One Hundred Years Before J Cole by Illsol

Installation Date: December 2018

Location: 620 Drew St.

"One Hundred Years Before J. Cole" is a public art mural by Illsol, Tony Krol and Michelle Sawyer, located at 620 Drew St. in downtown Clearwater, Florida, along the Pinellas Trail. The mural was installed in December 2018 and draws inspiration from both local history and hip-hop culture.

“As a nod to J. Cole, we titled this piece, 100 Years Before J. Cole, because we were listening to KOD quite a bit while painting it, and because of the significance of the year 1885 in the mural. In J. Cole’s album KOD, the song ‘1985’ talks about his birth year and the evolution of hip-hop music, all around us things are changing but sustainable change always grows from roots of authenticity.”

The artwork reflects the history of the Orange Belt Railway, established in 1885, and the Pinellas Trail that now follows its former route — connecting past and present through bold imagery of trains, bicycles and citrus.

Learn More About The Mural

About the Artist

Illsol is an artist based in Tampa, Florida. The name is pronounced (ee-sol). The name means Illuminated Soul or The Sun. The artist looks at the process of creating work as an ever-evolving process of presence.

Illsol started as the name Illusionz in 1996 and became Illsol through many iterations through the years. In 2014 Illsol created as a duo, and since 2021 the artist has produced solo work. The style: Clean-lined work, often symmetrical, and bold, combined with distressed, layered, and muted textures is what makes the work of Illsol unique. Illsol portrays elements of contemporary street textures from a background in stencil artwork, graffiti roots and foundation, to rendered aerosol portraits and illustrations that are intermixed between solid swaths of color.

Location

Creative Contractors, 620 Drew St., Clearwater, 33755, View Map