Stories about London, Culture & Creativity

So this week I had the pleasure of meeting Roger Gastman, the man behind the Beyond the Streets exhibition which toured the US and is now over here at Saatchi gallery from the 17th Feb, quite a ground breaking show to be seen in our city.
The show he’s put together is the amalgamation of his time and experiences and education within the graffiti culture and the broad depths its shown him, and that’s perfect for an inquisitive person like me, right up my street.
I’ve known of and probably you’ve known of Roger from the books he’s made, shows he’s put on, films he’s made, magazines, interviews and various curations his name has been beside for the last 20+years, a real inspiring body of work on a part of the culture that is really what I have tried to be about for the last 20yrs also, and he’s done it big, representing at a very high professional level, this was going to be an education. I got the hook up on email through another culture stalwart, the author and artist Caleb Neilson whom, I helped a little last year on a project he was putting together with Roger. I knew Roger was in town for the show, I hollered, and he kindly accepted. I met him at the set up at Saatchi’s in a room full of people I’ve seen in photos and film and read about, quite a privilege, and we then took a walk to his Airbnb to sit down and have this conversation, this is some of Roger Gastmans, Bethesda Maryland Washington, culture and creativity story, enjoy, this is F24.

Photos of the Beyond the Streets show London by Martha Cooper 2023.

This week I had Krek, TJ Dolan, who kindly came down from Manchester to visit the studio and have a chat. We’d never got to meet before and I have loved his work from the start, loads of style, courage, playfulness and colour in his work from his letters on steel and cement to his paintings on a variety of mediums.

It was great having him round, I learnt so much about him and loved the vibe he brought.

This is some of TJ Dolans culture and creativity story, enjoy..

What a mad time though hey, worlds changed, places have changed, we’ve changed!

But what stays is culture, a constant, a forever, and I learnt a lot about that and its strengths, even though I preach it, from this conversation, so it was a great one to kick off what we’ll call season 2 of F24.

Mode2 was in town.

We’d be talking a little via message for a while and also had my friend Kash co-signed me which got me a big step closer to this conversation.

A dream come true, after the first, where he put me up at Carnival this year after I set him some paint.

I’d never properly met Mode, never had the chance to have a conversation.. He’s been a name in my life for nearly 30yrs and undoubtably yours too.. I haven’t heard many interviews with him so I didn’t know how this was going to go.. Some of you maybe used to a format I’ve developed in these interviews, this was nothing like I expected, its an amazing in-depth conversation full of analogies and historical fact about culture and cultures.

He lives a life full of intrigue and interest, a natural flow, an understanding of his surroundings as well as his foundations. An absolute pleasure and dream come true having this time with Mode, our mutual friend Kash was in the studio with us while we had this very interesting conversation, this is some of Mode2’s culture and creativity story… enjoy..

Back again and its the 50th recording!  The achievements this guy has hit in his life are one of rare occurrence. I’ve known him for nearly 20yrs.. He’s been a creative force since I met him and he also mentioned my son in a couple tracks he was on when he rapped which made him invincible to me, another Norf Londoner, Actor Ed Skrien.

Ed and I, we chat every so often on the phone, real great in-depth conversations that I truly look forward to and thoroughly enjoy so getting these 2 hours face to face was amazing with my brother was great. It’s been a minute. We get into loads of his history in London and specifically the influence of Camden, his unorthodox introduction to Hip Hop and how that passion grew through school years and his choices over the rest of his education. We chat about the great impact growing up in a multicultural city is like, meeting like-minded people and how Ed put his hand to many creative projects but always stayed himself. I have some great memories of the times him and the crew spent at the shop in Brighton.

He’s achieved great things for him and his family and also for the culture has from, it’s been amazing watching his come up, his music, energy on the mic and now acting in major roles around the world.. Big up Ed this is some of his story // enjoy this is F24. — Listen right to the end for a surprise throwback to 2006!

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 week I have a guy I’ve known for years and watched his rise, K or as some of you may know him as Kemo SMT and his also for the last couple years, The London Vagabond.

He came round with his girlfriend Dana, a creative also and we had a great conversation about his introduction to the graffiti culture through his dad whilst he was in primary school and what life was like growing up in Ruislip at the end of the central line. We chat about education but he explains also how graffiti took over.
K has had many run ins with the law over the last 10 years and it started in a dramatic way and he tells us about that and how prison was. We chat about his years of graffiti court cases and more prison time but he also had a the massive positive impact that the culture had on his life and we talk about that what he learnt about himself and the run up to his photography and what that’s brought him already.

K’s been out for 8 months since his last stint in Prison, I think that’ll be his last so it was great being able to have this chat after such a crazy decade, now on his journey into his future.. this is K’s London, culture and creativity story. Enjoy.

So keeping up with the hunting of stories, the feeding of minds, the words from the wise this week I have one of the UK’s first graffiti writers Richard Sen aka Coma who came over and dropped a massive bag full of history and knowledge on the graffiti culture right from the start of our scene and his interactions and experiences with the culture which led him onto being a DJ and music producer and his interest in criminology and what happens when culture and crime mix. Richard has done a lot, it was an absolute pleasure to sit with him and get his story. An amazing conversation, enjoy!

So this week, another one from my extended cultural family is London’s one and only, Theo Keating otherwise known as the infamous Fake Blood and UK Graffiti’s very own Snatch CWS/ PFB/TO… This guy, since ive been in the culture, this guy’s pieces have been it for me.. I might be looking and reminiscing at the past with glazed eyes but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad piece by this guy.. All fire, all the time..

My favourites must include the 93’ Unity Jam piece in Fulham, crazy cool and fresh and would stand up today easily, 25 yrs on and you hear us chat about that painting and more but apart from just getting my graffiti drenched brain more fodder another reason I got Theo round was to hear about how he got into music and what lead him to make a career out of it and one with so much adventure too!

We talk loads about music and all types from Nicky Blackmarket and his influence in Jungle music to Acid House and making his own music also Really great him coming over and getting to hear about his journey. The music in the background, each piece you’ll hear are by Theo which he has happily graced us with!