This book provides a history of graffiti art in Canada from the 1980s. It features interviews with pioneering graffiti artists from across Canada who helped establish graffiti as a subculture. These artists were intrigued by graffiti and learned about it from visiting the United States or through media. While most did not intend to challenge concepts of property, graffiti allowed for creative freedom and recognition among peers. The book collects photographs of graffiti from the 1980s to preserve this history, as graffiti has an ephemeral nature. It aims to document how graffiti started in Canada and showcase the artists responsible for its growth.

1. Visual Orgasm
AdAm melnyk

2. Visual Orgasm
The eArly yeArs of CAnAdiAn GrAffiTi
AdAm melnyk
Frontenac House Media Ltd.

3. Published by
Frontenac House Media Ltd.
Building B1, Suite 136
2451 Dieppe Ave. SW
Calgary, Alberta T3E 7K1
Text and photographs copyright © 2011 by Adam Melnyk
Printed and bound in Canada
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Melnyk, Adam
Visual orgasm : graffiti in Canada / Adam Melnyk.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-897181-50-8
1. Graffiti--Canada. 2. Street art--Canada. I. Title.
GT3913.15.A2M45 2011 751.7’30971 C2011-906038-8
Book and cover design: Epix Design Inc.
All rights reserved, including moral rights. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or placed
in any information storage retrieval system without permission in writing from the author or publisher, or
a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright), except by a reviewer or
academic who may quote brief passages in a review or critical study.
Frontenac House Media gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our
publishing program. We would also like to thank the Government of Alberta Multimedia Development
Fund for their support of our publishing program.

4. This book is dedicated to my father, who motivated me, encour-
aged me and pushed me to complete it. Without him it would not
have been possible. It is also dedicated to the graffiti writers who
let me into their lives.

5. Acknowledgements
2Fresh; Afex; Akira; Artistik; BenOne; Buddha; Cameo;
Chrome; Coder; Conz; Cosoe; Crumb; Dabs; Daser; Daub;
Dedos; Der; Dooer; Dope2; Dstrbo; Dubnut; Duro3; Dzine; Ephx;
Ethiks; Evoke; Fatso; Hans Fear; Flow; Galooch; House; Hype;
Imp; Kaput; Katie; Kid-C; Kome; Krewz; LaBomba; Lep; Levi; Lisaf-
er; Loves; Mark4; Mesa; Joshua Miller; Nazo; Neos; Note; Other;
PD; Phsyk; Plas; Ren; Reset; Rove; Sady; Chad Schultz; Sear; Sebo;
Sectr; Sinex; Spek; Stack; Stage; Stelth; Syzeo; Tars; Theory; Veks;
Virus; Randy Wong; Word; Russell Wyse; Zephyr; Zer; Zilon; Z-lok

6. CONTENTS
FOREWORD BY ZEPHYR 11 COSOE 90
INTRO BY ADAM MELNYK 13 VIRUS 103
ZILON 16 DEDOS 117
BUDDHA 20 Z-LOK 125
DASER 29 DOPE2 131
SEAR 37 EPHX 135
DAUB 45 KREWZ 145
DOOER, DUBNUT & THE DEZINE 151
PAID IN CRIME CREW 50
WORD 159
GHOST 54
NEOS 163
REN 61
PD 174
LA BOMBA 73
SINEX 183
GALOOCH 80
INDEX 188
SADY 82

7. Visual Orgasm

8. FOREWORD
My first adventure to the land of the Maple Leaf was completely serious. 3) Discovering that Loom-
was equal parts unforgettable and forgettable. it had been attending two or three CONSECUTIVE
screenings a day, at a local movie theater, of the
BY ZEPHYR
Group shows had already been on my “things to
film “The Fifth Element”. He mentioned this casu-
avoid” list for decades when I received the in-
ally, as if it were as normal as farting. Zephyr is known as th
vitation to exhibit a painting or two in Toronto. e Graffiti
The appearance of the names “Twist” and “Frost” It was also the week that Princess Diana was killed in Dinosaur. He started
doing graf-
prompted me to quickly reconsider. Three weeks a car crash, August 31, 1997. That was weird too, but fiti in 1975 and wrote
Zephyr for
later I was in Canada. not nearly as weird as Loomit, that fuckin’ nut job. the first time in 1977.
The Toronto exhibit was not sponsored by an Being a veteran of the school of hard knocks that He is most known for th
e pieces he
established gallery, but by a 30-something, well- making graffiti in New York City is, Toronto was a painted on the subway
trains of
meaning (but clueless) millionaire that we’ll call cakewalk — pure Nirvana. Alleyways that went on New York in the 70’s an
d 80’s. He
(for his benefit) Malcolm Chestnut. Highlights (or as far the eye could see were covered with pieces. was featured in two cla
ssic graf-
lowlights) from that trip include: 1) Painting the The residents seemed to have no problem with the fiti movies Style Wars
and Wild
back of the gallery from a swaying electric cherry- graffiti, so you could paint in broad daylight. I kid Style, which helped spr
ead graf-
picker ten meters in the air — believing, the entire you not. fiti world wide.
time, that I was going to end up on the pavement He has a mean tag that
We dined on falafels, and afterward tagged and is the es-
below. Can you say, “Change my diaper?” 2) Lis- sence of style and wh
stickered the streets with wild abandon. On a en he isn’t
tening to Twist lecture some of the artists about dabbling in graffiti he
beat-up bicycle, Twist became king of the city is a lec-
the dangers of marijuana. I thought he was joking turer and author.
over the course of the weekend. But like Twist’s
before realizing—much to my amusement—that he
Skam, Ren & Zeph by Zephyr, 1999.
11

9. rusty bike, the benevolent attitude toward graffiti committed to wiping out graffiti, and utilized a covers, and provided us all with a very important
in Toronto was not made to last. broad variety of illegal measures to try and do so. book.
My next trip to Canada was for a Toronto tattoo While future trips to Canada included, among With extensive coverage of graffiti created in The
convention. I got to the hotel and dropped my other things, freight adventures with local legend States and Western Europe, it is long past high
bags. I was itching to paint, but pissed because Kwest, and walls with Bacon and EGR, the piece time that the extraordinary painters of Canada,
I wanted to get in touch with Skam, but I didn’t de resistance of my Canada adventures remains and their distinctly impressive handiwork, get
have a phone number for him. I walked out of the my summer 2006 trip to Calgary. On that trip I their due.
hotel and headed down Queen Street. I walked was shown incredible love at the two talks I gave,
So kick back, put your feet up, and enjoy this
three blocks, and lo and behold; there was Skam— and at clandestine painting sites too—threatening
book. This is not a book to just place on the shelf
walking right toward me! At that moment I knew growls from wild coyotes notwithstanding. When
and/or the collection next to Subway Art. It’s a
that Canada had some kind of spacey magic crys- asked on a morning television show what I liked
book to peruse, scrutinize and absorb. Fully. And
tal shit going on—a notion later confirmed in Cal- about Calgary, my answer was simple: “The people
when you’ve read this book, a bunch of times,
gary when I met an amazing lady named “Boots”, here are smart.”
cover to cover, look for me in Canada. Because,
but that’s a story for another day. Maybe.
The amazing collection of indigenous Canadian plainly put, Canada is so damn fun. Oh, I almost
On that second trip to Canada, Skam, Wysper, graffiti you are holding in your hands is the result forgot. When you see me, make sure to ask me
Meats, Ren and I painted up a storm. On one mis- of years of documentation by Adam, a truly hum- about “Boots”. We’ll talk …
sion near Simcoe Street, Skam and Wysper had to ble, righteous guy who I’m proud to call a friend.
—ZEPHYR
leave early and planned on leaving me to finish No one else has devoted the time and effort to
New York City
up. They got a big laugh out of my public display of chronicle, for decades, the handiwork of Canada’s
panic. I was pretty concerned I’d have a hard time aerosol artisans like Beast-man has. After hosting
convincing the local constables that the wall was the site Visual Orgasm for years, he has now effec-
being improved by the application of my name to tively put a binding on it, pasted it between two
it. But Skam assured me that the local policeman
was a friend of his, even a fan, and that his son
was actually a graffiti writer. Having been shot at Zephyr, New York
for painting graffiti in New York City, I appreciated
Toronto’s benevolent vibe A LOT.
Canada, around the turn of the millennium, was a
lot more fun than New York City to me, and Amer-
ica in general — particularly during the period I’ll
refer to as “The Horror Years,” or The Bush Presi-
dency. If it were not bad enough that America had
a psycho in the Whitehouse, we also had a psycho
as mayor of New York (Rudolph Giuliani), who was
12

