By the 1980s , Disco Dan had perfected his graffiti art skills just as the popularity of go-go music and harDCore was heightening throughout the city . Inspired by " roll-calls " and call and responses during go-go concerts ( where patrons got their names and neighborhoods immortalized on P.A. tapes and live album recordings ) , Disco Dan began immortalizing himself by tagging his nickname on Metro buses and rails , vacant building , and throughout the Washington metropolitan area . At the height of his fame , go-go was also reaching the height of its fame , and the energy levels around the city had reached a fevering peak with the rise of local sports teams — the Washington Bullets , the Big East Conference and the Georgetown Hoyas ( John Thompson , Patrick Ewing , Alonzo Mourning ) , Maryland Terrapins ( Lefty Driesell and Len Bias ) , Sugar Ray Leonard , and the Washington Redskins ( Doug Williams ) — and the peak of the local politicians Marion Barry and Sharon Pratt Kelly , along with the crack epidemic and illegal drug trade , AIDS epidemic , materialism , hip-hop music , elevated murder rates , Reaganomics , homelessness , George H. W. Bush 's War on Drugs , and the ubiquity of Cool " Disco Dan " graffiti all peaked simultaneously during this time period
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
The Legend of Cool "Disco" Dan