Rammellzee

Rammellzee (stylized RAMM:ΣLL:ZΣΣ, pronounced "Ram: Ell: Zee"; December 15, 1960 – June 28, 2010) was a visual artist, gothic futurist graffiti writer, painter, performance artist, art theoretician, sculptor and a hip-hop musician from New York City, who has been cited as "instrumental in introducing elements of the avant-garde into hip-hop culture".

Early life Rammellzee was born on December 15, 1960, in Far Rockaway, Queens to an African-American mother and Italian father who worked as a transit detective. He grew up in the Carlton Manor Projects near the Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue A train terminal station. His graffiti work started to show up in the 1970s on New York City's subway cars and stations, specifically on the A-train since it was his local train.

Career Discovered by a larger audience through the 1982 cult movie Wild Style by Charlie Ahearn, Rammellzee's earlier fame in graffiti circles was established when he painted New York subway trains with DONDI, OU3, and Ink 76, and doctor Revolt under his aliases Hyte, Hytestyr, EG (Evolution Griller the Master Killer), Sharissk Boo, Razz, and Maestro on the A, CC, 2 and 5 subway lines. He also formed the crew Tag Master Killers, consisting of A-One, Delta2, Kool Koor and Toxic.

Rammellzee became a friend and collaborator of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. In 1982, Rammellzee and Toxic accompanied Basquiat to Los Angeles while he prepared for his show at the Gagosian Gallery. They called themselves the Hollywood Africans as a social and political statement to counter the stereotypical portrayals of African Americans in Hollywood.

The trio are depicted in Basquiat's paintings Hollywood Africans in front of the Chinese Theater with Footprints of Movie Stars (1983) and Hollywood Africans (1983). Rammellzee was an original hip hop artist who introduced specific vocal styles which date back to the early 1980s. "Beat Bop" was also featured in the film Style Wars.

Rammellzee makes a cameo appearance near the end of Jim Jarmusch's 1984 film Stranger Than Paradise.

In 2018, Rammellzee was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at Red Bull Arts in New York City head-curated by Maxwell Wolf.

In 2024 Rizzoli Electa published the 384-page book RAMM:ΣLL:ZΣΣ : Racing for Thunder that was edited by Maxwell Wolf and Jeff Mao.

A 2025 exhibit titled ALPHABETA SIGMA (Side A) was shown at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. As the first "side" of a double-sided series of exhibitions inspired by the two sides of a cassette tape or vinyl record, this Side A "focuses primarily on the materials that make up the artist’s work (writing, paint, spray, resin, black light and textiles), as well as his founding motifs (the letter, the arrow and the mask), which enabled the artist to turn ornament into armament". Part of the exhibit includes "Relics" he created including "jewelry, figures, masks, and other accessories". Never previously seen, these objects include a set of "crown bracelets" found by his wife in a warehouse which had not been previously seen by the public. One relic is a gun-like weapon composed of various objects including a Casio SK-1 sampling keyboard and a Boss Corporation guitar effect pedal.

Side B of ALPHABETA SIGMA will be shown at the CAPC musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux in Bordeaux. This second half of the exhibit "intends to establish a constellation of influences and friendships around the practice of RAMMELLZEE (considered as featurings), whose work will be presented through a more condensed selection of works, to better highlight its particularity and situate it in the history of historical and contemporary artistic production". Rammellzee performed in self-designed masks and costumes of different characters which represented the "mathematical equation" that is Rammellzee.

On the basis of his Gothic Futurism approach, he described his artistic work as the logical extension into a new phase which he calls Ikonoklast Panzerism. This artistic work has been shown in art galleries throughout the US and Europe. His Letter Racers, and other Noise includes artistic works by individuals mostly identified with their musical contributions.

Afrofuturism Rammellzee's work is considered to contribute to the canon of Afrofuturism, primarily through his repeated use of language as a technology. One of the central themes of Afrofuturist content is the use of language as a technology to transcend the Digital Divide. Conversely, Rammellzee had stated that "there is no such thing as Afro Futurism" and considered his work to be more part of a larger European monastic tradition than any part of an Afrofuturist tradition.

The theory of Gothic Futurism attempts to deconstruct the English language as it is currently conceived. The battle between letters seen in the Ionic treatise deploys language as a technology to fight the oppressive nature of the alphabet. The introduction of a new mythology in the treatise suggests that Rammellzee's language can serve as a force of liberation, thereby lessening the Digital Divide.

In addition, Rammellzee's Letter Racers are intended to pit each individual letter in galactic battles against each other, symbolically challenging the accepted standards and functionality of the 26-letter alphabet.

Rammellzee's description of the Letter Racers is as follows:

Rammellzee is celebrated in Big Audio Dynamite's song, "C'mon Every Beatbox".

Personal life Rammellzee was married to Carmela Zagari Rammellzee. He also had liver problems, and health issues caused or exacerbated by exposure to glue, paint fumes, resin and other toxic substances used in his works.

Rammellzee was a member of the Five-Percent Nation.

Name He legally changed his name to Rammellzee in 1979 and friends who knew his birth name were unwilling to reveal it, in accordance with his wishes. He sometimes went by the shortened name of "Ramm". He has credited Jamel-Z, a mentor from the Nation of Gods and Earths he met in 1977, with inspiration for his name.

Battlestation Rammellzee's live/work loft studio space on 46 Laight Street in the Tribeca neighborhood, which he shared with his wife Carmela, was named "Battlestation". It was a popular place in the 1980s and 1990s for artists to visit, because Rammellzee's artwork and costumes created a unique atmosphere.

Collections Rammellzee's work is held in the following public collection: Museum of Modern Art, New York: one 12-inch vinyl record ("Beat Bop") and a series of ten drawings titled Alphabet, undated Museum of Graffiti, Miami

Discography Studio albums Year Album titleArtist(s)Notes 2003 This Is What You Made MeRammellzee 2004 Bi-Conicals of the RammellzeeRammellzee Singles & EPs