10. INTRO
BY ADAM
The artists featured in this book did not take up ment, is everlasting. Sure people will say: why
graffiti to challenge the idea of property, and in don’t they do something more productive instead
MELNYK
the 1980s the idea of fame and recognition was of writing on someone’s property? But if life was
less evident than today. Often artists came across just that simple then we wouldn’t have rebellion
this unique art form by travelling to the United against the norm in any context. Graffiti is a way
States, or learning of it through the media or word that individuals do what they want, where they
of mouth. Something intrinsic to this new sub- want, how they want. This type of freedom can be
culture pulled them irresistibly to learn about it, scary to most of society.
develop it, passionately immerse themselves in
The challenge of preserving an artform such as
it, and create a movement that has grown across
this one is one of the main reasons for making this
the country. They are the ones who took that first
book. Compiling photographs of graffiti art from
Graffiti – love it or hate it, enjoy it or despise it. step with that previously unknown artistic tool,
the 1980s and preserving them in a book is es-
Most people have a hard time understanding graf- the spraycan. The intrigue with graffiti has now
sential to knowing the history of this subculture.
fiti, perhaps because of the challenge it presents spread around the world. It was inevitable; it was
With the internet it is easier to keep these im-
to the concept of personal property. Everyone only a matter of time.
ages from disappearing, but over time the physi-
learns from a young age that if something is not
It is entirely appropriate that Zephyr, who first cal photograph can easily disappear, fade, get
yours then you don’t touch it. This goes as far back
created graffiti in New York in 1975 and is recog- stained, folded, tattered, or otherwise rendered
as the year you were born, being told constantly
nized universally not only as an early pioneer but unusable. It was a challenge trying to dig up old
to give back toys that don’t belong to you. As you
also as one of the great masters of the artform, has photographs but that is why having them featured
grow up you learn to control your property, ob-
written the Foreword for this book. Zephyr was in this book is so important. Commemorating how
tain more property, build your wealth.
a part of the heyday of painting subways in New graffiti started in Canada and showcasing the men
Just as children develop ideas of property and York and was featured in the most famous graffiti and women who created it is the main purpose of
wealth, they also acquire an understanding of movies, Style Wars and Wild Style. Now the guys this book.
what it means to be well known, even famous. who watched him in Style Wars in the 1980s got
If finding the photographs was a challenge, track-
Professional athletes, movie stars, musicians, the opportunity to paint with him in Canada in the
ing down the graffiti writers themselves could be
doctors or police officers all achieve recognition, 2000s. In graffiti it is essential to know your histo-
equally daunting. I compiled this book over an
sometimes in overwhelming measure. And while ry and that is why a book like this is so important.
8-year period; it has been a long journey but see-
most people do not make graffiti a career, simply More than virtually any other subculture, graffiti
ing the photographs and meeting the artists has
being involved can bring you gratifying levels of has an almost microscopic lifespan, ranging from
been the best part. I wanted this book to be as
recognition. The fame is often limited strictly to just a few hours to a small number of years, al-
comprehensive as possible about the history of
the subculture, but you still get acknowledged for though, miraculously, some of the artwork shown
Canadian graffiti, though that is easier said than
the creative work you do. Quality of work is es- in this book has done the unthinkable and lasted
done, and there are a few artists I could not con-
sential for gaining peer respect, but – given the 15+ years. It is hard to understand the drive to pro-
nect with who played a role in developing graffiti
fact that longevity for graffiti is all but unknown duce something that could be gone the following
in Canada. One example is Akira, whom I did not
– quantity is essential also. day but really it comes down to the fact that the
get to interview, who did the first large scale mu-
excitement of creation, the feeling of accomplish-
ral in Montreal, in 1989, which was sponsored by
13

11. the American spraypaint brand Rustoleum; amaz- occurring more or less simultaneously in most of warehouses and under bridges are the locales
ingly, the wall he painted is still up to this day, at the major cities during the 1980s. The subculture where most graffiti is created. Graffiti is married
W.H.S Gymnasium in that city. spread as graffiti artists travelled around Canada to the urban setting but one element that changed
and the United States, meeting other artists and some of that was the popularity of freight trains,
All the artists featured in the book bring their
bringing back graffiti-related items like spray which enabled graffiti writers in small towns to
own flavour and thoughts to this subculture. The
caps and magazines. The influence was divided, achieve national fame. Daser and Ren in Ottawa
most interesting part is hearing about what they
with writers from Vancouver absorbing the styles and Toronto respectively got into it quickly in 1993
are doing now: tattoo artists, graphic designers,
and techniques of Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Virus and Cosoe did the same in Vancouver.
businessmen, social workers, a doctor. A number
while writers from Ontario, being closer to New Not only were showcases of graffiti from the Unit-
of graffiti artists from the early years are no lon-
York, were more readily affected by the ideas of ed States travelling to Canada but now we could
ger with us. Galooch and I talked frequently over
that city. Ephx, for example, made a name for do the same, both for our own audiences as well
the internet, but he passed while I was working
himself in San Francisco for a couple of years as as for the Americans. Freights are a rolling canvas,
on this book. Ghost had a huge influence on the
well as painting in New York; and Virus travelled an open gallery where the featured artist changes
Victoria graffiti scene and is remembered with
across Canada and spent time in Toronto before daily – you don’t have to leave your city to see
great affection and respect by fellow graffiti writ-
landing in Vancouver. As graffiti grew in the early graffiti art from places as far away as Los Angeles,
ers in that city and elsewhere. Aero, who is not
90s, graffiti magazines appeared and people began Mexico, Miami and Texas. Freight trains may well
featured in the book, was often mentioned as a
trading photos of graffiti by postal mail all across be the closest thing to the painted passenger and
writer who tagged all around Vancouver and was
the country or even around the world; then, about subway trains that rolled through New York in the
one of the first to go all city with his tags. I hope
2008, the internet took over. The website I run 1980s. And just as those are long gone, so are the
this book keeps their memory alive and shows
with the same name as this book, http://www. majority of the pieces shown in this book. That is
the role they played in building the foundation
visualorgasm.com, has been promoting Canadian why sharing the preserving and the sharing of the
for Canadian graffiti.
graffiti since 1998 and is one of the longer-lasting early years of Canadian graffiti is so vital.
When I personally got into graffiti in the mid-90s I graffiti websites on the world wide web. The use
was taught to know your history and respect your of the internet to share photos, talk on forums
elders – not just in general, like everyone else, and promote your work is common practice to-
but in the particular subculture. These are the day. Even though I run a website, however, I agree
ones who did it before you and went through the with most people that the internet has changed
trials and tribulations to get the culture to where the feel of graffiti. Rather than wandering around
it is now. While documenting Canadian graffiti, searching out pieces in the street, people share it
which I have been doing since 1995, I developed online instead. Is this really just feeding our need
an ever-increasing fascination with delving into for instant gratification? The audience has grown
the past to learn where this all creativity came for artists to show off their work, but has it come
from. I knew about New York and Philadelphia, with a price?
where modern graffiti originated, but I knew vir-
Graffiti can be a stealthy, dark and literally dirty
tually nothing about where it started in Canada. It
passion. It takes people to places less travelled,
was interesting to learn that it wasn’t like a wave
at least by most citizens. Dark alleys, transit lines,
across the country but more like spurts of interest
14

