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| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Sy |
Posted - 03/17/2008 : 2:08:13 PM
I Have been thinking about doing this for awhile and thought it would be cool asking oldschool writers some basic questions on how they got started,what they tag,lines they rocked etc. After some consultation I decided to move forward with it..so here you go........
First up is:
1.Please state your name:Take2 ABC
2.When and where and how did you start writing?
Started writing in 1979 after seeing the movie �The Warriors�. I started putting up spray paint tags around the neighborhood, mostly along the freight lines that ran through my neighborhood (Six Corners)
3.What lines did you rock?
I�ve been in yards on every line, but I hit the Congress, Douglas O�Hare line the most.
4.Did you consider yourself a graffiti artist or graffiti bomber?
I would have to say that I�m an artist. I tried to bomb, but I never succeeded as much as VANDAL, FATE, HATE, CURLEY, SCARCE, FEAR, SEVERE, etc from my era. Those guys were bombers. Even though I'm considered more of an artist, I went on more strictly �bombing� raids in the yards. I wanted to see all the cars rocked instead of just a piece here or there.
5.Can you remember the first tag or piece you saw in the chi?
The first tag I saw, non-gang banger, was PLEE FRESH TCP in 1983.
6.Descibe the graff scene in the golden era of the early 80's.
In the golden era you tried to hit as much CTA property as possible. Stations, Buses, Trains, Tunnels, etc. You could ride the lines and meet writers every day and go bombing with them. When you ran the tunnels, there was a good chance that you would meet another writer down there. Everything was new, so we had to invent or reinvent everything as we went along. We didn�t have any mentors to guide us, so we had to learn many things ourselves.
7.Who were your partners in crime thru the years?
Pepo was my first partner in crime. We had a Breaking crew together and he would go with me to the yards. I didn�t know anyone else who did graff back in 1983, so we just did what we did in a vacuum. Then we both joined ABC and SEEN became my partner.
8.ABC was a dominate crew back then can you tell us when and how you got down with them?
I got with ABC on New Years eve 1984 into 1985. I was recruited by BBoyB after someone from Schurz High School saw my pieces near six corners and through breaking contacts we hooked up. I met the ABCs at the Rainbow Roller Rink and SEEN said do you want to hook up with ABC, and I was like hades yeah. SEEN had done a throw up in Logan Square by the Mega Mall and I had peeped the ABC Joey piece many times on the rooftop near Logan Square. The ABCs all had dope denim jackets and I knew they had skills and were deep. I was proud to join the crew.
9.Any crews you wared or had competition with?
Our biggest rival was CTA. ABC and CTA were rivals since we were both early crews on the scene and the CTAs and ABCs hit the same neighborhoods. Its all love now. I�ve got mad respect for those guys. Nick and I have had plenty of disagreements to this day on the message boards. But I genuinely respect what he did back then and he brought together a very good crew.
10. In your opinion what oldschool writers dont get the credit they deserve?
Too many to list. I�ll pick 2. I still don�t think that TRIXTER gets enough respect. He is Chicago graffiti. He was here in its infancy and throughout the years. He�s paid his dues over and over again. DZINE??? The Aerosoul crew pushed the art form and everyone else had to work harder. I know many old school cats that in my opinion deserve much more respect than DZINE, such as ZORE, RAVEN, SLANG, RISK, etc. but I think that we put DZINE way too far down. He, and others in Aerosoul, influenced a whole generation of writers to be better artists.
11.Why do you think so many older writers knew and respected HATE rip. ACW?
HATE (RIP) was the bomber we all wanted to be. He was cocky as hades , and he bombed wherever and whenever he wanted. He has up on buses, trains, tunnels, stations, etc. Everywhere. He pushed us all to bomb more because cats like him were taking up the spotlight. He had a good heart to0. He loved graff and I enjoyed rocking insides with him and getting chased.
12.Do you think graffiti will ever get its due as a legitimate art form?
I don�t know think it will ever get its due as an art form. But who are we trying to impress? The art world? We reach the masses. We put art on the street and in your face.
13.Whats your view on writers that crossover to corporate graff and the gallery scene?
I dislike corporate graff that is done by non-writers. If a writer does graff for a company, gets paid and can sleep at night, then go ahead. I�ve turned down some commercial work because if I did it, I wouldn�t be able to look myself in the mirror. As long as you don�t sell your soul, its cool by me.
14.Favorite bombing tools and enamel to paint with?
Bombing tools. A Pilot marker, preferably blue. I really like the Spanish Montanas to paint with. The German Montanas are a bit more watery. Belton is like butter, but its too hard to get. But the only paint in my collection that I keep and never paint with are the old original Krylon colors like Aqua Turquoise.
15.Any advice to the new generation of graffiti writers?
