In this issue you will find some great contributions by Dave Lee, Skeme Richards (The Nostalgia King), Oliver Way, Jef and Bobby, Pat Vogt, Wildstyle Guy, Wild Life Archive, Jason Armitage (DR.J), The Dutch Graffiti Library, Le Grand Jeu and The Cover is made by Pat Vogt.
For those who don’t know me yet, I have already collected many disco-related items, such as magazines, books, acetates and, of course, records! Like me, there are many other music lovers who have interesting stories to tell, know about the music’s history and have certain memorabilia.
This magazine includes a wide range of interesting articles on disco, jazz, rap, hip-hop, funk, house, rollerdisco and the graffiti & breakdancing culture. Furthermore, you will find vintage advertisements and magazine articles mainly from the 1970’s to the 1990’s.
Th E mySTERy OF B LACK B ELT JONES By S keme Richards (T he Nostalgia K ing)
Ch ILLy Q AND KEV y KEV
Interview By Jason Armitage (DR.J)
I m ES - I T’S SERIOUS BUSINESS SUCKER Interview With David Schmidlapp By Pat Vogt
JOE y BELTRA m INTERVIEW New york Graffiti In The 80’S Through The Eyex Of A Techno Pioneer By Oliver Way -EPm m usic
ExPLORING T h E hISTORy OF FRENCh hIP hOP Th ROUGh 80 S AND 90 S FLyERS By Uncle Texaco
RECORD S TORES AS GALLERIES By The Dutch Graffiti Library
J EF & BOBBy’S 5+5 RECORD RUNDOWN
Gang Scientists Of Sound
KEITh hARRING’S PART y OF LIFE Collection Of Wild Life Archive
VINTAGE ARTICLE Geepies Are The New h ippies Says Bootsy Collins
ART FOR PROmOTION ONLy DISCO COVERS
“ Picture Covers From The 70’s
VINTAGE PRESS K IT m unich machine Introducing Chris Benett
Dave Lee’s BLinD Buy Top 10
With an inimitable CV and discography that includes over a thousand production credits to his name, hundreds of singles under renowned pseudonyms including Joey Negro, and three UK top 40 hits as Jakatta, Dave Lee is one of the UK’s most revered producers of disco and house music, defining each genre with a signature sound. Always looking to push the boundaries of what it means to make music.
Lee’s also a noted record collector and he’s spun his passion for vinyl into a landmark series of compilations, initially for labels like BBE and Strut, but over the past decade or so has developed Z Records into one of the most respected reissue labels – with series like Under The Influence – while still using the label as an outlet for his current productions, including his cherished live music side project, Sunburst Band.
In 2020, Lee decided it was time to retire the Joey Negro moniker. “I was never that mad about it in the first place,” he says. “I was struggling to think of a name for that 1990 Nu Groove release and had a pile of records on my desk, J. Walter Negro’s ‘Shoot The Pump’ and ‘Reach Up To mars’ by Pal Joey, and put the two together. In my mind, the Negro was the Spanish pronunciation of black. Somehow it stuck.” 2020 was the year of Black Lives matter and issues of race and cultural appropriation have been hot topics and Dave, whose entire career has been defined by his love of black music, did not want to become embroiled in these issues. “I would like to make it clear, there wasnʼt enormous pressure on me to change it, I just felt it was the right thing to do.” Despite a number of notable African-American artists backing Dave, he decided it was simpler to retire it and move on to pastures new.
Last year, Lee released the critically acclaimed & his most ambitious album project to date - ‘metamorphosis’ under his AC Soul Symphony moniker. Inspired by happy memories from the golden era of TV and the soundtracks of his favourite childhood shows, “metamorphosis” was borne of a desire to put the strings center stage and recreate the same analogue sounds that brought instrumental albums by Love Unlimited, m FSB and Salsoul Orchestra to life. Taking disco back to a physical place, “metamorphosis” was an organic writing process that saw Dave lay down his ideas digitally, before reshaping the m IDI strings into a proper arrangement and recording them live with a 20-piece orchestra at RAK Studios.
What’s coming up next for Dave Lee? Well, apart from continuing his busy DJ schedule he has a new album ready, in which he has teamed up with Detroit vocalist maurissa Rose as well as a new reworks/remix compilation album alongside John morales in the same vein as Lee’s infamous Remixed with Love series.
Ladies and gentlemen, may we introduce you to Dave Lee.
Buying blind is a big part of digging. Records that look appealing but you have no prior knowledge of when you make the purchase. you might know the label or recognise the producer but you’re going on a mixture of knowledge and the hunch it might be good, If the record in question is cheap then those buys are often the most fun and exciting. These are ten of mine which stand out from over the years. (Dave Lee)
1. younger generation “We rap More Mellow” b rass records 1979
I reckon my digging peak was in the 80s. If you’re a collector then there is a really fun period when you’ve gained some knowledge but still have plenty to learn and lots of gaps in your collection. Back then there was no internet or Discogs so it was often a long quest to find the 12” or LP you were after (a lot of the time you didn’t know what you were after, you might have one album by an act but weren’t sure how many others they’d made). The other thing that made it fun was when I did see the sort of records I wanted they were usually super cheap. Though East Anglia wasn’t a great place to grow up in many respects it did have lots of second hand record shops come and go, along with many general junk stores that had a box or 2 of vinyl. I can’t remember the name of store I bought this rap classic from but it was in Old Road on the outskirts of Clacton on Sea and the owner’s name was Roy. This was probably 1983. I recall they used to have a rack full of 12”
singles had found 4 I wanted and was looking for a final one to make it up to 5. Amongst the British Fantasy, Pye and Stiff 12” there was an import by the younger Generation, so being an American copy it looked appealing but the act name made me sceptical it might be a kids type group like New Edition.
So it didn’t fill me with anticipation but it seemed like the best bet from what was there. As all diggers know it’s a great feeling when you put the needle on an unknown record that you’ve bought blind and it is actually really good, which obviously was the case here - by the time it got to the “Bang/Pow/Rock the house!” and various vehicles I thought “Wow this is killer”. I loved old school rap anyway and in retrospect I think I’d actually heard this once on the Radio Luxembourg Friday Night import chart at the time of release, but amongst so many unknown names it didn’t go into my memory. I had “Its Nasty” and a few other Grandmaster Flash records so listening to the words it was obviously the same crew, which added to the intrigue. A year or two later “We Rap more mellow” started getting revived at Soul mafia gigs like the Do at the Zoo, so it was nice to have a copy of this rare in demand record. I found out some time after that the bassline is loosely based on Stephanie m ills “Put your Body In It”. When I started Republic Records in 1988 “We Rap moer mellow” was still a very in demand record, so we tried to track down the owner of the rights and re issue it. Initially we found Roy B, Brass was a spin off of his label and we agreed to license it off him. h owever, shortly after it was released we got a call from the records producer Terry Lewis (not the Jimmy Jam one) who said he owned it and we needed to license it from him. We spoke to Roy, who still insisted he had the rights. Something went down between them as Roy called up to say he’d met Terry and would send us the money back.
2. Peoples Choice “We got the rhythm”LP tsoP 1976
I grew up in Thorpe Le Soken (a little village about 5 miles from Clacton on Sea, Essex). Once I got the bug for used vinyl I used to go digging in all the surrounding towns - Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich. Often I would see an album or 12” in one of these places, leave it and then months (or even years) later find out it was worth having, I’d return to the shop and it was usually still there in the racks. Even though there was some decent club nights locally it felt like I was the only person in a 50 mile radius who wanted these old records. One of the shops I used to regularly visit was a local chain called Andy’s Records, at their peak they had 6 or 7 stores. Andy’s shops had lots of reduced ones offs and a big used section, which is where I found “We Got The Rhythm”. In fact I think it was my first ever second hand LP purchase, this was maybe 1980/81. The sleeve looked funky and I saw it was on the same label as “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now”. I hadn’t really considered buying used records but realised when I played this that though the jacket was a slightly tatty the vinyl seemed pretty much new. This remains a favourite LP of mine, particularly side 2 with the classy moody moving In All Directions and Opus De Soul, which is Dexter Wansel. Played to death on my Toshiba m usic Centre.
3. Full Force “ turn you on” d azz 1980
When I first moved to London in 1986 I was was living in Acton on the West side. There was a record shop nearby in Chiswick I used to go to sometimes, not that i had ever found much there but one day I passed by and they were having a closing down sale. This meant everything was out in the racks and I came across this 12” from Full Force, which they must have found when having a clear out as it wasn’t there before that. I liked much of the bands then current Columbia material (“Alice” being their biggest hit) but didn’t know about this interesting looking earlier release from 1980, tho I wasn’t initially sure it was the same act. I knew as soon as the needle touched the vinyl that this was a major discovery for me. It has a killer “Good times/ Bounce Rock Skate Roll” type Bassline which is right up my street. Interestingly Billy Nichols is credited as co producer on the promo but not the finished one. Since we’ve had the internet/ Discogs some records that were quite sought after at one point in the UK have become much easier to find, whilst others have gone through the roof price wise. I find it doesn’t always make sense in terms of the quality of music. you can pick up “Turn me On” for under a tenner these days, which is pretty good value. I covered it with the Ladies from Chic on the second Sunburst Band album.
4. b rick “good High” LP bang records 1976
For Christmas in 1978 I got a copy of the Guinness Book of h it Singles. I really studied that book which chronicled every UK top 75 single entry since the UK charts began. One of the acts listed as having a minor hit was Brick with “Dazz” which reached 36 in 1977. There was a pic of them next to the listing, so I knew they were a black act with afros. A couple of years later on a visit to London I saw the Good h igh LP in an Our Price (a UK record chain from late 70s/early 80s) in Tottenham Court Road. The cover looked funky and though it wasn’t super cheap, it was an affordable £2.99. This LP is still a favourite of mine, as well as their super funky hit single Dazz , m usic matic, h ere We Come, the instrumental Brick City and the title track are all great. I really like offbeat vocal harmonies and brilliantly orchestrated string parts, though i dig other songs by the band this is by far my favourite Brick LP. Back then I played my records A LOT and I still know this album backwards.
5. Familiar Faces the new dance”
In the late 90s and early 2000s, I was doing a different sort of digging – online and often on eBay. This was before Discogs was a thing, many of the auctions had no clip and the songs weren’t yet on youTube. I bought lots of turkeys around this time as there are far more records that look like they could potentially be great than actually are. Since the mid 80s I’ve always been on the look out for under the radar GoGo releases, I was convinced there must be some killer pieces that never got out of the DC area. I was pleasantly surprised by when I “won” this obscure Gogo 12 inch online. It was the top side that drew me to the record, it’s a cover version of Donald Banks super funky jam, “Status Quo”. Unfortunately, it’s more electrictronic and less compelling than the original. h owever on the flip was this bouncy synth solo filled cut that talks about “The Wop”, the dance that’s been mentioned in many a GoGo song. I later included it on the ZR comp GoGo Get Down.
6. v inzerelli “ skate dancer” Panbro 1980
When I worked at Rough Trade from 8690 we used to sell to G& m distribution, a big record wholesaler in Stratford, East London (an area that’s unrecognisable these days since the Olympic inspired rebuild). As well as contemporary h ouse/ R&B/Reggae releases they used to carry lots of cut out, rare groove/soul albums. my contact there Richard was always friendly and he knew I was a collector so said to come down look around the warehouse some time and I could take any records I wanted - within reason )) . The majority of it was major label albums, large quantities of recent ish One Way, Zapp, Gwen mcCrae LPs, obvious stuff but I filled a few gaps. h owever whilst exhaustively looking through the warehouse shelves I noticed in a far corner there was a section of random spines which seemed to be one off records. It was in a slightly awkward place to get to but that’s were I pulled out the yellow sleeve of Skate Dancer. Over the years I’ve always picked up any record I didnt know with a title reference to roller skating and this has to be the best of all of them. Its the (still quite vocal) instrumental that is the one here, with plenty of the Patrick Adams style synth and a great “skate” bassline. my old friend Sean P identified that Vinzerelli must be Vin Zee who also made “Funky Be Bop”.
