What are your recollections about the whole process of making “Beat Bop”? How did you meet Jean-Michel Basquiat? Rammellzee: Jean-Michel wanted to do a rap song because rap was coming into power at the time and that was one of the things besides writing on the trains that he didn’t know how to do. He didn’t know how to do wild style or a true burner like some of these things in here . And I was brung into the city by Fab 5 Freddy to interrogate this guy.
And the basis of the interrogation was…? Rammellzee: What he knew about art. Why was he in the power play position? And to tell him: you need to leave this shit alone and let the real troopers who did do something on the trains get past you and Keith Haring and let these fools know there’s an ikonoklastic war about to happen…
During the process of interrogation I had made a bet with him: I can do what you can do, you can’t do what I can do. He had brought three canvases, set ’em up and got me the paint in the basement of Annina Nosei’s gallery, which was his first gallery like 1982. And in the basement he decided to let me paint these canvases, and Annina Nosei sold all three at his price. My prices where nowhere near his because he was going off and selling well. She came into the gallery and she told him, “I sold three of your best artworks.” I said, “Give me my money!” “Now you gotta do what I do!” He never did what I could do. He switched from trying to do and went to do the song.
*****
I could say a lot about this, but what do *you* think?
1. "prole art threat vs bourgeois art cottage industry" In response to Reply # 0
_______________________________________ When discourse of Blackness is not connected to efforts to promote collective black self determinism it becomes simply another recourse appropriated by the colonizer
2. "I honestly dont know enough about" In response to Reply # 0 Thu Apr-05-12 04:55 PM by ABROCK33
either of them or their significance to really comment
dont get me wrong Ive heard "beat bop" and read up on both of them and even saw the Basquit bio but still I dont know what I can add
-------------------- "Good hair"-Uzi
1619 the 1st slaves are brought to American shores thus begins the phrase “mine is better than yours?” (huh?) forced to serve-too broke to by freedom the systematic rape of African culture has begun little time
9. "u know whats funny on some real shit is that" In response to Reply # 0
On the 100% real-- I know a decent amount about hiphop... but until last week didn't know shit about rammellzee until somebody who I respect but don't know made a statement to me.... comparing something as scratch perry meets ramalzee meets sun ra or some shit like that. I wasn't real familiar with those artists-- I know who sun ra is, heard of scratch perry and never knew about ramelzee... so I went to youtube and researched each artist and dude that was like the dopest fuckn compliment or piece of knowledge I've had in a long ass time.
All that to say this: rammallzee is a dope, legendary cat... never heard his shit til last Friday and I checked like 5 joints and an interview. I would love to hear edan's thoughts on him, cuz I know e is up on all that old school old school
Bumpin in the STEREO: Gladys Knight&The Pips RGE-Black Radio Esperanza Spalding-RMS Georgia Anne Muldrow-Seeds Darryl Reeves-Mercury Terri Lyne Carrington-TMP
14. "RE: Know Your History: When Ramellzee shitted on Basquiat" In response to Reply # 13
>U cant please everybody. JMB was still tight.
Right. He was dope and an original in his own way.
Of course he was inspired by the streets.
It's the same these days with artists like Shepard Fairey, Banksy, David Choe, etc.. not getting respect from graf purists. They are getting paid, though.
Bumpin in the STEREO: Gladys Knight&The Pips RGE-Black Radio Esperanza Spalding-RMS Georgia Anne Muldrow-Seeds Darryl Reeves-Mercury Terri Lyne Carrington-TMP
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