Sunday, February 23, 2014

When cutting and pasting meant cutting and pasting...

Today we can all relate to the copy/cut and paste shortcut keystrokes of the digital age, but this post is the opposite of that. The late Buddy Esquire was the grass roots pioneer of copy, cutting and pasting marquis art deco style hip hop flyers that helped weave the techno funky fresh fabric of hip hop in the early days. Buddy Esquire had a trademark style that was clean,and classy yet still funky and raw at the same time. In todays world everyone is an amazing graphic designer, letter smith, artist, illustrator etc. and in my opinion it is largely due to the accessibility for resource and inspiration via the internet. In the early days it was hard work to research and find inspiration, and not to mention all the labor was done manually before it went to the copy machine were it was finalized. When I heard the Buddy Esquire had passed I took the time to look up his portfolio of work, and it really made me think of how far the world has come from and amore importantly hip hop itself has evolved into such a technolgical industry. For over half of my life I have been into the study of lettering, design, and more importantly hip hop and its sub cultures, I wanted to pay homage to someone who paved the way and inspired myself and many others to carry on the traditions of style, and class. REST IN PEACE.....BUDDY ESQUIRE