Style Wars was another Hip Hop Culture Classic. It was a Documentary mainly about 'style wars" or graffiti battles and fame between and among artists in the South Bronx, Brooklyn and other New York City boroughs.
Featured were artists like Seen, Zephyr and Crash and the documentary shows how subway graffiti transformed between Phase 1 to Phase 2 and beyond (the old school names for 1.0. 2.0, etc!) I remember seeing some of Crash's work back in the early 1980's actually.
Also featured in Style Wars documentary were Bboy battles between the Dynamic Rockers and The Rock Steady Crew featuring Up-rocking and breakin, poppin and down-rockin of Hip Hop dance artists like Frosty Freeze and of course Crazy Legs and many others. And who can forget the song "Rockin It" by the Treacherous Three with Kool Moe Dee. A classic!
Graffiti artists would go "All City" where they'd spread their name and art accross town all over the place. Taggin was more a signature while Burners and Murals were their main art pieces. It was their way of expression and making an ugly 1970's and 80's South Bronx more beautiful and full of color. When the authorities cracked down and washed all trains, they made them even uglier even calledf 'vomit" colored by the Mayor, where even he seemed to concede they looked better with the Graffiti.
Artists wanted to make their world nicer, rather than looking like an otherwise slumlord-neglected "trash and the slime of a world like this" ghetto, as stated by Melle Mel in the Rap New York New York or later in Beat Street Breakdown where he said "I know you'd paint a better place to live" talking about how life looked in the ghetto, both visually and representatively versus how Graffiti tried to paint such a better place.
Remember when KK in Beat Street said, "this ain't New York City, this is the Bronx" which captured how otherwise crazy it was, where you'd have the slums like the South Bronx with a backdrop to rich places like what was seen in the distant skyline - Upper Manhattan and Wall Street and all their money "lookin down on the poor and the needy" while the poor were wonderin: "I'm livin in the land of plenty and many, but I'm damn sure poor and I don't know why."
To the artists, this fell into the category of once again Hip Hop culture making "somethin out of nothing." It was also called a crime by the authorities, very controversial even to this day. Like one person in the documentary said that she "didn't know it had such a deep meaning." to the artists.
Yet also on the other hand again, artists like Irene Cara (surprisingly) were in commercials speaking out against Graffiti. The art form itself was nonetheless, to many others, like what the infamous Zeb Roc Ski said in his song All City (below the documentary) where he said..."they were artists" also echoing the words of one artist in Style Wars "but I made your eyes open."
OLD SCHOOL HIP HOP DON'T STOP!
Featured were artists like Seen, Zephyr and Crash and the documentary shows how subway graffiti transformed between Phase 1 to Phase 2 and beyond (the old school names for 1.0. 2.0, etc!) I remember seeing some of Crash's work back in the early 1980's actually.
Also featured in Style Wars documentary were Bboy battles between the Dynamic Rockers and The Rock Steady Crew featuring Up-rocking and breakin, poppin and down-rockin of Hip Hop dance artists like Frosty Freeze and of course Crazy Legs and many others. And who can forget the song "Rockin It" by the Treacherous Three with Kool Moe Dee. A classic!
Graffiti artists would go "All City" where they'd spread their name and art accross town all over the place. Taggin was more a signature while Burners and Murals were their main art pieces. It was their way of expression and making an ugly 1970's and 80's South Bronx more beautiful and full of color. When the authorities cracked down and washed all trains, they made them even uglier even calledf 'vomit" colored by the Mayor, where even he seemed to concede they looked better with the Graffiti.
Artists wanted to make their world nicer, rather than looking like an otherwise slumlord-neglected "trash and the slime of a world like this" ghetto, as stated by Melle Mel in the Rap New York New York or later in Beat Street Breakdown where he said "I know you'd paint a better place to live" talking about how life looked in the ghetto, both visually and representatively versus how Graffiti tried to paint such a better place.
Remember when KK in Beat Street said, "this ain't New York City, this is the Bronx" which captured how otherwise crazy it was, where you'd have the slums like the South Bronx with a backdrop to rich places like what was seen in the distant skyline - Upper Manhattan and Wall Street and all their money "lookin down on the poor and the needy" while the poor were wonderin: "I'm livin in the land of plenty and many, but I'm damn sure poor and I don't know why."
To the artists, this fell into the category of once again Hip Hop culture making "somethin out of nothing." It was also called a crime by the authorities, very controversial even to this day. Like one person in the documentary said that she "didn't know it had such a deep meaning." to the artists.
Yet also on the other hand again, artists like Irene Cara (surprisingly) were in commercials speaking out against Graffiti. The art form itself was nonetheless, to many others, like what the infamous Zeb Roc Ski said in his song All City (below the documentary) where he said..."they were artists" also echoing the words of one artist in Style Wars "but I made your eyes open."
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And here is that Zeb Rock Ski song and video, All City:
KEEP IT FRESH HIP HOPPERS!
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