This mural has a simple design, but for East St. Louis artist, its message is anything but

When Mykael Ash was approached with the idea to create a mural in honor of the late East St. Louis rapper Cedric Gooden (aka Cold Kase), he was honored. Gooden died in 2019 after being shot outside of a gas station in East St. Louis.

“This was a bad situation that happened that didn’t need to happen, so we wanted to pay homage to him.,” Ash said.

The result? A lone, striking mural in the middle of a vacant area on 1610 Martin Luther King Drive in East St. Louis that’ll instantly capture the attention of passersby. Anchored by a solid black background, the mural depicts a figure of the late rapper holding a microphone in the middle. On the left, the words “East St. Louis City Of Champions” are in bold, white letters. The words “Stop The Violence 89 Blocks” are designed the same way on the right.

The mural has a simple design, but, for Ash, the message is not.

“The main idea was to mainly speak to the community about, for one, stop(ping) the violence,” Ash, an East St. Louis native, said. “We don’t need any innocent people out here dying. Then, for two, let everybody know around here that they are a champion. All 89 Blocks. Everyone is a champion. No matter what you got yourself into in life, you can triumph and be great.”

Ash applies that same mindset to all of the murals he designs in the city. Along with fellow artist Kas King, he recently completed a “City of Champions” mural on Collinsville Avenue near I-64. He’s currently working on a mural depicting a historical timeline of East St. Louis at the Save A Lot on Vieux Carre Drive. But the Cold Kase mural, which Ash completed last month, is a personal one for him.

“We grew up having fun—playing basketball, running around the streets, riding bikes, getting into little miscellaneous trouble, but not too major,” Ash said about his relationship with the rapper. “That was about it, so that’s what hit me at first.

“Then, what he would always say hit me. One of Cold Kase’s quotes was ‘It doesn’t take a dime to have a rich mind,’ so that just hit me a lot because as an artist, it’s a lot you go through just to where you need to be and just to understand what you need to do to get to where you need to be. That just really clicked with me.”

Victoria Ferguson, who approached Ash with the idea for the mural, said she was inspired by the other artwork he’s done in the city.

“We’re all really excited about the mural. It’s been well received by the city, and I’m just glad that it’s there. It’s another landmark for the city, and we’re just happy that Mykael added to the beautification of the city.”

Given Ash’s relationship with Cold Kase, he said bringing the rapper to life through the mural wasn’t as difficult as it seemed. Remembering the positive impact that Cold Kase had on the city ameliorated Ash’s artistic approach for the design.

“I just kept that energy and really just channeled it into my work,” Ash said. “He came through me a few times. That’s how you bring faces to life. Ain’t no way you can bring a face to life without sitting there, staring at the picture and talking to him.”

‘Art is my first job’

Embodying the spirit of the figures he’s drawing is a common routine for Ash, who says he was born an artist. He remembers drawing figures in the second grade and always being inspired by an artwork he’d see.

His intense passion for drawing blossomed even further while a student at Belleville West High School. Ash said his art teachers there taught him the more technical side of sketching, which included the basic principles of art and teaching him to hone his style. His brand is “Making Art Simply Happen” that’s based on an acronym for his name, M. Ash.

But Ash is mainly self-taught. Described as a scenic muralist, Ash has been a commission-based artist for five years. He completed his first mural around 2017 for a friend and hasn’t stopped since then.

Ash, who also does building maintenance for East St. Louis, considers art his full-time job.

“Art is my first job, and my job is my job,” Ash said. “I always have to provide for myself, but I’ve never stopped doing this. I never treated it as like, ‘Oh OK I ain’t got nothing to do today.’ No, this is an everyday thing. This is honestly something I have no control over. My soul is going at it every other day.”

Lauren Parks, president and co-founder of House of Miles East St. Louis, a nonprofit Miles Davis museum, said Ash has created about 15 art pieces for the museum and has had an art show there. He’s also worked with students serviced by the museum’s educational enrichment program. She said she’s happy that the museum is a conduit for Ash’s talent.

“It’s very moving to me to be a part of that young man’s resurgence, if you will, and him telling us that just walking through that space ignited him to start his artwork again….I love his passion. I love his creativity and his style. We’ve captured him in the process of his creativity.”

Parks said Ash embodies what the museum represents, especially considering Miles Davis became a painter during the latter portion of his career.

“He’s the epitome of inspiration,” Parks said of Ash. “He’s the epitome of being one of the champions in the ‘City of Champions.’”

Ash said being in the museum in 2015 motivated him to heavily pursue his passion for art.

“It made me structured (in) my artwork versus what I’m trying to aim for, and I love just bringing back the memories,” Ash said. “Miles Davis, I’m not sure how many Miles Davis pieces I’ve done for them, put me in the rhythm where I know what I want to do, I know what I like to do and I know how to approach it and what the audience wants, so that’s what the House of Miles Davis did do for my work–just give me that character.”

Ash is currently working on a visual art exhibit, titled Echoes of our Collective Pulses, which will highlight the impact the 1917 Race Massacre had on East St. Louis. He wants people to know that the city deserves reparations.

“It brings me hope and joy,” he said about creating art that connects with residents. “It lets me know that my city appreciates what I’m bringing and what I have to offer because we can only do what we have to offer. I try to go to the events where they’re cleaning up and picking up (trash). I also work at city hall, so I’m around every event that goes on, so I try to pay attention to know what people are looking for and I try to do that with my art.”

His long-term goals include reaching a broader audience. But that doesn’t mean he’s leaving his hometown. He’ll continue “Making Art Simply Happen” in East St. Louis.

“I’m comfortable here,” Ash said. “My ideas are here. I can go anywhere in the world and bring it back here.”

To shop artwork designed by Mykael Ash, click here.

This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 6:30 AM.

DeAsia Paige

Belleville News-Democrat

DeAsia Paige joined the Belleville News-Democrat as a Report for America corps member in 2020. She’s a community reporter covering East St. Louis and surrounding areas. DeAsia previously interned with VICE and The Detroit Free Press. She graduated from The University of Kansas in 2020.