Skateboarding and Hip Hop: A review of All the Streets Are Silent (2021)

Speaker: 00:00:01

Welcome to Hip Hop Movie Club, the show

that harmonizes the rhythm of hip hop with

2

: 00:00:04

the magic of movies.

3

: 00:00:06

Today, we're discussing All the Streets

are Silent, a documentary chronicling the

4

: 00:00:10

convergence of hip hop and skateboarding

in New York City from: 1987

5

: 00:00:16

We're three old heads who put their old

heads together to vibe on these films for

6

: 00:00:19

you.

7

: 00:00:20

I'm Dyno Wright, podcaster, filmmaker,

longtime hip hop fan, and I got to see

8

: 00:00:25

Moby play Maxwell's in Hoboken for the

MusicSnobbery fifth anniversary show.

9

: 00:00:29

So if you know, you know.

10

: 00:00:32

I'm JB, 80s and 90s nostalgia junkie, long

time hip hop fan.

11

: 00:00:36

And I owned this one skateboard here as a

kid.

12

: 00:00:39

This is a Nash Jammin' soundboard.

13

: 00:00:44

It actually had a radio built in on the

bottom, but the darn thing never worked.

14

: 00:00:48

After multiple attempts and changing out

the batteries.

15

: 00:00:52

But yeah, I'm not a big skateboarder, but

I had this one.

16

: 00:00:59

Nice, nice.

17

: 00:01:01

I'm Boogie, a DJ, long time hip hop fan.

18

: 00:01:04

And I also used to try to skateboard, but

I wasn't very good.

19

: 00:01:08

I was more of a BMX bike person.

20

: 00:01:13

In this episode, we'll answer the

question, how influential was the

21

: 00:01:17

skateboarding subculture to the rise of

hip hop in New York City in the late 80s

22

: 00:01:21

and 90s?

23

: 00:01:22

We'll give you five key takeaways to make

a smarter hip hop movie fan.

24

: 00:01:27

All the Streets are Silent is a 2021

documentary, which details the close

25

: 00:01:31

connection between the vibrant subcultures

of skateboarding and hip hop in the late

26

: 00:01:35

80s and into the 90s.

27

: 00:01:37

Along the way, we see some legendary hip

hop acts in the early days on the come

28

: 00:01:41

-up.

29

: 00:01:43

And here are five things you need to know

about All the Streets are Silent

30

: 00:01:47

Skateboard crews in New York City helped

promote and propel the culture of hip hop.

31

: 00:01:52

Club Mars was a major venue for any hip

hop act trying to break through into the

32

: 00:01:56

big time.

33

: 00:01:58

Like Club Mars, a lot of superstar rappers

got early exposure on the Stretch and

34

: 00:02:03

Bobbito radio show.

35

: 00:02:05

Watch this film to see the origin stories

of the Zoo York and Supreme street wear

36

: 00:02:09

brands.

37

: 00:02:11

The Zoo York Mixtape was a flashpoint of

skateboarding and hip -hop's symbiotic

38

: 00:02:16

relationship which helped blossom both

subcultures into multi -billion dollar

39

: 00:02:20

industries.

40

: 00:02:25

Alright, so let's get into it and talk

about that first takeaway about skateboard

41

: 00:02:31

crews in New York City helping to promote

and propel the culture of hip hop.

42

: 00:02:38

As I'll talk to it a little bit, tee it up

for one of you guys as well.

43

: 00:02:42

So I just thought that, you know, these

cultures, these two subcultures were very

44

: 00:02:49

similar in the fact that there's also,

45

: 00:02:53

They express kind of a sense of rebellion

in New York City, which breeds originality

46

: 00:03:00

and creativity.

47

: 00:03:01

These kind of two subcultures emerged like

at the same time and grew and supported

48

: 00:03:08

one another.

49

: 00:03:09

And I just thought it was awesome that Eli

Gesner, who documented this and narrated

50

: 00:03:14

it, was just a genius for doing so.

51

: 00:03:19

But you want to talk a little bit more

about how these skateboard crews

52

: 00:03:22

these skateboard crews help to promote

teleculture?

53

: 00:03:26

Well, yeah, so they were both kind of on

outskirts.

54

: 00:03:29

I mean, skateboarding in New York, I mean,

they were actually kind of divided at

55

: 00:03:34

first.

56

: 00:03:34

You see, most people viewed skateboarding

as a white sport or something that white

57

: 00:03:39

kids did in the suburbs.

58

: 00:03:42

And hip hop, you know, at the time was

primarily on Black and Latino.

59

: 00:03:47

But you see how they, because they were

both on outskirts of what was the main

60

: 00:03:54

stay of Manhattan.

61

: 00:03:55

that they started to kind of come

together.

62

: 00:03:58

I mean, skateboarding, a lot of times

people view it as a nuisance, it gets in

63

: 00:04:03

the way, causes traffic, you know,

whatever, accidents, people get harmed or

64

: 00:04:06

whatever.

65

: 00:04:07

So they kind of stayed to the side and

were kind of trying to find a way to make,

66

: 00:04:12

to get into the mainstream of what was

going on in Manhattan.

67

: 00:04:16

Because, you know, Manhattan at the time,

of course, you know, you had multi, you

68

: 00:04:19

know, at the time million dollar

industries going on, you had banking and

69

: 00:04:22

everything going on all throughout the

city.

70

: 00:04:25

And hip hop at the time wasn't, it wasn't

mainstream at all.

71

: 00:04:29

It wasn't nothing like we see now.

