|
 |
|
|
THE MOST POPALUR GANGS I
REMEMBER GROWING UP WERE THE MOUNTAUK CHEST BREAKERS, THE CRAZY HP's WHICH WHERE THE WHITE BOY GANG THAT HAD THEIR TERRITORY BY HIGHLAND PARK.
THE NOMADS, THE SANDMEN, THE SOUL LATIN BROTHERS , THE BIKERS FROM
WILLIAMSBURG BROOKLYN ... ETC. I NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THEM. I GREW UP WITH THE WARLORD OF
THE CRAZY HOMICIDES.
I REMEMBER HIS NAME WAS HOLLYWOOD, SO AS WE
BOTH GREW UP WE DRIFTED. BUT HE KNEW WHO WE WERE, AND WE GAVE EACH OTHER RESPECT LATER ON AS I
BECAME KNOWN AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR MY TALENTS. MANY OF THEM WOULD ASK ME
TO PUT THEM UP WHEN I WENT BOMBING. THEY KNEW WHO I WAS SO THEY GAVE ME MY
RESPECT AS I GAVE THEM THEIRS. BACK THEN GANGS WERE ABOUT TURF...
PROTECTING WHAT WAS AROUND THEM.
SO I NEVER ENCOUNTERED ANY BEEF. THE
FIRST EXPERIENCE HITTING UP MY NAME... I REMEMBER WAS MUCH LIKE MANY WRITERS. COMING HOME
FROM SCHOOL, YOU WOULD GATHER WITH ALL THE TOY WRITERS AND GO TO THE BACK CAR AND THROW UP YOUR LITTLE TAGS WITH
SMALL MARKERS. IT WASN'T MUCH. WHAT DID IT FOR ME WAS SEEING THAT TAG AGAIN ON
ANOTHER DAY. THAT TO ME WAS LIKE WOW. IT WAS LIKE HAVING MY NAME UP IN LIGHTS .
EVEN THOUGH IT WAS PROBABLY ON A SEAT OR WINDOW SOMETIME MAYBE A PANEL. TO ME IT
SAID THAT I WAS THERE AND IN SOME CRAZY WAY THAT I HAD
ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING AND THAT OTHERS SEEN MY ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
THE FIRST
ACTUAL BOMBING OF THE SUBWAYS WAS WITH SOME OLD CATS THAT I GREW UP WITH, DOC 2, JB, MEXICAN
AND SR. WE HAD CUT OUT FROM SCHOOL
AND WENT DOWN TO AN OLD PRINTERS STORE TO BUY PILOT MARKERS. WE THEN WENT
DOWN TO BOWERY LAY-UP IN MANHATTAN AND BOMBED THE INSIDES. WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WE WHERE
DOING. WE DIDN'T EVEN TURN ON THE LIGHTS. WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW , HA HA. IF I CAN
REMEMBER WE PROBABLY WROTE ON THE SIDES OF THE TRAINS WITH MARKERS.
LOOKING BACK NOW. LATER ON I SAW MANY OF MY WHOLE CARS WRITTEN ON BY NAMES THAT
I COULDN'T TRACE BACK TO ANYONE. DAMN TOYS! BUT YA KNOW WE ALL START OUT
LIKE THAT. I'M SURE WE'VE ALL BEEN THERE. BEING THAT I GREW UP IN THE GANG ERA.
I NEVER INHERITED THE IDEOLOGY OF MOVING IN CREWS AND BEING PART OF A GANG.
I WROTE FOR MYSELF, BY MYSELF AFTER A WHILE. MANY OF THE WRITERS I STARTED OUT
WITH STARTED TO GET INVOLVED IN DRUGS. PARTYING, DJING.
|
|
|
Tags of some of the cats that rolled with
BAD CRIME79. in order BABY168, OE3, PEO and SCAN.
|
|
|
WHICH WAS KOOL
FOR THEM BUT
I HAD OTHER ADDICTIONS IN MIND. I WANTED TO PAINT. SO WHEN THERE WAS NO ONE TO GO
WITH. MANY TIMES I USE TO PACK MY BAG OF PAINT AND GO BY MYSELF. I MET A LOT OF WRITERS BACK THEN THAT WAY
LIKE PG 3, OE-3, P13, ETC.. THEY WOULD PUT ME DOWN
AND FROM TIME TO TIME I WOULD I PUT THEIR CREW UP.
IT WAS A DIFFERENT TIME IN THE
EARLY DAYS. IT WAS ABOUT PAINTING. NOT RIPPING PEOPLE OFF AND CROSSING OUT WITH
OTHER WRITERS.
