Sasquatch Productions

In 2023 I curated an exhibition on Scottish hip hop for the conference “Innovation in music” at Napier university. The images I have chosen are a small representation of that exhibition that span what are called the ‘Pillars’ of hip hop. The ‘Pillars’ of hip hop are: Breakdancing, MC’ing (rapping), Graffiti and DJ’ing with the fifth being Knowledge.  

Battle time at The Plaza

Hip hop culture in Scotland began like the rest of Europe through the Breakdancing craze of the early 1980’s. The Plaza ballroom in Glasgow was a meeting place for Breakdancers from all over the country which ran from 1984-1986. The images are of a Breakdance crew called the “Glasgow City Breakers” or “GCB” and their rivals the “Lazer City Crew” from Irvine. Their intense rivalry resulted in ‘battles’ witnessed by 800-1000 young people in a highly charged competition.  

Nancy and crew

Nancy and crew at battle

As the longest serving female break dancer in Scotland Nancy or ‘Traki-G’ from ‘The links’ in Kirkcaldy began with her crew ‘Electro 4’ renamed ‘East Coast Breakers’ in 1984. Nancy aware she was the only girl in the crew was determined not just to be seen as a ‘token’, she was the first to develop ‘Windmills’ a complex move credited to Rock Steady Crew member ‘Crazy Legs’ around 1978, beating the boys to it. The East Coast Breakers made appearances at local discos including Jackie O’s, appearing on national television show ‘Stars In Their Eyes’. When the breakdancing ‘craze’ died down around 1996, Nancy kept dancing, keeping contact with a passionate community of hip hop practitioners representing Scotland internationally at the world international championships in Las Vegas, travelling the world making connections with the pioneers of hip hop culture. 

Graffiti by Zorro, 1985

Graffiti by Mak, 1987

Graffiti in Scotland developed with the popularisation of breakdancing popular films of the early 1980’s. The first documented images are from Dundee in 1984 under the flyovers that faced onto Kingsway Road in Dundee entitled ‘Flying fox’ and ‘Jimbo’ by an artist called ‘Jaze’.  In 1985 Gaz Mac who was part of the Glasgow City Breakers painted under the name “Zorro” on a trackside in the Penilee/Hillington area of Glasgow. The two pieces ‘Wipe out’ and ‘Zorro’ show a colourist style which was difficult to achieve at the time with a scarcity of paint. Graffiti in Scotland reached a peak in 1987 with artists all over the country developing individual styles. One notable mention is ‘Mak one’ from Glasgow who was given the honorific term ‘King of the line’. Mak was influenced by the original New York styles and his pieces used 3D and character embellishments.  

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