(Interview by J. Donaghy)
Bombing Science: Start off with the basics. What do you write? What crews are you up with? Where are you based/where are you from? How long you been in the game?
Perve1: I write Perve1 and I’m down with TM7, KAOS INC, UPS, PFE, YNN….and a few others. I’m from the dirt dirty south ATL, GA! But I’m originally from Rhode Island. I’ve been writing since the early 90’s but started taking it more serious about 96.
BS: How did you get started writing? What keeps you inspired?
P: I got started writing in Providence, RI. There used to be this bridge that had alot of big names from RI there and would get painted weekly. Me and my boy Dek used to go down there and get our minds blown away cause we thought right off the bat that the shit was fresh! We wanted to know how to do that shit. We tried and boy we sucked.
What keeps me inspired is seeing new work out there and also up and coming kids that take it serious and won’t be doing it for 4 months and be out. Some of these new kids keep you on our toes and push you to do better and get up more.
BS: So you’re one of the biggest ups in Atlanta right now, how much time do you put into that?
P: I go bombing a few times a week. Whatever morning I don’t have to get up to go to work you’ll find me out there.
BS: Someone from outta town comes to Atlanta, how are you showing them a good time in your city?
P: Whenever I get a guest in town I’ll definitely take ’em to the Clairmont Lounge(if ya don’t know, ask somebody!). Strip clubs, bars, etc…ATL’s strip club capital son!! Do a bridge spot or two…and if that certain guest does illegal shit we’ll do a spot or two depending on how long they’re here. Plus we smoke…ohhhh boy do we!!! Right Jick?? Haha…
BS: So you cover all the angles pretty well, but at this point what do you prefer, bombing or piecing?
P: Right now I prefer bombing. Just the mode I’m in. When it starts gettin’ nice again I might start piecing again, but bombin’ is so much more fun. There’s definitely more fun stories of bombing then piecing ya know?
BS: How has graffiti positively influenced your life?
P: Graffiti hasn’t really positively influenced my life. I’ve been busted a bunch, beat up, hit by cars. I have been fortunate enough to do some backdrops for some hip hop videos down here and also have met a lot of really great people where if I didn’t do graff I would have never met. Some of those who became my best friends. So I guess there is some positive coming out of graff.
BS: What’s up with that story about you getting hit by a car?
P: The car story eh? Where do I begin or remember?? Well it was about 4-6 years ago. My boy Revise from Chicago was in town and my boy Wage had a dope keg party we were all at. So our drunk asses decided to go bombing. Great idea. So it was me, Revise, Quest, Host, and Wage (if I’m missin’ someone it was the head injury). We were gonna hit this highway spot off of 85 south. When I say I was hammered, that’s an understatement. The wall we were doing was up a level so I dropped down to the highway itself and proceeded to do 3 filled in straight letters. Little did I know in my stupor that someone had called the cops and there was a cop 2 inches from my legs, parked on the side of the highway!! After I finished the forcefield on the last straight letter I looked to my right and saw him and bounced across the highway. I remember looking back and seeing him chase me then I turned back around and this car hit me in between the drivers side mirror and the left side of the front of the car. Which made me slide head face first on the highway (car kept going btw). Next thing I remember I’m waking up in an ambulance on the way to Grady hospital. To top it all off the cop that handcuffed me to the hospital bed said I didn’t have to wait there and gave me a card with a court date on it. So me and my lady leave and at 9am in the morning there’s a knock on my door. Its 2 sheriffs saying that I didn’t get processed last night and they gotta take me to go get processed. All fucked up…when I say the whole front of my body was skinned, believe it. I got pics to show it too. The straight letters last 3 days. Don’t go bombing drunk…lesson learned.
BS: I heard you were working on an Atlanta graffiti documentary. What’s going on with that?
P: Me and my boy Viels have been doing this, working on this video for a longtime now, it’s gonna be a double dvd. The 1st disc is gonna be all atlanta graff. You name it, they’re in it. The 2nd part is our travels around the US and Canada. We got people like Kem/Ges/Ryno/Cope/Ovie/ITD doing freights out of Boston, Hawaii, Cali, New York, New Jersey, CT. You name it, they’re in the video or haven’t been filmed yet. Shit’s gonna be fresh!! Interviews with DK, SBone, WEB1, TOTEM, etc. Don’t wanna let to much out the bag ya know!!?
BS: Rackin’? Buyin’? Scammin’?
P: I rack and scam shit. Times are tough…ballin’ on a budget!!
BS: What do you do in your freetime?
P: In my freetime I’m looking for spots to paint, hang with friends, work on the video. I’ve only got one day off a week so not to much freetime.
BS: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever witnessed?
P: I’ve witnessed a lot of crazy shit. Anyone that goes thru the hood in the middle of the night has seen some wild shit. Off the top of my mind tho…me and my boy Vomet were doin’ a spot one night when we saw this van go by like 3-4 times. We chilled for a sec then kept doing our thing. We hear a car coming so we lay low but the car never came by. We peak around the corner and the car is sittin’ in the middle of the street like 30 ft from us. All of a sudden the car starts goin real fast at us then turns its wheel and goes right thru a fuckin’ store front!! 4 dudes hop out and start grabbin’ clothes from inside the store haha. Me and Vomet are lookin’ at each other like is this really happening? So we stand lookin’ at each other, me and Vomet and 30ft away are four dudes with arms full of clothes. We all look at each other and then we all go in separate directions. Was crazy funny!! There was a string of smash and grabs goin on in the A at the time.
BS: What can you say to the up and coming writers?
P: To the up and coming writers, just learn the history of graff first before you even touch a can. After you learn the history, start learning the history of where you’re at so you don’t go over some legendary shit. When you start, it takes time and patience to get better. In graff, respect goes a long way in this game. Don’t get a big head either cause there’s always someone that’ll burn you out there. Learn to take criticism.
BS: In your opinion, what other writers in Atlanta are worth checking out?
P: Some heads out in the a-town that I look at are Kaos inc crew, Totem2, SBone, this up and comer “knife” does his thing. Be on the lookout for this cat. Isto and the AKB cats. Whoever keeps atlanta’s illegal shit going keep going at it!!!
BS: Last words?
P: Peace to all my TM7’S across the map!! Themo, Acet, Web, Wiot (RIP), Omen (RIP), Viels (best friends fo life), Ser2, Rath, Aboves, Jaes (my brother), Enzo, Mes2, Stem, Bies, Goser, and everyone that I’ve crossed paths with. Nothing but love for ya!!!
Thanks to Perve for taking the time to do this interview. Keep doin’ big things. Thanks to Brooke Novak and Nick Allin for the photos.