I miss being a toy, honestly being a toy was the funnest part of my graffiti career, meeting writers, getting in beef but mostly it was the seeing progression of you and your friends getting better at the craft
I’m still a toy and tagged a lot of spots in my city, but I regret doing that bcs, whenever I drive past a tag I think, damn that’s a shitty tag😂 but I don’t worry about it because I changed my tag already. Now ima just practice this new name more in the books before getting up.
no youtuber is a legend. Legends are the only people with exclusive names, meaning the name is free to use and if they get pissed then too bad for them. If you like the old name better then by all means go for it dude.
Yeah, dude, you shouldn't be just drawing on places.think about it. If you owned a store or building and kids come and grafitti all over it. It's not cool. Plus, Gods watching. You'll pay for it. Jesus loves you, man. ***Soon, there is going to be the rapture. It's when there will be trumpet sounds, and after the trumpet sounds, God will lift his people from here. Also, God said people should be living by the Bible. Amen, and God bless you.
@@allenvayner4987 🤣 who says I’m tagging over buildings and stores? Lol, I’m tagging over abandos / trashbins / and random poles. So don’t judge a book by it’s cover and at the off the day it’s not that deep xD
6:07 there's a lot of people with mental illnesses that are far from toy and they participate heavily in beef. The people that have done prison years and going back. Graffiti fosters a lot of individuals on the antisocial personality disorder spectrum.
And then there's also people who stay on the low and still participate in beef and are amazing artists and even successful professionals. People can find a lot of secret stuff to do in the darkness of the night.
Just do your thing until it feels good and matches your idea. Don’t worry about gatekeeping TH-camrs who want everything to look the same. Your job isn’t impressing critics. Your endeavor is to write on stuff. Learn from the process, not a parasocial relationship
@@illusionfpv1326 not everyone who uses it but 90% of people who say you are a toy. Or it’s a seasoned writer who never grew up and elevated themselves into painting actual pieces. Just my experience of it.
@@Taskoismyep I'm a straight up tag banger but unfortunately since age 17 have had arthritis and carpal tunnel, now I'm 45 with fibromyalgia, Reynaurds, etc etc basically we have bad joint issues in my mom's side of the family, all the women tend to get osteoporosis related issues before age 50. If I press down on a tip of a spray paint can for more than just maybe 3 seconds, my fingertip turns completely white from one of those conditions called Reynaurds syndrome. If I hold it down for more than that got to say like 7 to 10 seconds, it will start to hurt really bad. And if it's cold outside at the same time like, (when I say cold I mean under 65 degrees, I don't think that it's cold but this is what happens to my fingers) they hurt like a MF they hurt so bad, they feel like I stuck them in a fire pit😮 I guess it's probably the feeling you'd get was severe frostbite or something. They also will lock into the place that they're in and I will be unable to unlock my fingers from being bent all weird and it hurts so bad😮 with the advent of these new spray paint caps and shit on the Montana cans and you already know all the new shit they got out It's made it a bit easier but nonetheless the pain still persist from that rain arts shit and my rotator cuff starts hurting after a few minutes too from where it got tore once again from some motherfucker in my own crew same new jack who tried to merk me last year after I told him he was booted because he had the audacity to question who put me in?! when I was put in by the founder! Straight back in the '90s when he wasn't even a cell in his grandfather's nutsack😂 when I told him who put me, he said he never heard of dude and I laughed in his face. He was sitting there trying to school me about the inner workings of my own crew I literally slept on the streets with, fought with, rolled with, stowed with, grew up in the same streets and did work for.
