WENDELL: "Artworks" is made possible in part by the Citizens of Baltimore County and by the Ruth R. Marder Arts Endowment Fund, The Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker Endowment for the Arts, The E.T.

and Robert B. Rocklin Fund, The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation Arts Endowment in memory of Ruth Marder.

♪ ♪ Hi, I'm your host, Wendell Patrick.

Welcome to a new episode of "Artworks" on Maryland Public Television.

Join me for "The Art of Barbering."

I get to sit down and get a slight touch up with Baltimore-based barbers Sundiata Osagie and Andwele Ra.

I also get to chat about the unique relationship between haircuts, community, and music.

We travel to Reno, Nevada, and beyond to learn more about the process of barbering.

So join me for this episode of "Artworks: The Art of Barbering."

It's been a while since I've sat in a barbershop chair and gotten a nice little cut, but I'm happy to be here today in Reflection Eternal Barbershop with Sundiata and Andwele.

So, just like any other art, barbering takes a tremendous amount of time to develop the appropriate skill in order to do it well expertly to become a master barber, just like a musician or, photographer, or videographer, there are specific tools that a barber will use in order to build up a steady client base.

They have to perform at a high level.

There's really a lot of, a lot of parallels.

SUNDIATA: The barbershop actually was a place I couldn't even afford to go to when I was young on Long Island.

So I always wanted to be the guy that, to sweep up the shops.

And my buddy, one of my close buddies, his grandfather, uh, Mr. Carpenter, um, had a barbershop, and he would always say he would go there on weekends and sweep the shop up.

And I was like, dang, I wish I could, had the opportunity to go to the barbershop, you know, and sweep the hair up, the small things, you know?

The barbershop is real important.

I mean, like historically, the barbershops are, uh, uh, are staples in the community, a place where people galvanize and come share ideas, share information, uh, to connect.

It's almost like a rites of passage.

It's a staple in the community.

I mean, like we, we definitely a threshold in community with information.

We got doctors, we got lawyers, uh, we got athletes, pro athletes that come through here.

Uh, we got a nice variety of people.

We got the street cats, we got the business cats.

And this is infused with every, with everybody that comes to, it's a melting pot.

We're master barber, so we can construct a barber who doesn't know how to cut hair, and we can teach you how to cut hair.

So one of the biggest challenges that we, we, um, was finding ourselves as barbershop owners was, we had to train people.

You know, so we had to get into the art of training people in, in and constructing barbers and building barbers up, building them up with, with skill, building 'em up, with communication with how to run a business.

Because if you don't have your chairs filled with barbers, your barbershop not making money.

You know, it's, it's phases to being an artist.

It's progressions, it's certain detail you gotta pay attention to that you don't get right away.

Um, it's definitely art because you gotta construct something from, for one aspect, and you gotta manifest it and construct it into a whole nother aspect.

And so that takes a nice eye, that takes a steady hand that takes, uh, knowledge of the person's head, the circumference and you know what I mean?

How their cheeks, how their bone structure is.

So you gotta take all of that and sculpture all of that with their hair and connect it to their facial features that also to socially how they want to be perceived, and how they want people to look at them.

So it's a art, so it's social art.

That's with it, too, because you have certain haircuts that are in style and certain haircuts that people want to identify with because that puts them in the "in crowd."

So it's an art of the social connection as well, an art as designing your client.

So it's definitely an art.

WENDELL: Well, I, I just wanna, I just wanna have a chat just to ask you some questions.

SUNDIATA: Absolutely.

WENDELL: And, uh, so the first thing I've actually always wondered, so, so I met you a few years, a few years ago, but I actually, um, used to walk up and down this block.

SUNDIATA: Okay.

WENDELL: And I would see Reflection Eternal and like kinda looked in the window, but how, so how long have you been here?

SUNDIATA: I've been here for nine years, going on nine.

April will be ninth.

It's April 1st today, so it was nine years.

WENDELL: This month, nine years.

