Dasez Scott
Creative Director
Before Mr. Scott burst onto the music and fashion scenes, he was one of the original graffiti artists making a name for himself in Pittsburgh during the 1980s. His first group gallery show was in 1984. Most of his mid-teen years were spent painting murals at all of Pittsburgh’s major art’s festivals. Winning a high school scholar- ship to take college credits at Carnegie Mellon Art School; there he refined his passion for all things artistic. Under this tag name, he embodied all of the sub-cul- tures of the era. He rapped; break danced, and was also a serious street-skater. Skat- ing with the likes of Lance Mountain, Mike McGill and others when they came to town. Henry Chalfant featured him in the iconic photographic book, “Spray Can Art,” Mr. Chalfant saw his potential and invited Dasez and his colleague to stay at his soho studio in the summer of 1985. That summer the artist was nurtured by New York City’s graffiti movement, learning from artists like Tracy 168, Lee Quinones, and Fab 5 Freddy to name a few. That two week trip introducted him to NYC, but more importantly what was possible within the arts. Two weeks after his high school graduation, the preco- cious 17-year-old, moved to New York “
Six months after arriving in the big apple for audio engineering school, Russell Simmons personally signed Scott to Def Jam Records. There he stayed for almost 5 years working as a writer, producer, and art- ist. Unfortunately, the deal didn’t pan out and Scott later signed to Warner/Sire Records. At Warner un- der the guidance of Seymour Stein he helped start a record label with now famous movie director Brett Ratner. “Music totally took over my life, I was mak- ing audio art collages with samples, so visual art took a back seat”
W/ Russel Simmons,
Bret Ratner, & Lyor Cohen
While music was his original in- tention, a fateful trip to Jamaica in 1994 changed the course of his fu- ture. He crashed his motorcycle off a cliff, and amazingly survived.Suf- fering a broken leg and rib, it took two years to heal. This time let him reflect on his priorities. “The acci- dent really had me thinking, you’re not invincible. You’re here but you don’t have to be,’” Scott said. “I didn’t want to do music anymore. I didn’t want to be famous. I wanted a skill”
Scott, who was a “clotheshorse” as a teenager and lined his bedroom walls with hats, returned to visual art. Once back in New York, he used a job at Kinko’s (one strategically located near the campus of the Fash- ion Institute of Technology) to learn the latest graph- ics software, and network with fashion industry pro- fessionals. Scott also worked as a temp to supplement his income and perfect his skill.