What’s good. Since we originally released the Liberty 1000, a grip of homies have hit us up asking about the text that makes up the graphic. Our good friend Josh Paigen dropped this 1000 word essay about Liberty – both as a concept and as a reality. Here’s what Josh wrote in its entirety:
America is filled with gangstas from your neighborhood drug dealer to our government. Its time to realize & recognize. Here liberty comes by the gun. From sun up to down. One. A statement that represents an underlying truth in America. An image that portrays the heavy-handed, violent techniques employed in the name of democracy and freedom. The way we treat our enemies, yet also the way we treat our own citizens. Wars and death penalties. Prisoners and interrogations. The hidden effects of capitalism on democracy. To each his own. Get it while you can. By any means necessary. The force of liberty wielding a gun in hand. Freedom and liberty through the oppression of others. The land of the free and the home of the brave, but you’ve got to fight for it. Stand for the liberty, freedom, truth, and refuse to take no for an answer. You’re either on the way up or you’re on the way down. Stand for what you believe in and be willing to die for it, or stay the fuck out of the way. Or perhaps it all means something completely different to you: a political statement criticizing our government’s international meddling, a shout-out to hip-hop music and its full range of gangsta personas, or an American Dream message appealing to the libertarians among us? The right to bear arms, a simple proclamation of our 2nd amendment? So many meanings tied to a single image. To us at Akomplice, the Liberty T stands for an amalgamation of all of this. Most definitely not a pro-gun slogan, but more a design to question beliefs. A representation of the complex socio-political systems as they change and evolve, letting the populous run the gamut from riotous to subdued, oppressed to liberated. A micro-macrocosm conundrum in society. Who really should be holding the gun power? Our government? Our people? If you really do believe in the United States and what this country represents, you should ask yourself this question. Are you in control of your life? Are you oppressed? Would you know it if you were? Are you sure your freedom’s not an illusion? Are you willing to die for your beliefs? Is our government fighting for your beliefs or are you able to even able to discern your beliefs from the mass media beliefs of the brain-washed general population? Tell me… Are you free? Are you fighting with tooth and claw, pen and sword? With everything you’ve got? Because one thing’s for certain: Freedom ain’t free, and if you aren’t free (and you’re probably not) you had better be fucking fighting for it until you die. Which is exactly what we’re doing here at Akomplice. Making moves and motions, growing, struggling, and on the up and up. Fighting to stay alive. Fighting to maintain our creative freedom. Fighting to exercise our right to the freedom of speech. So yes, while we’re peaceful brothers, we’ll fight to stay alive. And now after six years here, we are still climbing. Ready to get to the mountaintop and plant our flag. Claim our rights. The Liberty T was the hit that solidified our spot in the game, and it has been a mainstay in our collection over the last four years, representing not only a message, but also solid flow in the books. A collective hit, appreciated by a diverse multitude. So this six anniversary Liberty 1000 T is a commemorative issue. A thank you to all of you who have supported us along the way, by rocking the Liberty T, and standing up for what you believe it. Big Boi of Outkast rocking two separate Liberty prints on back-to-back days over the NBA All-Star weekend. A Liberty Blood-Money LTD, A Liberty Black-on-White. Big Boi’s wife also showing mad love by picking us up at her boutique in Atlanta. The Game rocking the Money LTD Liberty for a Spin Magazine photo spread. XXL and Entertainment Weekly both exhibited the Liberty T with a write us, helping this design gain press time. Turtle from Entourage rocking the Liberty T turned out to be one of our biggest breaks in grabbing the media spotlight and shining it where it should. Seeing Immortal Technique, one of our favorite rappers, rep the Liberty on-stage at his live shows while claiming how much he loved the T, gave us incredible motivation to keep the movement going. Striving for higher heights. Knowing that there are still people out there searching for the truth. People willing to address issues that others might find taboo or politically incorrect. It would seem that so many of the world’s most pertinent issues are too easily be swept under this politically incorrect rug, yet here at Akomplice we don’t believe that’s an option, and we’re happy to know that at least a few of you are willing to stand beside us in this fight for freedom. This T is a tribute to the countless stories we’ve heard of people rocking the Liberty not only as a T but also as a Tattoo. Rocking the T to work and to school. A six-anniversary shout-out to Eric from the Bay Area who got suspended from school after refusing to take off his Liberty T or even turn it inside out. He felt like the image conveyed a message that needed to be discussed and he was right. Even when Eric’s principal wasn’t having it and threatened suspension, Eric stood his ground and suffered suspension rather than sacrifice his freedom of expression. So remember: refuse to be brainwashed by the ruling elite, stand strong for what you believe in and fight for what you know to be true. The image on this Liberty Anniversary Issue is a call to arms for the entire world. There is a lot in this world worth fighting for: freedom, equality, and environment just to name a few. Just make sure you know who and what it is that you are fighting for. Stand up for Truth, Freedom, and Liberty even if you have to stand against the establishment. This Liberty 1000 T marks the next installment in a long lineage of Liberty prints including the Money LTD, Blood Money LTD, Common Sense LTD, Money Cents LTD, Goldie LTD, Candy Gangsta LTD, Mother of Pearl LTD, Light It Up LTD, Caladon LTD, Red White & Blue LTD (in purple!), Purple Crack, and World Takeover prints. Hope you’ve got ‘em all. This design is now sold in over 25 countries, and surely by now viewable on nearly every continent. That’s the way to spread the message! As the original hand responsible for the shoulder text on every Liberty ever issued, it is an honor to once again be the magic hand behind the words on such a controversial shirt. One.