The Good Lo Days

One thing I can say for sure about the Old New York I know about is that we always set standards for the rest of the world wether its music, fashion, dance or anything that has to do with culture. All over the world people copy what we do. Especially when it comes to shit like hip hop which is most definitely a BIG part of that Old New York flavor. Back in the day, I'd say BK was ahead of the game as far as niggas dress'n dip & shit and they was gully about how they got their gear too. Motha fuckas would bum rush stores and clear racks and run out with it all. I mean it was nuts, fuck'n straight nuts. Around 1992 I started hang'n in the Vill. This is when shit was crazy out there. Astor place was the place to go get hair cuts. I can remember going there just to bomb the bathrooms. For me that was a big deal. Back then the bathrooms had tags from dudes all over the 5 boro's. Around the corner was Uniques. They too was another place I was always thirsty to go and write my name on shit. They had these lockers in the front of the store that you would pass on the way out. It was covered in marker tags & stickers, just layers of shit. Further down B'way was a store called EMS and boy did we bang them out for all kinds of gear. Around this time (1992) A group of really young kids formed the ill squad of really young juvenile delinquents who came from all over the city to hang out & break night. I cant front, from these kids is where I learned how to rack shit. Up the back, down the leg, sleev'n shit and of course the good old fashion Lizzie bag. Most of you probably dont even have a clue of what Im talk'n bout Willis. Well what Im talk'n bout is boost'n shit like my name was David Copperfield. Now these Bk cats put me on to a lot of ways on how to get busy. As a kid with no real family and not a whole lot of nice things in life, I paid attention. I too wanted to be dipped in Lo from head to toe with the girlie's jocking as well. I'd be with these kids & see'm get busy and I realized that if they can do it, so can I. But when I got busy with it, I would go alone and play the preppy herb kid dressed like I was from the Upper East Side. No one would ever look my way and stop to think I was bang'n them in the head. My last year of high school was up the block from Macy's. Everyday I'd detour through the Lo section and something would get got by me. I also spent so much stolen money in there that the people knew me to spend doe in there so I really never had an issue with being watched. Its all so crazy to me now that I think about it.Whats even a lil more nuts is I be came really cool with this lady who ran the Lo section in Macy's, her name was Sharon and to this day she has no clue that, that sweet little white boy was getting over. Dam I feel bad and she still works there. I still see her to this day in there when Im shopping with my daughter, but now I can afford to pay for the things I want. A lot of stuff that I took from Macy's was always returned to Paragons downtown. They where hip to us boost'n in there but dumb as rocks when it came time to us returning shit for store credit. Im telling you we had all of this on lock, especially them Brooklyn niggas. They knew what time it was fo sho. Then there was a store called BFO on 5th ave. they was hip too to us racking, but clueless to us throwing shit out the window to others outside waiting for goodies to fall from the sky. Dam those was the days. Back then, nothing got paid for. It was a free for all from sneakers to clothes to paint & markers to food. Even going to the movies we did not pay. Ahhhhhhhh the good 'ol Dinkins days. Thank you Mayor Dinkins for letting us run wild through your city. Well my city, cause I had my way. We did so much bad stuff then that I look back now and cant even fathom how we all got away with it. Definitely a different time. Believe it or not, I still have a good amount of Lo from back then. That shit seems to be more popular now then before. Its outta this world the price that people will pay for some of that stuff now. Go look on ebay, you will see things selling for $3000 its bananas when the original price was like $298 for like a Snow Beach pullover jacket. Straight RETARDED! The one thing thats different now then before is you dont have to worry about getting robbed for your shit. Us as RFC or them Brooklyn cats as well, we would leave you in ya fuck'n skivvies in the street. They would take it all like vultures to a carcase. Now dudes from Japan & all over the country pay top dollar for that shit on ebay not knowing what it was all about. That whole shit was a movement that unless you was there, you'll never understand. It was also such a rush. I can remember going on spree's coming home with 2 to 3 G's worth of shit being like dam, how Ima tell my foster parents where I got all of this from. Fuck it, I didnt really care any ways. Well Now shit is not the same, but I have pictures, memories, clothes and friends to share them days with. Good 'Ol New York.