SUNDIATA: Yep.

WENDELL: So why this block, like, how did you end up here specifically?

SUNDIATA: So, um, basically, we was located on Charles Street before.

So we was on Charles Street, uh, for about six years straight.

Uh, and we love the neighborhood, we love the community.

It was time to leave and we was actually partners with Grindhouse Juice Bar, that was occupying the spot.

WENDELL: Mm-Hmm.

SUNDIATA: So, uh, that was one of the businesses that me and my partner Andwele was also a part of.

And so, um, it made sense for us to move the barbershop over here so that the juice bar can have clients and flow.

You know what I mean?

The, um, you know, to profit off of.

WENDELL: Mm-Hmm.

SUNDIATA: So, um, it was a smart idea for us.

It was a great idea.

Uh, we never looked back from that point forward.

WENDELL: Mm-Hmm.

SUNDIATA: Um, and now we here creating history.

WENDELL: Mm-Hmm.

So how long after you moved in here did you start putting stuff up on these walls?

SUNDIATA: Uh, so my partner, my partner Andwele he, um, he the visionary for all the art that you see around.

WENDELL: Mm-Hmm.

SUNDIATA: For the, all the album covers and all that.

That was his, that's his spirit and that's what he wanted to add to the barbershop.

Kind of like a museum, like when you come in the museum and you see stuff like, oh, oh, that's, That's interesting.

I ain't know they had an album."

You know, and it's, they conversation pieces.

So, uh, so probably approximately after a year we started adorning the walls with, with nice wall art of albums, classic albums at that.

And, um, and that's just a part of, uh, what we represent.

WENDELL: Yeah, you've got Big Daddy Kane, "Long Live the Kane", The Roots, "Illmatic," uh, "Kind of Blue", Erik B. and Rakim.

SUNDIATA: Public Enemy.

WENDELL: Yeah, and then you also have artwork from Baltimore artists in here as well.

You've got that Thelonious Monk is by Ernest...

BOTH: Ernest Shaw.

SUNDIATA: Yeah, brother Ernest Shaw, yeah.

WENDELL: Brilliant artist.

So, yeah, well, I've, I've come in here a, a few times and it, it always feels like very much like a community space.

And I've heard you talk about how you feel about community and, and the position that this, that your barbershop occupies here in the city.

And I'm just wondering, so let's say with, um, with your clients, right?

Like, so how long would you say like, like the clients that you've had the longest here... SUNDIATA: Mm-Hmm.

WENDELL: How long has that been and did you bring them with you from where you were before?

SUNDIATA: Yeah, so, um, interesting... We, we had three shops, three locations in Charles Village, the Guilford area.

Um, so we had a space where we was with, uh, Conscious Heads around the corner with Brother Jabari and me, that's where me and Andwele actually hooked up on the barbering tip at was at, um, Conscious Heads, but we childhood friends as well.

WENDELL: Okay.

SUNDIATA: So, uh, we branched off from Conscious Heads, uh, open up our first Reflection Eternal on Charles Street, and then we're here.

And, um, so it's been a great journey, a great ride.

Um, and our, our client, you know, our clients basically, they followed us, you know?

WENDELL: Mm-Hmm.

SUNDIATA: They loved the brand, they loved what we was doing.

We was always trying to take the, the, uh, barbershop to the next level as far as art, community and just overall engagement.

So we actually did those things and that's how we sustain at a high level right now for operating on those three basis art, conversation, community, and engagement.

WENDELL: Yeah, that's great.

So when, so when you get a new barber in here, 'cause I know you, you train barbers.

SUNDIATA: Mm-Hmm.

WENDELL: Um, so when you bring a new barber into the fold, you know, I know they, they have to essentially earn their position, right?

SUNDIATA: Mm-Hmm.

WENDELL: And earn their clients.

How long do you feel like it takes for let's say, a good barber to, to, to start to build up their own, uh, client list?

SUNDIATA: Yeah, so, you know, we're talking about art.

