DJ Rash (RNS/VDS) tells the Story of Milan’s Golden Age

Hi Rash, you are a true veteran of the Milanese Hip-Hop and graffiti scene. Your roots start in the Milanese suburbs, specifically in Corsico in the very early ’90s. It was a pre-internet era where information trickled in, and plus, you were growing up in an area far from the cultural and gathering hubs of Milan. So, how did you come into contact with Hip-Hop culture and writing? What was the spark that pushed you to pick up spray cans, and what were the first sprays you used?

I approached the hip-hop world in several phases, ever since I was quite young. Around 9-10 years old, I caught a late-night broadcast of a movie called Beat Street, which told the story of these kids living in the Bronx. It had everything: writing, b-boys, DJs… Kool Herc and Bambaataa were in it. I was blown away by this incredible stuff, but especially by the writers.

In one scene of the movie, they went to paint in the subway, and one of them brought up the name Phase 2, saying that before him everything ended with a tag, whereas he invented the masterpiece. That name remained stamped in my mind forever.

Then, around 13-14 years old, together with two other friends from the Corsico area, we started doing our first tags without knowing a damn thing. We liked showing our names around and felt super cool.

I remember the exact moment I chose my tag, which has always been Rash. At the time we used to go to the San Siro stadium, in the Curva Sud: I decided to call myself Rash and wrote it on a railing. My friends made fun of me, saying: “Idiot, it’s spelled with a U!”, but I replied that I wanted to spell it with an E. Thank goodness, because a Rush already existed, so it was perfect that way. We tagged and did little crappy pieces around for a couple of years, trying to copy the few things we saw around.

Is there a particular wall you remember seeing around the streets of Milan as a kid that particularly struck you and somehow contributed to your getting deeper into this?

A very important point of reference for our area was Donash. He was already at a high level, doing a European style, and his pieces were very beautiful for the time and for our standards. That’s why we watched him and tried to reproduce his style somehow, but with poor results.

The trigger that really made me start with my first piece, I believe, was the spring of ’91. Graffio came to do a commissioned job for the Municipality of Corsico, right on the wall of my old elementary school. We went there to see what the process was and, immediately after, we did our first piece trying to emulate what he was doing.

Then, little by little, we moved forward thanks to fanzines recovered from who knows who and who knows where: the photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy, strictly in black and white. We imagined the colors of the pieces. German and French fanzines… basically, everything we got our hands on was pure gold, because information really arrived in dribs and drabs.

For a while I painted alone, and during that period I met Robin. I still remember the evening we bumped into each other: I was going out to tag and do some throw-ups in the industrial area of Buccinasco, and I found him painting. From that moment on we started painting together, and then it was a whole evolution of discoveries, travels, friendships, and adventures.

I always had a lot of fun writing. Partly out of a desire for redemption, to say “we are here too and we do this stuff,” and probably also because growing up in a suburb where there wasn’t much to do other than hang out at the park and do stupid shit spurred me to throw myself into writing.

The first sprays we used were whatever we could get our hands on in the local paint shops. Then, later on, we discovered this shop in Cologno Monzese that we all called “the old lady of Cologno”, where you could find Dupli-Colors, which for a long time were our favorite tool. Alternatively, we used Talken or any paint that could be scored for cheap. Later on, through various investigations, we managed to find the direct distribution for Dupli-Color: it was a warehouse located in Cesano Boscone, luckily just a stone’s throw from our house. That was a huge boost.

What were your first steps in Hip-Hop culture and the writing world, where, and with whom? Where did you do your first pieces and through what channels (word of mouth, foreign fanzines, travel) were you able to understand what was happening in the graffiti world, and who did you look to as a reference point?

Besides the Donash walls in Corsico, we would make pilgrimages to via Pontano, where the TDK halls of fame were, and the MNP wall in Giambellino. I’d take photos, which I would then look at at home to figure out how to evolve.

My two childhood friends at first for tags, then Robin. Anyway, it was all tied to the culture in the sense that early on, everything was interconnected. There was the clothing aspect because we wanted to be recognized and seen a certain way, so at first we went to Bela Lugosi, which had items we could buy, like specific pants or hats. I remember buying a giant Public Enemy patch, the cover of Fear of a Black Planet, which I sewed onto a bomber jacket I wore for years.

