Egostrip

Egostrip Book 1 is a beautifully designed collection of Dan Lish's stunning character illustrations from the world of hip hop and beyond. The Egostrip project began on Dan's daily commute to work, where he chose to draw his favorite musicians in little black books. Created in black fiber tip ink pen, straight to paper, while the train rocked back and forth, commuters knocking his elbow (or vice versa). Back in the studio, the illustrations were brought into the computer and digitally colored, adding texture and details. The book includes 138 illustrations of pioneering artists from hip hop's golden era, such as De La Soul, Madlib, DJ Premier, Mobb Deep, Nas, Cypress Hill, J.Period, J Dilla, Kool Keith, MF DOOM, The Roots, Biggie Smalls, A Tribe Called Quest, Biz Markie and The Beastie Boys. There are also black and white sketches and photos with Dan's anecdotes, process thoughts and tips and histories of the interconnected characters; their alter-egos and worlds created in glorious analogue and digital techniques, plus an introduction to Dan's life as a DJ, B-Boy and Graffiti artist in the UK and New York. Within the handcrafted lines are layered micro-narratives and ink pen explorations, celebrating Black music and the journey of human creativity.