FOOD FOR THOUGHT

I feel like I should take the time to tell you some things today, whoever ‘YOU’ are out there. I’m not trying to single anyone out, because that’s not fair. I feel my words compelled by OUR God, so I don’t compare…

But, first, I have some hard things to tell you. We’ve all suffered a tragic trauma, been tricked by the devil’s drama.

His best work is deception. He relishes in separation through the delegations of religious denominations.

It might end up astonishing just a few that I study the same scriptures of Christians and Jews, too! The same of whom study biblical narratives, prophetical, or poetic wisdoms… The same books as anyone who studies an Abrahamic tradition, yet the cross or David’s star isn’t my faiths emblem! I once felt so compelled to thank our God, Yes! OUR GOD! The one who said, “I AM!” For sending the Messiah that I fell to my knees in prostration with tears in my eyes and begged, “please send Jesus back to the start the Day of Judgement, oh God!!!” But I didn’t get that message in a church or Messianic Synagogue…!

By now, you probably think I’m crazy, but I’m not kidding! I really hope what I’ve said so far has you interested in knowing the key thing I’ve danced around that’s missing…!

I’m not scared to tell you my the truth which is OURS, but I think when it comes to what the persecutions felt like of the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel, or the apostles Stephen and Paul, I can relate! Because in this world still led astray we still do it and go through it everyday and how we all participate in every way even though we may not outwardly demonstrate is all we choose to ignore when a brother or sister shows hate…

And I’ve done it too… :( if you haven’t guessed now I’ll go ahead and tell you…

I’m Islamic! Not like your ideas of Osama, but I don’t mind being compared to Obama! :)

Not his ideas of politics or health reform, I’m a Conservative constitutionalist! Now I know you’re saying, “On what planet is this nut born!?!” I know, right!? I didn’t know how I was gonna say some of this, either, that’s why I chose a poetic psypher, so I could deliver it in Ether… God’s chose me as a vessel to smash down walls between believer’s who believe the lies of there being a separate us, so please indulge me while I tell you some of my own past prejudice…

I grew up in the Midwest! Kansas City, Missouri and all it’s surrounding Metro areas…

What I saw as an outsider looking in told me Islam was practiced by outdated cultures of people somewhere in the middle east, or by Afrocentric black Politico’s and ex-prisoners… or their brothers and sisters still inside practicing ‘Prislam’. What?! Don’t get uncomfortable now! I thought we crossed that bridge already, didn’t we?! I was told to tell the truth, though, so you gotta toughen up, OK?! Most Certainly!

Whatever I thought I saw was the exact opposite of me!

I was around 10 years old when X was released, a movie about a beautiful brother named Malcom, and what it was he was a vessel used to teach! But it confused me, because I couldn’t wear those leather medallions of a colored Africa, because I was not considered an oppressed brother staring back at ya. Even though I was from the same hip-hop culture right next to ya. So instead, I learned to observe at first Islam not being inclusive of the rest of us, so when I would hear a greeting in Arabic, I’d become defensive of that new rhetoric and for the first time in my life began to see and feel that disparate feeling of separates…

Can anyone relate?! Then came 9/11! What a charging event that gave me permission to hate anything with a turban, a Qur’an or face that may have originated in a middle eastern state…and it carried a lot of weight up unto a recent kind of date…

Because when I saw those towers fall they showed me the roll call of the terrorists names and point of origins, y’all!

Then my friends went off to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban and make a stand against an evil so persuasive it demands the persecutions of their own women and men…

Now I’m not here to determine of what I felt was real, imagined or propagandized. It’s just what made sense back then and what I felt was true. You are doing great, please hang in there I’ll end this soon…! I’ve learned a lot since I, an Anglo middle-class Midwestern guy began to pry if what was truth or lie!

But I had to do it with the Qur’an , Torah, and Bible… what I found was that there us is so few differences between Islamic Me, a Christian, a Jew, or our prophets, apostles and disciples! THEY’RE THE SAME! I’ll prove it by dropping some names!

You call him Jesus, I call him Isah! You call him Abraham, I just pronounce it Ibrahim! The Mother of OUR immaculately concepted Messiah, we call Meriam!

