A Conversation with Bong on Art, Identity & the African Samurai Spirit
Interview by Joy Rich | Published on BongAfrica.world | June 8, 2025
“I am Warhol. I am the number one most impactful artist of our generation. I am Shakespeare in the flesh.”
Kanye West
On Ye’s Birthday, Artist Bong Offers More Than a Tribute, but a Mirror.
Today, the world celebrates the birth of Ye: sonic architect, cultural disruptor, and one of the most layered figures of our generation. In tandem, Nigerian-born artist Bong unveils a powerful new work titled “Ye, Compass”, a visual epic fusing African ancestral strength with the spirit of a modern samurai.
It’s a piece that does not merely honour Ye. It shows his ethereal presence.
The Studio Is Quiet, But the Air Is Loud with Spirit
We meet in Bong’s Lagos studio, an oasis of colour, carved history, aged tree, fabric, plants and prayer. At the centre of it all stands a large-scale painting drenched in symbolism.
It is not static. It is not still. It is alive.
“This Isn’t a Painting. It’s a Portal.”
Joy Rich: How would you describe this piece?
Artist (smiling): It is not a painting but a portal. A layered story. A cinematic epic where the first episode is simply titled Life. There are protectors here, warriors, masks, light, and shadows. It began with a samurai. It became something far more.
On Myth, Music, and the Evolution of the Warrior
Joy Rich: What opened that creative door?
Artist: I’ve always loved the visual codes of samurai mythology, the honour, the stillness, the silence before battle. That was my starting point. But once I began painting, the canvas took its own breath. It became an African samurai.
Joy Rich: And why Ye? Why centre him in this mythology?
Artist: Because Mr Ye isn’t just a man, he’s a frequency. A force. While I was drawing, the JESUS IS KING 2019 album was looping on repeat. Every track met me in pain, in renewal, in the in-between. He became my choir leader, singing resilience over heartbreak.
Mr Ye is rare. He holds both love and hatred, sometimes from the same people. And yet, he continues. Evolving. Building a new world. What I painted wasn’t just his likeness, it was his refusal to be reduced.
Africa Beyond Colour. Not Just Skin. But Soul.
Joy Rich: The colour palette is unexpected for a samurai motif, was that intentional?
Artist: Absolutely. Africa isn’t just one tone. It’s the pigments of the earth, the green of pepper leaves, the electric indigo of Ankara. These aren’t aesthetic choices. They’re vibrations.
When those tones meet the majestic world of the traditional samurai, you don’t just get contrast, you get a new mythology. A warrior born from the soil of Accra or Atlanta, walking with the Oga soul of Akita.
More Than a Tribute: A Philosophy in Paint
Joy Rich: What message does this piece leave with the world?
Artist: That you are not here to be one thing. You are not made for a box. You’re allowed to shift. To rage. To grieve. To create. You’re allowed to be powerful and soft, divine and wounded.
That’s what Mr Ye represents. That’s what I’m still learning: to wear all my faces. To be fully myself, even when the world demands a mask.
Exclusively on BongAfrica.world
Today, “Ye, Compass” isn’t just a painting; it’s a visual sermon for those walking the tightrope between genius and grief, power and vulnerability.
It is now available exclusively through Bong Africa, with:
- 1 Original Canvas (Private Viewings Available)
Final Word: The Mirror of Multiplicity
In the end, what Bong offers is not just an artwork, but a mirror, not only of Ye, but of you.
A mirror that says:
You contain multitudes.
And that, too, is the art.
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