“Fame Is a Facade”: COOLS Sits Down With Grime Pop Artist Richie Velazquez AKA Dela Deso

Richie Velazquez, the man behind Digital Death and Grime AKA Dela Deso, is an artist based in LA. The 31-year-old grew up in San Bernardino, California, and he credits the city’s gritty character as one of his biggest influences. The primarily social media-based artist is known for his #30DaysOfGrime challenge on Instagram and one of his most recognized “gag pieces” The Mona Pizza. He has recently had success selling his prints as featured artist during the Bringing Back Broadway art sale in LA, a development plan to revitalize the Broadway corridor in downtown LA. He also gained a large following after he designed oozing layers of grimy illustrations for Beats by Dre. With already 60k followers on social media, he’s becoming one to watch. COOLS talks to Richie about his rise from Tumblr, social influences and how grime can be perceived.

Head of Video – Tina Rosh  DP – Andrew K.