TheSource.com features famed DJ and graf great Dez
Before he was known as the Drama King DJ, Kay Slay was known in the streets of the Rotten Apple as Dezzy Dez aka Dez. Not for his swiftness on the wheels of steel, but his fame game on the walls of NYC, as Dez was one of the city’s most prominent graffiti artists during the explosion of the art in the early 80s. Dez was featured as a seasoned writer with his then partner TRAP in the graf cult classic Style Wars, which debuted in 1983.
Dez was a part of a crew of writers called The Fantastic Partners(TFP), which included such graf greats as the late Jeff Brown aka Case 2. TFP dominated the 3 lines until the decline of graffiti in the mid to late 80s, during the advent of crack cocaine. Slay turned to the street life and ended up behind bars at the turn of the decade.
Needless to say, Dez is now internationally known as DJ Kay Slay and can be found on Hot 97 at the “Drama Hour” (midnight) in NYC. He still gets up from time to time and his work can even be seen at the Writer’s Bench in Harlem. Kay Slay has been and will always be one the few who embody Hip Hop culture in its entirety.
-Sha Be Allah(@KingPenStatus)
