The goal is to allow the gangs to recognize

that every single hood, even their enemies,

has this same memorial with the same character

to give some type of thought that,

"Hey, we're united through this character."

- [slow hip-hop music] - [indistinct chatter]

This message right here and future messages for the people is to recognize

that we're all the same, no matter what hood you're in, no matter what street you from,

no matter what type of person you are.

You're in this community, you're in that community,

you're a human being, we're the same.

So we need to recognize that and get together

as a, as a people, as a one unit, you know?

And this message is bigger than me.

- Artfully United is bigger than me, you know? - [woman] Right.

[Mike] This is not a game out here.

People have lost their lives.

Monday, and they said-- What, what was the homicide? Three?

Three homicides, believe it or not.

Three homicides in Watts, and only one was gang-related.

We need to change this stereotype, because it's up to us.

It's not up to these people trying to kick us out and gentrify us.

And we're the ones that have, that have shed blood

and, and cried on these corners, and have created this community

to where they even wanna come here

and build these buildings and do all this stuff.

We're the ones, so why not capitalize off of what we created?

We need to really understand the power that we have as a community,

and the power of unity, first and foremost.

[music continues]

"We Are One" and "Love," they work together very strongly

because you can't, you can't even unite

with your, your neighbor unless you love 'em,

you know, or you have love for 'em.

A lot of people, they don't even love themselves.

So, it can be negative to certain people,

because sometimes people that have been told

they love them have been beaten on 'em, have abandoned them,

so they don't want no parts of love, you know?

So, they have to teach themselves how to love,

or what the true definition of love even is.

So, you need to first love yourself, you know?

There, there's no way that you can combine the two without one--

I think the first step is love, and then you can say we are one as a, as a people.

So, it's, it's a, it's a one, two step.

If, if you're, if you're traveling east,

you'll get "Love" first before "We Are One."

So, that's, uh... Most people coming from LA,

that's what they're doing, heading through Watts anyway.

So, that's the, that's the point of that.

I'm going outside.

[Mike] You know, I know people that, that love their neighborhood

more than they love their own family.

They adopt to their hood and kinda sometimes

disregard their family, and they feel that that's their chosen family.

They love them more than anything.

You know, the love for the community,

the streets and everything like that.

- [kid] I want a toy. - No, no, no. You don't have to get a toy.

I have three, three, uh, children myself,

and, um, the void of my father that I've had over the years

have made me love them more.

And then, just other children that I see without a father,

it, it, it give, it gave me, um,

just a better understanding of what they're going through,

so it, it kinda gives me more compassion towards their situation.

- [clerk speaking indistinctly] - All right, cool. Yeah, I got you. All right.

Just growing up during that time, you know, um,

whenever situations would come up,

where other associates or friends would be talking about their dad

and they would ask about my dad,

and, you know, I would just tell 'em, "You know, my dad's in prison."

I pooled and actually gravitated

to any male figure that was an older male figure

that was positive or negative, because of that void,

because I just needed that leadership, and still do, you know.

Look, look for that leadership as a male,

a older male figure in my life.

I look for that till this day.

[gentle music]

[Carmelle] My dad was actually

an honor roll student in high school.

He was blessed to get a full scholarship

to study computer science at Pepperdine University,

which was unheard of for, you know,

a young Black man from the Deep South

during that era. And there, met my mom.

[Dorcas] There were only two Muslim people there,

myself and Saleem. It was like two magnets.

He was, uh, my math tutor. [laughs]

My dad was drafted to the military

for, um, service during the Vietnam War

and was stationed in Germany.

Something happened during that time.

And I don't know the details, but I do know from talking

with friends and, um, family

that my dad came home different.

Eventually, it came out that he had become addicted to drugs,

so we lost touch for a few years.

My mom reached out to try to reconnect

and she discovered that my dad was actually in prison.

And so I had to wrap my, you know,

11-year-old mind around what this meant.

[music continues]

[Dorcas] When, um...

...we first found out that Saleem was, um, imprisoned,

I think I was numb. I didn't know what to do or say.

Uh, my children were still so small. I was just trying to protect them.

I went through a lot emotionally during that time, personally, um,

and even though we weren't together, it still hurt us.

It didn't really hit me until the first time we flew out there,

where he was incarcerated, and I remember hugging him.

[Carmelle] We went to Texas the summer of '92,

and it was just an amazing, um, reunion.

He was, you know, due to come home not long after that,

so we knew that it wasn't going to be for long.

When my dad came home, he was doing his best

to just get back to where he left off with his career,

and all of that stress and just, you know, dealing with just the pressures

and the struggle of re-entry, he relapsed.

And this time, he went to the VA and said, "Hey, I need help.

I need to get into your detox program.

I need some sort of rehab, something."

The VA told him that, the VA hospital in Amarillo

told him that they didn't have room on their drug unit.

And so he was left to figure things out on his own.

Uh, that didn't last for long,

and in March of '96,

he was charged, uh, for aggravated robbery.

I was 17.

Michael was 15 at the time.

Uh, a few years later, I saved up

enough money to visit him for the, the first time during that sentence.

Michael came along with me. And I can't remember

if it was Michael or me who asked my dad, uh,

"How long are you gonna be in here?"

And he said, "They gave me 99 years."

Our worlds just turned upside down when we heard that.

[music continues]

I remember, before we left, my dad said...

..."Don't worry about me.

I want you guys to go on and live your lives.

I'll be all right.

Don't worry about me.

Just do your best.

Live your lives. Do your best."

I made a point after that to visit him at least once a year.

[video playing on phone]

[Mike] I didn't understand it then, but I understand it now,

like, all of the things that my mom did for us,

for us to get to this position that me and my sister are today.

She sacrificed a, a lot of stuff to give us a better life.

And that was just one of those things,

just kind of masking off what was going on with my dad,

just for us not to worry or, you know, not to be confused.

People have, have gone through a lot

just for me to stand right here this day, you know,

to speak to you guys. You know?

So, I don't take none of this for granted,

and I, I appreciate everything, and I do know

that Artfully United will be a force in the community

to, to help out the community,

'cause the main purpose of what this is

is to change people's mentality.

[interviewer] Do you wanna be a artist like your dad someday?

- Yeah. - [interviewer] Yeah?

- Like a painter? Painting big walls or... - Yeah.

- [interviewer] Do you like to paint? - Yeah.

- [interviewer] Did he teach you how to paint? - Yeah.

Not, not to spill all the paint out.

[interviewer] You like to spill all the paint out?

Yeah. I spilled it.

We've been following Mike, you know, around the city.

This is his third mural.

I think that this mural and this message speaks

specifically to the Watts community,

because with so much divide in the Black and Brown community,

every day, when you walk past this mural, you will see that we are one.

Somebody could be on the bus, and they go by and they look.

They mad at they brother, they mad at they mama,

they hurt, they upset, and they look on the wall,

it just sparks something in your mind.

