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THE TOP-TO-BOTTOM

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    A writer could just burn with a Top-to-Bottom, as seen here with the famous FLINT 707 candy-cane piece, done in the early to mid 1970's.  This piece blew many writers away and even forced few into retirement.  The true originator of the Top-to-Bottom is hard to pin point; some say JAPAN 1 started it, and others say SUPER KOOL 223.  

    By 1973, spotting a Top-to-Bottom running became a normal event that most writers saw.  In the beginning, the first Top-to-Bottoms did not take up the entire subway car, but mainly half of its length.  HUNDO 1 took this idea to a new level by painting extra large thick letters, that took up the whole train.  Many Top-to-Bottoms consisted of bubble letter, straight letter, western letter and block letter styles.  Outside tags were becoming a thing of the past.  Numerous writers started doing larger, more elaborate letters just to keep two steps ahead of the rest.  To a Subway Outlaw, the Top-to-Bottom writings were about dominance.  It was how he/she could take over a line with the biggest and the best, as well as the most work that could hit the public (the next day).  TRACY 168 took this honor for being a total package, on what a subway writer should be.  He took over the lines with stylish Top-to-Bottoms, as well as with quick letter styles.  His most amazing production was writing a Top-to-Bottom on the out side of a train with CLIFF 159, and one inside of the train.  That truly blew many writers minds when they saw it! 

    Writers like SUPER STRUT who had a very long name, executed a Top-to-Bottom with their entire name.  Various artists like LEE, of the FABULOUS FIVE, took off where FLINT 707 left off.  As a result, he did some of the most memorable Top-to-Bottoms of his era.  BLADE, an all time king of the 2's and 5's, was considered by many to be one of the all time kings of the whole car Top-to-Bottoms.  SEEN UA pulled off dozens of Top-to-Bottoms in the early 1980's and took over, where BLADE left off.  A writer truly over looked, was MIN 1 a.k.a. NE, who pulled off the most colorful Top-to-Bottoms (along with KEL and the RTW-WOW crew), on the BMT's.  One of MIN's biggest products was a Top-to-Bottom wild style done for SHY 147 (R.I.P.), which ran on the RR train in the mid 1980's.  DONDI's work was always a pleasure to be seen .... as it had neat, clean, large and colorful letters, that looked like they belonged on a subway car.  The following are a few photos of our favorites:

MAN 2 (aka SONNY 107) and PEAL (aka RIFF 170)

The Top-to-Bottom was completed by the original king of styles, RIFF 170 who was one of the best trains ever, to run on the number # 7 line, in 1975.  NOTE: the Afro face used in the letter L (which is one of many original inventions used by the early style master).

 TRACY 168 - When I took over the 7 line and introduced style on that line, CAINE 1, FLAME 1, TAGE 1 and MAD 102  started to come at me with full force (which was kind of cool).  So I brought RIFF 17O, ZEST and  PEL, the masters from the Bronx and went out there.  It must have blown there heads. They saw styles that they must have never even imagined  could exist, or able to even copy.  We started killing them with masters.

BUTCH 2,

with a very clean style.  This Top-to-Bottom whole-car was done on the 5-train in 1975.  NOTE:  LSD 3/OM sitting on the stairs in the left hand corner.  BUTCH 2 was an original member of one of the most famous writing groups, T.F.P. (The Fantastic Partners).  Some of the T.F.P. members were KINDO, OG 2, PROF, LIL JAY, CASE 2 and many more.  BUTCH went on to introduce CASE 2 to aerosol art form.  Together they took on one of the most devastating artistic partnerships in history.

PHASE 2,

was the original style master.  This shows his more technical letterings in a larger form.

VINNY,

 was a writer from the BMT's who took over the 2 and 5 - lines. 

NOTE: CA (Captain America) single hit in corner.

SKI 168,

was an early subway killer from the early 1970's.  SKI 168 was a Bronx writer that dominated the 2 -line with Top-to-Bottoms.  NOTE:  the early single hit by AJ 161 (aka ALL JIVE).

BLADE...  SKI 168 is a very over looked writer in history, all the guy did was bomb.  AJ 161 or ALL JIVE 161 was STAFF 161's brother, and together the two just killed it!  I can remember watching the "Odd Couple" (which was a very big T.V. show in 1972), when there was a scene with two characters walking down a city street.  In this scene a city bus rolls by, with a very crisp shot of an AJ 161 single hit on it.  I wish they had Vhs's then, so I could have recorded it on tape..

A-TRAIN,

is an early Brooklyn writer from the 1970's.  This top-to-Bottom was done on a number 2 train.  A-TRAIN was more known for bombing the BMT's along with SUPER STRUT and SHARK 77.