LATER ON I HOOKED UP WITH PEO, BABY 168 , BAD BID, NEK, NEL 106 , SCAN, TATU, ALL
THE BMT CATS THAT I WOULD LATER BOMB HEAVILY WITH FOR MANY YEARS. AS FOR STYLE I SAW THAT THE I.R.T WRITERS HAD A
DIFFERENT STYLE FROM THE B.M.TS.
WRITERS EVEN THOUGH WE WHERE ONE IN THE SAME. ME AND
BABY 168 HAD SIMILAR STYLES AND WE FED OF EACH OTHER. TO THIS DAY I DON'T
KNOW WHAT WE CAN CALLED IT, BUT MANY YEARS LATER WRITERS TOLD ME THAT WE HAD
A DISTINCT STYLE. EVEN HENRY CHALAFANT NOTICED OUR STUFF AND GAVE US
PROPS FOR ADDING SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO THE MOVEMENT. WE BROUGHT THE B.M.T'S OUT OF
JUST DOING BUBBLE LETTERS AND BLOCK STYLES.
|
|
|
The famous BABY .. WAVE ( CRIME.79 ) car . Far away
shot taken by CRIME.79. The two would have many productions running on the
BMT's in the early 1980.
|
The very famous message that was seen in subway art.
Buy Subway Art at Amazon.com
|
|
WE BROUGHT COLORS TO THE LINE
DURING THOSE DAYS AND LATER MANY OTHER CATS WOULD JOIN IN. CATS LIKE
ATOM, BOLTISM, ERNI, SIZER, MIDG, PG 3.
I HOOKED UP WITH MANY OTHER WRITERS AND DID SEVERAL WHOLE CARS WITH CATS LIKE
DURO , MAGOO 2, PG. 3 , ETC. I DID SO MANY GREAT PIECES ON
THE SUBWAYS BACK THEN, BUT WHAT HURTS THE MOST
IS MANY OF THE PIECES I DID EITHER NEVER RAN, OR GOT BUFFED BEFORE I SAW
IT OR GOT COVERED BY SOME WHOLE CAR THAT A OTHER WRITER WENT OVER CARELESSLY.
BUT I HAVE TO SAY THE PIECE
THAT I LOVED THE MOST WAS A WHOLE CAR I DID ON THE CC TRAIN LINE. I DID A WHOLE
CAR WHICH READ "VANDALISM " I ALMOST THINK THAT IT WAS PULLED FROM SERVICE. IT
WAS VERY LEGIBLE. IT HAD A POEM THAT SAID. "IN A WORLD FULL OF INJUSTICE,
GREED AND ENDLESS WAR, WHO's TO SAY THAT THE VANDALS ARE WRONG ? " I LOVED THAT PIECE. I DID IT
IN GRANT LAY-UP WHERE I HAD LIMITED SPACE WHERE I DECIDE TO DO IT AT. I
SPENT ALL DAY DOING IT BECAUSE IT HAD BLENDS THAT WENT FROM LEMON YELLOW. ALL
THE WAY DOWN TO FIRE ENGINE RED. IT WAS MY WAY OF LEAVING A MESSAGE TO THE
VIEWERS THAT WE WERE ONLY AS GUILTY AS THOSE THAT CREATED THE SYSTEM. DAMN I
MISSED THAT PIECE. IT'S A SHAME THAT THE MANY WORKS THAT I DID AS WELL AS OTHERS IN
THIS MOVEMENT DIDN'T LAST LONG. I HAVE VERY FEW DOCUMENTED SHOTS OF THAT
CAR. IN
MY EARLY YEARS I
|
|
|
 
|
|
|
KEPT BOMBING AND DOING PIECES ON MY
OWN OR SOMETIMES WHEN I HAD THE ITCH TO PAINT WITH SOME ONE. I WOULD TAKE
SOME NEW WRITER ALONG WITH ME TO THE YARD. EVEN IF THE PERSON WAS A TOY OR
NOT. IT DIDN'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO ME. IF YOU HAD THE SAME FIRE INSIDE OF
YOU THAT YOU WANTED TO PAINT, YOU WERE AN EQUAL TO ME. AS
TIME WENT ON I NOTICED THE WORKS OF BABY 168 , PEO, BAD BID AND I GUESS THEY
NOTICED MINE.
