AnySquared Spotlight Art Talk Features BboyB. AnySquared Spotlight art talks highlight artists of all ages and experiences and include both members and friends. See videos of spotlight art talks on our YouTube Channel.
BE PART OF THE DISCUSSION Wednesday, March 23rd at 7:30pm:
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ABOUT BboyB – IG: @bboyb_abc
BboyB grew up in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, but saw his first graffiti during a family vacation to New York City in 1981. By 1982 his tag was all over Logan Square and he formed one of Chicago’s first iconic Graffiti crews, the Angel Berto Crew (ABC), along with fellow graffiti writer Angel/Seen. As the crew expanded to include such graffiti greats as Take2, Trixter, HATE, Flash, Non-Stop, and Risk. BboyB changed the crew name to the more all-encompassing Artistic Bombing Crew, to retain the acronym ABC. ABC later went on to join one of the first graffiti super crew, The Federation (FEDS), which was the unification of ABC + MPC (Master Piece Crew) + TCP (The Crowd Pleasers).
Also in 1982, BboyB established Chicago’s first and longest-running Writers Bench, located at the Logan Square Eagle (Centennial Monument). On Super-Transfer Sundays, Writers such as Slang, Defski, Upski, Scarce, Flee, and many others would come from all corners of Chicago to this central location to craft styles, share photos, have Black Book Sessions, and have breaking cyphers. It was also during this time that BboyB studied and developed his b-boy dance form, learning street styles of competitive dance and going on to become an avid breakdancer.
The name BboyB comes from B-boy (the East Coast term used to identify a breaker, plus “Be” a shortened version of Berto. BBoyB was the first person to use the title/designation “B-boy” + “name” to create his Hip Hop alter ego. It is now a common identifier for breakdancers all over the world that has a history rooted in Chicago. It also works side by side with the other Hip Hop element identifiers such as DJ “name” and MC “name”. The only element that did not carry on this tradition is the Graffiti Writer. In 1985, BboyB was the first writer to work with the City of Chicago in establishing a legal graffiti wall. Collaborating with the LSNA (Logan Square Neighborhood Association), he helped create the very first paid permission wall at the Logan Square Bus Terminal. After this turning point, BboyB moved away from the illegal bombing of rooftops, trains, busses, and walls, and began to practice the art form in other mediums and legal murals.
While getting his BFA at Columbia College, BboyB started a Hip Hop newspaper, The Rap Sheet, later known as the FlyPaper, with the help of Raymond O’Neal and Mic Shane. The Flypaper was passed out at hip hop events like DJ Jesse DeLa Peña’s nights at Lower Links, where the likes of many rappers came up. “We Got Big Lips Productions”, Triple XXX, and Lit X also played a huge role in helping push the FlyPaper during the resurgence of Hip Hop. After its launch in 1991, the FlyPaper was printed almost monthly for four years, until it was shut down in 1995 after BboyB’s partners moved out of Chicago. BboyB printed the FlyPaper from time to time until he started it back up in 2001 as the sole editor, and continued a monthly run until 2008. The FlyPaper still remains the longest-running Chicago Hip Hop newspaper in existence. Now it resides online, and in Hiphoppers private collections.
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