I can't stand judging writers upon their style because to me the whole point of graffiti is going out and putting your name out there.. who cares what it looks like. It's even better if it's illegible. It's awesome if it looks corny too. If somebody want to look childish so be it. Maybe they're on the autism spectrum like I was finally diagnosed with at age 37 lol I've been writing straight letters with stars and lines and all types of gang related shit since I first was down with ESP and XIV in the early early 90s! My tag had two O's back-to-back and I drew it like an Infinity symbol but flipped it so it looked like a letter eight I put two axes through it with diagonal lines shit went hard body for an 11-year-old pale tailed girl😂😂😂 I was schooled up here in Seattle by OG's in my family (and later, my friends) out of Long Beach, Carson, the O, and SF. I like the toy shit because it's going to be the new generation of heads and who cares what it looks like. It's not your stuff that's putting out there and unless they're going over you keep your opinion to yourself cuz it's just bringing down somebody who's trying to make themself feel better for some reason. Graffiti is an adrenaline rush and it's an addiction as well. Is one thing if you want to show us some new jack styles and help him become a true king but it's another thing if you just want to be rape people and put them down because you're not confident. I got him styles and throws I can piece too if I work on a black book at home but at the end of the day I don't care what my tag looks like. If somebody got something to say to me I'll run a fade chronic pain or not I'm not playing. People don't know about my pain I'm buff as hell and most of it is mitigated now on my older age since I got out of the line of work That was causing me to have to deal with daily joint exertion. That's how I got put in my crews, I was really with the shit 😂 never went to jail never had to steal always kept a job never had to rob always hustled always kept my bustle always worked on muscle always stayed above the struggle despite the sacrifices. A lot of my crew has died rest in peace LERK1 DOUBT BTM I'm not even going to get into a roll call there's way too many
Yeah, made my first piece couple of days ago in a deserted building spot and graffiti feels like a game when you don't rules. Like what hieararchy, who is who, over what I can paint and where I shouldn't - just lots of stuff unrelated to painting and having fun. My perspective to it - be humble, practice your craft, respect other's peoples art and creative process.
@@Theartistblock So much easier to get started you can just order what you need and its brought to your door. I had to find writers and hope they would be cool enough to let me in on the way it all goes. Once I figured out what kind of caps they were using I had to find a place to get them, everything was a mission. We were using Tester caps and what are called Rusto fats these days thats the only caps I had until I ordered them from 12oz prophet in the late 90s. Nothing was easily obtainable like it is now.
I tend to suspect there are a lot more people that have longevity than you might suspect. Sometimes they take on a new name. Sometimes they go dormant for years on end, only to crop up again. I've witnessed it myself. It always gives me a buzz to see a name I thought was long gone crop up again in the form of a new piece or even a throw up.
For some people graffiti beef is all they have going on in their life, and in some cases that’s the only way for some people to gain “street cred”. It really is ridiculous.
I started in like 08. Beef was one of 2 things usually.. tag bangers,. So you got real beef. Like someone could get seriously hurt. And then you had beef that was mostly about capping ppl. At most you fight someone. Around 2010 niggas started bringing personal shit into beef. Crews were beefing bc someone broke up with someone. Lmao It got weird
@@westerngroovetv yeah I know a few guys beefing and capping over a girl and another over people using names too similar to his or his friends 🤦🏿♂️😂😂 we are indeed living in strange times.
Toys make excuses to themselves why shit like that is "dope". The way I explain it that seems to work the best is I tell them it's a "toy tell". How if someone always smiles when they have a good hand in poker.. that smile is their tell. Doing shit like crowns is a tell. Ppl look at it and go oh a toy. That usually gets em to see what I mean and that I'm not just tryna tell em what to do
@@westerngroovetv That's not true at all. And who cares what people look at and think. People look at it and think it's illegal and that should be penalized as well. Are you doing this for yourself or you doing this to please other people?
@@Pugetwitch nah he’s not and also, its mad disrespectful to the people who actually deserve a crown if some toy rocks it on there hand style. That would mean everyone at his level would be considered a graff king which is nothing at all lol.
Just talk to him. Don’t poison him with this perspective. For real, doing this for more than 20 years, nobody acts like these youtube clowns in real life
What sucks about social media is how fast a rumor can spread about you, even if its not graff related, and somehow it manages to slip into you're graff carrear. The problem is people arent checking the facts and once one person has beef with you, all of a sudden, everyone does.... Its funny tho cuz once they meet you, they calm down 😂....
