We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jamal Makin Shabazz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jamal Makin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

There was a time I would say I enjoy being an artist more than a creative and honestly, most times I see them as one in the same. There is an art to everything in life, you know? Even down to what is seemingly mundane activity. With that said, I’m learning that as an artist I don’t have to do everything. There are artists who are vastly more skilled at certain things than I am, especially when talking about putting a body of work together. In these moments, I find myself seeing that I may have to lean more into my creative bag because the quality I’m seeking in my craft is something I’m not sure I’d be able to do on my own. Like I could but it would potentially take far too long to do. I’m seeing that I may need to focus on the vision than me solely doing all of the work and reaching out to those in my community who can convey what’s in my head. It’s a different place to be mentally but still I’m still creating either way. It’s art to having a clear vision that inspires, intrigues and speaks to people.

To quote Nipsey Hussle from his 2017 interview with Big Boy in The Neighborhood “I’m not gon’ lie and portray, um, this ultimate poise. Like I had it figured out. Nah, I just didn’t quit.That’s the only distinguishing quality, from me and probably whoever else is goin’ through this, Went through this or is gonna go through this. Is that I ain’t quit. I went through every emotion. I went through every emotion with tryna pursue what I’m doing.
And I think that what’s gon’ separate whoever’s gon’ try to go for something is that, you ain’t gon’ quit. That you know, you really gon’ take the stance of I’m gon’ die behind what I’m gettin’ at right here.” I feel that quote on every level because there have been times when the thought would occur of getting a regular job. I’ve cried over this thing that I’ve been pursuing because it’s very very very challenging. It’s building a plane mid air.

I recall someone close to me voicing that I wasn’t making much progress and suggested that the way I was going, I wouldn’t find much success. I know this person cares for me, but it really hit me hard. I began questioning everything about what I was doing, especially because I’d just turned 30 and a lot of my peers were landing many opportunities. I became very anxious and afraid; here I am with my idea I’ve had since I was a kid working on it continually, but it’s taking forever for things to pop off. The thought definitely came to me to get something more stable cause the stress and anxiety was getting to me. But maybe a month later, my friend Patrick Tennerson, managed to get one of my books in the hands of Donald Glover & Hiro Murai while on the set of the FX series Atlanta. Both of these people are massive influences on me and to know that not only was the book in their possession, but that they liked it, put a new battery in me to keep going and stay the course. Stick to the Plan, I’ll get there in due time, right on time. There are pieces moving around, just can’t give up.

I feel that artists & creatives have to juggle being realistic and having their head in the clouds. You can’t be too grounded but you also can’t be too high up. It’s all about moderation and I have to be real with myself and see what’s working versus what isn’t. Humble enough and discerning enough to know what’s going to be in my best interest in the long run. I put a lot of pressure on myself because I want things to be perfect and sometimes feeling a bit jaded from prior attempts at achieving my goals.
But gratitude is key and being able to look around and see how much I’ve gained along the journey is so important. My mother recently asked me “What if you have everything you need? You keep asking for more but have you used what God has given you so far? What if you have all that you need already?” I’m seeing things a lot more clearer. I’m so grateful for all of it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pencil according to my mother & grandmother. I’ve always wanted to create my own world. I was like 11 or 12 when I realized that making shows and comics was a job, and I made it up in my mind that it was something I wanted to pursue as a career. I attended Savannah College of Art & Design with a major in Sequential Arts and minor in Storyboarding and graduated in the spring of 2015.  I knew before I even went to SCAD that I wanted to work independently in animation and make films, but I didn’t have the financial resources to pursue my dream just yet. So, when I graduated from college, It was very nerve wrecking, and I felt like I would be stuck working a job that would feed me but would not be fulfilling. Through the internet, I gained some insight from a veteran independent artist known as Mshindo Kuumba who informed me of all the amazing resources available to me to work independently. So, I decided to go this route.

I specialize in character design, t-shirt design & writing. I have done work for children ages 7-12 as well as young adults 18-35. Over the years, I’ve learned the importance of decisiveness, networking, marketing  & resourcefulness. I’m known for drawing anthropomorphic animals, something I’ve been doing since I was a kid. WB’s Looney Tunes, Steven Spielberg’s Tiny Toon Adventures, Disney’s Robin Hood & SEGA’s Sonic The Hedgehog are direct influences for that. I’ve gone as far as to doing caricatures of people in said style and it has gained some attention. From there I gained commission work from doing caricatures of my favorite influencers such as Kendrick Lamar, Dave East, David Banner, etc. and built up my audience on Instagram as a whole whether they be fans or local upcoming musicians/artists. The goal is that all of this leads me to having an animated series/my own animation studio.

I’ve been blessed to speak with various people in the animation industry, from my mentor Lance Darden to veteran animation producer Fred Seibert who have given a lot of insight on the animation industry. Animation, as I continue to learn and study, is very collaborative and everyone has a role to play. I’ve always been gung ho on telling my own stories and what not. Heck, I went to SCAD thinking I’d automatically be learning how to tell my own stories in animation, this was not the case. I recall a veteran animator known as Ben Price, after asking how I could get my show made, saying that most people who get into animation are into it because they love the art of animation, not because they solely want to tell their own stories and that I needed to figure out what is more important to me, telling stories or being an animator.

