FAT C A P 19 8 9 –2013
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THE END? In 2003, we published the 15th anniversary issue of FatCap, and the market for graffiti magazines had changed completely. We just hadn’t figured it out yet…
art and hip hop books, and we have plans for many more book projects. In 2008, we decided on a change of direction after our meeting with the “new” graffiti market. With FatCap #16, we went from FatCap Productions to Kontur Publishing.
It was then 6 years since the last issue (#14 FatCap New York Special Part 2). We did as we had done so many times over the years; we loaded our car with magazines and headed south to sell them. It started OK with our friends in Copenhagen, but we got a mixed response from the graffiti and hip hop stores. We were told that magazines didn’t sell that much any more, but they could buy a few since they knew the magazine from way back. We had a phenomenal release party for the magazine at a nightclub on Nørrebro, and ended our stay in Denmark drunk and firmly determined to take over the graffiti magazine market once more, we just had to travel down to Central Europe, were the really big market had been in the past.
We chose Hip Hop America by Nelson George as our first book, in 2009, we started organized distribution of urban art books to bookstores in Norway, and made a small but important international breakthrough with the titles Graff Wars and Stencil Wars. We have all grown older, and times have changed. The money we put into the magazine (we hardly earned a dime on our magazine publications), must now go to meet our obligations at home. This is just one part of the time line we have to except.
When we came to Hamburg in Germany we realized how much the graffiti market had changed. At a paint shop in downtown Hamburg we contacted the store manager and he loved the magazine and asked were he could find it in the Publikat order catalogue. We told him we didn’t know anything about a Publikat order catalogue, but we had loads of magazines in the car. The store manager said he only bought thru Publikat, but promised to order the magazine as soon as it was distributed thru Publikat. In the end we managed to trade ten magazines for some pens and a very cool T-shirt I still have (but never use because it has “shrunk”).
The magazine has never been about profit. Not when Tommy Tee started it with G.I. Joe back in 1989, not when Raide joined in a little later, not when Martin took over the magazine in 2000, and not when StayOne came aboard to give us a fresh new approach. FatCap magazine has always been about dedication, inspiration and communication. We see many good graffiti artist out there, and we will also follow them in the future, even though we can’t put them in the magazine anymore. We will continue to travel the world and look for great spots, great art, and fresh lines. We will still take a drink with our homeboys and we will talk about the good old days.
We went to the city center of Hamburg to re-plan. After ordering a couple of Bratwurts with Saurkraut, in my not so very good German, we decided that Mainaschaff (were Publikat is based) was too far away, and headed back to Norway.
In 2014, FatCap magazine will celebrate its 25th anniversary and in November next year we are planning the release of Fatcap 25th Anniversary book, a book which will tell the story of FatCap magazine and its history thru interviews and essays, from hip hop’s early years to the dominating youth and subculture it has become.
After we had contacted Publikat they ordered many copies of the magazine, and the 15th anniversary issue of FatCap could be found in stores all over Europe, from Poland and Italy to the Netherlands and Spain.
2014 is also the “official” anniversary for hip hop in Norway, it will have been around for 30 years (and they thought it was just a fad…), and we in the FatCap team, will do our part to celebrate these big events, by arranging concerts, exhibitions and publish books, all through the year.
We got in touch with distributers from many countries, we traded our magazine for their magazines and books, and we started the FatCap Online Webshop and FatCap Distribution. When we sold the magazines and books in Norway we noticed that books were much easier to sell than magazines. Not only did the street wear and graffiti stores want to buy our products, we were also contacted by many bookstores in Norway. They didn’t buy much (but they paid on time).
What will happen to FatCap after the book release in 2014 - only time will tell. But one thing is for sure; we’ll be around. Stay Up!
The market for graffiti magazines has changed, and we have changed with it. These last few years we have published several graffiti, street
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FATC AP 路 THE FINAL ISSUE?
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THE GODFATHER OF FATC AP: TOM MY TEE WITH COPE2
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N O RWAY
SGE E 路 VI M OA L L H O P
SGE E 路 VI M OA L L H O P
SGE E 路 VI M OA L L H O P
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N O RWAY
SGEE 路 VI MOA L L H O P
SGEE 路 VI MOA L L H O P
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N O RWAY
EKS M 路 O SV
EKS M 路 O SV
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N O RWAY
PAY2 路 COD DC A TUC
PAY2 路 COD DC A TUC
PAY2 路 COD DC A TUC
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N O RWAY
R IDDER 路 V I M OAL L
R IDDER 路 V I M OAL L / / S H O F 路 O G S
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N O RWAY
WOBLE 路 STS KCW // R EF USE 路 FOS
METER 路 IN N YM F RC F
METER 路 IN N YM F RC F
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DENMARK
BATES · AI O CO D T N B 1 5 6
BATES · A IO COD TNB 156
G R EAT · AI O S RG
G R EAT · AI O S RG / / B AT E S · AI O CO D T NB 156 // SID E · AIO F YS T.RO CK // GOAL · AIO CO D KD WCA
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DENMARK
KID 路 THP // GOA L 路 A IO COD KD WCA // GREAT 路 A IO SRG // BATES 路 A IO COD TN B 1 5 6
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DENMARK
TR U N · TAD / / S M UG / / H E RO · M OA
TIWS · TDA / / C H AS · LOV E L E T T E R S / / T WE SH
O G R E / / BR US · S DT / / S OT E N · S DT
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DENMARK
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SWEDEN
S K IL · TD
S K IL · TD / / K AO S · T D V I M OAL L / / G O UGE · CAS // AO D S
K AO S · TD V I M OAL L / / S K I L · T D
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SWEDEN
SKI L 路 TD
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TRAVEL REPORT
STAYONE 路 KD G PT. OSLO
S TAY O N E
KD GPT
STAYO N E 路 K D G P T / / WAN E 路 CO D FC. NYC RO O F TO P. B RO O KLYN NE W YO RK
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TRAVEL REPORT
STAYONE 路 KD G PT. SY DN EY
STAYONE 路 KD GPT. N EW YOR K
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NEW YORK CITY
WEN · CO D / / K N OWS · CO D FC / / S L AV E · TC5 // PART 1 · T D S // P U RE · T F P // CHAIN3 // T- KID KD · TNB // MED · KD // NICER · TAT // SER VE · FBA // FEA R // YES2 · TM7 // CES · TMT TNB
Y ES 2 · TM 7 / / B I O · TAT / / C E S · T M T F BA // RE VO K · M SK AWR
BIO · TAT / / C E S · T M T F B A
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NEW YORK CITY
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AUSTRALIA
S O FLES 路 DT S T M D
S O FLES 路 DT S T M D
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AUSTRALIA
WOBLE 路 STS KCW // SOFLES 路 DTS TM D
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AUSTRALIA
ATOME 路 TF P I BS
ATOME 路 TF P I BS
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