Tracie is a real good friend of mine that I’ve known even before SICK STAR. She has supported me in whatever decisions and endeavors I have done. She got tattoos of two mixtapes, one on each side of her ribs. The right one is labeled with our slogan, “do what you feel,” and the left one, “feel what you do.” As I was preparing our Stereo SICKS Art Show, I asked if she would be photographed as I wanted her body in it. I’m super thankful to have someone not only dedicate us mixtapes, but have them tattooed forever on their body.

While today’s technology has made it easier than ever for two people to exchange music between each other, there was real beauty in the lost art of the mixtape. Brazen souls of the boombox era would have their stories forever encapsulated in audio cassette form. Blood, sweat, and tears would be injected into the painstaking attention to detail for personalizing the tape for the receiver. The creator would conjure the skill of a DJ to compile and orchestrate the perfect playlist, while combining it with the romance of a handwritten love letter in the careful penmanship and artwork of the album cover, liner notes, playlist, and cassette label. Where our own words would fail us, everything would be communicated through the mixtape for the listener as lyrics and songs would be interpreted and read into. Tangible audio love letters, live and direct, to hear, see, touch... and feel.

“Body Music” featuring Tracie, photography by eRecto.