Simple is not better than technical. Some people do use a lot of detail/tech as a crutch, but you can see when there form and letter balance/structure is garbage. I paint technical sh!t, but I taught myself to paint pieces as quickly as some people do throwups. I can appreciate simplicity, because to really pull it off is about as impressive as something technical. Technical is simple and natural for some folks. If it sucks, it sucks, technical or simple
You are toy. Ppl who write that are online only and never interact with real writers think toy is purely a bad word. Toy just means beginner. It's slang for beginner. So you can't be a beginner and not a toy. The thing is that toy is used as an insult to more experienced ppl. It's like calling a veteran in a professional sport a rookie. So toys see that and think THAT is the meaning. No, a rookie is still a rookie Even if ppl call veterans rookies as an insult. Nothing wrong with being toy when you're actually a toy. It's only something wrong when you shouldn't be toy anymore and you're doing toy shit.
@@westerngroovetv There’s still a level between a toy in graffiti and a legend as there is a level between a rookie and a veteran in sports. There’s more to graffiti than just toys and legends, there’s people in between like me. I have done graffiti for years now, I wouldn’t consider myself a toy. I am definitely more skilled than a toy, but no where near the skill of a legend. I never behaved like a toy and never did any of the things mentioned in the video. But if I look at other people’s skills I am still closer to a beginner level than I am to legendary level. My comment above was just meant as a joke. Not every beginner is a toy, if you are beginner and stay in the books till you are skilled enough you will never have been a toy in my opinion. Toy doesn’t ONLY mean beginner, you can write for years an be toy if you behave like a toy
@@Rlflfofofoekekekrk I wouldn't call you a beginner. Bc essentially I'm calling you a toy. It's not either toy/beginner or crazy good. Most writers who aren't toy can't piece. Graffiti isn't an art form it's vandalism. If you can do decent vandalism you aren't toy, but you also aren't a beginner. You're just average, or intermediate. I bet if I seen your stuff it's not bad at all, even pretty good. But the stuff you're comparing yourself to is rather complex. Most writers never get to that point. If your stuff doesn't compare to average skilled graffiti then you are toy. If you just start and stay in the books you're still toy. Bc your Graff isn't good and you don't know the unwritten rules to the game yet. Again, that feels like making the word something it's not. We are ALL toy at one point. There's no avoiding it unless the day you start you have the fundamentals of letters down and know the rules to the culture you're involved in. It has nothing to do with anything but those 2 things. That's why like you said, you can be skilled with letters but if you don't know the rules you can still be considered toy. But there are ppl who are skilled.. know the rules.. and just don't follow the rules and they get called toy. But they aren't toy. They are purposely disregarding the norms and are being called toy as an insult.
Might be a stupid question but imma ask it anyways. When I look at graffiti in my city I usaully see people putting halos on top their name, does that have the same relevance as crowns or is it just a detail?
Do people actually take this stuff seriously? Is graffiti culture this uptight and hierarchical? Yeah, do art and rebel, but you better obey all of these laws while you do it.
Lol it seems a bit oxymoronic no doubt about that but if we're being honst, the whole rebel thing tends to be a BS excuse people spout out. Most people arent really working with that level of conviction to rebel against anything so with that its not nearly as hypocritical as it seems seeing as its less of a rebellious act and more of their own self interest. but yea, people do take it pretty serious. To be clear, they do to varying degrees, with some being over the top
Yes. Just like people take any subculture/tradition/artform/religion/philosophy seriously. You don't just stomp into them and have a reckless, egotistical outlook where you ignore and violate fundamental elements of etiquette/respect. This stuff is so utterly basic, it's so telling of this godforsaken era that people are finding these extremely basic and formerly common-sensical rules to be so restrictive and oppressive. It hurts to see such a lack of basic respect and dilution of any authenticity polluting every aspect and field in the world today. Everything is not for everybody. Think of all of the institutions, beliefs, manmade laws, protocols etc. you aren't questioning and happily abide by or participate in and don't consider oppressive, limiting or too structured
as somebody whose pretty new to the graffti scene, this shits a godsend man, really helpful on what not to do lol (still deciding on a name tho lol, Im thinkin' "Sinist☆r" but idk, shit seems too edgy yk?)