Moses if Hud to us! I believe in the same miracles, too, like when he cast down his staff and ended up converting Pharaohs magicians! See there is so few differences, but somehow and ‘US’ or ‘WE’ can still fell so distant…

And it’s not like I knew how to close the gap of my own ignorance and misguided convictions but listen! King David’s story is one of my favorites and let me mention, I’m proud to be named Matthew after one of the authors of the first book of the Gospel’s, some might say that names my…’Christian’! Lol I have Islamic attributes! Two! And it’s my pleasure to introduce those to you, too! WA’KEEL FU’WAAD is the transliteration! it means TRUSTED HEART! I hope that helps you see I’m honest when I tell you I’m not separate or apart from anyone who is interested in LOVING AND BEING LOVED FOR WHO WE TRULY ARE! We are ALL God’s greatest creations… Made to love one another despite made up differences, religions, sects or even nations…. So please accept my truth as ours, Study becomes Sturdy, Ideas change easier then beliefs, because in the middle of every BElieF is a lie used as persuasion…

I’m really only trying to show, for comparison, my human side and my need for truth, compassion, love, and meaning. And to be like one of the greats, being a little piece of love in a pit full of demons.

-Salam Alaikum

Artist: Brooksie

**Artist Commentary**

Creator/Artist: Brooksie from West Central

Name: (Masonic Traditionalist)