Can control comes from putting paint on the wall. It takes time to develop, so start practicing. Sketch in your books. Bite from the best guys out there so you can learn. Bite now in your sketch books, so you can learn, but don�t put anything on the walls or steel if it�s bitten.
16.Can you think of any do's and dont's when doing a piece?
When creating a piece, I like to sketch the outline first, then most of the 3D (helps to see the piece), then background before you fill in and complete the 3D. Finally, do your outline and then final outline. This order prevents your background work from coloring the piece and your 3d from getting on the fill in and finally keeps your outlines crisp.
17.Is it true you got chased right out of your sneakers by the graff squad?
Yes its true. I had on a brand spanking new pair of Blue Suede Pumas. With Big fat laces. I was bombing with the ABCs in the pedestrian connection tunnel at Washington between the Howard and Congress/Douglas/Ohare line. B-BoyB and I were breaking and I took off my shoes to do a helicopter. I put them back on, but I hadn�t tightened them yet. I looked up the stairs and saw a lady pointing down at us saying �they�re down there�. I then saw two uniformed cops start running down the stairs. I yelled to the crew �cops� and we all started running from the Congress side to the Howard side. I quickly fell to the back of the pack and the cops were gaining on me because I was having a hard time running with loosely tied shoes. As the cops were about to grab me, I just let my shoes fly off of my feet and I started to leave the cops in the dust. They couldn�t catch up with us and we ran out onto the street. One of our crew members played civilian when the cops started chasing us and he told us later that the cops were laughing saying that I ran so fast that I ran out of my shoes. I took three buses to get home that night, all while wearing no shoes.
18.Any shout outs?
FLASH, SEEN, BBOYB, SEVERE, SIVEL, JEL, TRIXTER, KEEP, RISK, KATO, CHUMBLY, FEAR, RUDE, OMEN, SCARCE, AERO, SHAME, FLY105, STANE, TSEL, DJ3RDAIL, NYKE, C3PO, GREVE, PLEE, NICK SALSA, LAB RAT, TRANE, SHAGGY, WARP, SCORPIO, VANDAL (RIP), HATE (RIP), DEPT (RIP), TRIPLE (RIP)
Thanks TK!
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| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| FLASH ABC |
Posted - 08/19/2016 : 3:42:41 PM
http://chicagoist.com/2016/08/19/photos_chicagos_old_school_graffiti.php#photo-1 |
| FLASH ABC |
Posted - 12/21/2015 : 08:41:28 AM
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| FLASH ABC |
Posted - 03/17/2015 : 09:50:18 AM
Awesome review i already have request for him. some people wanna know if he wants to paint this year. |
| Sy |
Posted - 03/15/2015 : 1:21:52 PM
The Untold Bomber
Interview
Chicago Graff History 101
Gentleman (and Ladies),
During the golden era of graffiti in the City of Chicago approx. 1984-1988 you basically had a subculture that consisted of two elements . You had the �Piecers� and the �Bombers� with a chosen few that could do both on an equal level. The Piecers would go through out the lines in the middle of the night and create these beautiful and artistic murals mostly in the dark or if lucky by the light of the moon on the walls they were painting and a lot of those classic pieces along the roof tops and walls around the city became �Kodak moments� forever laying a foundation to build on for generations to come.
Now having said this the fact of the matter remains is that without the determination of the �Bombers� getting up, getting grimey and rocking those lines there wouldn�t be a so called Graff scene in Chicago or to the extent that it is today. Look I know my era is long gone now but I feel that all of the old timers that contributed in those early days of writing should be recognized and given their respect due and one of those oldschoolers is KIX aka KAYO. This is his story.
1.What you write? (Kid Kix, Kix, Kixter), (Kayo, KO), (Kaycin, Kcin, Ksin), (Nynex, 9X) and a few other aliases that were used once.
2. Main crews you represented? TUC, PSKids, KIK and CAR.
3.Active years writing? 1983-1988
4.Whats Lines did you Rock? I mostly rocked the Red and Brown Lines, I couldn�t figure out the Blue line because they would Buff their trains and stations too fast, I think the city paid to much attention to that line.
5.Whats part of Chicago did you grow up in?Several parts of the city due to my mom and dad always fighting. In 1978 my mom moved us from Lowell, MA to the south side of Chicago in the Pilsen area by Cullerton and Carpenter that�s were I was introduced to HIP HOP in the winter of 1982 by some graffiti kid who lived down the street from us at 1919 S. Carpenter, I cant recall his name but he was ACW (All City Writers) affiliated, and all of us were break dancing in 82'. When Style Wars came out it gave me the Graffiti itch. In late August 83� we moved across the street from Humboldt Park by North ave. and Francisco from there we moved again to the North side in 1985 by Lincoln & Southport, finally settling at Grand and Pulaski in my last days of hardcore taggin' like in 87', so basically we did a whole lot of moving around back then but in the long run it influenced me a lot in my graffiti days because I was able to be familiar with so many neighborhoods and cultures.