We don't know what these walls do.

These walls are probably changing,

is changing people life.

[gentle music]

[Mike] Okay, so, right here, we're, we're on Broadway,

and then this is, like, the start of, like, uh--

Well, you got several gangs. You got East Coast, Broadway, the Crips.

You got 87 Gangsters. They, they run right here, 'cause it's 87th Street.

And enemy, 94 Hoovers is, is right there.

So, that's how close they are. And then, they, they have--

Their other enemies is 97, 94, 97.

So, that's just how close three gangs are

- right there. - [man] Wow.

And two of 'em are enemies against this other.

[man] And so we're gonna get out and get your haircut.

- Yeah. This is where-- - [man] Sounds good.

This is where I get my haircut.

[music continues]

- Yeah, what's up? - Come on, bro. Yeah, I got you.

[Mike] Man, looking down right now, but, you know,

- still need to get a cut. - Ah, man,

this dude fell off the ladder tripping.

- If I kick your leg, don't get mad at me, bro. - Man, I'll try not to.

[barber] Don't, don't, don't you trip. We working around here, you know?

Don't get mad at me.

But, hey, hey, it's crazy, 'cause you went from, like,

painting on shoes and, and painting on, uh, clothes,

- to painting on canvases. - [Mike] Yeah.

[barber] Painting murals. I remember you did that one mural in that dude apartment,

- the penthouse. Up on the ceiling. - [Mike] Yeah. Ceiling. Yeah.

- [man] Yeah, I saw that. - [Mike] 16th ceiling.

- Ooh, that was funky. - [man] I saw that.

Yeah. Been getting my hair cut al-- all throughout the journey.

Through the whole journey, it's like he's been my partner every step.

- I'd say since we was about 16. When I was about 16, 15. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know what I'm saying? That's when Michael Norice was wearing, uh,

- contacts in his eyes. Just 'cause, hey-- - [laughs]

- You know, back then, he was wearing hazel contacts. - I still wear...

- [laughs] - ...contacts.

[upbeat jazz music]

[Mike] Today, I was talking to my barber,

just looking out for, for a new walls to do,

and, uh, we want to do that parking lot

where the, the barber shop is off of.

And I was thinking about doing "Believe."

And, um, I think that's a really good message

for that side of town, that's the east side.

And, uh, anybody that's been to LA and known LA,

just that 110 divider, the 110 freeway divides

the east side from the west side, which is--

The east side is a lot rough, more rough.

Uh, more poverty, gang violence.

And that's what those people of that area, they need is to believe.

Believe in themselves, um, and just believe

that you can get out of the circumstances that you're in, you know?

So, "Believe" will be the next one.

[upbeat music]

- [man laughs] - [Mad] Welcome to Watts, California, man.

We right here in the Nickerson Gardens. You feelin' me?

In the middle of Watts, you know, the heart of Watts right here, man.

So, this is where it all started for me.

You know, kids get taken at an early age here.

I got little brothers, and cousins, and nephews and stuff

that's still, you know, roaming these streets and growing up around here,

and I want them to be able to be safe, you know?

It's real, it's real, real hard to make it out of Watts.

So, whatever you got, whatever talent you got,

you know, stick with it, and hold on to it,

and, you know, just push it out there

and, you know, hopefully, it can open doors

for something else or something, you know?

That's, that's, that's beautiful.

[Mike] Five, six, you believe in anything.

You can believe in whatever, you know.

You can believe you can be an astronaut.

But as reality sets in, I would say,

as you're a teenager, that belief kind of lowers

due to your circumstances that you're living in,

your environment, and by the time you're 18,

if you're in those circumstances,

in the hood, your belief is very low.

You know, you're not believing that,

"Oh, I'm gonna go to college,

get out of school, and then become something."

You-- No, you believe that "If I wear blue, I'ma get shot." You know?

"If, if I show this money outside,

I'ma get robbed." That's what you believe in.

And I think that kind of sinks into everyone around 15, 16,

and definitely full-fledged, probably around 18.

[music continues]

[Mad] I was exposed to everything at a young age.

I'm talking about, uh, partying,

the drinking, the smoking, the, the fighting, the shooting.

You know, there wasn't no way to hide from it.

It was every street you went, every corner, every project.

You know, it was kind of the same thing.

[Mike] I've sat on my stoop on 90th Street

and seen the craziest stuff.

Oh, my gosh.

Drive-by shootings, shootouts, fights, you name it.

Like, threats, craziness, all the time.

And like you said, it was, uh... that was all I knew,

so I thought that this is what life had to offer.

- [Mad] Yeah. - Just imagine that.

That's the only life you know.

- Yeah. - You know what I mean? And that's, like,

sometimes you're subject to just the product of your environment.

It's good when you're in Beverly Hills,

bad when you're in projects. You know what I mean?

- Yeah. It seem like it's so big, but it gets so little. - Yeah.

[music continues]

[Mike] I know when I was living out here, I didn't go past Imperial.

I didn't go... [chuckles] further west in Avalon.

Like, this was all I knew.

So, I know, for the most part, a lot of the kids

that are kids, they don't really travel too far.

They're not, you know, going--

I-- You know, I might have went to the beach maybe once a year,

something like that, and that was like a treat.

You get cornered in this box of tunnel vision.

You don't see nothing around you,

and not realizing that 20 miles west

of where you're at, there's no gangbanging,

there's no violence.

You know, there's people that, that live free.

You know, there's a whole another side of life

that is not far from where you're at, your circumstance.

So, always, I think everyone

should come to the beach, really.

And then, on the flip side, I think people that are in this community

need to go to the hood and see how they're living

so you can appreciate how much God has blessed you

and your circumstances, and that you don't take this life for granted,

'cause a lot of people, they take it for granted.

[Carmelle] In spite of the struggles, uh, my mom really

instilled in us values for education, hard work,

and, uh, we knew that ultimately,

uh, we would make it out of the inner city, uh,

by pursuing our goals, education, and our careers.

And even though he was incarcerated,

my dad did his best to father us from prison.

[Mike] Yeah, I, I would get at least ten to 12 letters a year.

- [Dorcas] Mm-hm. - And they never once talked about prison talk.

- No. - "Oh, it's crazy in here."

- "These guys, they did this or this." - Yeah.

You know, "Last night, this happened."

- Mm. - He never once.

The letters that he wrote

were always positive.

He never, um-- I think he was protecting us

from what he went through.

He didn't tell us about the, um, harshness

of his reality.

He always, um, just told us to keep

a positive mental outlook. That was always the way he would

end the letters, you know, and asking us to hold on

and, you know, that he told us all that he loved us.

And this is after us being divorced for all these years.

That is how he maintained our relationship,

and I always respected that about him.

- You know. I always did. - Mm-hm.

[Dorcas] Even my third child,

who is not his natural child,

he would write to her and give,

give things to her. He was very generous.

Mr. Saleem, he was actually sometimes better than my own...

