Ouch DDS 1T Exclusive Interview @ The Strictly London Bound Blog!

Ouch DDS 1T Exclusive Interview @ The Strictly London Bound Blog! The blog features London Graffiti History, Photos & Hip-Hop stuff Check it out here

TBF NEVER STOP BOMBING Tee available NOW!

TBF NEVER STOP BOMBING Tee available NOW!
Very limited edition Tee available NOW here
Available exclusively in Chrome & Black

Check out The Buff Fails Blog here

New "Paris City Graffiti" Book Out Now!

PARIS CITY graffiti - 35.00€
300 pages and about 2,200 photographs entirely devoted to Paris and its suburbs.
Love, passion, sharing and creativity have been the key words in the creation of this book, just like what comes from graffiti productions.


http://pariscitygraffiti.com

The Kool Skool's Shucks One Interviews South London Graffiti Legend Char DTB (Rare From 2004)

Tkow/Char 2010
The Kool Skool's Shucks One Interviews South London Graffiti Legend Char DTB Rare From 2004


To read, click on image & zoom




Tkow 2009


The Interview originally featured in Undercover Issue 12 July 2004

MOAS - Monsters Of Art "20 Years Of Havoc" Book OUT NOW By From Here To Fame

Monsters Of Art
Europe’s most notorious train crew, Monsters Of Art, celebrates 20 years of train havoc. From Here To Fame Publishing honor their anniversary with a monster edition of ON THE RUN. Join us for a rare and privileged glimpse into the unruly world of MOAS. With over 200 pages that detail MOAS’s history and unique crew concept, along with classic tales from the train yard, including great escapes, writer beef, legendary busts, extreme graffiti feats, trains, trains and more trains. This is a must-have for all diehard fans of train graffiti.


MOAS blasted onto the Copenhagen scene in 1991. Once they had Denmark locked down, MOAS expanded through a series of high profile, international affiliations to become omnipresent in Denmark, Europe and now the world. Their infamous working methods have become the standard for those daring to compete. Many have attempted, but most fail. For those willing to try, be warned, they are ruthless inside and outside the yard, so proceed with caution.


MOAS—20 years on the run and still going strong. Don’t listen to the rumors; get the story direct from the source.
Special edition with 224 pages!
More info here

06th May 2011 - Berlin
20 Years MOAS Crew Anniversary Book Release Party & Exhibition
DJ Quincy Million (QMS Crew)
DJ Dejoe (Born2Roll)
7pm Start @ Common Ground Gallery
www.commongroundgallery.de

224 full color pages & 550 photos & illustrations
ISBN Paperback: 978-3-937946-68-9
Price Paperback: 14,95 €
From Here To Fame
Yo Zeb Rock!

The Universal Zulu Nation UK Documentary Film Screening 2010 HIP-HOP History Month *Update*

(Left to Right) Shucks One The Idiot, Shaka Zulu Sifu Zhi Boa Aleem, TJ Chill (Zulu Nation Rap Show), Iron Braydz, Legendary UK Film Maker Dick Fontaine (Rocking his original Zulu Pendant), Real South African Zulu, Lady Paulette, Zulu King Dapo & friend


The flyer designed by Shucks One ID

On Wed. 24/11/10 2010 MEE & The Village Productions Intl. in association with Universal ZULU NATION UK presented for HIP HOP History Month 2010: FILM & CABARET ON THE BROADWAY. New and Classic documentary films were screened,
Beat This! "A Hip Hop History" the Legendary New-York Hip-Hop film by Dick Fontaine
Stay Sailing - "The Future of Pirate Radio" a new Documentary discovering the world of Pirate Radio in the UK by Furious (Itch FM/Wilderness Pictures
Out 4 Fame a new UK Graffiti Documentary by cansproductions.com.
Live performaces by Iron Braydz, HKB Finn (from Legendary UK Hip-Hop group Katch22), and a Martial Arts display by Sifu Zhi Boa Aleem (Shaka Zulu), entertained the crowd.


Lovely Lady Paulette building from the ground up!


