Ten days into the new year and we’ve decided drop a new episode for you, beautiful people. Today’s guest on the show is John “Crash” Matos.  Do you live in this world? Do you have sight? Yes? Then I would bet a decent amount of paper that you’ve seen this man’s work.

In this episode Crash and Amon talk about early anime, comics, Style Wars, the adventures of painting trains, shenanigans with Keith Haring, various types of spray paint, spray paints caps and our responsibly to telling the history of graffiti correctly.

Let the record show that is conversation wouldn’t have happened without the help of our good friends at the JoAnne Artman Gallery. We are sincerely grateful for their help but we also highly recommend you visit their gallery out in Chelsea. Whenever we art walk, we always stop in to see what’s up. Location: 511A West 22nd St., New York, NY 10011

Stay Up to Date with John “Crash” Matos

1. Official Website
2. Instagram

Show Notes

1. JoAnn Artman Gallery
2. “ConcreteJungle.”by John “CRASH” Matos
3. TUMI collaborate with Graffiti Artist John “CRASH” Matos on limited-edition travel collection in 2011
4. Tumi Tag Bag with graffiti artist John “Crash” Matos
5. Boogie Down at the Bronx Zoo (YouTube)
6. BEHIND BOOGIE DOWN LEGENDARY ARTISTS X THE BRONX ZOO
7. Grandmaster Caz
8. Grandmaster Melle Mel
9. Scorpio of the Furious Five YouTube
10. The Bronx
11. Don’t sleep on the Bonx here are few notable movies filmed in the Bronx: The Warriors, The Godfather, Green Book, Rubble Kings
12. There was no Hip Hop
13. 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time – Rolling Stone
14. We listened to everything
15. Salsa
16. Led Zeppelin
17. Led Zeppelin YouTube
18. Thelonious Monk
19. The demons and obsessions of jazz genius Thelonious Monk by Candace Allen Nov. 6, 2017 The Guardian
20. Here’s a great documentary on Thelonious Monk: Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser
21. Thelonious Monk – Monk’s Dream (Full Album) YouTube
22. Earth, Wind & Fire
23. Earth, Wind & Fire – September (Official Music Video) YouTube
24. Disco
25. Boogie Nights by Lisa Robinson, February 2010 Vanity Fair
26. Disco Greatest Hits of 1970s – Greatest Oldies Disco 70s – Best Disco Songs
27. “Music and Graffiti go hand in hand.” Amon Focus
28. History of Anime
29. Speed Racer
30. Speed Racer Full Episodes – Speed Racer Cartoon Full Episodes HD – Speed Racer 3 HoursYouTube
31. Kimba the White Lion
32. Kimba The White Lion YouTube
33. Gigantor
34. Gigantor YouTube
35. Marvel Comics
36. Captain America
37. Humans
38. Spider-Man (created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko)
39. Another quick recommendation, watch the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse! (So good)
40. Fantastic Four
41. Avengers: Infinity War
42. Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War – Official Trailer YouTube
43. Multiverse
44. The Eye in CRASH’s work.
45. Robert Williams (artist)
46. More information on CRASH
47. Tips From a Maestro of the Spray Can By Jan Ellen Spiegel February 19, 2010 The New York Times
48. “I zone in.” John “CRASH” Matos
49. Aeroplane 1 John Matos aka Crash
50. Pop Art movement
51. Music is instrumental
52. Steel Canvases
53. Art with That Football? Dolphins’ Stadium Vibrant with Color by Curt Anderson, Associated Press
54. Hard Rock Stadium Unveils New Murals
55. Ferrari F430 Gets the Art Car Treatment by John “Crash” Matos
56. “… we paint what poets speak.” John “CRASH” Matos Quote
57. John “Crash” Matos « Guitars | Robert Kantor Guitars
58. Custom motorcycle designed by legendary Bronx graffiti artist John ‘Crash’ Matos
59. “To be played not displayed.” John “CRASH” Matos Quote
60. Crashocaster
61. John Mayer with EC Telecaster
62. I.O.U. $5
63. John Ahearn (artist)
64. The Mudd Club and “Beyond Words”
65. The Mudd Club
66. Keith Haring
67. 35 Years After Fashion Moda, a Bronx Gallery Revisits the Landmark Space by Tiernan MorganAugust 6, 2015
68. Don’t Forget Fashion 时装 Moda МОДА Emily Colucci July 22, 2011
69. Jane Dickson (artist)
70. Charlie Ahearn (artist)
71. Wild Style (movie)
72. Wild Style – Trailer YouTube
73. Fab 5 Freddy
74. Julia Gruen
75. Graffiti Artist Success for America
76. The 5 and the 2 train
77. The 6 trains
78. Hunts Point, Bronx
79. Broadway Line
80. We had keys.
81. Almost electrocuted and almost hit.
82. “The paint changed the game.” John “CRASH” Matos Quote
83. Rust-Oleum
84. Krylon
85. Red Devil, Inc.
86. F. W. Woolworth Company
87. Martin Paint
88. Floral paint
89. Lee Quiñones
90. Montana
91. Molotow Belton Spray Paint
92. Marabu Buntlack Spray Paints
93. Fat cap- go fast line is sharper and thinner
94. Skinny cap
95. Niagra Cap
96. There is more to this…
97. Dondi (Artist)
98. Chris Daze Ellis
99. Futura (artist)
100. Lady Pink (artist)
101. Zephyr (artist)
102. HAZE aka SE3 (artist)
103. TAKI 183 talks the History of Graffiti Culture, Classic Cars and the Future of Street Art
104. Cornbread (artist)
105. Roy Lichtenstein (artist)
106. Andy Warhol (artist)
107. The more you see my name, the more fame I have.
108. Style Wars (movie/documentary)
109. Style Wars (1983) (whole movie)
110. Free base
111. New Jack City (movie)
112. Last train in 1981
113. Cey Adams (artist) Cey Adams talks Def Jam, Logos, Album Covers, Giving Back, Paintings and Murals
114. Wynwood Walls
115. Bushwick Collective
116. The Lesson is Responsibility
117. Telling the Truth
118. Street Art is Bubble
119. KAWS – it appears you owe CRASH a drawing.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by John Matos (@crashone) on May 26, 2012 at 3:58pm PDT