[chuckles] my own father in terms of his approach to parenting for me.

He would always send me gifts,

like making leather bags by hand, which I still have,

and just beautiful messages and letters that just

touched me so, so much.

I've been a model for, I'd say, 11 to 12 years now.

I've been professionally doing it.

Worked with brands that I've grown up with knowing,

like, throughout my wh-- entire life.

And that's always really exciting,

and it's gratifying and just-- It's just fun.

[Carmelle] I was blessed to get a spot at Columbia University's

Medical Scientist Training Program,

where I earned an MD

as well as a PhD in Molecular Biology.

And throughout that period, my dad was, um,

just as supportive, if not more supportive, than ever.

I remember he made a doctor's bag

in the crafts shop at the prison by hand,

um, which I, I still have and cherish to this day.

I always tried my best to meet their needs, you know.

His, for art, and my daughter's, for science,

and my other daughter, for entertainment. It was a lot.

- We had the three different venues going on. - Yeah. Different levels.

- Yeah. - And that was the priority. I mean,

if they don't make it, what is it all about?

So, you have to provide. I wanted better for my children than I ever had.

[Joy] With everything, and the tools that she was given,

she did an amazing job.

She did the best job that she could.

Um, she was always encouraging me

to, to get out and, and learn and, um, explore the world.

And I feel like I've been well-rounded in my education and experiences.

[Dorcas] What would you want your family to remember you for?

It's like all of the things that I would want,

what would be the most important?

And it came to me that I would want my family

to understand and know that I cared about them.

To show them that I cared, that was, the things that I did for them.

You know, taking them to places,

being there for them, listening to them,

giving, constantly giving, and always being there for them.

That showed that I cared for them.

That was the most important. So, family, showing them that I cared.

[hip-hop music]

We're painting murals with positive messages in high-risk areas.

They aim to lower gang violence, graffitiing, drug abuse, and crime.

- [music playing indistinctly] - Three, two, one. Let's go.

This one was really special to me, because this was the first wall

that I started to incorporate a little bit more animation.

As you see, he's pulling the zipper, unzipping the wall.

And as he's unzipping the wall, it unveils the word, "Believe."

Also, this is on the back end wall of my personal church,

Bible Enrichment Fellowship International Church.

So, this one is dear to my heart.

That will always be here.

This one is the biggest unveiling to date.

We've had the city councilman give us awards.

We had the senator give us awards for this one.

Maxine Waters' office came through.

It was a really good experience.

[upbeat music]

[muted]

Get your Hansel T-shirt.

It's your boy, Hansel Moore.

Welcome to LA. Get it how you live.

[Mike] A lot of artists, they just, you know,

create this great piece of artwork.

And you're off to a gallery, and you never hear from 'em.

So I don't want that for me.

I always want to be, um, part of the community.

[music continues]

When you go to the hood, like where we're from,

there's not too much art up.

It looks desolate. It looks run-down.

There's not much that you can literally look up to

and, and feel inspired and, and energized.

And art does that for people.

It's deeper than just looking pretty,

like a, a wall that says "love" or "forgiveness."

Like, maybe, just maybe, if there's a person

that's considering harming someone on that street

and they see, like, these big letters

that say positive messages, they might just think, like, "Should I forgive?"

Like, even if they just, for a moment,

just see it and just keep going about their life,

somehow it's in their psyche, and it might change their way of thinking eventually.

Just planting, like, little seeds in people.

[Mike] It's kinda like just driving by and seeing a cross.

The symbolism behind the cross

and how that just makes you reflect on your life.

And that is a powerful thing on our conscience.

[airplane whining]

[music continues]

[music fades]

[slow hip-hop music]

[Carmelle] Once I finished my training at Columbia,

I was blessed to get a position

as a medical resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

And it was at that point I said, "Okay, finally.

I'm ready to do something to try to get my dad out of prison."

When I was 30, that's when the process started of her trying to get him out.

She has been diligently-- Like, she just on it.

Like, really, step by step, getting the case together.

I started to pursue a compassionate release.

I, I, I heard,

"We can't do this, but we'll try."

Um, you know, the case was more than ten years old.

I said, "Okay, I've gotta look for a lawyer who is,

is confident and who is gonna fight for us."

And so I kept looking...

...and I kept looking. [chuckles]

Years went by and I kept looking.

I wrote, um, every non-profit... [chuckles] under the sun.

Um, I wrote the governor of Texas multiple times.

I tried. For years and years, I tried.

I, in my heart, just could not give up.

There's murderers that have gotten released

in half the time that my dad's been in prison.

He, um, committed robbery,

um, at a convenience store in rural Texas

with a paint scraper and, um, threatened the clerk.

Uh, he didn't harm the clerk, he threatened the clerk.

The clerk gave him the money, and he was charged, uh, for aggravated robbery.

My dad's crime was classified as a "3G offense."

If you commit a "3G offense,"

you can't get out on compassionate release.

I still pushed for it and, uh, they denied it.

- Carmelle was the one who never gave up hope... - Yeah, definitely.

- ...that he would be free. - Definitely.

And so that kept us all hopeful...

- Yeah. - ...you know, in spite of what we saw.

[upbeat hip-hop music]

[Mike] This is one of my favorites,

just simply because of how I painted the boy,

you know, taking the sledgehammer,

knocking the hole in the wall, and you see paradise.

This is just showing that there's hope within our own community.

And you follow the boy, he's leading the way through the white way.

A lot of people don't know, but that, that's prayer.

Whenever you see the boy, you always see a green shirt

or green ray or some type of green beam that's coming out of his shirt.

This is prayer. And that's why you see him

doing a lot of stuff that he doesn't even know he can do.

That's through prayer. That sym-- symbolizes prayer.

Kobe Bryant passed while I was painting the wall.

I ended up dedicating that wall to Kobe Bryant and Nipsey Hussle by default,

because Nipsey Hussle got killed right down the street from that word.

"Hope" and "prolific," all those words

that he has tattooed on his face and on his body were inspirational words anyway.

So, that was what he really was about

as a person, and Kobe as well.

It's a way to speak to the people.

You know, they can be a Kobe or a Nipsey and just carry their legacy on.

That word "hope" is really powerful,

because you just wanna hope for positive things.

You wanna hope for a better future.

You know, hope that things will go right.

This is a, um, portrait that we did for, uh, one of my clients.

Her daughters got, uh, murdered,

and, uh, she wanted me to paint two, two paintings,

for, for herself and her sister, being the, the girl's aunt.

And this is something that I just did to remember her, and her legacy, and her life.

It's so easy to, to war,

- and it's a little bit harder to, to bring peace. - [kid laughing]

[upbeat music]

[Mike] We're on Vernon and 5th Ave,

right here in South Central Los Angeles.

And the owner, she contacted me.

She just took over this business,

and she wanted to give her business

a different vibe than what was here for decades on end.