6.Speaking of influences You attended Clemente then transferred to Lake view h.s. how was the graffiti or Hip hop cultural in general different between the two schools? In Clemente it was more isolated since the gangs changed from block to block it was tough to be out in the streets tagging on walls, also there was lots of house heads back then, I really wasn't able to find anyone to associate with in the graffiti aspects so I was doing the stuff I carried over from the south side alone, mainly getting up on the Division, Ashland and 18th street Buses. When I got to Lake View it was a whole different ball park, first week in school I met all kind of writers such as Fate, 1See, and a whole bunch of other cats. I was introduced to the brown line by a kid named Armando who tagged ME, and 1See introduced me to hopping the line, by squeezing through the bars and getting on the train for free.
7.Do you remember the first tag you saw up? Really hard to say because in the early 80's gang graffiti and hip hop graffiti were almost identical to really say what was the first tag seen by me, but if I knew back then what I know today and we had iPhones, I would've paid more attention and tooken mad pics.
8.What was your favorite Piece or production from the 1980�s? It was the mural on the Blue line on North Ave. station did by ABC, that was dope for it's time and it opened my eyes that graffiti was city wide not just in the south side of Chicago but all out because at the same time Seen had several colored trow ups on the same blue line but in the south side after the 18th street station.
9.Where you a Lone bomber or did you have a partner in crime? I preferred doing most my damage alone because my partners in crime back then felt uneasy with me using my real graff names while on missions. They always asked me to use a different name because my alias were too hot for them so I had changed tag names for special occasion and times.
I got up a lot with OKIE we both learned a lot of the whole subculture together I even initiated him with the tag name OKIE. We were tight for along time until his father passed away, and after that OKIE was the never the same in a sense well at least to me he wasn�t. But yeah we ROCKED the hades out of the Brown & Red lines from 1985-88.
Then there was SNEAK we did a lot of sides on the red line for a while and we both wrote DEKO as our little joke on the Red line since both of us were well known by Angone and his task force we needed to stay a step ahead of those guys.
I was affiliated with too many cats to name but some that stand out were RAPE aka PJAY, UNEEK, COP911, VANDAL(rip), SMS.
10.What was your choice of Markers and paint to bomb with and why? You may laugh but it was the Magnum 44, because I could use Red, Black or Blue ones,
11. Do you think tunnel running was for everybody back then? Naw not really. I knew only a few that ran the tunnel and many that never did, it went down to how really down you were, the trill of adrenaline and of course some self stupidity because yo' it was dangerous down there. I've walked the tunnels from North/Clybourn all the way to the Washington Station on the red line and I seen only a few people that left their tags down there.
12.Why do you think North/Clybourn station was so popular with writers to crush back in the 80�s? From what I experience during my days it was popular because it was the less populated stop that not so many passengers got on or off at that station like other ones as example Grand/State station. What really made it popular was VANDAL (rip) and SNEAK tearing that station up, I mean that was like the pillar of the Graffiti bombers and that feat was never duplicated by anyone else. I tried and I couldn't even come close. The station was also one of the spots to hit sides, rarely would anybody creep down the platform and see you.
13.Back in the days did you war with anybody or have Beef with any crews?Yes I war-ed with HATE (rip) & CURLE both from ACW. I also battled QUICK and SAX from CTA crew its along story but this predates the beef with me and Eric.
Basically the beef was initiated by me because I had admired some of the artwork of ABC crew back then and I didn�t know anyone from ABC personally but I knew that CTA and ABC was battling so one day I seen a Dis done by QUICK on a wall that said ABC= ALL BUSTED C*NTS and I took it personally so I sprayed a Chinese guy pointing at his naked Butt and said CHINA TOWN A**HOLES (CTA) and boy did that beef get charged up after that. Now remember I wasn�t ABC but I jumped into the battle against CTA crew reppin' ABC in the streets and hallways of Clemente H.S. and it was motivation to hear kids in the hood telling me that �Yo Quick said he�s gonna kick you�re a**, I knew I was making some noise so kept hitting (CTA) hard. I finally quit battling them once word of mouth hit me that the battle was over.
14.Lets talk about the war you had with HATE and CURLE ACW?
Yeah I had beef with both of them because I accidentally went over a KRE-8 (rip) throw up on the Fanny Mae building by Montrose and Ravenswood station on the Brown line, now it wasn�t something I did on purpose since I didn�t even see it in the dark when I did my piece but they didn�t care and made threats so since they wouldn�t accept my apology we battled for almost 3 years, not so much with CURLE since he was M.I.A but with HATE since he was city wide and was down to take it back at me.
