![]() The Garden’s art centre, Jubilee Hall, was also the venue for 1985’s Hip Hop Expo, Freestyle ‘85, which I was lucky enough to get along to. Young graffiti writers would gather there to talk graffiti, swap stories and share pieces. “Devious” also cemented Covent Garden in the lexicon of UK Hip Hop. And this was no more so than the graffiti writers who created works in Covent Garden around 1985. If the word “devious” can define things as “departing from the proper or accepted way” (a devious route), the subculture was certainly throwing up rappers and artists out to try new styles and art, whilst making their mark. The piece was as a statement of intent for UK Hip Hop. It still looks computer generated – it is such a polished piece of artwork. At the time “Devious” looked like it was from another dimension. It also featured the much sought after Buntlack pink paint. Produced by Scribla, it was bold, with upper-case and cut-up letters and a shock of white running through the middle. It was also a Mecca for graffiti writers from all over the place to see new pieces of art – a hall of fame for an influential group of graffiti writers at the time: the Trail Blazers and Chrome Angelz. And way before buskers performed in carefully designated spots, Covent Garden was much more down at heel. Long before Covent Garden took on the more ubiquitous, gentrified look of jet washed paving, high street shops and before lots of sheer glass shop fronts arrived.
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