12. montréal

13. ZILON
al graf-
Zilon is not your typic
but unique
fiti artist. His simple
up around
faces started popping
0s. He is a
Montreal in the mid-8
tist who
well-accomplished ar
a spray-
has always played with
-musician
can. He now is a painter
of art and
who does live works
of mediums.
plays with all types
lls people
His work certainly pu
paid much
in who might not have
Zilon’s art
attention to graffiti.
y aggres-
installations are ver
– exactly
sive and in your face
ays been.
how his graffiti has alw Above: Zilon 1987, Montréal;
below: Zilon, 2006
facing page, clockwise from top: Zilon, 2007; Zilon, 2003, Montréal; Zilon, 2009, Montréal
When And Why did you sTArT usinG WhAT WAs your relATionship To GrAffiTi
sprAypAinT? bACk Then – did you knoW AbouT The
movemenT GoinG on in neW york?
I use spraypaint like a photographer uses Pola-
I was doing graffiti then like I was doing painting
roids – I like the roughness and the quickness of
or drawings on canvas or paper. It was the heyday
the medium, plus the fact it’s portable compared
of that form of expression, it was the era of Har-
to an arsenal of paint jars and a load of different
ing, Basquiat. The only exception for me was that I
size paintbrushes.
was not fortunate enough to be able to live there,
I was quite poor, it was tooo expensive to live by
hoW did your TAG Zilon Come AbouT?
yourself in NYC. The walls, the bathrooms from
The tag Zilon was born at the end of the 70s, around night clubs, the alleyways and abandoned objects
76. It was a crossover between my real family name like old TV sets – these were my canvasses. The
and Zorro. The sound of Zilon when you say it is like city provided me with rich supports to exhibit my
a super-hero’s name in a comic book. urban works.
16

14. 17

15. Zilon, 1982, Montréal Zilon, 2007, Montréal
WAs There Any oTher GrAffiTi-Type Work did you do Any of your sTreeT Work in Graffiti is now overground in a way. The gallery
beinG done Then in monTreAl? oTher CiTies besides monTreAl?
owners are like sharks around the poor young art-
At that time there was not much being done on I did some of my urban works here and there. I did ists. They know they’re gonna suck all their blood,
the more refined ways. It was more statements some in NYC, Berlin, Tokyo and other Canadian their energy, and make a load of money with the
of some frustrated people like “I hate you fuck cities like Toronto and Vancouver. They were very pureness of the art form. Graffiti is for the streets.
you!!!!” Some statements were very good: “Silence discreet and practically silent. Ghosts. Recently, It is beyond the censorship of so many gallery ass-
we kill!!!” It was like in-your-face stuff, something in 2010, a girl I knew who went to Berlin saw one holes. Those owners only choose the ones that are
to make you think, but there were not that many of my signature faces that I had done in 1998. going to sell well – if it doesn’t work with those
people doing it. fuckers, they simply replace you with a new, a na-
lookinG bACk on your Work WiTh GrAffiTi, ïve one. Business kills art, so let’s use art to kill
hoW do you relATe To iT noW?
you Are Well-knoWn for The ChArACTers the businesses.
you pAinTed, And The fACes – simple yeT very I still love the rawness of spraypaint and black
AGGressive, ConfronTATionAl, espeCiAlly The
siZe. WhAT Were you TryinG To Convey? markers, especially with big tips. I always carry
I simply expressed the moment that I was during a thick black marker with me in my bag or pock-
the procedure of drawing them. My signature art ets. I’m working on a series done exclusively with
works consisted only of faces, figures and some black markers. Like I said, I love the portability,
bodies attached to them. Very comic book – pop like the iPhone. To be portable is essential for me.
with emotions and looks. I can be in Paris, Berlin or whatever and zap a face
on a wall instantly.
18

16. Ottawa

17. BUDDHA
about Bud-
I did not know much
him on the
dha before searching
to him over
internet and talking
of the in-
the phone. By the end
ited and
terview I was so exc
his dedi-
hyped after hearing of
ffiti and
cation to hip hop, gra
ers that it
his drive to help oth
me every
continues to inspire
83 he cre-
time I read it. In 19
Canadian
ated the B-boy crew
Quick, and
Floor Masters with Kid
ation for
helped build a found
da and be-
breakers across Cana
d his crew
yond. In the 80s he an Buddha, 1985, London England
conveyed a
did large pieces that
travelled
variety of messages. He
work lit a
to England, where his
ed there in
fire with those involv you Are knoWn for your involvemenT in I was a bit into the punk rock scene too. I had a
to burn to
hip hop that continues b-boyinG, buT hoW did you GeT involved WiTh
GrAffiTi? CAn you TAlk AbouT some of The Mohawk and all that in the early days. I would put
his Mohawk
this day. Even though siGnifiCAnT pieCes you did in oTTAWA? up big anarchy graffiti, a big circle and an A, and
ll wears
has disappeared he sti That term B-boy has now become a term used might outline it. Those were my throwups and that
rs cutoff
his Canadian Floor Maste specifically for a dancer. It wasn’t in the early was more like my politics coming out. But I was also
ttoos, and
shirt showing off his ta days, you could be a dancer but not a B-boy. You involved in hip hop and then the more I learned
o any nor-
continues to not fit int could be a breaker and not a B-boy. For us a B-boy about it, it was like no shit man, you can put up bus-
’s company
mal standards. Buddha showed a level of commitment to the culture and long burners. In Ottawa we have these things called
is helping
Blue Print For Life that meant understanding, appreciating and rep- the transit ways where only buses are allowed to go
oss Canada
kids up north and acr resenting all the different elements. In some ways but there are big concrete walls. I remember one of
a sense of
build confidence and it was a healthier kind of vibe in the early days. the first ones we put up. All of us stayed up all night,
ny people
self worth. I hope as ma That is how we got involved in doing graf. We ac- 6 of my crew. The burner drained from yellow at
him in per-
as possible get to meet tually felt compelled as early hip hop participants the top to lime green to dark green. It was maybe
spiration
son to take in his in to represent with very little direction what that 2 buses long and it just said Headspin and I don’t
maybe even
and commitment, while meant because there was very little graf that had know for sure but I think that was the first big one
b his lucky
having a chance to ru gone up. to go up in Ottawa, it was in 1983. It scared the shit
Buddha belly.
20