Part 1

Part 2

This episode is brought to you by Peralta Project. Well not officially, I didn’t actually speak to Tony and his team but I’ve love what they’re doing over there. I’m a fan of Tony’s art and of course I love the clothing. Plus he’s been a guest on the show, click here.

Photography by Laurie Markiewicz

When Tony opened up his shop Taller Peralta, he connected with today’s guest to paint the front gate. Today’s guest is James K. Alicea aka BlusterOne. This is going to be a two part episode. In this episode, Bluster and I talk about growing up in the Lower East Side, his early graffiti days, Rakim lyrics, religion, spirituality, the Five Percent Nation and his introduction to Islam.

Enjoy.

Keep Up with BlusterOne

1. Official Website
2. Instagram
3. 1xRUN

~~~

~~~

Part 2 Show Notes

1. Islam
2. Quran
3. Hadith
4. Hafiz
5. Islamic Cultural Center of New York
6. Charlie Hebdo shooting
7. How are you trying to grow as a human being?
8. Christianity
9. Buddhism
10. Dogma
11. The globe is bigger than the books
12. Nuyorican
13. Latin communities that are Muslim
14. Moors
15. History of Spain
16. Mecca
17. Make it to Mecca
18. Malcolm X Explains His Pilgrimage to Mecca 1964
19. PNB Nation Part 1 from The Limited Edition Magazine
20. PNB Nation VIBE Article
21. The 50 Greatest Streetwear T-Shirts of All Time by Jeff Staples in Complex Nov. 19, 2013 (Just a note tying this all together- Jeff was on the New York Said Podcast too- here’s his episode: Jeff Staple talks Streetwear Ambassador, 20 Years of Staple Design and Reed Space
22. PNB Logo
23. Post no bills
24. Cooper Union
25. Hardcore into Stamps
26. Casey Rubber Stamps
27. Afro-Latin Americans
28. Afro-Puerto Ricans
29. Shout out to Chessa
30. Graffiti Culture
31. Racking- stealing supplies for graffiti writing
32. Sullivan County Community College
33. Writer
34. Behold the Pale Horse (book) by milton william cooper
35. The Spook Who Sat By the Door YouTube Full Film
36. SS3Tony
37. Kahlil “Zulu” Williams Twitter @sergefc
38. Yuri Kochiyama (political activist)
39. Roger “Brue” Mchayle Twitter @Brueroc
40. Issac “West” Rubinstein
41. Sung Choi Twitter @sungchoi_
42. Post No Bills
43. Free Stylin‘: How Hip Hop Changed the Fashion Industry: How Hip Hop Changed …By elenaromero
44. Futura (artist)
45. 48 Laws of Power by robert greene (book)
46. Hello my name is…
47. Sean John
48. FUBU
49. Rocawear
50. Phat Farm
51. Phillies Blunt Street Wear
52. The 50 Greatest Pop Culture References In Streetwear by Complex
53. School of Hard Knocks (visual)
54. School of Hard Knocks Founder
55. 555 Soul
56. Union
57. FUCT
58. Stussy
59. Eric Brunetti Book FUCT
60. West Coast Streetwear
61. GAT-Gypsies and Thieves streetwear brand
62. Freshjive Streetwear brand
63. Tribal Streetwear
64. D12 Logo for Anger Management Tour
65. Keds
66. RockRubber45s Original Poster Art was done by BlusterOne
67. What’s Good with Stretch & Bobbito Podcast
68. ‘Rock Rubber 45s’ Q&A with Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love New York Said Episode
69. Respect for the culture
70. WBAI FM Third World Cypher Radio Show with BlusterOne and Brue
71. Shabba Ranks – Wicked in a bed – YouTube
72. Duffed
73. Lose with the mouth
74. Quality of Life
75. We don’t want no smoke
76. Many an L taken
77. Cool with those who are cool with me
78. If I have my headphones in that means don’t ask me
79. Amon is giving out fives
80. That was brought to you by the letter…
81. Most important lesson thus far is to be about your word. BlusterOne
82. Honesty
83. Deathstyles vs. Lifestyles
84. Forward
85. Fuse Green Episode: Gun Pockets: The Triumphs and Challenges of Fuse Green
86. Tony Peralta Episode: M. Tony Peralta shares Insight from his Growth as an Artist and Entrepreneur
87. Leo
88. Vault of Culture
89. Arturo Vega shares his Journey to the Ramones and Beyond Episode
90. TMNK – Art is my Weapon Episode
91. Lower East Side

~~~
This episode is sponsored by Gorilla Coffee.

What’s up good people welcome to the New York Said podcast.

Today’s episode is very, very special to me. Today’s guest on the show is Phade of the Mighty Shirt Kings.

If you’ve a been a long time listener of the show then you’ve heard me speak about Phade and the Mighty Shirt Kings about a dozen or so times in previous episodes.

Before I even knew I was a creative or before I was into art like that, I was into the the work of Phade. I remember really taking to the Shirt Kings when I was in High School. I wasn’t a collector because I really didn’t have it like that but whenever I saw their work, I stopped and really took it in.

