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I was from downtown Brooklyn and I got involved in 1971 when I saw the the names The Last Survivors and Flowers Dice all over downtown Brooklyn. I was really intrigued by the sound of these two names. The name Swiss came from a very Cheap wine I drank called Swiss-Up. The writers who were big At that time on the subways and walls were Turok 161, Jesus Saves, The Assassin, App Super Hog, Dino Nod, Spin, Super Strut, Flowers Dice, Slim 1, Undertaker Ash, Slim 72, Frank 207, SJK 171, Boxx Brad, Dutch Smoker Basha, Super Star, King of Kools, Stay High 149, Nard, Nol, Scooter, La-sar, Ace Spades, Spade 130, Joe 182. Some of these names just hit streets and subway walls but got over big and the others, well we know who got over on the trains. I went to Abraham Lincoln HS in Brooklyn and a few writers attended there, Nard, Nol (Spin’s Brother), Kool Kevin Lock 1(of Tomahawks), Snake 1 (brkyn), Tyrol who killed the M’s and the QB’s for a short time, Piper of Magic Inc, and the Vanguards.

My first experience hitting a train was with Scar 36, Casper 1, Swank and Rico 1. We went to the lay-up at Ave X on the B line. Ave X lay-up had D’s F’s M’s RR’s B’s & QB’s it was a Huge train yard behind John Dewey H.S. in Brooklyn. Swank, Scar 36, Rico 1(bklyn) and Warmack. These writers were all from my neighborhood we grew up together, played baseball and football together. One of the reasons why I loved writing so much was that it was colored blind. Writing brought all colors and creeds together, for instance, Swank & Casper 1 were Caucasian, Rico 1 and Scar 36 were Hispanic (Borliqua) and Warmack and I, African American. The first time I went racking was with

Scar 36. We bum-rushed a hardware store in Brooklyn with duffel bags and cleared the shelves. It was quite chaotic, the owner chased us around the store but we were young and fast. I don’t think we ever bought paint. Looking back now it was a crazy way to get paint. I was a member of only two writing groups, Magic Inc & The New Breed. The yards and lay up's we focused mostly on was, Ave X on the B line and Suthern Blvd on the F line in the tunnel. Also trains layed-up over night on the second level at Bergan St. on the F line. Only a few artists new of this second level. We had keys to the locked gates at Bergan St. first and second levels. At the back end of Bergan St. where the last car

would stop, I would tag my name on it. Sometimes a transit cop would be hiding in the closed booth and chase us down the platform. I also remember a time when Swank, Scar 36, Warmack and Casper 1 and I went writing at Suthern Blvd. In the tunnel Warmack foot slip and slightly touch the third rail and he freaked out yelling at us “Am I turning colors!” “Am I turning colors”! When we all realized he was all right we ranked on him all the way to Brooklyn.

I mainly hanged out at the writers corner on Atlantic ave it was only 4 blocks from my house. Scar 36 and I would jump the turnstile and just sit there on the bench watching to see who was doing the best master pieces on the IRT’s, my favorites were Purple Haze 168 and Tabu 1. At Atlantic Ave I met Super Strut, Tass, Spin 1, Wise 1, A- Train, Dizzy, Pistol 1, Killer 1, and so many others. Casper 1, Jazzy 1,

LiLHawk 1 (Bklyn), Big Hawk, Turk, Nard, Wise 1, Warmack, Underdog Bo-peep (leaders of Magic Inc.) Dizzy, Swank, Kevin Lock 1, Rico 1 (Bklyn), Scar 36, Snake1 (Bklyn - Not to be confused with Snake 1 from Broadway ) , Dutch Smoker Basha (Magic Inc.). At the beginning Swank, Casper 1 and Scar 36 were all my hard core partners. I also started doing trucks with LiL Hawk (Bklyn), Jazzy 1 and Scar 36. I only bombed with Dizzy once; this was early in his career, before he mastered his writing style.