It's way too long. Why not cnstr? That would be more clever, sensible and read the same, and you could add one or more of the vowels once you learn to actually paint letters at all. I guess cnstr could read as "scenester", but that's pretty funny anyway. You should probably start with at most a 4 letter word, but before that you need to learn the fundamentals of lettering in the first place. Practice fonts/letters from signs/magazines and calligraphy. That will give you a good base foundation for understanding the flow and balance of lettering, and I don't know if you understand 3Ding, but you need to get that down as well. A lot of painted signs and magazines will have 3D'd lettering as well, so you can learn both from the same sources. You will probably discover letters that you like and prefer to draw/paint and how well you like them fitting together. Sinistar is a rap pseudonym, not a word for graf
So I’m an old head so this might be a dumb question, but when did “toy” become a thing. This is the first time I’ve heard this term. Not sure if it’s a big deal now or not, but be careful of writing over “gang graffiti”
I am pretty sure my age qualifies me as an old head, and the term "toy" was around way before my time. It's pretty much essential graffiti slang. And yes, painting over gang graffiti is still not a great idea. Painting over the wrong writer has the same potential backfire
@@christophercarnes5225 i dont know if graffiti become a trend too in other countries in 2022 but here in my country they all signed up lol with block buster slaps witha word weed or dope😭😭
I wish I was still brand new to Graffiti back in my toy years. Legit the best time in graffiti even for most graffiti artists, thats when its still new and shiny. enjoy it while you can and don't rush getting out of it.
Its the best time to be a writer when everything is new and fresh. Ive been out of the game since about 2009 but I started in 94. It was way harder to learn the ropes back then.
If I could go back to how everything was when I was toy I would. Even graffiti Internet culture was better.. at least in my opinion. Instead of ig we used flikr. Instead of learning graffiti from TH-cam and reddit you learned from IRL ppl and joining a graffiti focused forum. TH-cam had all kinds of tutorials and buff tests and hella vids of regular ass writers getting up. You still had to get up. Can't just do chill spots and post on IG and get clout from that. My style has plateaued completely.
@@westerngroovetv I feel where you're coming from with this. I mean, I obviously don't have a lot of experience with graffiti, but even with regular art, where getting up isn't a concern, I feel like spending too much time on the computer takes away from the fun for me. I'm really enjoying the process of trying to figure things out on my own, but it's hard to stay away from youtube videos. Not to say that I think videos like this are bad, and what I think makes this content specifically great is that there's no telling you what to do. Not a tutorial, but more like a collection of hints that makes the trial and error a lot more satisfying. Anyway, sorry for ranting lol. Happy writing.
a toy is not a beginner a toy to me is when u been painting for years & your shit still looks exactly da same! a throwie goes over a tag a burner goes over a throwie & a piece goes over a burner!!
How about ENUI. 'Ennui' means boredom, and those are good letters. But you have to practice understanding lettering. Look at/study/practice fonts/calligraphy and lettering from sign painting, ads and magazines, and you will get a good foundation. Practice and understand the balance/proportion of lettering, and learn how to 3D your letters/word (not for a just a tag/handstyle, obviously). Sometimes studying and practicing your lettering will make you more fond of certain letters, and how much you like them next to others
Sadly it's kind of needed, because this generation of toys is huge, and most have no vetting or basic principles of respect, and it's not good when they run into somebody like me
@@jslaughterofthesoul4939 I'm from a country where graffiti culture is still on but they're secret as heck. I like graffitis, sure I do want to learn and do some. But I'm not even from the capital city so it's real hard for me to get hold of irl graffiti doers, that's where yt comes for help. Also literally every thing is toy so I dont really feel welcomed into the community so I just keep observing the international and national graffitis but not participating in it. Also I'm a woman from a misogynistic country so I dont know how brutally bad I'll be treated as a beginner and woman so I just dont care abt learning it further. I still watch his videos cause it's fun to observe yk.