18. out of them at the city. I know it did because they we did with blue and a white trim and a big ma- Canada, maybe 1984, 85. That was when Ronald
had it buffed off in 2 days and no one wanted to talk ple leaf hanging on the edge of it that said Floor Reagan was coming to town. I was like we got to
about it. Everybody was starting to talk about hip Masters, because that was the name of our crew. fucking do something. So we went down to the
hop and the city knew they couldn’t let this get out That one is still up to this day, so that is a 27- or market and on this white wall, me, Kid Quick and
of control. But it was a lot of work for us and then 28-year-old piece. If you duck down into this alley Trevor Walker did a huge bubble letter piece with
just go “oh shit it is gone already.” in the ByWard market, which is our tourist area small letters Reagan is a … and then, in huge let-
behind a restaurant, it is still there. Sometimes ters, Psycho. That was cool because CBC was ask-
Then we switched to going to some broken-down
when cats come from out of town I show them ing around on who knows about hip hop and I was
alleys, some walls where it is not the bright clean
that, it is like they have come to a little shrine and doing my master’s thesis on it at the time … .
concrete where the public is going to see it daily.
they freak out. It is pretty cool that way, it is a rare
We did a big one behind Bank Street in Ottawa,
thing that a big piece like that would still exist that i hAdn’T reAliZed ThAT you hAd done A
one of the oldest night clubs called Barrymore’s. It
many years later. mAsTer’s. WhAT Were you sTudyinG?
had a large alley behind it and we did a huge piece
saying Crack Don’t Do It. Crack was starting to hit Another one I am proud of was featured on CBC, I was doing a master’s in social work. I like to help
the streets and we were really enthused by the on a show called Switchback, which was a nation- people but I also like to look at the structure of pol-
song The Message by Grandmaster Flash. That one al youth show. They decided to do a thing on hip itics and bureaucracies. I actually did my thesis as a
we tried to do in an orange and red blend with big hop, they had us on and we danced live but they 9 hour video documentary on hip hop in 1985. Most
huge letters with lots of cracks running through also did a little section on graffiti. It was probably people think it is the first academic piece ever done
the word Crack. I think the oldest piece in Ottawa one of the first national TV stories about graffiti in on hip hop. The CBC interviewed me on this na-
Bando, 1985, London England
21

19. Clockwise from top left: FloorMasters, 1984, Ottawa;
Danni, Mode 2 & Pride, 1985, London England;
Graffiti by Beat Street Kid, Kid Quick and Buddha, 1983, Ottawa;
Graffiti Fest by Trevor Walker, 1985, Ottawa
22

20. Graffiti Fest, 1985, Ottawa Canadian Floor Masters, 1985
tional news story about graf standing in front of the the parking lot and had emcees on the mic and we still a group of us that are still in contact and we talk
Reagan is a Psycho piece. I made some comment battled and the public came by and saw it. No mat- about the early days. My homeboy, who was just a
about this is what is beautiful about hip hop – you ter what you did, like beatboxing or emceeing, we big strong black guy who hung out with us and didn’t
can bring your politics into it and it doesn’t have all hung out together and that goes back to the word even dance, he was more of B-boy than a lot of other
to be the McDonald’s billboard – you know, who B-boy. B-boys were the ones who kind of celebrated cats. He would hang out and play bodyguard with us
asked for the McDonald’s billboard? I went into this that we were counter-culture. It was a lot like punk if the skinheads came by and spit on our cardboard
long tirade about the politics of visual spaces. in that way. There is a feeling inside when you walk when we were trying to street perform. But he was
down the street with your Mohawk – I ain’t buying down and committed to support this vision. We may
lookinG bACk on hoW muCh hip hop CulTure
into everything of mainstream culture. We would not have fully known where hip hop was going but
hAs developed sinCe you firsT sTArTed create and celebrate our own identity. It was based we were excited to celebrate that kind of energy and
GeTTinG inTo iT, WhAT Are your ThouGhTs
AbouT iT noW? on honesty and a deeper level of commitment. It has spontaneity and creativity together.
to do with real culture and superficial culture. The
I don’t pretend that we were good, but I am proud
media is always chasing to grab a piece of what we i heAr you noT only hAd A biG involvemenT in
that we were getting up when nobody else was do-
got because we got swagger, we got street cred, we The sTArT of CAnAdiAn hip hop CulTure buT
ing it. Of course everybody does their own thing Also you did sTuff over in enGlAnd?
got all that. Then of course it really gets distorted
these days but what we did back then was pretty I moved to England in 1985. I had to do one more
over the years. Now the media co-opt it for their
substantial. We did a parking lot jam or mini block
own devices like selling music videos and let’s put placement in my master’s program. The first one
party in front of one of our pieces, we had a DJ with
it in video games to make it look raw and rugged. I did was in a group home in Ottawa. I roll into
turntables, we put down all the refrigerator boxes in
That is a whole other thing. I am really proud there is England and had no place to stay for a while. I’m
23

21. were the Chrome Angels, Pride, Scribla, Zaki and a
famous New York graffiti artist called Bando. Ban-
do moved from New York City to Paris and then
back and forth from Paris to London. At that time
they were all fairly young. We all got together and
I was like let’s do England’s biggest hip hop festival
over 3 days but it will be entirely owned and oper-
ated by you guys repping all the elements at Jubilee
Hall at Covent Garden, arguably tourist central in
London. I bite my tongue at times because it can’t
be my project. I’m just trying to facilitate. To me
the social work or empowerment comes from all of
those people doing the shit for themselves. Simple
things like you have to learn to sit and listen to
someone else’s opinions. How do you pull out the
opinions of the shy people like Mode2? Mode was
Kid Quick, 2005 one of the shyest kids I have ever met. How do you
do it so it is not run by the one loudmouth emcee
sleeping in squats and in Hyde Park with a hundred called St. Mark’s Field. All the youth would go there in the room?
punks. I connected with the English hip hop scene to practise. There was a lot of tension because the
There were lots of struggles but there was a lot of
and at that point in 1985 it was largely run by the skinheads would come too. The skinheads would
personal growth. They had to contact the media,
record companies who did the big events. First of hide razor blades in their mouths and shit and
they had to find out how to get free things. I love
all they had never seen a guy that looks punk rock sometimes it got kind of ugly. I started talking to
it because to this day they reference Freestyle 85
who is a B-boy who can do windmills and head- all the hip hop heads and was like, you guys are
as possibly the most important not just in England
spins. There were mostly black youth who were the fucking artists, so why don’t you run shit? They
but in all of European hip hop. Because the power
dancers from Brixton. They were excited because respected each other but never really worked to-
went back to these dudes. People talk about it
I had stories and connections to the Bronx in New gether like the graf artist, the emcees and the DJs.
as a pivotal turning point where the culture re-
York because we used to go there all the time. The I am almost finished my thesis and I have a lot of
gained control of itself. A lot of these cats went
New York City Breakers who were in the movie Beat ideas about structural analysis of cultures, like
on to have lifetime careers in hip hop. Imagine
Street in the big battle scene at the Roxy were per- why subcultures pop up in capitalist societies. I got
the pride! It is great looking back that some of
sonal friends of ours. We would go to the Bronx and a bunch of theory ideas but they don’t mean shit,
my ideas actually turned out. Incidentally, when I
stay at their houses. In fact they used to be called how do you use this knowledge to do better street
was in the UK I went by the name Negative G and
the Floor Masters and we were passed our name work, social work? Here I am in England and why
my B-boy name changed because my crew gave
from them to us, so there is that nice history piece. don’t I put some of my ideas into effect? I brought
me the name Buddha because I developed a little
together England’s best graffiti artists, guys like
Anyway, I’m in England and I’m practising with all tummy. My crew used to rub my tummy for good
Mode2, he is known for big breasted women with
these black guys downtown at this drop- in centre luck before we would go on stage.
machine guns, his stuff is off the hook, then there
24

