I
AM DOLE OF THE LEGENDARY CAC KINGS. I STARTED BOMBING THE TRAINS IN 1981.
THE A LINE WAS MY NEIGHBORHOOD LINE WHEN I LIVED IN RICHMOND HILL, QUEENS, SO IT
WAS EASY ACCESS FOR A ROOKIE LIKE ME. AT THE TIME I WAS WRITING DELKO.
MY FIRST BOMB
MY FIRST BOMBING EPISODE TOOK PLACE AT GRANT AVENUE. I WAS ARMED WITH WELFARE PAINT DETERMINED TO DO AS MUCH DAMAGE AS I COULD MUSTER WHEN I STEP OFF THE A TRAIN AT GRANT AVENUE IN BROOKLYN. BEFORE I COULD SAY "CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG" THREE GRAF HEADS SAID ,"WHAT DO YOU WRITE ?" I TOLD THESE BROOKLYN CATS , I WROTE DELKO. "ARE YOU GOING INSIDE ?" THEY ASKED NEXT. "YES" I RESPONDED WITH MY HARD VOICE. "WE'LL GO TOGETHER" I WAS TOLD." WHAT DO YOU GUYS WRITE?" I ASKED SHEEPISHLY. "I AM ZEST, THIS KC, AND THAT'S DOC... LET'S GO" ZEST ORDERED.
IN THE TUNNEL IT WAS PITCH BLACK. ZEST SAID GRAB MY SHOULDER AS HE LED MY WAY. I GRABBED ON AND WAS LED TO THE LADDER LEADING DOWN TO THE INFAMOUS GRANT TUNNEL. WHEN I MADE IT DOWN I WAS AMAZED BY THE SIZE OF THE TRAINS BUT THIS WAS IT. FINALLY I TOOK THAT STEP IN BECOMING A GRAFFITI WRITER. DOC, ZEST AND KC WHIPPED OUT THEIR KRYLONS AND RUSTOLEUMS AND PRECEDED TO DO A PIECE. I WHIPPED OUT MY WELFARE PAINT AND ATTEMPTED TO JOIN THEM BUT WAS QUICKLY POINTED TO ANOTHER CAR. LAUGH NOW FOLKS, BUT I WAS PAYING MY DUES. I DID AN UGLY DELKO WILDSTYLE . ZEST, DOC AND KC CAME OVER TO TAKE A LOOK AT MY MASTERPIECE. ZEST SAID IT LOOKED OK AND I HAD POTENTIAL. HE WAS BEING POLITE, I KNOW THIS AND RESPECTED IT AFTER ALL THESE GUYS COULD HAVE ROBBED ME OF MY PAINT AND SHATTER MY DREAMS BUT NAH. ZEST SAID THROW UP RVR - REAL VICIOUS 'RITERS. SO THAT DAY I BECAME DELKO RVR.
THEN
CAME DOLE
THERE WAS THIS CAT ON THE BMT'S THAT CALL HIMSELF DELK. DEEP DOWN INSIDE, I FELT THAT HIS NAME WAS TOO CLOSE TO MINES. SO, A CHANGE WAS IN ORDER. I TOOK NOTE THAT THE FLY NAMES WAS CONSONANT- VOWEL- CONSONANT- VOWEL SUCH AS COPE, DAZE, BASE, ETC. SO I PLAYED AROUND WITH ALL THE LETTERS AND SETTLED WITH DOLE. BY THIS TIME I HAD A GRAF JONES AND KNEW I HAD A LOT OF DAMAGE TO DO TO LET THE PUBLIC KNOW I WAS NOW DOLE. SO I WENT ON A BOMBING MISSION. MY WELFARE PAINT DAYS WAS OVER. I WAS AN INSIDE WRITER FIRST AND OUTSIDE WRITER SECOND. SO I STOCKED UP ON FLO-MASTER INK UNTIL THEY WENT UNDER THEN I BECAME A MARSH AND SUPERMARKET INK MAN. I MADE MY MARKERS OUT OF EMPTY BAN ROLL ON DEODORANT BOTTLES, PUBLIC SCHOOL ISSUED ERASERS, A PENCIL AND A FILM HOLDER AS A CAP. I WAS PARTNERS WITH BO DRUGS, WHO LIVED AROUND THE CORNER FROM GRANT. SO. AT LEAST 5 TIMES OUT OF THE WEEK I WAS IN GRANT PUTTING IN WORK. WITHIN MONTHS I COULD AT LEAST CLAIM TO BE THE PRINCE TO BO'S KING OF THE CC'S.
RAB AND DOLE: THE ALL-CITY TOUR
CALL ME IGNORANT BUT I HAD NO IDEA THAT THE CC'S WAS SWITCHING UP WITH THE GG'S. SO WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS JUST UP ON THE CC'S I WAS ACTUALLY TEARING UP THE GG'S TOO.
