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I first got involved with graf not unlike many others growing up in NYC during the 70's and 80's. Through pure fascination and emulation. First seeing it on the insides as you ride to different destinations with your parents. Then you try to decipher the signatures you've seen. Then, your hand at it by imitating the names you saw. Finally, you make up a name of your own. I went through quite a few names before I came to settle upon SNATCH. Two that stand out were Wise and Bond007. But I found out there were like a million other people writing Wise, Wize or some variation (most notable was Weiser AKA PeoSIS). Bond was taken by Bond TMT. I was driven to find a name that was catchy and original, something I could claim as my own. Exactly where Snatch came from I couldn't even tell you now, but I guess it suited my criteria. So Snatch it was...  Now coming up in Brooklyn during the 80's was no easy task, especially coming out of The Ville (Brownsville-Never Ran, Never Will). The heart of Brownsville contains no less than 15 separate housing projects, (Tilden, Seth Low, Howard, Langston Hughes, and Brownsville were literally a stones throw from each other). When you think about it that's a lot of poor people stacked on top of each other. Anyway, graf was always prevalent and present. Many famous (to me, anyway) writers came out of the Ville. Writers like Paco, EdII TOP, Jaz(CI), Bust and Broker, HarryO(HO). Crews with names like Masters Of Graffiti and Music Lovin' Crew would stand out to me early on as I traveled to and from Junior High. Later, I'd discover Brownsville has a rich history dating back to the earliest writers. IN was supposedly originally from the Ville. Also, I learned about The Words, a crew started in the mid-70's. When I got into Art and Design (High School) that's when things got really rolling. A&D during the 80's was a stronghold and breeding ground for the city's leading writers of the day. SonOne, Poke, Erni- NewWave, Par and NelOne to name a few. Reas and Sento. Zeno, Rely and Stern NCR. So many. There were chapters of TC5, IBM, TNT, TS5, NTA and OTB based there... NXT
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