22. One quick story about the way things worked at in the 1970s, I started B-boying in 1982 or 83 but because I was in the culture, I wasn’t like a jour-
the Freestyle 85 festival. I got Mode2 to phone up I grew up near Windsor across from Detroit, De- nalist student trying to interview a graffiti artist
the manufacturer of Buntlack spraypaint, in Ger- troit in the 1970s was the motherland of funk, so I or a beat boxer. It was like ya Buddha is a B-boy,
many. He does all this and literally one week later had a 1970s mentality. All that Earth Wind & Fire, ya I’ll talk to you. I got kind of candid interviews.
a flatbed truck pulls up to the youth centre, cases Isley Brothers, George Clinton, that stuff just got The thesis is in the National Library of Canada on
and cases of free spraypaint. They were all jump- etched into my brain as a teenager at the roller VHS tape. Every once in a while I run into some
ing out of their seats, they couldn’t believe it. rink. If you make the argument that hip hop is cat that goes, yo I pulled out your thesis. Dope! It
also driven by the music and the vibe for the mu- is ghetto editing, I didn’t have production stuff. I
There was a huge art show component to the
sic – and you could also make those arguments bought one of the first video cameras every avail-
event too. Henry Chalfant even came over from
for graf – then these things are an extension of able, I’d sit in front of a plant in my house and
New York and I got pictures of him with the
that vibe. That 1970s funk was the precursor to a film myself talking. But the content was ill. I never
Chrome Angeles. It was great to see the interna-
hip hop mentality. It’s easy to see that evolution, really totally fit in. When I was doing my master’s
tional connection as well in graffiti and hip-hop,
especially at the roller rink because we danced on of social work, you know 90 percent were nice
or even if you just look at the B-boy thing. B-boy-
roller skates and did acrobatics on roller skates. young women who wanted to be social workers
ing went back underground in a lot of places in
That makes me one of the oldest B-boys in the to save the whales and all that. There I am in my
Canada. It was 1986 to 89, BMX biking and skate-
world, from the original generation – when I saw trench coats and big spiky hair thinking this is cool
boarding took over as the rage in the media and
Flash Dance and saw them spin on their back I was but this ain’t who I am. I think a lot of my early
we were just really getting started. We said fuck
already 23 years old; most of the kids in the New ideas probably did form me to get where I am now
it, we love this shit, we aren’t going to stop. We
York City Breakers, Rock Steady Crew, Dynamic in my politics of what we do in the North.
actually danced through that downtime. But what
Rockers that got involved were 15-16 years old at
happened in Europe is Freestyle 85 was heard
the time. So to your question, I was aware of graf- Could you explAin WhAT you meAn When
about and inspired Italy and France and then they
fiti and because of the punk rock political thing I you sAy “my poliTiCs of WhAT We do in The
started Battle of the Year in Europe and that in- norTh?“ i’ve heArd A biT AbouT your blue
already had an interest in putting up alternative prinT for life CompAny ThAT runs soCiAl
spired North America again.
signs, sort of we are here, don’t blink, there is a Work ThrouGh hip hop proGrAms, buT i
don’T knoW Too mAny of The deTAils.
counter-culture. Looking back it felt like a natural
When did you beCome AWAre of GrAffiTi? WAs
evolution, the timing was right for hip hop to drop I have a family connection to the North. My sister
iT When you Were TrAvellinG To The bronx?
on me. moved to the North 18 years ago and married an
I don’t remember what I saw first, there was al- Inuit guy. It kind of started like this, I was always
ways tagging around and some punk rock graffiti. bitching at my sister, I’d be going what are you
GeTTinG bACk To your mAsTer’s Thesis –
But not like big burners, you know. I don’t know doing up there, you got 3 beautiful girls you’d be a
hoW WAs iT reCeived When you finAlly
if it was wildstyle or Style Wars but it was one of CompleTed iT? great mom but what if their best friend gets raped
those where I realized the complexity and the size I got the highest mark of all the students. I got one day, because that shit happens up North.
of graffiti as a culture, a bigger culture. Certainly honours with distinction. It was cool because ev-
I could see that just bitchin about it wasn’t good
when I went to New York and the Bronx we would eryone else was writing 300 page papers and I was enough, I needed to do something meaningful. I
see lots of it, but I was already aware of it before like hell no, how am I going to write about a visual was still a social worker full time doing child pro-
then. Beat Street came out in 1985, there is a big and audio culture, I can do it but it won’t be pleas- tection but I got a leave of absence to design this
graf component to Beat Street. I started dancing ant and it won’t really rep it properly. It was cool
25

23. DJ Creeasian and Elder Arctic Bay Nunavut
program and applied for crime prevention money. daily per diems and they make between $1,000 and gram. I think my credentials are both that I’m a
We rolled it out in Iqaluit in 2005 with 15 kids from $1,500 for the week. I think last year I paid $120,000 father of 3 and that I’m an older guy so they can’t
the secure custody jail, this is the 24-hour lock-up in contract salaries for B-boys. I’m really proud of go who is the angry kid. Secondly I actually have
jail. They were sceptical that we could transform that because it normally doesn’t roll like that in a lot of experience as a social worker so police
those real tough, angry kids. Anyways it was so hip hop, sometimes people go fucking gangster on and all these other people would be foolish not
successful that people were saying shit, this is the stepping on their brothers and sisters, you know to listen to some of the stuff I have to say. They
most important youth engagement in the Arctic what I mean? I like the hip hop hustle of being on don’t have to agree but I’m not just blowing it out
ever. I went back to my job and my phone started point and street smart but I don’t like stepping on my ass, right?
ringing off the hook from other communities. The someone to get to where you got to go.
This whole thing has really opened us up to being
North is kind of like that because everybody has a
Anyway, here we are 6 years later. Michaëlle looked at a deeper level by the education system.
grandmother in the next remote community and
Jean, the former Governor General, gave us a big Like I said, we are not an afterschool program.
word of mouth is how we grew. I had to make a
award. We were also nominated for the first in- Most hip hop programs around the world are after
decision to quit my job to do this fulltime. I love
ternational reward for the arts, called Freedom to school or they come in for one afternoon. With
the fact that I probably pay hip hop artists more
Create, out of Hong Kong. They get thousands of us, we become the replacement school. There is
than any company in the world. I don’t take ad-
applications a year and we were the first group no other school, besides my school, that goes for
vantage of the B-boys and B-girls. I got about 30
from North America to be recognized as one of the 5 days straight. I make teachers do my program to
staff across Canada that are some of the illest Djs,
top 5 finalists. The other piece I am really proud of humble themselves as if they were the kids. I think
B-boys and B-girls, they go and have this amazing
is that we are not like a hip hop afterschool pro- that is a brilliant part too. We are always talking
experience, their expenses are covered, they get
26