15. So HATE hits North/Clybourn with a end to end Flipping your name on � of the station squares and ONE huge ass KIXSTER upside down ,when you go there to return the favor you get snag by Angone and his goons? Yeah I wasn't thinking clear because I was in war mode and after hitting one side I walked upstairs instead of hopping the tracks to the other side, while making my turn to walk to the south of the station I got bum rushed and tackle by the task squad. It was stupidity but Hate got into my head and if you ask writers that know me they'll tell you I was more cautious than that.
16. Story has it HATE was there the night you got raided?Yes HATE was in the tunnels when I got caught, VANDAL (rip) told me just before he passed away also SNEAK confirmed it� he said ERIC heard me at the station and was about to confront me but heard the Cops coming and snag me.
17. If Eric was alive today could you see yourself chillin with him and drinking a few brewski while reminiscing about the old days? hades yeah, of course if it wasn't for him I mightn't had enjoy my time in the scene as I did. It wasn't as bad between us as some haters had made it seem. I would've love to asked him why he flip me so big and laughing about them days.
18.After that night at the station you got another visit from Angone what was that all about? Because they did their homework and found out I had trains running on the Brown and Red lines that were done after I was busted and said we know you did these and gave me a list of car numbers of trains I'd hit, they said we'll let them slide if you admit that you did them and won't charge you with any additional charges as long as I don't ever hit a new car not listed. Which KIX never did. I became KAYO.
19. Describe what it was like to go on missions with SNEAK CAR and was it true you guys use to carry your gear in cereal boxes while rocking the Lines? I taught SNEAK to use cereal and cracker boxes to hide his gear in them, because the task force was looking for kids with backpacks and bulges in jackets as suspected taggers, so we put spray cans inside cereal boxes and placed them in shopping bags this way it looks like we just came shopping from the store (LOL) imagine 2 kids on the EL train carrying cereal and Ritz cracker boxes, people probably thought we were eating healthy. It was very effective.
20. You also put in a lot of work with VANDAL (rip) and OKIE XMEN if you had to pick one memory that stands out for each writer what would that be? Damn that's a tough one to answer not for OKIE but with VANDAL (rip) because Robert was troubled in his last days and I'm not sure if I was suppose to intervene. It was as though he was a spirit because he tried to get in touch with a few cats just prior his passing and everyone ignored him, so I accompany him to the Skokie yards not knowing these were probably his last tags before he passed so its tough because in heart he's still here. As for OKIE it was the time he told me to come along because ORKO and a whole bunch of the writers are going to the Howard yards. After we did our dedication to Mayor Washington me and OKIE strayed away from the other writers and rocked the rest of the parked cars in the yards, we were like kids in a candy store we hit insides and sides out the conductor windows it was crazy fun, I thank OKIE for asking me to come along.
21. So You were their when SLANG, ORKO and the rest of the writers that painted the tribute train to the late Mayor �Harold Washington� that made it to circulation and was seen by many through out the city tell us about that? Yeah I was there, that night we all met up on the Howard station and took the Evanston train to South Blvd. and we all walked the tracks from Evanston into the Howard Yard. �It was cold and we were a band at hand� I recall somebody saying that as we made our way, it was so many of us. Slang was making outlines and some of the cats were filling them in and on the other side other cats were doing their stuff, people were all over the yards and what probably was hours felt like minutes. That night I had to write KCIN because OKIE said not to let a few people know who I was, funny thing was I was side to side with some many cats that knew me and others I knew only by face, who was who, would've been the last thing in anybody's mind. The next morning the city parked the trains in the south side and it was a awesome feeling knowing I was part of it. It was something of a last minute and it was greatness.
22.Do you have any crazy chase stories or close calls while bombing you would like to share? I got many but where to start is hard because I want to keep this interview short as possible, I remember me and Sneak getting done hitting the red line for a while and the cars we hit kept coming back around so we knew it was hit good so we decided to try the blue line unlike the Red line there's no place to do sides so we said lets rock the bottom (Those are the electric panels under the cars) we done many on the brown line so lets at least try it on the blue line we got off on the Racine Station and hopped under the platform when all of the sudden we seen some CTA workers coming at us from the direction of the UIC station so me and Sneak broke toward the ILLINOIS MEDICAL station for those that ain't familiar the tracks leading to it go up like a roller coaster, it was crazy we running going up them tracks getting chased and not knowing if a train was coming at us from around the corner, this was crazy in the middle of the Express way but managed to get away. Another time I was walking the Ravenswood track from Irving to Montrose station because I did that a lot hitting the utility boxes on the way when all the sudden I get to the station and the cops are there because some other tagger was just chased out the station and when I go to the station somebody from the window was yelling there he goes I was like oh no so I went passed the station platform and hid between the tracks remember this is a elevated station and I hear the cops and the people in the window yelling, he hid between the tracks so I peeped up and sure enough a cop jump on the track walking toward me, now I know these tracks better than the cops and I wasn't gonna stay there and give up so I squeeze back up and started dashing toward Damen station, the cop yelled �stop running, the more you run the more we're gonna kick your a**�. I kept running and I could see a cop car following me from underneath the tracks while the other fool was behind me I kept running and I knew at the turn Imma have like a 5 second break where no one will see me and the street underneath cutoff so the car can not follow any longer so I hopped off the tracks to a roof then slid down and ran into a building and knocked on somebody's door and told them help I'm being chased by some gangsters and the man who opened let me chill until I felt it was safe. LMAO the key is being familiar with your surroundings. Adrenaline helps out a lot and I don't recall if I hurt myself from that chase.
