Oral History with RIFF 170 (Bronx Aerosol Arts Documentary Project)

Oral history recorded for the Bronx Aerosol Arts Documentary Project on April 25, 2023 with RIFF170, aerosol art writer, style master, and artist. RIFF170, the son of a Native American mother and Black father, speaks about his family history, including his 11 eleven siblings, and growing up in the South Bronx's Mitchell Houses near 136th Street and Rider Ave. RIFF170 recounts his first experience motion tagging on the inside of subway cars using his first tag Stagger 170 and the various tags that would follow in his aerosol career. RIFF170 speaks fondly of his mentor PHASE2 and explaining the meaning of his tag RIFF170 which stems from the Reading Is Fundamental which he redefined as Reading Is Fundamentally Fantastic and the number of the street nearest to his home...170. He discusses his various writing styles including the "mechanical" style he became well known for. In this oral history RIFF170 recalls making flyers for DJ Kool Herc and Coke La Rock jams. He speaks about the negative connotations of the word graffiti and his preference for the would aerosol art.

The interviewers are Butch2, a pioneering graffiti writer and community historian for the The Bronx Aerosol Arts Documentary Project (BAADP) and Pastor Crespo, Jr., research librarian and archivist for The Bronx County Historical Society. The Bronx Aerosol Arts Documentary Project is a project of The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library. This oral history is brought to you through the support of The New York City Council Cultural Immigrant Initiative.