Born in New York in 1964, William Cordero, known as Bill Blast, is one of the most influential writers on the early 1980s New York scene. As part of a select group of artists who successfully transitioned from painting on Harlem and Queens subway trains to exhibiting in Manhattan galleries, he stood out with a unique approach to graffiti. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Bill Blast painted very few trains, choosing instead to adorn the walls of basketball courts. In 1982, he created two monumental murals on a handball court then nicknamed “Rock Steady Park.” The first, titled Sky’s the Limit, was inspired by lyrics from the single Keep On by D-Train, depicting several iconic New York landmarks as a backdrop to the song’s messages. The second mural, called Eye of the Tiger, was similarly influential. Today, these works have long since disappeared. The small court between Amsterdam Avenue and West 99th Street, once the meeting spot for Rock Steady Crew’s B-boy legends, has been renovated, and the handball court no longer exists. Bill Blast initially studied at the High School of Art and Design. After working as a consultant on the film Beat Street (1984, directed by Stan Lathan), he continued his studies at the Parsons School of Design, where he earned a master’s degree in painting. As his style and muralist technique evolved, Bill was commissioned to create murals for institutions such as WCVB-TV (an ABC affiliate in Boston), the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the “Art Train” project, a traveling museum now based in Detroit. Bill Blast has also exhibited at prestigious venues, including Yaki Kornblit Gallery in Amsterdam, the Boymans Museum in Rotterdam, Gallozzi La Placa Gallery, Fun Gallery, MoMA in New York, and the Museum of Graffiti in Miami.