A lot of people don't know that this is, uh,

the beginning of a new stroll right here, a prostitution stroll.

So, hopefully, this will just be that light of inspiration

to try to change people and inspire people for peace.

Um, this area has a really high crime rate right here,

with the, uh, the gangs, and violence, and drugs, and stuff like that.

And, you know, and that's what Artfully United really is all about,

is just to be that candle in the darkness

and just be that light.

This has been up for several months now.

It hasn't been written on one time prior.

This wall used to get hit up all the time,

so this is already doing what it needs to do in the community.

This is it. This is the peace wall.

It's simple. Very simple and plain.

Peace, that's all we're looking for.

[music continues]

When we went by and talked by the peace wall,

we had a guy that said, "Man, I'm glad you guys put this up,

because I got shot here and here."

Like, literally in front of the peace wall.

And he said, um, after the peace wall,

it has been a lot more peace in this area, you know?

And he thanked me for that. And that, that's, that really touched me,

because that means that

we're seeing change with these walls, you know,

and they're resonating with the people's spirits.

And, you know, it's not gonna eliminate crime, of course,

but it's kinda tough, you know, to shoot somebody

in front of a wall that says "peace," you know?

And that's, that's what it's all about.

To speak to you at that time of need.

Either you're going or coming from something,

some type of danger, you know, and it's, it's, uh,

It's been really helpful, you know,

from the testimonials that I've been getting.

It's been, it's been helping.

I get the testimonies all the time

by people saying, you know, "I don't even believe in God,

but every time I walk past your forgiveness wall,

it makes me feel better."

And, you know,

"I forgave my mom for beating me up as a kid."

Or, "I forgive, forgave this person for raping me."

"I forgive myself for about to kill myself yesterday."

You know, I get, I get them all.

I get all types of testimonials all the time.

In the beginning, I didn't think

that it, it would be such a big thing

that it's turning into, and now I'm being recognized.

And the first wall that said "forgiveness,"

that's become a, a hood shrine, I would say,

because people are, are protecting that wall.

You know, that wall rarely gets graffitied on.

Um, and almost daily, I get posts of someone praying in front of that wall, or--

Just this morning, I got a video of a guy

walking by, and he was, like, blessing the wall.

He had sage, and he was burning sage

in front of the wall at, like, six o'clock this morning.

And we've gotten awards from the senator, the mayor, councilmen.

The last unveiling we did, Senator was there,

Senator Bradford, uh, Mayor Butts from Inglewood, Maxine Waters' office.

The councilman gave a-- gave me all awards for what I'm doing,

and, you know, we're, we're being acknowledged

from the state and city level and from the community itself.

So, what I'm working on today is, uh...

...someone who has been following Artfully United

for some years now, and she, she wanted

a little bit of the wall.

"The walls," I should say, uh, in her driveway,

so I'm doing "Sky's the Limit."

And that is, uh, something that means a lot to me too,

is that someone wants something

that I created... um, at their home.

It's just a fact of me doing these around the city,

people want to be associated with the movement

by any means necessary.

That I'm proud of, of what it's growing to be,

and I'm proud of what God is gonna make it to be in the future.

I've just been blessed with the artistic skill

and blessed with the time to be able to even do this,

so no better way to do it than to just give back.

You know, we're on... This is noted to be

a horrible neighborhood, believe it or not.

- [man] Really? - Yeah. This is Hoover.

You know, the, the, the game, Hoover.

So, we're on 126 and Hoover.

But that just shows LA

is very... deceptive.

Like, you, you get-- Your, your perception's, like,

"Oh, these are nice neighborhoods." And these are nice.

There's nice houses here and there, but, you know,

you, you don't get it twisted.

At the end of the day, it's still South Central.

[hip-hop music]

- [siren wailing] - Every spot we go to, there's ambulances.

- Ambulance. Yeah. - Every single one.

Yeah, every, every single one.

Uh, this wall right here is a...

I call it a "slam dunk." [chuckles]

'Cause it was, it was real easy.

The, the owner came to me, gave us this wall.

It was really easy, no negotiations.

And we're at the point now to where it's, uh,

it's easier to get walls.

No matter what you go through, keep smiling,

because we're all going through different things, especially in these areas.

There's a lot of, uh, unforgiveness, and pain, and suffering,

but through it all, you gotta keep smiling, keep pushing through.

So, that's an indirect message too, is just keep pushing,

- so... - Yeah, these walls, I feel like are reminders

what, uh, we need, you know, day to day.

You know, you're late on rent, or you just don't have

- the rent. - [Mike] Yeah.

[Stacee] You know, you gonna make it out.

Yeah, so, you know, it's, it's really for the community.

- It's really for, for-- - Keep smiling.

- Keep smiling. - Keep smiling.

- You can't help but to smile... - Right.

...you know, in these situations.

- All right. - Hey, what's up?

[music continues]

So, here it is on the left, right here.

Looking pretty good.

So, right here, we have on this corner,

it says, "dream big."

I saw a lot of poverty, homelessness again,

drug use and trash. And, you know,

when you're dealing with that type of activity in these communities,

your, your dreams are not that big.

Your aspiration is not that huge.

We grew up not too-- Maybe 15 blocks

- south of here, so... - Mm-hm. Yeah. Yeah.

...this is our area as well.

- And it kinda, you know, resonates with us. - Hm.

Here's to keeping that dream as a kid.

We got Powerful Paul, really big, with his hands on his hip,

head high, lookin' up, cheesing.

You know, standing on top of the world.

It was really important that I put the world there,

because the world is yours if you dream big

- and don't let anyone, uh, limit and box you in. - Mm.

[Mike] I think this is the biggest Powerful Paul out of the, the tour so far.

[Stacee] We're celebrating the 15th year of Powerful Paul.

He was originally called The BYN Boy.

These areas that we're visiting

- are like forgotten areas. - Yeah.

So, with "dream big" being here, it gives the people

to, like, you just said, to touch back on it a little bit, to dream big.

And, and, and you can rise above all of this.

And this is, this is where it start. It starts with a dream.

[jazzy hip-hop music]

[Mike] I'm working on just changing the narrative

of what kids in that area go through.

You know, it was a point in time where, where I was homeless.

We were homeless as a family, you know. And look at us today.

You know, so God can turn any situation around and make it for the better good.

You just gotta believe in Him.

And that's ultimately what Artfully United is about.

[music continues]

Art was my outlet.

It, it didn't cost much money to have a piece of paper

and then a pen and pencil, so my mom started to get me

into as many art programs at that point that I could, uh, get into.

[Gwendolyn] Michael was only interested in drawing.

When someone was ill, Michael designed the card.

Michael kept the principal's office

full of beautiful paintings.

Uh, he did the bulletin boards in the hall.

If a teacher were out, Michael-- we had Michael to make cards,

and the kids would sign them.

When the superintendent would come back, he would say,

"Oh, what a beautiful room. And how did you think of all of this?"

