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Rest in piece to Iz The Wiz. I never met this man but he was definitely one of the greatest bombers in the history of graff, My earliest memories of watching his throwups were on the old 6 trains that stretched from Pelham Bay Park down to Chambers Street.

When I was younger I spent summers with my grandmother in Co-Op City. My dad would be working O.T. and my mom was busy finishing up her undergrad work. I’m sure I wasn’t more than 8 yrs old at the time and I can distinctly remember seeing the throwups emblazoned on the outside of trains. As an eight year old all that colorful shit makes you think the subways are a magical, circus-like place.

As a teenager who copped his fair share of tags on the inside and outside of subway cars I found it strange to still see Iz The Wiz throwups on the outsides of the ancient G trains that I took to get to Brooklyn Tech high school. Who was this dude, along with NE a/k/a MIN ONE and QUIK that had kept on getting up in the system even though now it was hard as hell and if you were caught you had the book thrown at you?

Years and years of aerosol art has finally placed Iz The Wiz’ soul in the air. Do something silently defiant and slightly illegal for Iz The Wiz this weekend. He definitely would have done the same for you.

There was a lot less coverage of the passing of Boostin’ Billy. As a matter of fact there was no internets coverage as far as I’m concerned. I got a message from one of the 2nd Gen Decepts that Boostin’ Billy, a co-founder of the Lo-Lifes had passed away. I haven’t had the chance to confirm or deny this story from the Lo-Lifes perspective but as soon as I do I will let y’all know the deal.

I did not know Boostin’ Billy personally but his name does ring bells. I’m sure he was one of the many young men that I encountered on the Deuce back in its Black youth heyday and the latter years of the Latin Quarters. To this day I still wear my Polo I.T.’s more out of respect for all the brothers that passed away to obtain and maintain this level of fresh. This is my lifestyle for life.

It was a wild thing to see my dad pass away a few years ago. He was such a lion I expected him to live forever. So it goes for all giants and lions and great influencers. Our time here is ridiculous and short. Respect to all of those that have left their indelible mark on our minds and in our hearts. These people are the fathers to our style.