72

: 00:04:31

It was primarily like underground and you

couldn't, they didn't play it in discos or

73

: 00:04:36

anything like that.

74

: 00:04:37

So yeah, I mean, it was just the perfect

blending and the perfect marriage of two

75

: 00:04:43

subcultures.

76

: 00:04:43

You see the kids trying to make it and

trying to look for something better.

77

: 00:04:48

And you have hip hop artists who were also

at the scene or they're trying to get into

78

: 00:04:51

the scene, trying to make themselves.

79

: 00:04:53

get themselves to a better place as well.

80

: 00:04:57

And I mean, it just, I mean, the

documentary, it was pure genius to just

81

: 00:05:04

record what was going on and have that

hindsight of, okay, I'm just gonna record

82

: 00:05:10

this and just kind of put it away for

later.

83

: 00:05:12

And like you said, that I was like, wow,

like if you really knew that he actually

84

: 00:05:16

was documenting this historic happenings.

85

: 00:05:22

I don't even know if he had the idea that

it would get as big as it did now, but I'm

86

: 00:05:28

thankful that we were able to watch this.

87

: 00:05:33

DynoWright?

88

: 00:05:35

gonna Add your thoughts to this.

89

: 00:05:38

yes.

90

: 00:05:39

For one thing, totally agree.

91

: 00:05:43

The amount of archival footage shot by Eli

Gesner is astounding.

92

: 00:05:46

And as a filmmaker, I feel validated that

he just shot everything.

93

: 00:05:51

He never turned the camera off, it seems.

94

: 00:05:55

So, you know, years later, 30 years later,

it all came very useful.

95

: 00:06:02

And so, big ups to him for doing that.

96

: 00:06:04

this documentary did really feel like a

skateboard mix tape too.

97

: 00:06:08

Like it had very much felt like, you know,

hip hop soundtrack to not only the

98

: 00:06:16

skateboarding that happened, but like the

counter cultural stuff that skateboarding

99

: 00:06:22

hip hop was doing.

100

: 00:06:23

Like this rebellion, this like expression.

101

: 00:06:26

You didn't really see this in the other

sort of main pillars of hip hop, like

102

: 00:06:30

It's another way of graffiti, right?

103

: 00:06:33

So to skateboard in the middle of the city

You know, I remember a lot of people

104

: 00:06:39

thinking that graffiti and skateboarding

were kind of as similar kinds of nuisances

105

: 00:06:46

in urban areas and so Fast forward 40

years later and it's like celebrated.

106

: 00:06:53

It's multi -billion dollar industry.

107

: 00:06:54

That's kind of funny It's a nuisance until

it makes money and I can get into that

108

: 00:06:59

later with Supreme but

109

: 00:07:00

Really, really worth watching just for

that kind of like time capsule like you

110

: 00:07:06

like to say JB.

111

: 00:07:08

Yeah, that's one of my favorite phrases,

time capsule, because there's the archival

112

: 00:07:11

footage that you mentioned of the rappers

and skaters.

113

: 00:07:17

Yeah, the graffiti, like you mentioned, is

also seen a lot on the skateboards

114

: 00:07:21

themselves.

115

: 00:07:21

You saw on the back of mine, there's like

some graffiti, almost a good percentage of

116

: 00:07:26

skateboards have some form of graffiti on

them, and the stickers and all that.

117

: 00:07:32

And artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat,

118

: 00:07:37

Keith Haring, like they emerged from the

scene.

119

: 00:07:40

And I think DMC, Darryl McDaniels said,

you know, like the skaters, they're really

120

: 00:07:45

like punk.

121

: 00:07:46

And then they started shifting and they

really liked hip hop because it was like

122

: 00:07:50

underground and it was out of the

ordinary.

123

: 00:07:54

And it was kind of the sense of rebellion

and outsiders.

124

: 00:07:57

And then it kind of followed the same

trajectory of the Beastie Boys.

125

: 00:08:01

The Beastie Boys started out as like a

punk crew and they morphed into a hip hop.

126

: 00:08:07

into a hip hop act.

127

: 00:08:09

There was a synergy between the

skateboarding crews and the Beastie Boys

128

: 00:08:13

as well.

129

: 00:08:14

And I think, you know, a lot of these

characters you see in here are, you know,

130

: 00:08:20

true.

131

: 00:08:20

but these are the people in a scene like

Harold Hunter was the the black skater was

132

: 00:08:24

one of the faces of the movement and that

was like unique to have a Black

133

: 00:08:28

skateboarder and then you know he helped

propel the hip -hop culture as well.

134

: 00:08:32

hip hop culture.

135

: 00:08:36

Yeah.

136

: 00:08:36

I mean, even like you talk about, you

know, punk and hip hop lyrics, a lot of

137

: 00:08:42

the lyrics, some of the lyrics were very,

very much the same too.

138

: 00:08:46

You know, just different, you know,

different genre of music, but same message

139

: 00:08:51

coming across.

140

: 00:08:52

You know, we want kind of what's ours and

we're tired of being overlooked.

141

: 00:08:55

know, We want, we want something better as

well.

142

: 00:09:03

So these crews were out there doing their

thing and then enjoying some of the hip

143

: 00:09:09

hop.

144

: 00:09:09

And then our next takeaway was Club Mars

was portrayed in this documentary as such

145

: 00:09:17

a major venue for any hip hop act that was

trying to break through into the big time.

146

: 00:09:24

We saw that Yuki Watanabe was a co

-founder of Mars and he had been a club

147

: 00:09:28

owner elsewhere.

