Under the traditional definition of the term “thuggin,” an image is conjured up involving crimes, murder, and other law-breaking behaviors. But… in the thought-provoking documentary “Thuggin’ A New Generation,” the meaning of the word “thuggin’” is turned on its head.

T.ANG Thuggin' A New Generation
def. THUG/ n.
”A person that accepts what and who they are. They allow nothing or no one to prevent them from accomplishing any goals that he/she has set for themselves.”
THUGGIN/ adj. -MönSr Yusef ©

Thuggin,’ according to the Greater Salt Lake area-based artist MönSr Yusef, is the ability to overcome one’s surroundings despite turmoil, negativity, obstacles, and chaos. Told through a humanistic and enlightened perspective, this new defnition echoes throughout this vivid documentary directed by Downy Doxey-Marshall.

Upon meeting MönSr Yusef, it is immediately evident that he has words of wisdom to share. Beaming with positivity and emanating nuggets of existential life lessons, Yusef truly has found his “why” and purpose as an artist. ZIFA was honored to interview the film’s creators, director Downy Doxey-Marshall and Todd Marshall (Creek Road Studios) regarding inspirations, introductions to Yusef, and the “why” behind the documentary. “Thuggin’ A New Generation” won an Honorable Mention for Best Documentary during the Spring edition of ZIFA. Additionally, Yusef’s art was exhibited at DuVin Pintor Gallery during our live events in June (Zepstone Festival 2023 - Day 1).

ZIFA: How were you introduced to MönSr Yusef?

CRS: A friend of mine introduced us back in 2012. I remember he would keep saying to me, “You have to meet Yusef, I had to meet Yusef.” So we arranged to meet for lunch to see what Yusef was all about. We met at a little cafe in Holiday, Utah and sat on the patio.

ZIFA: What inspired you to create this documentary?

CRS: Downy had just acquired a new HD Canon camera, literally that day I think, and she wanted to try it out. We had made a number of documentary films about artists over the years, and she ended up filming that day. I asked a couple of questions, and Yusef began to talk about his ideas and he taught us his definition of a Thug ,”A person that accepts what and who they are. They allow nothing or no one to prevent them from accomplishing any goals that he/she has set for themselves.”

Yusef told us that he had become MönSr Yusef, and that MönSr stands for Men, Overcoming, Negative, Stereotypes, Respectfully. He literally had to kill the other person he was before and become a new man. He showed us a notebook and sketchbook that had all of these drawings of t-Shirts and baggy jeans and hoodies. He told us about these images that he created and how he wanted to use (his) images to combat some of the social problems that he was seeing in our society. In addition to the artwork, he also had written a book titled “The Game”, that included all of these ideas and messages.

We discussed working with Yusef and started mentoring and helping him apply for local art exhibits. We talked about the artwork being made into prints and/or t-shirts. I scanned the drawings at the highest resolution and saved the images on my hard drive before returning the sketchbook. Downy and I continued to mentor Yusef over the next few months, and after about a year or so, we lost touch. In 2020 I was going through some of my files and noticed the scans of Yusef’s artwork. We had launched the fine art side of Creek Road Studios a few years earlier with Todd Marshall Contemporary, and I thought about an online exhibition for Yusef’s work. We reached out to Yusef to discuss the possibility of having an exhibit, and he told us that the artwork had been lost. All of the original drawings, basically the sketchbook that he showed us and the book (The Game) was gone.

With the remaining hi-resolution files, we proceeded to print the images from “Thuggin’ A New Generation”, and Todd Marshall Contemporary presented an exhibit of his work. Yusef prepared a new poem for each of the images from the ideas and text of the lost book. He used poetry to talk about societal issues, and we included each poem at the bottom of the printed artwork so people could read them as they look at the imagery. That year the State of Utah juried MönSr Yusef’s designs into the Design Arts 2020 and also the New Beehive Exhibition that traveled around the state, validating him as an artist and designer. “Thuggin’ A New Generation” has gone on to be included in over 28 film festivals worldwide and has won numerous awards and mentions. Here is an excerpt from the film description:

Yusef explores many themes from his personal experiences of life on the streets and inspires hope of a unified humanity. Yusef is mostly self taught and he explores the artistic process using poetry and images of pop culture, fashion and design as he explores the Thuggin’ generation.

ZIFA: Where did you film this documentary? How long did it take?

CRS: We filmed in Salt Lake City, Holladay, and Kearns, Utah. Yusef is a full time barber, so a lot of these locations are local barbershops where he has worked. Shout out to Shorty’s and Envy Our Style Barber Shops.

We shot the whole film in about a month; we already had some footage from the 2012 cafe interview that was HD, so we could use it and we edited for about a month. The actual film is nearly an hour long, 49 mins. It was hard to choose what to edit out from what Yusef was saying, everything that he said was really important and profound. We decided to make the film about his artwork, focusing on the images and documenting his journey of becoming an artist.

ZIFA: Any plans for future documentaries?

CRS: Yes, we are currently taking “Thuggin” A New Generation” and making a docuseries about it. It will have episodes corresponding to each of the designs that Yusef created in the Thuggin’ A New Generation design line. It will continue to follow MonSr as he discusses these positive themes in the barbershop and his artwork and document his journey to realize these designs into a fashion line as he discusses the importance of self reflection and the change that comes from overcoming negativity.

ZIFA: What was the biggest challenge you faced during production and/or post-production?

CRS: The pandemic was the biggest challenge we faced. It had just started; everyone was trying to stay away from each other, and we just had to trust that going forward we could navigate through and succeed. It wasn’t easy; a lot of businesses were closing or no groups could gather, so filming was tricky. We started to have online shows. We even made another shorter documentary about artist Frank McEntire titled Silent Spring and the Anthropocene that was also included in Zepstone’s Festival. We ended up turning our biggest challenge into an asset. When we released these in 2020, everyone was already online.

ZIFA: What was the most memorable moment on set?

Documenting Yusef at his art opening, with all of his friends and family around him, was the highlight. Celebrating Yusef and all that he had accomplished with his artwork and seeing his artwork larger than life.

The original artwork was quite small, the notebook images were only about 5 inches or so, but the new prints were nearly life sized shirts and clothing he created. It was really cool.

ZIFA: Any lessons learned or things you would have done differently?

CRS: We were reminded about how important sound capture is. I would have worked harder to get the background sound more manageable. I think a documentary has some unique challenges when it comes to sound.

ZIFA: Any advice for aspiring filmmakers?

CRS: Yeah, Get it done! It may not be perfect, but complete it and go from there.

ZIFA: How can we find you and follow your work?

CreekRoad Studios Links:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CreekRoadStudios/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creekroadstudios/

CreekRoad Studios online at https://creekroad-studios.myshopify.com/

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@creekroadstudios8843

Thuggin’ A New Generation Links

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thugginanewgeneration/?hl=en

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Thugginanewgeneration/