Ben: It’s a shitty time to drop a sneaker. It’s a shitty time for self promotion. It’s a shitty time to tell people faced with unprecedented obstacles that the best thing they can do is vote. Honestly it’s just kind of a shitty time right now.

Kunle: “The whole point of this is to try and bring a community together … We’re all used to isolation on our phones, and now in our own apartments .. we’re missing this huge opportunity to bypass who has what sneaker and what job and stop and say, seriously… we need to show up. Police don't have proper oversight? Cool, that’s something that voting, especially locally, can help with.”

Graffiti in its essence is a selfish act: This is me, this is my name, I’m forcing you to look at it anywhere you go, on any surface. For a writer, the message is always direct. For Kunle Martins, the SNS/When We All Vote billboard is a natural evolution:

“Historically I just went down to the meatpacking district to write graffiti do drugs or have sex… it's good to put some positivity on a wall …and effect people in a positive way. its great to have come full circle with graffiti, at first it was just about me, and vandalism, and fucking the system… now I can try to fuck the system with something positive.”

Sitting in quarantine, shuffling release dates for a shoe and watching New York and the world as we know it go through these seismic shifts, Kunle

“was really impressed with how people came together for the protests. Every all white neighborhood in the US had people down on their main street protesting, all for the exact same thing. So let's go vote, that's just a little thing. Remember all the people who were out everyday and gave a shit? They’re still out there, and they still give a shit. So you’re not alone.”__

VOTE isn’t the end goal, or a catch all solution. It’s just one piece of the puzzle, a starting point.

“The cynicism I understand… It sucks when you go to the supermarket and they don’t have exactly what you want. it sucks, but you’re gonna be ok. keep going back to the supermarket… I already know you’re complaining on instagram and twitter and to everybody you fucking know… so show up and vote… Protesting is cool, until people say “but I don’t want to participate in an election.”

So how do you move people from the “I dont give a fuck” mentality to engaging in the mundane, beaurecratic basic processes of demcoracy?

“Its very Punk Rock and Hip Hop to not give a fuck, but it’s also very Punk Rock and Hip Hop to complain about the system… I only want to hear about you caring about shit and then doing something about it that’s helpful… People in street culture always have an interest in politics, all I’m suggesting is turn it into some action. We should all use our individual platforms, our dinner tables, our time to encourage each other to show up. Super simple shit.”