Beat This! "A Hip Hop History" the Legendary New-York Hip-Hop film by Dick Fontaine The Director came to the Film show, screened the film and answered Questions from the audience

Also, U.K. film maker Menelik Shabazz has screened several of his documentary films, and recently "Burning An Illusion" exploring the rise of U.K. Reggae genre - Lovers Rock.

Check out "The Black Film Society" blog here



On a side note, the Flyer was also invited to feature in The Secret Egypt Exhibition at The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, an Exhibition looking at popular takes on Ancient Egyptian culture.


The flyer in situ within the Exhibition


http://secretegypt.org.uk

Included in the exhibition is a mummy from the Manchester Museum, a never-before displayed portrait of Queen Nefertiti from the Ashmolean and a granite colossus of Ramesses II. The Herbert will also be re-creating a tomb within the exhibition for visitors to walk through and experience a representation of the journey to the after-life.
Secret Egypt: Unravelling Truth From Myth exhibits at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum between 11 February and 5 June 2011.
For further information and details on our FREE events, exhibitions, talks and activities or to join the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum’s mailing list, visit www.theherbert.org.

London Walls Graffiti from London 23 February 2011 - 27 February 2011 (Exhibition)

London Walls
23 February 2011 - 27 February 2011
Free
Institute of Contemporary Arts : Visual Art : London Walls

New graffiti and street art photography from six of London's best - Delete, NoLionsInEngland, Leeone102, HowAboutNo, Buddz909 and Joeppo - photographers documenting the ephemeral graffiti and street art that constantly ebbs and flows across London's streets, rooftops and tracksides. The London Walls brings together thirty photographs which capture the work of London's finest writers, bombers, and street artists.

Support this event, pass it on! These guys are documenting our culture off their own back for the love of the culture!

Full details here

AEROSOUL: URBAN HIEROGLYPHICS (AN INTERNATIONAL AFRICAN DIASPORA SPRAY CAN ART SHOWCASE)

Puttin' the "G" in Graffiti - Kemetic Magnetic
AEROSOUL 2
FEBRUARY 4 - 27, 2011

AEROSOUL, Refa One, and The Bay Area Chapter of the Universal Zulu Nation present a series of Panel discussions, Debates, Presentations, Mural Painting, and workshops looking at Graffiti Art and its relationship to the Kemetic tradition. The contributers and project looks amazing! For more info go to http://www.AeroSoulArt.com/Events.html

JOYCE GORDON GALLERY
406 14th Street Oakland, CA 94612

The Artists include:
West Coast:

Bay Area/Nor Cal
Del/Phresh BSK
Cuba TF
Shadow KTD
Refa1 TCB
Toons1 TCB
MadHatter TCB
Spek1 TCB
Kufu1 TCB
Brave OR
Apex BA
ChorBoogie
Omen2 MPC
UB40
Kemrexx TDK
RubberMan/Damon Frost.
Ink/Nel
Pengo
Bret Cook DIZNEY



Los Angeles/So Cal
CRE8 R.T.N
Thellus WCA
KOFIE UTI/WCA
PJ WCA
Enk RTN
Green SMD
Overton Loyd
Sano RTN
Demer RTN
EARN UCA
ERA UCA
MARK 7 L2S
SOON YOUNG LORDS
RETNA MSK
GRAFF 1 SHAKE CITY / KOA
SKY DTK
GYLT TDF

East Coast:

NYC
Slave
Chain3 TMT
Kade TMT
Tean TMT
Sak TMT
Phade “Shirt King” TC5
Case 2 TFP
Pose 2
Gnome CWK
Gemini "Gem 7" CWK
Snatch CWK
James Top
Stan 153

Philadelphia
Dawud Anyabwile
(Comic Artist for Brother Man)


Midwest:

Chicago
Slang FEDS
Orko FEDS

Africa:
Docta (from Senegal)

Europe:

Paris, Germany, UK
Mode2



Found on San Diego Zulu, Killa Cali repper DazeRoc dope blog http://dazeroc.blogspot.com
He is part of the legendary Wild Style Technician Graffiti family GET TO KNOW!!!!! http://www.wildstyletechnicians.com

"F**K THA BUFF!!!!" Getting Rid of Graffiti (Rare 1992 Book Scan)

Top: Karm, Kue, Clas & others Pedestrian Subway

Bottom: Kis42

"F**K THA BUFF!!!!" Getting Rid of Graffiti (Rare 1992 Book Scan)

It has been said before that a healthy Graffiti scene reflects a cultural city. London had in the past a very vibrant and unique Graffiti style, in the 70's with a fashion Skin Head and Punk graffiti and later the "New York Graffiti". To outsiders it would appear that those days are long gone. Nowadays with mandatory 18 month Prison sentences, wipe clean panels and texting the local council will get a buff team out within 24hrs, will it ever be the same?


