Dan Drossman and Homeboy Sandman present

Visible Planets Denver 2024

Please join us for the second installment a one-of-a-kind event you truly don’t want to miss! Visible Planets is a curated selection of renowned rappers from across the country that also happen to make stunning visual art. This weekend showcases both the art and the music all in one. Friday, Aug. 2nd will be a free art opening at Bitfactory Gallery (851 Santa Fe Dr. from 6-10pm), where you can meet and chat with the artists, check out their art, and even purchase one for your home! Then on Saturday, Aug. 3rd, listen to what they do on stage with a rap concert at El Jebel ($35), one of the most beautiful venues in all of Denver. On Sunday, Aug. 4th at Benedict Fountain Park, Georgia Anne Muldrow will lead a free, open-to-the-public outdoor jam session where you can come watch, or join in and jam out with Georgia and several other members of Visible Planets! This is also a free trade outpost where you can donate or feel free to take the items you need. *Please bring your own instruments, amplification, and seating.

Last Year

2024 by ​Quelle Chris

August 2, 6 – 10 p.m.

ART SHOW AT BITFACTORY GALLERY

August 3, 6 p.m.

CONCERT AT EL JEBEL

August 4, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

A JOYFUL NOISE WITH GEORGIA ANNE MULDROW

Artists

Homeboy Sandman was vital in bringing these artists together and is participating in the event as a musical artist only. His collaboration with Aesop Rock, “Ask Anyone,” was featured on the FIFA 21 soundtrack and his collaboration with Quelle Chris, “Don’t Feed The Monster” was listed in NPR’s top 50 albums of 2020. His LP, “Still Champion,” was produced entirely by Deca.

For his contribution to Visible Planets, Oddisee has put together a series of photographs entitled, “Memories From Sudan.” With these works, he aims to shed light on what day to day life is like in Sudan, as well as bring awareness to the current conflict.

Deca is originally from Denver but is currently based out of NYC. He is mostly self-taught, creating comics and graffiti since a young age. After years of focusing solely on making music, he reignited his interest in visual art in 2011, using acrylic paint and ink as his medium. He states “I got back into it as a way of creating that didn’t feel as heavy to me as my process of making music. It’s a lot more meditative.”. Deca is a gestalt rapper, producer, and visual artist with a dedicated following.

Georgia Anne Muldrow is an Instrument of the Ancestors, cultural technologist, electronic musician, mother, mentor, activist, vocalist/songwriter and producer. Georgia wants you to know that music is her spaceship – she’s a one woman band that translates cosmic waves of music above her head…so they can touch your heart. Landed in 1983, debuted in 2004 & still alive.
Lily Fangz is an internationally touring Live performance artist, producer and poet, blending genres and invoking the magic of freestyle MCing and crowd participation on every stage from RedRocks amphitheater to TedTalks, Dive Bars, street corner cyphers and festivals. She has been drawing and painting longer even then writing and spitting, experimenting often with animals, shapes, and colors. The past several years have seen a deep ocean dive into an obsession with Octopus, realism, fantasy, therapy and abstractions.
Fresh Daily, an MC originally from Brooklyn, New York, is known for his creative approach to hip-hop. Now residing in Oakland, CA he blends elements of jazz, soul, and classic boom-bap in his music, often focusing on themes of everyday life, self-improvement, and artistic expression. Fresh Daily is not just a lyricist but also an illustrator & graphic designer, which adds a unique dimension to his work. His discography includes several albums and mixtapes, showcasing his versatility and commitment to creating art that is a cathartic self-expression in music.
Quelle Chris is a self-taught visual artist inspired by his father’s paintings and brother’s graphic art. With an interest in drawing from a young age studied their artistry and creative process while developing a style of his own. He works mostly digitally with pen and graphics while dabbling in other genres. Unconventional and hard to categorize, producer/lyricist Quelle Chris has created work in several genres, including punk rock, poetry, abstract soul, and instrumental as well as vocal hip-hop.

Visible Planets in Westword

Dan Drossman has been making art since he was five years old. Over decades of dedicated practice, his style has developed into cartoon-esque, multimedia street art, often inspired by rap and hip-hop.

“When I try to get into [painting], I always play music,” Drossman says, “and if I find a song that I really like, I’ll put it on repeat.”

That’s exactly what he did one day last year, listening to Homeboy Sandman’s “Calm Tornado” over and over again while he was painting. “While I was making [the painting], I was like, ‘[“Calm Tornado”] is a great title for this artwork,'” Drossman recalls. He reached out to Sandman, asking if he could name his art after the song that inspired it.

Sandman instantly clicked with Drossman’s art. “I was like, ‘Wow, this stuff is fly,’ so we just began to chop it up from there,” says the New York rapper.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

How it Started

Dan Drossman is an artist and the founder of Visible Planets. This event is a dream come true for him that came together through a little bit of serendipity, a few good connections, and a lot of generosity. It began when he reached out to Angel Del Villar II (aka Homeboy Sandman) about permission to use his song title for one of his paintings. They met up later while he was in Denver performing, and they became friends. Drossman approached Del Villar about his idea for this show and he offered to help get other rapper/artists on board. Gallerist and musician Bill Thomason helped connect him to the music venue, and his friend, former tennis student, and artist in her own right as a photographer in New York City, Ashley Garrett, agreed to help finance the show. While seen as separate creative fields, Drossman has always felt fine art and music are closely linked—both as forms of language that creatives use to communicate. He is thrilled to unite the two genres and share this experience so that others can appreciate the connection.

About Mick Burson

Mick created the incredible design for all of our merch, and will be contributing an original painting of the design to the art show.

Mick Burson is an artist originally from Waco, Texas. Growing up in a train yard he developed a sense of non-permanence towards objects and paintings he made. He makes large paintings outdoors on the sides of buildings and smaller objects indoors derived from an impulsive need to touch surfaces and pick things up. The work contains joy, nostalgia, and overarching humanness. Lines are consistently crooked, surfaces rely on one another and objects are propped up as if they are a tired human. The work that is made is usually made in a transient state where the un-pack and the pack become an art form in and of itself. He is currently in the middle of a 34-year-old project where he consistently wanders around while appearing to have a destination.

Kristina Johnson

Tina is a talented pyrographic artist renowned for her captivating animal and human portraits. Drawing inspiration from hip-hop culture and her favorite artists, Tina infuses her artworks with authentic energy and deep emotional resonance. Her journey into pyrography began as a form of self-care and a means to create heartfelt gifts for loved ones, eventually blossoming into a confident exploration of her artistic voice. Tina’s style combines intricate detailing and expressive compositions, capturing the essence of her subjects with each burned stroke on wood. Her dedication to her craft has led to recognition within the art community, including the honor of presenting artwork to Black Thought. Through her art, Tina aims to celebrate diversity, evoke meaningful connections, and inspire others to embark on their own creative journeys.