![Jamal Cyrus, Misconstrued Rap Lyric #1, 2019](https://artlogic-res.cloudinary.com/w_1600,h_1600,c_limit,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto/ws-artlogicwebsite0022/usr/images/artworks/main_image/items/04/048defa3c7eb4de980e4bf3dd1c1f923/jcy-84_misconstrued-rap-lyric-1_20x19x6_email_view1.jpg)
![Jamal Cyrus, Misconstrued Rap Lyric #1, 2019](https://artlogic-res.cloudinary.com/w_1600,h_1600,c_limit,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto/ws-artlogicwebsite0022/usr/library/images/main/artworks/10049/jcy-84_misconstrued-rap-lyric-1_20x19x6_email_view2_cropped.jpg)
Jamal Cyrus
“Misconstrued Rap Lyric #1” draws upon one of Cyrus’s own personal experiences and misconceptions. The artist was staying at Howard University and one evening overheard a rap song which he thought included the lyric, “I’m like Martin Luther King on the triple beam.” However, after further research, Cyrus discovered that this lyric did not actually exist; hence, it was a misconstrued lyric. The artist used this experience as inspiration for making the work, which consists of a plaster bust of Martin Luther King and a triple beam scale, both of which are found materials.
Provenance
From the artist's studio; The Menil Collection, Gift of Marlene Marker
Exhibitions
Jamal Cyrus "The End of My Beginning", Blaffer Art Museum, University of Houston, Houston, TX June 5 – September 29, 2021; Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, February 5 – May 29, 2022; Mississippi Museum of Art, October 29, 2022- March 5, 2023
Jamal Cyrus: Currents and Currencies, Inman Gallery, Houston, TX, November 8, 2019-January 11, 2020