Editor's Note Issue #1

Growing up in New York City, I first got into graffiti back in 1982. I was just entering into the eighth grade. I had often seen graffiti riding the subway. I must admit that I was totally oblivious to it. It's like I saw it every day but never paid any attention to it. as far as I was concerned it was all just basic "John loves Mary" scribble scrabble.

Hip hop was still new. Groups such as "Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five" and the "The Sugar Hill Gang" were quickly giving way to electronic groups like "The Soul sonic Force" and "Planet Patrol". Breakdancing was the new emerging dance craze that swept the Five Boros by storm. B-Boys were suddenly the freshest entities to emerge from the urban concrete jungle.

Crews such as "Rock Steady", "Dynamic Rockers, and "Break Masters" were now five boro superstars. Just as the MC's spotlighted the D.J.'s, Graffiti became the visual backdrop for the Hip Hop B-Boy scene.

Styles trickled down from the original uptown (Bronx/Manhattan) graffiti masters. Writers like Dondi, Lee, Case 2, and Seen gave way to new artist all over NYC...

In my home Boro of Queens, crews such as the legendary BMS (Bad Master Style), TCK (The Crazy Kids), OTB (Out To Bomb), and CTW (Children Terrorizing Walls) hosted a barrage of the most amazing new artist. Writers such as Mano, Odyssey 3, BK (Bad Kid), 2 Well, 2 Nice, Bio, & Pase blazed the scene. Queens even had it's own equivalent of Graffiti bullies like Cap (Style Wars) in the form of locals like Mel & Rush. New writers often found themselves terrorized by the duo.

I had just left JHS 142 (Edgar D. Shimer) via school admin (kicked out for lack of attendance). I was now enrolled in JHS 217(Robert VanWyck). Between lack of attendance there and hanging out at the infamous Hillcrest High School campus, I found myself immensely engulfed into graffiti culture.

What once seemed as mere scribble scrabble, now became vividly legible to my eyes. I seemed to notice every tag, throwie, and piece that I saw. As my passion for attendance avoidance grew, I would often avoid detection from the truancy task force by riding the subway during school hours. Passengers would stare at me as if I were crazy. I spent hours gazing through the windows of the train's door. What may probably seem to them as a teenager blankly staring lostly into the darkness of the subway tunnels, little did they know I was actually looking at graffiti in what was commonly known to writers as "The Lay Ups".

The lay ups were where trains would be parked overnight. Writers would find entry ways on local streets that lead down to the layup tunnels. They would sneak down into the lay ups late at night. It wasn't uncommon to see writers down there at times like 2am or later. As dangerous as it was, it was a playground for graffiti writers. Many artists were arrested and a few even killed attempting to showcase their artwork down there.

This magazine is dedicated to all the writers, taggers, bombers, and artist that fuel the dynamic artform of graffiti.

Peace, Love , & Paint... Rob Mathis Editor and Chief.