And I said, "Michael thought of it."

He's let me know his progress, and I'm real, really proud...

[clears throat] to-- That my little first-grader, little Michael,

- is such a... [chuckles] is such a great person now. - [crowd laughs]

[music continues]

[Marvin] Michael Norice is my nephew,

and I'm proud to say I, I love him a whole lot.

My antennas kind of went up, 'cause I have a passion for art and fashion myself.

Here comes this, this young kid from Fresno that want to do the same thing,

so we kind of hit it off right off the top.

Few years later, he came to LA, and uh, that's when I got the opportunity

to really, um, see the master, I like to call him.

The artist doing his thing, and, and, uh,

just this, this, this talent that was just bubbling up out of this kid.

I was just amazed to see it.

I'd just come to find out that I was,

I was just a part of a artistic legacy,

that I had a mea-- minor, but meager part of it

that I was really, really, uh, really grateful to God

to be a part of it, to see it unwinding right in front of me, um...

That's the window, Daddy.

[Mike] Okay, I see the window.

So...

[Marvin] Mike is one of those kids that, though,

kind of, like, beat the odds, though, you know, um, uh, like myself.

No father in the picture. He kind of found out what being a man was

by looking and asking each other how to do that.

- And over the years, I've seen this young kid... - [indistinct chatter]

...uh, become a father and a business owner.

We, we've mentored each other through, through the years.

It's, it's, it's been, uh, it's been real good

to see it, um, and to see his work,

and to see his artistic, uh, achievements

just evolve, you know?

[music continues]

[Mike] All right. Good job.

I'm proud of Mike because he has risen above

unimaginable, um, circumstances.

Um, he wasn't the, the statistic.

Yeah, and it's, it's interesting. It's like it's easy to fall

- into that, that pocket as well. Growing up in the hood... - Yeah.

...it's so easy to be another statistic.

And, and I've actually never asked you, like,

being surrounded by, like, gang activity in the '90s,

like, how did you never get involved

or, like, get affiliated in that way? Like-- You know what I mean?

- Well, um... [exhales] I re-- - 'Cause I know there's pressure.

Oh, yeah, it's pressure. And a lot of the gangbangers are my friends. Still are.

It, it just-- I, I, I see the end, you know?

I, I see what you-- Two options. You're dead--

Three. You're, you're, you're, you're broke,

you know, with nothing, literally.

You're dead or you're in prison.

And I don't want to really be any one of those.

[gentle music]

[Carmelle] Midst of an environment...

...full of crime, full of drugs, full of negative peer pressure.

I mean, I remember at one point we literally lived

right across the street from a crack house.

And, um, there was, you know, a lot of guys his age

who were getting into drugs, getting into the wrong things.

What really amazed me about Michael was his ability to show respect

and friendship to the members of our, um, community around us,

but not get pulled in.

[Mike] We kind of made a pact, you know, when we were really young,

not to raise our own family like this,

and to get an education, to get out of the, the hood.

And, you know, the puck stops here.

- [indistinct chatter] - We going back.

[muffled chatter]

[Carmelle] During the pandemic, there were a few weeks that went by

during which I did not hear from my dad,

and I was so frightened.

I thought, "Oh, my gosh, COVID." [scoffs]

"Please don't tell me that my dad is dead."

But a few weeks went by, and my dad emerged, called me.

And, um, it was the most heartbreaking phone call...

...because when he called...

...all that he did for 20 minutes was to repeat

the six... names and phone numbers

on his calling list, going down the list

and then coming back, "Is this Carmelle's number?"

And, oh, my gosh, I lost it. I lost it.

I was, like, "There is no way they can be keeping someone

in this state incarcerated.

There is just no way.

I don't care what the law says.

This is just wrong."

And I just continued to fight, you know, for his release.

Uh, nothing was moving.

It was just so frustrating. I would have nightmares.

Um, and I'm, you know, a grown woman,

and just would wake up crying,

"God, please. Something has to give."

I can't get a lawyer to get, get him out.

The law won't allow for him to come home.

It was, it was a traumatizing time.

And again...

...this time, you know, a week and a half or so went by, no call from Daddy.

He would call me at least once a week.

No call from Daddy.

I said, "Okay, what's going on?"

I called up to the prison.

Lo and behold, my dad is in the prison infirmary,

because he could no longer take care of himself.

I dropped everything and went to Texas that next weekend,

and I sat and waited for them to bring my dad from the unit

into the visiting area behind the glass.

And I looked, and there was this old man

just kind of curled over...

...shuffling towards the seat.

[voice breaking] And um, it was just so heartbreaking.

Like, how could they keep my dad like this, you know?

Um, he sat down and his face just lit up.

Like, he was so happy to see me.

And it took every bit of strength in me to just not lose it.

[sighs] I didn't cry, I just wailed. [chuckles dryly]

I, I got the, the pillows from the hotel room

so that I wouldn't disturb my neighbors.

I let it out. It was just...

Oh, my gosh. It was a, it was a cry

of just sadness, anger, frustration.

Like, how, you know... [hesitating]

How can we go on like this? Like, we cannot--

This is just not... [scoffs]

...how it should be, right?

Meanwhile, I was working again to get him on a compassionate release,

because of his-- Apparently, because he was stuck in the infirmary

and they couldn't get him out, 'cause there was nothing that they could do

to reverse what was happening to get him back to a place

where he could find his cell, right? [scoffs]

And so I was in the process of trying to get him out, and, um...

...uh... [exhales]

...couple weeks later...

...I get a call, and they tell me,

"Your dad is coming home."

[indistinct chatter]

- The, the gate. - [laughter]

[indistinct chatter]

[Carmelle] My dad called me

a day or so after we found out

that he was be, gonna be able to come home on a, on a medical release.

I said, "Daddy! Daddy! You're coming home!"

He laughed.

"I'm coming home?" And he laughed.

I said, "You're coming home, Daddy."

I had grown up, you know, with my dad in prison,

and the idea of holding him in my arms

without being interrupted by a correctional officer

telling me, telling us it's time to go, was just blissful.

[indistinct chatter]

[Carmelle] Those are the, the, the things

- that most people take for granted. - Yeah.

- [Mike] Mm-hm. - You know, to be able to hug your parent.

It's a little surreal. It's like--

- Because we, you know, didn't grow up... - Yeah, we've...

- ...together. - ...we've never been together, so it's not like

we're go-- going back to the way things were.

- This is a new chapter of our life. - Yeah.

You know, I spoke to, um, one of Daddy's

- former high school classmates. - Yeah.

- She told me the same thing about Daddy. - Yeah. Yeah.

- She said that-- Yes. - [Mike] Styling his clothes and stuff.

That he was so well-dressed.

- Oh, I-- - And she said he could dance.

- [laughter] - Yeah.

You guys get a lot of traits like--

- Yeah. It's amazing. - Yes, yes, we do.