23.Whats your definition of a true graffiti bomber? Spending your entire day thinking about your next tag and the target your going to place it on, I mean when you spend more time getting up than even worrying about females or anything in general it was all about the culture and getting your name out there. As my story above, it was knowing the ins and outs of the lines, stations the whole (CTA) system how and when it all happens made us bombers because we were able to accomplish what we seek to do. We opened the door for all the artists (Mural people) because the city wanted us to stop and the Mural people you know the ones who never not got down and dirty like us got the fame. So a true graffiti bomber are the forgotten ones and nobody really wanted to take picture of tags because we never considered the future at all, it was the moment that made the Grafitti bomber what he/she was.
24. Do you have an opinion on the state of Graff in Chicago today and do you think the writers coming up are representing the true spirit of the Craft? Yeah, I believe they seek the self experience as all of us back then but I know the scene isn't as easy as we had it, I mean you got BIG BROTHER and cameras all over, the cops are more equip and informed so if they really want they might be able to snatch a tagger, artist or such.
25. Any regrets from your years �Rocking the line� or would there be something you would of changed in the course of your Graff career? Taking Pictures for one, as a teen I never even really considered it, I thought what I done would last. Also I regret the fact I never gotten a chance to call truce with HATE (rip). I also regret not chilling with TSEL and maybe collaborating with him on a piece, the kid was around and I had many chances to chill with him and OKIE but hey that was my mentality I was scared to take em along in the terrain I was familiar with, you wouldn't try to make a artist a graffiti bomber.
26.Lets talk a little about what KAYO is doing currently did you stay involved in the graffiti movement or branch out to something else? I itch day to day to bust a trow up since I see the train cars pass out front my house almost on clockwork but naw not really going to do that, I just reminisce and hold my memories and admire the new wave of graffiti art. I continued in the Hip Hop culture and ventured in music after my graffiti days, to concluded that I was part of all three breaking, graffiti and rapping. I'll feed details in the future.
27.Any shout outs? With so many people in mind it will be unfair to forget anybody but if I do please understand it's not because I did on purpose it was just that I was rushing this interview. I would like to say whats up to OKIE, SKID, T-SEL, ICK2, JECKLE, UNEEK, PJAY, AME, ME, 1SEE, SNEAK, COP911, REKE, MEEK, SCARCE, STANE, ORKO, SLANG, SCANDAL, PENGO. To the MOSA CREW, TUC CREW, ABC CREW, PEN1, CAR CREW, XMEN. In Loving Memory of VANDAL, HATE, KRE-8, HECKLE and PREACHER. �HIP HOP, you Don't STOP!�
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| Sy |
Posted - 02/19/2015 : 1:39:34 PM
I THINK ITS TIME FOR A INTERVIEW.
STAND BY. |
| Sy |
Posted - 01/26/2013 : 8:05:35 PM
GOOD STUFF ON STEF..MEET HER ONCE WITH PROVE UP AT THE EVANSTON WALL KOOL PEEPS FO SHO. |
| FLASH ABC |
Posted - 01/10/2013 : 08:48:40 AM
i know we havent done one in a while but here is one on STEF TCH XMEN.
http://dangerouslee.biz/2013/01/09/meet-graffiti-queen-stef1/ |
| Sy |
Posted - 03/06/2012 : 6:40:21 PM
quote:
Originally posted by FAZEONE MADCREW
Hey SY, it's been a long minute!! You got anymore Ol'Skool interviews coming up the pike? We still ain't heard from RISK or PROVE yet!!
