The Nasty Terrible T-Kid 170!

"Don't get Vamped!!"

Tags. Throw-ups. Stick-up Kids(Look Out!). Lay-ups(no fingerolls : D).

Do any of these terms mean anything to you? Do any of these words transport you back to an era unlike that of the present? Allow me to bring clarity to the ambiguous phrases above : D Open your imagination...Lets roll.

People. Welcome.... to a world of graffiti, romance, and music.... Diced with a hint of crime, and a dash of drug addiction...Stir. And we've got a recipe for the biography of one of the illest graffiti artist(writers) of our generation. The Nasty....The Terrible...T-Kid 170...!!! (The applause sign is blinking, audience, stay on your toes!)

Julius Cavero aka T-Kid...considered one of the forefathers of graffiti, an urban legend, doing it since the 1970's...As a youth...a cold' hearted artist who, when he wasn't racking(stealing spray paint for his pieces), he was terrorizing the Vics in his neighborhood with the TVS Squad or TNB. Oh right...a Vic, you ask? Whats that? Mayyyybe.........you? Maybe you would have been?.... : D An innocent citizen targeted by Stick-up Kids...they were robbed and beaten(Vamped) for treading in the wrong territory. Alas, with the world as his canvas, T-Kid created masterpieces with the technique, composition skills, and an understanding of spatial distance that rivals any heralded artist of the past. I dig it.

Graffiti....a dangerous game... And with the game, comes certain rules, street codes. Codes often broken by rival crews. For example, a throw-up is a painting of an artists name, with large filled in letters and an outline. A tag, is also a painting of an artist name, usually done in one color, often in calligraphy style. Throw-ups override Tags. If someone did a throw-up over a tag you painted, it was accepted. However, this doesn't work vice-versa. If someone painted a Tag over your throw-up, it was a sign of disrespect. Rival crews often did this to incite graffiti wars.

Still, with all the drama, the culture flourished... With T-Kid as one of the spearheads of the movement.

A maturing T-Kid would go on to protest against acts and laws that sought to put a ban on graffiti art altogether. In the early 80's, Mayor Koch of New York City attempted to flounder the upswing of graffiti by creating the following add campaign..."Make Your Mark in Society. Not On Society!". Haha, Even being an advocate for graffiti, I must admit, pretty catchy, and effective! Scoreboard Please!

Mayor Koch 1, T-Kid 0.

However, by signing on with, and creating the term, "No More Trains" T-Kid helped push the perception of graffiti as an art form to the next threshold. Prior to this, the prime targets for graffiti artist were subway trains, parked in what artist labeled, the Graveyards! ...The "No More Trains" campaign employed T-Kid as an artist, creating murals and paintings on a commission basis, and avoided subway trains altogether....thus shifting the idea that graffiti was solely based around vandalism. Get'em T.

Mayor Koch 1, T-Kid 1.

1. Intermission!...On The Roots of Graffiti.

I've noticed that urban legends are shared, passed down, and magnified from one generation to the next. Even so, they have a tendency to lose the identity which originally earned its merit. The myth, or the fantasy, often overwhelm the truth. Facts are stripped, and diluted of their initial magnificence. A prime example, the roots of graffiti art...Although artistic graffiti is most commonly known as one of the four elements of hip hop(break dancing, Djing , Emceeing, and Graffiti... for you rooks!) it's prototype form was not confined to a single genre of music...

The following excerpt from T-Kid serves as proof:

"Honestly? I think Hip Hop is a separate thing from graffiti, because I was writing before Hip Hop was Hip Hop....In the beginning it wasn't like that...Graffiti has been out since the beginning of time...you had the white boys that were into Rock and you had the white boy writers. And us, we were into Disco and all that stuff. When we started graffiti it wasn't about Hip Hop as it is today, it was all kinds of stuff. I came up with my own style, which was Salsa and R&B and Motown inspired....When graffiti started it was on another level because you had other writers that weren't into the Hip Hop scene"

Whoa! thanks for that one T.

Got me thinking...while I am thankful for Hip Hop adopting graffiti as part of the culture....did graffiti digress? I would have loved to bear witness to different flavors of graffiti...Jazz style?...Motown?...R&B?....Rock?.....dare I say, Country? Who knows, interesting conversation piece though! : D

2. Last Note....Teachers! I'll show you how to do this Son!

Not your everyday run of the mill Professors...Back in the day it seems we took more pride in our culture, and actually strived to maintain, and pass on the quality of art and music to the next generation. A "Teacher" was an already celebrated graffiti artist, who took younger, new artist under his wing to carry on his legacy (Padawans? : D). Teachers divulged and taught their techniques and skills to a student of their choice...often referring to their students as Sons or Daughters! It was a tremendous honor to be the son or daughter of a respected artist. With it, came a heavy responsibility...to take their teachers art to the next level and carry on the legacy....Better come correct! School of Hard Knocks, anyone?

It's a shame...that we don't have teachers anymore, we could use that pressure...pressure to form a few diamonds. I could envision a much more creative generation, if we were given, and applying knowledge from the past while pushing the artistic envelope to the next level!....

In any case...

Graffiti has withstood the test of time! And as for T-Kid, he's still doing it! Painting in showcases around the world! And his technique (not to be sweated, : D) is studied by newcomers and veterans across the globe (not sure if he's taking on any Sons or Daughters). Respect! He has been featured in many books including Henry Chalfant's Subway Art. I highly recommend reading up on the life of Julius Cavero, aka T-Kid, as again, we're only scratching the surface here. And besides, don't take it from me, learn it yourself! Prepare to be inspired...By a legend....a legend indeed. And oh yeah....

Mayor Koch 1, T-Kid Infinity!!!!!!!

Signing Off.