PHASE2, born Lonny Wood (1958- 2019), aged 61 was one of the most influential and well known New York City aerosol artists. Furthermore he was known as member of the Zulu Nation. Mostly active in the 1970s, Phase 2 is generally credited with originating the “bubble letter” style of aerosol writing, also known as “softies”. He was also influential in the early hip hop scene.
According to multiple social media posts, Phase2 passed on earlier this week after battling with Lou Ghehrigs’s disease after being in the hospital since August, this was confirmed in a statement made by the veteran New York Hip Hop promoter Van Silk.
MC Debbie was one of the many who flooded Twitter with memories of Phase2.
โRIP to a fallen King, the legendary pioneer flyer creator, Phase 2,โ she wrote. โIn the 70s, he and Buddy Esquire were the โgo toโ flyer makers. If you couldnโt get one, you got the other! Two of the best flyer makers to ever do it!!! Rest those hands, my brother!โ
Lord Finesse also took to the social media to express his condolence, explaining he’d their history go way back to childhood days.
โDamnโฆ This is crazy,โ he captioned the post. โR.I.P. Phase 2 (Graf Legend & Pioneer) Where do I begin here.??? I knew Lonnie since I was a kid. Unknown to most we grew up together in Forest Projects in the Bronx โsame building.. same floorโ building #965. I never knew he was a writer until I became an artist and was running into him in different parts of the world.
โAlso known along with Buddy Esquire for creating the legendary Early Hip Hop flyers. I just knew him as my next door neighbor before that. We always got a good laugh about where art had taken both of us. Always proud of his iconic journey in the Graf world. Rest In Peace Brother.โ
Not only was PHASE 2 one of the first aerosol artists to exhibit the art form, he DJโed, rapped, made logos for Mike & Dave Records of Cash Crew fame and was a member of the B-Boy crew Electrified Movement as well. He was also responsible for assembling another infamous B-Boy crew called The New York City Breakers.
Around the mid โ80s, PHASE 2 began art directing and co-editing the notorious street writing and subway art publication IGTimes. Basically, PHASE 2 lived and breathed Hip Hop. His โFunky Nous Decoโ style, as he called it, influenced several of his successors.
In a statement given by Cut Chemist, who has an extensive collection of vintage Hip Hop flyers, tells DX, โHis contribution to the culture runs far deeper than most people know. He is Hip Hop.โ
In an interview with AIGA which date back to july, PHASE 2 talked about how he initially started making flyers. The first one he ever created was for a Grandmaster Flash event and it took off from there.
โI grew up on music โ older sisterโs music, momโs music, the radio,โ he said. โThatโs my first love. I wanted to be a radio DJ. So I think it was only natural that I played music even before we called it Hip Hop I basically did it all: danced, created dances, emceed, threw jams, and eventually promoted.
โI appreciate that you recognize the flyer designs we did as โgraphic artโ and not just some Hip Hop stuff done by train dudes. I was drawing when the train culture didnโt even exist. Technically, Iโve been making art for a lifetime. Iโve always looked at the flyers as ads. That was my initial reason to do them”
PHASE 2 was working as a fine artist, creating skateboard decks, prints and vinyl before his death.
