On This date in 2019, graffiti icon Michael Lawrence Marrow aka True Mathematics Allah aka PHASE 2 passed away in his hometown of NYC from complications of Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 64 Years Old.
Phase 2 was one of the first graffiti artists to become popular in his community. He was a DJ, made flyers with the famed Buddy Esquire for Bronx Hip Hop functions and was a member of the B-Boy crew Electrified Movement. Phase 2 is also widely recognized for creating the “Bubble” letter style of graffiti.
As aerosol art took off during the late 1970s, Wood engaged himself in spreading the developing Hip Hop scene from the Bronx to Manhattan. Since the beginning of his career to now, Phase 2 has demonstrated his works in various global presentations devoted to urban art and aerosol.
PHASE 2 is undoubtedly recognized as the father of modern day graffiti as was one of the legends of the world renowned “Writer’s Bench” at the 149th Street subway station in the South Bronx. As an innovator of style, PHASE 2 drifted away from simple tags to a more unconventional, “hieroglyphical calligraphic abstraction” style of writing tags.
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