Barbering, when a barber start, they got a blank canvas, you know, and it's all about what they want to paint on it.

So that's the determining factor on the, the barber, the artist, you know what I mean?

How much they wanna produce.

So if once you get your license or once you on the, on the floor of the barbershop, you gotta go outside.

You got to fish for men.

You gotta paint pictures in their heads of how you are the barber for them when they don't know you.

So you gotta market yourself.

So success and how a barber builds up his clientele all depends on how hard they're willing to work to get the people how... And how hard they willing to work to learn the cuts, to study, to study other barbers who are, are veterans, other barbers, you know what I mean?

Who, who do it at a high level.

You gotta study them.

So how, how, how much and how hungry they are to get to that level where they studying, they going out there pushing their brand, pushing their craft.

That's the determining fact on how soon they can build their clientele up and how great a barber they'll be eventually down the line.

WENDELL: Yeah, 'cause you might have people that come in here that are your clients, you're not here, they look in the door, they say hello to everybody in here, but they're like, "Oh, I'll be, I'll be back when Sundiata..." SUNDIATA: That's right, that's right.

But, um, one of the things about this shop, um, clients say this a lot, no matter what chair I get into, my haircut gonna be good.

So we pride ourself in, from top to bottom, all the barbers can hold a, a haircut at a high standard and a high level and produce great results for haircuts.

WENDELL: Mm-Hmm, and so I got a, a little hip-hop analogy for you.

So, uh, 'cause you're a DJ as well.

SUNDIATA: As well, yes.

WENDELL: Okay, so, you know, uh, with DJing, right, like in terms of, um, cuts all the, like, all like scratch cuts stuff, like, all those cuts have names.

Like, so you got crab scratches, uh, twiddles, flares... SUNDIATA: Mm-Hmm.

WENDELL: Uh, two-click flares.

So with the, the, the names of the, the cuts that you give to your clients... Like, can you just, like, what, can you list off some of the, some of the names that are popular right now?

SUNDIATA: Okay, um, so one of the cuts that's really popular for the younger generation is, "The Cruddy."

And that's nothing but a temp on the sides, a temp in the back and just like a natural on top.

And we got a, we got something called a cruddy brush where we put some moisturizer in the hair, massage it in, and then we just put the brush on it and give us this nice, organic, you know what I mean, wild look that's, that's dope.

With a nice little shape up, and a nice little blend on the sides and the back.

And that's more for the younger cat, you know what I mean?

Uh, early teenagers up to early adulthood.

And then you got your, um, you got your gentleman's, you got the gentleman's fade for the businessman, for the businessman who come in.

A nice gentleman cut where the cut is not a bald fade like a military-style cut, but it's just nice where you can see the tint and the hue and you can see the transition of the fade without, without it being really bald or, you know what I mean?

Or high fade.

So that's the gentleman's.

Then we got, you know, the bald heads, the classic bald heads, you know, the classic bald head cut that I, that I rock, that you rock, brother Andwele rock.

That's, that's a classic too, the bald head with the beard, you know?

So when guys lose their, their hair on top, you know, a lot of 'em just want a nice beard shape up and they want a nice clean, you know what I mean, top.

WENDELL: Mm-Hmm.

SUNDIATA: So, um, those are three major ones.

And, um, you know, the, the sisters, you know, the sisters come through and they want the nice undercuts under the locks, you know what I mean, with the nice little part.

And, you know, we call that a undercut with like a design, you know, um, that's real popular and those are dope cuts as well, you know what I mean?

WENDELL: Yeah, so where, where do these names come from?

Like, is it just like, uh, the same way we named dances or, uh, yeah.

I mean, language is always, is always evolving in the, in the black community.

But where do these names come from?

SUNDIATA: The names come from the streets, man.

WENDELL: Mm-hm.

SUNDIATA: The streets set the tone for everything.

Hip hop, the streets, you know what I mean?

What's going on the street, the lingo.

The streets create the tone for all art.