[Mike] It's so funny how DNA works, and just, just different things that he does

that I, I see myself-- Uh, I have done in the past.

And it, it's just-- We were always connected.

Even though we weren't physically connected,

- we were connected spiritually. - Mm-hm.

- It's like a part of you had been gone. - [Mike] Yeah.

You know? And now he's, he's able to be free.

I told him I wanted to dance on Valentine's Day

- and he laughed just like that. - [laughter]

That's when the hard work of re-entry began.

You know, it was just a time of celebration and reunion.

Again, this moment that we had all waited for and...

...looked around, and he didn't recognize a soul.

He did not know that he was home.

I sat him down one evening for dinner

and placed his plate at the table for him to eat.

And he looked up, and he says, "Ain't no correctional officers around here?

Where the, where the officers at?"

[scoffs]

I said, "Daddy, you are home. You're home now.

There's no officers here. You don't ever have to worry about a officer again.

I'm here with you."

And then I remember taking him to go for a walk.

We got to the door, the front door,

and I turn around and my dad is just standing at the doorway. [chuckles]

"We can go out there?"

He had been locked up for so long.

Just the, you know, the freedom to be able

to walk out of a door... [voice breaks]

...you know, uninhibited, was just completely foreign to him.

The man did not know he was home.

[Mike] I believe that he'll, he'll come out

and, and-- of the dementia, you know?

- [Dorcas] I am not limiting God. - [Mike] He can.

[Dorcas] We, we have had so many miracles

- along the way of, of what has happened... - [Mike] Yeah.

...as far as his health, his memory,

that I'm-- I say it's possible.

- Yeah. - You know?

- [Mike] Mm-hm. - It's definitely possible.

[Mike] Mm-hm.

Okay, so we are here at 94th and Budlong,

and we have a good friend, Dominique,

and she runs the program that's right here,

where she commissioned Artfully United to do the message here.

We're over here, I'm representing Sunnyside Baptist Church,

uh, which is right on the corner of 94th and Budlong, like he mentioned.

And this is our community center.

And we really are here for the community.

So, for this project, it was very special for us,

- 'cause Mike let the kids help him, uh... - [Mike] Yeah. Yeah.

...outline and paint all this, and they had a really good time.

And I think the message has been so important

on this corner that, like, when he was done,

- we got calls all the time, like... - Oh, wow. Wow, wow, wow.

..."We needed that. We needed those reminders of just upliftment."

And then, no one has graffitied over it.

No one has came and, like, tried to mess it up.

So, I think that's a statement in itself about how powerful his work is

and how meaningful the words are to our community.

[slow hip-hop music]

Who else think that there's a difference between a career and a job? What do you think?

[student 1] Uh, a job is like when you do something, like a cashier.

- [Mike] Yeah. - [man] Oh, yeah, that's a good one.

A career is something that you want to do.

A job is something that you have to do.

I used to speak at the, the, the kids' classes,

and um, you know, I see myself in pretty much all of 'em.

- What are your, what are your goals? - [student 2] I know.

[teacher] We have a lot of doctors in here.

I wanna be, I wanna be a police officer.

All right.

[student 3] I want to be a firefighter.

- Firefighter. What about you? - [student 4] I want to be a dancer.

[Mike] A dancer?

You know, single-parent household,

poverty.

You're kind of mentally just in that box of two miles.

[indistinct chatter]

[Mike] I don't know how many of those kids today,

that's their life, but I'm sure there's a few,

you know, that, that have gone through that,

and is going through that, and you know,

I want to touch those kids with showing them

that there is a different path that they can go down.

[student 4] My mom has one.

- Your mom has an Afro? - [student 4] Yeah.

[student 5] Oh, I like it. I like it.

- [overlapping chatter] - [students cheering]

- [Mike] All right. - [indistinct chatter]

This helps me, you know, and this is my therapy

of how I give back to my own community.

[music continues]

And Watts is a, is a great place,

but, you know, it can also be a death trap

- for some people who can't escape that bubble. - Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

You know what I'm sayin'? And just for us to be here now, and you know,

the art, the art bringing us together,

- me musically and you through-- you know, artistically... - Artistically. Yeah.

...through your paintings and, and, and through

your creativity in clothing, that's, that's dope.

You feel me? And that's how we help shaping the future.

And that, that's really like the two ways

to kind of tie people into different things.

Like, you, sonically, me, visually, you know?

And that's a way that people inspire.

'Cause you gotta either hear something or see something.

Me-- You inspired me to see a Black man

- in the middle of Hollywood on Melrose... - [Mike] Mm-hm.

- [Mad] ...with his own shop. That was like-- that's heavy. - Yeah.

[Mad] And I haven't seen that, so that's, like, what's real inspiring.

I was amazed, the backyard,

the paintings and the murals that you had on the wall.

Then I seen that you do clothes and shoes.

- I'm, like, "Man." That was dope. - [Mike] Yeah.

[Mad] It's something that's, like, powerful.

That's like the biggest thing, to keep that fire burning,

'cause you got a generation coming up

behind you that you want to affect and change.

I don't want them to grow up like me. I don't wanna have

- nothing to do-- The things... - [Mike] Yeah.

- ...I had to do to, you know, to survive. - Mm-hm.

So, if I can use my, my gift and, and paint a story for them

and use that to-- use my platform

to get other youth out of Watts and, or to chase their dreams and do what they want to do,

you know, I'm definitely gonna keep doing, pursuing this.

My, my goal, like, really some people say, "Oh, to get people out of Watts."

- I ultimately want to keep people in Watts... - [Mad] Yeah.

- ...but make Watts not how we grew up. - Yeah, man.

- You know, make Watts a peaceful place. - Yeah.

A place that, you know, people wanna just walk around,

- build businesses and stuff like that... - Yeah. Exactly.

- ...and stay in Watts. I'm proud of it. - Yeah.

And let's just keep it, you know, Watts,

but I want to change the dynamic behind Watts.

[music continues]

- [Mike] We were livin' in the hood of all hoods... - [Dorcas snickers]

- ...but we weren't ghetto at all. - [Dorcas] Mm.

And I-- You know, lookin' back,

I, I-- how is that even possible?

'Cause a lot of people assume that,

"Oh, you stay right here, you're ghetto."

You know? But we were not ghetto.

It, it was like we were living in, in it,

- but we weren't of it. - [Dorcas] That was

- the craziest time. - [Mike] That was, that was the--

- [Dorcas] Oh, my God. - It's different levels of crazy times.

I know. I had this crazy car.

When I say "crazy car," to start it, it didn't have a key.

[laughing] You had to take the wires and choo-choo,

and you would see sparks fly, and then the car would turn on.

And one day, we went out and it wouldn't turn on.

And we got-- Me and my children grabbed hands and we prayed,

and we said, "Lord, we don't have any money, you know. We need this car to go."

And, you know, the car started up.

We started out in the nation of Islam.

