From gates to walls, bridges to tunnels, there was nowhere in the five boroughs untouched by the tag of Jimmy Conte, better known in graffiti circles as VE One. A Brooklyn native and certified legend in the graff world, VE’s name was etched across New York City in the early 1990s, a bold signature of street fame. But on the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day Parade in 1996, that legacy was tragically cut short.
On the night of June 8, 1996, just hours before the city would erupt in celebration, VE One was shot and killed. The streets were packed, the city was alive and in the middle of the pre-parade chaos, a single bullet ended the life of one of Brooklyn’s most respected graff generals.
His close friend and fellow graffiti writer SKUF shared a chilling firsthand account with The Source of what happened that night 29 years ago:…