I did not understand because for years I thought animators just wanted to tell stories solely, and they do, but again it is a community, a way of life. It’s a lot of moving parts and a lot of money involved. If I’m coming to a studio with my show, I’m basically asking them to spend millions of dollars on an idea that has not been proven yet to work. It’s business, so the project has to make sense. There’s so much that goes into producing anything animated, even if it’s just 2 minutes. When Ben told me to find out what is important to me in this field, telling stories was more important to me which is why I do not animate myself. I focus on the stories, the ideas, the characters and the world. Artists who are more skillful and passionate about the nuances of animating can handle that. For a time, I thought he was saying I should stop pursuing animation, but I later understood that he’s just saying I have to tell my story if I want to tell my story, the other stuff can come later, especially if the story is good. After all, most animated films and shows are based on pre-existing content for such as literature, webcomics, toys, video games etc.

But let’s say I wanted the show to go through a major studio, the best thing I could do is get a job in the industry, work on various projects for various studios, make my way up the pipeline until I’ve gained enough experience and trust to where the studio asks if I have any ideas for shows. The beauty is that I gain a lot of connections, resources, learn how shows are made and much more. The issue for me, however, has always been that pitching a show and it being greenlite means the studio pretty much owns it now. Ownership is very important to me, it’s like owning my kids & life, you know? On top of that, studios hit the go button on shows all the time but most of the time, never see the light of day for a number of reasons that are not personal, just business. This isn’t all studios, but it’s definitely very frequent based on interviews from showrunners and again people I’ve spoken to personally in the industry.

So, because I’m so adamant about ownership, I’ve been told my best bet is to tell the story myself, gain a buzz around it and then studios will more than likely come to me if it has a really strong following behind the story. It gives the creator more voice in the long run. Most creatives make a book or webcomic or reach out to peers to create an animated short. All are effectives ways to get a series made. It’s hard work but it’s worth it in the end. However, If a studio does reach out wanting to adopt my series, there is a chance I’d have to give up some ownership. A friend told me no one ever fully owns anything, and I’m learning to loosen my grip to make things happen and let God handle all the other stuff.

So with that said, in 2017 I self-published my own story book called “Ame: Orange Harvest Island Vol. 1”, in 2020 an art book collection series called “Talon: The Art of JM Shabazz”, and in 2021, I officially launched Studio Merkurii, LLC. The goal is to produce and distribute stories in the realm of literature, animation, video games and other forms of storytelling. According to an article from ABC News titled “Racial diversity in children’s books grows, but slowly” by Christine Fernando : “Racial diversity in children’s books has been picking up since 2014, reversing a 25-year plateau, according to Kathleen T. Horning, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Cooperative Children’s Book Center. But despite the gains, progress has been slow. Children’s books written by authors of color in 2020 increased by 3% to 26.8% compared with 2019. Children’s books written about racially diverse characters or subjects, however, grew by only 1% to 30%, according to preliminary data provided to The Associated Press by the CCBC, which has been tracking statistics on children’s book representation since 1985.”

From an early age my mother enlisted me to use my imagination to uplift people, especially the ones who look like me. Truth is often times stranger than fiction; so, while my characters are all anthropomorphic animals, I draw inspiration from much of my own personal experiences as a young black child growing up in a “post-racial” society without alienating others in the process. I hope the stories of Studio Merkurii will create conversations between parents and their children on understanding the nuances of the world we all live in and how to navigate it, despite the main character being a little brown koala.

I’ve been told that my work makes people smile. That’s one of the many things that I strive for. I believe it makes them feel seen and appreciated. Every person that I draw is a citizen of Merkurii. It is a world, a mirror, even  a bridge between fantasy and reality. If I can speak to the root or essence of things I can speak to everyone. What always makes me proud is seeing a little kid that looks like me, around the same age as I was when I decided to go on this journey, reading a book that started from an idea in my head. I look forward to more of those moments. I grew around the Nation of Islam (NOI) and one of the things that I learned is when you get the root of a thing you can speak to the whole. I want to be able to speak to black people and the whole of humanity in a way that’s not heavy handed or corny.  I’m still learning but it seems to be gradually working so far. I have faith I’ll reach my goal.

How did you build your audience on social media?

It really started when a friend of asked me to draw her in my style. After that, the another friend asked and I just kept drawing people. I was inspired a lot of my peers like Nikolas Draper-Ivey, Mikhail Sebastian, Blake Showers, Johnny Edwards, just to name a few, to post my illustrations on social media specifically Instagram. I zeroed in on what I am best at, which is character designs. I had to get into a mindset where I was drawing and posting constantly cause you just never know who will see it. So, I would advise anyone pursuing any creative exploit to create and share as much as possible. Stay constant with it as possible. Brick by brick everyday. Be kind to yourself cause most days will be slow. don’t focus on trying to gain every fan in the world. You have to gradually affect people by just being constant. You’ll find your audience and the audience will let everyone else know what you’re doing.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

NFTs in my opinion, can work very well, so long as there is intent behind the creation. I look at it as a great opportunity to gain funding for a project that you will actually see in the real world and be of actual use to everyone. I can see it selling the idea behind a film, book series, video game etc. if it’s done correctly. There just has to be intent behind the NFT beyond the internet otherwise it’s just robbing people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://studiomerkurii.com
• Instagram: @therealcrowjones
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmshabazz/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/crowjones

Image Credits
Personal Photo by Daniel Emuna