7. Ethel beatty “ i Know you Care/i t’s your Love” uno Melodic records 1981
Some of my greatest digging moments were when I visited New york for the first time in the late 80s . I count myself incredibly lucky that I got to go there when the pickings were still rich. After working for Rough Trade distribution for 18 months I had started running my first label Republic in 88 (with the financial backing of RT) and many of our early releases were licensed from Ny and New Jersey labels. I visited the city 3 or 4 times during this period, with my time there being split between meetings with producers/labels and digging. Vinyl mania was a combination of both as we’d done some business together and the shop was always worth a look . Owner Charlie Grapone knew I was a fanatical collector and had mentioned he had a basement of overstocks which I should take a look in sometime. Though I’d always check anything like this out, my experience of basements full of records is that they aren’t always that exciting in reality. Often it’s piles and piles of unsorted random vinyl which aren’t easy to browse through and most of it is stuff I’m not interested in like hi energy, freestyle, miami bass. That’s as well as being dusty, claustrophobic and smelly. h owever this was the opposite of that, it was spacious, well lit and most of the records were racked and in alphabetical order. I started browsing and quickly realised he had loads of good stuff here. I either had my wants list with me or remembered 12” from it I wanted and started looking for them - unbelievably the first couple I searched for Arts & Crafts and Larry Wu were both in the racks, multiple copies too. I took 4 of the former - 2 promos, 2 finished. I think I was looking for something else beginning with B when I stumbled across Ethel Beaty, there was only 1 copy. Obviously I was going to buy anything on Unomelodic I’d not heard of, even tho the name didn’t sound too funky - I didn’t have the Eighties Ladies LP at that point to know she was a member. Unfortunately my time in this basement was much shorter than i would have liked because i had a meeting with marc Kammins at
Pow Wow Records scheduled uptown. This meeting had been postponed a couple of times already, so I didn’t feel I could move it again – though in retrospect I wish I had, as it turned out to be pretty pointless for both parties. I’m fairly sure that this was my last day in town so I was unable to return to Vinyl mania. When i got back to London and I was tracking through my purchases the Beaty was one of the first I wanted to check out. I was pretty impressed with the top side “I know you care” but then played the B-side the midtempo “It’s your Love” co written with Dee Dee Bridgewater. I thought “bloody hell, this is even better, classic Roy Ayers”. A really great 12 inch single and amazing that it seemingly did nothing as a new release, as it is genuinely really good. I think next time I went to New york I touched base with Charlie and he had sold all the records from the basement.
8. venice “best d isco i n the City” Jobiss i nternational 1978
There was a shop in a back street near h olloway Road, not that far from where I live called Doc Records. I chanced upon it one day when looking for somewhere to park my car. This was early 2000s. I later found it was a secret digging place for a few people I knew like the Idjut Boys and Faze Action. The owner was Greek or Italian and he had lots of European records in the shop. The Venice album is produced by Jo Bisso (who I already had one LP by) and he also thanks Arthur Baker on the sleeve. There was no deck to check it there but I thought it was worth a punt. I was pleasantly surprised when I played it with “Don’t Think About it” and “mystery with me” being the best songs The latter was sampled in a big house tune but it was the Patrick Adams ish “Don’t Think About it” that caught my imagination. It’s based around a really interesting chord progression and I went from liking to loving it. A year or 2 later I decided to remake it with Sunburst Band, changing the chords slightly and writing a new B section. I’ve since bought a few more copies, as it was released on Canadian label Quality as well French Jobiss, so not super rare but still its good music which is the most important thing. I later noticed Doc records also sold porn DVDs and mags, maybe that’s what actually kept them in business.
9. Jagg “ take time” delirium 1982
When I first worked for Rough Trade Distribution in 1987 one of my initial tasks was trying to set up accounts with dance shops who hadn’t previously bought from a distributor that mainly handled indie music. This often meant visiting the stores, attempting to get them to fill in the account forms, sometimes I’d even deliver them the records if the account wasn’t yet active. Though not large quantities as I was getting around via London Underground. One shop I went to was Tricky Dickys behind Leicester Square tube station. This was more of a high energy store and we sold them many copies of Rhythm King’s first pop hit Taffy “I Love my Radio”. The guys there were super friendly and one time I visited I noticed a couple of boxes of used records behind the counter, I asked if I could look through them and they were maybe the best boxes of 12” singles I’ve ever comes across. It was all jazz funk and boogie, seemingly jam packed with then sort after releases like Sass, Lowell Simon, the promo of Willie Bobo “Always There” - and all in very good condition. The problem was I just didn’t have that much money on me or generally back then. I bought a few (I think they were £2 each) as I had £10 which was supposed to be for my lunch that week. I managed to borrow some money from my mum and go back a couple of days later and then again when I got paid. It was on the second or third visit I picked up the Jagg 12”. I had the much more common Kasso “Key West” on Delirium but it was worth taking a gamble on as the quality of the stuff I did know in these boxes was very high. I didn’t really realise quite how rare the Jagg was until much later, so ended up trading it for a Leroy h utson LP and Lezette Wilson 12” about a year after I got it. Not that I massively regret the swap as I played the Leroy LP a lot more than I would have Jagg.
10. First Choice “ double Cross” salsoul 1979
Pretty sure this was the first 12” I bought blind. I didn’t do very well at school, especially my secondary eduction. I am dyslexic and that wasn’t recognised back then, so i struggled with anything that involved writing and spelling. Along with some other factors this meant I left school early with no qualifications. So when I was 16 in 1980/81 I spent a year going to this local college in Colchester attempting re taking my O levels, I can’t remember for sure but I don’t think I got any second time unfortunately. I had 25p bus-fare to get to and from the college but I often used to walk and spend the money on vinyl. Lion Records in Red Lion Arcade was a shop that stocked imports, a place I bought many new releases from over the subsequent years. They had a rack of used 12” and a few were in this attractive blue bag with sky and rainbows on. “Double Cross” was a totally random purchase for 25p. I have to admit I didn’t really like it when I got it home. It was too overtly “disco” for me back then with a loud 4/4 and big upfront string arrangement. I think this kind of disco was maybe out of step with UK tastes in ’80/81. I was into the more jazz funky disco I heard on the radio like Patrice Rushen, David Bendeth and Roy Ayers. So “Double Cross” was filed in a pile of records I wasn’t sure about. I did
play it every now and then and about 5 or 6 years later decided it could relocate on the main shelf with the other 12” I actually liked. I’ve remixed “Double Cross” for a forthcoming compilation, as I have quite a few of the records I bought with my dole money back then like Narada m icheal Walden and Slave. Though it is obviously impossible part of me wishes I could let my 16 year old self know that though things look pretty dismal they would eventually work out ok.
iT ’s serious Business sucker
Interview with David Schmidlapp
by Pat Vogt aka
360illuminati
beginning in 1984, schmidlapp produced this first ever magazine devoted to aerosol art and culture, as the’ graffiti’ craze was peaking with its entry into the East village gallery scene. schmidlapp approached the project as an outsider, but as the only published outlet for inner-city artists it soon became a full-blown collaboration with members of this art movement. not only a rich chronicle of the subway writing of the 1980’s, this magazine also provided a forum for the voices of the community of writers. ironically, as contemporary art galleries dropped “graffiti artists” to move onto the next passing trend, the hip hop culture, with aerosol art as its signature aesthetic, exploded into one of the most far reaching popular cultural movements in modern history.
david, you’ve been a new york City photography-based artist for the past five decades. Photography has been the binding thread for all your artistic endeavors, which have included projection, installation, photomontage, filmmaking, publishing and performance. Let’s go back in time. Could you please share some childhood memories? Where and when did your fascination for photography and video started? did you go to artschool or were you an autodidact?
Photography was just a part of growing up in the 50’s and 60’s in America. My photography was rooted in childhood family photos taken by my parents. Documentation, photo-play, photopersonae, projection and vision was all there. I won my first camera of my own as a prize at the age of ten by selling so many magazines at school. It was a 120 Brownie-like Mark IV. It was my new toy that soon became an extended tool in a changing world. As a teenage
I also picked up a 8mm Beaulieu movie camera and made in-camera-edit films. I didn’t go to art school. Instead I went to a liberal arts, midwestern, bigten university and majored in history. My real education was the anti-war, counterculture times of the late 60’s and early 70’s. I made collages in jest and posters for a film society. I also had my hands on a few underground papers of the day. You learn a lot when “hawking these rags” which included the “Black Panther Newspaper ” out on the streets.
in the late 70’s you were a regular contributor to the trendy style section of the soho Weekly news with your own photo-stories. How did you get involved with the soho Weekly news and how was it to get so much creative freedom?
In the early 70s I travelled a bit in Europe with a touch in Prague and Tangiers and settled down in New York. The city was in decline they said, dirty and dangerous. Empty storefronts, warehouses and tenements. Yes, offbeat, cheap and vibrant. Perfect for young artists to do their thing. I got more serious with the happening medium of photography and realized that this would be my “applied” medium, the way I would process life and make art. The Soho Weekly News was an alternative to the then established Village Voice. Soho was peaking as artist community in the mid 70’s and it would soon be invaded by real estate mongers, movie stars and stock brokers.
The Weekly attracted a lot of media, cultural up-starts. I just walked in one day and showed the style editor my already laid out photo page of a
photographer (me), being lost in a mirrored bathroom of a trendy restaurant. She loved it. In the next few years I contributed a dozen or so “photopages” where I produced, photographed, wrote, and designed these funky, edgy photo-stories. The pages were popular though not enough to avoid the sellout threads of the day. It’s a bit of a story but I made a stink and I was basically black balled from the 80s New York publishing world. I had already started making an underground film and was doing slide shows in the emerging downtown nightclub scene. I had created a new gig, lighting up the dance floors and VIP lounges and montaging my images with live and acts of their own. There was always a reciprocal relationship with print and projection in my photography. Now in the early 80’s, the only way I was to return to print was if I start my own publication which I did with the IGTimes.
ork was completely bombed with graffiti. When was the moment you got fascinated by this artform? Like other downtown boosters of subway art like filmmaker Charlie Ahearn, gallerist Patti astor, photographers Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper, you also came from outside the urban art community. When was the moment you realised you wanted to do something with this art form?
That unconscious obsession was taking over. Soon the downtown clubs and art galleries was embracing this outer borough onslaught, jumping up and down as if they discovered something new. Yes, Downtown was totally bombed with aerosol and artsy “graffitis” alike.
A bit of my practice in my counter-culture and the anti establishment education was to execute anti-war / funky word “hits” on the streets. When I came to NYC in early 1973, I felt totally welcomed by what I was seeing on the subways. The painted subways that ran throughout the city (underground in Manhattan) were a part of the creative atmosphere. Many artists downtown had an affinity for this new art form from our inner-city youth. Technically I was
The first ever published image of Eric Orr’s
IGTimes issue No.3 and No.5, 1984/1985 (Pat Vogt Collection)
being an outsider, how did you get access and gained trust from the underground aerosol community? What was the main reason for you to start igtimes? What message (tone of voice) did you wanted to spread?
It was important to be anonymous at first. To be true to the underground. I had my own parodic take on the new downtown “graffiti art” scene. A counter to the counter narrative. And I thought Downtown would be my audience. Little did I know, IGTimes main audience and contributors immediately became the innercity artists themselves. Outsider is a funny word when the time is ripe to be in. Back in the 70’s, the subways were the medium, miles and miles of media. These inner-city youth called themselves, “writers” ….because that is what they did - they wrote their chosen names on the walls and subways of New York. By skillfully innovating techniques with the aerosol paint can, they added beauty, art and vision to a disintegrating city. These kids were basically painting for themselves and their peers as they created this indigenous artform.
Any press were outsiders who viewed this movement as a case study, a novelty, whether they were in support or not. I think this outside exposure only confused the movement with a concept of “fame”. Then came the art world and its critics looking for their own stable of artists. I think this only confused the movement with a concept of “fortune”. Obsessions drove ambitions and the movement in the early 80s had become more dysfunctional than ever. Here I was, downtown artist, cool and anonymous and open to play, interact and see where an underground would lead me. Daily executions on the trains continued and a perpetual new set of the young “writers” were eager to have their photos printed if only in black and white. Past generation of “writers” who had laid the foundations for style and the code of conduct for the movement were being ignored and had a story to tell. The police had just killed Michael Stewart (club kid who was “writing” his name at a subway stop) and were being funded more than ever. And then there was global youth who was being inspired and about to innovate their own aerosol creations. The IGTimes became a voice of an emerging “aerosol culture” – embracing its history, its current executions and its undeniable future.
IGTimes flyers (Pat Vogt Collection)
IGTimes slides, letterhead, newsletter, Rock-A-Thon flyer and IGTimes issues (Pat Vogt Collection) m ayor Koch,1984 (c) Schmidlapp
IGTimes issue No.4 and No.6, 1984/1985 (Pat Vogt Collection)
Who designed the first 6 issues of IGTimes? How did you gather your topics for each publication?
I basically art directed the first 7 issues. A few fellow artists, all credited only with their own “nom de guerre”, gathered photos and stories at first. But inner-city “writers” quickly became the main contributors. That first interview with Sak and Rise… they were minors, teenagers and hot on the trains. They would bring in photos and other “writers” for future issues. Yes, IGT was the word on the street and now there was no stopping. Before the second issue which was only a month or so later, the pioneers from the early 70’s, the UGA guys, contacted me. Thats when I met and interviewed Coco 144, Wicked Gary, Bama, and Phase2 . They all provided photos and brought in other “writers” and more photos. Bama did some graphics, stories and design ideas for the next few issues. He brought in TB who did some dope hand-on graphics and paste-ups in Vol. 4, 5 and 6. The IGT also had a benefit before Vol 3 at Danceteria, a hot downtown club where New Yorkers, uptown and downtown and bridge and tunnel freely
Circulation and distribution and subscribers bought in photos and stories from around the world. I traded with all the counter-cultural zines of the day. It was a “word of mouth, travel by foot” operation. Hip-hop shops certainly didn’t exist in these predigital / internet times. I was also traveling with my slideshows outside of New York to Europe and the West Coast and wherever I went I would search for any aerosol attempts. IGTimes was my calling card in youth centers, school yards and funky art spaces. Copies were left at old head shops, comic, commie and anarchist bookstores, fly fashion boutiques and get hip galleries. A couple of my associate slideartists and a few traveling “writers” also distributed copies wherever they traveled. 4 volumes of IGTimes were published in that first year of 1984 with issues finding themselves throughout America and Europe - LA, The Bay Area, Hawaii, London, Zurich, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona and down under -Australia and even in Japan, Mexico,
When did you get in contact with Phase 2?
