Graffiti

Will Smith Reacts To The 65′ Mural Of Him Made For A West Philadelphia School (Video)

Will Smith name-checking West Philadelphia in the theme song to The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air took a city section with a rich history, a vibrant culture, and a no-nonsense reputation and made it known—at least by name—in the mainstream. From the Overbrook neighborhood, Smith and business partner James Lassiter named... Read more

July 2, 2018 Lifestyle, Video

Flip The Script: Graffiti Writers Are Awarded Millions After Their Works Were Painted Over

In a landmark ruling, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York has awarded a $6.7 million judgment on Monday (February 12) to 21 graffiti artists whose work was destroyed in 2013 at the 5Pointz complex in Long Island City, Queens. The financial settlement comes after a trial concluded in November that... Read more

February 13, 2018 News

20 Years Later, Rhyme & Reason Remains Rap Music’s Ultimate Backstage Pass (Video)

During the late 1990s, Hip-Hop was a seismic force that garnered mainstream recognition as a billion-dollar industry. The culture had invalidated scores of critics who dismissed it as a fad during the previous two decades. Hip-Hop achieved this while rewriting the rules of the music business and redefining the American... Read more

December 7, 2017 Do Remember, TV/Film, Video

The Kennedy Center Is Celebrating Rap’s Pioneers With A Concert Series

The John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center has gradually created a bona fide space for Hip-Hop within its gates over the past year. It has appointed A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip as its First Artistic Director of Hip-Hop Culture in 2016 and is awarding LL Cool J as the first ever... Read more

November 10, 2017 News

RZA Reveals What Wu-Tang Clan’s Logo Was Before The Iconic W (Video)

Earlier today, Wu-Tang released a single featuring Inspectah Deck and Redman. Produced by Mathematics, "Lesson Learn'd" belongs to next month's Wu-Tang: The Saga Continues... album (October 13). With confirmed involvement from RZA, Raekwon, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Rebel I.N.S., Masta Killa, and Cappadonna (as well as O.D.B. vocals), the effort marks... Read more

September 22, 2017 Video

A New Book Will Teach Kids Their ABCs AND The Importance Of Hip-Hop History

"Back to school season" is heavily upon us. Hip-Hop has increasingly become an integral part of grammar school teachers' pedagogy, and many rappers have contributed to academia with their own children's books. Lordz Of Brooklyn MC, tattoo and graffiti artist Michael "Kaves" McLeer has co-authored a new children's book with... Read more

September 5, 2017 Exclusive, News

Prodigy Mural Permanently Removed After Being Vandalized Twice In A Week (Video)

Less than a week after a mural dedicated to Mobb Deep co-founder Prodigy was painted, it has twice been defaced. Saturday morning (July 8), the Queens, New York mural created by Jeff Henriquez and Eli “Eos” Lazare was covered by white paint. At the time, the mural was less than... Read more

July 10, 2017 Fresh

Prodigy Mural In Queens Is Vandalized Just Hours After Completion

On Thursday (July 6), a mural dedicated to Mobb Deep MC Prodigy was completed in Queens, New York. The aerosol wall painting paid respects to the hometown artist (born Albert Johnson) who died on June 20. Created by Jeff Henriquez and Eli "Eos" Lazare "out of love and respect" for... Read more

July 8, 2017 Fresh, News

Developers Who Destroyed A Graffiti Landmark Aim To Use Its Heritage In Their Redesign

Queens, New York's 5Pointz Aerosol Art Center was a Hip-Hop landmark that endured for decades. Dubbed "The Institute Of Higher Burning," the Long Island City art space was home to a living shrine of graffiti. Curated by writer Meres One (aka Jonathan Cohen), the five-story warehouse building built in 1892... Read more

May 29, 2017 Lifestyle

A Queens Councilman Is Seeking To Memorialize The Legacy Of A Tribe Called Quest With A Mural

In history, A Tribe Called Quest has joined legends like Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, and Nas in making Queens, New York an iconic Hip-Hop landmark. Following the death of founding member Phife Dawg, one business on the Linden Boulevard that A.T.C.Q. rapped about (and another politician) want the world to... Read more

June 7, 2016 Fresh

If This Graffiti Simulator Were Any Realer, It Would Be Illegal (Video)

Virtual reality as a concept has been around for generations, but it has recently been making headlines for its very practical, consumer-product based applications. The old-school children's toy View-Master is getting a VR update, music videos like Run the Jewels' "Crown" are incorporating the technology, and even treatment for sex... Read more

May 9, 2016 Lifestyle

This Video Shows The Power Of Graffiti Is Limitless In The Best Possible Way

Some things are timeless. While graffiti has been around for decades (or millennia, depending on how it is defined), its position in Hip-Hop has waxed and waned over the years. Rapping and DJ'ing have stood at the forefront of the culture, since the mid-80s, but every once in a while... Read more

April 20, 2016 Video

This 1982 Profile of Keith Haring is a Must-See For Any Graffiti Art Buff (Video)

When it comes to pop art there are a handful of names which come to mind, at least when asking those in the Hip-Hop generation. Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Keith Haring are three giants of that world, and with their deaths now belonging in the confines of previous generations,... Read more

April 18, 2016 Lifestyle

Taggers Played an Integral Role in Graffiti’s Rise. A New Film Tells Their Story (Video)

In some form or another, graffiti has been around for millennia. Inscriptions, carvings, frescas, and a host of other places where art meets the streets can be found in nearly every civilization, but something particularly influential happened right here, in the United States. The place which birthed Hip-Hop culture served... Read more

January 20, 2016 TV/Film

Two 1980s NYC Street Culture Docs Capture The Cool, Even In These Trailers (Videos)

