Welcome, welcome Bombers. This time around we have TIPER from Dirty Jerz here with us.
What’s up Tiper. It isn’t too often that we get a Jersey writer…What part of New Jersey are you from?
Cough up a lung where I’m from ” EASTWICK,” son (lol) also known as Elizabeth, New Jersey. Just a regular city, I would have to say; crime, violence, ghetto things, dirty politics, crooked cops, but all in all cool. Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad. I wouldn’t have it no other way cause it made me so shout to my EASTWICK fellas.
Elizabeth, NJ on the Bombing Science map! Tiper, how did you get into graffiti?
If I remember correctly, I had a few friends who started writing and I was the only uncool kid who wasn’t doing it.
Peer pressure to be cool.
Yeah, so they help me get a name and once I had a name, I bombed often, riding my bike in the middle of the night. As a teenager, those were the golden years of my career. So much good graffiti around Jersey at that time it made it hard to be a toy. Hahaha!
You get to graduate from “toy” status early in Jerz. Good to know. Lol. What inspired the letters in “TIPER?”
Well after a year of toy bombing, I started writing a ghost name. I’m into cars and racing etc. Thus came the name “TYPE-R” I eventually changed the “Y” into “I” took out the “–” before the “R” and there you have it “TIPER” from a toy to a man.
Got you. Changing that “Y” to an “I” and poof! You all grown up! What crews do you push?
Well, I pushed a lot of crews through out the years, but at this part of my life I’m really against crew drama so if I push a crew.
Always drama, huh?
Nothing like NYC, but yeah. It’s more than that, it’s usually people I hang with or people I grew up with. Anything I push is more than a crew. So with that being said it goes: MHS: Must Have Style, DNA: Destination Not Available, and the main thing I push now is AYAK: And You Already Know! This crew is the most important cause it’s a movement among the hip-hop culture and really is a underground staple in the game consisting of Graff, DJing ,Emceeing, Breaking, Fashion and the culture as a whole.
Wow! That’s what’s up. Do you fall into any of those other categories?
I’m just a writer in AYAK for like 15 years. Since I was a teen.
Ok. Ok. For you, what’s the difference between Jersey graff and NYC graff?
New York is overpowered with bombers. It’s kind of hard to be a piecer cause it’s like if you go over someone’s tag with a piece, they go over you with a fill.
No truer words. I’m surprised there’s any silver or white left in the city. “You went over me? Word, now I’m taking out all your shit. Watch.” Can’t count how many times I’ve heard that in variations.
Lol and Jersey has more of a mixed basket of bombers, and piecers with a little in-between. Newark and Jersey City have a strong cleaning crew, but a lot of Jersey is in contact with one another, just supporting each other. I also feel with all the beef that goes on in NYC, it really effects the growth of anyone trying to get into piecing, but then again NYC has a number of guys doing it through all the bullshit. It’s really survival of the fittest but for both states. I feel it’s turning in the right direction…I hope lol.
Wait so you’re telling me you dont think 40+ years old writers should have beef? Are you sure? It’s not like it’s embarrassing for grown ass men to be fighting.
LOL. Hopefully it’s turning in the right direction.
Fingers crossed. Tell us your craziest graff story?
I have a few but I remember when we were painting some freight lines and we were on the upper part, but still can be seen from the street and I hear a car door slam so I look over and two plainclothes jerkoffs jump out a tinted Chevy Lumina and tried ambushing us so I tell everyone and take off running. Of course, we run separate ways and just my luck they chase towards me. I slide down a rock hill, scrape myself, hop a fence, get cut and scuffed up now I’m on the main ave so I double back through the yards towards the direction they just chased me from I end up in a strangers basement. I tell them I was running from the cops and they pull me inside and close the doors. Thank God they were Puerto Rican! Later on I met up with my boys and found out they walked down with all their paint calmly cause they only chased after me so I lost my paint and got scraped up, but at least I didn’t go to jail. Hahaha!
At the very least. How important is lettering and how did you perfect your skill?
I think graff lettering is the equivalent to a lyrical emcee in hip hop. Without bars, you suck so without letters you suck. What are you really bringing to the game? Those recycled styles and letters that we all seen? I feel too many writers get credit and props for something that has been done before or is familiar to us all why aren’t we pushing the limits doing things outside the box and really challenging ourselves to do something different? Is it people are afraid to do something there not use to? I don’t know, but same pieces in different colors is wack to me. As for my own skill set, I think it’s a evolution. I never stop, I never settle, I’m never satisfied, there is always room for growth and ways to recreate and reinvent…that’s why everything I do is different. I have no limit.
Tools of the trade, of course- paint and markers. Favorite brands of paint?
Depending on what and where but I paint with any and everything lately i have been stacking Ironlak. It’s what I have the most of at the moment and since the colors have expanded most recently. Besides that they are the most affordable, since I buy more than I have ever racked. I go with Ironlak at this point
What are your favorite markers?
I’m a old school “Pilot” guy, but lately I used Molotow and the Ironlak markers are pretty impressive with the color matches to paint and detail on a larger scale . It makes it 100% easier to do the larger projects with the fine lines.
Ultimate goal in graff?
I really have no idea, I would love to paint globally meet cool and good people maybe meet a few normal graffiti writers (1 in a million chance) do some historic walls, but for now I’m just winging it whatever comes my way and is positive I will be gracious and grateful.
If you could meet one graffiti artist, living or dead, who would it be?
I respect everyone who came before me, but at this point I met a lot of writers so I don’t care for meeting anyone new. A lot of writers are weirdos, but me being a straight Jersey writer, I would definitely love to see what a new Nace and Rime collaboration would’ve looked like one last time.
What do you think about street art vs. graffiti?
This is like the worst time for a graff writer even though it looks like it’s coming back around. First off, I respect talent and originality, I hate street art that mimics Basquiat, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol and anyone’s original art for that matter. A lot of copy cat/imitation going around and now you have these “art curators” who don’t do art, but they use and exploit people’s ideas then they get all the walls and all the money. Its quite sickening. It’s sort of what happened in the early graffiti days with the subway artists. I have learned in street art and in graff there are always “culture vultures” around, but for the real ones the ones who last and stick around those are the ones that are true to it. Like with hip hop, times have changed and for my real writers who are savvy, we will adapt survive and continue to make our own lane. The strong will survive.
We live it. We breathe it . Tiper_1
Agreed on all points. Don’t breathe too much of it without a ventilator mask, you know, because of those chemicals and all that.
Word.
Thanks homie. Talk soon.