Getting Rid Of Graffiti - 1992 Rare Technical Textbook on the Removal of Graffiti

This book is an Industry insiders book looking at the various techniques, all the photos are from London and from about 1988.


Dressed to Kill
Above: Cak1


Above: Poze, Scan1 and others in a classic pissy Estate Stairwell

Bottom: Yardies Crew, Mobism, Scrawl, Jay, Cade and others


Top: Freek DVA with traditional London style Throw-up

Middle: Justice, Imase, Rave, Cal, Hive, Live and others in Talgarth Road Pedestrian Subway
Bottom: Unknown


"Now lemmie take trip down memory lane..."
Event, Dize, Era, Car One, Fear, Prime and others in Covent Garden Tube?


Above: Buses used to ALL look like this

Below: Keep SAS and others Trackside

Paper Makers (Graffiti Blackbook Art) Flickr Pool

Paper Makers (Graffiti Blackbook Art) Flickr Pool Featuring Slick L.A., Eros, Geser 3A, Steam 156, Merc, 14 Bolt, Shucks One ID & more


LONDON BLACKBOOK 1985 - 2010.

A4 Softback
194 pages
Limited edition, only 1,000 printed.
Features rare and unseen sketches and characters from over 200 of London's most influential and diverse graffiti artists including Elk, Zomby, Drax, Mode 2, Cazbee, Goldie, Teach, Coma, Vibes, Neas and Met plus many more.

Available to buy from 11th November at the launch night plus www.londonhandstyles.com and Chrome and Black, East London.

Check out http://strictlylondonbound.blogspot.com

"Portraits De Cite'" A French Hip-Hop City Photos From The 1990's (Book Review)

Portraits De Cite' (2008)
French Hip-Hop City Photos from the 1990's
With work by: Bakir Ziani, Richard Hort, Ambroise Mendy, Jean-Paul Gentile, Abdel Ben Massaoud & Mohamed Boughamni

On a recent trip to France I found this in a book shop, they really celebrate a varirty of French people representing Hip-Hop culture. Here are some of the highlights.


Raiders Caps

From an outsider, the French Hip-Hop scene has always looked amazing. In the 1990's Movies like La Haine, Graffiti Books like Paris Tonkar,groups like NTM, Assasin, Iam, MC Solaar, DJs like DJ Dee Nasty, Crazy Fast Camel (DMC Finalists); Graffiti Writers like Tran, Nasty, Color, Kay One GT (and his French Hip-Hop shop in London) and U.K. legend Mode2 (moving to Paris); and the many French B-Boy/B-Girls making a huge presence in the International Hip-Hop scene.


Headspin

Obviously France is a huge country, so the market is enormous and so can support a proper functioning Hip-Hop industry. Unlike the U.K., the French government also passed a law forcing French Radio Stations to play a large percentage of French Language music. This in turn has created a large selection of French Hip-Hop artists, and labels to sign them.


B-Boys

In the 1990's French Hip-Hop only Radio stations like SkyRock and others supported this progressive movement, and many local councils all over France have laid on big budget community Hip-Hop Events that feature B-Boy, Mcing, Dj and Graffiti. It is common for French Artists to do collaborations with high profile MC's like Nas, CNN, Wu-Tang, the late Guru and many others, French Graffiti Mags can be bought in the smallest village News Agents, and B-Boys who travel the country and world doing showcases. It would be useful for the UK scene to take note and learn from our French Family!


Freight


Grasshopper Style


Power Moves

Paris Tonkar from Paris Tonkar on Vimeo.

