Novem Life, Yo!

This man is a legend in the Chicago streets, with over a decade of hard work put in. So, whether you live in a cave and have never seen FACT’s work, or you’re a huge fan of the man, you don’t wanna miss his art show on October 23rd. In addition to displaying his work, we’ve collaborated with FACT on a limited-edition tee that’ll be available the night of his opening reception.Check out the interview below for more info on Fact and his work:

When did you start writing and why?

I started writing in about 1992. I was born into this shit! It also was real popular in the neighborhood. My brothers were all into Hip-Hop and graffiti in the 1980’s. I remembered being forced to practice the wave and
lettering at the age of 5. I didn’t even want to do it. By the time I was 9, I got siked about tagging, and really wanted to be cool like my brother and all his friends. KMD, WET, and DAD crew was always around me as kid. Back then, everyone knew how to skate, breakdance, tag, and they all rocked girbauds, had free voicemail boxes, pagers, and of course,the ladies. Everyone had to do something cool to be respected. It was
always about showing off your skills, being stronger, sportier,wittier, funnier, and cooler. I feel like this is still relevant with the youth, even with adults today.

How’d you choose the name “Fact”?

It was 1994 and wanted a dope name. I wanted something with meaning, something real to me. Everybody had corny names because they liked the letters, or names that meant stuff to them. The art of facts “wrong side of the tracks” video came out, and I was like I’m taking that name. Nobody I knew wrote it and it stuck with me. I was 12, and I was like, I have the illest name. I got hyped about it and that was it.

You’ve always repped JMC hard. Tell us about the crew- how it started and how you got involved.

My oldest brother started JMC in the 80’s as a hardcore breakin’ crew. It was the Jam Master Crew, named after RUN DMC’s Jam Master J, cause my oldest brother’s name was JASON. It was our family crew passed on from generations. The name represented being the Jam Masters of the parties, battles, etc.. It
was just a dope old skool name for the era. In 1993, my other brother SOKE brought it back as breaking crew , even stronger with Graff writers,mcs, djs, gangbangers, hustlers, etc. They snapped back then and were some of the dopest breakers during that time. The crew was very diverse in race and age,and everyone was ill at rolling blunts, racking and macking. We also had a dope hand shake. They helped start MUL, and linked up with CHI-ROCK.Things changed when 2 members of the crew were murdered. Then in 1996 when
I got into High School, I had a Jamaster squad, and we were breaking and bombing etc. More graff heads got down, and we started FOC.. I felt entitled to keep rocking the crew, and keep the crew spirit, as an ill crew with dope dudes. We always had our own style and stood out from the bboy, puma suit trend. We used to battle in timberlands, and boots, with baggy jeans and crazy hats! It always been a about being fresh, rocking ill gear, being respected, and having style and finesse.. We’re still here with new and old
breed, breaking, bombing, rapping, and kicking it. RIP Dave “STOREE”, Sokari “ANKH” and VER.

What other crews do you rep?

X-MEN, Spray Brigade, J4F, Dirty-30, and UAC

How has the graff game changed in the CHI since you started? Is it better or worse? Why?

Its cool because I think more kids are doing it, I think. It’s likeable by the youth, culture, and fashion. It seems a little bit acceptable in urban culture, yet its still considered vandalism? It sucks now though
because their so many wack, unreadable styles and biting. There’s all these lames and sticker nerds who think their vandals or bombers, but don’t put in work. It’s almost like a fad, or a trend. Kids get popped and get high penalties, discouraging them to bomb because they’re afraid of getting into
trouble. The brown wall buff sucks, because you can do something, and your risking your work getting painted over within a day.. Getting paint sucks cause you have to go far, and its a little harder to rack. There’s only a few peeps whom are doing innovative work for the times, and hitting dope
spots. I mean, if you look at old flicks, the stuff people were doing in the 90’s with krylon and rusto will burn a lot of the garbage out today. But its a lot harder though. I think that’s what I like about it, you have
to work real hard to get recognition in our city. It’s a cold city, with mean streets, gentrification, joe hero tricks, punk ass cops, mark ass busters, harsh penalties, gangbangers, and the buff. Gotta love it.

You’ve always had a fresh slang style- making up words and phrases. How’d
these Fact-isms begin?

