Chairman Mao interviews legendary God M.C., Rakim

Which M.C. would you want to spend two hours with? To learn from and hear about their influences and life story? Are you new school...Lil' Wayne or B.O.B. May be you're in between..."mid school" like Wu-Tang or Tribe Called Quest? Or real old school...Grandmaster Caz, Kool Moe Dee and Grandmaster Melle Mel?

Top three on my list would be Rakim. This Red Bull sponsored interview has so much unheard dope stories. Did you know Rakim's original M.C. name was Kid Wizard? And that he used to rock the mic with Biz Markie at Rakim's high school? This is the first time in my hip hop habit that I've heard these rhymes! That's insane - I've been in this game since 1983! Go collect those original mixtapes from 1980s. I'm on the search!


Lecture: Rakim (New York 2013) from Red Bull Music Academy on Vimeo.

Only after watching this interview did I learn about the history of Rakim's "take seven M.C.s in a line..." lyrics from "My Melody."

CHAIRMAN MAO: "...explain to the people what that is....'I take seven M.C.s in a line...'" 

RAKIM: "Bascially, the whole concept right there came from my name. My government name is 777. I came up with the three sevens and started doing different rhymes off it....battling in the park, battling in high school, battling in Harlem. So, I started incorporating battle rhymes..This one here was mostly freestyle. Whenever I got down with Biz it was off the top of the head and just throw a couple of joints you had made already in there. That was when I started doing a lot of battle rapping and that little 'seven M.C.' theory just came into play."   

CHAIRMAN MAO: "But that's one of the most famous lyrics of hip hop history, especially from your catalog. That lyric for people who don't know is from the song "My Melody" which is the b-side of Eric B and Rakim's first single. And often quoted, endlessly quoted, but yet you had it already at least a year before.It's interesting that this was something that was in a high school jam, but then became this iconic lyric."  

RAKIM: "No doubt, it was one of those things that I figured had some value to it. So I brought it with me from my old style to converting it to the Rakim that we know now. It's ill that we can look back and hear things like this. It tells you where I came from and tells you where I started...It's not too far from where anyone starts. But it's how much you want it and how much you want to take it to the next level is what counts. This is good to play to a new artist that may not think he's good enough or may thinks he needs to be the best person in the world or you gotta quit. Nah, man...I came out and I was a regular dude, but I loved it so much I just tried to get better and luckily I did!"

Watch the video...all 105 mins of it and you'll get schooled in hip hop history. Do you know who Marley Marl is? Or M.C. Shan? What about the Bronx vs. Queensbridge battle rhymes? Oh, man! This is what kept me excited about hip hop. Always some drama! ;)

Who is Chairman Mao? He was the editor in chief at rap magazine, Ego Trip, in the 90s. This is a cool interview with him done at UCLA.

Big up to Red Bull!

Milkcrate brings it back...Old skool Pete Nice classic!

Back in the 80s Def Jam was the don of rap...so that made 3rd Bass's 1989 "Catcus" album down by law.

My personal jam was "Gas Face" with its rhythmic, choppy drum track. Watching the video now seems so alien to the British way of life that I grew up in, yet it seemed like second nature at the time. Suddenly, all the other kids who weren't black (white kids, Asian/Indians/Pakistanis, Chinese, etc.) were offered an olive branch of coolness! :)



Balitmore's Milkcrate (Aaron LaCrate) recognized the impact that 3rd Bass M.C., Prime Minister Pete Nice, had on hip hop in the late 80s. That's why Milkcrate printed up a tribute t-shirt that blesses us with a rare meeting of hip hop greats...Pete Nice with N.W.A.'s Eazy E and Dr. Dre and MF Doom, aka Zeb Love X.

Supposedly, this t-shirt was deadstock until a recent unearthing in some storage unit....so now it's available in limited quantities again. I grabbed a Small size for myself. Grab one before it's double deadstock! :)

Milkcrate's Pete Nice t-shirt

"This classic tee is an official collaboration between MILKCRATE NYC and the 'Prime Minister' PETE NICE. That's right: Official. 

