Randy AKA Lil Blacula Speaks on Boston and Bodega
WORDS WITH WORD$ INTERVIEW #22
Yo, it’s the Pope, 1000WORD$.
Introducing Randy, AKA Lil Blacula, a multifaceted artist and designer hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, who has made a name for himself with his talents in graphic design, illustration, fashion, and 3D modeling. His passion for his craft stems from a diverse array of influences, including Caribbean music, comic books, cartoons, and wrestling.
In this exclusive interview, we get an in-depth look into his upbringing in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, his artistic inspirations, and how he found his niche in the creative world. From his early days exploring graffiti to working with top brands like Bodega, Nike, New Balance, Reebok, and more, Randy shares his journey and the things that keep him inspired.
Randy opens up about his passion for making good design accessible to all, discussing his work on projects like “Made in China.” As a creative force who has navigated various aspects of the industry, he shares his thoughts on the current state of hip-hop, his favorite Ninja Turtle, and his experiences working with clients who value his artistic expertise.
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1000WORD$: What's going on, it's 1000WORD$. I'm here with my man Randy aka Lil Blacula. Let people know where you from and what you do?
Randy: Boston, Mass born and raised. I give it up for New England altogether, but you know, Boston born, Roxbury raised.
1000WORD$: How was it growing up in Roxbury?
Randy: That's where I came off the porch. I was born in Mattapan. And, you know, there was no kids on my block, really, you like two or three households with kids in it. I didn't really kick it with nobody until I was 10 or 11. I was a kid who was outside already. And, you know, getting into trouble and shit. I think it was like '93 or '94 we moved to Mission Hill in Roxbury and that's when the fucking art popped off. Graffiti popped off, whole bunch of shit.
1000WORD$: How was the culture in your house, like what were your parents listening to?
Randy: Definitely a lot of Caribbean music and shit. You know, family's from Barbados, but my mom always loved oldies and shit, like 60s, 70s those type of classics. I got sort of a range, never really grew up too much embracing any Western Indian culture or Barbados culture until I got older I realized like, 'Oh, I'm a cranky old fucking Western Indian," you know what I mean?
1000WORD$: What cartoons did you grow up watching?
Randy: The first one I remember is Gumby, when I was super young.
1000WORD$: Facts, that's one of the first shits I remember.
Randy: BraveStarr. I remember that shit, the cowboy and the robotic horse and shit. That's the first ever toys I remember getting and shit, you know what I mean? I didn't even know about Thundercats until high school and shit because it's not internet age, so some shit you missed back then, you just missed it until somebody else hip you to it.
1000WORD$: I missed a lot because I ain't have cable, when motherfuckers had cable they were unlocked to Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and all that shit. Did you grow up watching wrestling?
Randy: Hell yeah.
1000WORD$: Which wrestler would you describe yourself as?
Randy: Shawn Michaels. Think about the way n****s can call anything 'suspect' or they'll say 'no homo' after anything. But Shawn Michaels and what was his boy, Marty Jannetty, those outfits were the most frutiest thing of all time, but that's like the old '70s rocker shit, you know, and it's like n****s didn't blink an eye at that. There was never a question about Shawn Michaels and his fucking manhood or whatever. So, that sort of like breaking... like don't put your stereotypes on me.
1000WORD$: Did you go to any concerts growing up?
Randy: Yeah, I've been to maybe two concerts in my entire life. I enjoy music in groups with my friends and shit, but me personally, I enjoy music with headphones on and I might be playing a song on repeat you don't need like one of those fucking... Like, what's that fucking song? That Westside Gunn song where it's n****s in front of the crib and shit and someone's bringing 'em...
1000WORD$: Baking soda.
Randy: Yeah, yeah. Bro, when I first heard that song I was playing that at work from 9am to 5pm, just straight on YouTube. I can't do that with my homies. I can't sit there have a song repeat for hours on end. So I enjoy music on like a sonic, meditative way.
1000WORD$: I get like that too. Who are the people that you could do that now, like constantly repeat their work. Like who's some of the people that you're listening to nowadays that give you that same kind of feeling?
