A Comparison: Graffiti, Ferrari, and running the game.
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A Comparison: Graffiti, Ferrari, and running the game.
Hip Hop goes far beyond music; it is a culture all it's own. That culture has always been outlined by having four major pillars: MCing, DJing, break dancing, and last but not least- graffiti. What started in the streets of NYC in the 1970's, has now spread around the world, and then some. Hip Hop has always been about the battle, and in return, being the best. Since the beginning, MC's battled with the microphone, DJ's on their turntables, break dancers on the dance floor, and graffiti "writers" on their canvas. The relationship between the four pillars of hip hop arose from the heavy overlap between those who practiced more than one of these elements.
Those who know me well, for a long time, or have been through the stairwell in MAC know that I myself was once heavily immersed in this culture. I was born in 1970's New York City, with eyes wide open, and grew up in the train yards of the 80's. Although I was always a B-Boy at heart, I practiced all major elements of the hip hop culture. I used to break at the roller skating rinks. I DJ'd at the basement house parties. But my true passion as a youth was graffiti "bombing".
For as far back as I can remember I recognized graffiti. I recall vividly wondering who these people were and even more so, how did they manage to be "up" in so many places. It was an instant fascination turned obsession. What started in classroom notebooks, turned to desks, then restrooms, and before I knew it... I was hoping platforms and train yards. I had what some would consider an illustrious "career", dating some 15 years, from the infamous 80's all the way through the millennium. I "came off" in movies, TV shows, books, commercials- you name it. It was all about the fame. Hip hop, and graffiti, has always been about who could do it the most, the biggest, the BEST.
My bombing days came to a very sudden end courtesy of the NYPD Vandal Squad. Let's just say that they assured me that this was not the game I thought it was. The thought of hard jail time for street "cred" was sobering, and I was already getting older, and possibly even wiser. We all agreed it was time for me to stop, and stop I did. Part of my "agreement" was about one billion community service hours. This was when I was first introduced on a personal level to, what was then, "The Phun Factory".
The Phun Factory was first started in 1993 by former NYPD Pat DiLillo, under a program called Graffiti Terminators. Officer DiLillo was heavily involved in NYC Graffiti, and started the factory as a way to discourage graffiti vandalism by giving artists legal walls to display their work. Legal walls to any self respecting "bomber" is almost sacrilegious, so really all I knew prior to this was that I wanted nothing to do with the place. So when I showed up for my first day of "work" there I'm sure I had a nice sized chip on my shoulder. That quickly changed once I met Pat. When I walked into his office for the first time he greeted me with "So, you're the famous ********? I've been waiting to meet you for a LONG time, it's a pleasure." What may sound smug, was actually said (and recognized to be) with sincerity. After that- we were always cool. The cat and mouse game between graffiti writers and the task force designed to apprehend them has always been an interesting relationship- and this was no different.
I finished up my "time" at Phun Factory with lessons learned and went on with my adult life. In 2002 Pat DiLillo retired and the Phun Factory was taken over by Jonathan Cohen, or "Meres", as we all knew him back then. Meres renamed Phun Factory to 5 Pointz, a name it was unofficially known as for a long time. Meres and I were from different "crews", but never had beef, so it was cool- heck, I was already long out of the game anyway at this point so I truthfully could have cared less.
I like to think that the "lessons" I've learned through the Hip Hop culture stay with me to this day. Namely- the drive to be the best. So when I got the call from the owner and CEO of ADV.1 wheels (arguably the hottest on the market right now) who approached me to do something no one else had done, with (arguably) the hottest car ever made. The B-Boy came back with a "F&ck yes, I'm down, let's change the game!!" The rest is now automotive history- MAC and ADV.1 wheels builds custom wheels for the Enzo. When it came time to set up a crazy photo shoot for a crazy build, and someone suggested a "tough graffiti" type of backdrop- I knew just where to go. I called my boy Meres up, got the permission, and we were off the 5 Poinz with a $1.5 million Ferrari. Funny how life works in circles!
Enough rambling from this old timer about back in the day, enjoy the pics!!
Those who know me well, for a long time, or have been through the stairwell in MAC know that I myself was once heavily immersed in this culture. I was born in 1970's New York City, with eyes wide open, and grew up in the train yards of the 80's. Although I was always a B-Boy at heart, I practiced all major elements of the hip hop culture. I used to break at the roller skating rinks. I DJ'd at the basement house parties. But my true passion as a youth was graffiti "bombing".
For as far back as I can remember I recognized graffiti. I recall vividly wondering who these people were and even more so, how did they manage to be "up" in so many places. It was an instant fascination turned obsession. What started in classroom notebooks, turned to desks, then restrooms, and before I knew it... I was hoping platforms and train yards. I had what some would consider an illustrious "career", dating some 15 years, from the infamous 80's all the way through the millennium. I "came off" in movies, TV shows, books, commercials- you name it. It was all about the fame. Hip hop, and graffiti, has always been about who could do it the most, the biggest, the BEST.
My bombing days came to a very sudden end courtesy of the NYPD Vandal Squad. Let's just say that they assured me that this was not the game I thought it was. The thought of hard jail time for street "cred" was sobering, and I was already getting older, and possibly even wiser. We all agreed it was time for me to stop, and stop I did. Part of my "agreement" was about one billion community service hours. This was when I was first introduced on a personal level to, what was then, "The Phun Factory".
The Phun Factory was first started in 1993 by former NYPD Pat DiLillo, under a program called Graffiti Terminators. Officer DiLillo was heavily involved in NYC Graffiti, and started the factory as a way to discourage graffiti vandalism by giving artists legal walls to display their work. Legal walls to any self respecting "bomber" is almost sacrilegious, so really all I knew prior to this was that I wanted nothing to do with the place. So when I showed up for my first day of "work" there I'm sure I had a nice sized chip on my shoulder. That quickly changed once I met Pat. When I walked into his office for the first time he greeted me with "So, you're the famous ********? I've been waiting to meet you for a LONG time, it's a pleasure." What may sound smug, was actually said (and recognized to be) with sincerity. After that- we were always cool. The cat and mouse game between graffiti writers and the task force designed to apprehend them has always been an interesting relationship- and this was no different.
I finished up my "time" at Phun Factory with lessons learned and went on with my adult life. In 2002 Pat DiLillo retired and the Phun Factory was taken over by Jonathan Cohen, or "Meres", as we all knew him back then. Meres renamed Phun Factory to 5 Pointz, a name it was unofficially known as for a long time. Meres and I were from different "crews", but never had beef, so it was cool- heck, I was already long out of the game anyway at this point so I truthfully could have cared less.
I like to think that the "lessons" I've learned through the Hip Hop culture stay with me to this day. Namely- the drive to be the best. So when I got the call from the owner and CEO of ADV.1 wheels (arguably the hottest on the market right now) who approached me to do something no one else had done, with (arguably) the hottest car ever made. The B-Boy came back with a "F&ck yes, I'm down, let's change the game!!" The rest is now automotive history- MAC and ADV.1 wheels builds custom wheels for the Enzo. When it came time to set up a crazy photo shoot for a crazy build, and someone suggested a "tough graffiti" type of backdrop- I knew just where to go. I called my boy Meres up, got the permission, and we were off the 5 Poinz with a $1.5 million Ferrari. Funny how life works in circles!
Enough rambling from this old timer about back in the day, enjoy the pics!!
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