The forever expanding culture that is hip-hop has found its way into comics, more specifically anime comics, thanks to New York native Stephane Metayer. An artist and writer who equally is an anime fan as he is a hip hop fan. Not a very common combination, but Stephane’s love for the rapper Nas and his love for manga inspired him to create something amazing — it all started in middle school.
Like Biggie, for Stephane it was all a dream but now his dream brought him here, offering something completely awesome that is anticipated by many. When you think of your typical manga or anime series, you usually don’t think of it as being inspired by a rapper with a cast full of African American in the city. Thanks to creative minds, Tephlon Funk could be making its way to print and media — with your help.
Without the inspiration from Nas (1994) debut classic album, Stilmatic this idea would probably be non-existent. How awesome would it be to have both a print and television series that depicted real life issues we all happen to deal with on a daily basis. Stephane says, ‘I always felt that there weren’t enough stories out there that were able to successfully mix the two mediums seamlessly. Bring the best of both worlds into one dope project. I wanted the story to take place in New York City. Specifically Queensbridge since this was heavily inspired by “Illmatic.” I’ve never seen an NYC based cartoon that really captured the true essence of living in this big city.’
This is super amazing if you ask me and even if you don’t visit the kickstarter page, spreading word about this possible venture counts towards something. If you’re interested in hearing more about “Tephlon Funk,” keep scrolling and check out the video below. Remember, dreams can and do come true. Just believe.
For those who want to support, show love, and find out more information, the kickstarter link is provided below. Teplon Funk