SUP FAZE, I HAVE BEEN SLACKING ON THE INTERVIEWS GOT GET BACK INTO IT BRO AND YES RISK AND PROVE WOULD BE A GOOD TO DROP SOME KNOWLEDGE MAYBE IF YOU HOOK IT UP I WILL PICK UP THE PEN AGAIN. |
| FLASH ABC |
Posted - 03/06/2012 : 1:25:10 PM
quote:
Originally posted by CHUMBLY0001
HEY THANKS 4 THE INVITE. MAYBE U CAN PICK UP THE PHONE SOMETIME. PEACE OUT.
maybe you can get a phone one of these years |
| FAZEONE MADCREW |
Posted - 03/04/2012 : 3:12:51 PM
Hey SY, it's been a long minute!! You got anymore Ol'Skool interviews coming up the pike? We still ain't heard from RISK or PROVE yet!! |
| CHUMBLY0001 |
Posted - 11/18/2011 : 2:34:18 PM
HEY THANKS 4 THE INVITE. MAYBE U CAN PICK UP THE PHONE SOMETIME. PEACE OUT. |
| FLASH ABC |
Posted - 11/08/2011 : 3:54:32 PM
 |
| Sy |
Posted - 10/27/2011 : 3:05:06 PM
quote:
Originally posted by FLASH ABC
"""""LOOK OLD MAN WE NEVER SEEN NOTHING LIKE THAT""""" """"" WE ORGINAL """""""I DONT KNOW WHAT YOU TALKING ABOUT. OOOPS !!! Now writers are getting up like that but they aint taking anyones Gym shoes.
On a serious note Im biting this . This is funny and it just another way to keep that old school flavor in bombing. props to the artist that did this.
H_ELL NAW I LOVE IT BEST PIC I SEEN IN A WHILE...NEED ONE THAT SAYS LOGAN SQUARE. |
| FLASH ABC |
Posted - 10/27/2011 : 09:13:39 AM
"""""LOOK OLD MAN WE NEVER SEEN NOTHING LIKE THAT""""" """"" WE ORGINAL """""""I DONT KNOW WHAT YOU TALKING ABOUT. OOOPS !!! Now writers are getting up like that but they aint taking anyones Gym shoes.
On a serious note Im biting this . This is funny and it just another way to keep that old school flavor in bombing. props to the artist that did this. |
| Sy |
Posted - 10/26/2011 : 8:24:56 PM
quote:
Originally posted by FLASH ABC
what are you looking for...........
HEY FLASH YOU REMEMBER ALL THE CHUCKS AND BLACK SUEDE SHOES HANGING FROM THE TELEPHONE LINES ON SEASAME STREET...LOL |
| FLASH ABC |
Posted - 10/25/2011 : 10:55:39 AM
what are you looking for........... |
| DVS DSK |
Posted - 11/08/2010 : 6:26:18 PM
WOW!!! IT JUST GETS BETTER & BETTER.. VERY NICE SYSKI! & WELL PUT UNI..... |
| S1 |
Posted - 11/04/2010 : 10:15:41 AM
(In the voice of JEDI YODA) UNE, hmm, props receive, you must.
(In the voice of VADER) SY....I am your father! |
| W1DGET_THE_M1DGET |
Posted - 11/03/2010 : 8:13:33 PM
great interview...
" How can you join the military without goin to bootcamp"....
best quote i heard in awhile.
 |
| Sy |
Posted - 11/03/2010 : 4:39:52 PM
The act of being Unique is separating yourself apart from the Main Stream that�s exactly what a Writer named �UNEEK� did in the 1980�s and As a member of one of the most highly respected and most wanted crews of the Era UNEEK and his Band Of Brothers took the term �Getting Up� to new levels�Always pushing the Style envelope UNEEK continues to exercise his creative talents through painting and wood working projects.. if I had to define Him and His crew it would have to be Unwavering Street Credit something that�s not easily given but earned.
�UNEEK�
INTERVIEW
1.What do write? UNEEK UNE theUneeKartist
2.Describe your Style and what Graffiti Art Means to you?
That�s two separate questions altogether�
(a) Style: My style is Mockent (aka) Mok Style. It is a style invented by Scarce, coined by Rape and developed by Scarce and myself. In my description it is a �mechanical- organic� style. Instead of the traditional BBoy characters and WildStyle letters, the characters focused on things such as insects and reptiles and letter styles on organics and nature. Tags were to be clean and fluent, done effortlessly, without looking, upside down and even backwards at times.
(b) Graffiti to me: Free Expression, Creativity, Adrenaline, Escape�..
In my old bedroom growin up, amongst the pieces and bombing all over the walls, there lay a Rest In Peace list scrawled in pilot that ran top to bottom dating 1985 � 1991. I live in the memory of those and try to learn and credit their mistakes as well as their contributions. I am who I am due in great part to graffiti.
3.Was Uneek your only Graff Name?
No. Names would change regularly. Personally, I always found it fun to rock another name and then be in a crowd of people talkin like �who the all fours is that?� But really, it was a blend of things� to re-prove yourself, break the monotony, maybe try out a different style, busted too much, throw the vandal squad off track or even Just 4 Fun. Crew names would change as well and usually a new crew name warranted a new name.
4.Pilot, SG7 and Griffin in that order does that sound about right?
