Linked up with my little bruv Ikem for a project featuring Black men in his life. Peep the quick interview below:

Name: Ikem Malyk

Age: 23

From: Trinidad And Tobago, living in Brooklyn

Sign: Capricorn

Pronouns: He/him/His

What was the inspiration between the project and overall style choice? Hmmmmm, what inspired me was simply just being black. Being in college, being a Black Caribbean American male, and taking courses about being black and how my blackness was represented and misrepresenting I felt the need to take the power back into my own hands. It was symbolic to me to have a variety of black men and different shades of black men because that’s what the black community is made up of. Different shades, shades mixed with black, white, Latino. Those who are immigrants, those who have immigrant parents etc. The Du-Rags were deliberate because often times we are stigmatize with it as ghetto and everything negative, but never in a positive light; especially in movies. The colors were also deliberate, because to me color is everything, but also important to represent the LGBT community because you can’t be pro black without acknowledging that we have many different queer individuals apart of our community and we should protect and not bash our people.

What do you want people to take away after from viewing the photographs? What I want others to take away from this is that masculinity and the patriarchy has often times been problematic and has even been problematic to our own people. So in this new time, decade and era I want that Black men be the representation they want to see. Men can, be soft and loving and love our Black people for all our difference; especially our Black women.

Credits:

Producer: Ikem Malyk

Photographer: Dee Williams

Models: Phillip White, Steven Bobbett, Tristen Powell, Ib Casso, James B