Later on, Wag, which I started frequenting right away and was Mecca to us. I think good old Alberto watched me grow up in there from the time I was 14 or 15. They had all the clothing, the fanzines, we managed to find Alleanza Latina, which later became AL and at first was just photocopies. The early Tribe issues, another benchmark Milanese fanzine. Next door was Merak Music, which later became Time Out, a historic record store in Milan where you could find all the latest American rap releases, demos, mixtapes. We started buying records even though we weren’t DJs yet. In short, a place where you could dive deep into all this stuff.

Another important point of that era: Robin and I started going to the “muretto” (the wall), where I met a bunch of b-boys including Twice, Paolino, Simona, Elektro, the 16K, a ton of people. It was a great period of ferment.

I did my first pieces in Corsico, Buccinasco, basically all over the southern hinterland of Milan. Then, after teaming up with Robin, we started expanding into Milan, tag tours, we started doing our first trains, and then gradually raised our level.

And above all, how was the Milanese scene back then compared to today?

Back then, the scene was very competitive, but honestly I never cared much. Sure, I always watched what other crews were doing, who did the biggest one, the nicest one, in the most bait spot, but maybe more for inspiration. I was always more attracted to bombing and much less to Halls of Fame. I’d say my reference point was the CKC. As for today’s scene, I’m not very informed, but one guy above all gets me particularly hyped: Emno from CTO.

Before the birth of VDS/Lordz of Vetra, you were in RNS, a crew where you painted alongside historic partners like Robin. How did your friendship start, who were the other crew members, what were your first missions, in what contexts did you paint, and what style inspired you the most in those early years?

Actually, Lordz of Vetra was born from the merger of various crews, including RNS. So, if memory serves me right, it was me and Robin, Doba, Kalimero, Pain, Dumbo, Oneman, Nega, and Kato from Vicenza. If I’m missing anyone, forgive me, I’m old. Back then it was mostly bombing, from block letters to bianconi (white fills), trains, halls of fame—basically, anything was good to paint on, so it was very varied.

I was inspired by everything I saw that hyped me up. I could say Dondi, Bando, Dez, Zephyr… there are really too many I could mention.

When and why did you start bombing metal and hitting the yards? Was it already a widespread phenomenon in the Milanese scene, who were the first? And what was the approach to train depots in those years?

With Robin, we practically started moving to trains right away, because it was something we just had inside us; I mean, the first writing images we ever saw were on trains. I’m talking about books like Subway Art. So we started going to the FS (State Railways) depot near our house, which was San Cristoforo. It became our home. We went there I don’t know how many times a week, getting into that yard any way we could—on foot, by bicycle, by moped.

We bombed a lot of FS yards, especially those in south Milan, all the way to Mortara. Basically, we would check maps for the end-of-the-line stations, and according to our calculations, there always had to be at least one train parked for the morning departure.

Then I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but we started going to the Ferrovie Nord (FN). At the time they were already being bombed by the CKC, who I believe were the first to paint on them, there were the 16K, the Sic crew, and others.

The early approaches were very adventurous. Like, the first time Robin and I went to the FN, we set off for Saronno without knowing where the depot was, how to get in, how it was done—basically, everything was figured out on the spot. Then later on, over time, through word of mouth we managed to find out where the other yards were and we started traveling a bit to all the FN yards, like Laveno, Tradate, Asso; in short, we hit them all.

The scene, as I was saying, was very competitive back then. You would go to Cadorna station afterwards to try and photograph the train, and aside from that, you’d also catch all the production from the other crews and writers.

Which were the most coveted and contested yards in those years? Do you have anecdotes or stories of specific missions and/or clashes with other crews?

The most coveted yards were clearly the metros. We went wherever there might be a train to paint, trying to avoid the most oversaturated yards like Saronno or Tradate, because often you’d have to go over either your own piece or someone else’s. We often went to Asso or Laveno. Cadorna was extremely difficult to paint; I don’t think I ever painted there.

Is it true you’re remembered as some of the very first to run wholetrains in Milan? From a logistical, tactical, and especially mental point of view, how did you organize a mission of that scale, knowing it raised the risk level?