I�m gonna have to go Meanstreak, Pilot, Griffin (and a scriber on the low). Homemades were fashionable, but messy. The kool kids rocked the illies, but that blagoavich was like gold and you had better hold it down.
5.What year did you Start Writing and when did you retire from bombing?
I do not claim to be the first on the scene nor the most up. I was not part of the CAR crew when Sneak and Vandal got busted although I did bust a tag with them from time to time.
I first became aware of Hip-Hop and started tagging my neighborhood in 1983. These were the days I remember breakin crews start showin up after grammar school and battling out front and in the schoolyard at Patrick Henry on the northside. Kids would set up cardboard in front on the sidewalks and come out practicing. When they would go in the house for a minute I would bust a tag on their cardboard. One of my friends was tryin to learn to spin and his older brother was a breaker with the original Fresh Boys. I was always into art and my mother worked at a fabric and macram� store and brought me home a bunch of Vogarts. I started doin jean jackets for some of the crew. My first piece was in 1984, under the bridge of Horner Park by Montrose�it said MOM, by Kid Traxx and Kid Comic.
My older cousin grew up in Logan Square and was part of a crew called CMC�I was kind of a shorty that can throw it up but more by relation to my cousin.
My life�s tragic twist came in 1985, when I woke up to find myself living by the Brickyard. From the day I learned how to take the busses into the old neighborhood it was where I was at. Why not bomb the bus when your on about 6 a day?
The first time hitting trains was in 1985 and 1986 was my �Official� start of Bombing trains.
Retired from Bombing in 1991. Just out of high school, already caught a couple cases and had to make a living for real now. Switched focus to music at that time, most of my crew did the same�but never left behind the Art.
6.Favorite Bus and Trains lines to rock?
Busses: 56 Western, it ran all the way South and Back�.Trains: Everyone likes to claim the big lines and Howard, in my eye, was the place you came to show your blagoavich , but I think the most fun I ever had was on the Ravenswood where I learned the ropes, adapted my styles and developed into a real �Riter�. I loved the elevated tracks and the rooftops, and the alleys, the �X�.
7.What part of the city did you grow up in?
I grew up on the Northside near Ravenswood, but moved out by the Brickyard at the age of 13.
8.Was it a Hood Shock moving from Ravenswood to the Riis Park area?
I had moved around a few times as a child, but always lived in a mixed northside neighborhood and went to public schools all my life. Now I�m in 8th grade, feelin on the other side of the city and put in a catholic school. The neighborhood is pretty much segregated, and the bangers wanna kick my ass for pieces and bombing on the old factories and freights behind Brickyard�. Shocking? Kinda I guess.
9.I remember you using two distinctive writing styles the first when spelling out your whole name and second being the unique (no pun intended) connecting cursev used for Une�was that something you came up with or just following the trend at the time?
I never necessarily intended to keep the name Uneek (probably another reason for all the name changes..indecisive), but having initials seemed natural from the start and UnK was Unknowns and UN just felt incomplete somehow. Une felt a bit weird at first especially when most initials were in the proper manner of dropping the vowels, but it just so happened to work when Scarce put us down on the E thing�everyone else started changing their initials to the point where people were battling for the E�s�good times. Some might have tried to take UNEEK over the years�but no one touches UNE.
10.How did you get down with CAR crew?
It was a process, a recruitment so to speak. I took a lot of busses, Car was one of the only crews that put as much emphasis on busses as they did on trains. A new crew was forming and Scarce asked me to be down. We changed names twice after before Car was revived.
11.Was CAR the only crew you claimed back then?
I had been in a few small crews prior, but they were more like passer-by crews that eventually melted into the more solid crews. I have some crews that I roll with and rep from time to time, but even within them my identity is CaR. ONE CREW!
12.In the beginning Some writers remember seeing CAR tags with no names was it a point to put up the Crew first to let it be known?
Psychology�..Crew comes first.
13.Name all the Writers in CAR that you can remember.
1983- Kid Krash, Kid Slice, Lazy183, Super Krash and Lil Fresh.
1984-85 Super Krash/ Scrawl Master Scarce, Lil Fresh/ Cause, Vandal, Sneak , Repel, Madness, Nasty, Flex, Dan1 and Hope.
1986-1990 Seph, Uneek, Mane, Meek, Rape, Seek, Kcin, Deevo, FC, and DE�kid krash was ACW but was also one of the original founders of CAR.
14.Did CAR go to war with anybody and who in there right mind would of takin on that challenge?
If it wasn�t a crew it was the city�felt like we were warring all the time, it helped drive us.
15.When the Vandal Squad labeled you guys �Public Enemy Number One� did you say to yourself Dam this is the real deal and did your Bombing decrease or increase because of it?
