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R.I.P. PAGE NEXT
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THE TOP-TO-BOTTOM **************************************************************************************************** A writer could just burn with a Top-to-Bottom, as seen here with the famous FLINT 707 candy-cane piece, done in the early to mid 1970's. This piece blew many writers away and even forced few into retirement. The true originator of the Top-to-Bottom is hard to pin point; some say JAPAN 1 started it, and others say SUPER KOOL 223. By 1973, spotting a Top-to-Bottom running became a normal event that most writers saw. In the beginning, the first Top-to-Bottoms did not take up the entire subway car, but mainly half of its length. HUNDO 1 took this idea to a new level by painting extra large thick letters, that took up the whole train. Many Top-to-Bottoms consisted of bubble letter, straight letter, western letter and block letter styles. Outside tags were becoming a thing of the past. Numerous writers started doing larger, more elaborate letters just to keep two steps ahead of the rest. To a Subway Outlaw, the Top-to-Bottom writings were about dominance. It was how he/she could take over a line with the biggest and the best, as well as the most work that could hit the public (the next day). TRACY 168 took this honor for being a total package, on what a subway writer should be. He took over the lines with stylish Top-to-Bottoms, as well as with quick letter styles. His most amazing production was writing a Top-to-Bottom on the outside of a train with CLIFF 159, and one inside of the train. That truly blew many writers minds when they saw it! Writers like SUPER STRUT who had a very
long name, executed a Top-to-Bottom with their entire name. Various
artists like LEE |
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PART was a member of the famous group, THE DEATH SQUAD. This T-2-B was done with NOC 167. |
PJAY© Tick-tock, Top-to-Bottom done with MITCH77 in1982. (Photo provided by IZ THE WIZ) |
~ DANGER 59 - The IRT's were an incredible line to look at in the 1970's. You could ride the BMT's and see the trains were so fuckin bombed, that it was a mess. You would take the IRT's and see all their wild colors.... it was like being at a Pink Floyd concert.
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SONNY 107 |
DOC COOL & DR. SOUL 2 |
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DURO Top-to-Bottom done with BUS 129 a.k.a. DONDI. |
VENS By VEN RIS done on the J line, in the late 1980's.
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of the THE FABULOUS FIVE, took off where FLINT 707 left off. As a result,
he did some of
the most memorable Top-to-Bottoms of his era. BLADE, an all time king of the 2's
and 5's, was considered by many to be one of the all time kings of
the whole car Top-to-Bottoms. SEEN UA pulled off dozens of Top-to-Bottoms in
the early 1980's and took over, where BLADE left off. A writer truly over looked,
was MIN 1 a.k.a. NE, who pulled off the most colorful Top-to-Bottoms (along with KEL and
the RTW-WOW crew), on the BMT's. One of MIN's biggest products was a
Top-to-Bottom wild
style done for SHY 147 (R.I.P.), which ran on the RR train in the mid 1980's. DONDI's
work was always a pleasure to be seen .... as it had neat, clean, large and colorful letters,
that looked like they belonged on a subway car. The following are a few photos of our
favorites:
