Synopsis:
The Nasty TERRIBLE T-KID 170: Julius Cavero chronicles his coming of age as a poor Latino from the Bronx in the 70’s where a young boy named Julius would be forced into New York gang life. His canvas of choice, subway cars. He would channel the anger & pain from being disregarded by society & even his family spraying it out onto the subway cars for the public to see. Until now the story of T-Kid 170 has been kept within the sub culture of graffiti. This film uses nearly 30 years worth of archived footage & never before seen home movies. The viewer is given a rare glimpse into the world of subway graffiti. You follow T-Kid into train yards all over the world, through his trials & tribulations from arrest, addiction, violence, love, and triumphs. Follow the story of one man’s rise to becoming a legend & witness the story of someone who came from the bottom to write his name on the top. T-kid is one of few, who have left their mark on the history of graffiti, coming up in the golden age of Hip Hop & becoming one of the leading figures in the emerging New York graffiti scene. His style, 3-D letters and unique characters have been a source of inspiration for many other writers from all four corners of the globe.
What We Thought:
I was not familiar with Julius Cavero’s work at all so The Nasty Terrible T-Kid 170 was totally new to me. I didn’t realize there even were graffiti “legends”.
Knowing nothing about Julius or even graffiti “art” for that matter, I did learn something from watching it. I had no idea there were different types of styles and techniques and that it was looked at as an art form in other parts of the world.
Julius himself got to travel the world showcasing some of his work meeting other graffiti artists and regular artists. Who knew?
My biggest issue with the documentary is actually Julius. He’s the type of guy I can’t stand. He brags about everything and acts like he was part of everything. Break dancing, rap & early hip-hop, oh yeah he was definitely there before everyone else. Maybe he was, but I’ve never heard of the guy.
That’s the problem I have with guys like that. He’s somewhat famous in the art and graffiti art world, why does he try to pass himself off as part of everything? No one outside his world knows who he is, but according to him, if it happened in the Bronx from the 1970s through the 1980s, he was there and started it.
That being said, I still found The Nasty Terrible T-Kid 170 interesting and I actually learned something. Julius may be a loud mouthed New Yorker type, but at least I learned about the graffiti world. And I will give him credit for never tagging someone’s personal property only trains, buildings and public stuff.
RECOMMENDED FOR GRAFFITI/HIP HOP FANS!
Bonus Features:
- None
Cast & Crew:
- Julius Cavero
- Goldie
Recommended If You Like:
- Basquiat
- Graffiti
- Hip Hop Style Documentaries
The Nerds Templar 