In an interview with Tough Knuckles' Calvin LeCompte for the magazine last December, he elaborated at beer-fueled length on the origin of his project's name. If the legend holds true, Tough Knuckles was once a childhood gang he led more in spirit than actual shitkicking. So flash forward a couple of months, as a FADER editor is making her way home across New York's Williamsburg Bridge, having just seen Tough Knuckles hold court at our F66 issue release party. On either side of her cab, "Tough Knuckles" has been tagged along the bridge's insides, from Manhattan all the way to Brooklyn. For his new "Reel Ten" video, LeCompte decided to get just as weirdly subversive. Like a kid without a hall pass, he speeds through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a videographer catching his every spasm. It takes stones to pull a stunt like that, but let's be honest—you don't have to see through those shades to know he's not taking his time with each painting for a reason. Even gang leaders get scared shitless sometimes.