148

: 00:09:30

And it was kind of like Eli and his crew

had

149

: 00:09:32

Eli and his crew had befriended Yuki he

starts up the Mars club and that really

150

: 00:09:38

opened up the doors for a lot of these up

and coming artists which goes to that time

151

: 00:09:44

capsule motif that we're talking about.

152

: 00:09:47

you want to take us through like some more

about the Club Mars and what you

153

: 00:09:50

discovered there and some of the acts?

154

: 00:09:53

Yeah, so Club Mars became one of those

clubs that, like I was gonna mention

155

: 00:09:59

earlier, you know, hip hop wasn't

necessarily playing in a disco, but Club

156

: 00:10:03

Mars gave hip hop a voice and a stage to

present itself so people could come there

157

: 00:10:11

and hear kind of whatever they wanted to

hear.

158

: 00:10:15

And it wasn't necessarily just a hip hop

club.

159

: 00:10:17

Now Mars had multiple floors.

160

: 00:10:19

Each floor had a different theme.

161

: 00:10:21

So you can go throughout the floors and

hear different genres of music.

162

: 00:10:25

But the one thing that made Mars unique

was that it did include hip hop in that

163

: 00:10:32

format of layering through the different

floors.

164

: 00:10:36

So you'd have many, many different, many

acts that will come through different DJs.

165

: 00:10:41

You know, know, one of my favorite DJs is

New York State, where Funkmaster Flex got

166

: 00:10:45

his start there.

167

: 00:10:46

Moby got his start there, Dres.

168

: 00:10:49

Well, actually, the Black Sheep, both of

them started there as DJs, and Dres

169

: 00:10:54

decided that, hey, while I'm here, I'm

gonna show them I'm also a lyricist, and

170

: 00:10:59

started rapping and rhyming.

171

: 00:11:00

And they ended up becoming an actual act

from playing there as well.

172

: 00:11:04

We're seeing Busta Rhymes emerge on the

scene with the Leaders of the New School.

173

: 00:11:09

DMC was also there regularly.

174

: 00:11:12

He talked about, and mean, you know, if he

was there, Run was there.

175

: 00:11:15

So, you know, he was talking about the

different acts from their generation that

176

: 00:11:22

would come through as well.

177

: 00:11:24

But yeah, it was the place to be.

178

: 00:11:26

And even the skateboarders who weren't

necessarily dressed in traditional quote

179

: 00:11:32

unquote, nightclub attire were allowed to

come.

180

: 00:11:36

through there and then they would come

through the basement entrance and they

181

: 00:11:39

would come up into the club and they would

hang out and mix and mingle amongst the

182

: 00:11:44

different artists who were there.

183

: 00:11:45

And then with the release of the film,

Kids, they were like celebrities.

184

: 00:11:52

They were talking about, yeah, I was

hanging out with Leonardo DiCaprio or I

185

: 00:11:54

was hanging out with this guy and that

guy.

186

: 00:11:57

So they were almost like local celebrities

that were kind of.

187

: 00:12:00

you know, embraced by the artists

themselves from being there.

188

: 00:12:05

And it was just a phenomenal place.

189

: 00:12:07

And it looked like a really cool

environment.

190

: 00:12:09

I mean, I've definitely heard of the club.

191

: 00:12:11

I didn't necessarily know who Yuki

Watanabe was, but yeah, it was amazing.

192

: 00:12:20

I know.

193

: 00:12:22

DynoWright, reflections on what we saw

about Club Mars.

194

: 00:12:28

Yeah.

195

: 00:12:29

So from Club Mars sprang a lot of things,

including copycat hip hop shows.

196

: 00:12:34

They talk about Sean Combs starting a

different thing called Daddy's House that

197

: 00:12:38

was trying to bite off that vibe.

198

: 00:12:40

And then from Club Mars came the Phat Farm

clothing label and other clothing labels.

199

: 00:12:47

So Russell Simmons started Phat Farm.

200

: 00:12:51

That sprang forth from Club Mars.

201

: 00:12:54

Rappers got their start there, as you

mentioned.

202

: 00:12:55

I think they said that Zoo York's

headquarters was like a block away

203

: 00:12:58

eventually, I think.

204

: 00:13:00

Yeah, so that area of New York, very

fertile for this creative expression.

205

: 00:13:07

And Club Mars was the place to be for

that.

206

: 00:13:11

Yeah, I was fascinated by Yuki Watanabe's

story.

207

: 00:13:14

He also had a club in Boston called Club

New York, ironically.

208

: 00:13:18

And he had given Afrika Bambaataa and

Grandmaster Flash gigs, as well as a young

209

: 00:13:22

Madonna.

210

: 00:13:26

That was crazy.

211

: 00:13:28

And then Boogie, you mentioned a whole lot

of acts, but also Almighty Kay Gee from

212

: 00:13:33

the Cold Crush Brothers and Kid Capri with

all his mixtapes was out there, DJ Clark

213

: 00:13:38

Kent.

214

: 00:13:40

Q-Tip would stroll in, Guru, Kool Keith,

Ice Cube even came out from the west

215

: 00:13:45

coast, the Jay -Z footage with Jazzo,

absolute legends, absolute legends, yeah.

216

: 00:13:56

Yeah, and even like, not even hip hop, but

other cultural pop culture icons and

217

: 00:14:04

celebrities like Mike Tyson would buy out

the place on occasion, like buy out a

218

: 00:14:09

floor, etc.

219

: 00:14:11

And Vin Diesel was a bouncer there for a

time.

220

: 00:14:15

And then was it Yuki?