Symbolism and adaptions inspired by: Rick Ross -Free Mason feat. Jay Z

A Free Mason asked me once, “Could I could see the sun at midnight…?” I thought about it and all of my instincts told me I was going to answer wrong, or at the very least , inadequately, to this studious man standing before me in a prison cell in 2020. I opted for the easy answer…”I don’t think so but maybe…?” Thus began my teachings and learnings in the Masonic Traditions and lessons! The answer, I came to find out was… Absolutely! I can see the sun at midnight because the TRUTH is, there’s no such thing as moon light! Science has taught us that the moon emits no light from its own source as a celestial body. The TRUTH is that you’re actually seeing a reflection of sun light reflected on the moons surface! Which is where I chose to begin at the top left corner of this mural dedicated to Rick Ross’s song Free Mason. The imagery is made to be followed one into the other starting anywhere from any of its points and will lead you to the same questions and answers! I’d like to travel from the bottom of the piece from this point on and lead you scripturally to a fruition of thought inner questioning I hope will be a basis for future artful expressions! Grab your bible! The image in the bottom portion of the cross is of a man bound entering a temple dimly lit showing little of its contents. The man is depicted with his hands bound, his right pant leg cuffed to the knee, with noose loosely fitted around his neck. This is exactly how an initiate in the Masonic Tradtitions would approach the Eastern door of any respective masonic temple where he would be led and a mason would be asked by the ‘Tyler’ on the other side, certain questions to gain entry to the first degree of Masonic teachings. I would like to take a brief interlude to explain what I know from my own investment in learning about these traditions as one if the uninitiated. Masonic allegory and tradition has been controversial from its inception because of its secretive nature, and has been done a disservice by the paranoid and misunderstanding of its main purpose, one fellow Mason helping a willing person become fuller and experience a better life through learning and most importantly, SERVICE WORK! Service is a staple of our outreach and the sole purpose I decided on this song to help paint a portrait to explain our outreach in my own way! Now back to the picture and now for some scripture! If you look at the bottom of the page where there is only my signature, a deceleration of the outreach, in the middle where it is void of shading or imagery, there is ancient Hebrew text taken from the “Sepherothic System of the Divine Horizon which deserves a commentary of its own, but these 10 Hebrew writings throughout the picture was used as the symbolism of the first Abrahamic tradition in Judaism. The first transliterates to “Kingdom”. As you immediately look up the steps the initiate stands atop, this Hebrew transliterates to “Foundation”. Open your bible to 1st Kings 7:15, wherein Hiram, also a figure often mentioned in Masonic teachings and traditional practices, is sited with the exact measurements of what is known as Solomons Temple, the temple God promised to King David, Solomons father, would be built by his Progeny. (see 2nd Samuel 6-7:16) in the scripture of 1st Kings 7:15 we see that two bronze pillars are casted, each one 18 cubits (roughly 324 feet) in length, 12 cubits in circumference (roughly 90 feet) divided into four Lily’s making each 2.1 cubits. The math is broken down in architectural schematic styling on the right side of the picture. The left pillar was called Boaz, the right pillar, Jachin. Directly under Boaz, the Hebrew transliterates “Honor”. This also scriptually coincides with the story of the book of Ruth wherein Ruth is honored by a wealthy man, Boaz, and married as a widow so she could be taken care of with her mother in law and still be lawful to the Judaic practices and doctrine of the time. Under the Pillar Name Jachin you we the Hebrew that translates to Mercy. Scale up the entrance to the chief cornerstone of the structure where you will begin the journey into more symbolisms beginning of the clock spiraling out saying, “My path is all math.” And under the clock spinning out, it declares, “this is God engineering!” And directly below this the Hebrew transliterates “Grace”! The clocks time is beginning in binary coding turning into the Roman numerals symbolizing the lyrical line in the song, “I understand the code these hackers can’t crack!” That correlates to the lyrics coinciding with the graffiti street sign in the temple entrance, “we done lost symbols, speak in cryptic code!” The clock is also spinning from two hands meeting in the sign of a triangle with the ‘All Seeing Eye’, a masonic symbol representing God overseeing all. The Left hand is burned and pocketed with blisters and pustules with the word ‘Iblis’ on its index finger. This is the name in the Islamic teaching of the Jinn who later refuses Gods decree and steps away to become the deceiver of men, Shatan, or Satan. The left hand is a mans hand with Ecclesiastes 12:13 written in its index finger, scripture said by imitates of other Masonic tradition fraternal orders such as the Shrinners every time a new degree is taken, which is “The conclusion of the whole matter,” a book attributed to King Solomon as the author, To the immediate left and right there are angels wings with extended representative of the angels atop the cask of the Ark of the Covenant which was placed in the Temple of Solomon we detailed from our reading in 2nd Samuel, as the resting place for the Ark and tabernacle. On the left, the Hebrew transliterates “Fear” the right Hebrew transliterates “Mercy”. On the left arm of the cross immediately above the angel is a compass with a 4 in its southwest corner ghost shaded to represent us in the 417 area code of SW Missouri! Lol the letter E is ghost shade above the Eastern arm of the compass because in masonic tradition, once you’re an initiate you are said to be heading East, the direction of where the sun rises, seeking Truth. Refer to the beginning of this commentary! :) It is immediately followed to the right by a depiction of the Temple Mount where all three of the Abrahamic traditions have been represented throughout their history and is known as the Al Aqsa Mosque today. The Hebrew by its depiction transliterates “intelligence”. The right arm of the cross has the Hebrew inscription above the spinning clock that transliterates “Wisdom”. Directly to the right of this is the Arabic symbol that transliterates “Al-Islam” with the Crescent Moon and Eastern Star that is a universal image representing Islam inside the symbol! Now, the finale and also the beginning of the symbolisms mixing all three traditions seamlessly at the top portion shows a tree with two bloody nails with the blood dripping onto the end roman numerial ‘12’, representing Jesus’ blood signaling the end of times. The tree also has Daniel 4:4-11 wherein Nebuchadnezzar’s vision in his dream tells us of the coming of Christ and his teachings that are like a tree that grew strong into the heavens! The wooden plaque on the tree has I hope the observers of this piece will be provoked to investigate the validity in its symbolisms concerning all three represented Abrahamic traditions, and, hopefully, we can all take a lesson from Masonic traditions and decide our 24 hour days in 3 parts. 8 hours for your chosen profession and mastering your craft, 8 hours for rest and refreshment, and 8 hours spent with a fellow of like mind because iron sharpens iron and I’m better honed when I’m not figuring it out all alone! I hope you’ve enjoyed the piece and it’s commentary and please feel free to join me with the next pieces soon to follow! Take care of yourselves and someone else! I’m just a fellow traveler heading east seeking truth…sometimes I ride a donkey, sometimes a camel…And sometimes I even get a lift from a few G.O.A.T.S along the way!!!!

