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Artist Mark Lawrence (right) designed new murals at Bronx River Houses along with members of TATSCRU: Sotero Ortiz (BG183), Wilfredo Feliciano (Bio) and Hector Nazario (Nicer). <\/p>\n
Photo by Kemi Karim<\/p>\n
Residents of Soundview\u2019s Bronx River Houses recently unveiled new murals, collectively titled \u201cThe Home That Inspired The World,\u201d which celebrate the development\u2019s contributions to the early days of hip-hop culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The murals are part of the Public Housing Community Fund (PHCF)\u2019s \u201cFrom Roots to Arts\u201d Program, funded by the Mellon Foundation.<\/p>\n
To create the works, celebrated artist Mark Lawrence<\/a> returned to his childhood home at Bronx River Houses to paint the brightly colored images of folks playing dominoes and basketball and a DJ holding a spray paint can in one hand and spinning a record with the other.<\/p>\n Lawrence, who was born in 1968 as the youngest of eight, told the Bronx Times he spent his childhood in the Bronx \u201crunning around, getting in trouble.\u201d\n<\/p>\n At the same time, he was constantly surrounded by new music, breakdancing, DJing and graffiti that were part of the birth of hip-hop. \u201cI saw all that stuff firsthand,\u201d Lawrence said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Because the genre was new, he said artists were intensely focused on originality and brought \u201cpure, raw energy\u201d to their work. \u201cYou got every single person not wanting to spit the same rhyme.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to the creativity all around him, Lawrence said he was also inspired by the close-knit community at Bronx River Houses, home to more than 3,000 residents.<\/p>\n \u201cThose years in the 70s and 80s were epic because every weekend, New York City was partying.\u201d he said. Even through what he called \u201cthe crack days,\u201d neighbors were constantly outside celebrating special occasions and birthdays, playing music and holding block parties just for fun, said Lawrence.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of impoverished people,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople that don\u2019t have nothing, they can create anything.\u201d\u00a0 As Lawrence began creating art around the world, he gradually realized that people who really knew hip-hop knew about Bronx River Houses.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing from Bronx River was like my cheat code\u201d to free food and lodging in places near and far, Lawrence said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Because the South Bronx is most credited for originating hip-hop, Bronx River Houses are often overlooked. However, \u201cWe know who the originals of hip-hop were,\u201d Lawrence said. \u201cPeople from Bronx River don\u2019t understand how much influence they\u2019ve had on the world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Since he moved away from the Bronx \u2014now splitting time between Connecticut and Thailand\u2014 the thought of returning to his childhood home was difficult for Lawrence, who said he always looks to the future rather than the past. \u201cIt took a lot for me to go back to Bronx River,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n But he had good reason to be nostalgic. After losing 11 family members within one recent year, he wanted to create some kind of tribute. At the same time, Lawrence\u2019s childhood friend, Norma Saunders, who is now president of the Bronx River Houses Resident Association, had already advocated for new public artwork at the complex, and the collaboration with the Public Housing Community Fund was born.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lawrence had a clean slate to work with, as the community center at Bronx River Houses had no artwork for 30 years and was overdue for a refresh.\n<\/p>\n The project became full-circle for him as he brought in more childhood friends to help with the murals: the internationally-known Bronx graffiti crew, TATS CRU<\/a>, including Hector \u201cNicer\u201d Nazario; Sotero \u201cBG183\u201d Ortiz, who first painted the Bronx River Houses Community Center in the 1980s; and Wilfredo \u201cBio\u201d Feliciano, who grew up with Lawrence in the complex.<\/p>\n Residents celebrated the new pieces with a Nov. 20 ribbon-cutting, complete with food, artists\u2019 remarks and an appearance by members of The Chiffons, a 1960s doo-wop girl group who had original members from Bronx River Houses. The group is depicted in one of the murals and had major hits with \u201cOne Fine Day,\u201d \u201cWill You Still Love Me Tomorrow\u201d and \u201cMy Boyfriend Is Back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bronx River Houses nurtured some well-known creatives. But Alex Zablocki, executive director of the Public Housing Community Fund, said Lawrence\u2019s murals also highlighted the contributions of regular Bronxites to the cultural fabric. \u201cIt\u2019s not just the superstars,\u201d he told the Bronx Times.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lawrence\u2019s old friend Saunders said the designs were \u201ca tribute to who we are and where we come from.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u201cBronx River has given so much to the world, from the sounds of Hip Hop to the strength of our families,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cHaving one of our own, Mark Lawrence, come home to honor that legacy means everything to this community. It shows that the roots we plant here in the Bronx can reach the entire world.\u201d<\/p>\n Reach Emily Swanson at\u00a0eswanson@schnepsmedia.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0(646) 717-0015<\/a>. For more coverage, subscribe to our\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t
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Norma Saunders (holding scissors), president of the Resident Association at Bronx River Houses, was reunited with her childhood friend, Mark Lawrence, who created the murals.Photo by Kemi Karim\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6017.jpg\")
One of the new murals at Bronx River Houses.Photo by Kemi Karim<\/p>\n