If you find yourself in the New York area tonight, we suggest you leave your house and go see Rammellzee’s “The Equation” at The Suzanne Geiss Company.  The graffiti writer, performance artist, hip-hop musician, art theoretician, and sculptor was a unique individual who created compelling work.  This exhibition will explore the work of the reclusive artist, his manifestos and the science fiction-influenced culture that he embodied. The show will run through April 21st, 2012.

One of the most fascinating artists to come out of the hip-hop and graffiti movements in the 1980s, as well as the highlight of MOCA's 2011 Art In the Streets and our issue done in conjunction was the late Rammellzee, a true visual and musical pioneer. Starting tonight, March 8, the artist's The Letter Racers sculptures will be on view in NYC for the first time, at the Suzanne Geiss Company. Do the Armory, then do this.

One of the most fascinating artists to come out of the hip-hop and graffiti movements in the 1980s, as well as the highlight of MOCA's 2011 Art In the Streets and our issue done in conjunction was the late Rammellzee, a true visual and musical pioneer. Starting March 9, the artist's The Letter Racers sculptures will be on view in NYC for the first time.

"One of hip-hop’s most enigmatic figures, RAMMELLZEE was a graffiti writer, rapper, and sculptor. Born in Far Rockaway. Queens, RAMMELLZEE began a brief graffiti career on the A train in the mid-1970s. By the early 1980s, he was creating paintings and three-dimensional sculptures of letters, many of which were shown in galleries and museums.  RAMMELLZEE viewed lettering as a form of weaponry and believed graffiti could liberate the mystical power of the alphabet, as a theory put forth in the manifestos “Ikonoklast Panzerism” and “Gothic Futurism”.

Throughout the early '90s Angela Boatwright was a growing presence within the New York skate community and at underground hardcore shows. In the past fourteen years she’s photographed countless celebrities and bands, such as Black Crowes, Interpol, Shephard Fairey, Andrew WK, Method Man, Ellen Page, and Juliette Lewis.

One of the best rooms at MOCA, and to us one of the most important, was the "experience" that was the Rammellzee installation. Having passed away last year, and being such a pivotal figure in hip-hop, graffiti, and experimental culture and art in general, his inclusion in the show, and to this capacity, was essential. More after the jump . . .

We go back to 1983, an era of hip-hop, graffiti, and street culture that our April 2011 Art In the Streets Issue covers, and give you the masterpiece work of graffiti artist, musician and futurist, Rammellzee, and hip-hop artist K-Rob, "Beat Bop." And to round it out, Jean-Michel Basquiat did the single's cover artwork. Listen after the jump . . .

April 2011 marks a special issue for Juxtapoz Magazine, as we were asked by the MOCA to create a companion issue to the first major instituitional retrospective of street art, Art In the Streets. As we documented street art to a wider-audience of fine art, tattoo, pop-surreal, and illustrative art enthusiasts over our 17 years, we wanted to create an extended dialog and history with graffiti and street art pioneers. More after the jump . . .