
Painter, muralist, designer, documentarian, radio host, and musician, Pugs Atomz embodies the essence of a true renaissance figure in Hip Hop culture. His art and music have been featured in movies, sporting events, Tv shows, video games, and change in his community. He has casted a wide-reaching influence, venturing across the globe several times over, he paints, performs, and shares his insights with audiences worldwide.
At the age of 14, Pugs began leaving his mark through a public art summer job in Englewood, a passion that has remained central to his creative journey. At the time his mother a painter was Artistic Director of The Blvd Art Center in Englewood. Around this time, he started to do graffiti murals and record rap demos on his dad's tape deck, using headphones in the mic port. The Blvd was the place Pugs would throw his first concerts/parties and get to explore painting and the stage.
While studying painting and video at The Art Institute of Chicago, he simultaneously pursued music and design endeavors, solidifying his status as a versatile multi-hyphenate. Pugs has long been a visionary and a unifying force in Chicago's different creative communities since the 90s, as evidenced by his latest multimedia body of work, "Mookie on the Southside" and him starting the legendary Nacrobats Crew, a group of two hundred teens from Saulk Village IL. to
Skoikie IL. proficient in the five elements of HIPHOP.
Presently, he channels his creativity designing for his own label, USUWE 93, alongside collaborations with various brands. Engaged in public art initiatives with DCASE, the Englewood Arts Collective (which he is a co-founder), CPAG, and the Muralsrus crew nationwide, Pugs draws inspiration from his roots in Englewood, where the vibrant performances on the Green Line train and the captivating murals and graffiti art of his Chicago neighborhood ignited his passion.
Pugs Atomz sees artists as the storytellers of their communities. His music and art transcend mere personal expression, serving as poignant narratives of the richness, resilience, and creative vitality inherent within Black communities. Through his dedicated practice, he bears witness to and documents the boundless brilliance and joy that thrive within these cultural landscapes