You know what I mean?

That we, that we are accustomed to most of the art come off the street.

The lingo, the lingo dictates the cut styles and what they're gonna call the cut, you know?

"The Cruddy" come from the, the street, you know what I mean?

WENDELL: Mm-Hmm.

SUNDIATA: The, the gentleman, the gentleman cut comes from the business suites, you know, that's another form of the streets, you know what I mean?

But yeah, so I think the people on the ground, they set the tones, the masses of people set the tones for what the cut, cut's gonna be called, and they just set the tone in general.

WENDELL: Yeah, so you and Andwele you mentioned that you all are childhood friends and, uh, you, the two of you also made music together.

SUNDIATA: Absolutely.

WENDELL: Right?

SUNDIATA: Yes.

WENDELL: And that was, um, can you talk a little bit about, about that?

I, I see the, the, uh, article on the wall there.

SUNDIATA: Yeah.

So, um, like we, um, like we, we come up under hip hop, you know, we, we, 70s babies, we love music.

Uh, sonic membranes are at a high level, so we understand, uh, R&B, old school R&B, uh, jazz, funk, um, bring it up to date... Disco, to hip hop, uh, reggae.

So we was always reading books, you know what I mean?

So our shop, we always, we always tell people like to read.

We encourage people to read.

So we also sell books in our shop as well, you know what I mean?

And give books out.

We don't just sell 'em, but we give books out as well too.

We encourage people to read.

So, um, you know, we was like, you know, we was, we was seeing a lot of music that was out that wasn't having no corrective information in it, you know, so we was like, man, we need to pitch another narrative in music that's not being, uh, promoted.

And so we took it under our belt, the, um, make a CD called "Unify or Die," where we put conscious lyrics in there intentionally so that we could raise the vibration on how people think and how they process things, you know, how to move forward.

So we dropping jewels so you could compare us to Dead Prez, um, Public Enemy, um, the Roots, uh, Mos Def and Kweli, Reflection Eternal, uh, Black Star, Goodie Mob, and all those great groups.

So, um, we came in a, in a spirit of those guys, of using our chair and using our talent as, as hip hop babies, you know, to manifest a great project that we call "Unify or Die."

WENDELL: Yeah, that's, that's dope.

You mentioned jewels and uh, I see you got a nice, a nice piece there.

SUNDIATA: Okay.

WENDELL: Yeah, so you do a lot of number, a lot of different things.

You do a lot of different things, and you make jewelry as well?

SUNDIATA: Absolutely.

So, um, that's a great question.

So, one of my artists contributions is, is going back to Ghana.

And, um, my partner, uh, my partner Jerrell Baker, uh, he had a great idea.

He was, he was on a, um, he was doing a, um, Fulbright Fellow over there in Ghana and, um, he stumbled upon the people making glass beads.

And he brought that information back, man, and started teaching me.

And I was like, man, this's a great opportunity to get into something.

'cause I, I love art, you know what I mean?

I, and the, and the, and the beads are art.

They actually make these beads from hand.

They hand paint these beads, they crush old glass bottles up and pulverize 'em into a small powder and put the powder into these moldings.

And then they, once they fill the moldings up, they throw it into a, um, termite mound oven.

WENDELL: Wow.

SUNDIATA: And they heat 'em up, and when they come out, they hand, they actually hand paint.

Each bead is actually hand-painted.

So you see, I got beads on my wrist as well.

These beads are hand-painted.

So when we go over to Ghana, we, we said, "Let's bring something back and let's make it beautiful," you know?

And let's, let's also have conversation pieces where we can educate the people on the history of, the history of the beads.

'cause the beads were trade beads used on the trade routes.

So before paper and plastic currencies, every, every country had their bead system.

So these beads, in particular, come from Ghana.

And the Krobo people, they're the people who makes the beads.

And so these beads uh, we love 'em, when our clients, when my clients come in, they see 'em, they just stop.