Before the second issue with the UGA guys. Phase 2 was legendary; the one who created style where others followed. I had that early 70’s New York Magazine article and he was recently in 1982 featured in the East Village Eye. Meeting the man in person was a whole other experience. He came in late and everybody suddenly became quiet. Others were talking about how the movement had passed them by. Phase 2 instead critiqued the movement from being currently active in the emerging “hip hop” scene, having just returned from touring and working with the film Beat Street. I made a point of transcribing all the interviews, allowing the “writers” to edit their own words. Every “writer” corrected a spelling or a word or two except Phase. He responded with several phone conversations, all the reasons for saying this and not that, and a rewrite or two. This only built a level of respect and a potential working relationship to say the least. We stayed in contact. I would check out his upcoming exhibition and he would call after reading an issue. Lively discussions preceded and we ended up on the same page moving forward.
Eventually Phase 2 became the art director of IGTimes. What was the first issue he worked on? id his involvement change the basic message/ concept of the magazine?
By Vol 8 in 1986 Phase 2 had joined the ranks of the IGTimes. The publication’s underground, inner-city status was immediately upgraded by his unique “funky nous deco” layouts (his name for the style of his early hiphop fliers he did a few years earlier). His master knowledge and an inside critique of the movement was unmatched. Don’t like to use the word collaboration anymore. Such a WW2 Nazis term for artists working together. We became partners and we were gelling! Phase 2 made the zine more authentic and more subversive in a counter-narrative to the now popularly called “graffiti art”. and culture. I kept my hands on it and pushed the parodic critique IGT was born with. Vulcan soon joined ranks, bringing fresh stories and vintage plus current flicks. We started touring too with the Aerosol Art Armada. Many times nobody knew who was doing what. IGTimes had created its own voice without bylines. Definitely a “third” mind production.
Phase 2 poster for Schmidlapp’s Analog Slide show museum of modern Art, New york No Wave, 2018 (c) Schmidlapp
Phase 2 flyer (Pat Vogt Collection)
What was the idea behind changing the name of the magazine from IGTimes to International Graffiti times, subway sun, intergalactic times, getHip international times, tight, and igt?
Actually I changed it to Subway Sun in Vol 7, an issue before Phase came aboard. It was the name of an old subway workers’ publication that Revolt had brought in. I thought it was dope. It wasn’t really changing the name. The zine remain under the IGT / IGTimes banner. Check out the front and back cover where it’s printed. More like a title for a volume. That is what each issue was called, a volume or Vol. We ran with Subway Sun for Vol 8 and 9 till Phase jumped it to International GetHip Times, keeping it real and back focusing on those I.G.T. letters. Some people always called the zine and still do under the so-called “Graffiti” title. But we had moved beyond this misappropriated label. As for any so-rules in publishing, this publication was underground from the beginning. The fact that the official name listed for business in New York City is IGTimes still escapes those knuckleheads. Some still cry - “Well, what do the letters I.G.T. stands for?” Which I reply “ Allow our culture to teach us that letters first stand for themselves!”
the magazine grew from a local to an international urban art magazine. Hip Hop also entered the magazine. What made you decide it was time to widen the spectrum of the magazine?
IGT moved within the Times … Lets not forget the International title from the very beginning. One of the 60s underground newspapers I dug was International Times from London. Funny, I never saw a copy till much later but I loved the title. Look at that first issue; reports from London & Zurich. “Graffiti ( sic) is an exercise of global citizenship….This publication will put forth an international perceptive….” New York, aerosol art and culture would be IGT’s focus, but the world was always game. Our distribution was worldwide from the beginning. Maybe small but wide and getting into the right hands. Global mail, photos and subscribers rolled in. Phase 2, “Mr HipHop” before there was “hip hop”, had his own heart and soul on the international pulse. Vulcan did too. We were prophets if not artists. We all answered the mail as global youth were getting up and busting out. The next generation of aerosol zines - Ghetto Art (LA), 14K (Zurich), Graphotism (London),True Colorz ( Amsterdam), Vapors (Australia), Game Over (Barcelona) all reached out to us when they started.
in 1989 you started the media assault of slides, talks, installation paintings, and throw-downs. Who came up with this idea and what was the main reason to do these shows?
It was totally organic. Slide shows was my thing which I was known for before publishing the IGTimes. Train photos and other street art pieces had started entering my own shows. I had taken a few shots myself but with each issue contributors’ photos only increased in number. The IGT photo archive was becoming a collection of the art movement from many “writers’” own collections. Yes, there were the professionals and their books would be published, but there were always gaps where many influential pieces and top “writers” would be left out. A lot of the early history was recorded by “writers” themselves with whatever camera at hand. The IGTimes photo archive was the largest, most comprehensive collection of its time and the Armada would present a movement with a history and a force and not as a particular photographer’s work. Phase came up with the title and I made connections with a radical booking agent. University tours followed. We hit the first wave of “get hip” grad and undergrad students. Hawaii, Reed, Amherst, Yale, Universities of Minnesota, Virginia , Mass, Rhode Island and more. Young “writers” were always seeking us out and we hit the youth centers … the Mission, East London, East LA, Hawaii, Scotland, Italy… and the clubs and galleries and the museums worldwide.
in 1994, after 15 issues igtimes ended. What was the main reason for you to stop publishing the magazine?
Times were hot…times were frozen. Sometimes I blamed the internet which buried us. Now everywhere there were these 20 year knowit-alls with all these “graffiti magazines”. This unconscious obsession we know too well and now super amplified. Too many ways to ignored our grandfather status. We got burnt in distribution and locked out in the emerging, so-called hip commercial markets. Too many culture vultures interested only in their own fame and fortune. We tried to move forward in this brave new digital world. IGT needed a business partner, an enlighten investor, a tech new-waver that never materialized. I was back filmmaking (16mm no less) and was spending more time making a film with my ailing father. Phase 2 went to Italy which became another amazing aerosol - hip hop story. He carried the IGT banner and the IGTimes did co-published the “Style Writing from the Underground“ book in 1996. IGT continued being in majors shows. The zine might have stopped but the Aerosol Art
IGTimes Aerosol on tape flyer (Pat Vogt Collection)
Aerosol Armada flyer for Reed College, 1990 (c) IGTimes
Promo photos chmidlapp, Phase2 and v ulcan (c) igt imes
s chmidlapp in front of igt imes i nstall b rooklyn Museum -
“Copy Machine Manifestos: a rtists who make Zines” (c) s chmidlapp
Armada continued into the new millennium. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Cartier Foundation in Paris, Miami Art Basel. Phase 2 RIP died in 2019 and I co-curated his solo exhibition at the ACA galleries in New York and hosted an IGT tribute in 2023. The IGT was recently included in the massive Brooklyn Museum zine exhibition “Copy Machine Manifestos: Artists who make Zines”. A 2023 Aerosol Art Armada was installed as a digital slide show in a corner no less, as an open zine! It made its way to Vancouver Art Galleries in 2024.
in 1998 an edition of 100 complete igtimes sets were issued, marketed to cultural enthusiasts, collectors, and institutions. these complete sets consist of the original 27, offset , double-sided, flat sheets. 6 in full color, 6 duo inking and 15 black inking all in a portfolio case either a stenciled design by riff 170 or a hand drawn logo by an anonymous legendary writer. What made you decide to create these sets and which artists were involved in creating the portfolio case artworks?
The back issues were always popular. After the “Style’ book - it seemed to be a good time to stop printing. I sensed that the IGTimes might have been “an end of print” project all along. IGT as a collector’s item would become more popular (at least more valuable ) than ever. The complete set climbed from $200 to over $3k in today’s market. There are only dozen out of 100 editions left. (Some individual back issues are still available, too.) The complete sets are also collected in a couple dozen notable libraries, I.g., Stanford University, Fales at New York University, MoMA, and the Getty.
Even though each volume (issue) had different number of pages and folds, they were all printed as potential posters on 17”x22” broadsheets. It made sense to issue this edition as flat broadsheets in a simple portfolio case. Phase was in Italy and Riff 170 offered to make a IGT stencil to stamp each case. When Phase returned, the price for the sets had jumped. He
suggested hand drawn logos on each case to bump it up ever more. It made sense to both of us to market these hand drawn unique logos by an anonymous legendary writer. Phase could get more money for drawings than the price of a IGT complete set though many times he would also freely hand out signatures and logos just to keep his hands busy. (LOL) This also made it possible for others legendary writers do cases at different times. Stating it would be done anonymously kept the focus and value on the IGTimes project.
When igtimes ended to exist, what happened to the entire archive, consisting of thousands of predigital artifacts, i.e., correspondences, zines trades, news clippings, photos, writ- ings and layouts?
Yes I had kept everything. Boxes and boxes of everything. If anything, I’m an archivist … Luckily I had two places in the city - an homestead loft and a rent stabilized railroad flat. Then I got married and my studio was reduced to the smaller flat. There was this upstart working for a vintage print dealer out of Boston who was into zines. He would see the IGTimes on collector’s tables at all the zine fairs so he contacted me to buy a few complete sets to market to universities. I asked him where would be a good home for the IGT archive, thinking maybe sometime in the future. He was on the pulse of what was happening in the library world. Cornell had just established their Hip Hip Collection and offered a good price. Phase wasn’t too pleased. He always thought some day we could start our own museum. I needed the space and and the money was too good. I offered him his cut. He always gave me the upper hand in IGTimes affairs, the final decision and the copyright for safe keeping. He asked me to take out some of his writings and drawings and to start a new box - a P2/IGT archive box. The final broadsheet cover of vol 15 - an amazing collage by Phase2was in Japan for an exhibition. I also found a hidden box later of early posters/ fliers that didn’t enter Cornell either. I still have an IGT photo archive. Besides the many photos that were mailed in, the photo archive consists of slides that were copies from photo prints that many NYC “writers” had brought in. Most of these prints I never kept. Copy of copies was always my thing. The reproduction value of aerosol history was part of IGTimes legacy. Cornell has a good set of copied slides and the prints that were mailed in. I still hold to a complete IGT slide collection along with my own photo archive of my original negatives and color slides.
There’s no denying that the popularity of a movie can not only catapult the status of the actors or actresses involved but can also make the film itself as well as the soundtrack obtain cult classic status and a fan favorite within the genre. One of those films within the Blaxploitation genre that has long since been a top 10 for many is the 1974’s Black Belt Jones starring real life martial artist, Jim Kelly, co-starring the beautiful Gloria h endry and directed by Robert Clouse. The film is a spiritual successor to Clouse’s prior film Enter The Dragon (1973), in which Kelly had a supporting role. h ere, Kelly features in his first starring role as the eponymous character, a local hero who fights the mafia and a local drug dealer threatening his friend’s dojo. As Kelly’s first starring role, he carries the torch well and brings the viewer the
same type of bravado energy that he did playing m r. Williams in Enter The Dragon.
In addition to the film itself reaching a cult status, the theme song “Theme From Black Belt Jones” is a h ip h op classic and a top 5 anthem within the Bboy / Bgirl community and falls right in line with other original foundation classics as The Incredible Bongo Band’s “Apache”, Jimmy Castor Bunch “Just Begun”, and James Brown “Give It Up, Turn It Loose” and is the only movie / soundtrack property that has been revered by both movie fans and h ip h op culture alike. With most of the big budget films of the genre, soundtracks were often created around them and recorded by notable singers to help push sales of both the movie and music industries which only makes sense.
Richard Roundtree’s Shaft (1971) had Isaac h ayes, Pam Grier’s Coffy (1973) had Roy Ayers, Fred Williamson’s Black Caesar had James Brown while legendary guitarist, Dennis Coffey was in charge of handling the score for Black Belt Jones.
As a musician, the name Dennis Coffey should be very familiar to those within the h ip h op community of DJ’s, producers and Bboys as he’s created a handful of songs that have been heavily played on the scene including “Scorpio”, “Son of Scorpio” and “Ride, Sally, Ride”. The Detroit m ichigan born guitar playing Dennis Coffey had a way with connecting the dots between rock, funk, jazz-funk and disco which gave us 6 sure shot albums between the years 1971 and 1977 both under his own name as well as under Dennis Coffey and The Detroit Guitar Band. But his talents reach far and wide stacking a library worth of credits to his
name and working with everyone under the sun including The Temptations, The Supremes, David Ruffin, Quincy Jones, Eddie Kendricks, Boz Scaggs and Lalo Schifrin on the Bruce Lee feature film and soundtrack for Enter The Dragon to name a few.