Yes, we were pretty obsessed with this wholecar thing. For one of the first ones we did, it was me, Robin, and Dumbo in San Cristoforo. We did one wholecar each, it was three carriages, and there wasn’t much planning involved: we stole ladders from the vegetable gardens across the street, we had backpacks fully stuffed with Dupli-Colors, and we started sketching.

It took us ages, because with Dupli-Colors it was truly a nightmare doing a wholecar. Especially for me, since that night I forgot my fat caps, so I did the whole piece with the original stock caps. Anyone who has used them knows what I’m talking about. That tells you how much I planned the mission!

When did you start hanging out in Piazza Vetra and when did it become the ultimate crossroads for all the writers from the South zone and beyond? Who were the first writers you met and how did the Lordz of Vetra form?

I don’t remember exactly how I started hanging out in Piazza Vetra. At the time it was a park where pretty much all of Milan passed through. It was open all night because, besides the dealing of various drugs, you could find a lawn and nearby spots to buy beers, and everybody gathered there to chill. In short, kind of like Parco Sempione, but open at night right in the city center. This made it a particularly appealing spot for all the kids in town.

We started meeting there with the GR, then the idea was born to merge the crews and start doing missions under the name Lordz of Vetra. But fundamentally, besides writing, there was friendship, having a good time together, smoking huge joints, and drinking beers.

What was the glue that transformed scattered groups into such a powerful collective identity, and how did you impose your name in a square where an extreme ecosystem of junkies, skaters, b-boys, and social center regulars coexisted? How did the “piazza ecosystem” in Milan change and how much did it affect cultural exchange and, in a sense, the growth of the movement?

Yeah, Vetra was a sketchy place in terms of the crowd, but hey, there were a lot of us, we minded our own business, so it didn’t even seem that dangerous to me. I mean, there were far worse places in Milan to be.

The piazza ecosystem, in my opinion, was our social network. I mean, your social activity was predominantly done in person. There were no cell phones, so you either met in person or you met in person.

In Milan, writing styles were divided by zones. There were various squares in Milan where writers met, and let’s say they were all somewhat characterized by a very specific style. The squares and meeting points were fundamental for the entire growth of the movement. Just think of the Indian Café, which was foundational in that era.

In Dumbo’s beautiful interview for the Piede di Porco podcast, Ivano talks about how, since he was also from Corsico but of a subsequent generation, you guys met on the bus to Milan and then hung out in places like Vetra, sharing this passion… Can you give us your point of view on your meeting, getting to know each other, and maybe some anecdotes of missions together?

I met Ivano on the bus. Back then there were two public transport lines to get to Milan: one left from Corsico, the other from Abbiategrasso and passed through Trezzano, where he, Oneman, and Nega lived. We aren’t actually from different generations, because Dumbo and I only have a few years’ difference; I just think I started tagging a bit earlier. But anyway, we recognized each other on the bus by the way we dressed, or maybe because someone had just done a tag.

The story he told is completely true: back then, recognizing people who had your same “vibe” or shared your same vision relied heavily on clothing or attitude. I don’t remember exactly how, but we got in touch.

There were so few of us, especially in our areas, that when you found someone else with your same passion—which wasn’t exactly shared by the rest of your friends—you immediately clicked. So we started hanging out right away. We shared various experiences besides writing: parties, concerts, our first trips around Italy, jams… basically, everything that was possible to do.

With the Lordz of Vetra, the VDS, but above all later on the FIA of DUMBO, Panda, Hekto, Gans, etc., Milan saw a sharp aesthetic shift: from intricate technicalities it moved to the urgency of raw, hardcore bombing, immense block letters, and throw-ups. How fundamental was the attitude of writers like Dumbo, Panda, or Hekto in this transition toward a more impactful and proudly ‘vandal’ style? How was this more vandal attitude viewed by the Milanese scene and by previous generations like yours?

With the entry of Ekto and Panda, there was this stylistic shift, oriented more toward pure bombing—less complicated letters, which had always existed in New York or America, but also in Europe, though here in Milan the bombing aspect wasn’t as predominant. Anyway, it was a great turning point for the whole movement, especially for the generations that came after. From what I recall, at the beginning this shift wasn’t taken very well by everyone within the movement.

