When Pittsburgh rapper Harvey “Frzy” Daniels saw the mural of his likeness, he was in tears.
“I was posting a video on Instagram, and I got to feeling emotional,” said Frzy, an East Liberty native and Emmy award-winning artist known for his record 31 consecutive hours for the longest freestyle rap, as he viewed the painting on Thursday. “To have an opportunity to look at your face on a building … you work so hard trying to make people happy and to make good music and to inspire the world. A moment like this puts everything in perspective.
“No, I’m not crying. I’m a rapper.”
He was crying.
“It just hit me,” he said. “I was overwhelmed.”
He thanked well-known street artist Jeremy Raymer, who created the larger-than-life painting on Braddock Avenue in Braddock.
“He was the one I wanted to paint it,” said Frzy. “And it’s in a legendary neighborhood. It’s about legacy, about having a dream and making it come true. I tell kids, don’t throw things at the wall. Be the wall.”
It wasn’t just the vivid spray-painted image that moved Frzy. It is the potential power of the picture. Frzy plans to have photos of a young Black boy and girl looking at the mural made into posters. The prints will be created in varying sizes and sold through Frzy’s website and Raymer’s website.
Proceeds will benefit Arts Ed Collaborative, a Pittsburgh-based organization that offers professional learning programs for arts educators and school districts throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Yael Silk, executive director of Arts Ed Collaborative, said she is grateful to Frzy. The funds will help continue the mission of helping “educators unlock the transformative power of the arts for young people.”
“The arts provide a sense of self and the ability share thoughts and feelings,” Silk said. “It’s an opportunity to communicate what’s in our hearts and minds. It’s an immersive experience.”
When seeking a location for the mural, Frzy researched possible buildings in his home neighborhood. He found a spot, but that didn’t work out. A couple who own half of the space he originally wanted, Samantha Ginsburg and husband Stephen Streibig of Braddock Hills, offered him the Braddock spot. They use the building for storage.
“When I first listened to Frzy’s voice message, he sounded exuberant and grateful,” Ginsburg said. “He is definitely a ray of sunshine. He is wonderful to be around. He gives back. He wants to help young people reach their potential.
“He is positive role model. We need more people like Frzy in this world.”
In 2020, the Tribune-Review published a photo essay on Frzy, based on following his work and life for more than a year.
The mural design began with a photograph taken by Robert H. Waters of Graffight Photography. Frzy was sitting on a throne “like a king,” he said, at 4 a.m. in Market Square, Downtown Pittsburgh.
Frzy, 36, sought out to Raymer after seeing his piece at 33rd and Penn Avenue in Lawrenceville depicting Magneto, a Marvel comic book character, as well as a mural of Roberto Clemente on Pittsburgh’s North Side.
Raymer has painted 100,000 square feet of 90 murals. The paint usually last 10 years, he said. If he sees that a mural needs touching up, he will grab a paint can and get to work.
His next project is a mural of the late Betty Davis of Homestead, the pioneering funk musician who died last month in her home neighborhood.
“These murals are my business card,” said Raymer, who used 40 tonal values, incorporating neon hues, of Montano Gold Black and MTN94 spray paint including black, purple, white, blue and fuchsia. “I wanted to give a flow and energy to the piece because Frzy has such good energy.”
Raymer, an engineer, is a self-taught artist. He is inspired by the late Man Ray, a Philadelphia surrealist artist who spent most of his life in Paris.
Raymer primed the 1,000-square-foot wall at the beginning of January. He said navigating the ever-changing weather conditions of Pittsburgh’s winter made it challenging, because extreme cold and snow and wind can affect the process.
“It’s a great location because so many people drive and walk by,” said Raymer, a Glassport native who lives in Uptown. “People would stop and talk to me about the mural when I was painting it. They would honk their horns as they drove by.”
He finished March 3.
“The colors are magnificent” said Frzy, a fan of the film “Black Panther.”
“I want to show kids from the street that they can be bigger than a building,” said Frzy, who plans to release two albums at the end of May, “Popularity” versus “Success.” “A lot of time there are murals and statues for people after they are gone. I want this mural to make a difference while I am still here. I get emotional just thinking about everything.”
He was tearing up once again.
