CREWS…

Bio, BG 183, and Nicer are the nucleus of TATS Crew, and have been since before Newcleus was on the radio with “Jam On It.” Brim started the crew, went to Britain, and became a star, and the rest of the crew picked up the slack stateside. They started with insides, then throw ups and outlines on the nice white trains, and soon went to pieces. This was a neighborhood crew that was getting up on as many lines as time would allow But when they met T-Kid they were like a runaway train, making connections with other writers and getting transfers to other layups and lines. When the Terrible T got down with the program, he ushered them into his stronghold, the Ghost Yard. Cem came aboard with the Utica layups in Brooklyn, a spot that kept their days occupied. Soon the TAT train went to express, and for three years, from ′84 to ′87 all they did was graff. Bio’s bio: “Every waking moment was spent doing graff. The days was spent stealing, robbing writers at the bench, and the nights we would bomb. Even in the days we would go to Utica layups, and at night go into the yards. We was on a real real mission.” After all the fun and games, the mission became a Mission Statement. They were never held accountable for their actions, but they do have an accountant, so like my man Saul Goode says, “It’s all good.”

Better than the Boriquas banking on their juvenile delinquency is that TATS is still intact. All the original members—Brim, Mack, Base Bio, BG, Nicer, Kenn, Cem, Raz Shame, and Maze—are still alive and well and down. No matter what era you look at, from their trains to the current professional work, TATS has a cohesive style that connects and shows they have great respect for each other. After sixteen years, it’s still the same as it ever was. They are the epitome of stability in a fast shifting culture full of shifty shiftless sheisters. For any crew that thinks they’re gonna sieze the day from TATS, I just wanna say, There’s Always Tommorow, Suckers!