At a certain point, the adrenaline of the trains found a parallel outlet in turntables and DJing. How did this passion of yours start and develop? In this fundamental transition towards DJing, how much did the direct interaction with pioneers and masters like DJ Skizo or Next One influence you?

Actually, music has always been present in my life. I remember a friend who had this compact stereo system with two cassette decks; maybe it’s the only one I’ve ever seen work like that: if you hit play on the main cassette and simultaneously held down the play button on the other deck, they played together. Our game was to make mashups between various songs, slowing down the cassette reels with our fingers.

Then I had a cousin who was a house/techno DJ at the time, and he already had a pair of Technics. This DJing thing was always somewhat in the air. At a certain point, another friend and I bought a mixer to share: we kept it fifteen days each, using it with two turntables salvaged from two compact stereos, with no pitch control and belt-driven… terrible!

From there we started buying our first records and collecting a few things. We started with the rap we listened to at the time: only Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Run DMC.

I was so hooked on it that, while still going to school, my mother would give me 10,000 lire to eat out at noon; I would go to the bakery with my classmates and, while they bought food, I managed to steal myself something to eat. Doing that, with the money I saved, every two days I was able to buy a foreign CD single or an album. I went on like that for quite a while, eating stolen croutons at noon just to be able to buy records.

Then the passion grew, and I started making my first contacts with the DJs of the era. I remember Dado and Easy Killa of Golden Bass: with them we organized a fantastic illegal sound system at the Oh Bej! Oh Bej! street fair, with Ivanoselling my mixtapes to passersby. Beautiful.

But the real turning point was when I went to Australia, to Sydney, in ’95 and met Skizo. It was around New Year’s Eve and he took me with him during his sets: we toured 4-5 clubs all night. When I saw him put his hands on the turntables, I told myself: “I want to do this thing exactly how he does it.” I have to say it was a massive boost.

One thing I really want to mention is that when I arrived in Australia, Skizo had already brought over copies of Tribe that featured my train bombings. When I walked into the Hip Hop Shop in Sydney, I introduced myself saying I was an Italian writer; they were super hyped and told me they had seen my pieces in the fanzine!

All this to say that the thing I appreciate most about hip-hop is that it has allowed me to meet people all over Italy and all over the world, just by virtue of being part of this community. This literally changed my life.

So, once I got back to Italy, I did everything I could to buy two Technics and start practicing. Another person I owe a lot to is Pablito (Pablo Miano), who was the mastermind behind the famous Indian Café, the first Sunday afternoon hip-hop party in Italy. I was the resident DJ there for quite some time. All the big names in the scene passed through that club: from Fabri, to the Colle, Sacre Scuole (Club Dogo, just to be clear), etc. I think we all passed through there, so a huge round of applause to Pablo: first, because if it weren’t for him, I probably would have stayed playing in my bedroom for many years; second, because regardless, it was the first stage for tons of rappers who are now ultra-established.

I met the master Next One much later, but he has always been a reference point and an inspiration for me. First of all because, to me, he is the strongest b-boy there has ever been, the Maradona of b-boying, a living legend worldwide to whom we all owe a great deal, especially us Italians. I am honored to be his friend and to have been able to do things together with him.

Can you tell us about your musical tastes, your collection, and your musical selections when you play? What are your favorite records that must always be in your selection or that you particularly enjoy playing? And any gems/rarities in your collection that you’re especially attached to?

I like music in general, but mostly my collection is black music. At first strictly Rap, R&B, and then later on, when I understood how hip-hop was produced, it was Funk, Soul, Jazz. My selections depend on the type of night; often people ask me for the whole Golden Age period, but I don’t mind mixing it with everything else.

The record I always carry with me regarding the rap section, which I am particularly attached to, is “Release Yo’ Delf” by Method Man, and for Funk I’d say “Give It Up or Turnit a Loose” by James Brown, but also a lot of other stuff… too much.

To conclude and sum it up, my philosophy has always been fun. If I have to make a comparison between the old and the new generation, it’s this: it seems to me that the new generations think primarily about business, whereas I have always put fun and personal satisfaction first.