The photo print on the front of the tee is from an old pic from Pete Nice's personal archives, taken backstage on tour sometime during the 90's. It features an incredible and improbable group: Pete Nice, Eazy E, Dr. Dre and MF Doom (or Zeb Love X at the time). 

This is an old school tee from the MILKCRATE NYC vaults and there's only a few pieces in a couple sizes that they just re-discovered. Get yours before they're gone forever." www.Milkcrate.nyc.com 

DJ Jazzy Jay schools us on beat-digging

The legendary Jazzy Jay gives us a rare tour of his record collection, courtesy of Fuse TV. And yes, he does spill the beans on the break names!

Grandmaster Caz (Cold Crush) and Jazzy Jay, Tools of War, 2009

"You couldn't get no files, there was no YouTube or Limewire or downloading...What? You're crazy! 

"I got into the culture of hip hop early on in the developmental stages in the Bronx back in the mid-70s...There was always a sound eminating from [Afrika] Bambaataa's window...he was the one who inspired me to go to the next level...[D.J.] Red Alert was the one who taught me how to D.J.

"I just remember this crazy looking white guy standing in front of the booth...One day he got up the nerve and he introduced himself to me. He was Rick Rubin....he said, 'Listen, I want to start a record label.' We didn't have no plan to have anything to be first...let's just make a song. At that time, the only artist we had was me, andbeing I wasn't a rapper it was lucky we had T [La Rock] at least he had something to say. You'll notice it was Def Jam 001 - which was 'It's Your's,' 002, 003 are all my tunes. 

"And 'Chillin' In the Spot' I just made up a beat on the DMX and Russell [Simmons] came in with Andre Harrell one night he was drunk from a party. 'Hey we ain't got nothing to put on this record, throw Russell in the booth...' " Jazzy Jay

"It was a thing, a challenge to play those songs before anyone else played them, so you got the tag, the credit for bringing that song out. Now, Bambaataa has so many tags, so many credits 'cause he was the master of records. But, you have people like [Grandmaster] Flash, DXT, Coolade...cats that contributed to the Sacred Crates...the foundation that hip hop, the whole culture was built." Jazzy Jay

Jazzy Jay produced

S.S.O. Orchestra, "Faded Lady," 1976 (not "Shine Your Light")


Diamond D "I Went for Mine," 2006


Def Jam releases

Def Jam 001 - T. La Rock "It's Your's," 1984


Russell Rush and Jazzy J, "Cold Chillin in the Spot," 1985

Bambaataa sureshot...Sacred Crates

Rhythm Heritage, "Sky's the Limit," 1978


Wild Sugar, "Bring it Here," 1980


Cerrone, "Rock it in a Pocket" (Live), 1978


Juice, "Catch a Groove," 1976


King Ericsson, "Have a Nice Day," 1977

(UN)SEEN - graffiti legend exhibits in L.A.

A rare treat happens tonight, Richie Mirando, better known as SEEN, will exhibit new works that he painted in Paris at Fabien Castanier Gallery in Los Angeles's Studio City.

The infamous '80s graffiti artist who led United Artists crew in New York has come a long way since this video clip from "Style Wars" produced by Los Angeles's Tom Silver (R.I.P.) and Henry Chalfont.

"...I can't really say that it's art. It just keeps me going...I don't know what I'm going to do after they can't get into the yards any more, after they put up the fences and all..." SEEN, 1983

Here is an interview that Fabien Castanier published last month.

How are you feeling now that you’re back from Paris and living in the U.S? 

SEEN:  "Honestly, I thought coming back to the US, meaning not coming back to New York but to the West Coast, would be a breath of fresh air and a little more relaxed than it would be for me if I returned to the East Coast. The weather is obviously a bit nicer, but that was the whole idea, to come to the U.S. for the nice weather, get away from the cold, get away from the New York habits that would disrupt my everyday work." 

As a native New Yorker, which do you prefer – living in the U.S. or Europe? 

