It’s the photo that took over the internet today: a Walgreen’s pharmacy sign in West Chester, PA, had been subtly altered to read “Algreen’s,” with a classic image of the legendary soul singer and current Reverend Al Green obscuring the first letter on the sign.
The image went viral when Al Green himself shared the photo on social media, generating an endless stream of responses and shares. Green’s caption: “Who did this?,” with a laughing emoji.
“I’ve been in shock all day,” the artist Cassius King AKA Cassius K1ng told the NY Daily News. It took about a day for King’s Instagram image of the sign to blow up, and for Al Green himself to see and share it.
“I spent a lot of time in the car when I was working and the ideas came to me as a sort of self-entertainment and it seemed the public started to take interest,” King told the paper about the inspiration behind his work, which he’s been putting up for the past couple of years. He teaches at a nearby university to fund his art.
Last year, local law enforcement paid King a personal visit over his sticker art, which he used to alter traffic signs around West Chester: “’Am I about to get arrested?’ They said, ‘we just want to talk,’” King remembered. “They said, it needs to stop! That’s when it hit me, my brow raised and I said oh I see. They said, we’ve been following you online.”
Responses to Al Green’s original post included fans who shared their instances of seeing Walgreen’s signs altered to honor the soul singer, even if unintentionally. See them below.
Probably the same person who did this. 😳 pic.twitter.com/XIAzwMJlWP
— Stanley Roberts (@StanleyRoberts) September 2, 2020
Sometimes it happens on accident too Mr. Green… pic.twitter.com/iZsihp1s9i
— Eats Shoots & Leaves (@TomFTL) September 2, 2020