One of Coffey’s lesser talked about, yet equally as essential as his crowning moments in music is his work on the Blaxploitation film soundtrack, Black Belt Jones which is somewhat of a mystery as to it’s release. Why is it mystery you ask? Well for starters, although there are copies of
the soundtrack that was released and look very much authentic, the soundtrack was never officially released by the studio which credits Coffey and Luchi De Jesus as the composers. From the actual album, only a single 45 featuring “Theme From Black Belt Jones” b/w “Love Theme From Black Belt Jones” was released by Warner Bros. Records via Sussex Records. What is featured on the soundtrack which was released in 2003, is a total of 15 tracks that include music, dialog and sound effects that seems to have been lifted directly from the movie and not from studio recording sessions. Even the LP cover looks spot on with what might have been created in 1974 with the layout and design utilizing the original poster art for the front with movie stills an photos on the rear and even includes a mini poster tucked away inside with what falls in line with a Warner Bros. catalog number. It’s been long speculated that the recordings either were lifted from the original film print or most likely, the Vh S or DVD which would make even more sense. So what happened to the soundtrack, was there ever one created more than just the cues that were used here? If there was music recorded for the movie then there has to be studio master tapes sitting somewhere or they’ve been discarded or even worse to think about, being lost in the big h ollywood storage fire that destroyed hundreds of thousands
of movie reels. Although there was quite a bit of promo items that were created for the film, it’s quite surprising that there was never an official soundtrack released and it’s mysteries like this that make collecting even more fun to try and get to the bottom line of these “unofficial” releases that someone took the time to put together. This mystery falls in line with other releases like the Klute soundtrack where rumors
swirled that 500 copies were pressed after-hours at Warner Bros as well. Connection? Possibly so but what we do know is that regardless of being unofficial or not, Black Belt Jones is an essential piece of Blaxploitation collector history and should be used to fill the hole especially if a completist.
Joey Be LTram inTervieW
NEW YORK GRAFFITI IN THE 80’S THROUGH THE EYES OF A TECHNO PIONEER
by
OLIVER WAY - EPM MUSIC
According to a PBS feature, graffiti was invented in 1967 by a Philadelphia high school student who went by the pseudonym of Cornbread.
On a mission to impress a girl, he decided to write his name all over the city with spray paint. No one knows whether or not he got the girl, but we do know that he started an art revolution.
After Cornbread’s innovation, graffiti quickly spread to other major cities. By 1970, residents of the five boroughs of New york City could view the handiwork of their own local graffiti writers, who wrote their pseudonyms with spray paint on the sides and interiors of subway cars. By 1973 the spray-painted signatures had evolved into complex, colorful scripts.
But this feature isn’t about the graffiti scene in general or even the New york graffiti scene. There are plenty of great books about that (for example check ‘Subway Art’ by h enry Chalfant & martha Cooper), or watch the film documentary Style Wars.
Instead, I zoom in on the active years of one individual, offering his perspective on the golden age of New york graffiti in the 1980’s.
Joey Beltram, a name synonymous with techno music thanks to his best known tracks “Energy Flash” and “mentasm” from the early ‘90s, who fairly recently revealed another side of his artistic journey.
Over the past two years, he has shared on Instagram that he was also a graffiti writer in his youth, using the tag POES (and variations like PO, King POES, and POES. ONES). Initially, he posted a few photos from the ‘80s, which garnered positive reactions, prompting him to share more.
Beltram never sought public recognition outside of the 80’s Ny graffiti scene for his work; those within the graffiti scene already knew, and that was enough for him. Graffiti was a significant part of his teenage years, a passion that eventually led him to his music career. h e finds contentment in knowing he was part of the early graffiti movement, even if it remained a private chapter of his life until now.
“I have everything stored away and I have been enjoying digging through all this stuff. It’s been a real trip down memory lane, remembering moments and places I had forgotten about. Also seeing from the photos how much things have changed in New York. There are no traces of many of the places I used to hang out anymore.”
A humble person who has always kept to himself, and his family, not one to shout about his accomplishments. But he proudly announces how much he ‘got up’ in the mid 80’s.
The term ‘got up’ refering to getting his graffiti name (signature/tag) up onto the trains or walls.
“When I did it I was heavily into it in the 80’s”
h is interest in graffiti sparked when he was just 10 or 11 years old, as he rode his bike around his Queens neighborhood in ‘82/’83. Living near the metropolitan Ave train station, the last stop on the BmT myrtle Ave line serviced by the m Line, he was constantly surrounded by this new street art that fueled his passion.
“We used to go by an abandoned lot where there was a bike ramp and kids would hang out next to the station. One day I started noticing the graffiti on the trains as they would pull in and out of the station. I thought it looked cool, eventually it stopped just being a background visual and I started to notice the intricacy of the artwork. Understanding the intent behind it, I was pulled in. I had never seen it on the streets, on walls, the only place I had seen this art was on the trains, so it intrigued me. I got on the train for my first time to see where it would go to try and find out where this was being done. For some reason I assumed it must be done a far away, somewhere deep in the train system. But as soon as the train pulled out of the station there was this giant train yard and I saw all the names of the people I had seen on the trains all over the walls. I said to myself this is where they are doing it, right here, I couldn’t believe it.”
Upon discovering that this new form of art was happening just five minutes from his house, he spent day and night around the station, hoping to catch a glimpse of the artists at work and learn their techniques. The m yard, where the trains would stop, later became famous in classic hip hop / graffiti films like Beat Street and Dreams Don’t Die, featuring pieces by the renowned artist Dondi.
“They were meant to be filming in Brooklyn or the South Bronx, but I guess they couldn’t get permission to film there so they filmed at the M yard”.
h e witnessed all the (now) famous writers passing through, as if it were destiny, with young Joey right in the heart of this emerging scene. Throughout 1984 and early 1985, he practiced writing four or five different names, honing his techniques along the way. This process helped him develop his own unique style, which would later become his signature ‘throw up’— a term used for a writer’s tag or signature. h e would eventually settle on the name ‘POES’.
“It was a magical time for me as things slowly unfolded and as the ways to paint became clear. I was getting advice from other writers who would inform me if any of the names I was practicing with were already taken.
One influence on me was a writer called Ice Man, he was all over the M line, he was so prolific. I am surprised that I don’t see his work online, or in any books. Another was Iz the Wiz (aka the ‘throw-up’ king, who is featured in the film ‘Style Wars’) was an inspiration, he always took it to the next level. That ethos inspired me when I later started to make music, I always wanted to push things to new places.
The name that stuck was one I created myself just because I liked writing those letters. One of the writers, PG (occasionally PG3) , was a mentor to me, and I really liked the letter P. I wanted to include it as a sort of homage to him. I liked to paint rounded letters, so I added the ‘O’, and it just went from there.
I started getting that up a lot on the trains, and had a few nice pieces so by the summer of ‘85 I had decided POES was the one I would stick with. Even though this all happened in 1 year, it seemed to go on forever. “
When you’re young, even a single summer feels endless, and nothing else matters except what you’re doing. your entire universe revolves around where you are and what you’re doing.
Once he settled on his name, there was no holding him back. h e spent every day hanging out with other writers getting his signature tag up non stop. Crews he used to write with up and down all the ‘lay-ups’ along the m , J, and L lines were called True Fame, and Subway Destroyers, besides others.
A ‘lay-up’ is a track or area where trains are stored when they are not in service. This can be for various reasons, such as waiting for their next scheduled run, undergoing minor maintenance, or simply being out of service for a period. Lay-up’s could be outside and underground. “There was even disused train stations
that we used to go to, on the J Line in Jamacia Queens there was an abandoned Metropolitan Ave (another one besides the one by me on the M Line), and Queens Boulevard and Sutphin Blvd. They didn’t tear those stations down until the 90’s. New York back in the 80’s had a lot of abandoned and disused structures. Even the West Side Highway used to have a 2nd level that was disused, it had empty car shells sitting on the road.
I think people used to film up there for post apocalyptic scenes. What people didn’t realise at the time (1986) because it hadn’t been announced was they were building a new rail and stations after 121st St to Archer Ave. They were parking 3 or 4 trains in those stations, so we started going there. Even the police didn’t know about it, other writers didn’t know about it, we kept it a secret. We were hitting that lay-up. They didn’t open the new stations to Archer Ave until ‘89. The trains sometimes switched lines as well so if you hit one on the L next week it might be on the M.
Later on I went out to the Bronx and hit the IRT line, the 5 & 2 Train. But writers would get territorial over a lay-up. You could gain respect from rival writers in different areas over your accomplishments they would have seen, and may want to form an alliance, maybe do a piece together, so people would tag other crews in their piece out of respect, or if they had done the piece together. But other times this would not work out and you would have to leave that area alone.”
Representing your roots and supporting your neighborhood has always been a cornerstone of graffiti culture. While dif ferent styles of graffiti might look similar to the untrained eye, those who know can identify where a writer is from just by the style of their ‘throw-up.’
Beltram was from a division of the Ny sub way system called the BmT lines (Brooklyn manhatten Transit).
Prior to the mid 60’s the train lines that had been built were owned by 2 private divisions, competing with each other: ‘A Division’ with the IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit Company); and ‘B Division’ with the IND (Independent Subway System) and BmT (Brooklyn– manhattan Transit Corporation). Then in the mid 60’s Rockefeller signed a bill that allowed the mTA (metropolitan Transit Authority, then called the mTCA: metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority) to oversee the mass transit policies of New york Cityarea mass transit systems under the one public corporation.
The BmT (which included the m , J, and L lines) had a graffiti style that mainly focused on the letters of the writers signature/tag: the ‘throw-up’ culture. Quick, bold letters easily seen from a moving train. Speed and impact.
The IRT style was out in the Bronx and had a different style, more fancy images, top to bottom, whole cars as seen in Subway Art.
“You could tell where a train could be from by the style of graffiti that was predominantly on it. I prefered the BMT just because that is what I grew up with. I liked the grit and darkness of that style, whereas the IRT would be more clean, polished looking. IRT was definately more superior in quality ,but I just prefered the BMT. This could be what influenced me later with my music: prefering the darker and gritty side of music.”
The BmT style can be likened to the punk rock of graffiti.
During the weekdays after returning home from writing in the early hours of the morning Beltram would go to his be droom and continue drawing in a black sketch book while listening to the WBLS ra dio show ‘Quiet Storm’ which played slow jams from the 70’s like Earth Wind & Fire, RnB, motown etc.
“But on the weekends I would tune into Kiss FM, from around 9pm till midnight you had the Latin Rascals, Red Alert, Chuck Chillout mix shows. Then from midnight you would have club music, with Tony Humphries DJing live from Zanzibar in New Jersey. This was the ‘boombox’ era so everyone had their radio out listening to the shows. I used to record loads of those shows, I still have those tapes.”
It was around this time, ‘86 / ‘87, he was getting more and more interested in DJing. Often DJing for his friends while they would hang out in his basement.
Although he had been buying records from places like Vinylmania in manhatten, filling up his crates and DJing as a hobby since ‘83’.
“I had been DJing at home with turntables and a Pyramid mixer. But then I never dreamed I would make that a profession, graffiti was everything”.
In the summer of ‘88 Beltram decided it was time to stop graffiti, the fun had gone, the ‘clean car program’ caught up with him.
“The government was really cracking down on it, police checking every night. I could literally see ‘the writing was on the wall’ for the end of this era. But I was satisified with what I had done and my involvement in the scene. It was time to move on. If that hadn’t happened maybe I would have continued on with it into the 90’s but then I would have never made any of those records”
In 1984 the ‘clean car’ program had been started, spearheaded by David Gunn (president of the transit Authority), with the goal that any train ‘tagged’ by a graffiti writer would be cleaned within 2 hours or removed from service. The city viewed graffiti on the New york City subway as the poster child for urban decay. By the summer of 1989 all the subway trains had been cleaned.
After losing his first passion, Beltram felt a void in his life. h e decided to take DJing seriously and devote all his time to it. With a decent record collection and a DJ setup, he began DJing more frequently throughout the rest of ‘88 and into ‘89.
h e soon realised that much of the music he was playing was created by other DJs, which naturally sparked his desire to give it a try himself.
h e bought a drum machine, reel to reel tape machine, and little by little his DJ set up morphed into a small studio set up in his parents basement. Initially thinking he would use a reel to reel to record his vinyl, add beats from his drum machine, and edit the tape recording to create his own tracks.
“Back then there weren’t really different genres in electronic music so I was just making music that I was hearing in clubs. In these days you could experiment more and try out different styles, I was just trying out what I liked, there was no planning behind it. I was still in High School, and then College, I wasn’t really taking it that seriously yet. But I was getting offers to DJ overseas and was away a lot so it was very difficult to stay in College, I decided I can always go back to College let’s just see where this music thing goes. It’s strange when I look back on it how things unfolded because of the time and where I lived. Now graffiti is everywhere, every city I go to has it, back in the 80’s it was only NY that had it to that extent, it was evolving, and I got to see it all in real time... accidentally.”
His studio continued to grow until he had enough equipment to no longer need the turntables to make tracks. Within a year he already had releases coming out on numerous labels, under several pseu donyms: Breakbeat/Electro as Direct and Technical Onslaught; House as Code 6 and Open Mind; as well as Techno with his own name, Beltram. Maybe this was his time to find his artist name which name he would stick with, much as he did when practising graffiti to see which throw-up he would take on.
For the past 40 years, Beltram has been a trailblazer in the art and music scene, constantly pushing boundaries and seeking new creative challenges. h e continues to release music, remix tracks, and DJ, showing no signs of slowing down.