" " and an arrow are both extremely toy. An arrow can be done "tastefully", but it will take some experience to understand how. Work on the structure and balance of lettering before adding embellishments, especially to a tag/handstyle. Consult fonts/calligraphy to get a better understanding of letter structure and balance. If this was a troll post, it's funny as hell. If not, I am not trying to be a d!ck, just trying to help
i know crowns looks nice but as a graffiti artist we dont put them in our tags or pieces as they belong to the legends and kings of graffiti to the graffiti kings who passed on watch Style Wars one of the best graffiti movies of all time
If you're somewhere with an actual scene ppl will beat your ass for using crowns after telling you not to. I mean, if you're actually getting up. Using crowns is like when you go to meet your gf parents for the first time and you think you're so great enough to go sit in ya gf dad's chair. Pure disrespect
I am confused. I thought we are anarchist vandals expressing our dissatisfaction w the lack of parenting and desperate need for attention but need to shit on society under the cover of darkness and anonymity. You telling me there is a constitution n bylaws? Dunno what you think you are but I am a CRIMINAL n sure as shit not worried about anyone but the law and owner of the stuff I piss my sadness on
i feel like one of the biggest things toys do...is call other writers toys for shit they do like its graff, the slash hack and cover "rules" i can understand but if your throwing a bunch of rules into the art of graff its not graff no more its a 6th grade class room little girls chirping
It's graf, but modern toys especially have no vetting, basic understanding of respect, or understanding that being a reckless idiot who doesn't learn and understand the core principles of etiquette will get their a$$ beat. Possibly by me. It's not just the new generation of toys/writers. People as a whole have greatly devolved in their understanding and practice of basic social etiquette and morality and unfortunately, unspoken rules actually need to be spoken now. Art in general has become much weaker. I look at what people are calling "rap" for instance, and it isn't even rap, barely any rhyming, no wordplay, no delivery, no punchlines, no vocabulary... When underground artists are basically just mainstream "artists" that "aren't signed yet", it completely decimates, disrespects and pollutes an artform culture. You don't just wander into a subculture and artform without bothering to understand the basics and most fundamental etiquette. That's like scumbag developers tearing down historically, aesthetically and culturally significant buildings/small businesses/stores/houses/apartments to put up pointless, soulless, giant empty condos that look like they were designed by AI. Sadly that is a national trend right now as well. End-stage capitalism and social media have completely torn to shreds what was left of the fabric of society, and created the most toxic and stupid, unmindful social landscape. In am sure a lot of toys are not even fully toilet trained or able to read an analog clock. Protecting fundamental traditions and etiquette of respect in other cultures is not "gatekeeping", it's just necessary. Most folks just stomp or dive headfirst into things and have some feeling of entitlement these days, and feel like any parameters are some affront, haterism, or being stuck in old ways. It's the same with language, there are rules to language, and words have definitions, sentences have structure, because otherwise communication is not possible, which has/is become/becoming the case as well. We should be able to see how well that isn't working. Same thing here
@@jslaughterofthesoul4939 i can agree with alot of that for sure, idk if my comment came off as implying something differently then what i meant, but to sum it up thats kinda how i feel people are fan boi as fuck and will follow blindly calling some one a toy and yet doesnt even understand light source directional shading or even letter structure but watch this video and throw lingo around like they are the big homie puttting littles on the basics of the game when really they just went to one youtube video and bang. they made it
Let me guess, gen Z toy? I don't think you understand what graffiti is. When you are a guest in a new place/culture, you need to understand social etiquette/tradition/respect. From what I've seen of this guy's videos, he might not be the best one to teach it, but he was completely correct here
Obviously, but that's the problem with modern society. We've reached an apex of stupidity, disrespect and entitlement. This generation needs a tutorial on a ton of unspoken rules and tenets. Most are probably not even fully toilet trained
Sorry man, but I've seen a TOY throw up shit better then a experience writer in one shot So still a TOY thats actually better puts you to shame 😂 Edit: btw buying spray paint, pens buff rollers is toy, so watch who you calling a toy even tho your a experience writer with good styles If you ain't jack shit I don't know how you talking
I mean both things can be true. Graffiti is looked down on for that very reason after all and breaking the law isn't a respectful thing. But graffiti normally has a respect and camaraderie within its own community and that's what this video is regarding.