Randy: Shit, like pretty much all of Griselda, their whole lineup is like... Damn, these n****s is just picking All Stars. N****s who really rap the way I like and have the same type of beats that I fuck with, you know what I mean, the super soulful beats where n****s will start out like, "Yo, I shot your mother in the face," you know what I mean, like some shit that super fucking doesn't match necessarily, but you know like Planet Asia I still fuck with, Willie the Kid. Eto. Tha God Fahim. I know I'm missing mad shit right now, but just like in that same sort of realm of like I'm like... any rapper that Alchemist fuck with, maybe that's too broad but anybody he fuck with I'm like, 'I fuck with this n***a.'
1000WORD$: For the people who are going to be reading this can you let them know what it is that you do my bro?
Randy: I would just say I'm an artist. It's easiest way to say it, but I specialize in graphic design, illustration, fashion, just picked up 3D modeling over the last two or three years. So, trying to focus on all the crafts that can help me sort of facilitate these like nerdy ass comic book n***a dreams.
1000WORD$: What are some of the comic books that you have collected? You collect comic books?
Randy: Nah. I'm not a good collector of anything. I don't have... drawings that are maybe like older than 10 years, only because they survived in some sketchbooks, but I don't have no art. I fucked with Battle Chasers in high school. That was like '99 to 2002 by Joe Madura that was like one of my top shits. I got mad digital comics, tons of digital, but nothing physical that just like... I'm a messy n***a, so that's it was just fucking get dark corners on it and then all of a sudden back pages missing the covers missing but um yeah, like a huge fan. Huge Marvel fan in general. But you know,
1000WORD$: What are your favorite sneakers of all time? If you had a list of five sneakers of that you could wear for the rest of your life.
Randy: Black Cement 3s. Bred 4s. A low-key joint I wish I still had, Nike Terra Albis. It's a weird name, Nike probably named it after a mountain or like a trail or walking range or something somewhere in the northwest. Yeah, there's bigger names, but the fucking Terra Albis, probably my favorite joint.
1000WORD$: What are some of the brands you work for? That you can share?
Randy: I started to get my feet wet in fashion at odega. That was like 2007, a year after they opened. My bro Marvin was already working there. Got his start there. So by the time I came in, he was taking over the role as creative director, taking on the role as head designer. And you know for Bodega, probably the only brands we havent' to worked with... It's probably easy to say it's like Timberland and Fila. But besides that, Nike, New Balance, Reeboks, Saucony, Rockports, ASICs, Fred Perry like a bunch of random shit, but always a good chance if I can do something you know that they wasn't normally doing or that they would have a chance to do because of us.
1000WORD$: Wow, that's amazing and salute to you too, man. What are some of the things that you need around you to keep you inspired?
Randy: I can be content anywhere with just my computer and a good internet connection. And like me, I work on a Wacom Cintiq, which is like the screens you can draw around. So that's what took place of my sketchbook for a decent while and I've been trying to push over the last couple years to fucking really keep a completely digital... that's sort of my style, but an internet connection, and I don't want to say weed is an inspiration. But, I embrace it, because it unlocked shit that was holding me back whatever it was. Just came home one day, got high, I drew the best thing I ever drew in my life at that time with no effort and I didn't care about. I was like, 'Oh shit.' I don't just smoke and chill. Like, unless I'm with my homies or like, I'm not somewhere where I gotta have access to a sketchbook, but I only smoke and work.
1000WORD$ 11:27
That piece you said was the best drawing of your life at the time. What was it?
Randy: Oh, it was a drawing of the Ninja Turtles. At that time, I was like, sort of, like expressing a lot of like, fashion illustration through them. It's like atheltic teenagers in New York. I'm guessing at least two of them n****s is gonna be in streetwear. So, I started drawing Michelangelo in hoodies and different fits and shit, just to sort of get these fashion illustrations off, but in a different way. I did some shit like that. Like, 'Yo, I've been trying to do this for the last couple years and I did it with no effort.' I knew it was cause of the bud.
1000WORD$: Who's your favorite Ninja Turtle?
Randy: Mad specific, Donatella from the first movie, when Corey Feldman play him. It's the fucking perfect voice for this sort of character. And he wasn't as nerdy as you would think, but he was still a nerd. And still, you know, he got busy, but part of my favorite version of any Ninja Turtles right there.
