Old School Scholar

Image by HQ Jon via Flickr

I am not a big advocate of tagging unless you got a mural and skills to back it up. I believe a tag should be a writer’s signature to his works, but that is just my view point. I guess it is because I see too many taggers hating on another man’s piece when it is dope.

Yes, Graff Writing was born from tagging, however the wild style mural is the ultimate evolution from that.  When you see a masterpiece, even from a rival, it should be respected, admired, and not desecrated for its sophistication. It should inspire you to come off stronger. That is how you make a name for yourself on the scene. That is how you elevate the levels of style. That is Hip Hop culture!

Tagging another man’s burner will never give you props or fame even when he bombs in your zone. It is a loser’s hate like an ex-girlfriend keying up your brand new car. It is also wack, ugly and amateurish. Most of all it makes you look soft because you can’t take a metaphorical punch!

Ask yourself, “Are you Glass Joe?”

Too me styles make noise and tagging hate’s for toys! If somebody bombs in your zone, just one up him with a doper piece. Hip Hop was born from battling style for style; rhyme for rhyme; move for move; and cut for cut! Elevate your style!

Have you ever seen Style Wars by the way? Most toys have not!

A few weeks ago, I bounced around downtown Miami hunting for burners, and on some pieces I could not get clean shots because toys tagged it up. What was worse, it was one of the best burners I saw that day. Unfortunately, I refused to take the photo. I was too disgusted!

Yeah, I took it personal even though it is not my piece. I am an addict for dope styles. Graff Writers evolved into Hip Hop’s plastic surgeons. They gave face lifts to the ugliest parts of cities where beautification was needed the most. Where there were gloomy days, desolate yards, rusted metal, and molded brick; a burner made desolation disappear by its fetish for color and design. That is what I love most about Graff!

After all that keep this in mind. It is better to paint over a piece in its entirety than to scar it with a tag. And that is all else I have to say about that.

Now, not to be hypocritical, I understand many of you tag just to spread your fame and rep your crew. I understand this practice. Like I already said, I am not an advocate for tagging but I understand this is about battling for fame. To each his own, but I will stick to what I believe a tag is best used for and that is as a piece’s signature.

Here is a video posted by Phatalscope called Graffiti Instructional - Making Mops. The video is lectured by a dude called WICS2, of Brooklyn’s BTB Crew, on creating home made markers for tagging. There are many how to videos on this subject, but what I liked about this video was its attention to detail, step by step process, and quality. This video’s objective is about making a better Graff Mop with ingredients for a more permanent tag that’s harder to remove.

This video is MacGyver!