221

: 00:14:16

Was Yuki said, I can't remember the guy,

the Zoolander guy.

222

: 00:14:19

I was like, Ben Stiller?

223

: 00:14:21

it guys?

224

: 00:14:22

like skinny, skinny guy, I was like, I

guess Ben Stiller had like a day or two as

225

: 00:14:25

a bouncer somehow.

226

: 00:14:29

I was cracking up.

227

: 00:14:30

Yeah.

228

: 00:14:31

bouncer here.

229

: 00:14:35

i think it was around from 88 to 92 was

when Mars was really in in full force and

230

: 00:14:42

then unfortunately due to some gang

violence outside the club Yuki had to shut

231

: 00:14:47

it down but yeah club Mars you were saying

you were just looking BooGie elsewhere

232

: 00:14:53

there's like some facebook groups and some

other youtube videos about club Mars back

233

: 00:14:57

in the day

234

: 00:14:59

absolutely.

235

: 00:14:59

Yeah, you could definitely go down a

rabbit hole looking for old Club Mars

236

: 00:15:03

footage.

237

: 00:15:04

And again, there's definitely a Facebook

group.

238

: 00:15:07

I was like, wow, that's pretty cool.

239

: 00:15:09

It's like a support group.

240

: 00:15:11

It's called, what was it called?

241

: 00:15:15

yeah, Club Mars NYC 1989, Facebook group.

242

: 00:15:19

Yeah.

243

: 00:15:21

It's like a reunion page.

244

: 00:15:24

It's like I see those things with like

Dancing On Air and stuff.

245

: 00:15:26

If you were on Dancing On Air back in the

80s, join this club.

246

: 00:15:32

man.

247

: 00:15:35

with all the girls with the Aqua Net and

everything.

248

: 00:15:38

Yeah, that's right.

249

: 00:15:40

Philly heads know what's up.

250

: 00:15:43

So our third take away is like Club Mars,

a lot of superstar rappers also got early

251

: 00:15:49

exposure on the Stretch and Bobbito radio

show, which was part of Columbia

252

: 00:15:54

University.

253

: 00:15:55

That was a Columbia radio station.

254

: 00:16:01

Dyno Wright, you want to talk a little bit

about Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito show?

255

: 00:16:06

We see a lot of early footage shot by Eli

Gesner, early Busta Rhymes early Method

256

: 00:16:13

Man and Ghostface free styles and It's

hard to imagine now a radio show that

257

: 00:16:18

people would stay up to listen to and

record on cassette tapes

258

: 00:16:22

I can't think of anything that happens

right now that's just like that.

259

: 00:16:27

We live in such a time -shifted society

that there's such a thing as appointment

260

: 00:16:33

radio.

261

: 00:16:34

This was appointment radio at one in the

morning.

262

: 00:16:37

So you skate all day, you go clubbing, and

then you end your evening listening to a

263

: 00:16:46

radio show from an Ivy League college.

264

: 00:16:50

You can't hardly make it up.

265

: 00:16:51

But that's what they did.

266

: 00:16:55

That's wild.

267

: 00:16:56

I mean, there was no SoundCloud, there's

no internet, you know, and if you want to

268

: 00:17:02

hear the latest and greatest like up and

coming acts, if you were really into hip

269

: 00:17:06

hop, that's where you would hear hear them

on the Stretch and Bobbito show.

270

: 00:17:11

The footage of Busta Rhymes freestyling

and then Jarobi from A Tribe Called Quest

271

: 00:17:15

was in there and several other guys that

it just blows your mind.

272

: 00:17:21

Large Professor.

273

: 00:17:23

BooGie, what are your memories of you were

talking before the show about Stretch and

274

: 00:17:28

Bobbito, how you had heard of them back in

the day and even in Newark and stuff.

275

: 00:17:32

You want to talk about your experiences?

276

: 00:17:34

yeah, so yeah, Stretch and Bobbito, they

were a hip hop staple.

277

: 00:17:39

I mean, I didn't necessarily stay up and

listen to the radio that much to hear them

278

: 00:17:45

as they were live, but I definitely

recall, you know, walking through downtown

279

: 00:17:49

and you see vendors, you know, street

vendors selling, you know, Stretch and

280

: 00:17:55

Bobbito 'Beato mixtapes.

281

: 00:17:56

So you can buy a mixtape and actually

hear, you know, some footage from a

282

: 00:18:01

Stretch and Bobbito show.

283

: 00:18:02

And some of the mixtapes would be like a

greatest hits.

284

: 00:18:06

And it would have like all of the latest

hip hop freestyles that would come through

285

: 00:18:13

the radio show.

286

: 00:18:14

I remember also when they used to go up to

the Rucker Park and when Bobbito was like

287

: 00:18:21

the announcer and he would just have some

of the funniest stuff to say.

288

: 00:18:27

And kind of like, actually, yeah, he would

be...

289

: 00:18:30

Kind of like how And-1 got their start.

290

: 00:18:33

He would be on the mic announcing and then

somebody got their ankles broken.

291

: 00:18:36

He had all kinds of jokes for them or

somebody lit it up and it was on fire.

292

: 00:18:43

He was on it.

293

: 00:18:46

And I always thought they were pretty

cool, but the way they started out was

294

: 00:18:50

kind of funny too.

295

: 00:18:51

I remember they were talking about this

one DJ and in the documentary was talking

296

: 00:18:55

about the guy and they were saying, he was

really tall.

297

: 00:18:58

I'm thinking, I wonder if that's.

