Howie Abrams is a former music business executive turned author. He co-authored Finding Joseph I: An Oral History of H.R. from Bad Brains , The Merciless Book of Metal Lists , and Hip-Hop Alphabet . He co-hosts a weekly radio show called Merciless with rapper Ill Bill. Michael "Kaves" McLeer is a legendary graffiti artist, the author of Skin Graf: Masters of Graffiti Tattoo , and illustrator for Hip-Hop Alphabet . He has created logos and graphics for world renowned artists such as the Beastie Boys and Metallica. He is an MC in the hip-hop/rock group Lordz of Brooklyn.