Interview with $UPAKITCH _1__You're back from the Sonar festival in Barcelona. Have you discovered good music or artists there ? [supakitch] Puppetmastaz, a group of puppets very funky which were rapping on HIP-HOP/Electro sounds. I was really surprised... and I adore that. The idea is very good, they really are innovative, they bring something to hip Hop. They are so many interresting people at the Sonar, which is also very visual. The video live of “Moment Factory� on Bjork music was a good mix. During the sonar, I met some graffiti artists like PEZ,Chanoir, Birdie, El xupet, Ritmo.. we paint all together and it was great. Thank you ekosystem. _2__And did you enjoy the city ? [supakitch] Right ! I love this town, I feel free, you can paint outside in the center in a really good ambiance ! Also, If like me, you simply like to hang out in the streets, to observe, to chill, in barcelone, it’s so like that. It’s the city of the logo, any little shop has its logo. This city is full of charm, by his colors, his size, his geographic position, his culture, his weather... Spanish people are well known to be friendly and jovial fellow . there is always something to do, I think it’s a town where i’d love to live. 3__We know you mainly for your characters, but you also do that printed circuits. Can you tell us more about them ? [supakitch] I’ve always loved the support of printed circuit. I find it beautiful, for his matte rand for everything you can do with. This object is omnipresent in our lives, often hidden, it makes things for our better living, work . Nowadays, my printed circuits look like “telecran�, and it’s under that pseudo that I live through them. You can bring your telecran everywhere and draw with it. It really matches with the image i wanted to give to my circuits. A toy to use on my favourite playground, the streets and capacity to begin a propaganda counters media handling (like the advertizing for example) by putting in scene a robot, symbol of the toys and social "sheep". Because you are toys! At present I make really the distinction between my identity of Supakitch with my painting and my identity of Telecran with this support. Perhaps that a day these two styles will speak each other... _4__Where did the name Supakitch comme from ? [supakitch] Everything started in 1842, in a little street in Manhattan, it was around 3.56 PM when a huge octopus walk towards me. Coming up from a sewer, she had a ghettoblaster under her tentacle, a big spicy hotdog in the other, a pink ball of wool, in an another one and 3 pairs of nike air jordan on the other tentacles. She walked me with ... with a funny way, bah.. an octopus way and asked me if I’d seen a fox with a fridge on hisback ?!? I already felt that she wanted to bother me, so I smoked a big one on my blunt, picked up my supakrylon ... and Kitch in the eye !! _5__About your characters, they look like a little bit like the one Bando. Did a long time ago. I particularly think about 1tox magazine cover. Is it an influence to you ? [supakitch] Of course Bando is important in my graffiti culture, and I think that it’s a flattering comparison. At the time of this cover, I was quite young and so interrested by graffiti. To answer your question Eko, no I didn’t inspire from this. This little monster is born from my collection of toys and from hours in front of my TV, watching Dragon Ball and Hayaho Miyazaki’s movies from Ghibli Studios _6__Who were some of your earliest influences ? [supakitch] I think that my first influences come from the street. When I was younger, i used to draw punks I saw in the street, and also my toys or characters from cartoons... then I discovered graffiti and I became really fond of Typography, I then came to graphism and illustrations. _7__Whose work do you like at present ? [supakitch]In fact, I really appreciate many people’s work Koralie, Prayer, Gum, TT crew, Pez, Ekopez, La guibole, WK, Kaws, Obey Giant, East Erik, Zeus, Space invader, Sixe, La mano, 9e concept/109, Le cover, Above, 1980 crew..... I stop here but the list is long. But I’m sensitive to images in general. I appreciate many graphists/illustrators work (Designers Republic, Nando costa, Pictoplasma, 123 clan, Buro destruct, Lodown...), toy designers (Michael Lau, Eric So, Toy2R...), photographers (Lachapelle, Spencer Tunick, Natacha Meritt, Hazy...), tatoo artists (Chiken...), architects (Gaudi, Renzo Piano...), movie makers (Terry Gillian, Andrew Blake...) 8__Do you do any illustration or graphic design work ? [supakitch] Yes, I’ve been painting on urban advertising supports support since 2 years.I made a few exhibitions, and for the moment, the money I raised like that that helps me to pay the main elements to build my telecrans. After painting, there is graphism and disc covers. I love to work on sounds and meet people to express this way. Not long ago, I met Dj VINCIL from Toulouse, and ONLY A TASTE (an electro compilation from Montpellier). _9__I think it's not a secret that you live with Koralie who also paints. Do you often paint together ? [supakitch] Of course! As often as possible, I really like his little geisha and to paint with her. It’s so cool to share that with my girlfriend, it’s funny to make our characters live together. It’s another exercise i like. _10__What is the hottest thing in Montpellier right now - except you ? [supakitch] The sun _11__Every year there's a festival in Montpellier called "Attitude". Many graffiti artists were invited (André, La mano, Sixe, Zeus...) Is it something you wait every summer ? [supakitch] Yes, I think it’s good, for some reasons : you can see in the work in gallery of well known artists, to meet some, it’s makes things move in Montpellier. This year, I could see graffiti artists like Seak, Daim and Loomit , I really appreciated Seak’s work. 12__What was the first thing in your life that you remember being really passionate about ? [supakitch] To draw and my telecran !! I’ve always drew, it’s a passion for me that i’ll never lose. I’m born with, I’ll die with.When somebody offered me a telecran (I was a dwarf), I discovered an another way of drawing, more graphic. And it’s a toy quite perfect for me, i could bring everywhere, it has the size of a book, you can hide it in your school bag. It’s the ancestor of vector drawing, my first computer with illustrator. _13__What are you goals in graffiti ? Having fun, feeling free, my pleasure, to surprise people in the street, being surprised myself, to move, meet interresting people, share walls, ideas, to share, to chill in the streets, to observe, to act, to go over my limits, to create, to leave something, to discover new cities... graffiti is for me a way of life, when I walk in the streets, I cant help watching anyplace which is beautiful, where there would be a little tag behind a rain pipe or any place where I could put something, a telecran...I love that. Thats all. I like to satisfy my vices. _14__Do you have a new projects comming up soon that you can tell us about ? I work with Koralie on an art book since a few month, it’s an interresting project. I will talk a little more about that later, It’s still too early... _15__Any final comments ? " Toys are in the city. Let's play to graffiti !"