I first said �Dam, this is the real deal� when I heard the news of KRE8�s demise. Of course when you have heat on you, you gotta chill�but crew always rocked.
16.Is it fair to say that CAR followed the doctrine Not the Biggest or Beautifulest but more?
No, it really isn�t. We felt that some of our �stylish throw-ups� could rival some peoples piecing letters, the fact that we can throw down our blagoavich fast is due to skill, it was up because we were hardcore, and it didn�t take a crew of dozens to do it. The misconception is that the more heads you have the more the crew gets up�WRONG. Remember, I was a Marine, but my first �fire team� was a 4 man front, we ran that blagoavich like SEALS takin an objective, ergo MORE.
17.Do you still keep in touch with any of the Old-timers?
Scarce and Rape every now and then, we were friends outside of graffiti as well and even though our lives may have went different paths, they will always be my brothers. Just ran into Sneak for the first time in like 20 something years, that was a trip. Other than crew I can�t get rid of these old-timers, but I gotta say they make me feel young again!
18.If you could Paint with any writer from the Past or Present who would that person be?
I�m not that guy, not really the idolizing type. I�ve done joint pieces with some, but I�ve painted next to and in company of most in Chicago that I could ever dream of. I just like helping and being part of tight productions.
19.You mention the Ravenswood as being the line that made you into a �Real Writer� what was different about that system from the rest?
The elevated system, the way it snaked through the neighborhoods, if you can brave the turn off Damen, you can run the tracks all the way to Southport, awesome rooftops and plenty of hiding spots.
20.What was your favorite year in Graff and Why?
86-89 was like a long train ride on rollercoaster tracks.
I mean, I don�t know what high school (or life) would have been like for me without Hip Hop and Graffiti in the 80�s. When kids were hanging around their neighborhoods we were the ones to venture out, had peeps in all parts of the city before the internet even existed. It saved me�from the banging, from the hardcore drugs, from the demise of myself within the life around me. Those years were my growing phase to what I have become, and its funny but more people know me by my tag than by my real name to this day.
21.Do you remember what you were doing when you learned Vandal (Car) and HATE (Acw) passed away?
I heard about Vandal a few days after, he had already quit bombing and wasn�t around as much. Scarce and I used to run into him an Flex while troopin in about 1987-88, they were punk rockers and doin music. Vandal was one of those writers that set the bar for bombing.
I was at work when I got the call that there had been an accident concerning Eric and to meet at the hospital.
We all had many friends growin up that died under various circumstances, but I think HATEs passing truly crushed us all.
There was a time in high school that I used to date the sister of Hates girlfriend. I used to come across him walking baby Eric in Riis park frequently. There were also a time or two that I had helped babysit. Even when he stopped bombing he always remained Crew�Fam.
22.You credit Scarce as being a mentor in the Graff game give us some insight into the world of the Scrawl Master:
His name is carried in whispers on the lips of demons.
23.What is the one thing that had to be upside down when Rockin the lines?
A SY tag�hahaha
(Hey Now)
24.Was there anything or place that you wouldn�t tag on?
Churches.
25.Was there a time in you Graff career you became angry or disillusion with art from?
Still do to this day. Call it whatever�we�re all culpable. I mean, there has got to be something wrong with all of us to get the satisfaction we do from what we do. To take the criticism of mainstream art, face the fines and jail time that come associated with a career�s longevity�and keep doin� it?...and you know it aint for the money!
26.How has your Artwork transformed through out the years?
Well, being a carpenter for the better part of my adulthood, I find myself expressing my art through woodworking.
I paint permission walls now, which is kind of the flip-side of my upbringing, but I get to do the pieces that I never did back then and help contribute to those coming up.
27.Are you working on any projects at the present time?
Plenty on the table, let you know when I finish one.
28.I noticed that you like to lay down the lyrics is there a career in the Music field in the future?
I seriously doubt it. I�ve dabbled in music almost as long as graffiti, but that truly is just a hobby. I let my chance slip long ago. I like creating on all levels, and I find that putting my thoughts in words and rhymes from time to time helps me relieve some of my stresses in life, and it�s fun.
29.Describe some of the your likes and dislikes of todays Chi-town Graff scene.
Likes: The diversity in generations.
The dedication to the art form.
The amounts of collaborations in burners goin up.
The fact that we still have a heavy underground of soldiers still doin it the way it should be done and being recognized worldwide.
Dislikes: Can you get in the military without going to bootcamp? Remember, we the Soldiers of Hip Hop.
30.What the heck is Level 3 Mockent ?
Just 2 levels beyond human comprehension.
31.How do want your Graff Legacy to be remembered?
In the drips of a fat cap!
Any Shots outs?
Past�Present�Fallen
Pieces.
*Thanks for your time Oldschool it was honor working with you now and back then on the lines....Sy.
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