SEEN: "I like Europe because it’s old. My whole life I’ve been traveling there. For me, whenever I went on a trip it was about walking down the street, seeing the buildings and the architecture. It always amazed me these buildings – what they looked like, the structure, how they were built – everything. In the U.S., you don't have that. I mean everything is fairly new – it’s only 200 years old! Nothing is really old." 

Your super hero body of work is exhibited in galleries around the world and recent auction results have been tremendous. For this upcoming exhibition at Fabien Castanier Gallery, you are exhibiting work that you created while living in Paris. Can you explain how this exhibition is different and what it’s all about?  

SEEN: "Honestly, I like to use the word experimenting, but there’s more to it. I’ve always worked in an abstract area my whole life – as early as the 80’s, maybe late 70’s. The graffiti style of work – with the form of the letter – is what took off in the general public’s eye for me. I was painting in other styles at that time too, but I didn’t get a chance to work that deep in those areas. So during the early days, in the 80’s, when I had an opportunity to change my work style and go in a new direction I never showed the works that I was really getting into, which were more abstract. I kept that private, all these years I’ve kept it private. I wasn’t able to fully explore that style up until about 5 years ago. That’s when I got the opportunity to leave the U.S. and made my way to Paris. That was when I had all my energy and all my time. I was able to go back into experimenting in this field."

How did you decide upon living in Paris? 

SEEN: "When I got to Paris in 2007, I ended up doing an exhibition there. That’s when I decided to stay. About 10-12 years before that, I was trying to go. At that time, I was trying to get away from the States, to come to Europe to do what I wanted to do, which was to experiment further, but that was never allowed to happen because of family, my lifestyle, my work at the time. 

But in 2007, when I landed in Paris, I said “OK, there is nothing to hold me back here at this time. I’m here and I’m gonna stay because if I don’t take this opportunity to stay now, I may never get this chance again.” I only knew a handful of people that I felt I could trust to keep quiet that I was in Paris to do what I wanted to do, to experiment and to help me to do it. So I took 5 years, and I worked 7 days a week. I got to the studio at 9 in the morning and wouldn’t leave until 3 or 4 the next morning. And when I left there, I would go home, sleep a few hours and do the same thing the next day. It was all about going further, where I could take this and it gave me a lot of energy to do it, a lot of time. No distractions. It was a beautiful moment in time." 

So do you find it humorous that you painted all these works in Paris and that they’re going to be exhibited in Los Angeles with a French gallery owner? 

SEEN: "Yeah, I tell you, it’s strange that it will happen that way because the truth of the matter is, I figured that they would never be exhibited in the U.S. And if they would be exhibited, they would be exhibited in Europe. I find it ironic? It’s crazy (laughs) that it’s happening this way you know. But I do feel very good that it’s being shown through a French person, as I created it in France. So I feel there is a connection still. For me to show it here in the U.S. with anybody who’s from the US? I don’t think it would have a real feeling for me, like it would lose something for me. So I feel there is this connection there and I feel positive about that." 

Did you like the French “joie de vivre” when you were in Paris? What did you think about the French people? 

SEEN: "Right off the bat, and this is the God honest truth, I had no problem with them. My whole life, I hear, “The French are a little snooty, especially to the Americans...” My experience though, with the French, was… NEVER, never did I have a problem, even when I ventured out on my own. I don't speak the language and I still had good feelings.
Wait, I had one problem there. The food! When you go to a restaurant in Paris, the chef is the chief. This is the way the food comes, there is no changing it. You can’t tell the chef how to cook it. You can’t tell him “No, I don’t want mushrooms” or “No, I don’t want sauce” or “ I want extra”. It comes the way it comes. Thats the only thing! Do NOT argue with the chef. That’s what I learned. Cause I’m a very picky eater so it was a little difficult getting certain food because I need to have my food very very well done. Try to tell the chef that and he’ll come out and tell you to get out of the place. (laughs)" 

So be honest, would you go back to Paris for 5 more years? 

