Cornbread Graffiti Pioneer Pt.1

Darryl McCray is his name and the tag “Cornbread” is his claim to fame. Credited with being one of the first modern graffiti artists, Cornbread was born in North Philadelphia in 1953 and raised in Brewerytown, a neighborhood of North Philadelphia.

During the late 1960s, Darryl McCray started doing graffiti in Philadelphia, by writing “Cornbread” on walls across the city. His inspiration began to spread landing in New York City and becoming the modern graffiti movement, which reached its peak in the U.S. in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and then spread to Europe.

In this Episode, Darryl McCray expounds on how it all began in a juvenile corrections facility called the Youth Development Center (YDC). While at the YDC, McCray kept pestering the cook of the institution, Mr. Swanson, with demands for cornbread instead of the stale white bread regularly served. McCray’s constant badgering angered Mr. Swanson and he began calling McCray “Cornbread”, a nickname that began as ridicule stuck.

McCray started writing his new nickname, “Cornbread”, on the walls throughout the facility next to the gang members. Although he wasn’t a gang member, McCray claimed to be the first person to tag his own name and not a gang name or symbol.

Birthofhiphop.com will be producing a narrative film on “Cornbread’s” escapades. With your help, by making a donation, you support our goals to bring to you Original Films Depicting the origins of the Hip Hop Culture.

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