I think I might of been lil stoned making up stuff that sounded like something, but it was always just having fun with words. Its like freestyle rap, making nicknames, or creating your own extensions on words. Its usually just me being goofy and speaking in code so that only certain people can know or guess what I’m talking about. Really, we just made a million different words for weed to be sneaky and funny. Its great to clown around and make stuff up with your own little flavor. I’m definitely down wit the ill-communicationals sensational actional notorious.

You’ve bombed with a lot of different writers. Do you have a favorite
partner? Do you prefer goin out solo now?

I like going with people whom are safe, but have balls. It’s important to be cautious, but it’s really important to take risk. I learned you have to be down to go out and put in work, with or without people. I like going out
with people from my crews. It helps to have a posse, and extra sets of eyes, but its pretty nice being solo, going out, and getting things done. Whether its trains or walls, its important to plan stuff, but also to have the guts to do what it takes. You gotta know your consequences, that your risking your freedom every time you go out. Paint good, and fast!

I remember seeing you with 2 broken arms back in the day. What’s the
story behind that?

It was 1999, and I was painting a rooftop during Thanksgiving break. It was in Logan Square on this dope roof off the e-way. I was with somebody, but for some reason his fat ass didn’t climb up over the fence. I climbed on to another roof, and began getting ready to rock another fill. I seen flashlights moving around and I got spooked. I climbed down a pole to jump off, but I seen that it was wayyyy to far. I kinda was just hanging around the pole, while all my paint and new cd’s were just falling out of my pockets, 3 stories to the ground. I knew it was a bad idea, but while I was hanging there, I decided to let go. I thought I could a do a tumble roll to minimize the impact. It was the craziest feeling ever falling fast as hell to ground. I landed hard as hell, and got up and ran. I was so geeked, I didn’t even know my arms were broken till I got to the store. I was just so excited to get away, but when I saw my hands, it kicked in that my arms were broken. I went in shock, and I was buggin out. An ambulance came , and then I experienced the most excruciating pain in my life. They had to pull my bones back into place as soon as I got into the ambulance. I was in a cast for 3 months. Crazy stuff man!

How has the transition from graff to fine art been for you? What’s most
challenging?

Fine art is cool, and If you can hang it up in your crib, put it on t-shirt, or decorate something nice, then it works. Its hard for me to paint what I visualize. I have a hard time painting my visions, so I kind of just do
what I know. Sometimes people ask me to paint stuff, and I’m like I can do that, but it won’t be that authentic. I do it, but it’s not the same thing as creating some organic. It’s really challenging to step out of your graff boundaries and make good art that people can appreciate. I feel like the more effort and focus, the better. I always feel stressed for time, and in hurry. There is the sense of last minute deadlines and scrambling. I am always doing a million things at once, and its hard to get motivated on doing something beautiful. And when I do have time, I still wait to the last minute. That’s why I always stick to bombing. It fast paced, simple, and I can do what I need to do in a few minutes. Plus I’m doing what I want to do.
Of course the more time you spend, the better your work will come out. Doing the same boring stuff is lame too though. You got to challenge yourself to get out of the box, and try something new. It’s nice to create something, and be confident that the work is going to be the quality. I love being hype about painting or designing something, especially if I can kind of feel it. That’s why as an artist, I’ve decided to do what I love. I do for myself, but I do what I do for the people whom know me or respect what I do.
Sometimes I don’t even like it but it is what it is. Make it do what it do!

Now that you work with kids, what advice do you give them about graff,
art, and hip-hop?

Art is a great tool, and passion for me, and want to encourage kids to use it to be positive and healthy. Hip-Hop and graffiti has taught me a lot about myself, and the people I work with in the community. It helps kids learn to be original, smart, confident, creative and cool! It teaches us about our culture, our society, and our people’s movement. It’s really important to know the history, be your own person, and to know the streets. The kids need to know the laws and systems too. How to deal with authorities, parents, teachers, and adults with this art. It’s about fame and respect, but being the best that we can be, and applying ourselves to be better. Stay humble kids, but get it in! One piece of advice I got from DIGS back in the day was “consistency is the key.” This applies towards any element of Hip-Hop or anything! If you want it, get it, do it, practice your skills and hone it down! Rock it, don’t stop it!

What’s next for Fact?

I’m definitely busy with da Youth, and will continue to keep the shorties rocking. I’m planning on traveling some more, but the CHI always be home. I wanna do more burners, and characters. Design, print, and t-shirts areawesome, and I think I’m gonna keep dabbling around in that. on the reals tho, I’m definitely going to continue rockin throw-ups, having fun doing cool stuff, and doing art.

Check in at theartoffact.com