298

: 00:18:59

if that's that's that's stretch Armstrong.

299

: 00:19:02

And then they started saying something,

I'm like, nah, that's not him.

300

: 00:19:05

And then I remember they started

mentioning the toy and I'm like, yeah,

301

: 00:19:08

they coming back with it.

302

: 00:19:09

The toy, yeah, stretch Armstrong, the toy

that stretched really, you know, really

303

: 00:19:13

elastic.

304

: 00:19:13

And I was like, yeah, that was him.

305

: 00:19:15

But yeah, those guys were, you know,

they're still revered throughout the

306

: 00:19:19

community.

307

: 00:19:20

You know, they contributed so much like by

boosting a lot of these guys.

308

: 00:19:27

start now.

309

: 00:19:27

Like now, if you want to get your start,

all you got to do is just sit in your room

310

: 00:19:32

and record something and put it on

Instagram or Facebook or whatever.

311

: 00:19:36

Back then, it was almost like you had to

prove yourself, go somewhere and just

312

: 00:19:43

freestyle.

313

: 00:19:43

You couldn't just say handwritten rhymes.

314

: 00:19:46

You had to prove that you had a lyrical

skill, a lyrical prowess.

315

: 00:19:49

And those guys provided a format for that.

316

: 00:19:52

So the community of hip hop and culture

should be grateful to them.

317

: 00:19:56

for allowing that to happen.

318

: 00:20:01

Yeah.

319

: 00:20:06

The take away number four is we're saying

watch this film to see the origin stories

320

: 00:20:10

of the Zoo York and Supreme street wear

brands.

321

: 00:20:14

We see these names and these brands out

there, but you're really gonna see how

322

: 00:20:18

they originated by seeing this film.

323

: 00:20:23

I know that briefly, Eli was called by

Russell Simmons to start a Phat Farm line

324

: 00:20:29

of clothing as well, which was really the

first hip hop clothing line.

325

: 00:20:33

And then Zoo York.

326

: 00:20:34

Zoo York was launched in July of 93, close

to where Mars was headquartered.

327

: 00:20:40

But that was after Mars had shut down.

328

: 00:20:42

But it was interesting to see how these

startups would take shape and then take

329

: 00:20:47

off.

330

: 00:20:50

Boogie or DynoWright, you guys want to add

to origin stories of Zoo York and Supreme?

331

: 00:20:55

Supreme.

332

: 00:20:55

I can share about Zoo York and Supreme a

little bit.

333

: 00:20:59

My brother happens to be a very big, long

time Supreme fan.

334

: 00:21:05

So I got wind of it early on.

335

: 00:21:08

But what's fun about Supreme in particular

is that they took their logo.

336

: 00:21:15

They basically bit off of an artist called

Barbara Kruger, and they mentioned this in

337

: 00:21:19

the film.

338

: 00:21:19

So.

339

: 00:21:20

see that too.

340

: 00:21:22

But Barbara Kruger, her art is about

capitalism and so it's kind of

341

: 00:21:29

deconstructing capitalism.

342

: 00:21:30

And so the choice to copy her style for

the logo is either inspired or ironic or

343

: 00:21:39

maybe ignorant.

344

: 00:21:40

I don't know.

345

: 00:21:41

It's kind of funny because at first

Barbara Kruger wasn't that

346

: 00:21:47

wasn't all that bothered by it.

347

: 00:21:48

And it was when a different streetwear

brand called Married to the Mob copied

348

: 00:21:53

Supreme.

349

: 00:21:55

She put them both on blast.

350

: 00:21:57

And I should read, I'll read the thing

that she responded to with this.

351

: 00:22:01

Her response was, what a ridiculous

cluster F of totally uncool jokers.

352

: 00:22:09

I make my work about this kind of sadly

foolish farce.

353

: 00:22:13

I'm waiting for all of them to sue me for

copyright infringement.

354

: 00:22:19

So good.

355

: 00:22:22

But, you know, what works well about the

actual logo itself is that it's very

356

: 00:22:29

recognizable.

357

: 00:22:30

It's only white text on a red rectangle

and it works.

358

: 00:22:35

So they've gotten a lot of mileage out of

just that.

359

: 00:22:39

And I know Boogie can talk about their...

360

: 00:22:42

their drops and their collabs and the

craziness that happens at 10 o 'clock on

361

: 00:22:47

drop day.

362

: 00:22:48

Yeah, so yeah, like first, like I didn't

even realize that Zoo York and Supreme

363

: 00:22:53

were skating brands.

364

: 00:22:55

I mean, that blew my mind because like

where I live at, you don't really see many

365

: 00:23:02

skate, we don't see any skateboards really

at all.

366

: 00:23:05

I mean, unless you go a couple of minutes

outside like maybe South Orange or

367

: 00:23:08

Maplewood, but mostly around here, you

don't really see too many people on

368

: 00:23:12

skateboards.

369

: 00:23:13

But yeah, I definitely was familiar with

Zoo York and Supreme.

370

: 00:23:18

And I actually own some, I actually own

items from both of them and they had no

371

: 00:23:21

idea that they were skating brands.

372

: 00:23:24

But while I think Zoo York might've faded

a little bit in popularity, Supreme is

373

: 00:23:33

still going very strong.

374

: 00:23:34

I mean, they do these crazy collaborations

with Nike all the time where they'll take

375

: 00:23:39

like a pair of sneakers that are pretty

basic and really well known.

376

: 00:23:43

Like for instance, they'll take the Air

Max sneakers.