1000WORD$: Where would you go in Boston to get mixtapes? Which spots had the mixtape or like things that you knew that you could get that were hard to get, like DVDs, things of that nature.
Randy: High Voltage, at Downtown Crossing it was right next to the arcade. Right across the street from Chinatown station, back then this is like '96.
1000WORD$: Who are some of the local legends who grew up listening to that probably some people have never heard of?
Randy: As far as rapping shit? Keep it a buck, I didn't know about any Boston artists really until maybe like, high school. Really like an OG... fucking Guru. It was another fucking local group that my homies used to work with. And I didn't know who they were, until I sort of made a connection between my bros, but outside of that wasn't caught up in nobody in Boston too much.
1000WORD$: What were some of the places that people would go get clothes? For example, where would you get a pair of sneakers that was coming out or like locations that you can remember as a kid going to?
Randy: My first pair of namebrand sneakers because I can remember was from Harry the Greek's. I think it was like... I didn't get my first pair of namebrands till seventh grade. Harry the Greek's was the first time I got something outside of me spending my own money, you know in like, high school. But, High Voltage used to have all the mixtapes, but they also had mad throwback jerseys always had… my favorite brand in high school was Mecca and they had all the Mecca that no other stores had. Crystal's was a good spot for some cheap heat, like cop some Jordan 1s in there for $30.
1000WORD$: Mecca was so fire, yo.
Randy: Bro, that was my shit. I had a n***a convince me to buy like a $300 Mecca sweat suit that I had no intentions of fucking buying, I just went in there for a hoodie, you know? Yeah, but it was a good book.
1000WORD$: Mecca USA, right?
Randy: Yeah, for sure.
1000WORD$: I had one I think it had a buffalo on it. It had like a big buffalo on one I remember my mom bought me one. What about graffiti, you dabbled in graffiti?
Randy: That was like me getting off the porch. By the time I was, 11 or 12 like I knew what my life was gonna consist of and it wasn't gonna be getting in trouble. That was never my like... you know, you didn't grow up in the hood and you think everybody from the hood is into some illegal shit. We'll bend the rules a lot of us, but you know some n****s are for the grind and some ain't. Graffiti was like... I ain't gone look at it as like a criminal thing, just like some mischief shit. But besides that, that was me getting out and fucking, you know, doing all sorts of shit. I mean, do anything unorthodox and funny, my mom didn't even really care cause at that time she knew I was like, not gonna get my head knocked for nothing silly, you know what I mean, like, she would come in the kitchen to see like cans of paint boiling on the stove. Like, fucking mixing paint and shit. What do you even say like, "Don't mess up my kitchen." That's it. But yeah, that was like what sort of molded me and got me towards... besides just drawing ain't nothing wrong with that. I would look at cereal boxes like I started, like, I know someone sketched, but why does it look so clean, why does it look so fucking computerized. I know this ain't just somebody drawing.
1000WORD$: That's what led you to get into graphic designing?
Randy: Yo, that initial like just sitting down and reading the back of the cereal box in the morning while you eating breakfast, like 'Who did this?'
1000WORD$: Who's the first person you made a logo for? Company, person, whatever that you was confident to be like, 'Yo, let me cook something up for you and shit.'
Randy: This is before I even knew... Before I was fucking around with a computer, I literally drew this, before I knew to get money up front or whatever. But it was dude that somebody introduced me to. He was starting this shit called East Coast Sports. I remember doing some logos. I would look at them in shame now, but I was super proud and super excited to like... I was trying to dip my foot into fashion this dude was trying to do that shit when I was like 17 or 18. That's the first thing I ever remember doing for anybody.
1000WORD$: Apart from working for other companies, what are some of your own projects that you've put out there?
Randy: I started this shit called, Made in China, like maybe 2009 or 2010. You know, just like I love brand advertising in front of your face. And you won't notice it until like, "Does that n***a shirt say Nike?" But, it was really just based on... Bootlegging, right? Yeah. And the fact that like a good design doesn't have to be inaccessible to everybody. You know, get your feet wet and get some savvy to understand what's going on. But that everybody should have access to cool shit, without having to stand in line or you know, that's an eventuality, but that's how I wanted to start off. Made in China, Python is like sort of the same thing, like an extension of that. Working on some other shit, more like super conceptual type of shit that I've been slowly developing on the side. But yeah, I've been doing a lot of freelance. So naturally it takes away time from doing my own thing. You know, I'm really focused on helping other people.
