At first glance, it may not make sense how skateboarding and hip-hop culture intersected in the late ’80s and early ’90s. But in lower Manhattan and later the outer boroughs of New York City, they did. That was well documented on film, and an amazing collection of archival footage is the basis of “All the Streets are Silent: The Convergence of Hip Hop and Skateboarding (1987-1997).”
Just the footage of the early work of Busta Rhymes and Method Man and many others rapping at clubs and in the studios of WKCR 89.9 FM is worth the ticket. The same is true of the footage of the skateboarders flying over trash cans, and sometimes falling hard in the streets, in places like Washington Square Park, Astor Place and what was known as the Brooklyn Banks. Both subcultures had the energy and zeal of the young and fearless.
The skateboarding community was overwhelmingly white, and the hip-hop culture was predominantly Black. “Streets are Silent” shows that there were white and Black people who ran in both circles, notably Eli Gesner, who narrates the film, and Harold Hunter, a talented skater who became a celebrity in the scene — and was featured in the 1995 film “Kids.”
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Taking a broader look at lower Manhattan at the time, there were other connections that bridged the two subcultures. Graffiti had exploded as a street-art in New York in the 1980s. Artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring had emerged from that scene. Skaters and rappers alike embraced graffiti as suiting their culture’s sense of being rebels and outsiders. The skateboarders, like the Beastie Boys, switched from focusing on punk to hip-hop, and some rappers wore skater clothes, though it’s not clear how strong other links were.
The film illustrates how things that develop at society’s margins or underbelly can grow in appeal to drive social, and inevitably, economic trends — much the way graffiti did. In the mid-1980s, hip-hop was not welcome in the best-known Manhattan dance clubs. Places like Mudd Club and Danceteria played house music. The new Club Mars brought in hip-hop, which took over its multiple floors.
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The film follows DJs and rappers from Mars to radio stations including WKCR. There DJs Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia took a graveyard slot from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. Thursdays and turned it into a beacon of hip-hop. Video tape from Mars co-founder Yuki Watanabe is priceless.
Ultimately, the popularity of hip-hop and skateboarding energized commercial brands. The film comes full circle here. Gesner co-founded Zoo York, which put its graffiti-styled logo on clothes, skateboarding gear and more. A handful of shops, such as Supreme, evolved into major brands.
The documentary opens this week in local theaters.
The film focuses on some very successful people who came out of the relatively small scene. Moby was a DJ at Mars (and action star Vin Diesel was a bouncer there). Photographer Larry Clark was drawn to the skateboarding scene and made the film “Kids” about it — together with Harmony Korine, who his spent teen years skateboarding in New York. Rosario Dawson, who starred in “Kids,” knew the skating scene there as well.
The film does an excellent job following many of the DJs, artists and skaters through the entities that they made influential (Mars, WKCR, Zoo York, Supreme). It’s hard to say whether the link between skateboarding and hip-hop is more substantial or happenstance. But it’s a fascinating portrait of street culture and in this case, an early look at many people who went on to great success in their own niches.
“All the Streets are Silent” opens July 30 at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge.
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