Rorta Graffiti Thread. Version: North East UK Writers

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<-- Work in Progress -->

Disclaimer & Copyright
The material herein was written with the sole intention to provide information & give an educational view on the world of Graffiti. The author of this material does in no way condone vandalism to private or public property. This material is in no way focused to encourage individuals to engage in acts of criminal damage to private or public property.

Indivdual Graffiti Writers named herein are in no way known personaly to the author or hosts of this material.

All content ? Copyright 2007 by repsective owners.

North East UK Writers

Contents
INCH
RAPE
AVEK
EYES

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INCH

Originally Posted by Local Newspaper

Police are targeting hardcore graffiti taggers responsible for causing hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage across the North East.

They want people's help to catch the vandal using the name INCH who has sprayed his unique signature on scores of the region's buildings and bridges.

INCH has become an anonymous cult figure on Tyneside and has spawned a series of copycats who police also want to track down. His tag can be seen across the region from Sunderland to North Tyneside.

He has even sprayed it onto the escalators at Central Station Metro.

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INCH

Originally Posted by Local Newspaper

Transport operators Nexus have been plagued by INCH's graffiti and end up spending around half a million pounds cleaning their trains and stations.

INCH has now become an anonymous cult figure on Tyneside and has spawned a series of copycats who police also want to track down.

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MORE INCH

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ITP: How many times have you been arrested for "Art Crimes"?

INCH: Well, I sum it up with one sentence. I've never been charged or done for INCH! I know they've tried to charge several people, but not the real perpetrator!

ITP: When you first seen the "Pinch Inch" article on the front page what was your reaction?

INCH: I was surprised that they'd glorified a certain individual, naming them [INCH]. They don't normally go as far as naming a specific writer. They usually use archive examples of graffiti so they're not inciting certain people. It's a curious one, I just thought that there was no news that week! I dunno, the title was quite good. The imagination that must have went into that [laughs]!

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EVEN MORE INCH

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TAKE A LIL PINCH OF INCH

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INCH - TNS

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MORE & MORE INCH

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PLUS SOME MORE INCH

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YOU GUESSED IT... MORE INCH

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INCH INCH INCH INCH

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CLASSICAL INCH INCH INCH

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DON'T STOP THE ROCK!

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RAPE

One of the most prolific writers the North of England has ever seen, (or ever will). Rape of NM crew shares his experiences, and gives his views on various aspects of graffiti and graffiti culture.

ITP:
In many ways, the word Rape fits to what you have done to trains and walls over the years. Was there a conscious effort when first deciding what to write?

Rape:
Nah. First of all I wanted a tag that stood out, so I got one. That's it really, couldn't care less. People can say what they want about me. It's mostly non-writers that have a problem with it. After all it's just a name, it's not like I go raping women!

ITP:
How have your views, regarding graffiti as a whole, changed from your first years as a writer to current day views, if at all?

Rape:
Nothing's changed. You've just got to be careful these days.

ITP:
What happened to MBS and DRS?

Rape:
Just died. Gotta move on.

ITP:
In hindsight, what piece of knowledge that you have now, would you liked to have had, or been given, in your first years' as a writer?

Rape:
Not do it in the first place…not! Dust yer tins before you go into a yard, before you go anywhere. Wear gloves. Keep your house clean. It's that simple. If I'd done all of them things, I wouldn't have been in the shit I've been in. I wouldn't have been inside. I wish I'd knew what I know now. Back then I would never have got caught. Ever.

ITP:
What's your view on stencil graffiti, and have you ever tried, or considered it?

Rape:
Don't like it. Totally different. The graff I do is freehand. Stencilling is just cheating.

ITP:
Do the new young writers have a different outlook on the whole scene as opposed
to what your views were when you were that age?

Rape:
They've got the same idea as bombing and getting up…some do but most don't. That's the problem, they've got no respect of what's gone before them.

We've fuckin' slaved for years and years and years to get things the way we want them. They think that they know everything, when they've done one dub and a couple of tags, and they know shit all. We're the ones who went through all the crap getting dirty, finding out about places, finding out about yards, getting caught, getting arrested, going through court, getting fuckin' jail sentences and shit like that. Then these cunts come along, do a couple of dubs, and it's all "I'm a graffiti artist me" coz all their pals at school do it.

They go down, tag over your pieces and they think it's all funny coz they're a 13-14 year old kid who's 5" tall, and they know we're not got gonna hit 'em, basically. They think they can get away with it, but they can't. They need to learn and respect. They need to find out more about the history of graffiti, and learn from it. Respect is earned, not just given. That's why people think NM have got an attitude problem. Just 'cause we won't tell them fuck all. We had to learn by our mistakes. So why should we tell them what we've been up to? I've painted with my boys for over 10 years. I would trust them with my life. New skool twats, who expect to be respected, try to be hard in front of us, but just end up making fools of themselves.