My name is Stak. I painted my 1st piece with Colorz in the late eighties in Paris suburbs. Till 1995, i’ve painted with the P2B & VAD. In 1995 i’ve completely stopped making classic graffiti. In that time i’ve started painting my 1st logos, it is also when i’ve painted for the 1st time a « block text ». A bit later i’ve kept on developping various work in urban space. More logo based work with a pictogram as a name. Today, i use writing again in my work. It is texts or words that i link to various elements in order to have several reading levels From your 1st letters with « spikes », you made an identifiable black shape with some of the characteristics of your spiky letters. Then you made that slogan serie « I’m a pleb baby !", "Most loved, Most hated", "Hardder dan Hâkkuh"... Do you know what will you do next ? Something new, or go deeply into the slogans ? Wow, you took a quick short-cut, i think !! From 1988 to 1995, i’ve painted in a « classic » way. In 1995 i’ve begun something different, i was fed up painting in a « traditional » way : it took me a lot of time, and i had no fun anymore. In that time, that’s right my letters were quite original. I was in a band (the P2B that was, not very into New York style. We were not interested into Hip-hop and all that things. We had a punk spirit, not hip-hop, and it could be seen in our graffiti. In that time it was pretty funny to do graffiti in a different way, something against the trend. I loved that time when everybody were pissing on our style (some people pretty famous have even said, that we « killed graffiti in Paris »… !!!) When all those guys started doing the same things as us, it was time to do something new. It was around 1995 that i developed my 1st logos, based on my letters. I went in abandoned places, and i painted there, not to destroy but with the aim to beautify. I worked with the space and about the space. It’s a bit later that i made my 1st block text « Working With ». Then from 1996 to 1998, i’ve only done pieces based on that logo i had created. I only made that, because it was the only thing that interested me. In 1998 when we started to make pieces in the street , there were the 1st operations against graffiti (massive buff) in Paris with Hnt & So.6. Consequently we had a very strong impact with all the graffiti buffed and with our super identifiable logos. Bit by bit i realised i was a bit a prisoner with this logo, i wanted to express things that i couldn’t. To only make logos didn’t bring me anything interesting. So i decided to bring back to text and to write slogans who deal with what i was living, about what i wanted to express. All my texts have a story. At this moment all my pieces deal with the « working-class », and « I’m a pleb baby » is a kind of reference-text. You know all my work is about a kind of rehabilitation of city discredited elements. Actually, what interest me today, is to take popular connoted icons and to bring them in a different context to change their image. To achieve that, i use all means necessary : video, neon tube, photography and of course text and language. About what will be my work next orientation , i’m quite interested in making motif. They allow me to develop my work in a different way…and for the future... who knows ? Do you have a conscious influence for your slogans : advertissement, other artists ? Is the choice of the "impact" font a matter of chance or is it deliberate? Yes indeed, i'm under influences, and i know where they are from. I like artists who work with language, the artists of the minimal art or conceptual artists. I like also those who are capable of using very few components in their work. I don't like decoration. At the same time, other worlds improve my work : publicity or fashion for instance... As for the "impact" font, it is a complete deliberate choice. "Impact" is the anti-decorative typo "par excellence", it is heavy, neutral, and i must confess that i like its "boorish" aspect. This is exactly what i want to express in my work and i like when the whole work is pure, without fuss nor ornaments. From september,19th, to october,15th, you'll exhibit in Bagnolet (Gallery (...) ) . Can you give us a foretaste of what we'll see there? Does the fact of being in a gallery mean that you have to sell pieces and that the wall, your usual medium, is now unsuitable? As i have always done, i will directly work upon the walls of both rooms. I'll show news pieces and olders ones. I don't want to give you more details, but, in addition to the customary "block texts", there also will be some "pattern", which is quite new for me. Moreover i will show two videos, from which one was especially realized for this exhhibition... In my opinion, the fact of working in a gallery is not necessarily synonymous with selling. That simply allows me to win a different audience and, at last, perhaps to be taken for serious. I have no work from studio, the only pieces that could make me earn money would be pieces made for me ( like the neon lightings for instance) or the drawings i make before my interventions. I don't necessarily consider the gallery as a place of business ( maybe this detail makes me differ from the majority of the street artists ) : i'm not ready to do anything for dough. The gallery space simply allows me to develop a work which takes place in the contemporary art freely and to present it to an experimented population. I want my generation to be recognized, and this could obviously realize through the gallery. I'm not against the fact of earning money provided to one's art, but i'm against the fact of making dough at any price. My stand is very simple : for me, to customize a pair of Nike shoes is not art, it is only an