Stories about London, Culture & Creativity

This is the 39th recording, oh and I’ll be 39 on New Year’s Day. nice.. anyway the 39th recording is the last of the year and this week we have PIC WRH.. another London OG who has been styling on us since 84′, I was 4 then but you know what I mean. P’s a true soldier of the culture, relentless, aggressive with it at times through the last 35 years, never stopping.. I spotted some bits local after he’d visited.. He’s not on this side of town much so did what he does so well. P brings us on his journey from being a Publicans kid and growing up in those surroundings, what Camden was like in the 80’s and 90’s and his first interactions with the graffiti even before it was here and how he got the name PIC… We chat about great times with the WRH squad and his adventures with King Robbo running about the city, the amazing friendships he built and a passion for a culture that has never dwindled. We chat about loads of bits throughout and also, I tell him about the first time I met him in 96/97 which was an eye opener to what a real bomber was about.
P’s a legend.. Another superhero and the truest of gents.. Enjoy..

From London’s most notorious graffiti crews along with many others. His impact on our culture has been felt for two decades, we’ve seen the amazing panels running through the city, one of the flyest tags hitting the streets in his distinct styles, character full throw ups and legendary stories about him and his crew… what a treat.

I’ve known T for many years, we met through a shared acquaintance when I opened my shop in 2003 and over the years we’ve got to know each other quiet well but not as much as the last few months. We’ve been hanging out loads and getting to know each other properly. I didn’t want to be greedy with that privilege, so it took a while, but I got him behind a mic. And what a chat we have. The lives of writers hey! Who’da thought it.. they end up everywhere. I have an amazing chat with T about growing up in West London, his full-on home life, pressure in school and his reasons to start writing. He tells us an amazing story about his first train mission and how he moved on through the scene. We go into his further education, travels, the meanings of writing and everything in-between.
Dope having King Teach round… As I said we’ve been hanging so I’ve been able to see what’s coming to Soho next Thursday. it’s a first and its amazing.. go check @teachdds whilst your listening.. enjoy,

I hope your all well and enjoyed the Candie Bandita episode.. I loved it.. This week we’ve got Skore GSD TRC.. A UK OG, he’s pretty much been there from the beginning of the graffiti culture in the UK but not coming out of London, but Paddock Wood in Kent he’s had an intense and interesting relationship with the culture.
We go through all the decades graffiti has been in the UK as Skore has been at this since 84, with no breaks. Graffiti is his life, it’s him, literally. He obviously did the work and house, real life stuff on route and we’ll hear about and how he juggled it, but the thing I find most fascinating and this is the same with other writers from the first generation, is that they still paint and it still means as much to them with the bonus’s that build up of added value by being part of a culture for many years, the relaxing nature of the action, the feeling of contentment in a world that makes us think otherwise, the therapy of art and culture, the aiding of everyday life.. Skore is a graffiti don, he’s done it all and witnessed a hell of a lot more. Amazing to have him round, got check him out on @skoretrc where you will find so so much goodness, check it while you listen… Enjoy!

This weeks chat is with Jimi from GANG Studio. I’ve know Jimi for years, a lot of you have also. We met in the early 2000’s through our shared good friend and Brighton stalwart Jode. When I met him he was already thoroughly on his journey with creativity, I remember a time I was getting interviewed for a magazine, they were doing a piece on my shop, we’d just started working with Jimi and the interviewer suggested we were taking him under our wing, which may have been the perception but not the reality, my friend replied by saying, Jimi’s too big to fit under our wings, meaning he was already a creative force to be reckoned with, with an unrivalled skill set and vision. He had the spirit, the energy and the belief that he just could do, and do he would. He’s produced loads of great work which we’ll hear about but tell you what though, it was really interesting him explaining that belief in himself and its root and how that behaviour, attitude, the ‘I’ll have a go’ approach to things wasn’t all it cracked up to be. Not in an overly negative way, just the amount of pressure it puts you. We had an amazing chat, Jimi has achieved a whole lot since putting himself out there as an artist and creative and we talk about all of that and how he see’s himself and how his he is creative now after all these experiences. This is his story about London, culture and creativity. Enjoy!

This week we have Josh Cole a photographer and director living in London.

This is a jam packed story, Josh has had quiet a mad and hard working journey. I met him when I did Faking It on channel 4. I was the teacher and Josh was one of the judges at the end of the program who had to guess If the guy was a real graffiti artist or not. Josh was the only one to pick him out. We’ve known each other ever since. But as in all cases, I wanted to know the story, this is Josh’s and its inspiring. We get through loads in this conversation and Josh tells us about life in Lewes and reasons for leaving, taking up photography, getting involved with the UK Hip Hop scene, drugs, travelling and politics.

This week Tom Inkfestish Blackford came over and we had an amazing chat. Tom is an artist, an illustrator by trade and also paints graffiti. He came into the culture from a different angle and it was great to hear the journey. We chat about North London, getting into Manga, clubbing, drugs and being a self-employed artist. We also chat about mental health and have a really open and honest conversation. A really great chat, this is his story of London, Culture and Creativity. Enjoy!

This week I have Olivia Skalkos on F24. Olivia is a true artist and for work is a production and project manager for the Moniker Art Fair and we caught her just before, Moniker having it’s first NY show.
I met Olivia when she worked at Chrome and Black, London’s premier graffiti supplies store where she would pick colours for the writers quite often. She came and filled in the gaps about what she did before to what she does now from her obsession with art and her passion on producing work with artists.
This is her London, Culture and Creativity story.