Rammellzee facts for kids

Rammellzee (pronounced "Ram: Ell: Zee"; born December 15, 1960 – died June 28, 2010) was a very creative artist from New York City. He was known for his unique style in many art forms. He was a graffiti artist, a painter, and a sculptor. He also performed as an artist and was a hip hop musician. Many people say he helped bring new, experimental ideas into hip-hop culture. Since 2021, his artwork is shown and sold by Jeffrey Deitch.

Early Life and Education

Rammellzee's unique "wildstyle" graffiti signature.

Rammellzee was born on December 15, 1960, in Far Rockaway, Queens. His mother was African-American, and his father was Italian and worked as a transit detective. He grew up in the Carlton Manor Projects, close to the A train station. His graffiti art started appearing on New York City subway cars and stations in the 1970s. He often tagged the A-train because it was his local line.

Rammellzee also explored other interests. He studied dentistry at the Clara Barton High School for Health Professions. He even worked as a model for Wilhelmina Models for a short time. He also briefly studied jewelry design at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).

Artistic Journey and Collaborations

Rammellzee became known to a wider audience through the 1982 movie Wild Style by Charlie Ahearn. Before that, he was already famous in graffiti groups. He painted New York subway trains with other artists like DONDI and doctor Revolt. He used different names for his graffiti, such as Hyte, Hytestyr, EG, Sharissk Boo, Razz, and Maestro.

Rammellzee was sometimes part of a music group called Death Comet Crew. He also started his own group called Tag Master Killers. This group included other well-known graffiti artists like A-One and Toxic.

He became good friends and worked with the famous artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. In 1982, Rammellzee and Toxic went with Basquiat to Los Angeles. They called themselves the Hollywood Africans. This name was a way to speak out against how African Americans were often shown in Hollywood movies.

The three artists are shown in Basquiat's paintings, like Hollywood Africans in front of the Chinese Theater with Footprints of Movie Stars (1983). Rammellzee was an early hip-hop artist. He created special ways of singing and rapping that were unique in the early 1980s.

His song "Beat Bop," made with rapper K-Rob, is very famous. The cover art for the song was done by Basquiat. Some people think "Beat Bop" is one of the most valuable hip-hop records for collectors. The song was also featured in the film Style Wars.

Rammellzee also appeared briefly in Jim Jarmusch's 1984 film Stranger Than Paradise. His artistic style influenced many later artists, including the Beastie Boys and Cypress Hill.

In 1988, Rammellzee and his band Gettovetts recorded an album called Missionaries Moving. He also worked with writer William S. Burroughs on the 1989 album Seven Souls. Rammellzee even wrote an opera called "The Requiem of Gothic Futurism" in 1985.

He was the first artist to work with the streetwear brand Supreme. In 1994, he hand-painted trucker hats for their first store. In 2003, Rammellzee released his first album, This Is What You Made Me. He also performed with the Death Comet Crew again. His second album, Bi-Conicals of the Rammellzee, came out in 2004.

Gothic Futurism: Rammellzee's Art Theory

Rammellzee's graffiti and art are based on his special idea called Gothic Futurism. This idea describes a battle between letters and how they fight against being forced into standard rules by the alphabet.

He wrote a detailed paper called Ionic treatise Gothic Futurism assassin knowledges of the remanipulated square point's one to 720° to 1440°. In this paper, he explains a plan to change how language is used in society. Rammellzee often performed wearing his own unique masks and costumes. These outfits represented different characters that were part of his "mathematical equation" of who Rammellzee was.

Building on his Gothic Futurism idea, he called his later art Ikonoklast Panzerism. This artwork has been shown in art galleries across the US and Europe. His works, like Letter Racers, often included art by people known more for their music.

Afrofuturism and Language

Rammellzee's work is also seen as part of Afrofuturism. This is because he often used language in a very advanced way, almost like a technology. A main idea in Afrofuturism is using language to overcome the Digital Divide. However, Rammellzee himself said that "there is no such thing as Afro Futurism." He felt his work was more connected to old European traditions than to Afrofuturism.

His Gothic Futurism theory tries to break down the English language as we know it. The "battle between letters" in his writings uses language as a tool to fight against the strict rules of the alphabet. He created a new story about language. This story suggests that his way of using language could help people feel free and reduce the Digital Divide.

Also, Rammellzee's Letter Racers are meant to show each letter fighting in space battles. This symbolically challenges the normal rules and uses of the 26-letter alphabet.

Rammellzee described his Letter Racers like this: "Humans...in the 14th Century the monks ornamented and illustrated the manuscripts of letters. In the 21st and 22nd century the letters of the alphabet through competition are now armamented for letter racing and galactic battles. This was made possible by a secret equation known as THE RAMM:ELL:ZEE."

Rammellzee is celebrated in the song 'Come On Every Beat Box' by Big Audio Dynamite. In 2010, the artist Buckethead released a tribute song called 'Rammellzee: Hero of the Abyss'.

Personal Life and Legacy

Rammellzee was married to Carmela Zagari Rammellzee. He passed away in New York City on June 28, 2010, when he was 49 years old. The official cause of death was heart disease.

Understanding His Name

He legally changed his name to Rammellzee in 1979. His friends respected his wish not to share his birth name. He sometimes used the shorter name "Ramm." He explained that his name comes from RAM plus M for Magnitude, Sigma (Σ) which means "summation," the first L for longitude, the second L for latitude, and Z for z-bar, followed by another Σ. He said a mentor named Jamel-Z, whom he met in 1977, inspired his name.

The Battlestation Studio

Rammellzee's home and art studio was called Battlestation. It was located on 46 Laight Street in the TriBeCa area of New York City. He shared this space with his wife, Carmela. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was a popular place for artists to visit. Rammellzee's artwork and costumes created a very unique and artistic atmosphere there.

After the events of 9/11, the building was sold to build new apartments. This meant Rammellzee and Carmela had to move to a smaller place. They had to put 20 years' worth of his artwork into a storage unit. Some of this stored work was later shown in the 2011 art exhibition, Art in the Streets at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. In May 2018, Red Bull Arts New York held a large exhibition called RAMMΣLLZΣΣ: Racing for Thunder. It was described as the biggest show of his work to date.

Exhibitions and Collections

Rammellzee's art has been shown in many important art exhibitions around the world. These shows helped people understand his unique ideas and artistic style.

His work is also kept in major public art collections, meaning they are owned by museums for everyone to see. These include:

• The Museum of Modern Art in New York, which has his "Beat Bop" record and a series of drawings called Alphabet.
• The Museum of Graffiti in Miami.

Music Discography

Rammellzee released several albums and singles during his music career.

Studio albums

Singles & EPs