words: Bret Dougherty portraits: Mike Schreiber
Rules change, people change, styles change…yet, the true players always seem to adapt to the breaks of the game. That’s why when you’re pondering the subjects of credibility and creativity in hip hop design; you should turn to creative director, Cey Adams.
The 44-year-old, Jamaica, Queens, native first tapped into his passion for art by tagging sketchbook pages. By 1982, Cey was throwing burners onto subway trains, handball courts, and walls across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Along with other legendary graffiti pioneers, he began exhibiting his paintings alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring in the East Village underground gallery scene, which earned him a cameo appearance in Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant’s famed 1982 PBS classic, Style Wars.
During that same year, Adams was passed the phone number of a bustling entrepreneur named Russell Simmons. After a visit with Simmons, Adams became the third Rush Management employee along with director of publicity, Bill Adler and Simmons’ assistant, Heidi Smith. Growing with Rush Management into the booming Def Jam Productions throughout the ’80s, Adams’ creative work elevated when he paired with graphic designer Steve Carr to form their entrepreneurial design firm, The Drawing Board. For almost a decade, the duo produced cover art, logos, and shirts for Def Jam icons such as 3rd Bass, Slick Rick, Public Enemy and for other artists and figures such as Method Man, Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z.
In the world of urban culture, there are few artists who have been able to ride with the shifts of hip hop’s major cultural movers and purveyors of cool over the past three decades. As noted hip hop historian, Bill Adler adds, “Cey’s career is a microcosm of the history of hip hop. Hip hop started out as an impoverished subculture on the margins of society and moved into the mainstream with its integrity intact. Cey started out bombing subway trains and developed into a master of the graphic arts with a roster of brand-name clients…always with his integrity intact.”
Between launching left-handed jump shots in his weekly runs with musicians and artists in the Village and creating logos for Dave Chappelle, Adams has currently been working on collaborations with Adidas and Gravis Footwear. Sipping out of a glass Coca-Cola bottle at a NoLita café, Adams discusses his creative process, his early ’80s experiences at Rush Management/Def Jam Records and hip hop graphic design today.
Can you give me an example of how you implement your creative process?
I’m a big fan of technology, but I have been going back to the basics with my sketchbook to start off ideas. When switching between styles, programs and fonts, the flow of the creative process gets lost or you can create a stopgap. If you cancel out a mistake, you may lose the idea. It’s possible that the idea could have grown into something bigger. When I put a design on paper, the idea never disappears for me. That way I’m forced to live with a mistake, and I can see what grows from an idea.
You were the third employee at Rush Management/Def Jam. How did you get your start there?
I practiced my spray and touch-up skills on a handball court in Jamaica, Queens, where I was living at the time. One summer afternoon, a photographer started snapping shots of one of my murals. He introduced himself as [Trevor] “Butch” Greene. He told me that he was documenting graffiti displays around New York City, and he was scouting possible location shots for the debut album of a group called Run-D.M.C. [laughs].
We started talking about my work. Then, he told me about a record promoter, who was looking for a graffiti artist to design backdrops, cover art and fliers for hip hop music acts. He passed me a business card, and the card simply said, “Rush Town Management, Russell Simmons, chairman.” I didn’t think much of the name because hip hop music was heard mostly through rhymes on the street. Yet, I went down there to see him at 1133 Broadway because I had heard “Sucker M.C.’s” on the radio. At that time, Russell was managing Run-D.M.C., Kurtis Blow and Whodini, but they were not known at the time. Now, this is pre-Rick Rubin, pre-Lyor Cohen…when I opened the door, there was no “buffer.” The only people were Heidi Smith, who is Russell’s long-time assistant, and Russell working the phones three feet away from the door. They shouldn’t have been impressed with me either, since I hadn’t done anything but graffiti design until that time.
Russell was great. He said, “We can’t afford to pay you what you’re worth, but we’ll pay you something.” I looked up to him right away. What was great about his mentoring methods is that he let me in on every thing he was working with at the time, which made it very unique and special for me.
What were some of the first projects that you developed?
First, Russell had me paint a mural that said “Rush Town.” From there, I worked on fliers, logos, and t-shirts. My first backdrop was for the New York City Fresh Fest Tour in 1984 that featured Run-D.M.C., Whodini, Newcleus, the Fat Boys, and UTFO. My first cover artwork was for Real Roxanne’s “Bang-Zoom” 12-inch single.
Incredibly, I had a license to do mostly anything I needed to do, and oddly, I had no formal design training at the time. Photoshop didn’t exist back then. The printer, who aligned the famous “Def Jam Recordings” letter jackets for me, taught me how to set the type and how to use a ruler for work. If I aligned something wrong, money would be flushed down the drain and that gets expensive. I had to learn to improvise from my mistakes, which is good, because I don’t have to rely on a computer all the time.
What was the atmosphere like at Def Jam at that time?
