If you’re a musician in the underground at the moment you’ve probably heard of Bailey Correia, also known by his twitter alias @baileyultd. It seems as though he has become the go-to guy for graphic design and cover art. Demonstrating his consistency producing incredibly creative and appealing works of art time and time again, Bailey has earned some clout through out the underground rap scene. Coming out of Summit Point, WV he began expressing his artistic talents through graffiti. Very shortly after he developed an interest in tagging he saw it as a way to hone his craft and began painting images like nerf guns with intricate detail and color schemes.
When he wasn’t out tagging or working on his art, Bailey was playing sports, video games, or riding his bike. As he was elaborating on his answer, he reminisced on the free feeling of cruising through the streets and escaping from the world as the fresh air rushed in and out of his lungs. The young artist also worked his first job at a half-mile outdoor go-kart track, depicting the different kinds of karts at the facility ranging in speed abilities. As Bailey remembered his youth at the track he also shed some light on the positive outcomes his work there bred:
“I loved working there even though I’d work up to 15 hour shifts it gave me a lot of time to think on creative ideas, not to mention being a kid driving super fast go karts for free, that was so tight. This eventually grew into a love for drifting and other forms of racing, but that’s a whole other conversation for a whole other time.”
Diving into the sources of inspiration behind his art Bailey can’t help but reference music as a constant. He goes on to talk about Lil B as his favorite artist of any genre or style. Elaborating on that Bailey discusses how Lil B “raised” him in a way, teaching him several important lessons through his work.
“He taught me to not be afraid to make things the way I want to make them, to not necessarily follow any type of singular rule with my art, and just to make things that are as pure and directly chipped out of my mind as I possibly can.”
Besides Lil B, Bailey refers to Frank Ocean as his favorite musician. Although it changes often, he boasts about Frank’s musical genius and how his sounds are a great compliment in the background as Bailey creates his art. He also mentions his respect for Pollari and Future and their mastery of auto-tune. Specifically referencing Future’s impact on his artistic upbringing, Bailey speaks on Future’s consistency and ability to “seem untouchable while letting out a lot of emotion in his music.”
Although Bailey is in a highly competitive and diverse industry, he has managed to stand out and make a name for himself. When we asked him how he managed to stand apart, Bailey spoke on his fearless evolution. At any moment, nothing has held him back from completely switching up his style and the way he presents his work. It gives him a chance to show people his incredible versatility and his ability to do well at more than one style. Developing these abilities led to Bailey working directly and indirectly with a plethora of musicians. Larry June being his favorite, Bailey said, “I listen to his sh-t a lot, and his branding is f–king tight”. Impressively Bailey has also worked indirectly with the likes of Chief Keef and Cam’ron.
Swidlife, a music blog ran by current owner, Mally Mack, has played a fundamental role in Bailey’s ever growing success. Upon its creation Bailey was heavily involved in all aspects including the progression and branding of the blog. The love and support from Swidlife and Mally Mack helped Bailey earn recognition for his increasingly impressive talent and build a base following. But most importantly, it has been his consistent progression and ability to create more visually stunning, more distinguished, and more versatile art over the years that has lead to his success.
To encapsulate the true versatility of this artist we need to take a step back and look at everything he has worked at and succeeded at, and still realize there is more. Bailey also has a low-key passion for cooking, mastering different recipes and then manipulating them to create something of his own. He is constantly enveloped in art and loves watching the reactions of his friends and peers when they try his recipes:
“cookingultd coming soon to a TV network near you, you heard it here first.”
Bailey’s constant pursuit and work ethic is more than extraordinary, and it’s easy to see why he’s found success with his talented works of art. If you want to check out some of his artwork or other projects you can look on his new and updated portfolio site http://baileyu.ltd/ Also find him on twitter @baileyultd where he’s started releasing personal line arts and doodles, giving the world a glimpse into his mind before he starts dropping collector’s items and large canvas paintings and prints. @HOMEBASEULTD is where you can find the larger umbrella company Bailey has been working on. He has hand selected 30 creative individuals to be involved with bringing this project to life including web designers, journalists, digital designers, graphic designers, rappers, singers, producers, engineers, speakers, fashion specialists, meme artists, entrepreneurs, and leaders from various places:
“You’re [going to] have to stay tuned for more info that one, though!”