eye-catching business. I don't want that. You were the creator and editor in chief of WorldSigns. Five noticed issues were released . And then the venture reached its end. Was it because of differences concerning the editorial content or because of economical difficulties? WorldSigns was my artistic space, it was my gallery. It was a kind of platform which was allowing me to feature artists I wanted to support. This was a great experience. But at a certain point I felt bored of being only considered as a journalist ( a « maecenas ») or even as a public relations expert. Yeah, lots of events gave me the feeling it was time to stop. But above all, I wanted to focus on my own work. Take care of myself, this is what I am doing right now. While you are exposing, a book about your work is about to be released. What will be found inside ? Your last works, or older graffiti things? Olivier Stak, Selected Works, is a 64 pages selection of the most important stuff that I realized from 1988 to 2004 and that represent the most relevant as far as my work is concerned. Buy it, it will allow me to pay for new shoes at Vuitton's ... I feel it's important for you to be considered as a "real artist" , and not as a writer or even worse a graphic designer. Am I wrong? I don't bother being considered as a "real artist", I just want to be taken seriously. I am an artist working in areas linked with graffiti. Why calling me a "writerr" while I just paint walls twice a month, or "graphic-designer" while I am not working for any brand and i am my own boss. The word "artist" sounds better to me. It's also my full time job : I only do this and I am only willing to doing this. Are you still interested in graffiti ? (as a participant and as a spectator) Yes and no. Classic graffiti bores me, as much as street art does. There are a few people I am enjoying though, but hey I'm not spending days in yards & graffiti spots. You’ve been the Artistic Director. of Nusign 2.4. An exhibition in Paris gathering more than 40 « post-graffiti » artists. The exhibition shows many artists for the very first time in Paris, and has been appreciated. But it also has been pretty controversial. What’s the balance sheet look like ? I was not actually an « Artistic Director » of NuSign, i was just a simple consultant. My balance sheet ? It doesn’t change anything in my life. For some other, coming from nowhere but with a business plan in the head, it allowed them to meet people and get more opportunities. Anybody takes what he has to take… and the more you are hungry the more you get ! Some people think you are always bitching about commerce in relation to urban art and put yourself in interviews as a very moral person in relation to your art. How do you get your money. and if you get money thru your art, does it never brings you in conflict. how do you deal with that? Thanks for asking this question, i never had an opportunity to talk about this. First of all, i don’t want to be seen as a moralististic person. I don't want to be the one who give lessons, and i don’t claim to know the Truth. As said before my point of view is quite simple. I’m not against making money with your passion, your art, but we can’t do anything. I think that today, street-art is sadly being eaten by the « hype » and the business. I don’t agree with all this new hungry generation, who is ready to do for anything for « fame ». Honestly, i don’t see any interest in a customised sneaker exhibition. The only goal of this is to advertise for a company who doesn’t care about art. When the fashion will be over, there won’t be there anymore. What annoys me the most, is to be used by those big companies which claim they support artists. But it’s bullshit, they use the artists for business reasons. Artists don’t create in an artistic goal, but obey to their employee wishes. I’m not totally against working with companies, but i try to think about the impact it has on my own artistic work, and what does it really bring me. I don’t want money to interfere with my art. There was a time i have more or less do anything i had been offered. Now i regret some things i have done. Money and magazine articles are very attractive, but i wasn’t doing Art, i was just decorating products. Today i want to stay focused on my art and on what i want to express and not thinking about how to sell it. Nevertheless, i sometimes work with some companies, but i don’t want my work to be turned into a gimmick. I want that the pieces are related to my artistic work (that it is not a « gadget »). With Hnt and a few friends, you seem to be a small community sharing same esthetic tastes, very far away from hip-hop : with some particular clothing brands, a fascination for eastern-europe, for the abandonned and hard to access places… Absolutely, i’m more into Rotterdam Terror Corps than Wu-Tang, i prefer Fred Perry than Karl Kani, i like more Adidas than Nike, I love Champagne more than cheap wine. I have more fun in « Colette » parties than in « Nouveau Casino ». I prefer when it shines than when it stinks… though i also like a bit when it stinks ! Liza n'Elias, Manu le Malin , les Spiral Tribe or… Flamenco ? Tough question…any of this name coincides with a time in my life. But if i had to choose one, i would say Liza n’Elias for her crazy dj-sets and a bygone age. According to you who should i interview next for ekosystem ? You should interview someone with balls who is on the fringe of our scene, someone who doesn’t give a fuck about political correctness… Someone able to say what he loves and what he doesn’t in post-graffiti without thinking about opportunities he may lost for hurling abuse at some street-artists… It should be pretty fun. Any last word ? NO HAPPY SHIT !