I don't even have to tell 'em I have 'em, they just stop like, "Man, what is that?"

And that starts the conversation.

I tell 'em about the beads and where the beads come from and what the beads mean.

WENDELL: Yeah, that's beautiful.

So, one more, uh, question I have for you.

So when you're, when you travel, when you're out of town, when you leave Baltimore and you're in a neighborhood and you walk past a barbershop... SUNDIATA: Mm-Hmm.

WENDELL: Actually it's two questions.

One, what do you feel like when you just walk past a barbershop in another city?

And the second question is, um, what kind of conversations do you have with other barbers when you're not in Baltimore?

SUNDIATA: Okay, that's a great question.

'cause I've been in barbershops in, in Ghana, stop in shops to, uh, you know, to check on barbers.

And I, and I love that feeling 'cause the, the barber fraternity is big, you know, so we, not just barbers, but we, we barbers who, who love and appreciate other barbers, no matter where you at or what level you on, you know, 'cause it's our profession and, and we gotta hold the profession at a high standard with love and communication and engagement.

So when I go to a barber shop, I, I, I just, I love going to other barber shops because I love sitting down and seeing how they do things.

See how they approach, uh, their clients, see how they talk in the shop.

You know what I, and um, and I just know, I just add on to the conversation.

When I go to Africa, I, um, I just sit in the shops and, and see how they engage with the people.

And just like, you know, just being in awe and bliss because it's actually a, a, a honor for me to not be in my shop for once and actually go out and see other guys working the craft and loving the craft at the same time and seeing how they engage with they people.

So it's, it's a, it's a feeling of love and appreciation for the craft and for we, for what I do and what all other barbers do.

I love it to go in other shops and see barbers work.

WENDELL: Yeah.

Well, it's a pleasure to talk to you and it's a pleasure to be in your shop again and, uh, keep up the amazing work.

SUNDIATA: Thank you.

WENDELL: And, uh, keep building community the way that you do.

SUNDIATA: And I appreciate you too, brother Wendell.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ DARRAIL: My name's Darrail Abercrombie.

I'm here today introducing my barbershop in Clearwater, Florida, Edge It Up Hair Studios and what introduced me to barbering.

The reason why I started cutting hair is to pick up on the style and get out of the streets.

Um, barbering actually did change and save my life.

Now I own my own barber shop and I've been in business for about three years, but I've been cutting for over 17 years.

This clipper right here is my balding clipper.

I use this just for setting my bald line.

♪ ♪ These are, mostly I use for edging.

Gives you a real precise edge, real precise, uh, lineup.

I have some curved shears.

And one cool trick about cutting is when you're cutting, use your thumb.

You know, so this is your steel blade, this blade not to move.

And you both sleeve just using your bottom fingers.

I'm a student at SPC working on my associates in architectural design.

What brung me to actual being an architect is the art form of being a barber.

The two go hand in hand.

The art form of being a barber relates back to, like I said, being able to give a straight edge.

Using 90-degree angles.

You'll be using 45-degree angles.

A lot of math skills that go involved with cutting hair that transitions over to the geometry shapes.

The same thing goes for, um, a rise and a run in building stairs.

So being a barber is just not about doing a good haircut, but actually knowing forms, different angles, different style, and actually being able to present those styles on your client.

And I know a lot of people don't think that barbering is an art, but barbering is in fact the art of defining someone's inner personality and their outer physical being.

Um, and by doing that, you actually build someone's self-awareness and their self-confidence.

So where I'm trying to go in the next few years is just put my stamp on the world, you know, show them that I am a artist in every form and that, you know, anybody can do anything that they put they mind to.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ BILLY: My name's Billy Werk.

I'm the owner of the Werks Elite Barbershop.

Um, I got into barbering probably, uh, when I was a kid.

So I grew up in the projects in New Jersey.

We were very poor.

We didn't have a lot at all, and we definitely couldn't afford haircuts.

So what I did was started cutting hair myself.