If you are interested in seeing more of his artwork check out his Instagram page: instagram.com/joeybeltram/
chiLLy Q anD k evy k ev inTervieW
by JASON ARMITAGE (DR. J)
Jason Armitage (Dr.J) is the founder of the Roots Forward Records label in Canada. The label ran successfully from 2011 - 2019 and put out rare and unreleased 80’s and 90’s rap music on vinyl and cassette. The label’s discography included music from legends marley marl, Schoolly D, Krown Rulers and countless others. Jason is an avid collector of funk, disco, and house music and has been deejaying actively since 1991. h e also hosts the “Expansions” radio show - one of Canada’s longest running programs devoted to classic rap and funk music.
In NyC in the 1980’s, boomboxes city wide were blasting cutting edge rap sounds courtesy of some of the city’s best radio DJs. many of these radio sessions were taped on cassette by avid listeners, then began to circulate worldwide via various trading channels. As a young teenager in Canada at the time Jason vividly remembers listening to these recordings courtesy of his track coach Steve Gersten. Steve was a NyC native who frequently travelled back to Ny to visit his family. h e kept numerous tape decks at his sister’s home and would feverishly record the latest mixshows and bring them back home to Canada. These recordings would inevitably make their way into Jason’s hands upon his return, and he would instantly pop these tapes into his Walkman to enjoy the most current music mixed to perfection. Two of his favourite DJs of that era were Chilly Q & Kevy Kev (WBLS). h e recently caught up with these radio pioneers to reminisce about their time on the airwaves during this pivotal time in rap music’s history.
1. How did you get your start on NYC radio?
Chilly Q - I started in radio back in 1984. I was working with yvonne mobley at 98.7 KISS Fm in New york city. WBLS direct competitor. Keep in mind, I was about 14 years old at the time so working there was kind of like an internship after school. I would answer phones on the request line and pull commercial carts for on air jocks. 1985, mary Thomas moved from Kiss Fm to WBLS and she asked if I wanted to go with her. I did and that’s where I met m r. magic and started my time in hip hop radio.
Kevy Kev - I got my start on the DNA- h ank Love show in early 1988 which led to me being heard on late night radio by marley marl who at the time was the DJ on m r. magic’s Rap Attack on WBLS. h e asked me to join them in July of 1988 after hearing me.
2. Describe the atmosphere in the studio during your Rap Attack sets?
Chilly Q - It wasn’t that much different from any regular office setting except that magic set the tone on how the night was going to be. If he was in a bad mood, then the show might not go that well. But if he was in a great mood, then it more than likely would be a great show. There are a lot of good memories behind the scenes at the show. Some of them we could talk about and some we can’t. LOL!
Kevy Kev - The first night on the Rap Attack I was just a guest with marley without any intentions of actually DJing. After the first commercial break marley invited me to DJ and I proceeded to DJ the rest of the show and m r. magic never said I was the DJ. 2 weeks later I was there without marley and it was just me and the late great m r. magic. Lots of pressure working with him. h e pushed for perfection and greatness. I loved it!
3. What unique skill set did you bring as a DJ?
Chilly Q - h onestly speaking, I really didn’t have that many skills as a DJ. To this day, I really don’t consider myself that good in comparison to those who were really doing it at that time. The benefit of me DJing on the Rap Attack was because I knew how to work the board at the station and I was familiar with the setup that WBLS had. A lot of DJs couldn’t do that because it wasn’t the typical DJ setup because it was something you had to learn, be familiar with as well as comfortable to do on air. I considered myself good enough to take over when marley marl wasn’t going to be able to do it, and luckily, magic and Fly Ty agreed.
Kevy Kev - I believe I’m credited with being one of the first DJ’s to mix R&B over a h ip h op instrumental live on air. marley and Chilly Q had previously done it, magic said I took it to another level.
4. Share a fond memory from that era.
Chilly Q - There are plenty of nights that I’ve considered to be great memories. The one that sticks out most is being at Union Square when DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince performed. I made a habit of
making a tape every time we did a show anywhere. So to clarify, the Union Square show was supposed to be just strictly for my collection, and nothing more than me listening to it going to and from school. But Jazzy Jeff was so good that I convinced magic to let me play it on air and the rest is history. Unfortunately I never received compensation or credit for recording that show. But I still have the master of that night and I just consider that whole experience my contribution to hip hop. Last time I checked the album it’s on was at least double platinum.
Kevy Kev - One of my fondest memories was the first time I got to DJ on air for an emcee to freestyle. That emcee was Kool G Rap!
5. What opportunities came as a result of your radio exposure?
Chilly Q - Being a teenager in such a powerful position at the time, I really don’t think I took advantage of the connections and people I had access to outside of the Juice Crew. I think people just looked at me as just some kid that they probably didn’t want to deal with but needed to in order to get records played on the show. The best opportunities I think were just being the DJ on the road for mC Shan,
Photo courtesy of Kevy Kev.
Photo courtesy of Chilly Q.
Roxanne Shante, and Craig G. Fly Ty gave me an opportunity to produce and cowrite a song on Shante’s album Bad Sister, “Feelin Kinda h orny”.
Kevy Kev - I already had a record deal with DNA records but once I got on WBLS I was offered many deals from many different labels for obvious reasons.
6. What were some of the challenges you faced as a DJ back then?
Chilly Q - Being 15 years old and being a DJ on one of the most powerful markets in radio (NyC) and being on the first rap radio show brought a few challenges. moving crates of records was the biggest one of them all! Trying to get somebody to take me from my house down to the station every Friday and Saturday was the dumbest problem to have !
The other problem was convincing my mother to let me go on the road and miss school so I can do a show. LOL. Being the youngest DJ in hip hop came with a few challenges.
Kevy Kev - Listening to the new records that were waiting for me at the station every week was a lot to do because I always felt there were diamonds in the rough to be found. I took a lot of pride in finding those great independent gems.
7. What are your thoughts on the current state of rap radio?
Chilly Q - I’m from a time when radio personalities spent time studying how to do broadcasting on radio. It’s much different now. But as time evolves, things change and the way things get done goes along with it. I don’t listen to rap radio unless it’s a throwback station. Today’s rap isn’t for my demographic. LOL.
Kevy Kev - Todays radio is far from what I grew up listening to and doing. I can honestly say I’m not a huge fan of what’s happening on the radio in 2024.
8. What are you doing musically now?
Chilly Q - I left the business completely back in 1990. After my fall out with m r. magic, I realized this wasn’t a business that I wanted to be a part of. If somebody I trusted and looked up to could do the things that he did, I felt this wasn’t a business I wanted to take part in. Luckily, I’m smart and managed to make a great living in technology.
Kevy Kev - I still do spot appearances on different stations, mostly satellite stations where I have more freedom.
Photos courtesy of Chilly Q.
Jef & BoBBy’s 5+5 recorD runDoWn
Five favourites from Jef Hecker
Jef h ecker & Bobby van Putten met around 8 years ago through some nerdy Facebook groups and got acquainted through their mutual love for the heady stuff.
The record talk used to be non-stop for them (much to the dismay of their girlfriends), but these days, a hang would consist of a long walk in the forest, Belgian frituur, Belgian beer and a reminder to not become too pretentious: focus on the cheap heat!
About fifteen years ago, in the southernmost corner of the Netherlands, my journey as a record collector and DJ began. Living in the small city of maastricht, I quickly became serious about music, particularly drawn to the rhythms and rich heritage of black music. Over the years, my collection has grown and evolved, reflecting not only the shifts in my musical taste but also my deepening appreciation for the African roots and influences that permeate so much of contemporary music. In this article, I’d like to share five albums of black music that are close to my heart and offer a complete experience from start to finish. These albums span different styles, but they all have one thing in common: each offers a complete experience. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate albums that I can enjoy from start to finish.
But before we dive into these albums, let me explain why they matter so much. my love for music started with a simple desire to share. I was inspired by m ingus, a local DJ, who worked two turntables like a madman. I was inspired by the whole process: selecting records, blending them, and reading the room. For me, DJing was, and still is, a craft. It’s an art form that demands time, dedication, and a lot of practice. There’s no shortcut to mastering it. you need a deep understanding, an endless curiosity, the willingness to ask questions, and the patience to truly learn.
What makes this craft so special is that every DJ brings something personal to the table. Some manage to express their identity so clearly through their craft that it becomes a reflection of who they are. Sadly, not all DJs embrace this idea. Too many simply play what’s “hot” or what the crowd expects, completely missing the point. And that’s
a shame because it dilutes the true essence. As both a collector and a DJ, I’m always chasing that translation of my own taste and identity into the music I play.
Another key aspect is the willingness to evolve. you can’t just play the “easy” cuts you feel comfortable with; you have to challenge yourself. That’s how you grow as a DJ, and it’s also how you educate your audience, pushing them to explore new music.
One DJ who has mastered this craft is Darryn Jones from Chicago. When you listen to Darryn’s mixtapes and productions, there’s a distinct mood and atmosphere that flows through all of them. h is music is an expression of his identity, going far beyond just technical skill. If you’re not familiar, do yourself a favor and get hip.
1. bohannon – stop & go
This album holds a special place in my life. Thirteen years ago, I lost my mother, which led to a dark period in my life. m usic was one of the few bright spots during that time, particularly the track “Singing A Song For my mother”. Whenever I felt sad, I would put this song on repeat and sing along with all my heart. To this day, this track still moves me just as deeply as when I first heard it. The person who introduced me to this cut was Theo Parrish; he played it during one of his all-nighters. If you ask me, Theo is probably the best DJ in the world. Every time I see Theo play, I get home with a lot of homework.
The record features a couple of standout tracks. “It’s Time For Peace” is another favorite of mine, a short, sultry piece with
fantastic backing vocals that sounds unlike any other Bohannon song and leans more toward spiritual jazz. The entire Bside of the album is solid, starting with “Save Their Souls”, a gritty funk groove fused with gospel elements.
Looking at Bohannon’s life, it’s quite a story. h e began his career as a schoolteacher but was recruited in 1964 as a drummer for Stevie Wonder’s touring band. In 1967, he moved to Detroit, where he started working for motown as the leader and arranger. In this role, he provided musical backing for many of the label’s top acts on tour, including Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, marvin Gaye, and The Temptations, to name a few.
2. Pastor t. L. barrett and the youth For Christ Choir – Like a ship… (Without a sail)
Pastor T.L. Barrett is a man of many faces. To many on Chicago’s South Side, he’s been a community leader, an activist, and an influential pastor for more than four decades. To record collectors, he’s known for his iconic gospel album Like A Ship… (Without A Sail). Yet, his legacy is also marked by controversy, including his involvement in pyramid schemes that defrauded thousands, for which he avoided prison by paying restitution. Despite the complexities of his life, Pastor T.L. Barrett’s work remains a slice of Chicago’s musical soul, and this album? It’s his crowning achievement. The South Side preacher has been laying down heat since the ‘70s, and his impact is still felt today.
This record is a time capsule of hope, love, and the fire for change. The moment it starts playing, you can feel its power. Dig into how it came together, and you’ll see why it hits so hard. Barrett teamed up with Gene Barge, who was working (arranging) for Chess Records at the time. If you’re familiar with Chess Records, you know how solid those productions were back then. The musical foundation is rock solid. You’ve got Phil Upchurch on guitar and Richard Evans holding down the bass. But the real magic? That’s the Youth for Christ Choir. Forty young voices creating this wall of pure joy—it’s goosebump territory every time they kick in. What sets this album apart is its political edge. While a lot of gospel from that era stuck to tradition, Barrett wasn’t afraid to get real about what was happening outside the church doors. And let’s talk about the recording and production. It’s crisp, it’s alive, and if you’ve got the right setup, you can almost feel the room. It’s like being there.
This album stands as one of the greatest works of its time. It’s heavy in all the right ways, and it’s probably the last record I would ever part with, period.
3 g il scott-Heron – Pieces o f a Man
man, what a trip it’s been to get my hands on this album. After sleeping on this record for years, always hoping to score a cheap copy, it’s finally found its way to my shelf. And now I get it all the hype, all the praise, it makes sense.
Released in 1971, “Pieces Of A man” is a powerful statement from the heart of the Black community in America. Gil Scotth eron, often called the “Godfather of Rap,” crafted a work that’s deeply rooted in the struggles and aspirations of the community during a time of social and political upheaval.
The album draws from the rich traditions of jazz, soul, and the spoken word poetry of the h arlem Renaissance. It’s a testament to the power of Black artistry and the role of music in social commentary. Tracks like “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” became anthems for the Civil Rights movement, speaking truth to power in a way that resonated far beyond the Black community.
you know that moment when the needle first hits the groove and Gil’s voice cuts through like a knife, it’s something else. Gil’s not just making music; he’s calling out the whole media circus and the way we’re all caught up in this consumer culture. h e’s saying look, real change? That’s happening out on the streets, not on your TV screen. And in today’s world of endless scrolling and social media? man, that message still cuts deep. Every time I give it a spin, I’m catching something new. But it’s not just about critique; there’s a profound sense of humanity in Gil’s words, a call for understanding and unity.