antiks interviews rony hsa and then some pics of ronys work. [Broken External Image]:http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/453/ronyspotlightweb7lu.jpg [Broken External Image]:http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/8974/2ronywall3web7yr.jpg [Broken External Image]:http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/1082/rony2nd4165lv.jpg [Broken External Image]:http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/75/ronycausrbth0iv.jpg [Broken External Image]:http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/3453/torony0051qy.jpg [Broken External Image]:http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/5947/ronyrdtrnweb6nb.jpg [Broken External Image]:http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/2103/zeonreckaronyhope5jx.jpg
and skam hsa [Broken External Image]:http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/7613/skamspotlightweb0kv.jpg [Broken External Image]:http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/3928/1baconskamwall1web6ql.jpg [Broken External Image]:http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/8549/1skamwall1web6pr.jpg [Broken External Image]:http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/1246/teckskamthrowsweb8cr.jpg [Broken External Image]:http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/218/skamtrck9an.jpg [Broken External Image]:http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/2149/skamrenzephyrweb7vs.jpg [Broken External Image]:http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/9739/gemsthrowweb4as.jpg [Broken External Image]:http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/9870/2skamwall2web8jm.jpg
you're not being very responsable kay! misguideing kids like that...geez you're suposed to bite the 3rd rail
Thanks for that interview DIsposable hero. Skam is one of my favorite writers too along with seen and cope2. Im gonna try to get some of their interviews.
Thanks for that interview DIsposable hero. Skam is one of my favorite writers too along with seen and cope2. Im gonna try to get some of their interviews.
Seen is an icon in the graffiti world, he epitomizes the NY old school graf scene whilst still painting to this day. His latest exhibition illustrates with ease that he is not prepared to sit back on his considerable laurels and is still creating groundbreaking works. Non-graf heads just can’t understand the fondness verging on adoration graf-heads feel for Seen, he is featured heavily in both Subway Art and Stylewars: the 2 most referenced texts of graffiti history. I wasn’t surprised to see several London writers I knew before and after the interview, popping in to pay their respects, get their copies of Subway Art signed, just see the man himself on his first visit to the U.K. Damn it, I seriously felt honoured to be doing this interview… and I ain’t too proud to admit I brought my 15 year old copy of Subway Art to be signed too! LC: How long have you been painting? LC: What first inspired you to start painting graffiti, were you always an artist, were you always into art, even before graffiti? SEEN: I was always into drawing and into art, ever since I was Gods knows how small, I always had a pen, a pencil, markers or crayons in my hands, I was always drawing, water-paints, whatever my parents gave me to pacify me when I was a kid, I used. LC: It might be an impossible question, What’s your favourite piece you’ve ever painted? SEEN: Somebody else asked me that question, and it was kind of a tough question, but you know what it is? I have to say, probably my first piece I first painted on a subway car, it’s the most important one. If I had to giveaway my whole collection like I could only keep one, it would be that one; As messy and as sloppy as it might have been, it’s still my favorite, it’d be that one. LC: What line was it on? SEEN: It was on the 6 line, the Pelham line, they also call it the Lexington Avenue. LC: Do you still enjoy painting as much now, or do you feel jaded at all, do you still have the enthusiasm? SEEN: I’m still creating works, but the works have changed, this is like considered the ‘End of the Era’ this show, more or less, because this’ll be the last of the works like you see upstairs. The graf is still there but it’s more in the background, worked in the background, you have to read into the work to see it, it has moved a little bit on [Broken External Image]:http://www.ukhh.com/elements/graffiti/seen/seen01.jpg LC: Do you like seeing your work in a gallery environment or do you prefer seeing it in a street setting? SEEN: It’s 2 different ways there, more, it’s created a little bit different than on the streets now but still has the street influence involved in the work. But as far as the mindset, I always did I’ve always liked the streets because it was created for the streets - now it can kind of flip flop either way, on the street or inside, But I like to see it on the streets, more people get to see it, that’s important. LC: What do you find inspiring now, like when you’re painting something, what are you thinking, referencing in your head? SEEN: I like to see a lot of old and deteriorated things, like I’ll be walking down the street and I’ll see some rotted piece of metal and I’ll drag it all the way home. I think the brightness of things, the boldness, I did it so many years I just needed a flip and a change. Like those paintings over 15 blocks over there, you can see the deterioration of what they’ve become, I’m moving to the dark side now. [Broken External Image]:http://www.ukhh.com/elements/graffiti/seen/seen03.jpg Seen