Let your painting do the talking - get out and bomb - earn your respect, it's not free. There's a crew up here who slate us for doing trains, 'cause it's not "urban" (whatever that means). Just 'cause we don't go to "hip hop" nights and "hang with the homies", they say we're not down with the culture. Bollocks! Graff was around long before hip hop and rap music. The only trains they painted, were toy ones they dipped in emulsion!!! Those people don't understand where graff came from. You can't beat the feeling of seeing your own train pieces move.

Legal bods up here have a problem with us aswell. They say we stop them getting work…so fuck, I say. They expect their pieces, when they do them, to stay forever in halls of fame. That's bollocks. The same crew once asked me to join on the condition I stopped painting trains and illegals, as it would look good on the crew. HA HA fuck that. Why did they want me to join in the first place? We don't even talk now due to bullshit. They call us toys behind our backs, not to our faces. How can they call themselves writers when they wait for a commission before they paint…who wants to be told what to paint? I thought the whole idea was to express yourself!

ITP:
In your view, why does a 14 year old kid write his name on a wall?

Rape:
It's rebellious. Basically, that's it. When I first seen Style Wars, and seen some of the stuff going on, I said to myself "I wanna do that". Started writing stupid names, anything. I loved art lessons at school…free markers!

ITP:
How many times have you been arrested for art crimes?

Rape:
(Laughs) Couldn't tell you. Far too many.

ITP:
100?

Rape:
Nar, not that many. Lost count. A lot though, a hell of a lot. Too fuckin' many.

ITP:
Total fines?

Rape:
(Laughs) Not paid. Done me days for most of them. God knows.

ITP:
There are many ways people try to push young graffiti artists 'in the right direction', like community youth projects and legal halls of fame etc. But at the end of the day, there's always gonna be a kid who gets a kick out of writing his/her name on a bus shelter. Are they wasting their time? (The community workers, not the kid at the bus stop!).

Rape:
Yeah! 100% wasting their time. If they took the time to read up on graffiti, and find out why people do it, and how graffiti started in the first place, they would understand the fact that a kid picks up a marker pen, maybe a spraycan, writes his name, writes his name all over everywhere where he comes from, and maybe then progresses on to bigger better graffiti. It's one of those things where they're encouraging kids to commit crime without realising it.

The same authorities that complain about having to clean graff are paying for the materials for these workshops. I say they are just shooting themselves in the foot. Them kids are just gonna pack up at the end of the day and go "hey, loads of free spraypaint, lets go and write our names". That's what graffiti is, that's the rawest element of graffiti, writing your name. That's basically what graffiti is. The tag that you've chosen is getting that tag up. Generally, the more you get that tag up, the better you become. The workshops in school holidays are daft. It's as if they think kids are going to wait for a workshop to go painting. That's just one big joke.

ITP:
So what your saying is that you can't be legal all the way through and be the best, you've got to have experiences?

Rape:
Cannot do it. You got to have the experience. You got to get out there and get dirty and paint. You can get good, just doing halls of fame. But what's the point? Go out and learn it the hard way. Go out, cut a hole in a fence into a trainyard, where you know you've only got 15 minutes and you know you could get raided in that yard at any time and get nicked, and pull off a piece.

Let's say a legal bod, who wants 3 sunny days in the middle of summer to do a piece. Fuck that shit. You gan, do your piece and leave. You do a wildstyle in 3 hours man! You learn from painting trains, you have to when you're under pressure. You don't know what your piece looks like till daylight and you can't go back to sort it out.

ITP:
So in theory, would you be interested in taking part in such a scheme?

Rape:
I do enjoy painting where there's no stress, and just go and paint somewhere all day long. But in this city, you can't do that. Anywhere you paint, any hall of fame, you've got to watch your back for someone coming. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to take your time, but it's also good to be under pressure. You need both.

And as for fuckin' trainyards, that's a different thing altogether, which I don't want to get into. Not at this time, coz that's my information.

ITP:
Over the years, you've obviously influenced a lot of North East writers, whether you have realised it or not. What kind of influence do you hope you have given?

Rape:
Not bothered. If people want to copy me, that's up to them, as long as they don't blame me for it. At the end of the day, I've been in situations where I've been nicked with people and had their parents blaming me for their sons getting into trouble and its like … "don't fuckin blame me, the kids got his own mind". If he's gonna do it, he's gonna do it. It's as simple as that. It's the same with anybody, if they want to do something enough, whether it be play football all day long, play cricket, getting pissed, going out pinching cars. If they want to do it, they'll find a way of doing it. It's down to them.

