PHILLY GRAFFITI

My brother just sent me this link to a graffiti artist whose work we used to see back in the day in Philly.

http://215hiphop.com/interviews/first-element-interview-with-credit-xtc/

The writer's name was Credit, and I remember seeing his work all over Center City, where we lived. This was in the early 80s, and it was so cool to see graffiti evolving from bubble letters to wildstyle as it was happening. I remember I moved to Oregon in 1983 and was wearing an adidas running suit and suede Pumas with fat laces, and no one, and I mean no one, had ever seen anything like that before in Oregon. It was pure culture shock for the locals, and for me and my twin brother as well. Moving from inner city Philly to the homogenous, white state of Oregon was a trip. I remember being way into graffiti, even though I was only 13 and had never really done any major pieces anywhere. One time I worked up the courage to go out and do a full color piece, and I got caught by a cop walking the street. My brother was standing watch, but we weren't prepared for how much noise the can of paint was going to make. It made it hard to hear anyone approaching.

I think that's what I really miss about the early days of graffiti. It was still raw and unpopular among the masses, and it involved a great deal of risk, which made it a great adventure. It's one of those things you think only you and your friends are into, then all of a sudden it's mainstream.

(Kinda like 420. 21 years and counting, but now it's to the point where the Comedy Channel makes a nod to it on their programming—at least that's what I heard they did this last Sunday).

Anyway, reading this link above was like a missing piece of a puzzle that finally turned up after 25 years. I really wish I'd taken photos of some of Credit's killer shit, like the piece that was up on McCall school on 6th and Spruce, next to Jay Cee. Credit's piece was this killer wildstyle I'd never seen anywhere before, and Jay Cee's was the old school bubble letters next to it with the blue to white interior. I can't remember who went over it, but I do remember seeing Met and Espo up there after that.

I don't think this link mentions Bucks as part of the XTC crew, but I could swear I remember seeing XTC next to a couple of Bucks' tags near 10th and Spruce.

Taking the train to see our dad (whose birthday is today, happy birthday Dad!) in Germantown was always an occasion to look for new work by Credit and Jay Cee. We'd leave Market Street station on the Conrail, and there were a few years there where we kept seeing new pieces like every week. By this time graffiti had mostly moved to walls, though I do remember the days of riding the old Septa subway cars covered with bubble letter graffiti, with the insides completely covered with early writers' tags. People thought it was ugly back then, but I remember being a kid and being fascinated by the lettering, and trying to decipher what it said. I've loved typography ever since.