is an icon in the graffiti world, he epitomizes the NY old school graf scene whilst still painting to this day. His latest exhibition illustrates with ease that he is not prepared to sit back on his considerable laurels and is still creating groundbreaking works. Non-graf heads just can’t understand the fondness verging on adoration graf-heads feel for Seen, he is featured heavily in both Subway Art and Stylewars: the 2 most referenced texts of graffiti history. I wasn’t surprised to see several London writers I knew before and after the interview, popping in to pay their respects, get their copies of Subway Art signed, just see the man himself on his first visit to the U.K. Damn it, I seriously felt honoured to be doing this interview… and I ain’t too proud to admit I brought my 15 year old copy of Subway Art to be signed too! LC: How long have you been painting? SEEN: Graffiti wise, 32 years, since 1973. LC: What first inspired you to start painting graffiti, were you always an artist, were you always into art, even before graffiti? SEEN: I was always into drawing and into art, ever since I was Gods knows how small, I always had a pen, a pencil, markers or crayons in my hands, I was always drawing, water-paints, whatever my parents gave me to pacify me when I was a kid, I used. LC: It might be an impossible question, What’s your favourite piece you’ve ever painted? SEEN: Somebody else asked me that question, and it was kind of a tough question, but you know what it is? I have to say, probably my first piece I first painted on a subway car, it’s the most important one. If I had to giveaway my whole collection like I could only keep one, it would be that one; As messy and as sloppy as it might have been, it’s still my favorite, it’d be that one. LC: What line was it on? SEEN: It was on the 6 line, the Pelham line, they also call it the Lexington Avenue. LC: Do you still enjoy painting as much now, or do you feel jaded at all, do you still have the enthusiasm? SEEN: I’m still creating works, but the works have changed, this is like considered the ‘End of the Era’ this show, more or less, because this’ll be the last of the works like you see upstairs. The graf is still there but it’s more in the background, worked in the background, you have to read into the work to see it, it has moved a little bit on. LC: Do you like seeing your work in a gallery environment or do you prefer seeing it in a street setting? SEEN: It’s 2 different ways there, more, it’s created a little bit different than on the streets now but still has the street influence involved in the work. But as far as the mindset, I always did I’ve always liked the streets because it was created for the streets - now it can kind of flip flop either way, on the street or inside, But I like to see it on the streets, more people get to see it, that’s important. LC: What do you find inspiring now, like when you’re painting something, what are you thinking, referencing in your head? SEEN: I like to see a lot of old and deteriorated things, like I’ll be walking down the street and I’ll see some rotted piece of metal and I’ll drag it all the way home. I think the brightness of things, the boldness, I did it so many years I just needed a flip and a change. Like those paintings over 15 blocks over there, you can see the deterioration of what they’ve become, I’m moving to the dark side now. LC: Do you go to exhibitions yourself, of non-graffiti art? SEEN: Yes, I do. I go to all different walks of life, whether living or dead people, I like to see, at one time I never used to look at anything, just the idea that things puts an idea in your head so you could do something that had been done before but now I think itsa good thing to look out there. There’s all sorts of different styles out there and I never really realised that. I’ve got all sorts of art books, ones I’ve never opened, I go to Barnes & Noble all the time and buy all sorts of books. LC: Are there any artists out there at the moment whose work you like? SEEN: Today I like a lot of these up and coming people that are out there that I like to see, a lot of U.S. people that you probably don’t even heard of these people. there’s a Jeff (?) It’s a beautifully amazing stuff, It’s all oils, I wish I could even describe it, it’s street related but he’s not a street artist. Old Masters, like Picasso, I love to see their works, I like to see the changes they made over the years like when they first started they may have been painting people like in a normal fashion then (gestures) to the other side. That type of stuff I really really like, and that’s what I’m trying to do, not the old over and over. [Broken External Image]:http://www.ukhh.com/elements/graffiti/seen/seen04.jpg LC: What do you think of the new generations of artists that use stencils and stickers instead of spraycans? SEEN: I think that’s just another form of getting your name or your subject up where people get to see it. Graffiti, as we know from the spray can days, is basically about getting your name up and people getting to see it. Like they scratch the windows now, it’s just another form of, way of doing it, the cave men had hammers and chisels, rocks and chisels, like engraving. It’s good because it shows different directions, different paths down the road, it shows their not just trying to do the same thing as the spraycan days, but it is the same. [Broken External Image]:http://www.ukhh.com/elements/graffiti/seen/seen05.jpg LC: What do you think of U.K graf? SEEN: I see magazines like all around the world, photos of what did exist, over the course of time. This trip, it’s very minimalized, As far as I’ve seen in photographs in the past, New York is the same way now too it’s very limited. LC: Whose lettering style have you really liked, whose was memorable? SEEN: It’s a legible lettering style, with a little twist of wildstyle, but still legible. I was influenced by Fade (??) 