377

: 00:23:47

very plain format and they'll slap that

logo on the side and those things will

378

: 00:23:52

sell out in a matter of minutes.

379

: 00:23:54

Like if you don't log on to the site at 10

am to get that drop, it's gonna take a

380

: 00:24:03

minor miracle to get them at retail.

381

: 00:24:05

And when I say like at retail, I mean,

they're retailing for at least 200 bucks

382

: 00:24:12

for the sneakers.

383

: 00:24:15

And if you miss the retail, you can pay

upwards of thousands of dollars for one

384

: 00:24:19

pair.

385

: 00:24:20

This one has the Supreme logo on the side

of them.

386

: 00:24:23

And that's just the sneakers.

387

: 00:24:25

They'll have hoodies and rain windbreakers

and windbreaker pants.

388

: 00:24:33

And it's just crazy.

389

: 00:24:36

But all stemming from skateboarding.

390

: 00:24:38

It's like, what?

391

: 00:24:41

Yeah.

392

: 00:24:43

So the chronology of it was Zoo York

launched in July of 93 and then Supreme

393

: 00:24:48

opened up April 1st, 1994, which gave you

skaters like a nice place to hang out and

394

: 00:24:55

socialize.

395

: 00:24:56

The lines became outrageous with the

popularity.

396

: 00:24:59

It was a massive success, Supreme stores.

397

: 00:25:03

Yeah, yeah, I remember walking by the

Supreme store when I was in New York.

398

: 00:25:07

This was like maybe about, I would say

maybe like eight or nine years ago.

399

: 00:25:13

And I walked past the store, like it was

packed inside.

400

: 00:25:16

I mean, but I was like, yeah, I can't

afford none of that stuff.

401

: 00:25:19

And I just kept walking.

402

: 00:25:21

I can't do that.

403

: 00:25:25

Yeah, it's crazy how this smaller

subculture would grow to become such a

404

: 00:25:31

lucrative business.

405

: 00:25:32

And we'll get to that in our next point

here, which is a final takeaway.

406

: 00:25:36

This is, go ahead.

407

: 00:25:38

Yep.

408

: 00:25:39

we should mention Kids, the Larry Clark

film from: 1995

409

: 00:25:44

commercial for Zoo York.

410

: 00:25:49

Before the Zoo York mixtape, which we'll

get to in the next takeaway, comes out.

411

: 00:25:53

Kids comes out in 1995.

412

: 00:25:56

It's a...

413

: 00:25:58

The documentary, well it's not really,

it's not a documentary, but it's basically

414

: 00:26:02

like almost like a historical fiction

about the youth skateboard culture in New

415

: 00:26:08

York.

416

: 00:26:09

It launched the celebrity of Harold

Hunter, one of the famous New York

417

: 00:26:15

skateboarders who was also Black and so

that, we mentioned him earlier.

418

: 00:26:20

And also it launched him probably maybe

into his downfall too, because he didn't

419

: 00:26:24

live much longer after the movie came out.

420

: 00:26:27

I just remember seeing it that summer when

it came out and I still get kind of chills

421

: 00:26:33

about it.

422

: 00:26:33

It was very affecting.

423

: 00:26:35

There's a lot of sexual assault in this

movie and it's pretty gritty.

424

: 00:26:41

I remember thinking I needed to take three

successive showers after watching this

425

: 00:26:45

film.

426

: 00:26:46

So very affecting, very powerful film that

centered around the skateboard culture

427

: 00:26:51

back then.

428

: 00:26:52

So definitely watch this documentary.

429

: 00:26:57

and then go see Kids because you really

get to see it in action.

430

: 00:27:06

I had the same reaction when I saw Kids.

431

: 00:27:08

It was during our college years and I was

like my jaw dropped because it's called

432

: 00:27:13

Kids and these kids these are literally

kids teenagers and so much like you said

433

: 00:27:19

sexual assault, there's abuse and drug use

smoking and chaos.

434

: 00:27:27

Yeah, at such a young age.

435

: 00:27:30

Yeah, I was, I was.

436

: 00:27:32

these guys were some of these folks that

were featured in this documentary were the

437

: 00:27:36

stars in that movie.

438

: 00:27:38

movie.

439

: 00:27:38

Yeah, I remember I saw it much later and I

don't remember how I stumbled upon it.

440

: 00:27:45

I think I was watching something and they

mentioned it.

441

: 00:27:48

I said, okay, I remember hearing a name

and I went and watched it.

442

: 00:27:52

I think I was probably in my 30s when I

watched it.

443

: 00:27:57

So like you're jaw dropping and watching

it, you know, in your late teens, early

444

: 00:28:03

20s.

445

: 00:28:03

I'm watching it in my 30s and I'm like,

what?

446

: 00:28:08

Like, I'm looking at it, I'm like, this is

crazy.

447

: 00:28:11

This is absolutely crazy.

448

: 00:28:13

But I mean, it's the reality.

449

: 00:28:15

I mean, that was their reality, you know?

450

: 00:28:18

So, you know, good, bad or ugly, I mean,

or indifferent, that's what they lived.

451

: 00:28:23

So, I mean, I just used it as a study of

what was going on at that time.

452

: 00:28:28

Mm -hmm.

453

: 00:28:33

And so the final takeaway is the Zoo York

mixtape was the flashpoint of

454

: 00:28:37

skateboarding and hip hop's symbiotic

relationship, which helped blossom both

455

: 00:28:41

subcultures into multi -billion dollar

industries.