**Artist Commentary**

Creator/Artist: Brooksie from West Central

Name: Thankful Return of the Living Dead

Inspired and adapted by: X-Raided - Return of the Living Dead

This was a conceptual piece I literally let the artist X-Raided tell me how to draw and it came to life on its own! I’ve been an X-Raided fan since I discovered his work in 1996 right before I did almost 2 years in juvie at the McCune School for Boys right outside Kansas City, Mo. Where I was raised. It comes full circle with both I and X-Raided from where his life and subsequent art was a derivative, and, where they are now, although, admittedly, his life is a little more progressed in the direction I’m heading now myself! I’ve watched his work evolve and he’s been a major influence on my own evolution and is a major inspiration in my life, because music is a mirror I look through from different reasons from different vantage points. I’ll listen to Mozzy sometimes in a reminiscent mind, but mostly, if my life is mirroring Mozzy’s more gut level hood inspired anthems, I know I’m veering off my intended course and getting too far back in the mix. With X-Raided, I feel a kindred spirit connection with him and his progression in the process of finding out how to be human beings and do so in the most positive and least harmful manners possible, beginning with the fact that we even share the same birthday, also represented in the piece on the crown for July 30th. The symbols are for his first and middle name, and my art tag symbol, my last names initial with a halo and devils tail symbolizing that juxtaposition and duality that makes me Brooksie from West Central! ;) The imagery in this piece flowed forth onto pages over a 27 hour period in 2-5 hour sessions over a weeks time and was so easy to visualize due to his ability to paint that mental portrait for me and his listeners! I hope this piece inspires people to listen to his songs Prayer in Hell and Return of the Living Dead, the inspirations for this piece on his latest release under our own Tech N9nes Strange Music recording label as one of their newest artists on their catalog and investigate his history and see that no matter what it looks like from the outside looking in or vice versa, there is depth and meaning in every incarcerated soul, and I feel truly favored and highly blessed to have a degree of creativity and expression that could be coupled with his music to create something I hope is provocative and compelling, as well as aesthetically pleasing to the eye for all who views it! Please tag and repost this art piece and make sure people see a fullness of life being expressed through two fellow felons on this compilation and if X-Raided gets a chance to read this, I hope he knows how grateful I am as a fan and artist who has found so much inspiration and comfort in his lyrics in the last 28 years that I am forever grateful for his thoughtful expression through my own journey “running for my life in the land of the lost!”

Respectfully and sincerely, Brooksie from West Central

Cliff note: the Arabic inscription is done in calligraphic manner and transliterates, “by Allah, he will soon go out.”

**Artist Commentary**

Creator/Artist: Brooksie from West Central

Name: Excavate My Pain

Inspired and adapted by Macklemore and Lyrics from his songs: Church and Excavate

Excavate my Pain was an easy choice in picking the next body of songs I want to bring to life trough imagery and symbolism, but it took on many different levels and layers as I progressed through the mural. I’m not a muralist by standard, but rather, a tattooist, so I let the piece kind of adapt and meld itself into one body. Macklemore is a huge inspiration to me, like so many other people who have lived a life of addictive/criminal cycles in an urban culture, so when I listen to his music, if I can see through the tears in my eyes, its easy to bring a body of work together that I hope will draw attention not just to our new outreach efforts with Trustedheartszakatoutreach.org, but our big sister organization I was graciously accepted into before, Rock Bottom Outreach! (See link on page) Thats why this was more in dedication to Cheri Anderson, who we call Wonder Woman, because of all her concentrated efforts, as well as Courtenay Hurt, both co-founders, but Courtenay taught me to legitimize my work so it wasn’t just the ‘big hommie in the hood’ persona I’d come to be known for, but to establish routes and reach my full potential beginning with these outreaches…I’m forever grateful for them both and artists who teach me to keep my dreams in the clouds but my feet on the ground. These bodies of work are all being donated to help sound the trumpets of our arrival and help to link us to an existing network of like minded and well established organizations as well as hopefully turn people on to these great hip hop artists I’ve been a fan of for years so that they can continue to inspire as respire so that their messages never expires!