Detroit graffiti artist Sintex pays tribute to Aretha Franklin with new mural

Detroit graffiti artist Sintex has paid tribute to Aretha Franklin with a larger-than-life mural of the Queen of Soul in her younger years. Beside the image of a dazzling Franklin are the words "Rest in Respect, Queen."


Social media users spotted Sintex putting up the piece on Sunday. It's located at the corner of Linwood and Euclid near Detroit's LaSalle Gardens neighborhood, just a couple of blocks from New Bethel Baptist Church, where Franklin will lie in state for a viewing on Aug. 30. Franklin's father was pastor at the church.

The piece is reminiscent of a famous black-and-white photograph of Franklin at Columbia Records. Sintex, 36, tells the Detroit News it took about 8 hours to complete.

The building where he spray-painted the image appears to be for sale and it's unclear whether a new owner would keep the art work. Also unclear is whether the city will allow the piece to stay up. As part of Detroit's aggressive crackdown on unsanctioned street art, building owners must register murals with the city, otherwise the work is at risk of getting buffed. Here's hoping Detroit's city services department missed this story amid the deluge of Aretha content since her Thursday passing.

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