456

: 00:28:45

So, yeah, to see the growth of such, of

these regional subcultures, well, hip hop

457

: 00:28:53

was, as we talked about in prior episodes,

was regional, you know, starting in the

458

: 00:28:58

South Bronx, and no one knew it would go

this far, like Biggie says.

459

: 00:29:02

Biggie says.

460

: 00:29:03

The skateboarding also was small

subculture.

461

: 00:29:07

You had Tony Hawk in California out West

and people thought that was just out

462

: 00:29:11

there.

463

: 00:29:11

And then, you know, this subculture of

skateboarding here in New York and just

464

: 00:29:18

blossomed and the two subcultures kind of

fed off each other for a bit there.

465

: 00:29:23

Boogie, you want to talk a little bit more

about that?

466

: 00:29:25

little bit more about that?

467

: 00:29:27

Yeah, I mean, so the Zoo York mixtape was,

I mean, I'm not gonna find an equivalent

468

: 00:29:32

and I would liken it to the And-1 mixtape,

which we mentioned on previous episodes.

469

: 00:29:41

So as Stretch and Bobbito are having their

shows or as different artists are coming

470

: 00:29:48

through, we're at this time going through

Mars, there's all kinds of archival

471

: 00:29:53

footage and recordings from both.

472

: 00:29:56

and they had the idea to play video

footage of skateboarders throughout New

473

: 00:30:04

York doing their different tricks and have

the backdrop to these performances.

474

: 00:30:10

So you get a very contrasting view to what

most people realize, most people outside

475

: 00:30:17

of the city view skateboarding as like JB

said with Tony Hawk and you know.

476

: 00:30:22

palm trees and they've had the perfect,

you know, skating parks and things like

477

: 00:30:27

that.

478

: 00:30:27

Now we have, you know, these skateboarders

in the urban jungle of New York City with

479

: 00:30:32

hip hop backdrops to their tricks and, you

know, it spreads like wildfire because

480

: 00:30:38

it's so intriguing.

481

: 00:30:39

It's like, it's catchy.

482

: 00:30:40

It's the new thing.

483

: 00:30:42

It's against the norm because it's not

playing, you know, the popular songs that

484

: 00:30:47

you're hearing necessarily on the radio,

but you're hearing this new stuff, the

485

: 00:30:49

stuff that, you know, is coming out.

486

: 00:30:51

And people want to be a part of it.

487

: 00:30:54

And then you explode from there.

488

: 00:30:59

You can go to the Supreme store or you

might run into one of these guys there.

489

: 00:31:10

You're wearing the same gear as the guys

were wearing in the mixtape.

490

: 00:31:15

It's an instant connection.

491

: 00:31:17

You don't have to go out of your way to

make that connection.

492

: 00:31:20

You can just...

493

: 00:31:21

walk down the street or we're gonna walk

around a corner and go to the store and

494

: 00:31:24

just instantly be connected.

495

: 00:31:27

Yeah.

496

: 00:31:31

Unifying force between somebody mentioned

it in the documentaries like others also

497

: 00:31:36

like these rich kids and these these poor

kids and like skateboarding kind of drew

498

: 00:31:41

folks together and also with hip -hop hip

-hop culture and skateboarding There was a

499

: 00:31:47

guy Vinny Ponte was mentioned.

500

: 00:31:48

He was a DJ and a skateboarder.

501

: 00:31:50

So he was like doing both things promoting

both cultures and I think he was tight

502

: 00:31:56

with Raekwon so

503

: 00:31:59

Yeah, it was pretty cool to see all that.

504

: 00:32:01

And then you flash fast forward to where

we are over the years.

505

: 00:32:05

It's skateboarding, which used to have its

own competitions with the X Games.

506

: 00:32:10

It was kind of like, this is extreme

games, extreme games.

507

: 00:32:12

And now it's into the mainstream with

being added to the Olympics over the

508

: 00:32:15

years.

509

: 00:32:16

And as we're recording, we're gearing up

for the Summer Olympics in Paris.

510

: 00:32:21

And you'll see skateboarding, half pipes,

and all types of things there.

511

: 00:32:25

And then the money aspect of it.

512

: 00:32:27

of jumping in.

513

: 00:32:28

DynoWright, you want to add to the

blossoming of the subcultures.

514

: 00:32:33

Sure, you can see it's fun to see the

origin of you know skateboarding and Hip

515

: 00:32:42

-hop as these components of culture and

then you get to see the end result, the

516

: 00:32:48

end stage of it where Supreme gets

acquired for 2 .1 billion dollars?

517

: 00:32:53

That's quite a valuation for

518

: 00:32:56

crazy.

519

: 00:32:57

Streetwear brand, a skateboarding

streetwear brand.

520

: 00:33:01

The Zoo York mixtape in 1997 is the point

where it becomes more widely known,

521

: 00:33:10

mainstream.

522

: 00:33:12

You see people wearing Zoo York and

Supreme and not have a connection.

523

: 00:33:16

They mention this in the movie.

524

: 00:33:17

They talk about who's a poser and who's

not.

525

: 00:33:21

At this point,

526

: 00:33:22

At this point, it doesn't matter anymore

because it's so mainstream that you don't

527

: 00:33:26

have that connection anymore to actual

skating.

528

: 00:33:29

The movie ends with this kind of, here's

where we are now.

529

: 00:33:36

It's almost like it's part of the backdrop

now, but back when it was hot, it was

530

: 00:33:44

white hot.

531

: 00:33:47

Yeah, I like how they did kind of like an

epilogue at the end where it showed you

532

: 00:33:51

some key statistics regarding both

cultures.