Other than seeing Phade’s work on celebrities like Audio Two, Biz Markie and Bell Biv DeVoe, they used to have a booth down in the Jamaica Colosseum Mall. The Jamaica Colosseum Mall was the name of the building but me or anybody I knew never called it that. We just called it The Colosseum for short. To me, it was the heart of the Ave. It’s still there but to be honest, it ain’t what it used to be. The vibe, the mystique and the tension of that place is long gone.

The energy I remember about The Colosseum is that it could go down at any moment. I’ve seen quite a few fights in there, I was there for the small Rodney King riot and heard all of the tales about what could happen to you if you went to the bathrooms or the parking lot rooftop.

What really set the tone for your visit to The Colosseum was the two or three security guards that stood inside once you got past the super heavy brass and glass doors. If you had a hat or a hood on they would yell at you with the utmost authority to take it off. They sounded like that corrections officer on Biggie’s first album that yelled “C74, Smalls!” But they would look directly at you and yell, “Hats off!” or “Yo take that hood off !” After while you just knew to do it. The security at The Colosseum was notorious but that’s different story all together.

Yeah, it was kinda nuts in there for a few years, I’m talking 1992-1999. I don’t remember anything after that because I was out of town.

In it’s heyday, The Colosseum was the best place to get sneakers (honestly it still is), it used to be the place to get the best mixtapes (honestly there is still a mixtape spot, I hit it up every time I’m in town), and of course if you had it like that, you’d go to the Mighty Shirt Kings booth to get a customized airbrushed t-shirt, denim jacket/jeans or one of them all black snapback hats with your name or crew on it. Those black hats were clean with just white airbrushed paint and usually accented with rhinestones.

I couldn’t afford all that. I was a super broke kid from the hood but what I could afford was a picture in front of a Shirt Kings airbrushed backdrop. If I’m not mistaken they charged like five bucks for a Polaroid picture.

These backdrops were the precursor to all of the street art murals you’re now seeing around the world. I’m not saying there weren’t street art murals back then but SEEN or Keith Haring wasn’t coming to South Jamaica Queens to paint big walls and they weren’t doing characters the way Phade was doing characters. The backdrops were pretty big. They were alway super colorful, full of characters from the cartoons I loved like Bugs Bunny and Bart Simpson but the characters where decked out in truck jewelry that resembled something I’d see on a Rakim or Slick Rick album cover. This resonated with me deeply.

I always wanted Shirt Kings denim jacket but I never got one. I’ve never told anyone this but I remember asking a creative kid from my block to make me a denim jacket like the Shirt Kings. He said he’d do it for $25 and I was like, “Bet!” Well, he made it and it took months but when I finally got it, it sucked. It didn’t have that “je ne sais quoi” that came with the hand painted work of the Shirt Kings. Plus he did the jacket in acrylic paint and not airbrush so the back of the jacket was heavy like an actual painted canvas. It was quite disappointing to say the least. I’m sure that kid is somewhere killing it right now, I wish I could remember his name.

If I really think about it, my love for street art and art in general probably came from visiting the Shirt Kings down in the Colosseum. They may or may not have known it but it was like an art gallery down there. You know what, forget that, it was an art gallery. It was the first and only art gallery at the The Colosseum to my knowledge. The Shirt Kings gallery just so happened to be blasting the latest hip-hop, with a few arcade games and had a wall of pictures of all the MCs and actors who had stopped by in the past.

So yeah, to tell you that I was happy to kick it with Phade for a few hours in an understatement. It was like talking to a big brother from the block or an OG that didn’t mind pulling my coat to the key to longevity.

In this episode we talk about how Phade got his name, not selling out, his hundred year plan, Larry Love, the impact of Jam Master Jay and legacy.

This conversation was recorded in the Marcus Garvey Park out in Harlem.