24. about building relationships and a lot of times I really love the fact that it is not just dance but the first Live Style event on graffiti. I’m trying to get
teachers, social workers and professionals they when I guest lecture at universities and stuff I can them to understand that it doesn’t matter if you put
get these credentials and they move away and hammer people and show them 15 best practice a million bylaw officers on the street in Calgary,
close down communication with the youth even clinical techniques that we do but why the fuck that will probably just make things worse. Shouldn’t
if they don’t realize they are doing it. I’m kind of would I call this cognitive therapy even though you try and understand and try to find creative
like no, we are all human beings together, we all that is what we are doing, why would we call it ways to working with and supporting youth creativ-
have our stories. that when it would scare the kids? But when I ity through graf instead of going power and control
break it down we are probably doing better cogni- as the only option? As a parent, does power and
We use a lot of our personal stories about pain
tive therapy for kids who have been traumatized control work? If you do that to your kid your kid
and suffering and perseverance and survival to
than psychiatrists do. I think what has happened will say fuck you and go hang out at the mall for
inspire the kids. I got a couple of B-girls that have
is that I have become much better at articulating the rest of their life. These are smart, high profile
never talked about being raped before but they
our story in hip hop. It is not like we are taking people that are starting to get it, and in the scheme
talk to the young girls about it, that is pretty pow-
a round peg and putting it in a square hole. It is of things these programs don’t cost anything com-
erful. Especially some on my team are First Na-
kind of like I can prove to you that maybe we are pared to when big bureaucracy gets in the way and
tions. Every time I talk to the kids I always say
a better education model for some places. I can messes everything they touch.
thank you for being a respectful listener and who
prove to you that maybe we are better at deal-
wants to hear my own story about when I was 15
ing with post-traumatic stress disorder than your CAn you desCribe WhAT hAppens over The
and I was doing break-and-enters and smoking
traditional ways of hypnosis. Course of one of your proGrAms?
dope every day. Well you know why I was doing
this, well here is what happened and I thank them Come on man, this year I was a keynote speaker to The buzz words I would use are transformation
ahead of time because by listening to my story all the chiefs of police and gang specialists in Ontar- and hope. Honestly, I go to places where the shy-
you are allowing me to continue to heal. I think io and apparently they have never given a standing est girls in the world live. I love the fact that we
that is such a healthy mental health thing that we ovation to anyone and I got a 10 minute standing aren’t just working with the athlete kids. I got half
don’t do enough of. We don’t lead by example as ovation. I come rugged, I unzip my coat and I got girls and half guys – 100 kids and I got a team of 10.
adults, that if bad shit happens to you then that is on my cutoff shirt with my tattoos and I’m wearing We are intensely moving them through different
probably a lifelong healing process. If you keep it my Canadian Floor Masters shirt and – you’re gang stuff. By the end of the week the kids who wouldn’t
inside you are going to combust. I tell my story of specialists, you know what this is – these are my take their hands down from their faces, the girls
being put in garbage cans in front of 500 people colours. But I want to talk to you about the impor- up north typically have their hoodie up and they
in the school cafeteria and 500 people laughing at tance of colours in a dance crew. How my guys put their hand over their mouth, you can’t even
me as I crawled out covered in garbage and mus- have horrific backgrounds but we came together see their smile. The body language is just out of
tard. Then I talk about how I turned that anger as a family and are young men and women sup- this world. We do a big battle in front of the whole
into becoming the best rollerskater in southern porting each other. community. Often it is the largest community gath-
Canada, even though I was tiny and got beat up all ering that has ever happened and we try to put
I really felt like they got it. That would not have some traditional culture into it, which is all part of
the time. It is kind of like you need to recognize
happened in the 1980s or 1990s. People are starting our messaging. Imagine these girls strutting with
that anger is real but it is what we do with it, we
to open their eyes. We have already spent billions their arms up like ya what you got, in one week.
can either sabotage or we can turn anger into a
on shit that doesn’t work. I remember I was in Cal- People are in such state of shock, parents and el-
healing tool. That is the big theme of what we do.
gary a few years ago talking to bylaw officers about
27

25. ders. I know the kids are going to be fine so I don’t ying yang. A lot of parents and elders had given done a 9-by-5 foot graf piece. I got 45 graf pieces
watch them, I watch the parents. Let’s say 800 par- up on their kids, believe it or not, and there are done in their own language. Syllabic is a cool let-
ents came out, and that many people don’t even different political reasons around what happened tering style. This is their idea. We went to Cape
come out to bingo in the North, and that is serious. in residential schools and stuff like that. We want Dorset with 200 kids in the town and 6 had killed
Many of them are tearing up and some are openly to create these human moments where we can themselves in 2 months just before we got there.
sobbing like their chest moving up and down be- re-bridge generations. Our DJ elder pictures show The kids did a graf piece saying Never give up.
cause they cannot believe what they are seeing. In this. That is a very important symbolic moment. If
one week to have a transformation, maybe not ev- we are asking kids to take a risk with something
erything sticks but some of them don’t even have they are not used to, like graffiti art, B-boying,
one happy memory in their fucking teenage life, then we got to lead by example. How cool is it for
you are going to begrudge them that? them to see grandma, who knows fuck all about
Wheels of Steel, and she is up there in her tradi-
We hear stories all the time that these kids aren’t
tional Inuit caribou outfit scratching and pound-
trying to commit suicide anymore, they aren’t
ing on the MPC? Every place we go the kids have
sniffing gas anymore. I have testimonials out the
Respect Each Other in Inuktituk, Kuujjuaapik Nunavik
28