“Pieces Of A man” it’s a living document of the ongoing struggle for equality and justice. Its influence can be heard in everything from hip-hop to pop music, a testament to Gil’s visionary artistry and the enduring relevance of his message.
Rest in m usic Gil Scott- h eron, GOAT. your voice continues to inspire and challenge us, reminding us of the power of music to speak truth and drive change.
If I had to choose one record to take to a desert island, it would be this one. Every time I listen to Donny h athaway, the honesty and raw emotion in his voice move me. It feels as if he’s sharing a piece of his soul, teaching us to find beauty in both the highs and lows of life.
One afternoon, I found myself listening to “Someday We’ll All Be Free”—a song that feels like a beacon of hope. Every time I hear it, my eyes well up. It’s one of those rare tracks that hits differently. more than just a beautiful song, it embodies h athaway’s strength and resilience, delivering a message of empowerment that goes beyond the music itself. The lyrics, raw and sincere, reflect his personal journey of healing and mental clarity. They inspire a sense of pride and courage in the face of life’s challenges.
h athaway’s approach to music, as he explained in a 1973 interview, has always stayed with me. h e said, “When I think of music, I think of music in its totality, from the highest blues to the lowest symphony”. No one captures the full spectrum of emotion and sound like he does on this album.
h athaway’s music, like life, is filled with beauty and complexity. h e will be dearly missed, one of the most talented musicians to ever grace us with his gift.
4. donny Hathaway – Extension o f a Man
5 spirit - Put your Hands together
Last but not least, here’s a rare album tha t many of you may not have heard of, but it’s one of the crown jewels of my collection. It deserves much more recognition because the quality on this album is in a league of its own. It’s a shame that it remains relatively unknown to this day. Featuring five male and five female artists, this album offers an exceptional
blend of soul, funk, and gospel. It kicks off with a 12-minute dancefloor burner, “Spirit,” which sets the tone with pure energy. h owever, the track that truly resonates with me is “ h elp your Fellow man.” Its haunting, ethereal harmonies are deeply moving. If I had to choose a track for my own funeral, it would be this one.
I rarely use the term “holy grail,” but Put your h ands Together certainly earns that title. Recorded at Peppermint Productions, the album’s recording and mastering are absolutely on point—every detail shines through.
Unfortunately, it’s a tough record to find, but thankfully, Rain & Shine Records reissued Spirit with the blessing of producer Tim Johnson. I also want to give a special shout-out to Tone B. Nimble (Tony Fields), who introduced me to this album. Tone is a true gatekeeper of quality music and a massive inspiration. One of the most underrated DJs and collectors out there, thank you Tone, for the inspiration and the music!
Five favourites from bobby van Putten Bobby van Putten is a part of live- & studio band Another Taste, and co-owns Space Grapes Records together with Danilo Plessow (mCDE). h e got into records first mostly browsing the euro-bins looking for samples many years ago, but gradually got hooked on the kick of seeking out & finding those special ones that stick with you.
1. Mary Lou Williams - b lack Christ o f the andes
Starting off with a true all-time favorite. Recorded in 1964, it ranges from incredibly heavy, deep, profound, funky and loose to swinging and all at the same time. The masterpiece of masterpieces for me. Williams was 54 when this was released and a true legend in the jazz world by then, having put out over 100 records and mentored Thelonious monk, Charlie Parker and m iles Davis just to name a few. The opening track is an ode to the AfroPeruvian “Saint martin de Porres” and this one instantly hooked me. It is dark and oh-so rich in harmony and melody. This choir truly delivers a transcendental performance of a no doubt incredibly tough piece to execute well. mary briefly sliding in on the piano after a few minutes still always gets me! Definitely not a “casual” listen, but the track directly after brings quite a different vibe to the table.
“It Ain’t Necessarily So” is her rendition of a musical piece originally written for Porgy & Bess and it is my single most favorite “cool” jazz piece. No Bill Evans or m iles Davis can do for me what this here does. Some of the most understated, lyrical and swinging piano playing you will ever hear; loose and effortless while being completely perfect at the same time.
I could go on about this LP for a long time, but will leave it here; it begs to be listened to!
I would recommend the German 1965 SABA stereo issue as this sounds far superior to the 1st Folkways pressing (hot take: who needs mono records anyways.. we have 2 ears!). Other favorites from her more recent discography are “mary Lou’s mass” (alternatively titled “m usic For Peace”) and “Zoning”.
This is one of my personal desert island discs. The tasteful arrangements, beautiful melodies, fluidity of styles and huge variety of (largely unknown) musicians, of which a few fresh Berklee alumni, really makes this a highlight in my record collection. Not one skip in sight. Recorded across two dates in late ’74, this record is just bursting with the creative spirit of the mid ‘70ies that we as record diggers are always hungry for. It is firmly rooted in the traditions of Latin music but takes from jazz, funk and soul in almost equal measure. After easily over a hundred complete front-to-back plays, there’s still so much to discover here. most of the tunes are written by Paunetto himself, but a few of his bandmates also get credit. Ed Byrne for example penned “Fenway Funk”, but was also part of the Gerry m ulligan / Chet Baker ensemble that year and appeared on their “Carnegie h all Concert” LP’s, which many jazz diggers would have seen countless times. Upon digging into his credits further, I
2. bobby Paunetto - Paunetto’s Point
came across a high school jazz group called “The Dalton Jazz Ensemble”. Ed was their music teacher and took them to the RCA studios in New york to record an LP, performing covers of mcCoy Tyner and h erbie h ancock, to name a few. I’ve uploaded my personal 2 highlights to youTube.. very worthwhile to seek out as well! But i digress. Even though the recording / pressing of Paunetto’s Point aren’t of the highest standards (as with a lot of these “private press” LP’s), this is a must have for any lover of fusion music. In fact, this sonic signature sets it apart from the big labels and their more polished sound. This is pure, unadulterated music, moderated exclusively by the creative spirit of Paunetto and his group. No big execs, no large advances to recoup, not meant to move big numbers as much as to make a musical statement unique to its creator and i’m here for all of it!
3. Will & James ragar - s/t
On the subject of desert island discs, this one can not be left out. Especially the B side (from “Parade” onwards) gets a ton of plays here. It’s a story of two talented singer/songwriter brothers that came through with a very inspired, understated and beautiful LP that was never intended for major success, aptly described in one of the song’s lyrics: “I need money but i’m just a musician, and the world won’t even listen”. This record feels like being in a dense dark forest on a damp cloudy day; melanchonic, bittersweet
and peaceful. The brothers take turns on the songwriting, sometimes together with full instrumentation (like my Shining Sun), sometimes stripped down with only a guitar or synthesizer and vocal (like Parade / h idden Away). It took a little while to grow on me, but once it did, it became undeniable. “Grower” records are usually the best because they tend to stick with you for much longer!
4. Mike James Kirkland - Hang o n i n there
One that absolutely can’t be left out of my list is this phenomenal soul album. When i first heard the title track of this one, i believe on one of the Kon & Amir “On Track” mixtapes, i knew i had to seek this out ASAP. Sometimes you just know within the first 2 bars of hearing a song, and this one really is on that level. The A side is in the same vein as marvin’s “What’s Going On”, bringing forth a 3-track suite that flows from one track to the next. h is voice is soothing, while singing about poignant topics; “What h ave We Done” is about mankind ruining the Earth on which they live, “Where Is The Soul Of man” asks the follow-up question. Then the 9 minute epic “h ang On In There” on which i could go on about what an absolute masterpiece this is, but i’d urge you to hear for yourself. For me, this is easily one of the best sides on any soul record ever made. At first i wasn’t that big on the B-side of this record, as to me it didn’t feel like a continuation of the music on the A-side, being 5 love songs. In the end i have to
stand corrected and say that i love this record front to back. Friends have made very generous offers to trade away my copy, but this one is staying with me until the end!!
5. Walt d ickerson - to My Queen
This record came at the highest recommendation of a friend, very early on when i became interested in buying records for more than just sampling. It was actually the very first record i bought from legendary Dutch seller Lex (Vinylspot Rotterdam). The title track “To my Queen” was written by Walt as a tribute to his wife, and is a 17-and-a-half minute long piece of modal jazz bliss. m uch like Pharoah’s “ h arvest Time” it’s thé perfect morning soundtrack. I used to put this on first thing after waking up for the morning routine stretches, i can’t keep count of how many times i’ve played this through. The quartet delivers an incredible performance here; every musician is 110% on point, most notably Andrew h ill who to me feels like he’s leading the bunch here with his moody and loose style of playing that really gives this tune its edge, but i also absolutely love George Tucker’s bass solo. yes, the record is worth being in this list for the title track alone, but the B side also features 2 very worthwhile listens.
Exploring the History of French Hip Hop Through 80s and 90s Flyers
By Uncle Texaco
French hip hop flyers from the 1980s and 90s offer a unique window into the evolution of the genre in the Paris area, vividly capturing the essence of the city’s underground scene. Each flyer is not just a promotional tool but a work of art, showcasing bold typography, colorful graphics, and intricate designs. many of these were handmade by talented graffiti artists like mode 2, COLT, Jay One (BBC), marko 93, and Noé 2—names that would later become synonymous with the movement. h owever, most were created by unknown artists passionate about the DI y ethos at a time when Adobe Photoshop didn’t yet exist.
These flyers reveal that hip hop events rarely took place in central Paris or mainstream clubs. Instead, they were more often held in the suburbs, in venues like m JCs (maisons des Jeunes et de la Culture). One notable exception was Le Globo, a club in the 10th arrondissement, which was the first to host a regular hip hop night. The event, “Chez Roger Boîte Funk” with DJ Dee Nasty, ran every Friday from mid-1987 to late 1988.
DJ Chabin, who had been promoting black music in its entirety—from funk to reggae, and zouk to the emerging hip hop scene—since the early 80s, was instrumental in broadening the appeal of this nascent movement. h is influence was felt in iconic Parisian venues like the Bataclan and La Grange aux Belles.
Interestingly, many of these hip hop events were held in the afternoons rather than the evenings. most venues in the 80s opened in the afternoon to accommodate minors, allowing them to participate in the burgeoning scene. Since many early hip hoppers were teenagers, they couldn’t attend night events, making daytime parties more accessible.
The flyers were distributed in various ways: handed out in schools, urban gathering spots, outside clubs and venues, taped or glued to train stations, bus stops, and public telephones, and even slipped between 12-inch discs in the rap sections of record stores. They were not just promotional materials for upcoming events, radio shows, parties, and concerts but also a testament to the creativity and talent of the artists behind them.
*The flyers presented here are from various private collections. We extend our gratitude to Faz, Kool m , and Kool G for sharing this collection, which will soon be featured in a publication curated by Uncle Texaco and published by Le Grand Jeu.
Le Grand Jeu, 15, passage de ménilmontant, Paris
Keith Haring’s Party of Life
Collection of Wild Life Archive
about Wild Life a rchive:
A collection of ephemera, books, magazines, clothing & related artifacts documenting dance music culture from its early origins through to today’s global scene including New york disco, Chicago house, Detroit techno, Italian cosmic, Ibiza balearic and UK acid house to name a few.
This unique archive has been exhibited at world class museums and galleries including the The Geffen Contemporary at mOCA in Los Angeles, SFmOm A in San Francisco, Design m useum in London, ICA in London, Barbican in London, Tate in Liverpool, V&A in Dundee, Bozar in Brussels, Philharmonie in Paris and Vitra Design museum in Germany.
recorD sTores as Ga LLeries by DUTCH GRAFFITI LIBRARY
The story of displaying graffiti in Rotterdam’s record stores extends beyond just Streetsounds, as highlighted by a newspaper article from ‘h et Vrije Volk’ in the late 1980s. Since the mid-1980s, the first section of Nieuwe Binnenweg has become a hub for record stores, including De Plaatboef, Vriends, Free Record Shop, Jazz-Inn, m idtown Records, and Tinsel Town. Among these, Tinsel Town stands out as a haven for art enthusiasts.
a Celebration of a rt
Ronald molendijk, the driving force behind Tinsel Town, emphasizes the store’s dual purpose: “We proudly display art on our walls, a testament to our love for creativity. Even if you don’t find a record that interests you, there’s always something captivating to admire.” This approach helps bridge the gap between music and
visual art, making the store a unique cultural space.
Showcasing High-End Graf fi ti
Arno manages the artwork displayed in the store, stating, “The goal is to showcase the work of top Dutch graffiti artists, directly sourced from the streets and trains.” h owever, he notes that these artists are limited to working on canvas rather than tagging the store’s walls. “In the Netherlands, graffiti remains largely invisible to the mainstream art world,” Arno reflects. “But on the streets, it tells a different story. many people in the Netherlands don’t understand what graffiti truly represents. We want to demonstrate that it’s more than a chaotic hobby; it operates within its own rules, forming a unique universe of artistic expression.”
i mportant cultural space
Tinsel Town not only offers a selection of records but also serves as an important cultural space that elevates graffiti to the level of fine art, challenging perceptions and showcasing the talent of Dutch graffiti artists. This melding of music and art reinforces the significance of record stores as modern galleries in urban landscapes.
the o rigins of a Masterpiece
Interestingly, the Dutch Graffiti Library recently acquired a canvas piece by the renowned graffiti artist Delta. “I’m not sure what it was originally intended for,” Delta remarked following the sale. Further investigation revealed that this piece was created twice: once as a mural in Amsterdam and again as the canvas displayed at Tinsel Town. The sketch for this artwork originated during a visit to Paris in 1986, when Delta and Jezis first encountered the artist mode2.
o n display
Delta’s canvas is now on display at Dutch Graffiti Library’s new museum in Amsterdam. A place dedicated to the history of graffiti culture told through objects and stories of the Dutch Graffiti Library collection and an exhibition space for underground artists with a street-smart mentality.