1000WORD$: First off, I want to say thank you for the stuff that you help come to life for me. For the people that are reading this, I was chilling in the kitchen with my lady like, 'Yo, man, I should fucking do a OB on a fucking Polaroid and sell these shits.' And she was like, 'Yo, you should get to Randy, he'll cook that shit up.' That's exactly what you did. You cooked that shit up, bro. It's dope becaise I know you work for yourself. And a lot of shit that you do is dope because I purchased something you created all that, super Clash of Asses.
Randy: That's probably my favorite thing I've done because it was like a complete package type of thing.
1000WORD$: That shit came with the Sega game.
Randy: I wish I could have like, you know, sat down with it for another two months and added like another element to it like a... I had the idea of doing like a fake Tiger Electronics sort of game of it. Because I've been looking at trying to figure out how to do them games. And it's not like software, it's hardware, you know what I mean, you got those circuitboards, but it's so rudimentary. But if I had time, I would just sort of take one of those videos. Yeah, that's probably one of my favorite projects I've done so far.
1000WORD$: What inspired that?
Randy: Yo, the silliness. Back to the logo that shit is ill because when you just flip a letter, or you just like, turn something upside down without doing too much. It sort of sits in a pocket where it's dope in a way because you know I never tried to act like it's something that I made. Because it's like a sample, and I'm the first one to like find that sample the first to put that sample in that particular way, to use music as an analogy, but that's sort of how I take very minimal... fucking with the ingredients, you know what I mean. I built shit around it, because I sort of had to facilitate the vision like that. But when you look at the logo, it's like the same exact font. Same everything, you know, I'm trying to get the graphics down to where I'm not trying to act like it's mine. I'm just bringing you this soul sample on a t-shirt.
1000WORD$: What kind of art pisses you off?
Randy: I was tryna breakdown in my notes, like shit that I actually don't like. Yo, formalistic shit is cool because it's a techinal thing. And all artists in that like, whether you're fucking self trained, or are you're academic or whatever, we all appreciate technique because it's like, 'Damn this n***a really made this shit look like that shit.' But at a point, it's like, 'Yo, you could of just took a fucking photo, you could've and should've took a photo. It's more interesting to me to know how to draw an apple out of your head, then draw apples from a picture of something. They're both important. But eventually you're gonna have to learn how to like draw the apple by yourself. I mean, like how many times you go to work using a GPS, until you have to drive there one day.
1000WORD$: Well, what do you got coming up next? Any projects you're working on?
Randy: I've been fucking with my boy Jordan and his brand FROMHERE. You know, over the last couple years I essentially became the designer and becoming just the main creative director of the brand and you know working full time now I'm still doing a lot of freelance on the side. It's like limited my options of what I can sort of do on the outside that was like... not that it was like a last resort type of thing, but it was the best case scenario for me to be able to express something outside of the work I do for a living normally. I still got a couple things on the side for me, but that's like when I get a chance to sit and actually think for myself.
1000WORD$: Yo, keep the door cracked for me. I'm gonna be needing you, don't be dipping.
Randy: I told n****s I was doing freelance, but everybody who knew that I fucked with, wasn't shy about hittin me up like... You're one of the only people that's got taste, like I got a give em like steak at first and then it's, "Oh no, he wanted Salisbury Steak." Had to do that for a ton of clients because you can't tell an adult they don't know what they're talking about, even if it's something the don't do and they hire you to do that. And it's like, 'Oh, this n***a wants to drive from the backseat.' I'll let you drive because it's just money at the at the end of the day. I can fucking do this all day, but clients who I like their shit is what I want to do.
1000WORD$: Definitely my brother appreciate you taking the time and I appreciate you for the things you helped me create and shout out to you man. I've heard a lot of good things about you, so this was dope getting to know you a little bit better, you know?
Randy: For sure. I'm with the Hip-hop historian over here.
1000WORD$: Appreciate that, bro.