ONE DAY IN 2 KNOCKS ON MY DOOR, I CAN RECALL I WAS ON PUNISHMENT. HE SAID SOME CATS FROM "ACROSS THE BRIDGE" (JAMAICA, QUEENS) CAME OVER LOOKING FOR ME. SOME CATS, HE CONTINUED KZ AND RAB, THEY MADE IN 2 A RECRUITER FOR CAC. ME... NEVER HEARD OF THEM. EVENTUALLY I WOULD MEET KZ THE PREZ OF CAC AND RAB THE VICE PREZ. KZ WAS MORE OF A LAID BACK CAT WHILE RAB HAD A GRAF JONES LIKE YOURS TRULY. WE WOULD SIT ON MY STOOP AND EXCHANGE GRAF TALES. EVENTUALLY RAB WOULD INTRODUCE ME TO THE IDEA OF GOING ALL CITY, MEANING HIT ALL THE MAJOR LINES IN NEW YORK CITY HARD. AT THIS TIME I WAS AN A AND CC WRITER THE THOUGHT OF GOING TO OTHER LINES WAS KIND OF FRIGHTENING YET INTRIGUING. RAB WOULD MENTION GOING TO ASTORIA TO CATCH THE RR'S, BAYRIDGE TO CATCH THE N'S, SHEEPSHEAD BAY FOR D'S , 175TH FOR B'S AND AA'S, ..ETC. IT DID NOT TAKE LONG BEFORE I WAS SOLD. RAB CAME UP WITH A WELL DESIGNED PLAN, AND WE WERE OFF ON A MISSION. EVEN BUS YARDS.
OUT OF ALL THE LINES WE ATTACKED I CAN RECALL GOING TO BAYRIDGE ...IT WAS THE CUTEST THING. YOU MUST UNDERSTAND, GRAF WRITERS WERE FLEEING WHEN THEY SEEN ME AND RAB UP IN THEIR LAY UPS OR YARDS, BUT IN THE BAYRIDGE TUNNELS IT WAS DIFFERENT. THIS LITTLE INDIAN GUY ROLLED UP ON US, WE TOLD HIM WHAT WE WROTE BUT HE SEEMED TO BE TROUBLED BY WHY WE WERE IN HIS TUNNELS. HE DID NOT START ANY PROBLEMS BUT THE HEART ON THIS LITTLE GUY WAS IMPRESSIVE. THIS GUY WAS ROACH TFV. ROACH AND I, PATHS WOULD CROSS AGAIN IN THE FUTURE, ON MUCH BETTER TERMS AND I MUST SAY HE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE GRAF HEADS, I MEAN YOU CAN HELP BUT LIKE THIS TRINIDADIAN CAT.
THE
HEAD SWELLS
THE ALL CITY TOUR PAID OFF IN FULL. I BECAME AN UNDERGROUND CELEBRITY, RESPECTED BY MY PEERS. THOUGH, I WAS ROBIN TO RAB'S BATMAN, YOU COULD NOT TELL ME ANYTHING. I WOULD GO TO HENRY'S AND SAY," I WROTE DOLE". NIGS WOULD REPLY," I SEEN YOU UP WITH RAB".
AT HENRY'S, I MET DEN. A YOUNG CAT WITH A WICKED HANDWRITING AND A LOT OF ENERGY. WE EXCHANGED NUMBERS AND WENT BOMBING TOGETHER. I LIKE TO CALL HIM, "MY SON". ON THE WEEKENDS , WE GO UP TO 175TH OR GRANT AVE. BASICALLY, I HAD TO DISTANT MYSELF FROM RAB. MY EGO WAS TOO LARGE TO BE PLAYING ROBIN. RAB AND I WOULD REMAIN PARTNERS AND CONTINUE TO VENTURE OUT TO OTHER LINES BUT WHEN RAB WAS BUSY OR UNAVAILABLE I EITHER DIP BY MYSELF OR WITH DEN AND RAB WOULD DO THE SAME. DURING OUR PARTNERSHIP RAB AND I WOULD DO PLENTY OF CARS TOGETHER AND BUILT A FRIENDSHIP THAT REMAINS STRONG TO THIS DAY.
THE
HARLEM CONNECTION
EVENTUALLY RAB WOULD GO OFF TO THE AIR FORCE THEN MOVE TO AFRICA. AS FOR MYSELF, UNFORTUNATELY I WOULD RETURN TO HARLEM, THE PLACE I WAS BORN. HARLEM WAS A NEW ENVIRONMENT FOR ME. YOU SEE, I WAS A QUEENS BOY AND QUEENS WAS WRITTEN ALL OVER ME. I TRIED HARD TO ADJUST TO MY NEW HOME IN THE POLO GROUNDS. MY GRAFFITI DAYS WAS OVER AT LEAST I THOUGHT THAT. BUT NO, CAC WAS ALREADY ESTABLISHING ITSELF IN HARLEM.
