Revok disses the fusk out of Fab 5 Freddy

staxwaxstaxwax 1,474 Posts
edited September 2011 in Strut Central
Fab 5 Freddys claims to graffiti stature have always been pretty lame

He photoshopped other writers' work into his 'art' in a recent show with Lee and Futura and got called out something terrible by revok. Not that anyone in the ocean of sell-outs will give a fuck.

Still, there's nothing like some good old fashioned graffiti spite.

YO??? FAB 5 FREDDIE, YOU???RE A CORNY WANNABE, WHERE???S SEVER???S CHECK?

  Comments


  • Saw that a couple days ago. I agree with Revok. It always seemed to me that Fab 5 has always been more of a hustler and politicker then contributor - rather, hustling and politicking ARE his contributions, important ones at that - but in my opinion this is a horrible move on his part. Graf dudes KNOW their shit. Did he really think he could get away with it?? Should've stayed in his lane.

  • *than

    Sorry, iPhone posting.

  • this whole thing has me stunned....why the hell would freddie stoop to the level of biting and dare risk putting the art work in a show, obviously he didnt think anyone would figure it out, glad revok called him out on it though, i'd be interested to hear F5F side of the story..

  • here's a little insite on fab 5 freddy. we got into it back in the day in regards to a past hip hop honors show. some of you might remember this from myspace.





    this story started on myspace in october 2007 with a bulletin from roxanne shante in reguards to the vh1 hip hop honors. she mentioned how she had never been invited or reconigzed for her contributions in hip hop. she asked if she should even attend the show as a guest. this was my response to her and also several people on my myspace friends list including fab 5 freddy.

    upon receiving my "comment",fab 5 freddy decided to respond,and the story goes like this,


    ----------------- Original Message -----------------
    From: darrell d
    Date: Oct 7, 2007 4:02 PM


    darrell d has posted a new comment about you on MySpace!



    darrell d's Comment:

    "i just can't believe it. the vh1 hip hop honors show gets worst every year. why do you ask? because it started out pretty good. honoring grandmaster flash,dj hollywood,kool herc,sugarhill gang,rock steady,bambaataa,russell simmons,etc.
    but at the same time it was honoring some artists way too soon. people like rakim,beastie boys,ll cool j,krs-one,mc lyte,etc. don't get me wrong,i love all these guys but to honor them right now is too soon. there are many many people from the 1970's and 80's that have yet to be honered. people like the cold crush brothers, fearless four, jazzy jay, sha rock, disco wiz, busy bee, eddie cheeba, the latin quarter, fantastic five, love bug starski, pete dj jones, sal abbatiello/the disco fever, style wars, jamal shabazz, treacherous 3, spoonie gee, soul sonic force/cosmic force, dj breakout, dj baron,nyc breakers, henry chalfant, martha cooper, electric boogaloos,alien ness, i could go on and on. why aren't they being honored???!!! even the vh1 hip hop honors is all about ratings. and now,(i can't believe i'm about to say this) now they want to honor people that should never in this lifetime be honored,yes i'm talkin about missy! c'mon y'all, missy?????!!!! where did this chick even come from?! she has nothing to do with hip hop. roxanne shante asked me if i thought she should go to the show this year even though they keep passing her by. i told her she should not go,and for the record, i'm not watching. what do you guys think? let me know. peace & love darrell d

    3:58 PM


    From: FAB
    Date: Oct 7, 2007 10:03 PM


    Hey, it's your lucky day darrell d.

    Now let me school you son.

    Watch the format of the previous shows and you'll see that we draw from various periods of hip hop culture. It's not just about the 70's, 80's or the 90's. it's about all of that. The span of greatness, creativity, originality and innovation that hip hop has spawned in music, art, dance and film. It's about those that trully made an innovative, creative and forceful impact on the game.

    It sounds like your just hating after choking on a bunch of sour grapes.

    TV is about ratings. Remember, this is show business. After the initial hip hop revoloution in the 70's and early 80's here in NYC the business took it's place next to the show. If your at the top of your game, no business, no show. We were all teens back then. Adults now.

