Meet Denzel Greene | ZELLYG The Pro-Black Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Denzel Greene and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Denzel, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
VAF PLATFORM By ZELLYG

Is a pro-black cartoon & modern abstract artwork business and all pieces of work are created by ZELLYG (Me) . I operate out of Raleigh Nc, my hometown. My goal for my city is to enlighten all creative individuals especially my “Black creatives” to pursue their passion as a black artist & to do the things necessary to progress & achieve greatness .

Most artist lack the confidence to create their pieces of work whether it be painting, singing, dancing etc. they’re scared that it won’t be good enough in the public eye or because they are black … that maybe other races of people won’t take them seriously as a creative in their artistic endeavor.

People never really took me that serious either coming up especially in high school , I mean there were some people who did believe in what I was doing like a couple family members & couple real friends. But other than them everyone else just kind of brushed it off when I mentioned the mass media noticing my creativity one day & that I was going to awarded big time but as usual people just look at you funny as if dozens of other people say this type of thing then they end up nowhere in life.

Lots of my peers did know that I was talented but as I mentioned before they thought of it as nothing but a “high school thing” & nothing more. I always knew that I wasn’t most people & if I have a goal set … trust and believe I’m going to do it .

I’m Christian so I pray to God everyday about my life , giving him thanks to all the special people in my life that never left or doubted me & most importantly I thank God himself for never leaving or forsaking me either because i know if for some odd reason everyone did stop supporting me & being there for me I know God will always be frontline & center 24/7.

So for my black community and all other communities , I hope that watching my journey as a black artist gives you the courage to trust in the lord God our savior & to ask God for strength, courage, certainty, knowledge, will power, self esteem, & perseverance to achieve what ever moral creative endeavor it is that you want to do ! And nobody can stop you & nobody can put fear in your heart for what you’re passionate about !!!

Get to it .

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
When it comes to me & other artists I try not to compare myself that much but let’s be honest we all compare ourselves and our work to others , a little friendly competition won’t hurt .

The biggest thing mostly that sets my work apart from other artists that you’ll notice right away is that every single piece of work that I create literally is a melanin-based character . I’m so serious I look back now and I think like “wow there’s nothing but blacks in my work lol”. Black culture is so important to me ..for one, I’m a black person my self & two, black culture is the heart of our people , everything about may no always be correct but it’s ours. Our culture is the main thing we watch, eat, was taught & lived by our entire lives.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I had real best friend coming into to town we going the hood joints to eat (safe hood lol)

*Drum roll*

We eating at cookout ! 😂💯

My order: a big double cheeseburger platter w/nuggets & fries for my 2 sides and large sprite. (Gimme my honey mustard too💯)

(Hood classic)

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to thank God , Jesus Christ first because he is the one keeping me alive every day to pursue this thing we call art !!

& I would also like to thank my family who supports me too , I won’t give any names but they know who they are lol .

Last but not least , BIG thanks to SHOUTOUTATLANTA !!!!!! Atlanta magazine agencies love them some ZELLYG !
Lol but I appreciate y’all for always supporting us upcoming artist we really need more of this type of stuff.

Much Loveee !!!!

Website: http://teespring.com/stores/vafplatform-by-zellyg/

Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/zellyg_/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/zellyg_

Youtube: ZELLYG

Image Credits
All photos & creative setups are creatives by: ZELLYG