Hilary Sedgwick 
created Hip Hop Illies with a core concept in mind; she wanted the personal project to be about Hip Hop but to also focus on different themes down the line.
Manifesting from another project, Sedgwick first started Illies with an illustration of Biggie Smalls. She liked the drawing so much that she decided to turn it into something more.
Peak Johnson: When did you first become interested in Hip Hop?
Hilary Sedgwick: I think the most memorable albums from when I was younger was Dr. Dre and I was a massive fan of the Wu-Tang Clan. There’s been so many categories and I think for some people there’s only one kind of hip-hop, especially now. You look at all of the different genres and it’s kind of interesting because it’s such a melting pot.
PJ: Can you tell me a little about Hip Hop Illies?
HS: It was a personal project that kind of started from a project that I was a part of about five years ago with Sepso Design group. They did an art show and they asked for designers and illustrators from Philadelphia to submit work in reference to specific musicians and artists.
One of the artists that I did was Biggie Smalls and I did an illustration of him and ended up liking it so much and enjoying it and it got such a good response that I thought since I was such a fan of hip hop why don’t I just go ahead and start to illustrate my favorites.
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Dominique “Peak” Johnson is a North Philadelphia journalists and blogger. He is one of the founding editors and writers of the North Philly Metropolis and blogger for The Huffington Post The Huffington Post Click here to learn more about Peak
