Gary with his daughter in HallofGRAFX, his print shop in Providence.
Gary was one of the original members of Top Master Crew. Hear him remember how hip hop started in Rhode Island, how TMC grew from an Elmwood little league team, and how he developed his graffiti technique and persona. Note: this is a group interview with fellow TMC members Adee Rok and Sammy Girard.
Listen to Gary’s story.
Follow our interview notes to go explore his story more deeply.
From playing in the dirt to spinning… [0:00]
- Juice
- Elmwood Community Center
We were too young [3:50]
- Central High School
Hip hop wasn’t called hip hop when we were doing it [5:33]
- “We were called B-Boys”
Kids with a manager: suits, shows, and no clue [6:55]
Maurice Starr wants you [7:09]
- TMC came in first
- New Edition came in second and got signed (Wikipedia)
Dance Factory, Boston [8:10]
- Video on loop
New Edition wanted TMC to dance [8:25]
- Candy Girl (YouTube)
- Johnny Green spinning on his head
TMC turned Boston on to breaking [9:33]
- Bobby Black was their manager
This was cool… but we had school the next day [10:10]
All of a sudden we are battling [11:25]
- Archie
- Little Eddie
We all went our own ways really soon in life [13:30]
- James Top & graffiti hall of fame
Adee getting thrown out of Central and Hope [15:31]
- Central High School
- Hope High School
- Mr. Kenny
Who did you influence? [19:08]
- Furious Rockers
- The Playboy Crew
- Mark Fisher
- POAM
Sammy, the secret weapon [19:40]
TMC’s vs Furious Rockers/RTB [20:32]
- United Skates of America
- Battle at Roger Williams Park Temple of Music
TMC remained a small crew [26:18]
- All-in-all, 10-30 official members of TMC
Making the TMC shirts [27:03]
- Would buy Old English Letters from New York City
- “Crease in the front, crease in the sides”
- Changing the colors of Adidas
- Fat Laces
- Stuffing Hats
Next thing you know we were on top of the latest [30:18]
- Used to put taps on our shoes
- “In my eyes Juice brought hip hop to providence”
- Axis, a big influence of Gary’s graffiti
Bombing all the way home [33:09]
HallofGraFX [34:48]
How Sammy got down with TMC [40:10]
Trying to get home from United Skates of America [41:25]
- “Sun is coming up by the time we get to Broad Street”
Gary – “It was serious” [43:23]
There’s still one left [46:23]
Shows we did [46:56]
- Fat Boys in downtown Boston (Wikipedia)
- Civic Center with Grand Master Flash: Fresh Fest (Also in NYC) (YouTube)
Juice’s brain and a demo test press of Planet Rock [47:41]
- “Planet Rock” by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force
Being up on it all [51:40]
Gold plated name belt [52:16]
We always had JUICE [52:50]
He [Juice] planted the seed [56:11]
