Tyshawn’s embrace of Colonialism and Enslavement

[radcunt]

that graphic looks like a wikipedia screen grab that was stretched to fit the board. 

[Punished Skateboards]

Artifact Skateboards

[sluggers]

Brothers, please understand, we pull down statues to Munsa Masa like they did to Saddam Hussein in the Iraq, the same you do to Lincoln or Lee now. We certainly don’t put him on our skateboard.

[modern life is war]

Brothers, please understand, we pull down statues to Munsa Masa like they did to Saddam Hussein in the Iraq, the same you do to Lincoln or Lee now. We certainly don’t put him on our skateboard.

is munsa masa a polarizing figure in africa or is it generally understood that he was bad?

[Urtripping]

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Brothers, please understand, we pull down statues to Munsa Masa like they did to Saddam Hussein in the Iraq, the same you do to Lincoln or Lee now. We certainly don’t put him on our skateboard.

[close]

is munsa masa a polarizing figure in africa or is it generally understood that he was bad?

I have my doubts. I'm not African or of African descent, but I've never seen someone try to equate Mansa Musa with Robert E. Lee, that's wild to me lol. That opinion is definitely... interesting. I've only ever read that he was a competent leader who improved the state of civic life in the Mali kingdom and that he built a lot of mosques. I even just went on a deep dive into an African forum discussing his impact, in which the only negative opinions I found were that he was not enough of an expansionist and didn't take over enough of the world through violence and colonialism, lol.

Idk, maybe this dude @sluggers is African and is plugged into a cultural revolution in which the ancient kings of West Africa are being canceled for what was essentially standard procedure for the powerful in all cultures at the time.

[Samson Simpson]

Lol this reads like an Arrested Development song

[radcunt]

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TJ’s board graphic is great. I’m much more optimistic now.

[close]

For reference.

 launching a board brand with ha graphic that's just a stretched out low res screen grab is a strong move

[backside_reacharound]

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Brothers, please understand, we pull down statues to Munsa Masa like they did to Saddam Hussein in the Iraq, the same you do to Lincoln or Lee now. We certainly don’t put him on our skateboard.

[close]

is munsa masa a polarizing figure in africa or is it generally understood that he was bad?

[close]

I have my doubts. I'm not African or of African descent, but I've never seen someone try to equate Mansa Musa with Robert E. Lee, that's wild to me lol. That opinion is definitely... interesting. I've only ever read that he was a competent leader who improved the state of civic life in the Mali kingdom and that he built a lot of mosques. I even just went on a deep dive into an African forum discussing his impact, in which the only negative opinions I found were that he was not enough of an expansionist and didn't take over enough of the world through violence and colonialism, lol.

Idk, maybe this dude @sluggers is African and is plugged into a cultural revolution in which the ancient kings of West Africa are being canceled for what was essentially standard procedure for the powerful in all cultures at the time.

love it when dudes who don't know shit about shit chime in

[Atiba Applebum]

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TJ’s board graphic is great. I’m much more optimistic now.

[close]

For reference.

[close]

 launching a board brand with ha graphic that's just a stretched out low res screen grab is a strong move

Right.  A lesser mind like me would have just isolated the image of Musa off of that

[4LOM]

2020 called, they want their whining back

[Urtripping]

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Brothers, please understand, we pull down statues to Munsa Masa like they did to Saddam Hussein in the Iraq, the same you do to Lincoln or Lee now. We certainly don’t put him on our skateboard.

[close]

is munsa masa a polarizing figure in africa or is it generally understood that he was bad?

[close]

I have my doubts. I'm not African or of African descent, but I've never seen someone try to equate Mansa Musa with Robert E. Lee, that's wild to me lol. That opinion is definitely... interesting. I've only ever read that he was a competent leader who improved the state of civic life in the Mali kingdom and that he built a lot of mosques. I even just went on a deep dive into an African forum discussing his impact, in which the only negative opinions I found were that he was not enough of an expansionist and didn't take over enough of the world through violence and colonialism, lol.