    I'm proud that we've come up with a method to get ratings, keep the show moving and do what we do well with Hip Hop Honors. Entertain, educate, and enlighten. I laid bricks in the foundation of this culture and worked on the blueprints. What have you done? Yea, I'm on the team that puts Vh1's HIP HOP HONORS together. Co-executive producer to be specific. And my film, the fist and best to date on hip hop culture gets honored as well this year. And I'm sitting next to Missy in the honoree box. A truly creative talent, and the most succesful female producer ever. And shes also a branch of the broad, ever expanding and encompassing hip hop tree. Wild Style put it all together. It's the reason the 4 elements exists as the foundation of all this. Wild Style put them all together in a neat little picture frame 25 years ago. The trully smart ones get that. The smart ones will also get it later tonight when the show airs and sees how big and diverse it all really is, and in many cases, was.

    So put your own show together. And I wish you luck. I'll watch and see what you come up with. if you do it well I'll give you props. If not. I wont watch.

    I never hate. I congratulate.

    I was there in the "old school" my son. I've done it all. From the streets to the suites and back to the corners. And some of my best work will be shinning bright on our 4th and best Hip Hop Honors show to date.

    Share this with your friends darrell. Wether they watch or not

    One, FAB 5 FREDDY



    from DARRELL D

    that's the problem!!!! it's that kind of attitude that keeps us from giving credit where it is really due. this show started of incredible! then slowly but surely you got away from the real innovators,the real legends. grandmaster caz wrote the biggest rap song of all time but instead of "educating and enlightening", as you put it,we instead will hear about teddy riley and the "new jack swing" era. woopeedoooo!!! who in the 1990's can you honestly call a legend? what did snoop dogg do that was so great?can you compare him to grand wizard theodore? can you compare a tribe called quest to the l brothers? like i said before,it's not that they should not get any props but first things first. "the business" as you call it is the reason why radio sucks today,it's the reason why we only see "bitches" and "hoes" in videos,when was the last time you heard "catch the beat" in a club? the public cannot be properly educated untill you use the proper tools or in this case,people.



    no. just the opposite. i love this culture. you have no doubt made big moves in hip hop and for that i thank you. from my heart,i thank you. but don't forget that this culture is being exploited by the powers that be,all for the almighty dollar!



    let me tell you. i'm not from new york and was not around for the birth of this culture,but i was there all throughout the infancy stages. i saw it grow from a baby to a grown man and the entire time i continue to educate the masses. i have been a dj in this culture since 1986. because i have such a love for this culture,i have studied the lives of the poor urban ghetto youth who created it. that includes you freddy. what have i done? i flew to boston last year to attend the MILESTONES ceremony which you hosted and slept in my car just so i could meet you(you signed my wildstyle record. remember?).i have traveled all over the country to meet and speak with many hip hop legends because i want all of you to know that i appreciate what you guys/gals did for me. that's what i have done.

    i am aware that you are involved in this show,that's why i sent this to you as well. let me ask you a question. why is it that out of everyone that responded to this bulletin you are the only one who disagrees? could it be that out of everyone who responded you are the only one on vh1's payroll? i understand that hip hop in now a business. i also understand that you have bills. i believe that if you were not receiving a paycheck from vh1 you would be over here with the rest of us and you would be saying,"why are they honoring "boyz in the hood" and not "wild style?". 4 years it took to honor "the first and best to date" hip hop movie of all time??? c'mon! there are tons of award shows that honor missy and people like her and i don't have a problem with that. but,this is suppose to be the "hip hop" honors. you of all people know that hip hop represents a culture,not a music genre. she's not a hip hop artist,she's a rapper/singer. and not a very good one at that. and while we're on the subject of missy,lets also point out that her fame comes from 3 things. 1. timberland 2. the old school(notice how she wears shelltoes,sweat suits,& fat gold chains these days.and let's not forget all the old school music she uses) and 3. bullshit radio. can you admit that? and you say that you are sitting next to her as an honoree? that is nothing to brag about my brother.

    no need for me to put a show together because i honor the greats on a daily basis.

    "share this with my friends" freddy?
    you bet i will bro. but i noticed you did not share this with any of your friends when i sent it to you. let's see if you do that and let them judge for themselves.

    peace and love darrell d



    Here's some responses Darrell D got from some LEGENDS!!!!!