167, whose idea was much like mine was, to do a readable wildstyle and that’s what he was doing back in the days. LC: Now, I’m sorry because you must have been asked this so many times, but why SEEN:? SEEN: It was just a time where people would pick names, whether they were graffiti artists or just people who wanted to scribble their names. So I just picked a name and it kind of worked for me in the end because it’s all about being seen, to be seen, it was just a fluke it worked out; And believe me having 2 E’s next to each other. Really wasn’t that easy to work with. But it’s the name that I chose. LC: Now my last question is, what is your favourite colour, ever? SEEN: Green, to get deeper: it’s a Rustoleum colour called Cascade Green, a kind of 1950’s green, kind of pastel, it’s hard to find that colour. 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This is not an interview but its the biography of cope2. (thats all i could find) Cope 2 True Legend Bio.. The beginning… I was born in the South Bronx. The home, the motherland, the Mecca of hip hop. I started writing graffiti back in 78-79. Influenced by my cousin Chris. He tagged Chico. He wasn’t a huge writer, just a local. I remember him always having a huge marker called a Pilot. He always had it in his draw. At times I would take it when he wasn’t home, go under the stairs or the rooftop of my grandmothers building and just tag my nickname (Nano). Then in 79-80 my cousin took me on the subways. The 4 train was in my neighborhood. I remember taking the back car from Mosholou Parkway to the last stop (Woodlawn Rd). As soon as the doors would close he would make sure the last car was empty and just start tagging all over the train. On the ceilings, the doors even the subway maps. I remember seeing other tags on the insides. Writers like Ban2, 2Rape, Ojab, Die, Lie, Duro, Dondi, Duel, Base2, Zephyr, Fuzz one, just to name a few. My mother and I traveled quite a bit on the subways and I was always looking at the outsides, seeing huge names really blew my head. The writers I remember were Fritos, Mark198, Dr. Pepper, Killer56, Comet, Blade, Popeye, Tracy168, Deli167 (who was Ban2), Lee, Seen, Pjay, P-nut2, Medisco92 and my idol Mitch77. That’s what really inspired me to get deeper into graffiti. I lived on Dekalb ave. and the kids on my block were all writing. There was Kop, 2Bang, Sofe, Piz, 2Sweet, 2Go & Rop. Then you had TSR (The Squad Rockers) down the block, Soe, 3D, Al, Duel, Harm187 & Coe. I always had drama with these punks. They always tried to jump me. Until I beat down Duel and Coe. You also had The MG Boys, Jem, Jay, Mark198, Dee3, Russ75, Mite, Rust, Cuda & Kit17. These guys always had huge pieces in all the school yard walls. One piece I loved was this fat P-nut2 in JHS 80. P-nut2 had fame on the Welcome Back Kotter show, so that inspired me but Mitch77’s Tue burners and straight letters on the 4 line really inspired me. Man his style was ill. The best at the time. The first time I went to the writers bench at 149st Grand Concourse, I met Bear167, Gman, Smiley149, Ban2, Tye, Lane, Post, Or2, Rex167, Lie and many other writers. It was crazy seeing all these whole cars roll by. With burners by Dez, Shy147, Skeme, Kel1st, Cos207, Case2 & Tkid. I mean whole car burners after whole car burners. That was also deeply inspirational. I’m thank GOD for blessing me. To live it believe me it was a blessing. While going to the 4 yard I met a lot of writers. I met Trap and Rip7. Later Rip7 taught me how to break dance and Trap and I became pretty tight. By then I was also writing Cope2. It was a name that my best friend gave me. He used to write Kope and The 2 I got from Ban2, cause he was the king of the insides. I remember several writers writing “King�. I wondered why, so I asked Trap why so many writers wrote “King�. Trap told me that it meant that you claimed this line like a King. That meant you had the most tags on the insides or throw-ups, burners and blockbusters on the outsides. So I said Hmmm, that’s a challenge. I early 82 I started my own crew KD (Kids Destroy). The crew was Kope who later became AM1, Spel, Reo, Milt, Skeet R.I.P., Kie R.I.P. (GOD bless their souls and thanx you both for the memories, good and bad, they will be cherished till my last breathe, see you at the crossroads) and Ston3. We started to rock the 4 line. My man AM1 quit after getting busted on the Kingsbridge lay-ups one afternoon, Sofe and I got away. Kie and Ston3, kinda got into chilling and smoking blunts. Me, Spel and Reo started rocking a lot of silver whole cars and burners on the 2’s and 5’s. Ston3 and I kinged the insides of the D’s in 82, then moved on to the 1’s. At one point we killed all city rack spots, hardware stores & Martin Paint stores in Yonkers & White Plains. It was paradise. I loved it. But Spel and Reo kinda died out and I moved on to destroy the lines. During that time, I had a couple of partners… Trace2 & Keep, then I met Cone, Ley, Race5, Melo (TNF crew The Nations Freshest). Cone, Ley and I did a couple of cars, but by late 82’ early 83’, I was King of the 4 line. I mean I destroyed it. Writers like Mitch77, Ban2, and Blade also killed it. I remember Blade living on my block. I always saw him cleaning his car, coolin with Maze and Dolores. Man