Shuttered Like No Other

A row of shutters along Melrose boasts big name graffiti writers from all over Los Angeles.

Featuring bombs from Bozoe, SYB, Hanos, KT and Hamok.

M&F had a Dream About this Pig Piece Last Night!

Shit, you know you're immersed in the scene when you start having dreams about random graffiti pieces from the streets, and M&F had a dream about this pig from Hamok last night.

Dreams are always weird so its hard to explain, but basically in the dream someone who had some alley way property was telling M&F that someone had broken in over the fence and done some graffiti on the property.  The owners weren't mad, they were curious who did it, and when the owners said it was graffiti of an angry pic we said 'Ah! That's Hamok.'.  End of dream.

Anyway, here is an actual tag from Hamok getting up down low on Melrose.

Stay up~

Best Graffiti Writer of the Year 2012

For most people, graffiti is a phase.  Many young hungry artists come charging out hard at first, only to eventually burn out, get bored, or get busted.  Getting up is a hard job with very little direct payoff, and even the most hardcore writers generally don't last longer than a few years on the streets.  Even then, the few brave graffiti artists who get up over a long period of time seem to switch back and forth between periods of getting up, and then down time, and then getting back up again.  But M&F has never met a graffiti artist who has a stronger passion to get up than 2012's Best Graffiti of the Year, Jaber.  To Jaber, getting up is a lifestyle.  Jaber gets up worldwide and smashes hard everywhere.  And his game is complete.  Jaber is perhaps most known for his graffiti pieces on trains.  But he also holds it down on the streets, even inventing new crazy fat tags, and Jaber stickers are everywhere.

The first time M&F ever saw Jaber's graffiti was way back in 2005.  We were living in Boulder, Colorado at the time and Jaber caught a hot spot right along the freeway with one of his signature White Ninja graffiti heads.  M&F did not know this was Jaber's work at the time.  In fact, as we saw this head repeatedly over time during the years preceding and following, for the longest time we thought it was a general kind of iconic graffiti character, kind of like how many different artists will paint variations of Bode's wizard animations.  But that isn't the case.  Sometimes biters will copy his characters, but Jaber is the only one painting his heads all over.  He is just so prolific that it seemed like an army of artists painting the emblem that has now become iconic.  

Jaber started painting graffiti in 1991 and he hasn't stopped since.  With the current state of online graffiti videos and Youtube hustlers, sometimes young bucks appear to be seasoned graffiti veterans when really they are just better promoters.  Jaber has been going at this hard for longer than some young writers have been alive.  He has scored some incredible gigs like going on tour with Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Pharcyde, LL Cool J and many more.  Jaber is a legend within the graffiti community, but he has never gotten that pot of gold that some street artists hope for.  Still, Jaber keeps getting up and keeps painting.  Jaber has never left the streets.  He has never taken a break off for down time.  Why does he do it?  He does it for all the right reasons.  When M&F asked Jaber what drives his insatiable hunger to get up, Jaber replied that he does it because its fun, and if its ever not, then that's when he'll quit.  Hope that time never comes. Jaber has more than earned the award for Graffiti Artist of the Year.  Stay up!

Special shout outs to other graffiti artists and writers killing it this year including Agod, Fishe KOG, Hamok, Sand One, Glaboe, CBS Crew, MSK Crew, Grime Crew, Movie, Avery, KYC, SYB Crew, Love Krew, RTH Crew, Jew, LOK Crew, J4F Crew, Merch, Lukas, and Hanos.

Pigs & Cats

Hamok, who paints giant pig heads around Los Angeles, catches a tag on Melrose next to Iggy the cutest cat-on-a-leash doing some exploring.

Hamok Goes Big

Hamok graffiti smashes all over Los Angeles.

Here are some shots of a fresh Hamok piece going big on Fairfax.

FYF

Hamok FYF bombs over an old 'A' shutter by Eine.

Running (H)Amock in Downtown Los Angeles

Hamok FYF goes big in downtown Los Angeles with a couple of graffiti pigs 'trippin out'.

Get Low, Stay Up

This patch is absolutely slammed with a massive sticker combo with slaps from JDI, Berbo, CUH, BLK, Charm, At Large, Antes, MQ, Hael, BTM, OTR, Jobe, Buick, Grimeg,Bankrupt Slut, Hamok, Gamel, Casah, FYF, Bakon, Soup, Maeor

Get Up, Stay Up

RLK, Lash, MelroseandFairfax, Bankrupt Slut, Hamok, Newt THR, and a few more.

Choclt- Hand Drawn Characters

Chochlt?

Also stickers from Hamok FYF, Lousy AL,

The Best Home Decorators Around

Admit it.

You would all love to have your home decorated like this.

This person might be lacking in privacy, but damn, what a view~

Opiem, Howe, 2much, Savage, Antes, Irok, Bonks, Efurt, Lousy, MQ, Revok is Dead, Rotting Fresh, Soup, Hamok, Chew, Buick, Jobe, and more

Bran TRB

Bran TRB made another trip down fairfax.

Also stickers from Hamok, FYF, Rotting Fresh, French, Cest, Forge, Antes, P Dog, Prose

Get Dumped

Kougher Smits, Costc, Hamok, Iworm, Pie, 88 Proof, PBR Crew, Glaboe, Bboe, Hael, Mkue, MQ, AL, Sigue

Smashed

On Fairfax.

Stickers from MQ, Leak, Bankrupt Slut, Hamok, Casah, Gamel, FYF, Begr, Soup, AL, At Large, Pros and Cons, Tame