We were about three and five years old.

We converted to, uh, Christianity,

and we have, you know, respect for people

of all religious backgrounds.

Uh, but for us, uh, our faith in Jesus Christ

has really, um, sustained us

through very, very tough times and inspired us, uh,

to look up to God the Father,

um, when we didn't have our own father present

or able to provide for us

and give us, um, the guidance that we needed.

We used the hard times to make us stronger.

- Yeah. - We couldn't break. This was our life.

I mean, what we gonna do? Give up?

It takes pressure to make

- a, a diamond out of charcoal. - Yeah.

- A lot of pressure. - You gotta keep pushing.

And we got a lot of pressure on us.

- We had. - Yeah, it was a lot.

- Whoo. My goodness. - It was a lot, uh,

- growing up, but I wouldn't change it for the world. - No.

- It made me into the strong person that I am today. - What did Maya Angelou say?

- "I wouldn't give anything for the journey." - Yeah.

The journey is just as important,

- as important as the destination. - As the, as the destination.

It's amazing sometimes when you're going through things

and you don't know where you are.

You just keep on going,

because I think if I had of fully realized the situation

I found myself in, I might have been traumatized

and afraid to even go home at night.

You know, nothing came near our dwelling,

as it says in, uh, Psalm 91, my favorite.

"You shall see the reward of the wicked,

but it shall not come nigh thy dwelling."

[chuckling] I remember, on 90th Street--

That's a really wild one. I actually wrote that scripture

or that part in gold by the door...

...'cause I truly realized where we were then.

Maybe on the 113th Street, I didn't really fully understand

the trouble and, and the danger that we were living in.

But on 90th Street, oh, yes.

And I wanted it on our doorpost. I wrote it in gold.

So we saw that going out and while we were in the house.

The idea to have a mural tour,

painting a simple word like "forgiveness," and "love," and "hope,"

and "believe," and "we are one,"

and, and, uh, all the other words

and phrases that we're gonna do.

Um, and it started with that seed

that she planted in me.

["Award Tour" by A Tribe Called Quest]

♪ We on award tour With Muhammad my man... ♪

[Mike] We were supposed to be doing a new mural

in Compton, off of Alameda and Cedar,

but, uh, right now there's just a little bit

of politics that we have to abide by.

Uh, the different politics between the two gangs,

Hispanic and Black gang that's going on over there.

So, due to just our safety as a Black artist

and Black organization, we decided just to let that situation cool down.

So, this is the location of the wall that we have,

uh, for the tenth wall of the Artfully United tour.

But as you can see, it's, uh,

has a gang infestation of graffiti.

What we're planning on for this wall, actually was "harmony."

- [man] Mm. - Um, and I was gonna have Powerful Paul, like, fly--

Having a dove fly out of his hands.

That was gonna be the design for this wall.

Working on it, um, just to give us a pass,

give us a pass for being Black artists,

and, um, because they're, they're going back and forth

with another Black gang, and this became racial.

So, when you deal with Compton, you got...

You have the element of Black and Brown.

Um, so LA is different. So, how we've done all of our murals so far

have been in LA, Inglewood, Watts.

And you do-- you're pretty much dealing with the Black population.

When you're dealing with Black gangs, it's, it's easier to get to 'em.

It's just easier to-- When you're dealing with Hispanic gangs,

- they have, they really have more of an infrastructure. - A structure.

- Yeah. - They, they're really more structured

than, than the Black gangs.

And so, when you have that structure,

it's harder to get to the person that you want to talk to.

It just pose a extra challenge, but it also makes it

more rewarding, because once we're able

to reach that person, it also bridges that gap

- between Black and Brown. - [Mike] Mm.

And so, for them to allow us to come over there

and do a piece, that also speaks

to maybe the relationship bet-- between the two communities.

You know what I'm saying? And that's big.

That's, that makes, that's, that makes this wall

- that much more epic. You know? - Yeah.

Because if we can start it with art, and that's what

Artfully United is about, it's uniting communities

- through art. - Through art, yeah.

And so, if we can do that, this'll probably be,

- in terms of the united part... - The biggest, yeah.

- ...the biggest, the biggest wall. - Mm. Biggest wall.

[upbeat music]

So, uh, we're in Compton, on the corner of Tamarind and Cedar,

uh, at the spot of our tenth mural unveiling.

Uh, the mural is "Harmony." And so, uh, this is the unveiling ceremony.

- [indistinct chatter] - [laughter]

[Mike] So, I would like to thank everyone for coming out.

I really appreciate it.

This wall right here has, has touched my heart

because of all the, the new family and friends

that I've acquired since doing our first mural in Compton. It's meant a lot to me.

Uh, we've been doing Artfully United for, wow, six years.

And everyone asks, "Oh, you have one in Compton?" I'm, like, "No, no, no, no."

So, this one is a, is a landmark.

We didn't wanna just have murals just, just up.

We wanted to work with the community and give a good message

to hopefully change our mentality that's in our neighborhoods.

That's, that's the point of Artfully United,

is just give some level of inspiration for the people.

[music continues]

[all] Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one.

- [Mike] Here we go. - [cheering]

[applauding]

[Mike] Right. So, this right here obviously says "harmony,"

but I needed to have this message right here,

- because we need to live in harmony. - [all] Yeah.

You know, this right here represents the harmony in Compton.

- Thank you very much. - [cheering, applauding]

Let me get out of the way... [speaks indistinctly] photo op and stuff.

[woman] Yeah, look at my camera. One...

[indistinct chatter]

Mike, I wanted to be here today just to present you with this certificate

to let you know that we most certainly appreciate

all that you're doing throughout our community.

So, on that note, I would like to say this,

is that the city of Compton Certificate of Recognition

is presented to Michael Norice.

Let's give Michael a round of applause, you guys. Yes.

[applauding, cheering]

[music continues]

[Mike] I love just this chapter of life.

Uh, I love the fact that, in this last year,

I've probably spent more time with him than I have in a decade or so.

They had basically just given up on Saleem

and were just letting him waste away in there.

- And that's how we received him last year. - Yeah.

And so, with Carmelle's medical training,

it was basically literally saving his life after he got out.

Yeah, that's a good point.

That he came home to a daughter that's a doctor.

[Dorcas] Yes.

[gentle music]

[Dorcas] The trauma of imprisonment,

I really didn't have much experience with that,

and I didn't have much experience with dementia at all.

We're learning it along the way.

[Carmelle] Dad has been making slow but sure progress

since he's come home.

We don't hear any questions about officers or going to commissary.

So, we're so grateful for that.

We've kind of broken out of the, you know,

um... the prison walls. [chuckles dryly]

And we have him in daycare.

We're starting to see some things coming back.

And this past Father's Day, he and I were sitting

at, you know, a restaurant, having Father's Day dinner,

and I called Michael on FaceTime

so that he could wish my dad a Happy Father's Day.

