Today we’d like to introduce you to Najee Strickland.
Hi Najee, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Well, I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. My mom enrolled me in a modeling/acting school called John Casablanca. I attended the school from ages 8 through 13. It was fun, new and an educational experience of the modeling/acting world. The school got me out of my shell for a minute, but I’m still an introvert at heart.
During my past time at the age of 11 or 12, I got interested in painting. I wasn’t into video games and sports, and it’s crazy because I’m 6’3 and people look at me and immediately ask if I play sports. Sadly, no. Growing up, they picked me last because they knew that I was sorry lol. My skills in painting got better over the years, and I was soon put into advanced placement art in high school.
After high school, I went to Southwest Tennessee Community College for Architecture/Engineering Technology. I wanted to make my mom proud, I wasn’t focusing on my happiness (crazy how we sacrifice our happiness). After being at that college for the amount of time that I was there I had an epiphany and realized that this was not for me. During my time there I was looking to learn a new skill, just in case if I decided to give up on college, so I picked up sewing. My mom uses to sew, so did my dad. They both are very creative individuals, but they never to the point of becoming self-sustainable and liberated from the rat race. I dropped out of college and continued working at FedEx.
During my time, there I just knew that I was destined for SOMETHING (don’t we all?). So, with all of the things going on while on this planet and our overall society, I wanted to be a contributor with my art. I came up with a clothing line called Heartless Clothing & Co. I basically painted hearts on clothes, but in creative ways. Different and thought-provoking ways to be exact. Time went on and I’ve been featured in fashion shows, I’ve done vending events, styled celebrities, solo & group art exhibitions, and more. Every chance that I could get to enhance or learn a new skill, I took advantage of it.
Even with all of the things that I do now, there’s always room for improvement. I rebranded myself in 2015 and changed it to Najee Strickland Designs™. I do a little of everything underneath it, whether it’s painting, art direction, creative design, clothing design, film, or writing; the goal is to send a political message in an artistic format. I do this full-time now and I wouldn’t change it.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
No, it has not been a smooth road, but challenges/adversities create who we are today, right? Resourcing, funding, and time management were my overall struggles. Honestly, I still struggle with all three, but I’m learning and getting better every day.
I am always willing to learn something new about the field that I’m in because there’s always room for improvement. Every day being an entrepreneur/owner is a struggle, but this is what I wanted. I will choose self-sustainability over anything any day.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I create things. Things that are expressive, conceptual, metaphorical, and thought-provoking. I’m versatile but with a focus and the majority of my work has a political message behind it. I specialize in painting and constructing canvas pieces, cut and sew clothing design, custom clothing design, film, film photography, drawing, graphic design, screen printing, set design, and creative direction.
I would say that I am mostly known for my visual art and clothing design. I have a series of paintings out now called Black Fist Series®. The Black Fist Series® is an art installation I painted and constructed; which focuses on prominent issues dealing with social proximity, social injustice, propaganda in the black/brown community, and media stigmas assigned to black/brown individuals and other minorities. My main goal behind this is to uplift the community, encourage the youth, and manifest change. The Black Fist Series® is also connected to other things such as a graphic novel called Legends of the Black Fist and a short film series called The Black Fist: Pt. 1 & 2.
The graphic novel is still in the works and the second short film has already been premiered in two film festivals. The first film can be found on my YouTube page, if you search my name I will come up. Clothing design is another ballpark, I can say that I’m still learning in that field but I love the art of clothing design so much. When I rebranded myself back in 2015 I hosted a group fashion show along with a non-profit organization called TONE and another local designer, Darnell Allen, which showcased new designs from an all-white collection I constructed all by myself. The white collection was a representation of reincarnation. I see clothes as 3D art construction. I get some inspiration from famous designers, but I mostly focus on my own path.
I study gallery artists that use clothes in installations at exhibitions like British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare. I studied an entire era of fashion and came up with 20 plus pieces for men and women and hosted a solo show in 2019. It was fun, but also a learning experience. I’m most proud of all of the work that I have released and how consistent I am. It’s tough because I’m a person that beats myself up all of the time and I’m my biggest critique. Najee Strickland Designs™ is like my child and I’ve been pouring into it as much as I can and I will continue to do so.
The thing that sets me apart from others is me. I like being me because everyone else is already taken.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
The thing I like most about Memphis is that it’s a lot of culture and tons of history here. I remember Memphis being on the map for the highest percentage of people going to see Black Panther in 2018, that was wild to me. And there’s an actress from Memphis that’s in it. Seeing the number of folks that came out to see the film was one moment that made me happy about being from Memphis.
Dressing up with my daughter and her whispering to me while we watch Black Panther in the movie theatre, “Dad, is Wakanda real?” What I like least is the socio-economic proximity problem, the black cloud that hovers over the city after the MLK assassination, and the mindset.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@najeeking.com
- Website: https://www.najeeking.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_nsd2/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/designsbyns/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nsd____
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClakHn2Ky5S5UdsKxjZjruA
Image Credits
LaCardia Walker, Ariel Thomas, Marco Alexander, Indie Memphis, Sha’Quille Fuller, and Emily Oppenheimer