Blade put the smack down on the 4 line, with blockbusters. Spin TFS also King’d the 4 line. I loved his simple styles with the white highlights. But Delta2 and Sharp murdered the 4 line. They made me step up my game. The insides were getting killed by Sash, Des & Pate and that was after Rex167, Cep and Trap Kinged the insides. You also had Duel, Warring with Ban2. It was ill. I then went on to other lines. As I moved on to the 2’s and the 5’s, which were getting painted white at the time. It began a new era for me. Cone TNF & I started to destroy the line. Cone worked in a Bodega up near the Bronx Park East station. Cap MPC and the MPC crew would go into the bodega to buy 12 packs of beer. When Cap met Cone, he asked Cone if he could meet me. It was an honor to know that Cap wanted to meet me. I had heard many stories about Cap… How he chased my boy Swan3 with a machete and that Cap would go to the yards with a pump shot gun and just seeing how he destroyed the subways going over everybody. It was kinda ill. I told Cone, "cool I’ll meet him. " As I met Cap, I also met Rook, Caban, Pove, Dose, Flint, Rock161 and Doc. It was phat meeting these guys. Cap and I kinda clicked. He would talk about some of the bombs he did. It was just ill coolin with Cap. Then one day he gave me a throw-up outline and I just rocked it. (This is the throw-up I use today) Watching him have wars with writers like Quik, Sach, Duro, Dondi and Min RTW was ill. (I loved Min RTW’s NE throw-ups. That kid is the real “True legend�) I then got down with MPC, that’s when things shit got crazy for me. As soon as I started hooking up MPC, I got dogged by Duro, Plus, Min, Roni, Second, Kilo and a bunch of other writers. This was going on as I was having a war with Neo, Nog, Rec127, Ghost and the RIS crew. I was loving it, till that day I was bombing the 4 line lay-ups and I ran into Swan3, Booze, Rac7 and Tkid. Tkid pulled out a bat and swung that shit at my head. Quick and Tkid told me to stay out of the Ghost yard with that MPC shit. They also said to tell Cap the same. So I did… Then there was a showdown at Fashion Moda in the Bronx. Cap stepped to Tkid on the Ghost yard issue. Then shit got crazy. Cap and Tkid got into a big fight. Some people say Cap won, some say Tkid won. Who knows and who cares. Tkid gets props for being the only writer to fight Cap. I kept bombing, but I was getting a lot of my shit dissed because of MPC. So I stopped repping the crew. It was nothing personal toward Cap, I just had to look out for myself. I guess Cap took it the wrong way and got pissed, cause before you knew it the whole MPC crew was going over me. By that time Cone and the TNF crew had quit. So Pove and I started killing shit. He didn’t get involved with all the drama, cause he was down with MPC. Plus he was busy repping his crew GU (Graffiti Unlimited). Pove was a cool cat. He had the 2’s and the 5’s locked down. Seen and Blade were also killing the white trains. They were the first to smack them with huge flat black, fat cap tags on all the panels. This was in late 82’ early 83’. Towards late 84’ early 85’ writers like Dero, Wane, Sento, Key, MK, Wips, Wen, Cav, Jase & Poem were killing the lines with silver and colored whole cars, while I was killing it with throw-ups. You also had TAT’s cru. They had been rockin whole cars out there since 83’. Tkid, Bio, Mack, Cem2, Kenn, Raz, Shame125 & Brim were pulling off some of the fattest whole cars at the time. Right around that time I met a dude that wrote Quick. Not the original RTW Quik, but a guy I met through Pove & Sept. Quick and I became tight and became partners. People were buggin how I was writing with this other Quick. But he was a real nigga and that’s all the matters to me. We also both had drama with Med and Fayde. He was bombing highways, so I got into bombing highways. Then I showed him how to hit the subways and we rocked the 2’s and the 5’s, they were good times I had with Quick. You know come to think of it I had drama with everyone back then. I remember these two crazy mother fuckers from Hunt’s Point called 3Cee & Drift TSU. Them niggas hated me. I also had all the new MPC writers Elf, Ed, Echo, Not & Mazz going over me. It was wild but I was still on top. I remember Trim KD. That was a wild nigga, crazy and he was hilarious. I had new niggas down with KD at the time. Saze, Alroc, Part5, Vine R.I.P., Rea, Just (the real Just) and 100’s of other writers. All this looking back reminds me of my nigga Nic NST R.I.P., we used to puff blunts till our heads popped. We did acid, dust, cocaine. I did it all boyee. 81’-85’ were the golden years. The Fun House & Roxy’s it was banging. Then in 1985 Pjay was released from prison. He and SeenUA went on a rampage, smacking the 6 line, then the 2’s and the 5’s, they even smashed the 1 line. They were just going over all my shit. So that started some real shit. I had always respected those guys. Then they started a crazy war. It was fun. The only thing was by that time the train era was dieing. Sho, Dome and DC3 TDC crew were rocking the 2’s and the 5’s towards the end. The silver bullets were coming in and all the old trains were on the way out. The CC’s, J’s and M’s were the last trains left. Saze, Even, Med KBK and I started to smash what was left. At the time the real Kez, Raze, and Seze were killing it while having a war with JA. And other writers like the Dole, Suey Rab and Den CAC crew, Chino BYI, Ghost, Trim TNC and Tekay were hitting the last of the graffiti trains. By 88’ the subway graffiti era was dead and 100’s of writers that had been writing since day 1 kinda