We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tj Sykes. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tj below.

Tj, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

To start the year of 2025 off I released a project entitled Negro Please: A Negro Spiritual. This project consist of 6 poems with musical elements behind them. I really enjoyed putting this project together because it gave me a chance to collaborate with other dope artists like Mani Draper, Kevin Allen and Donte Clark. It also allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and try something different like singing on a hook. A lot of the pieces were inspired by older negro spirtuals of course I put my own twist on them. Check it out for yourself. After that I released four more projects unrelated to it but they are all connected to a bigger project I am working on.

Another project I worked on this year was creating Black Sanctuary Spaces No for Black community members. I helped cultivate a creative space for visual and spoken word artists at our Black Sanctuaries event in Oakland California where we had spoken word, non alcoholic sip and paint, sound bath and food. I also facilitate weekly young men’s group in one our neighborhoods in Richmond California my home town.

Tj, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is TJ Sykes. I am 33 years young. I’m from Richmond California, Monterey Pines formerly known as Kennedy Manor to be specific. I am a working artist and formerly incarcerated. I got into poetry through one of my good friends Deandre Evans he introduced me to a group Called R.A.W Talent Richmond Artist with Talent in 2015. R.A.W Talent is a group of talented individuals who are made up of Poets, Authors, Screen writers and actors. I started attending writing workshops and quickly became a part of the crew. They welcomed me in with open arms. Shortly after my writing ability enhanced due to the feedback I received from my peers. Through R.A.W talent I participated in multiple plays. Some of those included Adventure of Grief, Fairytale, Bag Lady’s Butterfly Blues and Richmond Renaissance.

The services I offer my community are workshop facilitation, guided meditation, gardening experience and spoken word/poetry. For the past three years I’ve been working through Urban Tilth managing a community garden in the Crescent Park community. Each summer I have been managing the youth summer program where I hire 10 youth ages 14-18 to help with the gardening. This is a six week program where we study film and then put the concepts into practice. At the end of the six weeks the youth graduate and receive $1500.

Something that set me apart from others is I am able to break the ice within community members allowing them to experience being seen and heard so that they may feel safe enough to show their vulnerable sides. Another thing that sets me apart from others is my non bias approach to the work I do. I am not here to judge others. I am here to provide a service and hold space while encouraging growth.

Somethings I am most proud about is publishing my first book entitled Section 8 in 2018. Another thing I am proud of is being a muse for a life size portrait that has been featured in an art show in the summer of 2025. I am also proud that I released five projects in 2025 with the help of my artist friends.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My mother Latina Marie Brown-Sykes passed from a brain aneurysm in 2002 when I was 10 years old. My entire life changed and there was nothing that could make it go back to being normal again. It all felt like a blur. This was something that impacted me in a way that I didn’t recognize until years later when I looked back on my behavior in school. I had became a class clown acting out. One thing that helped me was going to group therapy with children my age experiencing similar grief. It showed me that I wasn’t alone. When I started attending therapy as an adult and writing poetry these spaces allowed me to begin to process this experience. I came to the awareness that I was able to keep my mother’s name and legacy alive through the work I would be doing. I started to speak her name in different rooms and had art made with her and I to stay surrounded by her spirit.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Something that drives my creativity is the what I feel when I create. I feel powerful when I use my imagination to create. I am inspired by many things conversations, music, experiences, dreams, movies and more.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: _tjsykes5555
• Facebook: Tj Sykes
• Linkedin: Tj Sykes
• Youtube: Tj Sykes
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/saeed4music/1-all4siah-intro?si=0b885f7de3e44eca9573707f3ecaac1d&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Image Credits

Rebecca Garcia
Gregory Hinton
Antoine Pickett