BaTTLe roya Le
by
GUILLAUME AKA WILDSTYLE GUY
I was born twice. First in 1973 while hiphop was busy being invented. Then again in 1989, that’s when I became a b-boy. my life was never quite the same afterwards.
At the dawn of the 90s, rap music was alive and kicking but breaking was dead. Old-fashioned.
Obsolete not only in Belgium where I live but everywhere in Europe and beyond. I guess too much of anything is just too much. After the breakdance craze in 1984, nobody was interested anymore. Nobody but a few pioneers keeping the (Olympic) flame alive, and some young guns like me and my crew NBS… all of us were banned. Not even allowed to start a cypher in local clubs, and definitely not allowed to enter with sneakers. most people used to laugh at us because for them, we were just cleaning the floor and out of style. Some people actually thought we were rappers just because we were listening to rap music… they missed the whole point but we didn’t.
Now 35 years later breaking has just made its debut at the Olympic Games in Paris. That’s right, breaking, better known as breakdance, live and direct in front of the whole world. I would have never expected such an achievement when I
used to watch Romanian gymnast marius Gherman do windmills at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Pause. Rewind, slo-mo. In this pre-internet era, my homies and I had no other Vh S to learn from… it was so difficult to learn moves we didn’t even know how to call. No idea if Gherman is the first Olympian to ever throw a b-boy move but somehow, breaking found its way to the Games early on.
Pause. Rewind, rewind some more cause what we’re gonna do right here is go back, way back, back into time. Back to 1984 as this massive revolution called breakdance was already part of the Olympics in Los Angeles. Sure it was not ready for the competition itself, or it’s the competition that was not ready for breaking. But it was there, on stage, in a jam-packed stadium, when Lionel Ritchie sang All Night Long to an estimated audience of 2.6 billion viewers at the closing ceremony, with an army of poppers, lockers and breakers. But that’s not enough for gold diggers… champs don’t want to be part of the show if they can be the show. Not for lack of trying though.
In 1983 the legendary New york City Breakers appeared in a TV show called The Stars Salute The US Olympic Team, a fundraiser for the US Olympic Committee and the US Summer Olympic Team. After their performance the b-boys wrote a letter of proclamation, lobbying for breaking to become an Olympic Sport at the next games in Los Angeles. Lobbying for their dream: « We, the New york City Breakers, see the Olympic Games as our future. We see breakdancing as a future Olympic sport, and ourselves, as pioneers in making this dream a reality. Signed by all the New york City Breakers. »
A dream is worth nothing if you leave it on a pillow, hence this wake-up call from b-boy Chino ‘Action’ Lopez of the NyC Breakers who was being interviewed on
TV: « me, my whole crew, we challenge the 1984 gold medal winners and the floor exercise gymnastics team in a competition ! » To what the journalist answered: « Who knows... may be someday it will be an Olympic event ? » Fast forward 40 years later. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games were awesome ! From
the opening ceremony in the heart of the City of Lights to setting new world records, from Leon marchand to Simone Biles, mondo Duplantis… so many talents and so many emotions, even Parade the anthem composed by Victor Le masne was epic.
As I’m writing this, I’ve just watched the closing ceremony of the Paralympics with DJ Cut Killer and his routine from the movie La h aine, blending KRS-1 and Edith Piaf while b-girls and b-boys are getting down. It was fresh, super fresh, but still I must admit I’ve had mixed feelings about breaking battles at the Olympics.
On one hand, Paris 2024 was such a bliss. The kind of worldwide celebration nobody would want to miss. What an opportunity to make history ! And what a privilege it must be to represent your country, your culture. Besides, it forces respect to see something created out of nothing find its way from the Bronx to Paris and join the greatest show on Earth.
moreover, music was on point ! Like Slick Rick, can’t dance to a track that ain’t got no soul. Felt good to hear ultimate breaks instead of sterilized beats. Candy for my ears when DJ Fleg played Babe Ruth’s The mexican in the last round of the men’s final battle. m ust have been one hell of a budget but clearing copyrights was the right thing to do. This official playlist was « centered on the cultural and musical foundation of breaking » and curated by a dedicated team including DJ One Up, DJ Senka, Clarisse Costaz and Lahcen m ustapha.
But on the other hand, I’ve always considered breaking as an art not a sport. I understand it can be both, especially since it’s become so physical… the race for double airflare is on ! Some artists are definitely athletes in Olympic shape, kind of like « arthletes » I guess. But in my hum -
ble opinion breaking is a wild and untamed beast, you can see it in a zoo but for the real deal go see it in the jungle. maybe it’s the comments on TV or the rules of the World DanceSport Federation… or maybe it’s just me being an old school fool ? But as a b-boy I don’t relate to any sport federation or whatever ranking especially when the notorious b-girl Raygun from Australia is currently #1 in the world. Nevertheless, big up to Ami and Phil Wizard who sure deserve gold.
Breaking is now bigger than ever and that’s the most important. Even my colleagues who were never interested in hip-hop culture now have an opinion on breaking.
Everyone has a right to their opinion but I’d rather ask an OG, not because Olympic Games is spelled with a capital O and a capital G but out of respect for the originators. Corey ‘Icey Ice’ montalvo of the New york City Breakers was recently inter-
beat street press pictures
viewed by h ip- h op Student on youTube : « my opinion about the fact that now for the very first time, it’s about to become an Olympic sport… I think it’s fantastic, because that’s going to give exposure now to a new generation. And now because it’s an Olympic event, it’s going to even more greatly legitimize not only the culture but also the dance aspect of the culture (…) They’re gonna have something to which they can actually look forward to, becoming the next Olympian, winning gold for something that initially started here in New york City, the mecca, you know, 40, 50, 60 years go and now for it to become an Olympic sport I think it’s nothing, for short, but an amazing opportunity to really bring out a new generation (…). »
When I was a teenager, The New york City Breakers were like superheroes to me. They could do extraordinary things that ordinary people just can’t, their superpowers were power moves called backspin or freeze. most of these teenagers used to
go by the name Floor masters until NyCB was suggested in 1983 by their new manager m ichael h olman and graff legend Phase 2. Not only does it sound great, but it’s like they were the only breakers in town… even though Rock Steady Crew and Dynamic Rockers are legends in their own right. No doubt this name was a major inspiration for Abidjan City Breakers (check ACB Rap from 1985), Paris City Breakers (check Sidney’s 1984 TV show h.I.P. h.O.P. featuring Solo from Assassin) or madrid City Breakers (check their 30th anniversary comp released in 2014). So many crews used to rep their city proudly like my own Namur Break Sensation, Antwerp Break masters, Barcelona Addictos, Basel City Attack, LA Breakers… even Rock City Crew, whose name sounded like Rock Steady Crew but actually came from the Rock City club in Nottingham (check the documentary When We Were B-Boys).
The b-boys themselves had marvelous monikers: Powerful Pexter, Icey Ice, Action, Glide master, Flip Rock, m r. Wave, Kidd Nice, Lil’ Lep… These guys were superheroes not only because of their names or their acrobatic moves but also because of the way they looked. Dressed to impress with traditional Adidas tracksuits or… Spandex super tight outfits ! I guess it took balls to wear such anti-conformist uniform in the Bronx during the fucking 80s. According to People Weekly magazine, at first the breakers thought that running tights were too weird and feminine. Until they realize it was super comfy and ideal to enlighten moves. Add their NyCB logo printed on the chest and you get a street version of Superman… imagine Superman vs The Next york City Breakers on the big screen !
When it comes to movies and popular breaking videos, Rock Steady Crew is definitely numero uno. What a legacy ! They performed in Wild Style, Style Wars, Beat Street, Flashdance, malcolm mcLaren’s Buffalo Gals, Lords Of The Underground’s Chief Rocka, Erykah Badu’s Love Of my Life, they even got their own clip for h ey you… and I just can’t get enough of Ken Swift (my all-time fav b-boy) and Crazy Legs on Late Night with David Letterman. It’s hard to compete with RSC but New york City Breakers are next in line. They performed in the pilot episode of Graffiti
Rock with Run DmC & Jam master Jay, Kool moe Dee & Special K of The Treacherous 3, Shannon, Debi mazar, Vincent Gallo… and m ichael h olman himself as master of ceremony. The b-boys were also casted to play in the movie Breakin’ but they turned down the offer when they realize it was only for a cameo on Venice Beach. They thought the main role of a movie called Breakin’ should go to breakers, not poppers and lockers from LA… it makes sense but would have been nice to see them on the boardwalk next to Jean-Claude Van Damme, especially since they did it later for Body Rock with Lorenzo Lamas.
They also appeared in Gladys Knight & The Pips’ Save The Overtime (For me) and many TV shows with national and international visibility like Soul Train with Don Cornelius, Good morning America, The merv Griffin Show, The 50th Presidential Inauguration Ball for Ronald Reagan, The Kennedy Center h onors… etc. But of course, NyCB and RSC will always have Beat Street in common. I guess their wellknown confrontation at The Roxy is a staged version of real battles they used to do at the club Negril. These were probably not shot on film, lost to posterity except for one footage on youTube of Rock Steady vs Floor masters at the Negril in 1982… « a do or die dance duel » with breaking in its purest form. As a h ollywood production Beat Street didn’t reach the authenticity level of beloved independent movie Wild Style. It’s not even truthful to Steven h ager’s original script called The Perfect Beat. But still, Beat
Street has its moments and it’s a time capsule that proudly celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. I was recently honored to introduce a screening in 35mm at the Cinematek in Brussels and it felt good to watch it again after all these years.
I’ve heard that RSC didn’t like Breaker’s Revenge upon its release because, unlike It’s Just Begun used in Flashdance, it wasn’t original b-boy music as played in block parties. According to Arthur Baker, that my friend Blaster B recently saw at montreux Jazz, h arry Belafonte actually wanted to clear Give It Up Or Turn It Loose but it was too expensive so the producer ordered new material inspired by James Brown. That’s how the electro sound we all know became the main theme of Beat Street, let’s call it Baker’s Revenge. Fun fact, Give It Up Or Turn It Loose was sampled by Jazzy Jay for Son Of Beat Street. By the way, the first thing I did on my first trip to NyC was to perform on Times Square with local b-boys. The next thing was to visit The Roxy. Sure it wasn’t the club it used to be when Kool Lady Blue was a party promoter (and manager of Rock Steady Crew). But still it was The Roxy where hiphop conquered manhattan before taking the rest of the world. my homies and I went there at daytime, we took some pictures and noticed the door wasn’t shut… the staff was apparently cleaning up so we tip-toed in and threw a windmill on the iconic wooden floor like we were RSC or NyCB. Fun fact, The Roxy hosted a party for the Olympic gold medal-winning USA Ice- h ockey team in 1980. Sign o’ the times,
The Roxy was demolished and replaced by luxury condos in 2021.
Even superheroes need a manager at some point. And it seems that m ichael h olman did a pretty good job as manager of the New york City Breakers. Not only is their career filled with first-class gigs but the NyCB licensed products were super fresh ! Let’s start with one of the best books dedicated to hip-hop, Breaking & The New york City Breakers published in 1984 by h olman himself. you could buy a copy only for its front cover drawn by Kirk m ueller, character illustrator at Warner Bros for the Looney Tunes, but actually all 176 pages are dope. It’s full of stories, interviews and pictures (some by martha Cooper), how-to and who’s who, codes and glossary, clothes and jewelry. It’s not just focused on NyBC nor breaking, other crews are presented as well and hip-hop is represented as a whole culture. yes it’s rare but not that rare, and yes it’s expensive but worth every penny. If you want to read more about the NyCB, check Powerful Pexter’s book « I had a dream, the New york City Breakers Story » that’s recently been published.
m usic please. The band Gray was founded by Jean- m ichel Basquiat and m ichael h ol -
man, the original lineup never released a record but h olman did cut a deal with KTel in 1984 for two NyCB records that are still very affordable today. One is called « Break- master featuring the New york City Breakers », it’s made of classic cuts like most comps that were surfing on the breakdance wave in 1984. But the artwork is great and there are two original tracks with Kool moe Dee & Special K of The Treacherous Three. Plus you get a giant folded poster with instructions and photos. The other one is called « Breakdance » and came with a Vh S too, its cover is nice with b boy names tagged on a wall next to graff pioneers Coco 144 or Snake I. you find the usual suspects on A side and you get an overdose of Alex & The City Crew (from The Netherlands), except for the last track simply called « The New york City Breakers »… no big deal but it’s nice to hear the toorare female group Us Girls with Sha-Rock, Lisa Lee and Debbie rap about breaking. you also get a sought-after poster full of do’s and dont’s : « If you have any ankle, knee, back or other physical problems, you should have a medical checkup before attempting the dances described in these materials. Parental supervision is advised for children who attempt the dances. »
guillaume in front of the roxy.