    ..>
    dj easy lee

    Darryl, I can't agree with you more. I'm so disgusted myself, that I can't even watch. I myself am the only old school DJ to have DJ'ed for (3) three old school pioneer groups. 1. Spoony G 2. Treacherous Three 3. Kool Moe Dee I have releases on my own rap label (EasyLee Records) on The Fearless, Treacherous Three, and Kool Moe Dee. I'm still very active in the music industry in 2007. I started in 1978, and no one even knows who I am. My deceased buddy DJ Scott La Rock, God bless his memory (KRS One fame) is more of a household name thatn I, and he's been gone over ten years. I read so called rap books, and periodicals, and it's like I never existed! I have to explain who I am to even get in a rap pioneer event. I just can't understand it. Thanks for posting, and voicing your opinion.
    ..>

    ..> donald d

    peace thanks for sharin this info...on my main page read my blog hip hop honor....shit ive never been invited 2 the awards....and thats crazy...for me what i dont like about it is...if you are goin to call it hip hop honors....where is the legendary graffiti writers???...where is the b-boys & b-girls???....dont call it hip hop if all the elements are not on the show....freddy got my info and never once said yo donald-d....we need ya present there....damn ive been in it since the days in the parks....doin radio....makin musik....producing...workin in films....touring....one of the most sample lyrics in history....and still putting out musik....yo fab 5 where is my honor????.....oh i guess i need 2 be on mtv & prime time radio 2 get in.....one!!!!


    ..>

    ..> Cee-knowledge a.k.a. doodlebug of digible planets





    yooooo, darrell d you are dat cat!!! i am a fan of yours from this day forth!!! you gave it to him...all your answers were concise and to the point...nuff respect my brother...hip hop is not dead as long as there are men like you standing up for the integrity of our culture...peace cee know the doodlebug

    ..>

    ..> dj louie lou (dj for t la rock)


    Yes,I thought the same thing.It is to damn early to crown Missy as a legend.She is truely talented,but to early for the legendary crown.
    ..>

    ..>..> ..> pep love

    You checked that *****. Fab Five Freddy hasn't been much more than a hip hop Uncle Tom since Yo MTV raps any way. He's defending his work. I guess I can't blame him. Hip Hop honors has bored me to sleep since the first show. I haven't watched it since. One love for representing like that though. Holler at your boy though, Darrell. I'm trying to get back to Arizona soon as possible.
    Pep Love.

    ..>
    ..>..> ..> tony tone

    fab 5 is a real house *****. He's been selling Hip Hop to them for a long time.
    ..> ..>..> ..> dj disco wiz

    D

    you are fighting the Good fight, never feel that you are alone Bro...

    1Love, Wiz


    ..>
    ..>..> ..> phase 2


    peace to you bro...your letter to fab jive freddy was shared with me. there are not too many words that you can sum the so called brother up with. but dildo would be one. i know the man personally know how he slithered into the game...etc..etc...and have been an advocate of the essence and realities and facts of hip hop forever...which would be a good reason why though the brother man knows my track record and history in hip hop you would not see the likes of me in or behind the scenes of a vh1. fred knows the half but he's never gonna let the public know. and as for wild style and the man charlie ahearn who behind the scenes is as full of it and as sincere as a pedophile...he and his movie get no respect from me...for a number of reasons that i will not get into at the moment...i was never involved in it never supported it...but somehow my image and name seems to continue to pop up in connection to it...but not just for historys sake...but for his storys sake..

    there's alot more to vh1 and wild style than meets the eye...as there is to fred too...



    but i commened you for bringing it to the poser. he is just another self serving prop as are the primadonna lady pinks...and the list goes on. alot of folks are not what they appear to be...and if they are put to the test like fab...everyone else and all eyes will see...

    respect...

    ..>
    AND DMC!!!!!!!
    ..>..> ..> dmc

    VH1 Hip Hop Honors has it all wrong. i agree im not involved with the show i just did it. anyway, people think Hip Hop started with Run Dmc and even some think it started with rappers delight, but theres a whole world of Hip Hop that no one knows about! before rap was on records there were the first KIngs and Queens.......Kool Herc, Grandwizard Theodore, Fantastic Five, Flash and The Furious 5, Cold Crush 4, Charlie Chase, Tony Tone, Afrika Bambatta, Zulu Nation, Jazzy 5 MCs, Treacherous 3, DJ Easy Lee, Crash Crew, DJ Darryl C, Breakout, Baron, Force MCs, DR.Rock, Sha ROCK! Does anyone have a Shorn Cee Tape! and a wholel list of Super Stars who are way way way way awesome and influential than these "recording artist" of today. my world of everlasting Hip Hop begins and always will be the days of the cassettes which recorded the live shows! without that Run DMC and Jay would have never been allowed to kick the doors of popular music open! on that note i want you to know that i am starting a network....Darryls Music Channel DMC-TV that will be Hip Hop Cultures Heaven and Haven. im gonna put BET,MTV, CNN,FOX,MSNBC and all the others to rest. Hip Hop Is a way of life!!!!!more powerful than religion and politics combined! also i will be forming the true and chrnologiclly correct Hip hop Hall Of Fame! just like the Rock N roll hall Of Fame!!!!! Cold crush vs Fantastic Five is tape that stays on in my box!!!!! thanks for the concern.
    ..>


    i also recieved a phone call from Biz Markie and had an hour long convo.