SEEN: "I tell you, I would live there for 5 more years. But during those 5 years, I would explore more. I spent most of my time in the studio. If I did 5 more years, I would go see more galleries, more museums, and I would see more of the streets that I didn't see. But yes, I would."

Did you find inspiration in Paris?
SEEN: "I found time in Paris (laughs). I found time. And I’m gonna be honest with you, time is what I needed. Inspiration? I guess I found that while I was there because I had that time to experiment, to find it. Any other way, I might not have found it." 

Of this series that you created – all this experimentation you were doing – how does this fit into and how is it significant to your larger body of work? 

SEEN: "I feel it fits in because an artist needs to grow and to experiment. And if they don’t do that, then they’re not growing as an artist should grow – to see where you can take something, and to me, it’s all part of the process. 

"The shame is that it took a long time to get to this point, to produce a large body of work like this. When I was doing works in a similar manner years ago – experimenting – I wasn’t able to bring it all into one huge body like this. When people look at this work, at first they might think it’s overwhelming because it’s 5 years worth of work, “Okay, where did this come from?” Some might not see it fit in. But if you step back and look at the big picture, the form of the letter in graffiti is color blending and design work. The only problem is, the graffiti where I grew up – it was locked into a box, into a frame with an outline. I took the letter, an abstract piece basically, and I was confining it by putting an outline around it . Now, it’s totally released. The only thing that stops it at this point is the end of the canvas. And the truth of the matter is, you don’t even need the canvas, you just go beyond that. The letter just keeps growing."

These paintings that you created in Paris over the 5 years, they are exclusively painted with spray cans. Can you explain this process? 

SEEN: "The spray can is a tool that I find to be most comfortable with. I’ve used a paintbrush, an airbrush, I use other mediums and it all works for me but the spray can is the most comfortable. I figured out how to use the spray cans in an unconventional way with different works, with different abstract styles I would do. There is one way where I would take the spray can and take the cap and I would squirt the paint into the cap of the spray can. I let it go into the cap and turn into a liquid form now instead of an aerosol spray, so I just turned it into a different form. Now, I’m using it to drip on the canvases over and over to build up my textures and my colors and my designs. Sometimes, I’ll just lay a canvas flat on a table and I’ll take maybe 10 cans of spray paint and just squirt all 10 cans on the canvas. Then maybe I’ll take a trowel and move it around in a freestyle movement. There are so many ways to use a spray can. It does not have to be just pressing a button down and the spray comes out."

Do you consider these paintings a new direction for you? Will you continue in this direction, and still experiment or was this just a phase in Paris? 

SEEN: "Like I said, through the earlier days of my work, I worked in this area. Those 5 years allowed me to explode with it, do many pieces. I feel that I would like to continue with it. The truth is, I did so much with the structure of the letter that I feel – not a block – but I feel that there’s no further that I can go with it because I am happy with where I got with it. I’m happy with the lettering form, it’s my style and that’s what I do within that area. There’s only so many designs I can put in there, so many color variations I can do. So for me, that’s complete."

So in a way, these paintings are a way for you to break from the graffiti style and from what you normally show, for what you are known? 

SEEN: "Yes, yes. And it would be great if I break through and if it’s accepted. If it’s not, it’s still ok because I will still explore and experiment with it. It was just so important for me to take that time in my life. I needed to find it and I needed to find that time. And I was lucky to get it because for me, it makes me feel better for what I’ve been doing all these years because you get.... tiresome. You have to figure out what you're looking for and where you’re gonna be happy in life, you know what I’m saying? 

People like Keith Haring, for instance, everyone knows his work. Ok, he passed away early. Would he want to paint that same imagery today? And would he have stood the test of time if he still did it today? So these are a lot of questions, a lot of mind games that the artist starts getting in his head, like “Where am I going with this? What am I doing?” But you know what I figured out in the end? No matter what, I’m going to do what I want to do. Maybe one day when I kick the bucket, someone’s gonna open up the door and see all these different works and say, “Hmm, who’s this guy? and who’s that guy and who’s this guy?” and then realize it was just one guy and say, “You know what? See that guy? That guy was an eccentric. He was a fucking genius.” (laughs)" 

By many, you are considered a legend in the graffiti and street art world. What do you think about the great excitement surrounding this movement today that you began in the 1970’s? Do You have any insight about this movement today? 