Def Jam was the closest thing to a hip hop clubhouse that you could imagine…And I don’t mean that in a hip hop Mickey Mouse Club way. The atmosphere was much harder than that…more like a hip hop group home or a halfway-house. [shaking his head and smiling].
At that time, everyone was done with school or between odd jobs. At one time, you had the Beasties, Kurtis Blow, Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, Run-D.M.C. all hanging out and waiting to make something happen at the office. Thinking back now…I don’t think you could ever duplicate the environment and times. The office setting was actually bad for business. Cats were just plain hanging out all day long, eating food and running up long-distance phone bills. The office was hilarious. The scene in the movie Krush Groove didn’t come close to capturing half of the mayhem that went on there.
What are your thoughts about that creative talent at that time?
In a very similar fashion, you could compare the people at Def Jam to Andy Warhol and The Factory in the ’60s. The combination of the creativity and the personalities that would come through Def Jam was incredible. Russell and Lyor were working their game. On any given day, a young LL Cool J would be in your ear questioning everything in order to learn and to soak up every little piece of information that he can get. Then, you would have characters such as Runny Ray, Flava Flav, or a Ricky Powell bursting into the room throughout the day. The best thing about the place was that everyone felt they belonged to something. Def Jam was exciting, chaotic, and fun, and we conveyed that environment to the public. When we went on tour with Run-D.M.C. and the Beasties, we were like the Rainbow Coalition on wheels.
There were no racial boundaries because everyone respected each artist’s talents and the music was amazing. Def Jam was one of the first businesses that saw everyone for who they were and supported everyone for what they were doing at that particular time.
You touched upon support for projects at Def Jam. Steve Carr and you formed your own entrepreneurial effort at Def Jam called, The Drawing Board. As Def Jam’s in-house design firm, the two of you created album covers and designs for other acts. Can you explain why your partnership worked?
We shared loves for art, design, and everything surrounding ’70s pop culture and sitcoms. So, we gelled. Steve had the formal training, structure and the technical background of a real artist. He became the “design source” for our work.
We were also working with artists like Chuck D, who were hungry and had minds filled with great ideas. That made assembling projects a lot of fun. Look at Fear of a Black Planet. [Pointing to a photo of Fear of a Black Planet] This is one of my favorite albums that we worked on together. An unknown fact is that Chuck has a graphic design background before his musical career. When we were bouncing around ideas with Fear of a Black Planet, Chuck wanted a Star Wars type theme for the cover. During a flight, he etched the Public Enemy logo behind a burning sun with a Sharpie on an airline napkin. So, we had the main concept put in front of us.
Steve was inspired by B.E. Johnson, who was working with NASA at the time and created the artwork for the book cover of James Michener’s Space. B.E. is a fascinating guy and a legendary artist utilizing space imagery and illustrations. At the time, he had never heard of Public Enemy. After hearing the reactions of kids in his neighborhood when he asked them if they were fans of Public Enemy, B.E. jumped on board and created an amazing piece of work. You have the colors of the nebula, the universe playing against the molten lava sun, and the burning Public Enemy logo. The cover art easily makes one of the top 50 album covers of all-time. When you create with talented people who produce consistent solid work, respect generates among everyone. That’s why I think Steve and I worked well with each other and with other artists.
In terms of hip hop design and the culture surrounding street art, how do you feel about the uses of hip hop art and design today?
In the ’80s, finding a mainstream audience for your work was extremely challenging. Gone are the days of the late-’70s and early-’80s when graffiti was new. Today, if you’re running around with a mask and proclaiming that you’re an underground graffiti artist, you would look like a fool because hip hop culture is a mainstream movement. If you want to be that type of artist, you’re better off developing your skills with an entrepreneurial focus.
Yet, when working for corporations, do you believe artists can maintain their credibility in their ideas, concepts and messages in the mainstream?
No doubt…look at the re-emergence of graffiti art. Today’s hip hop oriented graphic artists have a very keen sense of entrepreneurship, and they’re very savvy with their work. Look at the products that are created now through the form of collectible toys, shoes and clothing. Their due has come full circle. For artists, street credibility is always their most precious asset. Corporations now allow artists to execute their own individual visions without the threat of compromise because the corporations need new street artists to reach new target markets. The big corporations are seeking these types of underground artists instead of the other way around. When I see graffiti artists such as Espo, Reas, and KR who are carving out livelihoods by creating new product designs or publishing design books, their successes are a major triumph for me. Those types of graffiti inspired artists are rooted into the tradition of street culture that Futura, Dondi, Pink and Zephyr created. They are maintaining that cult status of exclusivity and acceptance without compromise in their work. The fact that artists can do that while making money is very rewarding.
What are the next moves for your work?
I’ve been collaborating with Adidas on a shoe and sportswear line entitled “Unity 62.” I’m also teaching a visual arts program at BAM, Brooklyn Academy of Music, that focuses upon hip hop in the visual arts. With the youth today, their creative outlets have changed and their talents are incredible. Look at how they have adopted technology with Apple’s products. We need those passions for art and creative design to develop into their careers.H