26. hoW did you GeT inTo GrAffiTi?
DASER
I was also doing a lot of breaking back then, it
I saw a CBC documentary on the poverty in the South took right over, and I was always trying to figure
Bronx in 1982, it showed the subways covered in graf. out moves by watching rented beta video tapes of Daser is a hidden gem
on the Ca-
Trains in North America back then, they did not have Beat Street. Then by 86 it was deemed dead by a nadian graffiti scene
. He has
spray paintings on them like in New York, so that lot of people, but rap music kept growing, and I been leaving his mark
since the
shocked me to see them all painted up. Train watch- spent a lot of time taping radio stations. Later on I early 80s and is one of
the first in
ing was my hobby back then, I’ve been really inter- caught the original airing of Style Wars on PBS out Canada to transcend hi
s physical
ested in trains, passengers and freights since the late of Watertown and the whole hip hop culture blew boundaries by putting
his name
70s, I watched them and drew them a lot back then. up globally and took me over. on freight trains. Da
ser battles
Living in Kingston, I saw thousands and thousands of the often generic gra
ffiti style
North American freight cars roll through town and of today with his ow
obviously you sAW GrAffiTi develop in n complex
no spraycan graffiti at all on them ever did I see, so CenTrAl CAnAdA; CAn you shAre A Timeline chunky pieces and abstr
of your experienCe?
act imag-
this New York subway situation was just another ery. His passion for gra
ffiti is as
world of its own on your TV set. Later that year I In 87 I moved to Ottawa and found some stuff intense as his pieces
and he con-
saw Dreams Don’t Die premiering on ABC and I be- painted around. There was this street legal piece I tinues to promote th
e art form
gan painting graf in the spring of 1983 with one piece liked in the transit tunnels and it was hip hop kids after 28 years.
that year painted illegally. All of this was inspired by who did that stuff, but who? The Canadian Floor
Dreams Don’t Die. Masters did some stuff circa 1984. I caught one of
their pieces done on Bank Street in 1986. In the
In the very early 80s I would travel to Toronto,
out west, or through Montreal. I had my eyes Daser, 1994
opened for damn sure, the walls and trains were
bare, completely clean everywhere, everything!
Graffiti art based on what you would see in the
media about New York was simply not yet a part
of people’s thinking or culture here in Canada. All
I know is that back in the 70s and the real early
80s you did not see the New York City-inspired
spraycan art here in Canada. Yeah, we know some
hits were done in New York, but that’s like a drop
in the ocean for the size of North American rail
activity and its mindset in the 70s.
next spread, clockwise from top:
Ren2 by Daser, 1993, Kingston;
Ren2 by Daser, 1992;
Solon by Ren2(Daser), 1993, Kingston;
Daser, 1995, Ottawa;
Hip-Hop by Ren2(Daser), 1989, Ottawa
29

27. 30

28. 31

29. later 1980s I would find the odd attempts, some I found a tag, Ren, on a pole on Spadina. Kid-C was painting for a while. Vancouver’s scene was con-
rare, rare tagging or hip hop-inspired spraycan on the loose with tagging, his handstyles were little sidered really fresh back then, with the AA crew
activity. There was no communication back then, pieces. The TCM crew was known for that. leading it in hip hop graf for Canada, stylewise.
you just really hoped you would find someone It was something a little bit closer to home than
In summer 1992 I had found more pieces in To-
with the same interests. Between living in Kings- the American stuff we were seeing, it was good to
ronto, names such as Sec and KS, and more stuff
ton and living in Ottawa I painted the words “hip see Canadian heads coming through. Toronto was
by Ren, these guys were running the graf scene in
hop” a few times, and in 1986 I painted a piece real close behind and then Montreal coming into
Toronto that year, Kane was in there, Sady was a
that said Funk Rules. It wasn’t until 89 that I had play over the years in a real big way. I used to go
painter muralist from Scarborough. Ren was the
even come up with a name: Ren.2. through Montreal and see nothing but a little po-
best of the bunch for his grassroots street tag-
litical graffiti in the 1980s. The mid-1990s seemed
My family moved back to Kingston and that sum- ging and bombing on up to piecing and fills. Even
to be the flashpoint spark for Montreal.
mer I figured I would take a look for pieces in To- Virus, then known as KS, put some time in with
ronto because I saw some on a TV show that had TCM in the early 90s. In 1994 I met Ren and Hope,
been filmed there. I took the train and coming into Reck, the whole crowd. I got in contact with Ren did The TAG ren.2 hAve Any ConneCTion To
ren in ToronTo, mAybe from your Trip To
the city I saw the letters TCM spraypainted on a and Hope, we traded photos, I ended up living at ToronTo in 1989?
bridge, there were highlights coming off it, it had Ren’s house that summer. That was the best year I came up with the tag Renegade 2000 on paper,
that hip hop feel. Further into the city, in around for graf I have ever had. I was not the perfect then I reduced it to Ren.2. That’s the name I was
Kensington Market, Toronto revealed a scene that spraycan artist back then, but the heart was really known by around Kingston and Ottawa. It was
was rich with tags. there. I gave to that crew, and I learned from it. truly inspired by the Tommy Boy mega-mix with
I saw really cool handstyles done with thick mark- TCM took off as a second wave. Canada had so few the song Renegades of Funk in it. I just wanted to
ers. One such writing said The Crime Messiahs – this writers up to that point, but now graf was really see the elements of hip hop, but I could not find
was TCM, their stuff all had that ill New York feel. I taking off. I met Shamus in 1993 in Ottawa, there dedicated people back then. By that summer I was
thought to myself these guys had to be into rap or were kids there just starting out, the Puzzle crew back living in Kingston and had already taken that
breakers or something, the vibe was just pulsating! was making noise and seemed to have done some trip to Toronto where I saw the TCM hand styles in
Daser, 2000, Ottawa
32

30. Daser, 1993
the Kensington market and a Ren tag, but this was Canada’s east coast back then. TCM had a very se- Hooking up with TCM in 1994 and through on down
over a half a year after I came up with Ren.2. I did rious influence on so many writers from the East the line was where I learned about flavour, seeing
not know he was piecing until I saw flicks of the Coast and way beyond, a lot of those guys don’t Rock Steady Crew at the Toronto waterfront that
Midas wall in 1991. In 1992 I came up with the Daser even know it. It’s like I say, “TCM is in you, but year. They brought back the art of the B-boy and
tag, a new name that was not around, I wanted a you ain’t in TCM.” I learned so, so much from all B-girl styles and straightened out the game for
5-letter tag so I could stretch out a little more on of them, but then again I brought strengths of my what a B-boy is. The writer Hope was good at chal-
the freight car racks. It was an option to go along own to the crew that they learned from, and the lenging things, he made me realize some shit, Ren
with Ren.2. There was no Daser catching fame back photo trades I was doing globally, the magazines, brought his extra-loose tagging abilities and let-
then in the books or mags anywhere on the planet they all brought influence. ter fills, Virus was swinging on the lettering. You
that I ever saw or heard of, remember we are talk- would start to figure out your own with time and
By that time, 1994, The Crime Messiahs were made
ing the 1992, 1993 era. I had a Daser piece on a train how to get spicy after a while, set your own mark.
up of Sec, Reck, Kane, Hope, Ren, and myself – Das-
appear in Skills magazine out of Boston that year. A lot of kids now can paint, but it’s very generic,
er, as I was becoming more known. Before that you
transparent, you can tell what they’re made of, it
I had already been piecing certain very, very small had Kid C, Ren and Cyber. I met Cyber in the 90s at
may look fresh out the box to some little kid, but
little areas in Kingston since the 1980s and the Ren’s house but never did any runs with him. He
true players know the deal, and can break the shit
early- to mid-1990s, but the TCM crew was like go- was a cool tagger that rolled with Ren, a dope hand-
down. When I look at pieces, I just scan them in
ing to college or university. We were all different stylist for sure. Ren and Cyber put TCM together,
an attack mode – where is that strong point that
types of people coming together, we were paint- LaBomba was down with it, there were affiliations
makes it legitimate?
ing ahead of the kids that were just starting out on types of thing, people that could put it up.
33

