Back in 2020, I received a message giving me props for the New Breed Documentary, chronicling the compilation tape Chaka Malik, and I did in 1989. Towards the end of said message, the writer casually mentioned that he had played in an old UK punk band called Blitz. I think I immediately texted Chaka saying, "Hey, Mackie from Blitz digs our comp and the documentary!’ He was like, "Whoa!"
We were both flabbergasted; growing up in the mid to late '80s NYHC scene, there were few bands that to us captured the spirit of punk with the rawness of hardcore and Blitz fit that aesthetic to a T. Their reputation was further cemented in 1988 when Judge covered "Warriors" in the seminal New York Crew EP and their influence has continued to reverberate throughout the decades.
While stroking up a friendship with Mackie, I discovered he also had a huge passion for NYC graffiti and was a talented visual artist, so I asked him to contribute art to my graffiti black book series, and so far, he’s done a page in each one of the Oi!/hardcore/punk zines I’ve published. I wanted to showcase these amazing pieces, as well as some older work, and get his thoughts on art in general. Thank you, Mackie, for being a lifer that continues to inspire, and please check out his current band, Rivalry.
Did you have any formal art background, or were you self-taught?
I always liked drawing and doodling around when I was younger. It was my favorite lesson in school because it didn't seem like school. We could just pick a subject and either draw, paint, or do a collage; our art teacher would leave us to it. I don't ever remember any actual tutoring like, ‘oh, try doing this, or yeah, looks good, but try it like this.
Besides doing art for zines back in the ’80s, did you ever do anything for your band or other groups?
I did all the artwork for Blitz. I enjoyed doing it, and the lads seemed to like my stuff, so it was never really a question of who would. I did a few small bits for the Violators and Attak.
How did you get into graffiti, and specifically what was coming out of NYC?
It always fascinated me in the old films, the subway trains, and the street art. Tags and images just looked so cool to me.
Who are some of your favorite graffiti writers?
Lee Quinones or Zoro, all that crazy wild style stuff. Blade, who really popularized the art form, was a groundbreaking artist. I'll admit I'm no expert, but if I see a nice image or lettering, I always think it looks cool.
Any visual artists in the punk/hardcore field you admire?
I loved all the Crass artwork; that stuff blew our tiny little punk minds back in the day. All the American Hardcore flyers and sleeves. The Black Flag Raymond Pettibon art was always amazing, such a part of the band’s image.
I love Shepard Fairey’s style; he has done plenty of punk-related work, and a guy called Anders Gjennestad, a Norwegian stencil artist. We used one of his images for Rivalry’s Sometime You Have to Look Back album.
I’ve seen you’ve done some graf pieces for bands like Big Cheese and Murda Twinz, plans to do anymore?
That was just mucking around with the old Outburst logo lettering, which I always liked, and Big Cheese is so good and underrated. I did some work for my band, Rivalrys, and for Brassneck Records, and a t-shirt design for Murda Twinz, who are promoters in Copenhagen. If I fancy it and can come up with a design or image, I'll have a go.
Which medium do you prefer: ink on paper, paints or computer graphics?
I'm an old-school rough-in with a pencil, and I finish with a marker or fine liner. I do have a tablet, but I'm struggling to use it to create art. I might dig deeper now that I have more time on my hands. When it comes to Photoshop for flyers and t-shirts, I usually work with my brother. He's great at that side of things, so I point and direct and come up with the ideas, then he helps me with the tech side.
I'm sure AI will be very useful for a lot of good, like medical studies and easing the time spent on repetitive tasks. I'm scared of what it's going to do to the creative process, like "AI, make me a New York Hardcore album cover with an old school graf font." And it will just make its version, which, from what I've seen, is pretty horrendous.
Which are your favorite songs on the New Breed comp?
Absolution, Beyond, the whole comp is great, from the bands to the artwork, it captures the moment perfectly.
If you could see one NYHC band in its prime, who would it be?
Warzone, AF, Judge. I mean, there are so many.
Thank you so much for doing all those amazing pages for my black book series. Any backstory on why you picked a particular band to do?
The one that springs to mind is Damian from Fucked Up. It's a photo of him, all bleeding and stuff, and I did the lettering around him. I think it came out really well.
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Check out Rivalry on Bandcamp and Instagram.
Tagged: blitz
