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BITING
I have a slightly different definition of biting to many writers. Me and Dreph made up a crew called
Hard to The Core in 1992. The symbol is an apple with a bite out of it and a cross to signify "No!"
Some writers contested this, saying that biting is the means to learn graff and for style to
proliferate. So here is my explanation.
"Mo'Bounce" Wolverhampton 1998 |
Wolverhampton 1995 |
Biting for me is not when somebody uses a style or is influenced by another writer. There is a fine
line between influence and biting, and to me the turning point depends on the taker's attitude to
the other writer and to the style. Biting to me is taking and then denying the writer the credit for
that which was taken. I think it also depends on the the relationship between the writers. I look at
it like this. You've got an album in your house, precious to you. Its the difference between a
stranger walking in and stealing it, then denying he did it, or a mate who borrows it and says
thanks....
Wolverhampton 1997
One thing you get from spending time in New York is a sense of the importance of knowing who did
what and where things came from (I've spent a total of about 3-4 months out there). Nobody could
claim to know the whole story of writing; much of it is folk lore and subject to personal opinion
and bias. But it is important to always question and push the boundaries of your knowledge... I try
to constantly re-evlauate my opinions and ideologies. I will say what I like and think is important
in our culture, but I would only say something is wrong if its fucking with what other people are
doing. At the end of the day, I might think a style is shit, but thats just my opinion.
Hear No Evil (SIN crew) 1998 |
Manifestin' HipHop Skills 1998 |
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