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advent of hip hop culture. In the hands of some of the most creative forerunners, including PHASE 2 and TAKI 183, graffiti work or “tags” became eye-catching and original. By 1975, graffiti was the visual marker of the burgeoning culture. Graffiti “taggers” who left their per- sonalized imprints on everything from subway cars to the sides of buildings also proliferated around this period as young people yearned for hopeful expressions of identity (Rahn 4). Working mostly at night- time and by sneaking into the yards, or holding areas for the city’s sub- way cars, graffiti writers became a challenge to the civil authorities. Graffiti became a way of getting “published” for the tagger who may not have other educational or economic resources (Banes 14) to establish a presence in the public space as an artist. Taggers often renamed themselves with symbolic nicknames—a trend that would also be mimicked by DJs, MCs, and break dancers—and thrived in a close-knit community where people knew each other and respected a closely guarded commodity. Other similarities between graffiti tag- ging and break dancing include the terms used for identifying good work—“burning” the competition—or “battles,” where dancers or Introduction xvii Graffiti in the New York City subway, 1972. (AP Photo.)