~~~

Show Notes

• Shirt Kings: Pioneers of Hip Hop Fashion by Edwin PHADE Sacasa & Alain KET Maridueña (Book)
• Shirt King Academy FaceBook @Shirtkingacademy
• Instagram @shirtkingacademy @shirtkingphade
• YouTube
• Harlem, NY
• Dapper Dan- The Fashion Outlaw article by The New York Times
• Own your craft
• Own your intellectual property
• Insure that you maintain your rights
• Importance of patience
• The High School of Art and Design
• Tagging 77
• PHASE 2 – Wide Walls Bio
• Style: Writing From The Under Ground by Phase 2 (Book)
• Phase 3
• F & PH
• Phade 1 and Phade 2
• Ol‘ Dirty Bastard
• When there is no internet you do a ghetto search
• You have to show and prove
• No hiding behind a camera or phone
• Kase2
• Code of the streets, moral codes, keys to life, & legends.
• No selling out
• All money ain’t good money
• KRS-One
• Criminal Minded
• Criminal Minded YouTube
• My Philosophy YouTube
• Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Everybody
• Fashion House
• Designing and manufacturing culture
• Partnering and selling
• The Hundred Year Plan
• The Brooklyn Circus
• The Airbrush
• Nation of Graffiti Artist N.O.G.A.
• Doing art
• The Reup Game
• Grandmaster Flash Larry Love (Youtube)
• Going Viral
• Jam Master Jay
• Run-DMC
• Fresh Gordon
• Prince Markie Dee
• The Fat Boys
• Can You Feel It by The Fat Boys (Video)
• Jamaica Colosseum Mall
• Jeff Staple talks Streetwear Ambassador, 20 Years of Staple Design and Reed Space– New York Said Episode
• South Jamaica, Queens
• A brand manager of Jordan’s
• Sit under some masters
• Marc Ecko
• Unlabel Selling You Without Selling Out by Marc Ecko (Book)
• Style Wars Documentary
• Skeme in Style Wars
• “I do it for the people who understand.”  PHADE Quote
• Legacy
• George Clinton
• “There is no down time.” PHADE Quote
• Most important lesson: In order to achieve and grow you have to let learn how to let go of certain things and patch relationships back up.
• Exhibiting love in a loveless society.
• The ability to be able to hire.
• 16 Skirt Kings
• Bigger than yourself
• How bad do you want it?
• What the Trains taught me
• Jerkface: Chaos from the Ladder New York Said Episode
• Cey Adams talks Def Jam, Logos, Album Covers, Giving Back, Paintings and Murals New York Said Episode
• King Kasheem- Rest In Power

~~~
We would love to hear your thoughts on the episode. Leave a comment on the Apple Podcast app and don’t forget to rate the show.

This episode is sponsored by Timothy Roquemore.