The music world has a lot of artists who are famous for their music and personality. Artists who managed to create something special in their genres and thereby left their mark. Think of Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Eminem, 50 Cent, Cypress Hill and House of Pain. However, what all these artists have in common is that they all have tattoos from Mister Cartoon. This Los Angeles artist was involved in drawing and graffiti from an early age. He designed T-shirts for the owners of low-riders. It was only years later that he also put his drawings on the skin of others. And since these people were world famous, he quickly made a name for himself. He partly owed that success to Estevan Oriol, a tour manager for Cypress Hill, House of Pain and Funkdoobiest, who was the only one to start recording gigs on video and taking photos. The two became close friends and together they managed to conquer the world. Oriol wants to show what this journey looked like with this documentary.
Since Oriol had been working in Los Angeles since the 1990s, he had his finger on the pulse of hip hop. Because he had access to successful artists as a tour manager, he was able to take unique photos that were in great demand. His work is not only in magazines, but he is also responsible for various photos on the albums of famous artists. He told artists about his good friend Mr. Cartoon and how unique his tattoos were, based on prison art mixed with his own style. Mr. Cartoon designed album covers, went on tours and when bored artists could have backstage tattoos done. He did 50 Cent’s back, Eminem’s arms and a very large part of Travis Barker’s body. Oriol’s was there every time to record the process. Oriol and Cartoon have become an inseparable duo that have taken each other to a higher level.
La Originals is a fantastic documentary to watch. It captures the feel of the hip hop scene and Los Angeles in the 90s in a striking way. In addition to archival footage, well-known artists (including Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Everlast), former gang members and homeless people are interviewed and talk about what they have all experienced together. The result is a film that makes it very clear what stamp this pair has had on culture. For hip hop fans this is mandatory viewing, but even if this is not your genre, La Originals offers a fascinating insight into the kitchen of two living legends.
La Originals is available on Netflix
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