New York City has long been an epicenter for culture. From music, to fashion, to art, the five boroughs and beyond have influenced the world near and far. In the 1980s, the Big Apple was especially influential. Two documentarians of the era are Jamel Shabazz and Manfred Kirchheimer. Shabazz, a... Read more

December 4, 2015 Throwback, TV/Film, Video

One Street Artist Takes Aim At Homophobia With Spray Paint & Murals

Once again, street art's potential for spreading awareness of social and political issues is being proven, this time in Copenhagen. The Danish capital is home to a vibrant arts scene, and its reputation for being the world's most livable city has led to an influx of tourists and international residents,... Read more

November 19, 2015 Lifestyle

Cape Town’s Oldest Township Gets Adorned in Graffiti for a Good Cause (Video)

Established in 1927, Cape Town's Langa township carries with it decades of history. Before the apartheid era (which began around 1948), Langa was a site specifically designed for Black Africans, much like the formally segregated neighborhoods commonly found throughout the United States post-slavery through the mid-20th century. As the oldest... Read more

November 16, 2015 Lifestyle

Necro, Vinnie Paz & Immortal Technique Take Hip-Hop Back To Its Essence (Video)

Remember when hardcore MCs were at the forefront of Hip-Hop? Necro, Vinnie Paz and Immortal Technique are bringing Heads back to those days with their new music video for "Take HipHop Back." Filmed in New York City, the video features all of the Hip-Hop elements: MCing, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti.... Read more

November 10, 2015 Video

Business Owners Are Using Graffiti To Prevent Graffiti. A New Book Examines How.

As an art form, graffiti has certainly climbed the rungs of prestige since the days in the '70s when it was generally considered to be an eyesore and a form of vandalism, primarily by those who didn't live in the neighborhoods where tagging was born. And, while wall etchings and... Read more

November 6, 2015 Lifestyle

These Comic Book Superheroes Are Taking On Their Arch Nemesis, Uncle Sam (Video)

For decades (probably even millennia), graffiti has served amongst its many purposes the promotion of awareness and politically-driven messages. By its very nature, graffiti is an anarchist's weapon, allowing for the promulgation of anti-government (and other forms of push-back) visible to the masses. But what about comic strips? An art... Read more

October 30, 2015 TV/Film, Video

The Graffti Drone Is Real, & She Is Helping Give Power To The People (Video)

Drones are a hot-button issue in the United States today, particularly when it comes to their use in combat. The Obama administration and others have come under fire for sending the drones (which are also known as unmanned aerial vehicles) into areas of the world like Pakistan, where they are... Read more

October 22, 2015 Lifestyle

Hip-Hop Has No Age or Geographic Boundaries. These Portuguese Graffiti Grandmothers Are Proof (Video)

Lata65 is an organization in Lisbon, Portugal highlighting the global prevalence of Hip-Hop culture to a demographic that isn't necessarily associated with it. The street-art focus of the organization is commonplace enough, but the ages of its members make it a uniquely wonderful community. Ranging from ages 59-60, Lata65 (which... Read more

September 14, 2015 Lifestyle

Graffiti Writers’ Work Is Being Threatened, But Some Artists Are Fighting Back

In today's (August 11) Village Voice, New York City's flagship publication for all things local and cultural, journalist Jon Campbell devoted a significant amount of space to an examination of the current state of graffiti and, by extension, street art. The main subject of the extensive article is Andre Charles,... Read more

August 11, 2015 News

The Making of Sean Price’s Tribute Mural Was Captured On Film (Video)

UPDATE: A tribute video, by Rugged Vision, has been added. The visual captures the making of the mural, along with vigil. Sean Price's wife Bernadette, Illa Ghee, General Steele, Skyzoo and others are shown: Over the weekend, Hip-Hop lost one of its true giants with the death of rapper Sean... Read more

August 10, 2015 News, Video

This 1976 Mini-Documentary Explores The Complexity of Graffiti Culture Before ‘Style Wars’ (Video)

It the late '70s, a distinctively rebellious trend began to populate the walls, monuments, and empty spaces of New York City, one that would go on to become a founding principle of Hip-Hop culture. Graffiti, despite having been around for millennia, experienced a surge in popularity in the late 20th... Read more

July 6, 2015 TV/Film, Video

Darryl “DMC” McDaniels As A Comic Super-Hero Is Coming To Book Shelves…

Nearly one year ago, it was reported the Darryl "DMC" McDaniels (of Run-DMC) is venturing into comic books. The Hollis, Queens Hip-Hop icon stayed the course, and announced that his graphic novel, DMC #1 has a release date. OkayPlayer reports that on October 29, via the self-published house, Darryl Makes... Read more

August 28, 2014 Fresh

Blu Cautions Fakin’ The Funk In A Graffiti-Inspired Visual (Video)

On a true tear in 2014, Blu continues to spread his seeds of thought around bountifully. The Los Angelino appears on Astronote's "Rhymes On Paper." The producer invites the guest to kick knowledge about promoting lies through lyrics, and how such results don't deserve mic-device transmission. Johnson Barnes essays the... Read more

June 30, 2014 Fresh, Video

Style Wars (Video)

Of the 4 elements of Hip-Hop, graffiti is often the most overlooked. Films like Beat Street touched on the controversial nature and danger surrounding the graf, but it was the 1983 documentary Style Wars that showed viewers the real. The film originally aired on PBS and won the Grand Jury... Read more

August 10, 2013 Throwback

Wild Style (Video)

As we continue our all day celebration of Hip-Hop on the weekend of its 40th Anniversary, it is only fitting that we celebrate Wild Style, a 1983 film produced by Hip-Hop pioneer Charlie Ahearn that was the first glimpse of Hip-Hop culture for many of those not living and breathing... Read more