ITP:
What is your best/favourite graffiti memory?

Rape:
How longs the tape in there? (Laughs). Best? Probably all of them. Highs and lows, I don't regret anything I've ever done. Met so many cool people who think the same. Got to go places I would never have gone otherwise. How many people would drive a 6 hour round trip to paint a train for 1/2 hour? I've got into so much shit, but at the end of the day, its who I am, it's what I am. I could tell you a thousand stories!

ITP:
Ok then, give us one "escapade". One story from the lot.

Rape:
Aye. This year in Amsterdam. Painting trains with a few pals, of which the names won't be mentioned. In the yard, done me piece, started doing another one, just a quick throw-up, and one mate standing next to uz, saying "what's that noise, what's that noise"? So we both look under the train at the same time. See a security guard with his torch, watch him come round the front of the train, and stared babbling on a us in Dutch. We just looked at each other "what the fuck's he on about?" One crazy language Dutch! Didn't even notice his dog until he said whatever he said, and let his dog off at us. We had to run, I legged it across 3 lines, under a train, smacked me head off the bottom of a train, lost me camera and bag in the process and fucked me ankle running out the yard. Lost everyone I was with and found one an hour later. Walked, like 5 miles back into Amsterdam. My ankle was gone by this time. The other kid we were with, he had to sleep in a field while we slept in a fuckin' five star hotel! He turned up a fucking half past nine, and we're like " ha ha y'alreet XXX!" And still got to see the fuckers running!

ITP:
You seen your own trains running?

Rape:
That's what its all about, graff needs to move.

ITP:
What's your worst graffiti memory?

Rape:
Worst? I can't really say, coz it can get me into shit. But one of the worst memories is doing time for it. CCTV in lay ups that you could do in daylight. Many house raids by keystone cops.

ITP:
What's your longest stretch?

Rape:
12 Months

ITP:
Where is the most outrageous location for one of your pieces, dubs or tags?

Rape:
Window down Metro's full colour window down Metro's. Silvers in Newcastle City Centre.

ITP:
What is your favourite piece you've done?

Rape:
Off the top of me head, I can't say. I look through my portfolio and think that's good, but I can't remember doing some of them.

ITP:
Who are your favourite artists, and why?

Rape:
Favourite writers? Seen, Skeme, Dero, Can 2, Oker, Mist 1, Seek from Germany, Swah, Kel, Mace from Holland, Bates from Denmark, Opak.

ITP:
What's your experiences and view of Vandal Squads?

Rape:
Early morning wake up calls, house raids.

The Vandal Squad and the cops have got better photo collections than most writers. They love it. If some of the Vandal Squad were the same age as some writers now, they'd be writing. They wouldn't be cops. It's as simple as that. That's how much they're into it. They see it as one big game. They apologise when they nick you. "I'm sorry it's my job I have to do it, I don't want to". They love it, basically. They think its one big fucking game. Which it is. Only thing being, ever time they come round to stop you, you go one better and keep doing it. They can't work out how it's being done, the think they know everything. They know fuck all.

ITP:
Do you have any plans for a website of you own?

Rape:
Yeah, you're doing it!

ITP:
Any last messages or shouts to anyone?

Rape:
Shouts to NM crew - Kehz - Dism - Saint - Nekro - The - Fine - Royal - Sizl - Muro - Drop - Onas - Inch - Chef - Orbis - Ricstar - Fi - Shie - Dwel - Mist One - Bias - Forse - Piz - Arms - R Two - Oker - Kems - Emit the Trainspotter - Montana - Belton - Cherish (wherever he is now) and Henks stall at Waterloo Plien.

As for those in Newcastle who call themselves writers, 2 street tags don't make you a writer.

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RAPE

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AVEK

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EYES

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I FORGOT MY EYES

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I FOUND MY EYES

[ComfortablyNumb]

So, how come all these guys ever draw is spiffed up versions of their names? Or is that just what you have pictures of?

[S25]

EYES stuff is pretty niced, It seems different than what I normally see.

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Originally Posted by ComfortablyNumb

So, how come all these guys ever draw is spiffed up versions of their names?

That's graffiti. Pick a tag and get it up in as many places as possible, with some added bonus of artistic work.

[Nox (ADVANCED)]

I like the first EYES tag.

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He (EYES) is a great artist but I hate his style.

[torcher]

EYES seems to have a really broad artistic scheme. ya gotta love the variances in his work.

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Originally Posted by torcher

EYES seems to have a really broad artistic scheme. ya gotta love the variances in his work.

Hmm, yeah he's got talent. To be honest I prefer simple tags though, I'm not really artist you see, more of an 'get it up quick' writer/tagger.

Also hadda say I love two tone bombs too rather than pieces an al.

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