SEEN: "In the 70’s, I was a kid. I didn’t think much more of it. You started off writing at school on your desk, then on your books at school. Then before you know it, you’re leaving the school and you’re writing on the school doors. Then on your way home from school, you put these little tags on the mailbox, and so on and so on. As a kid growing up it was cool, but I never would have in my wildest dreams thought that it would start a world movement. 

I started to see that happening in the late 70’s, early 80’s, when I started to travel overseas. I was one of a handful of artists that was brought to Europe to start showing work on canvas. And from there, going from the trains to the canvas into a gallery, I was watching myself and others paint the streets of Europe. The Europeans were seeing what we did and then I saw them writing in the streets. I’m watching this thing start to explode. We went from country to country, showing our work and the explosion just got bigger and bigger. And then it got to computers which brought it to the world even faster, it just started to multiply. It’s so crazy what it turned into, not just on the street but it started to change how the public sees art. It trickled into the galleries, into the museums. And then you ask, “Well maybe it’s not gonna last?” Well, we’re talking over 50 plus years now that it’s been happening."

What is your next project or future plans? 

SEEN: "My next project? I’m going to build my coffin (laughs). No, ha! My next project is moving again. We’re in LA – this was a quick drop off point for me. I was originally supposed to go into Nevada first. I have a few projects going on there. So my idea was to be closer to my projects and also to be able to have a studio there. So we’re moving into a new space, it’s opening in the next few months. This will be my new project, getting that off the ground. And once I’m off the ground, I can start producing my work again." 

What would you say to the people who will be visiting the [UN]SEEN show in February, about this exhibition and about this new series? 

SEEN: "The truth of the matter is, those who are not familiar with my work will not be surprised. But those who are familiar with my work will be surprised. All I can tell you is, if you like it I’m happy and if you don’t like it, I’m still happy because I’m happy doing what I’m doing for myself in life at this time. 

These graffiti guys who deal strictly with lettering, they’ll label me right away. They’ll come to the show, some of these guys, and they’ll be like, “What is this?!” But hopefully one day, their minds will open up and expand and they’ll see that you need to grow and to move on and to see where it leads you, see where life or your mind expands to lead you."

(UN)SEEN runs from February 23th - March 24th, 2013. Opening night is February 23rd, 2013 7-10pm

FABIEN CASTANIER GALLERY
12196 Ventura Blvd
Studio City CA, 91604

T: 818 748 6014
email: contact@castaniergallery.com

Sun – Mon: 11am – 5pm
Tues – Sat: 11am – 7pm

The South Bronx history documented

"It was one of the worst times, but it was the best time," said Franscisco Molina Reyes II in the "Voices of Seis del Sur" documentary. This 10 minute interview brings to life, in words and moving image, the exhibition subtitled, "Dispatches from home by six Boricua photographers."

Ricky Flores, Edwin Pagán, Joe Conzo, Jr, Angel Franco, David Gonzalez, Francisco Molina Reyes II (credit: Adi Talwar)

The opening last month, at the Bronx Documentary Center, brought together many cultural ambassadors of the South Bronx. Of particular interest to this blog was the "Steel Canvases" panel discussion featuring graffiti legends, Crash, Nicer and Bio from Tats Cru and Henry Chalfont, co-author of Subway Art. See the video below.

"I grew up in the South Bronx during the '60s, '70s and '80s, probably during one of the most turbulent time in the city. There was rapid transformation from a community heavy populated by blacks and Latinos, to being aggressively depopulated over a short period of time in the '60s and '70s...Building after building, block after block started disappearing. I didn't understand what was going on at the time..." Ricky Flores, photographer

"The Bronx was burning, or as I like to say, the Bronx was burnt. Drugs were rampant, gangs were rampant, but the family community aspect was very, very tight..." Joe Conzo, photographer and author

Crash painting (credit: David Gonzalez/New York Times)

"If it wasn't for him [Henry Chalfont] and Marty [Martha Cooper] what's happened globally wouldn't have happened because there was no Internet, no nothing. It was just us...Their thing had nothing to with money...it was the love for what we were doing and it's very evident in the photographs... 