Last but not least here come two Viewmaster sets from 1984 called « h ow To Breakdance » and « meet The New york City Breakers » that are now pretty hard to find in sealed condition. Each pack comes with 3 reels, which are thin cardboard disks containing 7 stereoscopic 3D pairs of small transparent color photographs on film. From a b-boy or b-girl perspective, this technology probably never helped anyone learn anything but that’s a super cool artifact and those big red viewers really are full of magic.
you know the drill, with great power comes great responsibility. Superheroes like New york City Breakers were not only dancers, they were dreamers and trendsetters. It’s one thing to push your art to the next level in pursuit of style and technique, it’s something else to make a cultural phenomenon out of it and pass the torch to a new generation. Now it’s the responsibility of our generation to pass it on to the next one, and what better opportunity than the Olympic arena ?
Breaking won’t be part of the Games in Los Angeles 2028 but hopefully it will be back by popular demand in the future, stronger than ever cause the seed has been planted in Paris. Kids who saw b-boys like h iro10 or b-girls like Nicka in 2024 could be our next superheroes one day. Actually they
don’t even need Olympiads to fulfill their dreams of battle glory, they only need to dream.
So when you dream, dream big. As BIG as notorious… it was all a dream, until it became a reality.
What a fantastic voyage since the early days, you never thought that hip-hop would take it this far.
Breaking has come a long way, it was built on competition cause every superhero needs a madvillain. But what now ? Where do we go from here, after the Olympics ? The king of all battles is the battle royale where several opponents fight at the same time until there’s only one left standing. h owever, hip-hop is peace love and unity so I prefer to think that a battle royale, the mother of them all, is the one against yourself. It’s an inner battle, trying to be the best version of you. you will probably never get a medal for this but you might become a superhero of some sort.
In memory of matthew ‘Glide master’ Caban and Ray ‘Lil Lep’ Ramos… rest in power.
Guillaume aka Wildstyle Guy IG : wildstyleguy_collection
VINTAGE ARTICLE kooL anD The GanG scienTis T s of sounD
Interview from Black Stars magazine by
November 1975
Kool And The Gang are an eight-piece band that started off as jazzmen and have developed a mixture of jazz and some of the wildest funk music to be heard today. Since 1969, Kool And The Gang have been soaring to the Top Twenty on pop chalrts. They have toured the United States, Europe and the Caribbean as well as appearing on top television progams.
“We are scientists of sound, mathematically putting it down,” says Kool And The Gang. It’s their formula for making their jazz/boogie sound one of the best in the business. The group of eight young men from Jersey City, New Jersey, who have given us Let The m usic Take your m ind, Funky man, Who’s Gonna Take The Weight, Funky Stuff, and Jungle Boogie, among others, approach music and life in general from a scientific and spiritual standpoint.
“Everything is based upon laws; God’s law and Nature’s law,” says Kool. “We abide by these laws which is why our music has such a positive effect on people.”
The group believes that there is a formula to everything set down by the creator and that they are like actors playing out the parts they were meant to fulfill. If the group does not have a successful concert, then they feel that they have not properly ‘ communicated with the audience. “We are concerned with communication, with interaction between the audience and the artist, conveying the message to them and having them react to it. If this does not happen then we blow. We haven’t come out and done what we were supposed to do.”
The group’s music conceptualizes their scientific thoughts down to the smallest technicality, including the makeup of their albums.
Frederick Douglas m urphy
Their latest release, Light Of The World on De-Lite Records purposely has nine cuts. “There are nine cuts because there are nine planets in the universe and each one of those cuts portray a different image of the group,” as each planet has its own characteristic and balance in the universe. Kool further explains that their music is geared towards freedom, justice, equality and brotherhood towards our people and all people of the world. h e feels that “in time the word music will be changed to musun. The prefix mu is from the Egyptian word meaning ‘to inspire.’ We remove sic and add Sun because the sun shines freely on everyone in the universe. This is the kind of music that we want to have, universal. We hope to inspire the people with the things that the sun represents -love, happiness, energy and growth.” Kool And The Gang considers the album Light Of The World an evolutionary process and “that it was something that we were all into all the while, but we weren’t aware of it. We are constantly evolving.”
m usic Is The message was the first album that the self-contained group produced themselves. Their album Good Times was based on the concept of music to have a good time by and included musically “all things that were good.” The Wild And Peaceful album, however, was a “separation of things.” One side was disco and the other side was spiritual. “We went from one extreme to the other on that album which brought us to Light Of The World, which is covering the circle, looking at it as one extreme to another, closing up the circle. Each cut portrays a part in the planetary system.”
Although Kool And The Gang is known for its funky stuff and boogie, they are primarpy jazz musicians.
The group actually started out as jazz artists, but had to get into the rhythm and blues market because that is where the money is. “We play a lot of discotheque music because this is our bread and butter. It keeps us out here and makes us materially successful. It is more universally accepted because everyone wants to boogie, to party.” But you can rest assured that during every concert Kool And The Gang will lay some heavy jazz on you. “We try to give the people what they want as well as what we think they need, on a positive plane. We want them to get the essence of the positive aspect of our music, the wisdom of it and not just the partying mood of it.
Everybody is partying for a different reason. Some have to meet the rent situation or meet the man on monday morning. We try to do something soothing and inspiring as well. We look for a higher plane of peaceful education through our music. That is what Light Of The World is about. Everybody likes Summer madness because it is soothing to the ear.
“If the audience is vibrating on the same plane that we are playing on, then you have a harmonious feeling in the whole auditorium.
But if you have a lot of negative people sitting out there throwing a lot of negative daggers, then the atmosphere changes. If we walk into a negative situation, we usually break the barrier down.
Sometimes we don’t. It all depends on which is the stronger.”
As the group feeds off the audience, they also feed off each other.
Vicariously, the members get a musical
education from each other.
“We don’t play by charts, we never have,” explains Dee Tee. “We have played together for ten years.
“I myself have learned how to play drums through George and bass by listening to Robert,” says Kool. “And that’s what makes up Kool And The Gang. you can come with mu to inspire, but in order to fulfill itself, it takes everybody else.
We feed and generate off each other. We all can just about tell when something is about to happen on the stage among us. A positive thing just comes together and it just spills musically. This again has to do with the vibes of the people in the audience.”
Kool And The Gang got together about ten years ago while in high school. Each member surprisingly has an informal music background, but they are all jazz oriented and innovative. A great deal of this jazz influence was inspired through their relationship with Robert (Spike) m ickens (trumpet). They all used to gather at Spike’s house where they enjoyed, and some heard for the first time, the music of the jazz greats, like m iles Davis, John Coltrane and Lee morgan.
The group of friends banded together and started out professionally as the Jazzicas. They went through a few name changes while playing in the local clubs around Jersey City and the New york City area. The members of the group are George Brown (drums) , Robert (Kool) Bell (bass) , Claydes E. x . Smith (lead guitar), Rich West, who recently left the group (electric piano and all keyboards) , Dennis (Dee Tee) Thomas (alto sax), Otha
While on tour of the offices of WJPe, Kool And The Gang, admit they enjoy playing funk. “While jazz audiences may be more understanding, funk audiences get mor’e involved with the music.” Dee Tee adds,”What we’re trying to do is to bridge the gap between funk and jazz. We think people can get down to both.”
Nash (trombone) , Robert (Spike m ickens (trumpet, percussion) and Ronald Bell (tenor sax) .
Ronald and Kool Bell are brothers and all members sing in the group on various records.
After the usual rip-offs, the group decided to manage themselves and have done so successfully. They have their own recording company, publishing company and quite a few other enterprises, including the KGs, a group which Kelvin Bell, a younger brother is a member. Kool And The Gang’s music is a cooperative endeavor in which each member contributes to the whole. “We have all contributed wholeheartedly to the writing and arranging. We have seen that a lot of groups cannot cooperate within. many of them have leaders, but we don’t.” This group feels that a leader doesn’t always necessarily make the largest contribution to the group and that if one of them has an idea for a song, that idea is enlarged upon by the entire band. That way the final product belongs to them all. “Each of us portray a part in the planetary system. Actually, we are missing one person to complete the nine planets in the universe. Each one of us compliments the other. We work as one complete unit, one complete atom of sound.”
yet, at the same time, each member is an individual. They feel that even in their differences, there is a balance that can be achieved. “We all can come together spirtually by reflecting on what is already here.
The planets in the universe do not run into
each other or collide. There is perfect balance even though they all have different characteristics. We deal with each others minds instead of on an emotional plane. Emotions can stop you from making any progress. We are concerned with knowledge and understanding of a situation, which goes beyond an emotional plane.”
Each member of Kool And The Gang astrologically has the same Neptune in Libra which is the planet of illusion, which accordingly makes people affluent in the arts.
most of them were born between 1948 and 1955 “which has a special meaning musically,” says George. “That is why we all fell into this organization. There is something in each of our astrological charts that makes us relate well to each other.”
Kool And The Gang concludes that their music is a beautiful scientific, spiritual kind of music that they endeavor to take beyond the entertainment level and to give wisdom and to inspire the people. They also feel that h erbie h ancock and Earth, Wind and Fire are moving in the same direction, which everyone knows is the best music in the world today.
Cover Art for promoTion onLy
Disco 12 inch sinGLes
WiTh pic Ture covers from The 70’s
In the seveties after the birth of the 12 inch, mostley major record companies made for promotional only 12 inches which they distribute to radio statios, record pools and disco’s to promote the new tracks. Sometimes with a different remixed version and some of them never got issued
commercially. Also sometimes provided with a text or picture cover. h ere i show some of them from the seventies and early eighties.
G eepies are The neW hippies says BooT sy coLLins
Article in Rock & Soul magazine July 1977
“I just want to set a good example for the kids;’ said Bootsy. “Something basic and simple. They really need something to hold on to because everything keeps changing. I “When I was coming, up the entertainers didn’t relate to us at all. And there really isn’t anyqne “that the kids can relate to today. They don’t have one image that they can look up to and say ‘wow, I want ~o be like that.’ I want to fill those shoes.” Bootsy Collins is, in his own words, “just natural straight – out basic and simple. Crazy looking and everything.” h e began playing bass guitar in clubs around his hometown of Cincinnati. By the time he was 16 he was on the road touring with James Brown. Bootsy travelled all over” the country with the famous band. It was very exciting, but there were times when Bootsy might have preferred a more normal life: hanging out with his friends, seeing the latest movies, and doing all the things that you and I take for granted. But Bootsy had always wanted to play his guitar. And when you really have a goal, when there’s something you want to do more than anything else in the world no sacrifice is too great if it means making your dream come true. After two years with the James ‘Brown Band, Bootsy returned to Cincinnati and formed his own group. They played for a few months and then left to join the Spinners in Detroit. Although they originally planned to be the Spinners’ backup band, fate had other things in mind.
One night a mutual friend of Bootsy and George Clinton heard the group perform. She felt that Bootsy would fit right in with Clinton’s group Funkadelic, so she introduced them to each other.
The two musicians talked for awhile and Bootsy played the tapes he had brought along. They got along so well that George asked Bootsy to join his show. After an apprenticeship in PFunk with Clinton’s group,
Bootsy formed his Rubber Band with fellow Parliament I Funkadelics (and former members of James Brown’s band) maceo Parker and Fred Wesley. But the ties were not broken. Clinton, along with Bootsy, Writes the music and produces the Rubber Band’s albums and the Rubber Band is involved with Parliament I Funkadelic’s Ips.
Bootsy’s first album Stretchin’ Ou.t In Bootsy’s Rubber Band was an overnight sensation and has already been certified gold. h is latest lp Ahh ... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby! continues in the same vein, combining funk with nursery , rhymes. With a language and style all his own, Bootsy’s “geepies” are really turning on to his tunes.
“Geepies are the new hippies,” Bootsy explains. “They’re the younger kids who are turned on without drugs, the kids from 12 down to 6. “We grew up in the hippie days with all the drugs. The kids today are much more aware than we were. They don’t need drugs.
They’re so deep they’re way past 0 all the way to G. That’s what makes them ‘geep.’
“I’m trying to relate to tbem,” he adds, “and , think that they can relate to me. “I do my thing but I’m not forcing it on anyone. They liked my first album so 1 gave them some more.”
Bootsy and. Clinton have arranged the album so that all the funky fast songs, including The Pinocchio Theory, are on the first side. The second side, titled “Geepieland m usic,” is dedicated to teenage love, 70s style. m unchies For your Love and What’s A Telephone Bill explore the romantic side of Bootsy’s personality. “I did that because the dance craze is so popular how,” Bootsy said. “I figured that if the kids want to dance they’ll play side one. And if they want to make melodies, or make love, they can listen to the other side.”
Bootsy would like to give afternoon con -
certs for all his fans who are too young to go out at night. ‘” also want to perform for kids in schools,” he added. ‘” eventually want to make movies for kids. I’d like to be on ‘Sesame Street’ because that’s what the kids are into. It’s all silly seriousness ...