Nobody should have some pointless and soulless 5 million dollar propertiy polluting and destroying the culture, tradition, function, aesthetic of a city. Graffiti has always been a factor and sign if life in the city. Nobody with any sense is painting over peoples' homes and windows anyway. You prefer things bland, unnatural, streamlined, mass-produced, partisan politics based, generic, AI-friendly and robber baron/oligopoly/oligarch owned and controlled; your worldview is very fragile and as confined and spoonfed as you're comfortable with. And that's great, there are a handful of people, industrial complexes and institutions, who proclaim to be very important, relying on you
EXCUSE ME-- I do enjoy your channel. I do. Do you know those idiots, that claim that they know how to grow your channel? I do. I AM NOT ONE OF THEM. If I could show you, how to triple your audience within five minutes, by doing one simple thing, would you be interested, or would you think I am full of shit. Let me tell you something. I can go round round round with you all day but no thanks, I can tell you ONE thing that is making me not want to watch your videos. I know what it is. So do others, not to insult you. The sad part is that I had the same issue as do others, but, I do not want to offend you. The sad part is not that I know what it is and have that analytical mindset from the shit that was shoveled down my effing throat for the better part of 35 years which led me to decide on a side hustle-- the sad part is that YOU DO NOT.
Graff is a art lifestyle without borders. Yes respect others work is common sense but putting rules and limitations doesn’t make u an artist but a follower bound by others opinions. Fame is a must, respect is earned, and every graffer starts as a toy in some way or another… just thinking out loud 🤔 🎨🖌️💪🏽🔥😎👍🏽🫶🏽
Tradition and basic parameters and etiquette are not gatekeeping or restrictive. You are pathologically entitled, and think you can just barge into any artform/subculture and bend it to your whim. Everybody making this comment blows my mind, because anybody that knows anything about graffiti already knows these parameters, and they are the most minimal and simplistic standards, completely natural and should be obvious. This generation is an absolute diluted cesspool. You can play country music and call it death metal, but it's not. You can fingerpaint stick figures on construction paper, but it's not tattooing. You don't go to a Judo class to make up your own moves and routine. You should not be flying a plane that you're a passenger on. I'm guessing you're a huge fan of that Australian "breakdancer", RayGun from the Olympics? If you are so intent on skirting the most basic and fundamental, sacred, meaningful concepts of the graf (that's what we call graffiti) world/culture, then you clearly aren't and will never be a part of it. There's enough senseless, catastrophic gentrification in the world, we don't need fools like you pushing to gentrify and desecrate an artform/culture
![[Full] 4 ต่อ 4 Celebrity EP.920 | 3 พ.ย. 67 | one31](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KwiW2M_kAg4/mqdefault.jpg)
I miss being a toy, honestly being a toy was the funnest part of my graffiti career, meeting writers, getting in beef but mostly it was the seeing progression of you and your friends getting better at the craft
I’m still a toy and tagged a lot of spots in my city, but I regret doing that bcs, whenever I drive past a tag I think, damn that’s a shitty tag😂 but I don’t worry about it because I changed my tag already. Now ima just practice this new name more in the books before getting up.
@StevenMorales-sk5bkit was lowkey embarrassing th
o, and i saw a youtuber from 5yrs ago rocking that name so thats why i changed
no youtuber is a legend. Legends are the only people with exclusive names, meaning the name is free to use and if they get pissed then too bad for them. If you like the old name better then by all means go for it dude.
