Taggin Ass City - The History Of Philadelphia Handstyles Dir. Culture Livingston (2017)

Documentary detailing the history of the pioneering days of tagging from Philadelphia, which provides a clear overview of the movement's transmission to New York. Includes an extensive interview with Cornbread and several other notable figures. An interesting item shot in an amateurish manner. It certainly represents a missing element in the writting history. 

The director himself included an interesting note at the end:

You can purchase the documentary in electronic and physical form here!

Among others, they are act: Rame (Kausing Much Damage),  Cornbread (Delta Phi Soul), Rasan ( All Time Pimps), Denske (The Untouchable Kings), Task (Hip City Swingers), JK (Imperial Casanova Persuaders),  Rasad (Dope Hand Society), Disco Duck ( Thee Real Kings). 

I asked some questions to Culture Livington ...

Dziurawe Sample: Could you tell me how your documentary was received by the writers ?

Culture Livingston: The writers have a great response to it. I seem to be having the major problems with the gatekeepers, the ones with the big sites and stores that seem to don't want to disrupt the New York-centric idea of the origin of graffiti. Most NY writers like it too. And their connects with NY writers. There's been a minority that's resisted it. But the facts are incontrovertible. I'm from Philly, but that doesn't weigh in on my motivation to do this film. The truth does. And the fact that so many people are unaware if this fact almost 60 years later.

Dziurawe Sample: This movie was released in 2017 right ? When did you start make it ? Disco Duck passed away in 2015.

Culture Livingston: I started it in 2013. I'm so glad I had a chance to get him on film before he passed. He is a true legend. And he was a good friend.

Dziurawe Sample: He was seems to be a good and funny man. So, there was some conflict with NYC writers after publish ?

Culture Livingston: Very little. Most NY writers know the truth and don’t contest it.

Dziurawe Sample: Did Henry Chalfant has respons you ?

Culture Livingston: Blade was there and he was nodding his head in agreement the whole time. Chalfant was not interested in changing or adding any addendums to his work. Not even a correction. And I thought the purpose of documenting was about the truth, the facts, not about your ‘film’.

Dziurawe Sample:  Blade is the KING. If there any books about Philli writers are existed ?

Culture Livingston:  No, I'm currently turning this into a book. I have a LOT more pictures I can add in print.

Dziurawe Sample: Did any Philli's writers died during tagging ?

Culture Livingston: Not by cops. One guy SUROC was electrocuted by silver paint that was electrified by the mist. He survived. Another guy HAWK SKI was riding the top if the subway car in the tunnel, looked up, and was beheaded.

Dziurawe Sample: When it happened?

Culture Livingston: HAWK SKI was in 1979,1980 I believe. 

Dziurawe Sample: Did some of the Zulu Nation gang members were writers ? (I do not mean UZN, check my short story about Zulu Nation gang here!)

Culture Livingston: The Zulus in Philly were different than the ones in NY. In the gangs back then, they usually had a designated hitter, a guy with the best hand that would mark the territory or sign up the other gang members. They weren’t writers. They never tagged up for fame and never went out the hood tagging. Thats what made CORNBREAD stand out.

Dziurawe Sample: There is any link between Zulu Nation and UZN in NYC. Have you know If Bambaataa was inspired by them ?

Culture Livingston: No link. Zulu in Philly was only a gang, the largest gang in Philly. Then The Moroccos.

Dziurawe Sample: Anyway why in your opinion Philli's writers started doing pieces in 1975 ? Why before nobody tried to bomb the trains ?

Culture Livingston: In Philly? The trains were bombed with tags since 1970 all the way up to the 80s. Theres pictures in the film.

Dziurawe Sample: Yes but I mean by the pieces not by tags.

Culture Livingston: In 1975 is when the first NY influence emerged in Philly, the bubble letters. They used to call them ‘New Yorkers’ because everything else was from Philly. T-BONE was the first to do it. He was a white guy from a crew called KCD. One of his crew members BUZZ is the cousin of ZEPHYR from NY.

Dziurawe Sample: Do you know when they first heard about hip hop ? When it came to Philly ?

Culture Livingston: There were people playing in the parks and block parties in the 70s, guys like DISCO RAT and DJ FRIENDLY FREDDY. DISCO RAT was playing in the parks in Philly in 1976. The top DJ on the radio here, DJ Cosmic Kev, the Funkmaster Flex of Philly, started in 1979. Philly was right there from the beginning.

Dziurawe Sample: Does Disco Rat still alive?

Culture Livingston: I don't know.

Dziurawe Sample: Did Martha Cooper ever cooperated with Philli's writers ?

Culture Livingston: I don't know.

Dziurawe Sample: The very first bboys or street dance, when they had appear here ?

Culture Livingston: Here we had something called ‘stepping’ that was here before breaking. Look up The Scanner Boys for more info. Renny Harris, the leader, has done major choreography work since then. Breaking came to Philly, id say around 1980, 81. When “Planet Rock” dropped in 1982 there were many breaking crews in Philly already.

Dziurawe Sample: In your documentary you are saying Philly was one of the most violent city in the country, is still is like that ?

Culture Livingston: Yes.

Dziurawe Sample: As the same as NYC ?

Culture Livingston: About the same.

Dziurawe Sample: Are you now working about new documentary or something ?

Culture Livingston: Yes! The doc will be on the Philly DJ scene, and how in the world could a movie called “Scratching” could leave out Cash Money and Jazzy Jeff.

Dziurawe Sample: Did you hear ever about Grandmaster Flowers?

Culture Livingston: Oh yes! Made some Bronx folks mad when i brought him up. Lol…Same thing. They wanted to keep the origins Bronx-centric, when the Brooklyn dudes was doing it before them. A lot of the breaks that people play are from DISCO records, the same shit Flowers and those guys played.

Dziurawe Sample: The last question about the decent of early writers. Among them were Latinos?

Culture Livingston: Oh yes, plenty of them. In Philly, and NY, graffiti would have died if it was not for the Latinos keeping it alive. Hip hop owes a great deal to the Latinos in that regard.

Dziurawe Sample: Thank you for your time and kindless!