Idk, maybe this dude @sluggers is African and is plugged into a cultural revolution in which the ancient kings of West Africa are being canceled for what was essentially standard procedure for the powerful in all cultures at the time.

[close]

love it when dudes who don't know shit about shit chime in

Please enlighten us then genius

[Mean salto]

So did y'all like the woman king?

[OwlGreen]

The very concept of a King is wack, and an unfortunate name for what is in every other way a sick company. I back TJ and Nak heavy, and I'm sure they'll build something cool and interesting in spite of it, but I can think of 100 names off the top of my head that would be better:


NYCLA
LA/NY
LA Bronx
Los Bronx
Boogie Monster
Bronx Angeles
Black
Black Power
Black Owned
Hardies
Any Means Necessary
X
All City
Allah
Prophet
Dream
On God
Conspiracy
Rumors
Culture


Black Power would be my choice. How sick would it be to see that all across a board wall? Also follows Dill's winning formula of stealing shit from World Industries. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[cky enthusiast]

Brothers, please understand, we pull down statues to Munsa Masa like they did to Saddam Hussein in the Iraq, the same you do to Lincoln or Lee now. We certainly don’t put him on our skateboard.

- spelled his name wrong

- where are there statues of mansa musa? are you posting from Mali?

in closing 4/10 low effort. be less dumb

[sluggers]

https://medium.com/comrade-morlocks-journal/mansa-musa-owned-12-times-more-slaves-than-the-uss-largest-slaveowner-be0fd787ee6

https://byamukama.com/age-old-slave-trade-in-africa/

[SatanicPanic]

https://medium.com/comrade-morlocks-journal/mansa-musa-owned-12-times-more-slaves-than-the-uss-largest-slaveowner-be0fd787ee6

https://byamukama.com/age-old-slave-trade-in-africa/

Soooo whataboutism?

The Romans owned slaves and that shit in Spartacus where they killed like 10,000 for revolting by crucifixion the entire length of the Appian way actually happened. But no one gets upset about using Roman numerals as a motif.

Comparing African slavery to American slavery is stupid. Yeah both were bad but none of us live in the Mali empire and none of us inherited land or wealth  from slavery back then. American slavery is still relevant to today.

[shannamal]

The very concept of a King is wack, and an unfortunate name for what is in every other way a sick company. I back TJ and Nak heavy, and I'm sure they'll build something cool and interesting in spite of it, but I can think of 100 names off the top of my head that would be better:


NYCLA
LA/NY
LA Bronx
Los Bronx
Boogie Monster
Bronx Angeles
Black
Black Power
Black Owned
Hardies
Any Means Necessary
X
All City
Allah
Prophet
Dream
On God
Conspiracy
Rumors
Culture


Black Power would be my choice. How sick would it be to see that all across a board wall? Also follows Dill's winning formula of stealing shit from World Industries. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

these are so bad ahhahahahahahhahaha

[sluggers]

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https://medium.com/comrade-morlocks-journal/mansa-musa-owned-12-times-more-slaves-than-the-uss-largest-slaveowner-be0fd787ee6

https://byamukama.com/age-old-slave-trade-in-africa/

[close]

Soooo whataboutism?

The Romans owned slaves and that shit in Spartacus where they killed like 10,000 for revolting by crucifixion the entire length of the Appian way actually happened. But no one gets upset about using Roman numerals as a motif.

Comparing African slavery to American slavery is stupid. Yeah both were bad but none of us live in the Mali empire and none of us inherited land or wealth  from slavery back then. American slavery is still relevant to today.

Your ignorance blinds you. You know nothing of Mali. Slavery still exists today, this Sunday December 4th 2022 in Mali. Twenty thousand plus people enslaved with a direct master.

Check out the Tuareg Rebellion and recent military coup d’etat.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/oct/23/mali-conflict-freedom-slave-descendants-peril

[LonleySk8er15]

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TJ’s board graphic is great. I’m much more optimistic now.

[close]

For reference.