Um, so what I wound up doing is it led from cutting my own hair to some friends and, you know, cousins and like my stepdad and my brother.

Then it got to the point where they didn't want to go anywhere else 'cause no one could cut someone's hair like me.

It led to me finally getting my barber degree and I decided to go to school and actually make it a career.

And it's probably the best thing I've ever done.

Once I got out, I had a goal.

I had a five-year goal to, um, make my own, to have my own barbershop.

And, um, I wound up within four years, I was ready to get out on my own.

I, I think it's the best career I've ever had.

And then, you know, including like my art and stuff, I got, I got started with art also at a very young age.

I, I was drawing people's names on their, on their books for school, all their, uh, the book covers, drawing their names and, and doing, you know, graffiti.

And then it just, it just evolved from there.

I wound up having a show at the Dalí Museum a few years ago that was really cool.

We, we sold out.

I sold everything within like an hour and a half.

Now I just, I'm still doing commissions and I'm trying to just go further in barbering and just putting everything, you know, as one.

They, they pretty much go hand in hand as far as art and barbering go.

♪ ♪ VINCENT: People like to express themselves in many different ways.

Maybe that's like the way they dress, but I think hair and facial hair is extremely important in the way that somebody can artistically express themselves.

For a lot of guys, I think it's a sense of pride.

Being able to grow a beard and, and being able to express your masculinity the way you want, I think is really a great thing.

I think barbers are, are really great visual artists.

You know, we create things that people see, and creating shapes on somebody's, you know, face to enhance the way that they look is definitely an art form.

It makes 'em feel really good 'cause it's their persona it's how they look.

My name is Vincent Gravellese, I'm the owner, master barber, of Derby Supply Company Barbershop.

So we are a barbershop, as well as a kind of social club.

So, we have a full liquor license.

We do serve few different cocktails, beers, and spirits as well as we are a full-service barbershop.

Old school, shaves, haircuts, beard trims, etcetera.

Just having a professional to be able to accurately look at your face shape and determine the shape that's going to work, you know, the beard, the mustache, goatee.

And I think it's really important to have a professional consult on what look is best for you.

I mean, everybody has a different face shape, and you wanna make them look the best they possibly can.

And so going in and using some of the techniques that we are trained in school as well as post-education, I think is super important.

So usually when somebody comes in, I have them sit down, I'll start talking to 'em.

The consultation is like super important, kind of going through and figuring out, you know, what they're comfortable with, what they're not.

And then as far as the trim goes, I mean, the first thing I like to do is lay in a basic outline in shape.

So coming in, you know, like through the sides and making sure that the profile's right.

I'm a very visual artist in general, and so when I'm working, I like to see things come to life.

That's why I start with the outline first so that the client and I can, can both see it.

I mean, most barbers generally work away from the mirror.

It's kind of a tradition.

When I'm doing beer trims, I like to work in the mirror because somebody's looking at the way they look, that's gonna mean a whole lot more than just my professional opinion.

So we work together where it's, you know, my professional opinion, skill, and art.

And then obviously what they see.

♪ ♪ There is nothing that feels better than like having a client look in the mirror and seeing them smile.

And, like, you can tell that they really like the service that you provided for them.

I mean, I see 10 to 20 people a day and, you know, to make somebody's day, you know, to feel that emotion 10 to 20 times a day.

I mean, it's, it's a special thing.

It's really great.

I really enjoy being a barber and, and styling hair.

I mean, I think that being part of an age-old tradition and doing something that my family did, I'm very proud of that.

And I think that it's a great career and it's, it's, you know, it's a great way to be an artist.

I mean, there's multiple ways to be an artist, and I think this is a great way to do it.

(music plays through credits) ♪ ♪ WENDELL: "Artworks" is made possible in part by the Citizens of Baltimore County and by the Ruth R. Marder Arts Endowment Fund, The Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker Endowment for the Arts, The E.T.

and Robert B. Rocklin Fund, The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation Arts Endowment in memory of Ruth Marder.