The first time I went to Europe they were bombing all over Amsterdam and it was because of the fact they had these books out. If it wasn't for the books...we wouldn't be sitting here today. We built it and the books underlined it. They put the stamp on it." John "Crash" Matos, artist

Seis del Sur: Dispatches From Home by Six Nuyorican Photographers
Photographs by Joe Conzo, Jr, Ricky Flores, Angel Franco, David Gonzalez, Edwin Pagán, Francisco Molina Reyes II

614 Courtlandt Avenue (@ 151st St.) Bronx, New York 10451
Directions

Opening Reception January 19th, 4PM
Runs January 19- March 8, 2013
Gallery hours:
Thur.-Fri. 4-7pm
Sat-Sun 1-5pm

Jon Reiss returns...Bomb It 2!

Are you ready? Bombin' 2 is coming...Jon Reiss got his passport and boarded on a plane....several of them!

Copenhagen...Singapore?! (the city/country where chewing gum is illegal)...Tel Aviv...Bethlehem...Chicago...Bangkok...Hong Kong...Melbourne...Perth...Austin...Jakarta...




The original "Bomb It" film inspired the "digital broadcast network" Babelgum (which seems to be off-air) to commission Reiss to create a web series. After all, there are millions of new Android, Apple and other Internet-connected devices out there. Reiss does expand his original footprint to venture across the world to six countries, so that's why including Chicago and Austin seems a bit out of place. Artists featured include Klone, KnowHope, GreatBates, Zero, Darbotz, Killer Gerbil, Bon, Alex Face, Sloke, Husk Mit Navn, Ash, Phibs, Stormie Mills, Beejoir and plenty more.

“I was inspired to explore how and where graffiti and street art had penetrated the globe into some of the most unlikely places – such as Singapore.    I am especially fascinated in how each culture (and each person) takes this art form and makes it their own – and how the local culture affects the development of graffiti in each place that I visited. Tel Aviv and the refugee camps of Bethlehem couldn’t be more different.  The former is on the verge of a street art explosion similar to Barcelona in the early 90s.  In the West Bank, graffiti is much more about a political statement and “art” is often viewed as reconciliation.  At the same time it was interesting to see how some of the constants of graffiti exist nearly everywhere – from Perth to Copenhagen: the need to express oneself in public – and the addictive nature of getting up!” Jon Reiss, director

Going back in time...Fashion Moda

Before Patti Astor's Fun Gallery came Fashion Moda. And rather than bring uptown artists to downtown, Fashion Moda nutured artists from the South Bronx.

This Saturday, two artists who exhibited at Fashion Moda decades ago will celebrate its history. The Bronx Documentary Center will host photographer, Lisa Kahane, and artist, Jane Dickson who will screen her film of her 1980 cardboard installation, named "City Maze."  This collaboration between Dickson and graffiti artist, Crash, was originally installed in Fashion Moda. This was the start of the hip hop connection with the installation space. The picture above shows Crash's new signage painted in 1981.

Since it closed in 1993, Fashion Moda has been recognized for "its role in connecting the graffiti artists living in the city’s boroughs with the downtown fine arts world." After the City Maze installation, Crash went on to produce the first graffiti show at Fashion Moda in late 1980. Entitled, "GAS," short for "Graffiti Art Success for America," Crash brought together the now familiar names Futura, Lady Pink, Lee and Zephyr.

Source: powerhousearena.com via Gabriela on Pinterest

Bronx Documentary Center
614 Courtlandt Avenue (@ 151st St.)
Bronx
New York 10451

"Fashion Moda" opens at 7.30pm on February 16th.
$7 adults; $5 students; free for under 18s.

Normal hours:
Thursday and Friday 4-7PM
Saturday and Sunday 1-5PM