[close]

 launching a board brand with ha graphic that's just a stretched out low res screen grab is a strong move

[close]

Right.  A lesser mind like me would have just isolated the image of Musa off of that

this graphics sucks for a lot of reasons, to me historical context is the least part of its suckyness. But The fact that TJ thinks there some deep meaning behind poaching this image is kinda silly. he definitely googled "historical black king". whats next hes gonna put Amenhotep iii on there and accidentally rip off Sims Skateboards. " This brand is gonna be historic. No I mean the graphics are gonna have historical images from the encyclopedia"

Not having original art is a horrible choice. I hope this is just for the first board. any asshole on the planet can make a graphic from images that already exist and then concoct some meaning behind it. For his first graphic baller ass TJ should have hired a dope artist who does art that personally speaks to him and try and create a flavor and aesthetic that can be noticeable as a King skateboard. Is this brand gonna have an art direction is it gonna be screen grabs off TJs laptop. Its like he made this at ccs. TJ should focus on skating and hire someone to create the majority of the images. Maybe put this graphic in the line up later after the art direction is established. Does this board say his name on it anywhere, or the brand name? how do I know its a TJ board from King Skateboards and not some homemade garbage brand. whats the on the top of it? Missed opportunity to make a triptych with boards from the other guys. Maybe he will release the rest later to complete the full image. Aslo shoulda knocked out the background and used a natural color wood stain.

[TMKF]

[sluggers]

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[close]

And, in the end, the Jesse was right.

[cky enthusiast]

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[close]

[close]

And, in the end, the Jesse was right.

this is how i know you aren’t actually black

[SatanicPanic]

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https://medium.com/comrade-morlocks-journal/mansa-musa-owned-12-times-more-slaves-than-the-uss-largest-slaveowner-be0fd787ee6

https://byamukama.com/age-old-slave-trade-in-africa/

[close]

Soooo whataboutism?

The Romans owned slaves and that shit in Spartacus where they killed like 10,000 for revolting by crucifixion the entire length of the Appian way actually happened. But no one gets upset about using Roman numerals as a motif.

Comparing African slavery to American slavery is stupid. Yeah both were bad but none of us live in the Mali empire and none of us inherited land or wealth  from slavery back then. American slavery is still relevant to today.

[close]

Your ignorance blinds you. You know nothing of Mali. Slavery still exists today, this Sunday December 4th 2022 in Mali. Twenty thousand plus people enslaved with a direct master.

Check out the Tuareg Rebellion and recent military coup d’etat.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/oct/23/mali-conflict-freedom-slave-descendants-peril

You know that’s a good point- didn’t know about that. And I think it makes for a better case why Tyshawn shouldn’t use that image.

But it’s still stupid to compare to American slavery for the same reason you wouldn’t go to enslaved people in Mali and say “did you know Americans also enslaved people?”

[sluggers]

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[close]

[close]

And, in the end, the Jesse was right.

[close]

this is how i know you aren’t actually black

This is how I know you live within five kilometers of your mother’s hut and never left.

[sluggers]

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https://medium.com/comrade-morlocks-journal/mansa-musa-owned-12-times-more-slaves-than-the-uss-largest-slaveowner-be0fd787ee6

https://byamukama.com/age-old-slave-trade-in-africa/

[close]

Soooo whataboutism?

The Romans owned slaves and that shit in Spartacus where they killed like 10,000 for revolting by crucifixion the entire length of the Appian way actually happened. But no one gets upset about using Roman numerals as a motif.

Comparing African slavery to American slavery is stupid. Yeah both were bad but none of us live in the Mali empire and none of us inherited land or wealth  from slavery back then. American slavery is still relevant to today.

[close]

Your ignorance blinds you. You know nothing of Mali. Slavery still exists today, this Sunday December 4th 2022 in Mali. Twenty thousand plus people enslaved with a direct master.

Check out the Tuareg Rebellion and recent military coup d’etat.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/oct/23/mali-conflict-freedom-slave-descendants-peril

[close]

You know that’s a good point- didn’t know about that. And I think it makes for a better case why Tyshawn shouldn’t use that image.