31. 34

32. WhAT WAs The feelinG When you Were that were any good back then right across Canada. that’s how I hooked up with the first crew I ever
pAinTinG freiGhTs And reAlly no one else
WAs AT The Time? The spring of 1994 was when I started seeing and got down with, Tem CMD from Europe. I was not
I started painting freights in January of 1992. In photographing stuff go by, saw a top-to-bottom go in any crew so I asked them if I could write CMD,
Kingston they were only parked maybe 3 times a by for the first time one night when I was out rock- and yeah, so I did some CMD freights in the early-
year, and that’s if you were lucky. I would piece ing the steel. From that year on it just became a to mid-1990s. Because of IGT I corresponded with
them when I could. The summer of that year I reality with writers in general. lots of writers globally. It was a great year, 1992,
started seeing the occasional spray tag on double corresponding through IGT, getting hooked up
stack trains. I kept piecing when the cars were laid And Then of Course There WAs The IGT Zine
with writers and flicks of their scenes all around
ThAT sTArTed up in 1984 – did ThAT influenCe the world. So the Ren.2/Daser name got out there.
up in Kingston, although that was rare. The can you AT All?
control mags I was getting were starting to reveal The photo swaps were fun, crazy hype!
You mean the International Get Hyped Times? Ab-
some freight piecing action. In the winter and
solutely! Get hyped is exactly what it was about,
summer of 93 I was still piecing racks. In the fall
the first-ever aerosol art chronicle. It was put to-
of that year I started corresponding with Ren and
gether back circa 1984 by Phase2 and Vulcan, 2 of
he had just started piecing boxcars and was mail-
the scene’s king stylists and a ridiculous influence
ing out photos to the west coast. Then came their
on me and so many writers all around the world. It
stuff, the Vancouver vibe on the trains in 1994. I
was a kind of zine foldout that talked politics and
was the first to start piecing freights consistently
showed the piecing that was New York and other
here in Canada – I’m sure of this unless someone
painting from around the world. I can remember
can honestly prove otherwise with dated pieces
back in 1992, just pulling it out of the mail box and
photographed, and I don’t know who that could
opening it up before you even got in the house.
be. We are talking the start of 1992 from my own
Finally getting a good look at hardcore New York
personal documentation. You could practically
culture after 10 years of wanting to see stuff. You
count all the writers on your thumbs and fingers
could put your address in it, and swap photos,
CMD by Daser, 1993;
facing page: Daser, 2002, Ottawa
35

33. 186

34. Clockwise from top left:
Sinex, Vancouver
Sinex, Vancouver
Mouse by Sinex, Vancouver
Sinex, Vancouver
Sinex & K by Virus, 1994, Vancouver
Sinex, 1994, Vancouver
187

35. INDEX Graffiti Crews Graffiti Knights, The: 82, 84
Graffiti Shamans: 62
Graph-X: 125, 155, 160, 164, 169, 183, 185
2See (alternate name
for The Graffiti Knights): 82 KGM (abbreviation for
Kings Gone Mad crew): 146
3Eight (alternate name for The Night Crime
crew): 45 Keep Suckas Nervous (alternate name
for Kings Stop at Nothing crew): 146
AA : 32, 103, 107, 108, 114, 117, 119, 120, 125, 134, 160,
163, 166, 167, 175, 180 Kings Gone Mad: 146
Aerosol Army (alternate name for AA crew): 120 Kings Stop at Nothing: 142, 143,
Aerosol Arsenals (alternate name Kool Style Network (alternate name
for AA crew): 120 for Kings Stop at Nothing crew): 146
AK3: 39 KSN (abbreviation for
Kings Stop at Nothing crew): 143, 146
Amoral Self Promoters: 39, 45
KWOTA: 39
Bink: 51
Mad Bombers, The: 39
Blessed With Style: 155
Msias: 54
BSM: 48
New York City Breakers: 24, 25
Burning America : 142, 146
Night Crime, The: 45
Canadian Floor Masters: 20, 29
Paid In Crime: 50, 51
CBS: 143
PIC (abbreviation for Paid In Crime crew): 50
CBW: 45
Puzzle: 32
CEY: 48
Raggamuffin Rascalz (alternate name
Chrome Angels: 24, 25
for Rascalz crew): 119
Crime Messiahs, The: 32, 33, 62, 63, 103
Rascalz: 108, 119
D5B (abbreviation for Dash Five Bionica crew):
Rock Steady Crew: 25, 33, 112
175, 181, 183
SK8s: 45
Dash 5 Bionica: 155, 166, 167, 169, 170, 171, 174, 175,
180, 181, 183, 185 Swarm: 37
DVS: 117 TCM (abbreviation for
The Crime Messiahs crew): 32, 33, 62, 63
Dynamic Rockers: 25
Tem CMB: 35
East Side Posse: 155
TMB (abbreviation for
ELF: 45
The Mad Bombers crew): 39
EMC3: 163
TMF: 135
188

36. TNC (abbreviation for Graffiti Artists Cosoe: 14, 90-102, 157, 159
The Night Crime crew): 39, 45 Crayone: 135, 159
Entries in bold face indicate a
TNT: 82 Crime: 91
complete chapter for that artist.
TWF: 135 Crush: 159
TwoSee (alternate name for Cyber: 33, 62
2fresh: 91, 132
The Graffiti Knights): 82
12 Midnight:159, 168 Cycle: 137
Two-Sicks: 45
Absorb: 166, 167, 170, 175, 180, 185 Darrox: 90
UPC: 45
ACB: 76 Daser: 14, 29-35, 63, 114
WCB (abbreviation for
We Crush Boxcars crew): 92 Acrow: 92, 134, 142 Daub: 38, 39, 45-48
We Crush Boxcars: 90, 92 Aero: 14, 126, 149 Deceit: 107
Who Cares Bro (alternate name Ajax: 46 Dect: 128
for We Crush Boxcars crew): 92 Akira: 13 Dedos: 92, 103, 111, 117-124, 125, 126, 128, 131, 132,
Wild Canadian Boys (alternate name Amok (alternate tag for Sear): 41 134, 137, 142, 143, 169
for We Crush Boxcars crew) : 92 Der: 38, 39, 46
Apaul: 117
Wrecking City Blocks (alternate name Derfer: 54, 55
Bacon: 12
for We Crush Boxcars crew) : 92 Dezine: 132, 151-158, 164, 169, 175, 183
Bando: 24
Base: 132 Dino: 104
Bdp: 46 Dondi: 90, 91, 92, 103
Billygoat: 38 Dooer: 45, 50-53
Bio: 159 Dope2: 128, 131-134
Blaze: 92 Dream: 135
Bonzo: 91 Dubnut: 50-53
Buddha: 20-28 Duster: 91
Cameo: 92 Dynamo: 90
Chefo: 45 EGR: 12, 48
CMD (alternate tag for Daser): 35 Electro Boogie: 45
Code: 175 EMC3 (alternate tag for Neos): 163
Code 7 (alternate tag for Daub): 45 Enzone: 90
Cope2: 137 Ephx: 14, 53, 91, 132, 135-144, 146, 149, 155, 157, 159,
160, 163, 167, 168, 169
Cos (alternate tag for Cosoe): 90
Ethiks: 54
Cose: 45
189