  • SPlDEYSPlDEY Vegas 3,375 Posts
    The Vh1 Hip Hop Honors is just another self congratulating TV show that has to appeal to all ages. Do these people really need some "trophy" to prove their worth to the contributions of Hip Hop? The whole concept is ridiculous just another stupid Vh1 TV show.

    I'm glad Revok pulled out a yellow flag on Fab 5 Freddy for biting. He had a solid argument and proof not opinion.

    - spidey

  • staxwaxstaxwax 1,474 Posts
    Yo Cuthbert / Darrel D

    For what its worth:
    The stature of the names co-signing your comments and calling out Fab5 say it all and I couldnt agree more. Calling a show Hip Hop honors and then passing over all the pioneers from the get go and turning it into a pop/radioplay ass fest is a straight insult to all the pioneers who built the culture from the ground up and never got recognized. Especially if they cant even get in!

    Even a new school/90's legend like SadatX who complained recently about going there and being turned away and given some lame excuse by fab. Really? Dont call it the hip hop honors, call it vh1 urban radio awards or some shit. At least add an old school segment to the show and do it right if youre gong to pull the ratings card.

    Fab5 - who everybody knows is sort of a clown and an arbitrary figure - is bigging himself up as a king while disrespecting real and more significant contributors to the culture, typical of how a sell out acts and thinks and typical of all the wrong turns hip hop has been taking because of ignorance, greed, and having been hijacked by outsiders and the record industry. At least Krs signed herc and them when he became an A&R.

    A guy like kool herc who should be a millionaire never saw a decent payday and thats a damn shame. There should be a fund with compulsory contributions from clowns like puffy and master p and all these wack rap millionaires so cats like herc can at least get proper health care when they need it.

    Anyway Revok couldnt have said it better:

    WHERE'S SEVERs' CHEQUE YOU FUCKING CORNBALL?

  • to spidey:

    i you completely missed the point. this is nothing more than some opinions shared by different people in regards to freddy. he has been shady for quite some time now. too bad it was completely over your head.


  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Biting is wack, but the "3 Kings" show title is on the gallery not the artists.
    Unless the artists pitched the concept themselves.
    The gallery can promote the show however they fuckin want to get money.
    They arent confined to Graf/street/keepin it real rules.

  • staxwaxstaxwax 1,474 Posts
    mmm not really

    by participating under that flag you are cosigning

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    staxwax said:
    mmm not really

    by participating under that flag you are cosigning

    So that means Lee and Futura are as guilty since they participated?

    Where how far does the purist illusion go?

  • If Fib 5 Freddie McGhee wants to do some wack Photoshop collage shit you can find at Urban Outfitters that's one thing, but the fact that he culled from multiple Sever pieces all from the same book, that just seems weak and lazy. If you are going to show your work with two artists you know are better than you, you should really try a little harder.

  • So are we saying that Fab 5 is Hip Hops Malcolm McClaren??

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    TheKindCromang said:
    If Fib 5 Freddie McGhee wants to do some wack Photoshop collage shit you can find at Urban Outfitters that's one thing, but the fact that he culled from multiple Sever pieces all from the same book, that just seems weak and lazy. If you are going to show your work with two artists you know are better than you, you should really try a little harder.



    Gallery patrons outside of the graff game dont care about appropriation and recontextualization the same way the keep it real dudes do. The heads arent purchasing this stuff.

  • AlmondAlmond 1,427 Posts
    Biting, and plagiarism in general, is bad, we all know that. But, like Batmon mentioned, the 3 Kings title was probably on the gallery. Artists don't get to choose how an institution does their marketing.