And when Michael's face came on the screen,

tears came to my dad's eyes.

I believe, in his heart, my dad knew,

and he knows who we are in his heart.

[faint chatter]

- I think his spirit knows who we are. - Yeah.

- It's just his mind may not be there. - Yeah.

[indistinct chatter]

- Yeah, I was catching up to you. - I know.

You doing good here. I'm the one who's lacking.

God has been watching throughout,

and he has been

kind of filling in the gaps whenever needed.

[music continues]

[Mike] Everything works by just God's grace,

because my mom has been blessed

with retiring from her 31 years of teaching.

She is, uh-- So, she's entered as well a new chapter of her life

and moved to the East Coast with my sister.

My dad has developed dementia.

He needed someone, and she was able to move in

with my sister to assist with helping out with him,

sacrificing her own retirement to give back to our family still

with, with, uh, being a caregiver for my father.

- Play again. - [music continues]

- Now it's all right. - [Carmelle] Mm-hm.

Yeah.

- You feel... - Feel what?

You feel at home?

Yeah, I feel good.

- [chuckles] - I'm back too.

- [Carmelle and Mike] Mm-hm. - [Dorcas] Aw.

[Mike] Uh-huh.

[music continues]

[camera shutter clicks]

[Mike] Family is very important to me,

and the legacy of a family is very important to me.

And these two people, my mom and my dad,

has mold me into the person that I am,

so I love just being with them and spending time with them

at any moment that I can.

I think, if my family wasn't there

and if I didn't have the family structure,

I could have still done the Artfully United tour,

however it wouldn't be in the same, um, context.

Just even from Powerful Paul, and the, the green glow around him

is the power of prayer, and that surrounds him and, and enables him

to do whatever he does constantly.

And, and everything is just based around the family.

So, it has so much to do with family.

[hip-hop music]

The art tour's never gonna stop.

Even when we're done with the 20 walls in Los Angeles,

we're gonna go to Oakland, San Diego.

I've already gotten two or three locations in Fresno,

um, I've got a couple offers in Atlanta.

And, um, I wanna start strategically placing Powerful Paul

in different areas, start, uh, marketing him

a lot more to build him as a brand.

You know, just think of Disney and Mickey Mouse.

[cheering]

[Mike] My main goal is to be as successful as I can

and then eventually open up a, a art center right here in Watts.

I want centers where the kids can come and learn about art.

Just be a place that, um, artists can come in the community,

and people that even isn't artists.

Just anyone that can come in the community,

and come and just kind of just have

therapeutic sessions of painting and a safe haven.

[spray paint hissing]

I'm working on just changing the narrative

of what kids in that area go through.

You know, there is a constant cycle because of limited options,

and I'm working on placing different career paths in front of them

and just being that person of saying,

"Hey, I was once you, you guys." You know?

And, if I had this, I would be--

would've been better off at this point in my life.

Sometimes these kids, they need a little bit more guidance and instruction,

and that's where the academy is gonna come in at, keeping them off the streets.

'Cause we're not all hoodlums, gangbangers or drug dealers.

You know, some of us could be doctors.

Some of us can be uh, mural store owners.

I've been recently selected to be the main muralist

for the Jordan Downs redevelopment project.

They're redoing the Jordan Downs Project building,

which is one of the most notorious project buildings

in the world, and, uh, they're tearing it down

and they're building, um, high-quality apartment complexes.

This is the-- this is Watts, believe it or not.

This is what's coming. It's being built right now.

And, um, this is where the mural is gonna be.

Give you a ratio of how it is compared to a person.

So it's pretty big, big mural.

And this is gonna be at a huge shopping center

right there in the heart of Watts.

[music continues]

We're here in Jordan Downs Projects.

We're at the new, uh, Jordan Downs Plaza

on Century and Alameda, and this is my latest mural.

And this is basically a timeline of Watts

starting from the beginning stages to current,

and, uh, in my artistic form.

All right here. This is kind of like the end where it's showing the, uh...

Like, this paint that's all dwindling down, you know, right here,

and I tell-- I show, like, a letter to Watts saying,

"Dear Watts, thank you for all the good times as well as the bad,

for the bad times are just learning lessons.

Keep inspiring, creating, and never stop believing."

You know, I'm, I'm really humbled

to just be here now, you know, right now.

It's a humbling experience. I thank God for it,

and I thank God that He has blessed me with the gift of art,

to be able to do what I've already accomplished.

And I'm definitely prepared for what He has

for the future, for me and my career, for my family,

the legacy that I'm gonna leave behind.

And it all starts with the mindset.

The mindset is very, very important,

and Artfully United is gonna change that mindset

for just positive messages.

And I'm just willing to take on the task of,

you know, just good versus evil,

and, you know, love will definitely conquer the evil every time.

[man] Mm-hm.

[upbeat music]

[Mike] So, we're here at the first Starbucks in Watts,

arguably probably the only Starbucks ever gonna be in Watts,

and this is one of two murals that I did for this Starbucks.

And everything on here is just symbolic.

See the protester?

Now, the protester is holding up a sign

that's really important.

You got 65, 92 and 20,

'cause those are the three years that they had protests

or some type of riot in the LA or Watts area.

One of my latest walls says "Joy."

Channel 5 News asked me to do this one.

This was a collaborative effort between us and the school,

'cause they were celebrating their 75th anniversary, so they--

hence 75th Street Elementary School. [chuckles]

And they found me, and they saw all the work

that I was doing in the community.

So, this was, um, really a joy to do this,

uh, this piece here.

We're here at the Chuco's on 76th and Central,

- and has Powerful Paul here. - [applause and cheering]

It's pulling back, you know, and it's showing

the people of the community that has since passed away

during the process, and I have her portrait there.

And as people pass away, we're gonna add more faces

to that pullback as time passes.

I'm really workin' on...

It's one right around the corner here, actually.

Uh... it's a building that you can,

you can see it from the freeway.

And that right there, once I get to freeway signs and freeway walls,

that's when it's really gonna be like, "Oh, my God."

[music continues]

[music fades]

- ["Tree" by Jay Green] - ♪ There's a tree by my house ♪

♪ That blooms ♪

♪ And it smells of you ♪

♪ There's a tree by my house ♪

♪ And it reminds me of you ♪

♪ Missing you, missing you ♪

♪ Can't believe I'm a fool ♪

♪ For you ♪

♪ I'm missing you Missing you ♪

♪ Can't believe ♪

♪ I'm a fool ♪

♪ See, you were gentle And kind ♪

♪ Now I wish you were mine ♪

♪ Made a choice Of letting you free ♪

♪ Now my mind won't let me be ♪

♪ I'm missing you Missing you ♪

♪ Can't believe I'm a fool ♪

♪ For you ♪

♪ I'm missing you Missing you ♪

♪ Can't believe ♪

♪ I'm a fool ♪

♪ Years later Still cling to tree blooms ♪

♪ Bring me back to... ♪