A little history...

Cornbread once told the story that he tagged an elephant at the zoo

     

   Cornbread and Cool Earl are the two men most commonly associated with beginning the phenomenon of graffiti art in America. They are two young Philadelphians that got started in the early 1960's, trying to get attention from girls in their neighborhood.

   Once they got started, their legend grew all over town, eventually spreading to New York City. Some of the first taggers in NY were  Taki 183, Julio 204, Frank 207, and Joe 136. These four started an intense rivalry amongst themselves and sparked the same intensity all around the city once other youngsters joined into the practice of tagging. 

   Graffiti was used to make political statements (by unions, community politicians, etc) and to mark gang territory. There began to be some distinctions made in bombing styles in order for the artists to make names for themselves.

The use of crowns, stars, wild styles of writing and and changes in scale marked some of the changes that would come about in the early 80's. Another crucial development was the linking of the artform to the hip-hop movement. it brought a sense of greater legitimacy to both genres while allowing for a crossover effect. Those who lived the life of a bomber might not know what it was like to be a b-boy and vice versa.