Twig Sparks was one of the first black tattoo artists to really break thru in the early stages of reality TV and has worked extensively with shops that create large scale "Disney World" like experiences such as Hart & Huntington where we shot in 2011. Hart & Huntington grew to be such a large bra...

If you should come away with anything in life, it's a good story and Dueler definitely has a few for you that span a continent or two. In fact, his stories are so good, he probably will only admit to be one upped by the legendary Jacci Gresham herself. Dueler speaks about everything from bikers a...

Phil Colvin has been a staple in the Atlanta tattoo scene since the early 90's and is the current owner of Memorial Tattoo on the eastside of the city. Aside from points about the landscape of Atlanta and barriers of entry for black artists trying to get into tattooing, Phil speaks on family and ...

The life of a tattoo artist is already a difficult one, being a single mother, living in the city of Detroit only compounds that problem. Regardless of the facts, Lady L has been able to balance raising a daughter (she now also has a son) while becoming one of the most sought after tattoo artists...

This documentary defined an entire culture and stands as a marker in history for the growth of black tattoo artists. 3 years ago, Miya Bailey and Artemus Jenkins came together to create a film that details the history and lives of the top black tattoo artists.

This 2nd leg of the project, "Un...

A 90 minute look into the history and lives of the world's top black tattoo artists.

This documentary began filming in 2009 and was released June 21st 2012.

dIrected by Miya Bailey and Artemus Jenkins

Jacci Gresham is recognized as the first black female tattoo artist and the roots for all black artists in tattooing. We visited New Orleans at her shop "Aart Accent" in 2011 to shoot this interview.

Ms. Jacci was a very warm and welcoming woman, full of charisma and flair as evidenced by her ...

Prior to our interview with Zulu, all we had heard was that Zulu was a bit of a jerk, leaving us with a bit of apprehension on how the interview would go. Those judgements couldn't have been further from the truth as he and his wife Khani Zulu were very welcoming and really made sure we had all w...

I'm gonna be honest, at the time when Miya told me we were interviewing Red, who owned West End and it being a shop he got from Julia and Foot who you will learn more about, I thought he was gonna be old. Not old like 40 so to speak, old like 60 and smaller. I really don't know why. As you can se...

Imagine if you got the meet someone that you have admired for years and based your whole career largely around everything they did. Imagine that this person was cool as hell in person and the relief you feel from them not being lame. Then imagine that this person asked you to do that thing you've...

The extremely hospitable gentleman and saint, Kirk Boutte was one of our favorite interviews. Could it be because he wined and dined us in true #fattyeats style? Possibly, but mostly because of his candor and wisdom during this interview.

Kirk has been operating Effum for over 15 years to this...

This day as a whole was awesome, if you watched Kirk's interview already, you know he is pretty cool, not just cause he wined and dined us like we was running for president either. Effum as a whole had so much personality and a vibe very uniquely there own. This is some raw footage from that day,...

With so much of a history and foundation in tattooing, it was no surprise that we met a lot of talented artists down in Louisiana. Court was another artist stationed in Baton Rouge. Court is another example of how advanced many young tattoo artists are these days, not only in the visual language,...

Interviews like this are one of the luxuries in documentary filmmaking. Paper Frank is currently one of the most in demand visual artists of this generation. He has steadily built a cult following for himself ranging from the hipster teen folding clothes at Urban Outfitters to celebs like Chris B...

Tuki Carter is one of the true originals in a culture full of unique people. He is considered as one of the most naturally gifted talents around, making him capable of excelling at anything he decides to give a fuck about.

Miya Bailey is known largely for his ability to make colors shine brill...

At two years of experience, Ryan Henry was the HNIC of the Chicago tattoo scene. 4 years later, things haven't changed. His grip on that title has only tightened and the business is still growing.

Instead of a only a private studio with a few friends around, Ryan now runs 9 Mag Tattoo shop in ...

The screen shot should give you an idea of how colorful this interview was, visually and audibly. Damon Conklin is one of the most well respected artists in the industry period, the white side and black side, despite the fact he downplays any inkling of talent or business savvy on his part.

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This is one of those interviews that really lets you know about a particular time and place in a person's life. If you ever get a chance, ask Imani about how many things changed not even since then to now, but in the 3 years alone it took us to finish the film.

Miya always spoke highly of how ...

If you do nothing else to be a successful artist and business owner, you will sacrifice. Chris is an artist who embodies that very word and his interview clearly enlightens us on the things "regular" people take for granted such as time for yourself and the ones you love; all for the sake of bein...

There are a few places where we got a TON of footage and Asheville is certainly one of them. We pretty much went everywhere that held some meaning to Miya throughout the course of his life and interviewed lots of family and friends.

For the first look into new pieces of Miya's private life, w...