    Speaking of marketing, I bet it was an advertising ploy to get a "big name" like F5F involved. From the beginning, with his MTV show, he was about making hip-hop appeal to a larger audience. Juxtaposing a celebrity and "poseur" alongside graffiti greats Quinones and Futura 2000 had to have been a deliberate move. As for the biting itself, I have no idea how that slipped into the actual show. Oversight at every level. I wouldn't be surprised if an art student intern helped throw together those plagiarized collages. If F5F is as lame-o as we say, I doubt his Photoshop skills would have allowed him to create those pieces in the first place.

    As for the Revok blog post, it's great that he pointed this out, but I really can't get over the typos.

  • Interesting. I never saw any of FFF art until recently in a gallery setting. I was never aware of his contribution to the graffiti or art scene as an artist prior to these recent gallery showings, and I must say that it is exceptionally bad. Biting aside, it is just lazy and uncreative.

    The combination of talent seems definitely orchestrated by the gallery (or perhaps they all share the same agent?) as I would highly doubt that the 3 of them got together and proposed this group showing, unless they are all homies. With that, I wonder why Lee or Futura would agree to show with FFF as an artist, instead of being billed as a two person show, or with another old school graffiti talent. Times can't be that tough money wise, and tacking that gallery onto your artist CV isn't going to make them at this point. It's curious.

    In my experience from a curator / gallery's standpoint, group shows are a lazy way of filling your gallery walls and padding your art show schedule around more serious openings. And on the artists' side, it is another opportunity to peddle older art that didn't sell in previous showings. Save the good shit and current work for your solo showings at higher profile galleries.

  • Almond said:
    But, like Batmon mentioned, the 3 Kings title was probably on the gallery. Artists don't get to choose how an institution does their marketing.

    In most cases, an artist does have the freedom to name their show, rightfully so since it is their art that is being shown. This situation seems to be more of a group showing where it is individual artists being shown collectively as opposed to a group of artists showing their art with collaborative efforts. I'm sure the gallery ran the name by the artists and they were OK with it, or just didn't care. But you guys are right, artists don't always know how to market themselves so they rely on their outlets. In some cases, as creative as they, artists sometimes lack in areas as simple as coming up with a title to their own pieces, titled theme of their body of work, or a gallery show name which is why they depend on their management, curators, or galleries.

  • C'mon the guy painted soup cans on a train! Its not like anyonr else was painting soup cans in new york, or anything

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    speakmumbles said:
    C'mon the guy painted soup cans on a train! Its not like anyonr else was painting soup cans in new york, or anything

    yeah cause real graf dudes dont appropriate

  • jamesjames chicago 1,863 Posts
    I've seen/read a number of things from Fab 5 Freddy where he goes to some lengths to point out that, with regard to hip-hop culture, he's always considered himself more of a "voyeur," kind of a mediator between the art(sy) world and the street.

    I'm not saying that lets him off the hook for everything for ever (all my true-schoolers can, if they want, read that last part as "fuh-evahhh" in their best Cap One voice), but I think purist watchdogs are barking up the wrong tree, looking for consistency and accountability from someone who is by his own admission a pastiche artist.

    This all reads a little like deep house heads going after Madonna or something, or Jimmy Castor or whoever talmbout "That's my snare hit, right there! Hear it?! They stole that!"

  • staxwaxstaxwax 1,474 Posts
    fuh evaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

    it would of just been boom boom boom and that's the way it woulda went

    Fab fell off something awful this time. last drop in the bucket - anyone can take it however they want it.
    theres a thin line between voyeurism, mediation and parasitic 'cock blocking' type moves.



    never forgive action

  • and the drama goes on, Rime (MSK) and Shoe(CIA) add their 2cents into the mix...

    http://jerseyjoeart.com/2011/09/28/the-fab-5-freddy-debate-continues/

  • SPlDEYSPlDEY Vegas 3,375 Posts
    cuthbert151 said:
    to spidey:

    i you completely missed the point. this is nothing more than some opinions shared by different people in regards to freddy. he has been shady for quite some time now. too bad it was completely over your head.

    Yo Cuthbert151,

    I just re-stumbled on this topic after reading about Grandmaster Flash, and after re-reading it I realize I read the whole thing wrong. Not even sure where my vitriol was pointing towards in my response. Just wanted to give you a big apology about my response. Also, a big thank you for sharing what you found on this subject.

    - Diego

  • cuthbert151cuthbert151 116 Posts
    all good spldey. thanks for the reply. hope all is well.
Sign In or Register to comment.