Also to see The Kool Skool's Review and info on "Paris Tonkar"


Paris Tonkar is about to release a new Graffiti Magazine more info below


Paris Tonkar now has a Blog
Paris Tonkar Flickr
Paris Tonkar on Vimeo

Yo Pegasus!! Yo Tasek!!

NEW VERBAL THREAT "CRAFT WORK KINGS" (Download link)

Verbal Threat' s new smooth ode to the Legendary New York Crew CWK Download here at Kool Sphere's dope Blog full of Kool Sphere Art, exclusives and DJ Premier goodies!

Check the The Kool Skool's Kool Sphere interview here


"Craft Work Kings did the cover Just-Ice..." - Verbal Threat
By Gnome CWK more examples of Gnome's Trains and album art here at Blen 167's excellent Graffiti History blog

The Kool Skool Interviews South London Writer Dicer TSM Author of New "Steel Canvas" 1987-1995 London Underground Train Graffiti Book

Dicer TSM

The Kool Skool Interviews South London Writer Dicer TSM Author of "Steel Canvas" 1987-1995 London Underground Train Graffiti book

"Steel Canvas" 1987-1995 London Underground Train Graffiti book cover

Dicer is an Old School South London Graffiti Writer, who is still representing the culture, by painting sick Burners, and giving back in the form of his amazing new Self Published "Steel Canvas" 1987-1995 London Underground Train Graffiti book. The book is crammed full of over 250 photographs of rare and unseen Train flicks from the golden era of London Graffiti. Dicer also known for rocking the infamous Battersea/Vauxhall/PatMore London Hall of Fame, took a moment to talk to The Kool Skool about his soon to be Classic Book, and legacy in the London Graffiti Scene.


Dice District Line in 1991


Dicer 2010

Hi Dicer, thanks a lot for coming by, for those not familiar with Dicer, could you tell us a little it about yourself?

Well, I've been writing graffiti since around 1985, the story follows along the usual lines of the American invasion of hip-hop into the uk, and myself starting graffiti. Although, I guess I am somewhat different to other London writers in that I didn't go to school with lots of writers and get into painting that way. Instead I simply went out on my own, racked paint, and did it by myself for my own gratification for many years. In 1987, I chose the name Dice, at the time it was more for convenience as 4 lettered names were popular and easy to write. Although it’s always been a bit difficult to bend and shape the letters too much as there's not much you can do with a D. In the early 90’s I battled for supremacy with my pieces on the District & Circle Lines writing Dicer/Diser, by the mid 90s my crew TSM (The Shag Masterz) were competing with the likes of DDS on the trains, in the late 90s disbanded. I painted a lot with Khans STD in the early 2000’s, Since then Ive been painting “freelance” as it were, with anyone and everyone, I still get a kick out of battling people on walls.


Dicer window down flames

Being that you’re a South Londoner, and traditionally the South is often over looked in its place in Graffiti History. Why is it that people seem to sleep on the South?

I guess it’s because historically there were no big halls of fame in the South to attract attention, but also the Holy Grail of train lines (the met) didn’t run down South, having instead a truly underground subway didn’t help attract writers to the area.


Soge 1994

Who are some of the South London legends and stories you remember?

When writers used to hit the Buses in South London, (84-86 era), there were some very legendary writers, namely Lazy Lady, Pest, Feend 219, and Dust. It’s a shame some of them didn’t graduate on to the train scene, as they probably would have been as big as Fuel and Prime.


Early 90's top to bottom

Why should New Schoolers care about the Old School?

Well, I wouldn’t expect anyone to “care”, but they should at least know as it stops their heads getting too big! People don’t realise half the time the stuff their bragging about doing has been done a hundred times before, and better! People were doing full colour top 2 bottom wholecars in 1986, by 1987 every yard had been slapped.


"Steel Canvas" 1987-1995 London Underground Train Graffiti book inside

What made you put this book together now?

My main motivation for putting “Steel Canvas” together was just to get the photos in print, before they disappear from history. I’d lost a ton of photos from broken hard drives, and actual photos had degraded, been lost, stolen, and given away. I felt like the curator of a graff museum, and it’s my job to restore these photos for future generations. My secondary goal, was to take graffiti back to looking at photo albums and books. The internet is now so saturated with thumbnails of grainy out of focus “old school” photos, the whole meaning has been lost in translation! Having photos of old school graff in a book is a way to bring it to the people and get them talking about it – people tend to huddle around a book, whereas viewing the internet is almost always a solo pursuit.


"Steel Canvas" 1987-1995 London Underground Train Graffiti book inside

That's a really interesting way to think about it. The internet has kind of devalued and even played out the action of looking at graffiti photos, also many writers nowadays have probably never seen a painted train in traffic. I have never seen a lot of the photos in Steel Canvas, whose photos are they, are they all yours?

They are 100% all my own. Any train you see in the book I personally saw running, probably tagged the inside, and occasionally maybe had a piece next to it too! I try to make it clear in the book, that unlike a lot of other publications this is the first time that a single person has made a whole book using (only) their own photos. I think it gives the book a certain authenticity, it would of been so easy to plaster the book full of train photos from my personal archives.


Dyse

For those of the internet generation, can you explain how writers got photos of other artists?

It was a lot different back before the net. A lot of a writers status was based on rumour and reputation, not actual hard evidence. Photos of trains weren’t banded about like they are now, they were very coveted, and secret. Us later generation writers looked up to writers like Fuel, Prime, Drax, Crash, Cazbee, Hate etc. Not because what they had done (the photos didn't emerge until after the year 2000 on the net), but because we had heard stories of whole trains, top to bottoms, yard chases etc. And to us aspiring train writers, they seemed like gods! You would always meet other writers out on the lines if there was something running that day. During the time period that the book covers, I rarely saw any of the old school train photos that seem so familiar now, and are freely available on the net. Writers would arrange to meet up somewhere like Covent Garden and bring photos along and generally they would swap the ones that were bad angle shots or out of focus keeping the good ones for themselves. Unfortunately, this practice has since backfired, as a lot of the only surviving old school train photos are the ones that the writers discarded in swap meetings, due to the originals being destroyed by BTP after house raids. Over the years even these poor angle shots and out of focus shots have become more prized. So they have been color copied and duplicated to the point were the quality has suffered so much, so the piece is just a blurry blob on a bleached out train. Nowadays we are more clued up because of the internet, we can see exactly how many train pieces so and so crew or writer has done back in the day (or so we think), but we must always bare in mind that whatever you see in photos is only ever 40 - 50% of the whole story. So just imagine how big writers like Kast were in his day!


Panels sitting in Parsons early 90s

How important is it for the UK scene to support books like this?

It is important in the sense that it is “your” Subway Art! We’ve never had one, and this is as near to it as there is (at the moment).

How is Steel Canvas selling?

I am happy to say that it has sold surprisingly well. Looking back I was a bit naive to think I would only sell a handful to friends and family, I thought it may get lost in the sea of graff books out there, but people have been very supportive and I thank you all.


"Steel Canvas" 1987-1995 London Underground Train Graffiti book inside

Where can the people get a copy of Steel Canvas?

As it’s a self-published book, the amount of actual books in print are very low. The only place to buy “Steel Canvas” at the moment is from Chrome & Black, otherwise its mail order from the publishers; http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1663511or from the website; http://www.steelcanvas.webs.com/ It retails around £25 - £30.

With the success of Steel Canvas, have you got there any more book in the works?

There are certainly more books in the works, but I can’t tell you exactly what, as I like the element of surprise!

"STEEL CANVAS" - London Underground Graffiti 1987 - 1995
COVER: SOFT BACK
ORIENTATION: LANDSCAPE
DIMENSIONS: 10" X 8"
PAGES: 120 Full Colour pages, with over 250 photographs


Spook Photo courtesy of Imerse ID
The Battersea Hall of Fame was a major illegal Graffiti Hall Of Fame in the dark depths of South London from the early 90's to around 2002,
Battersea/Vauxhall/PatMore London Hall of Fame R.I.P. in depth article, photos and memories by Dicer HERE


Get your copy of the "Steel Canvas" New London Train Graffiti Book while it lasts at London Graffiti Shop Chrome & Black or at the Websites below:

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1663511

http://www.steelcanvas.webs.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dicer87