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OG of Luxury Mindz recently published a new set of images from this year’s SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas. The set features J. Cole, Bun B, Chamillionaire, Paul Wall, Talib Kweli, Wiz Khalifa  and others. Check out the set at www.sxswhiphop.com

Pimpin Pen “Lil Homie”, directed by OG of Luxury Mindz.

Gerald G “How I Was Raised” directed by OG of Luxury Mindz.

Austin based OG of Luxury Mindz stayed busy during this year’s SXSW and now you can see some of the work he did during the three day music festival. The collection includes  SXSW participant Bun-B, B.O.B. aka Bobby Ray, Mistah Fab, Big Boi, Janelle Monae and Asher Roth. Go over to OG’s site to view the full collection.

Also, if you missed our interview with OG a few month’s back, check it out now, the post also includes some of his other work.

Links
OG Photographer’s SXSW Hip Hop Project
OG Photographer Interview with BigBadMedium.com

Og of Luxury Mindz recently completed this documentary about Austin’s Destiny by Design program.

Destiny by Design, in cooperation with Citizen Schools, focuses on culture and career development opportunities within hip-hop.

Teaming with volunteers, the Destiny by Design kids were able to utilize their creativity to produce, write, and record their own song.

For more project info…

destinybydesignproject.com

OG seems to be keeping busy with all sorts of great projects. Good work and congratulations to everyone involved in this project.

OG’s shot of David Banner will be featured in Photo District News in December.

Congratulations to OG of Luxury Mindz! OG has been announced as a winner in Billboard magazine’s Ultimate Photo Contest. Billboard and Photo District News (PDN) selected OG’s photo of David Banner to be featured in PDN’s December issue. OG’s work can be seen at www.OGPhotographer.com and if you missed it, check out the feature we did on him back in October called Photos and Platinum Plaques.

Links
OGPhotographer.com
OGPhotographer on Flickr

OG has worked with many southern rap acts, including: Chamillionaire (top), Gerald G (middle) and David Banner (Bottom). 

For many their opinion of Southern rap music probably depends on where they stand on the map but no matter who you are there is definitely something to be said for a group of artists that work hard and know their audience well enough to make a good living as independent artists. So while many people in the hip-hop world like to view southern hip-hop as a cheap knock off of what the “art form” was meant to be, many in the South are too worried about steadily producing more of it, regardless of what others may think. This can be said for many hip-hop artists that have gotten to the point they are now by posting up and hustling mixtapes out the back of their trunk, but it’s important to point out that not all product that is hustled out the back of a trunk is created equal.

In terms of  design and photography all you need to do is jump on MySpace to witness firsthand that Pen & Pixel and their influence on cover artwork and photography is alive and well in the South. Whether that’s good or bad, I’ll let you be the judge, but many times when you’re looking for that platinum level of art you really are left with a gumball machine equivalent. It seems that just like everyone wants to be rapper, everyone wants to be a designer or photographer, without ever paying attention to quality. In Southern rap, there’s few artists and studios that really stand out and one artist who has not only embraced the culture and influences of southern rap but helped take to a more sophisticated level of artistry is Austin based OG of Luxury Mindz. OG took some time out of his busy schedule to rap with me a bit about his artwork, the artists he’s worked with, his platinum plaque, Austin hip-hop and the future of music related art.

Photo slideshow and interview after the jump ↓
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