I meet him through Scar 36, who new a lot of writers. I would meet writers and we would go bombing like we known each other a long time, that’s the way it was for me. Wise 1 was another writer from Queens I met and I remember we road & wrote on the inside of trains from morning to evening with out seeing the daylight once. I remember when Scar 36, Casper 1 and I was coming from hitting trains in Brighten Bench near Conley Island and a gang of white dudes chased us, Casper 1 and I ran for our lives Scar 36 had a bad leg at the time and got caught. We didn’t see him

for a few days. When we finally saw him he said they let him go, we thought he got beat up but didn’t want to admit it. I also remember a time when Scar 36 and I were chased buy a cop on the 15^th Street and Prospect Park platform on the F train line. We were tagging the F trains with paint when they stop at the station, all of sudden a cop came flying towards us he was right behind us but we out ran him and exit the station you could here his police gear jingling and jangling as he ran after us. Writers always took pride in there signatures especially on the insides.

In my day I would say Baby-Face 86, 7-UP, Jesus Saves Casper 1, Gumbe 1, Toke 1 and Mingo 1, these artist I remember seeing the most on the insides of the trains. I also remember Scar 36 and I killed the in side of a B or D train in the lay-up at Ave X in Brooklyn. We did the floors, windows, sides, ceilings, there was paint every where!

I only hit the IRT’s a few times, once at Utica Ave in the tunnel in Brooklyn and the other time Swank, Scar 36, Rico-1(bklyn) and Casper 1 went bombing on the 2’s, I didn’t go, I was sick but Swank got me over. But when we would ride the IRT’s we would tag the insides with makers and Uni-wides. I mostly got up on the F’s, D’s M’s and QB’s but I also hit many times B’s RR’s. For the LL’s C’s E’s, A’s I only went to those yards once or twice. Do you remembered the old F train coal-miners (rusty brown color) Casper 1 and I bombed a lot of those. We never got nabbed writing together, But I was caught jumping the turnstile a few times.

The best piece I ever saw was one by Lee of the Fab Five a tribute to Andy Warhol, . I remember it was one, two maybe three cars long with Campbell Soup cans, but This was after my writing days. Car 54 did some good ones, P-Haze 168 and Tubu 1. I started in the tagging era but I did a few pieces on trains and walls, I did mostly clouds, those were my favorites. The Gangs in the 1970's

were dangerous. we heard a lot about the Black Spades and the Savage Skulls and rarely went to the Bronx. I remember going to a Magic Inc. meeting in Red Hook projects at the Red Hook stadium and Underdog Bo peep (the two leaders of Magic Inc) talked about unite ding with the Royal or Golden Cobras street gang from the Bronx and they were coming to attend the meeting. Well, this Bronx street gang showed up with their blue jean jackets with fur around the collars,

fur hats with two fur balls dangling from them and women gang members that looked like they could kick my ass. Magic Inc. was more like a writers/gang group, like the Vanguards. I just wanted to write and up rock, I didn’t what to be a gang member. So I never went to another meeting.

I stopped in 1975 when someone I grow up with by the name of Bernard Brown was going writing for the first time at Southern Blvd, he was electrocuted when he hid under a parked train in the

tunnel and the train powered up and moved. I saw and talked with him and another writer who was with him, Pace 1, that very day. Ending on a happier note, I am glad I got up in the early 70’s when writer’s names were creative and writers weren’t jocking for space on the trains and the wars haven’t exploded yet. In 1978 I moved to Chicago and had a successful career as producer/writer (Billy Jack Williams) in House music

and had records on Polygram and Warner Bros record labels and over seas. Also I’ve written for many music artists. I would like to conclude by saying, “It was good to live in such a time”.

Photo credits go to Swiss, Smith, Gn Miller, Danny ( the photo man), Duke 9 and King Klast. Should anyone have photos of Swiss's work , please contact us at. MESSAGE@SUBWAYOUTLAWS.COM.