Jah Chemistry

I was 16 years old then, nine months after getting kicked out of my father’s house. Angel-faced with a bald head. 185 pound detonator with enough aggression to single handedly end the Cold War, and only the code of the streets to guide me. Punk Rock music was my education, it gave me social identity.  Hardcore was my faith. It gave me purpose. Multi-racial working class Nationalism was my philosophy, and skinhead was how I lived it!

We were beautiful and strong in our Doc Martens and flight jackets. Passionate and meticulous in our views. And beneath this all, naïve and sometimes stupid in our youth.  We lived on an endless quest for the jewel between a girl’s thighs, the next great high, and the thrill of a vain moment
of glory.

DMS was founded in 1987 by a small crew of graffiti writing hardcore kids, and the remnants of some hardcore street thugs called The Chosen Few. I was a co-leader of The Chosen Few, and my brother, Jere, coined the acronym DMS from “Doc Marten Stomp.”

If there’s strength in numbers, DMS was the family that understood and protected us. The perfect mix of honor, pride, loyalty, fear and fearlessness. To all true warriors of our brotherhood, DMS was, and still is, etched on our hearts. In a year’s time, we would take over the New York hardcore scene, filling local venues and haunts where punk rockers hung tough. Never once missing an opportunity to support the Godfathers and innovators of our scene: Agnostic Front, Murphy’s Law, the Cro-Mags, Warzone, Sheer Terror, Biohazard, Leeway and Sick Of It All—we were at every show! And when the Bad Brains and Slayer came to town, you knew the moshpit was going down! All of this gave birth to the early DMS bands: Occupied Territory, Dmize and Crown of Thornz. This steppingstone would uplift the throne of our kings; the legendary fathers of New York thugcore—Madball, Danny Diablo (aka Lord Ezec), Skarhead, Vietnom, Hazen Street, and of course (yours truly) DMS God Emperor
Jah Chemistry.

Between the years 1987 to 1990, I gained my high school diploma (in 1987), all the while graduating through the drug trade. I sold ganja, crack, power coke and by late 1988 had a small spot in a bar on the Lower East Side. On a cold night (March 15, 1990), I started a fight that resulted in the death of a beautiful young man named Lee Wells. I say beautiful because Lee came to the aid of the guy I was beating up. I did not kill Lee Wells, and I wish every day I could bring him back, be his friend, tell him I love him, and ask for his forgiveness. The saddest aspect of all this  (next to Lee’s death), is the fact that Lee’s parents think I killed him. I was arrested May 15, 1990, convicted in June 1991, and sentenced to 22 years to life. I was 19 years old.

Seventeen years later, I’m still here with a positive mental attitude and bright view of the future. I’ve poured my heart into writing and performing poetry. I am the author of Obsidian Castles & Third Eye Lanscapes, and co-author of Fending Off Debutantes with my brother King Chimera. I am also the 2007 PEN Award Winner for poetry in the Dawson category.

My journey has been long, depressing and difficult, yet I stand gloriously in my fight, and forever triumphant over all adversity. With time, and wisdom, all things and people change. I plan on using my gift as a performer and writer to uplift the consciousness of young and older people, so they will not make the same mistakes I made in the past.

I look forward to reuniting with my DMS brothers, and complete the vision we had in the beginning: unify people, exchange progressive thoughts, show love, and defy the social norm.

Scot E. Banks is who I am. Jah.
Chemistry is what I am. DMS is my family. Hardcore is my religion.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/jahchemistry