533

: 00:33:54

How skateboarding surpassed like a $2

billion industry.

534

: 00:33:59

I mean, Supreme itself sold for $2

billion, but then like hip hop and R &B

535

: 00:34:03

surpassed rock and roll in popularity and

sales in: 2017

536

: 00:34:08

And there was a one skateboarder,

Hufnagel, who had his own brand.

537

: 00:34:11

He sold his own brand for $63 million.

538

: 00:34:16

It talked about, unfortunately there was

the tragedy along the way you mentioned

539

: 00:34:21

Harold Hunter, he would die of a drug

induced heart failure around age 31.

540

: 00:34:27

And then there was another skateboarder

died, I think of a brain aneurysm in his

541

: 00:34:32

early 40s.

542

: 00:34:33

It may have been Hufnagel, I'm not sure,

but one of those guys died.

543

: 00:34:36

I think that was, I think that was Keith

Hufnagel.

544

: 00:34:39

And then.

545

: 00:34:40

turned a huge profit on his brand.

546

: 00:34:42

Unfortunately, he died not too long after

that.

547

: 00:34:47

And,

548

: 00:34:50

Yeah.

549

: 00:34:50

one of the other kids, guys from the Kids

had died, I think it was a suicide or

550

: 00:34:55

something.

551

: 00:34:55

So yeah, there was.

552

: 00:34:57

died of suicide not long after the movie

came out.

553

: 00:35:01

Maybe, I think it was 2001, I think,

around then.

554

: 00:35:06

Yeah.

555

: 00:35:08

There was a thing that, what Boogie was

saying is like these guys that were in

556

: 00:35:11

these crews and then some of them were in

the movie kids and they were recognized by

557

: 00:35:17

some of the celebrities like hanging out

with Leonardo DiCaprio and then somebody

558

: 00:35:21

said that Biggie had recognized Harold

Hunter at one point and it was like...

559

: 00:35:31

so it's like, wow, how about that for

these kids that are just like hanging on

560

: 00:35:37

the street?

561

: 00:35:39

That's pretty good.

562

: 00:35:40

You were in that movie, Kids?

563

: 00:35:42

Wow, I mean, it just blows your mind.

564

: 00:35:47

becoming celebrity and again this is

before social media and things really

565

: 00:35:52

going viral so that made it even more

impressive to be to be on Biggie's radar

566

: 00:35:57

and there was no no cell phones to take

videos no social media nothing to make

567

: 00:36:02

things go viral that's wild yeah and

568

: 00:36:06

in between when Kids comes out and when

Biggie gets killed.

569

: 00:36:09

So that happened really between 95 and 97.

570

: 00:36:13

That's pretty good.

571

: 00:36:16

Yeah.

572

: 00:36:17

Yeah.

573

: 00:36:19

But yes, eye -opening documentary for sure

about the connection.

574

: 00:36:25

I had no clue how intertwined these

subcultures were.

575

: 00:36:30

I knew there was some overlap with the

graffiti and the art in them both being

576

: 00:36:35

subcultures, but to see that all work

together in that symbiotic relationship

577

: 00:36:43

was interesting and powerful.

578

: 00:36:51

So I mean, I think we all, all three of us

really enjoyed this one, but I guess we'll

579

: 00:36:57

rate it like we normally do.

580

: 00:36:58

So BooGie for, All the Streets are Silent.

581

: 00:37:02

Bring that funky flick back or leave it in

the vault.

582

: 00:37:04

it in the vault.

583

: 00:37:06

I'm definitely gonna watch it a few more

times because I'm pretty sure that I'm

584

: 00:37:11

gonna grab some more nuggets out of,

knowledge nuggets out of this one.

585

: 00:37:16

DynoWright, All the Streets are Silent.

586

: 00:37:19

Bring that funky flick back, or leave it

in the vault.

587

: 00:37:22

Same here, bring that funky flick back.

588

: 00:37:25

As for me, I will also bring that funky

flick back.

589

: 00:37:31

I love these, what I call time capsules,

where you can see the archival footage of

590

: 00:37:36

these young superstars of the hip -hop

world.

591

: 00:37:43

There's definitely one thing to see them.

592

: 00:37:45

There's one thing to hear about it.

593

: 00:37:46

It's another completely different thing to

see them actually in their element.

594

: 00:37:51

Yeah.

595

: 00:37:52

Yeah, yeah, yeah, a documentary.

596

: 00:37:58

Yeah, yeah, a documentary of 40 years in

the making.

597

: 00:38:04

It's pretty, it's pretty good work.

598

: 00:38:06

Yeah, right on.

599

: 00:38:10

Hip Hop Movie Club is produced by your

HHMC's JB, Boogie, and Dyno Wright.

600

: 00:38:15

Theme music by Boogie.

601

: 00:38:17

Whether you're listening to the podcast or

watching us on YouTube, please give us a

602

: 00:38:21

subscribe or a follow.

603

: 00:38:22

It's a real power Thanks for tuning in.

604

: 00:38:29

And remember, don't hate, skate!

605

: 00:38:32

What else would it be today?

606

: 00:38:34

NOOOO

607

: 00:38:38

Okay.

608

: 00:38:39

What a gem that is.

609

: 00:38:48

I miss my, it's like, now I miss my Nash

board with the graffiti on the bottom.

610

: 00:38:52

then Yeah, it's actually I was telling you

guys I actually won this one on Double

611

: 00:38:57

Dare so that's a

Share Episode

Shownotes

Topics discussed:

Also check out:

Credits

And remember:

Transcripts

Follow

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube