Among graffiti writers and those influenced by graffiti culture, everyone knows of Darryl “Cornbread†McCray, the first person credited in modern history to write his name on the walls for hood fame. In his native Philadelphia, Cornbread was known for his repetitive nom de guerre all over the City of Brotherly Love in 1965, about six years before Taki 183 was acknowledged by the New York Times for starting the writing epidemic in NYC. “New York had actually took graffiti culture about five levels higher than where Philadelphia was at,†says Cornbread about the pioneers who started painting subway cars.
In an exclusive interview with Mass Appeal, Cornbread, a now mild mannered 63-year-old who still lives in North Philly, came all the way to Manhattan to grab a can of Rusto, get up on a wall on the Lower East Side and give up a piece of history. Aging gracefully has only allowed Cornbread to continue to eloquently describe his adventures and what it’s like to be considered the planet’s very first writer. Watch the legend speak about his origins as a young writer in a Philadelphia juvenile detention center, giving autographs to judges while in court and intricate details of the infamous painted elephant story at the Philadelphia Zoo.
Growing up in Munich, Germany, Loomit developed an interest in sketching at an early age. The local Baroque church and comic books were early artistic influences. In 1983, hip-hop became his new focus, especially bombing graffiti in Munich, to where he and his mother moved that year. In 1987, he travelled to New York and met writers such as Seen and Zephyr. Loomit's legendary murals at a popular flea market in Munich became world famous and led graffiti into a new era of large-format wall paintings which today can be admired everywhere. In 1991, he travelled to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States, painting murals along the way. His tireless desire to travel and his work mania made him part of a small elite of the world’s most prominent sprayers in the 1990s.
At that time it was Loomit who met MOLOTOW´s founder and paint specialist Jurgen Feuerstein and introduced him to the so called graffiti scene. Since more than 20 years Loomit and MOLOTOW has a strong relationship. Loomit is a brand supporter since day one, MOLOTOW dedicated the MOLOTOW PREMIUM artist color Apricot and Aubergine to him and his career.
On the MOLOTOW Train he painted one of his typical organic 3D style themes (together with BertOne) as well as one 2D Graffiti panel style on the other side of the train.