Upendo Taylor – Watts, California native who made New York his canvas. As an artist, designer, and lover of life, Upendo’s inspiration is drawn from the streets, sports, music, fashion, friends, political and social issues, pop culture, cartoon characters and his favorite food - the hamburger. Through hand drawn skills, computer design and a can of paint, Upendo has developed an original design aesthetic that opened doors to collaborations with Nike, Adidas, World Industries Skateboards, Akademics, Burton, Guess, Gatorade, Columbia/Sony Records, Vh1, Raphael Saadiq, Stones Throw Records, Strong Arm Steady, Black Milk, and Danny Brown. While cultivating his passion for art and design, in 2005 Upendo partnered with Ron Upperman, and together, two artists started the apparel brand, Leroy Jenkins. With an avant-garde design Leroy Jenkins has built a global audience and a cache of tastemakers – most recently recognized by Jay-Z, who’s been seen worldwide rocking the Leroy Jenkins cap. Fonts, verbiage, illustrations, apparel, abstract art and design are combined elements in creating, what Upendo calls Graphic Poetry.