SMU safety Ra' Sun Kazadi is a unique talent.
He's played in 10 games over the past two seasons and registered two tackles, but it's not a stretch. Ra, as he's often referred to by his teammates, friends and family, has many talents beyond the football field.
Last July 1, when the restrictions on college athletes making money through their name, image and likeness were loosened, his world as an artist opened up considerably.
He said that he can do more of the work he wants to do because of NIL. I don't need to do 100 pieces a month because I can sell my pieces for more.
It has been less about money now. It has been more about working and growing.
Before NIL restrictions were lifted, Kazadi sold his work, but couldn't put his name on it or promote it on his website.
Kazadi said that he relied on people to know that he was an artist and that he was doing cheap work. He said he wasn't able to sell pieces for much because he couldn't afford to.
He said that it was not close to what it was before.
He said he's able to get higher prices for his work because people know it's his and he promotes it. He has more time to experiment with his art because of the financial freedom.
He said that he's able to grow as an artist and explore other things. I can explore different executions if I say "Oh, it would be cool to paint on some pants or a T-shirt." I can do a mural because I don't have to worry about money anymore. I would like to get a painting done for money. It's great.
He doesn't remember a time when he wasn't into art. He began drawing superheros when he was in kindergarten, and his passion grew from there.
"My art got more complex, and I got more educated about it," he said. What do I want to say? I don't know what I'm attempting to say. I want people to see what I have to say. It was good for things like anatomy and things like that. My art did as I got older.
His work ethic and passion are what define him. They show up in everything he does from football to art to his work for the nonprofit of which he is a founding member, which has a mission of addressing community needs "to foster economic, educational, social and personal growth."
"It would be easy for a guy not to put in that work when they don't play much on Saturday," Haverty said. He's improved more than anyone since we arrived four years ago.
Brandon Crossley said that his work ethic for football is similar to that of the artist. From the start of the season to the end. Ra has never given less than 100 percent on a day-to-day basis.
Crossley said that this is just the beginning. This is the definition of "this is the beginning" for Ra when people say "It's just the beginning". It's great.
There are some examples of work by Kazadi.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by RaSun Kazadi 🖤 (@ra5un)
I think this was when I began painting a lot. Alexander the Great was one of the most popular Hellenistic statues. I was interested in that time period.
I've always been a big fan of colors. I was interested in Boxer at Rest because they didn't know who made it. That was one of the things that made me think it was a messed up history. Because the history is confusing, I like purple because it symbolizes a confusion between red or blue.
I didn't know if he was excited that he won or if he was defeated, but I liked the fact that he took a step back. You don't know if you win. I feel like sometimes things are more difficult than you think, and that's what I'm talking about. You're stuck in the house because you don't get carbon dioxide, right? You are stuck in the house. It was just reflecting my confusion over time.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Ra Gallery (@rasunart)
This one was a lot more enjoyable. I like to go out in Dallas and just hang out with my friends. I wanted to lighten it up because I feel like sometimes my pieces are a bit serious and they have a lot of meaning to them.
I wanted this one to be fun. I thought the boots were a cool way to show that. I don't know what's going on. I was just trying to make something that was pleasing and interesting. If you see a pretty girl, you want to know more about her, so I was trying to portray that in the piece.
The piece was influenced by Freddie Gibbs' "Something to Rap About" and I was listening to it.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Ra Gallery (@rasunart)
They came to me and said they wanted a piece of Muhammad Ali. I narrowed it down to a few pictures. Everything was up to me. I was looking for a blue that felt old, but still had a bright color. The background was supposed to reflect that. The background should reflect a moment and not a moment in time.
I think this was after he beat. A man named Sonny Liston. He is excited for a moment of victory. I wanted to say, "Hey, this is something old but timeless." He is what he is. He is the greatest of all time. He's going to be called the greatest of all time. It's not possible to get rid of that title. It's a title that's been around for a long time. A painting should reflect that.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Ra Gallery (@rasunart)
I wanted to tell people's stories so I had this idea a while back. They watch them on the field. They don't know where they came from or how they got here. They don't have a clue where they're going.
Duck is from Louisiana. He's a resident of Louisiana. He is always talking about the holiday. He talks about Bourbon every now and then. You have to make it to the city. Just talking to him and figuring out where he came from, the places he went and the significance of certain events. For him, I put a mask in the left corner because we talked about the festival more. Bourbon Street is where he hails from.
He had it difficult for a second, but he's finding his own way of doing things. I would like to give him a chance to say that.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Ra Gallery (@rasunart)
He's from Dallas. He explained his story from the bottom right. You have the Dallas skyline to the right and the Philadelphia skyline to the left. He did what it took to get to SMU football. I wanted to show his whole emotion and just who he is besides this intense kind of athlete, because most people know him that way. He's a great guy. He likes to have a good time. I wanted to portray that and give him a chance to talk about himself.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Ra Gallery (@rasunart)
This is one of my favorites. It's kind of like my first serious relationship in college when I got into it. It kind of shook me because I wasn't prepared for it. The reason it's called 'Caught on Fire' is because I read a quote that said 'Love is friendship caught on fire'. In the beginning, we were really close friends and we ended up like that.
I wanted to tell the story of a person getting ready for a date and then things happen as the date progresses. The sound of kissing makes you guys get intimate with the'smack'. There is a nod to the 'Caught on Fire' if you look in the right-hand corner. I was listening to "In My Room" by Frank Ocean. He was just talking and I liked it. I tried to find a solution to the visual problem of putting what he is trying to do with the layers and paper.
It was a fun project to attempt. Picking a color scheme, trying to stay consistent with the colors, and saying like, vibrant, almost like you know when you get that nervous feeling but you're excited at the same time. You have something in your face. That is what I wanted the piece to look like. I like vintage comics and straight up took a lot of inspiration from that. This was one of the first comic books I read. I don't want to say this, but this was the best time I could ever duplicate it. It's just being in the moment, not being like, "Oh, this would be great if I put this here." Let's make something better. You mess with it so much that you think you like it. It's just like that. You're in a flow state when you're playing. There are times when you can't make a mistake.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