But it’s still stupid to compare to American slavery for the same reason you wouldn’t go to enslaved people in Mali and say “did you know Americans also enslaved people?”

I didn’t mean to compare, only say it is a large problem that persists to this day.

[SatanicPanic]

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https://medium.com/comrade-morlocks-journal/mansa-musa-owned-12-times-more-slaves-than-the-uss-largest-slaveowner-be0fd787ee6

https://byamukama.com/age-old-slave-trade-in-africa/

[close]

Soooo whataboutism?

The Romans owned slaves and that shit in Spartacus where they killed like 10,000 for revolting by crucifixion the entire length of the Appian way actually happened. But no one gets upset about using Roman numerals as a motif.

Comparing African slavery to American slavery is stupid. Yeah both were bad but none of us live in the Mali empire and none of us inherited land or wealth  from slavery back then. American slavery is still relevant to today.

[close]

Your ignorance blinds you. You know nothing of Mali. Slavery still exists today, this Sunday December 4th 2022 in Mali. Twenty thousand plus people enslaved with a direct master.

Check out the Tuareg Rebellion and recent military coup d’etat.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/oct/23/mali-conflict-freedom-slave-descendants-peril

[close]

You know that’s a good point- didn’t know about that. And I think it makes for a better case why Tyshawn shouldn’t use that image.

But it’s still stupid to compare to American slavery for the same reason you wouldn’t go to enslaved people in Mali and say “did you know Americans also enslaved people?”

[close]

I didn’t mean to compare, only say it is a large problem that persists to this day.

Fair

[cky enthusiast]

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[close]

[close]

And, in the end, the Jesse was right.

[close]

this is how i know you aren’t actually black

[close]

This is how I know you live within five kilometers of your mother’s hut and never left.

the opinions of people who like breaking bad mean less than nothing to me (or most people) but like i said be less dumb

[h00man]

you could've just said "I dont like Tyshawn Jones" in one of the 5 active threads about him instead of making this stupid fuck thread.

[sluggers]

I love Tyshawn and only mean him well, I just want people to understand the historical context and what is a problem to this day. In the west, you have luxury, but, it is not so in Mali today.

[Giftedly Hater’d]

As others have stated, the execution is laughably weak, especially for an opening salvo, and probably a good indicator of the amount of thought he put into this (that doesn’t bode well for this company bringing him the riches he claims to desire).  Ignorance is a lousy excuse though and hopefully OP’s critiques will get him to tighten up his graphics game and not drift so far off to the corner (so to speak  ).

As a friendly and constructive criticism to OP, I would argue that the white hot wording of your thread topic and boilerplate cancel-speak within (I don’t mean that disparagingly) was a similarly copy/paste’d and stretched-to-fit attempt at starting a conversation about this.  Further down in the thread you seem more open to nuance and detail, maybe start with that next time.

I can’t claim to know much about this particular time and place in African history or how the contemporary populations there feel about statues or monuments made to honor or glorify MM. I can only offer a reminder, for what it’s worth, that the controversy here in the US ultimately was about the statues first and the men second. People are complex and contradictory, statues much less so. I’m sure we’ve all read a thousand explainer pieces at this point about the  timing, manner, and intent that was behind the confederate statues around the country in the not-too-distant past.  I’m not saying that the behaviors of any of these people is even remotely excusable, or their subsequent enshrinements morally defensible… but there is a little “apples and oranges” aspect to some of your specific critiques.  I don’t like statues, I don’t like slavery, and I’d certainly prefer that the aesthetic thesis of a company run but someone as influential and magnetic as TJ didn’t center around superficial wealth-porn (which to be fair to OP: you can’t have wealth-porn without some form of enslavement and colonialism in whatever forms they exist today so in that sense… it’s fair game), but I don’t think Tyshawn Jones, bless his heart, is the number one villian we should aim our pitchforks at first.

I’m in the cell phone lot waiting on my wife’s delayed flight, btw. I just feel like mentioning that matters after a stemwinder like that.