Residents of Soundview’s Bronx River Houses recently unveiled new murals, collectively titled “The Home That Inspired The World,” which celebrate the development’s contributions to the early days of hip-hop culture.
The murals are part of the Public Housing Community Fund (PHCF)’s “From Roots to Arts” Program, funded by the Mellon Foundation.
To create the works, celebrated artist Mark Lawrence returned to his childhood home at Bronx River Houses to paint the brightly colored images of folks playing dominoes and basketball and a DJ holding a spray paint can in one hand and spinning a record with the other.
Lawrence, who was born in 1968 as the youngest of eight, told the Bronx Times he spent his childhood in the Bronx “running around, getting in trouble.”
At the same time, he was constantly surrounded by new music, breakdancing, DJing and graffiti that were part of the birth of hip-hop. “I saw all that stuff firsthand,” Lawrence said.
Because the genre was new, he said artists were intensely focused on originality and brought “pure, raw energy” to their work. “You got every single person not wanting to spit the same rhyme.”
In addition to the creativity all around him, Lawrence said he was also inspired by the close-knit community at Bronx River Houses, home to more than 3,000 residents.
“Those years in the 70s and 80s were epic because every weekend, New York City was partying.” he said. Even through what he called “the crack days,” neighbors were constantly outside celebrating special occasions and birthdays, playing music and holding block parties just for fun, said Lawrence.
“That’s the beauty of impoverished people,” he said. “People that don’t have nothing, they can create anything.”
As Lawrence began creating art around the world, he gradually realized that people who really knew hip-hop knew about Bronx River Houses.
“Being from Bronx River was like my cheat code” to free food and lodging in places near and far, Lawrence said.
Because the South Bronx is most credited for originating hip-hop, Bronx River Houses are often overlooked. However, “We know who the originals of hip-hop were,” Lawrence said. “People from Bronx River don’t understand how much influence they’ve had on the world.”
Since he moved away from the Bronx —now splitting time between Connecticut and Thailand— the thought of returning to his childhood home was difficult for Lawrence, who said he always looks to the future rather than the past. “It took a lot for me to go back to Bronx River,” he said.
But he had good reason to be nostalgic. After losing 11 family members within one recent year, he wanted to create some kind of tribute. At the same time, Lawrence’s childhood friend, Norma Saunders, who is now president of the Bronx River Houses Resident Association, had already advocated for new public artwork at the complex, and the collaboration with the Public Housing Community Fund was born.
Lawrence had a clean slate to work with, as the community center at Bronx River Houses had no artwork for 30 years and was overdue for a refresh.
The project became full-circle for him as he brought in more childhood friends to help with the murals: the internationally-known Bronx graffiti crew, TATS CRU, including Hector “Nicer” Nazario; Sotero “BG183” Ortiz, who first painted the Bronx River Houses Community Center in the 1980s; and Wilfredo “Bio” Feliciano, who grew up with Lawrence in the complex.
Residents celebrated the new pieces with a Nov. 20 ribbon-cutting, complete with food, artists’ remarks and an appearance by members of The Chiffons, a 1960s doo-wop girl group who had original members from Bronx River Houses. The group is depicted in one of the murals and had major hits with “One Fine Day,” “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and “My Boyfriend Is Back.”
Bronx River Houses nurtured some well-known creatives. But Alex Zablocki, executive director of the Public Housing Community Fund, said Lawrence’s murals also highlighted the contributions of regular Bronxites to the cultural fabric. “It’s not just the superstars,” he told the Bronx Times.
Lawrence’s old friend Saunders said the designs were “a tribute to who we are and where we come from.”
“Bronx River has given so much to the world, from the sounds of Hip Hop to the strength of our families,” she said in a statement. “Having one of our own, Mark Lawrence, come home to honor that legacy means everything to this community. It shows that the roots we plant here in the Bronx can reach the entire world.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
