The Heavyweight Tradition

Ten years ago the original idea behind the a HVW8 composition/piece was to pay hommage to someone deserving in their field whether it was musically, such as Miles Davis, Donny Hathaway, Nina Simone, Augutus Pablo; politically, like Shirin Ebadi, Noam Chomsky, Romeo Dallaire; a tribute to other artists, like Malike Sibyde and Mies van der Rohe; or just persons deserving of being called ‘heavyweights,’ like Richard Pryor and David Suzuki. HVW8 would take the iconography and sample it like a jazz standard and freestyle around it, building something to call our own and proud to represent.

You will not see a Paris Hilton, Marilyn Manson or any of these other ‘15 minute celebrity’ portraits, but you might just see a George Carlin sometime soon.

Whether its art or music there is enough crap out there that we don’t need to contribute, let time be the judge.

Respect is paid when due