PHASE 2
1955–2019 · New York City aerosol artist and graffiti writer
Michael Lawrence Marrow, known as PHASE 2 (1955-2019), was a New York City aerosol artist born in the Bronx and mostly active in the 1970s. He is generally credited with originating the inflated "bubble letter" style of aerosol writing, known as "softies", which other writers soon copied and expanded.
He began writing as Phase 2 in late 1971. By 1972 he was using an early version of these letters, and from it he developed dozens of named variations. Hip-hop journalist Jeff Chang has said his 1973 canvases helped define the genre. Over time his work moved from simple tags toward a more complex, calligraphic abstraction. In 1975 he joined United Graffiti Artists, a professional collective that drew media attention.
In the 1980s he took part in the hip-hop shows at The Roxy in Manhattan, designing flyers and often painting live on stage. He helped form the breakdance crew The New York City Breakers and was among the first to use the term "hip hop" on a flyer. He also made the first large-scale three-dimensional graffiti sculpture, which was accidentally destroyed during a renovation of the Jacob Javits Center. His influence appears in the character Phade in the film Wild Style. In 2025 a mural he painted in 1992 was uncovered in Amsterdam.