quit and just disappeared. Some got into positive things, some got into drug selling and some got into using drugs, some went to prison and some passed away… I went through my own dramas in life, but I always kept on writing. Then writers like Lilman, Moster, Arise, Crises, Bio & Lase were smacking gates. But it was Eaze, Joz & Josh5 who really took it to another level. These guys hit every single gate through out the city. Joz and Eazy were the original street bombing kings. So I got into bombing the streets. I then became tight with writers like Pjay, Med, Rob and many, many more… I have bombed and had war with the best… Cap, Pjay, Seen, Joz, Bom5, Easy, Delta2, Trap, Ja, Json, Pove, Dero, Ghost, Ivory, Flite and many more. In the late 80’s and early 90’s I got into painting permission walls. A lot of writers were getting into permission walls. Getting into productions was kinda cool, you know getting older and maintaining a family, doing legal walls was a lot less stressful. But I still did illegal shit here and there. I mean subways are in my blood, I was hitting them from time to time. In 1993 Per FX and I went all city with throw-ups. I had been rocking the city with tags. Then I started rocking pieces on walls with my man Jez. Threw the 90’s I painted some of the best productions in New York, with the best crews… TATs, UW, COD & FC which has been around since 82 and which I am honored to represent today. Some of the FC members like West, Psycho & Dash are the realest people I have ever met. I have also painted with the FX crew, one of the best in the late 90’s. Through my life as a graffiti artist I’ve had some of the best partners… Spel, Cone, Delta2, Pove, Quik KD, Saze, Jez, Nic NST, Trim KD, Trap, Dero, Pjay, Ovie, Quest KD, Need, Per, Tkid, Muse, Ivory (who is a real nigga) & Key just to name a few. I have also influenced 100’s of writers, even my younger brothers Deso wrote Skep for many years but really never got into graffiti. He’s more into the rap element of the hip hop scene. My younger brother Jee had more love for graff. He even has his own crew which he started with his partner Spek. Spek idolized me very much. So I took him under me wing and showed him how to become a God Of Destruction in the same way Cap & Pjay showed me. But in this hateful, disgusting, evil world we live in, Speks life was cut short. I’ve lost a lot of friends and family through the years but losing a person like Spek was and still is a very deep scar in my heart. I will cherish every second and moment I ever had with him. He will always be missed and he will always be in our hearts. GOD bless your soul Tim, I love you little brother... Rest in peace…. Some of my accomplishments and future plans… In 1999-2000 Abstract Video produced one of the best and purest graffiti video documentaries of all times. “Cope2 Kings Destroy� this video rocked and shocked the entire world. It was a masterpiece. The video has some of the greatest rappers of all time… Fat Joe, KRS1, Flava Flav, Rakim & Kool Herc and writers like Seen, Pjay, JA, Json, Tkid, Ces, Chino, Daze, west, Flite, Per, Ivory, Ban2, Ink76 and many more. It’s a must own for graffiti artist. It was an amazing adventure filming the documentary. I’m very thankful to Tommy Marron & Philip Thorn for creating the video, which is also going to be released on DVD soon, with new footage. Be on the look out. I have also stepped into the Gallery scene. I’ve done back drops for rappers videos like KRS1, Beinie Seigal, Master Ace and several more. I’ve done work for a new graffiti game on play station… I have my own sneaker design for Converse which will be out in late 2004… I also have one of the best graffiti books ever. “Cope2 True Legend� is 275 full color pages. Now this book is graffiti at it’s purest, thanks to Nic at “righters.com� and Orus (R.I.P. it was a blessing having you in my life GOD bless your soul) for publishing the book. I’m also working on a Cope2 doll… Graffiti has helped me travel to Los Angeles, Spain, Madrid, Germany, Paris, Chicago, Ohio, Puerto Rico and a few other places. Thanks and shout outs… I’m blessed with 2 beautiful children Chulo my son who is 18 now and Vanessa my daughter who is 16. You are my heart and soul, the life blood that flows though my body. Live life to the fullest but always be aware of the hate and foolishness in life. I am blessed to have 3 of the greatest brothers in life Deso, Jee and Jeremy. I will always cherish, respect and honor you. To my Pops Fernando Carlo whom always taught me to be strong in life no matter what, to never let anything bring you down, even in defeat you still hold your head up high… To my mom I love you and I honor your strength. Be strong till the end. To Fusy: Thanks for all the good years and I am so deeply sorry for all the bad times. I will always hold dear everything that you have done for me. I will never find another woman like you… GOD bless you. To my family: my grandparents, uncles, aunts, my niece Ashley (GOD bless your gorgeous thing) you are all in my heart. And to all my niggas… I mean the real niggas, you know who you are. I love you all… To my brothers that have passed: You will always be in my heart… GOD bless your souls… There’s more to come. By the grace of GOD it aint over… I’m coming full force baby, it’s on… so watch out all you haters… Cope2 Most Popular Creation, God of Destruction forever crushing, Killa Dogs, The Nasty Boys, Too Fuckin Popular true legend status.
3RD RAIL, n. - The third rail is the rail that supports weed to the trains on the transit systems. If you bite it you will get a great high.