As the TMT vs TC5 battle just started , we sat down with Skeme for a quick talk , check this out :
YO! Wassup “Whatyouwrite’?
First of all , Thanks for the opportunity and hello to the people…withers…and Graff admires alike…
Lets go ,
I write SKEME,….known as the “Three Yard King”….the New York City Graffiti writer from the 80′s. I was born in the Bronx, NY in 1964 and lived on Fox Street until moving to Harlem in the
early 70′s. I started consciously observing subway art at around the age of 14…and needless to say I was in awe of what my eyes beheld. I thought to myself who is drawing comics on the
trains?
After a very, very, short stint in The High School of Music and Art, where I was expelled for truancy, I took up writing as a full time occupation. I hit my first NYC subway train in the fall
of 1980.
My good friend and mentor, Mr Mean TMT Crew, took me to the One (1) Tunnel, where the Iron Horse which was the famed Broadway Line lay nestled deep within its steel stable.
when I saw the first drip cascade down from the bottom of my “E”…I knew this was something I was destined to do, and something I would do for as long as I could. During my writing years I
had the pleasure and honor of writing along side some of Graff’s greats; KASE2 (RIP), Smily149 (RIP), Tean5, Kade198, Part1, Kool131, Chain, Dez, Agent, Seen, Tac147, EN005 (RIP),
Daze, Spank, Trap, Push, Blazer, Wrek, Magoo, and Pore1. The highlight of my career came when The Godfather of Style, Phase2 approached me an asked me to assist him with the
famous Tuff City whole car production. In a short span of one year I got up and managed to King a few lines insides and out. The streets was’ watchin’ and so was a gentleman by the name
of Henry Chalfant. Henry and Tony Silver (RIP) blessed me by featuring me in the Graff cult classic film “Style Wars” which showcased some of the prominent writers of the day and the rest
is history. After the documentary aired I knew the game was over, now that America, NY specifically, had seen my face. This coupled with the fact that my mother basically made me join the
army, ended my Graff career. After 28 years in the army I returned to NY only to find that the old gang and some new guys were not only still painting, but had improved dramatically.
Chain3 returned the favor of me bringing him out of retirement in 82, by pulling me off the bench and getting me going again. This time the game was a lil’ different; no more trains meant we
had to stalk walls. It was an entirely different feeling….less satisfying…not dangerous…not illegal.
Then along came a dude known as Metal Man Ed…the savior (heavenly sound plays);
Ed is the fabricator of the now famous Mark Ecko train currently housed at the TATs Crew Complex, Hunts Point BX, and the IRT mock up of Tuff City Tattoo fame. The first time I hit one of
them, I felt like IZ THE WIZ (RIP)…”we just had an orgasm”. So I’ve been writing again since 2011 and I am definitely bitten by the bug. Myself and Chain3 have knocked out a couple of
walls and trains.
We started off with an impromptu scrap quickie up on Boston Road. When Chain and I paint together, we always give each other a hard time and snap on each other’s
pieces under our breath….that’s the fun of it…the battle, the shit talking. Graff without competition is like a reanimated corpse…there, but not quite there…you know what I mean? As fate
would have it I ran into one of my old partners, Seen TC5…and just like old times we got into healthy debate about a certain subject that I’ll not address here…but this debate prompted me
to issue a challenge, a friendly challenge, to TC5…a battle of styles…Seen the President of TC5 (The Cool Five), didn’t hesitate and said let’s do it…so on behalf of KADE and TEAN, TMT
President and VP respectively, TMT entered into the Graff battle of the decade. Although there are a lot of good crews out there, I feel TC5 is a good opponent because they are one of the
few old train crews who are about letters and not fancy backgrounds. Also their style masters are direct descendants of DONDI (RIP), NOC, and KEL influence; the same crews and style we
battled with back in the days. And most importantly they have a good roster of cats who can hold their own in a one-on-one. DOC, SYE, to name a few; and Dash showed me some pictures
of some of his burners and I was really impressed…and instantly thought to myself “this battle would have set the trains on fire in the 80′s”. So a two-man emissary council was formed from
each side and we met in an undisclosed location in Brooklyn where Doc, Dash, SAK1 and myself, over some fine whiskey and soda, sat and outlined the rules for the battle.
It was decided that TMT would take the first shot…Im not sure if it was TC5 opening the door for the elder crew…or if it was a tactical move, but we accepted. SAK “El Rey de Broadway”;
Shame 125 “The Harlem Knight”, and myself “The Three Yard King”…put our heads together and executed the first car…the concept was designed to convey to our adversaries that while
this was a friendly, brotherly battle, we are comin’ for the jugular…
When the three of us get together, magic is made (The Pimp Car, The black Super Hero Car. The Black Dynamite car)…
this time was no exception. The Medievial Times (TMT) car has an underlying message in it…science we call it..The car is titled “The Four Seasons” for the four seasons through which the
battle will span (The battle is scheduled to culminate in an all out slug fest where both sides will paint side by side live for the finale) …the Shame (browns and oranges)represents fall, the
Skeme (blues) the winter, and the Sak (pastels).. spring..the summer is represented by the fire shot from the dragon’s mouth, “burning” the shield emblazoned with the TC5 emblem as Bugs
Bunny spits his catch phrase…fire. The car is whimsical but to the point. The thing I like about it best, is its kid friendly, its like a bed time story on a train. So anyway, its TC5′s turn…
lets see what they got, I know they got mad talent over there, but don’t count the “old” guys out yet!!
Skeme TMT
Here at Whatyouwrite.com, we would like to thanks DEVSO and SKEME to make this interview possible.