SLAM CAC HAD MOVED TO HARLEM DURING THE SAME TIME I MOVED THERE. SLAM WAS THE ACTING VICE PREZ WHEN KZ STEPPED DOWN AND NOW PREZ AS RAB TRAVELED THE WORLD VIA THE AIR FORCE. SLAM HAD HOOKED UP WITH THESE COOL HARLEM CATS, SUE AND HIGH POST. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON IN MY OWN BACKYARD, BUT FROM ME DROPPING LITTLE TAGS HERE AND THERE, SUE AND HP WOULD PUT 2 AND 2 TOGETHER. THEY WOULD TAKE THIS NEWS BACK TO SLAM AND SLAM WOULD SAY JUST LOOK FOR A GUY THAT LOOKED LIKE ME (SLAM AND I HAVE BEEN CALLED TWINS ON MANY OCCASIONS) AND LOOKED LIKE QUEENS. WELL, IT DID NOT TAKE LONG FOR THESE BROTHERS TO FIND ME. Y'SEE, I STILL SPORTED MY KANGOL, SERGIO FRAMES AND BVD'S LIKE IT "WASN'T NO THING". AND THIS GEAR SHOUTED, "QUEENS !!" REAL LOUD. SO ONE DAY I'M ROLLING HOME AFTER A HARD DAYS WORK AND HP ROLLS UP ON ME. HE KNEW IT WAS ME BEFORE I OPENED MY MOUTH. HE TOLD ME ABOUT SLAM AND SUE. WE EXCHANGED NUMBERS. HP AND SUE WOULD DROP BY MY PLACE, AND I'D TELL THESE BROTHERS THAT MY GRAF DAYS WAS OVER BUT A COPY STORIES... LITTLE BY LITTLE MY NOSE BEGAN TO OPEN. AND THE DOLE RETURNS WITH THE TOUGHEST TEAM EVER !
THIS TEAM OF MYSELF, SUEIEE AND HP173 (SLAM WOULD MOVE BACK TO QUEENS) WOULD TACKLE THE 3 YARD. HELL, WE CALLED 175TH OUR HOME AND DURING SNOWSTORMS, MTA WOULD LAY UP D'S GALORE AT 155TH STREET OUR HOME STATION AND A'S AND K'S AT 155TH UP THE HILL. CAC WAS STRONG, EVEN STRONGER WITH SUEIEE'S BROOKLYN CONNECTION. SUE KNEW THIS CAT NAMED CHINO BYI AND CHINO IS LIKE THE MAYOR OF THE UNDERGROUND WORLD OF GRAFFITI IN BROOKLYN. SO, WHENEVER SHIT GOT THICK, 1 PHONE CALL WOULD HAVE AN ARMY OF GRAF HEADS (IN EVERY RACE IMAGINED) READY FOR WAR. ON THE STRENGTH, I NEEDED THAT ARMY ON A COUPLE OF OCCASIONS.
CAC
WARS
175TH STREET WAS OUR HOME. THOUGH IT WAS AT LEAST A MILE AWAY FROM WHERE WE STAYED, 175TH WAS SUITABLE FOR CAC. ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT 175TH HOSTED UP TO 6 TRAINS, JUST SITTING THERE WAITING TO BE PREY UPON. IT DID NOT TAKE MUCH CONVINCING TO RECOGNIZE... TO BE CONTINUED.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW
KAY-ZEE FIVE: THE ORIGINAL CAC PREZ IS RESIDING DOWN SOUTH IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
RABBI AKA RAB RESIDES IN GHANA, AFRICA WITH WIFE AND DAUGHTER. RAB TRAVELS BACK TO THE STATES EVERY NOW AND THEN WHEN HE'S NOT PRODUCING FOR AFRICAN RAP ACT "REGGIE STONE".
SUE AKA SUEIEE, PSUEY RESIDES IN THE NORTH BRONX WITH WIFE AND DAUGHTER. HE WORKS DOWN ON LEXINGTON AVE. WITH A COMPUTER FIRM.
HIGH POST A.K.A HP173 RESIDES IN YONKERS WITH WIFE AND 2 DAUGHTERS. HE'S CURRENTLY WORKING FOR THE MTA. HE TOLD ME TO WRITE "MTA PAYS HIS BILLS NOW".
DEN IS MISSING IN ACTION. LAST SCENE WORKING FOR MTA.
KEZER MISSING IN ACTION.
RAZE MISSING IN ACTION,I HEARD HE WAS A POLICE OFFICER.
DOLE AKA DOLER, DELKO, DOLEISM RESIDES IN THE NORTH BRONX WITH WIFE AND DAUGHTER, CURRENTLY WORKING WITH THE MTA AND COLLECTS BOXING VIDEOS!