Enter Dontay's Inferno!!!

Not many have as many accolades as Dontay TC5. He has deep roots in the NYC graff world and has come up in the ranks as a veteran in the graphics world. His hand styles could be found on Pepsi print ads all the way to garments of Akademiks (www.akademiks.com) and Rocawear (www.rocawear.com. He has fathered a style that has offspring in various genres. Enter the blazing trails that Dontay has set a fire!

How close are to you with your sisters?

Me and my sister's are kool.

Did they ever hook you up with any of their friends?

Nah, her friends didn't start stressing the kid until
I started bringing girls from other hoods!

How was it working in T5soul back in the day?

It was just freelance I didn't work in the office...
But the experience was a good thing.

You have always had your own style whether with graff or with your graphics. How do you think graff has influenced your graphic sensibility?

I went about it the same way as I did graffiti.
I just studied my art to the fullest always doing research buying books every week.
I never stop going in, never. can't be lax at this job or game, grind hard...

What highschool did you go to and who was some of the kids that were killing it with graffiti?

I went to Fashion High School. try to go to A&D, but they didn't let me in cause of all the fights i had!
The dudes that was killing shit at that time were from the crews I'm down with . FC, TC5, IBM, NTA, OTB, FBA CIA. (DONDI CIA R.I.P)

Who was your favorite character in the Thundercats?

My dude Lion-O, he was the illest of the crew...

Why is territory so important with graff crews?

'cause some crews owned some train lines and if u wasn't down and got caught up in their yard or their lay up it was a rap...
Crews are a brotherhood... know your place in this game. Some crews bomb shit crazy and other crews bomb shit and did train cars also, so to be down with the crews I'm down with you had to be the best... the fresh kid on the block...
and have that respect for your style.

Were you ever into comic books?

Comic books was and still is my shit. That is where I learn most of my cartoon style from
bode' joints, marvel, dc. But mostly bode's when I was doing graff.

I heard that you were one of the first ones to bust out using tiffs in the graphics is that true?

The bit maps I did for PNB nation when I was working there wasn't being done at the time I did them
and when we did that big ass booth in magic with the 3 color bitmaps dudes went crazy asking how I did it.
But me and my crew was already doing it.. me, George(gets) Scott(10Deep)

How did you come up with that technique?

I seen some old posters black market had did at the time. They had did a poster
with a lady at a sniper range...it wasn't bitmap it was photo shop layers
so it wasn't art work. So I practice until I got it right .......

How big is your sneaker collection?

It used to be real crazy like in 2003 I had a whole room just with sneakers.
This was way before the sneaker shit went crazy people would come to the crib and be like.. son
you are crazy.. so I stop being a fiend and pick up some joints here and there .
Back then I would go to Nort and buy 2 of what ever I would buy.....I was sick son
real crack head...now I think I got about 3-4 hundred.

When you were at AK their were many people that jumped on your style and layouts how have you (if so) expanded passed that?

yeah its cool we all fam... we build off each other but the outsiders went crazy when they used to see the old AK stuff fam,
but now I cut and sew and graphics.. I'm just a little bugged out with this stuff..... I love the graphics stuff but
I'm really loving the cut and sew shit ....

How did Gilyard come to be and where did you get the name?

Gilyard is one of my family's last name so I ran with it and it just sounded crazy. The brand caught the attention of some backers who initially wanted to do some production for the brand. The brand was popping for minute... the industry and the consumer was feeling the movement.. I learned a lot about the business and about people....that shit was like school.... shit got crazy and I walked away from it . Fuck it...back to the drawing board!

How do you balance the work and the love of the art that you push out?

Staying focus and just enjoying what I do...The creativity of both worlds keeps me going.

What are your favorite pair of kicks in your sneaker collection?

I like air force 1's, dunks jordan vandelz ,i like them all but my joints are
Air Force1's homie! Them joints will never go out of style..They look good with denim.

What were some of the most difficult times that you had being a designer?

The Gilyard movement was one of the most difficult times in my career as a designer....But if I could I wouldn't change the outcome..I learned a lot and the experience made me more hungry!

What was supposed to be the hallmark of Gilyard vs the other brands that were out at the time?

It would have held its own identity next to Roca Wear, Sean John and Ecko..a monster like the rest.
But the foundation wasn't formed right ... shit was crazy...money makes situations and ruins situations!
The partners didn't know the apparrel business and sales was fucked up...the only shit that was solid was design.
I had a crazy design team... me, Allen, Dennis that owns "Crooks", Omar that owns Cmon' wealth, Vern, Krista,
Carlos, Lamont, and my man Ben. That was a dream team that I had put together 'cause we was all cool..
so they help me out cause they believed in what I was trying to do....Respect to all them cats I broke bread with at that time..
much love!

Do you ever do any personal graphics?

Yes sir...I have a design company called Revokt Studio NYC.
GET AT ME!

What were some reasons that Gilyard had to come to an end?

There were a lot of reasons that Gilyard had to come to an end...but the main reason I rather not comment on because I don't want to hurt nobody's feelings.... It is was it is!

Do you do any legal walls every now and then to get the graff bug out?

Yeah I did like 6-7 joints last summer 07' ... much more to come.

What are some things that you learned through the conception to the closing of Gilyard?

Don't do major business deals with friends... don't hire your friends either... that shit don't work...don't trust nobody..
Stay on top of your business and watch everything if you can! I want to shout out my wife who held me down when shit got crazy...

Where did you develop your character style from?

THE BEST IN THE GAME SHOW ME LOVE...
DOZE TC5
NOC 167 OTB.
V' BODE. CHEECH WIZARD!
DC/COMICS
MARVEL COMICS.

Drop a jewel for the people about how to develop your own style?

BE THE BEST AT WHAT YOU DO, IN WHAT EVER GAME YOUR IN.
STUDY YOUR CRAFT!