|
|
|
|
|
|
PEO TOLD ME A STORY
ONCE THAT BABY 168 WANTED TO KNOW WHO I WAS AND SAID THAT HE CAN ARRANGE A MEETING WITH
US BOTH. PEO'S GIRLFRIEND AT THE TIME LIVED A FEW
HOUSES AWAY FROM ME. HE FOUND OUT WHAT HIGH SCHOOL I WAS GOING TO AND ONE DAY
WHEN I WAS LEAVING THE BUILDING, I FOUND A GROUP OF GUYS WAITING
OUTSIDE FOR ME. THEY CALLED ME TO THE SIDE AND
INTRODUCED THEMSELVES. THEY EXPLAINED THAT THEY RESPECTED MY STYLE AS I
RESPECTED THEIRS AND INVITED ME THAT NIGHT TO GO PAINTING. FROM THEN ON WE
ALL BECAME GOOD FRIENDS. 20 YEARS LATER WE ARE STILL GOOD FRIENDS. BABY
HAD THE SAME BELIEFS ABOUT THE MOVEMENT AS WELL AS I DID SO WE GOT OUR
MINDS TOGETHER AND PLANNED SEVERAL PROJECTS.
|
|
|
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
CRIME .. WAVE done by CRIME79 early 1980's
|
A front shot by CRIME79. |
|
AT
THE TIME THE BUFF WAS STARTING TO BE FAZED IN. IM TALKING ABOUT THE SUMMER
OF 79 TO 82. THERE WERE MANY WRITERS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO
THIS MOVEMENT ON THE BMT'S THAT LOST ALLOT OF THEIR PIECES TO THE BUFF. I AM PLANNING ON WRITING A PIECE ON THIS LOST
PART OF HISTORY ON MY WEBSITE CRIME79.COM. TUNE IN SOON. I PAINTED WITH SO MANY WRITERS THAT I WOULD
HAVE TO WRITE A BOOK. MANY OLD SCHOOL WRITERS AND MANY NEW WRITERS. MY
GRAFF CAREER TOOK ME ALL CITY, TO
EVERY LINE. I HAVE BEEN TO EVERY
BOROUGH. I LOVED HITTING THE BMT'S BECAUSE I WAS ABLE TO VIEW THEM EVERYDAY. MUCH RESPECT TO THE OTHER
LINES. I WAS ABLE TO DO SEVERAL WILD STYLES ON THE 2 AND 5s. THE LAST TIME I
PAINTED WAS SOMETIME IN 1985. I WAS GETTING OLDER. THE BUFF WASN'T LETTING MY WHOLE CARS RUN LONG. I WAS
GETTING TOGETHER WITH MANY OF THE CATS AT THE SOUL ARTISTS MEETINGS, GOING
TO GALLERY SHOWS AND DECIDING THAT I WANTED TO MAKE A CAREER. I STARTED
PAINTING AND DOING ART SHOWS. GOING TO SCHOOL TO STUDY GRAPHIC DESIGN AND MOVING
ON IN LIFE. MANY OF THE CATS THAT I BOMBED WITH HAD ANOTHER RESPONSIBILITIES. SO WE SLOWLY STARTED TO FADE AWAY. I REMEMBER WRITING THE LAST FEW TIMES
. " KINGS NEVER DIE ,, THEY JUST FADE AWAY" THAT'S WHAT WE FELT. OUR TIME HAD
PAST. WE LEFT OR MARK AT A TIME.
|
|
|
|
|
|
THAT'S ALL WE WANTED. WE ACCOMPLISHED THAT.
WE DIDN'T CLAIM TO DO THE BEST. OR THE MOST. OR THE BADDEST. BUT THOSE THAT
WERE THERE DOING GRAFF THOSE YEARS CAN NEVER DENY THAT WE ADDED SOMETHING
SPECIAL TO THIS MOVEMENT. IN ESSENCE, THE GRAFFITI MOVEMENT WAS ABOUT GETTING
UP. MANY OF US DID THAT. WE MADE A NAME FOR OURSELVES .AND IN THE
INTERIM GAVE THE PUBLIC SOMETHING TO SEE WHEN THEY WOKE UP IN THE MORNING. 20
YEARS LATER THEIR ARE THOSE THAT DISPUTE SEVERAL MOMENTS IN GRAFFITI HISTORY,
AND THERE ARE THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW ALL THE HISTORY BECAUSE IT WAS A
MOVEMENT THAT WAS TAKING PLACE IN MANY PARTS OF THE CITY AT ONE TIME. I AM HERE TO
GIVE MY PART OF THE STORY .AND I ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME. LIKE MY
GOOD FRIEND DURO ONCE TOLD ME. "YOU CANT CHANGE HISTORY. IT IS WHAT IT IS."
THOSE THAT WERE THERE REMEMBER IT LIKE IT WAS JUST YESTER DAY.
I FEEL ITS
TIME FOR THOSE THAT DIDN'T HEAR THIS PART OF OUR HISTORY TO LISTEN TO IT. LIKE I WANT TO HEAR THE PARTS THAT I WASN'T ABLE TO HEAR. DON'T YOU?
PEACE.
KEEP THE MOVEMENT ALIVE
CRIME79© forever
 For
more information on
CRIME 79 Click here
for his web site.
|
|
|
