While the the city has yet to release the details of an official memorial service for mayor-for-life Marion Barry, District residents have begun to mourn for Barry, who passed away early this morning, in their own special ways.
At 14th and Randolph streets NW, neighborhood residents put together their own special tribute to Barry, with “Mayor of D.C. Hip Hop” Head-Roc, along with other rappers, performing at the vacant lot while artist Pahel Brunis painted a special mural—next to one he did for Head-Roc earlier this year—as a tribute to the “mayor-for-life.”
Here’s Brunis explaining the mural:
“I painted [the original] mural for Head-Roc in August for his album Black Rockstar Superhero. There’s a song on it called “Mayor for Life,” about Marion Barry. We wanted to film a documentary today about the wall and his album and stuff. We’ve been planning to put [local activist, radio/TV host] Petey Green and the mayor on this wall. Since he passed last night, I said, ‘I have to put this portrait up today right in the middle.’
I painted it for three hours on and off. I’d usually take a bit more time with it but this was a spontaneous thing. I’m happy with it. It’s not perfect, but this is just about the positive energy and the fact that we did it at all. It wasn’t planned today at all. I just grabbed what I had at the house and said, ‘Let me do what I can today.'”
Additional reporting by Matt Cohen.