Yeah, dude, you shouldn't be just drawing on places.think about it. If you owned a store or building and kids come and grafitti all over it. It's not cool. Plus, Gods watching. You'll pay for it. Jesus loves you, man. ***Soon, there is going to be the rapture. It's when there will be trumpet sounds, and after the trumpet sounds, God will lift his people from here. Also, God said people should be living by the Bible. Amen, and God bless you.
@@allenvayner4987 🤣 who says I’m tagging over buildings and stores? Lol, I’m tagging over abandos / trashbins / and random poles. So don’t judge a book by it’s cover and at the off the day it’s not that deep xD
@@allenvayner4987 sorry man but i dont think God "care" about graffiti.
Beef is so annoying to deal with if u don’t want it
6:07 there's a lot of people with mental illnesses that are far from toy and they participate heavily in beef. The people that have done prison years and going back. Graffiti fosters a lot of individuals on the antisocial personality disorder spectrum.
And then there's also people who stay on the low and still participate in beef and are amazing artists and even successful professionals. People can find a lot of secret stuff to do in the darkness of the night.
Just do your thing until it feels good and matches your idea.
Don’t worry about gatekeeping TH-camrs who want everything to look the same. Your job isn’t impressing critics. Your endeavor is to write on stuff. Learn from the process, not a parasocial relationship
this is really good advice
Before even watching it… usually using the word toy makes me think the person is a toy lol.
youfo wasn’t fully correct
@@illusionfpv1326 not everyone who uses it but 90% of people who say you are a toy. Or it’s a seasoned writer who never grew up and elevated themselves into painting actual pieces. Just my experience of it.
@@Taskoismyep I'm a straight up tag banger but unfortunately since age 17 have had arthritis and carpal tunnel, now I'm 45 with fibromyalgia, Reynaurds, etc etc basically we have bad joint issues in my mom's side of the family, all the women tend to get osteoporosis related issues before age 50. If I press down on a tip of a spray paint can for more than just maybe 3 seconds, my fingertip turns completely white from one of those conditions called Reynaurds syndrome. If I hold it down for more than that got to say like 7 to 10 seconds, it will start to hurt really bad. And if it's cold outside at the same time like, (when I say cold I mean under 65 degrees, I don't think that it's cold but this is what happens to my fingers) they hurt like a MF they hurt so bad, they feel like I stuck them in a fire pit😮 I guess it's probably the feeling you'd get was severe frostbite or something. They also will lock into the place that they're in and I will be unable to unlock my fingers from being bent all weird and it hurts so bad😮 with the advent of these new spray paint caps and shit on the Montana cans and you already know all the new shit they got out It's made it a bit easier but nonetheless the pain still persist from that rain arts shit and my rotator cuff starts hurting after a few minutes too from where it got tore once again from some motherfucker in my own crew same new jack who tried to merk me last year after I told him he was booted because he had the audacity to question who put me in?! when I was put in by the founder! Straight back in the '90s when he wasn't even a cell in his grandfather's nutsack😂 when I told him who put me, he said he never heard of dude and I laughed in his face. He was sitting there trying to school me about the inner workings of my own crew I literally slept on the streets with, fought with, rolled with, stowed with, grew up in the same streets and did work for.
I can't stand judging writers upon their style because to me the whole point of graffiti is going out and putting your name out there.. who cares what it looks like. It's even better if it's illegible. It's awesome if it looks corny too. If somebody want to look childish so be it. Maybe they're on the autism spectrum like I was finally diagnosed with at age 37 lol I've been writing straight letters with stars and lines and all types of gang related shit since I first was down with ESP and XIV in the early early 90s! My tag had two O's back-to-back and I drew it like an Infinity symbol but flipped it so it looked like a letter eight I put two axes through it with diagonal lines shit went hard body for an 11-year-old pale tailed girl😂😂😂 I was schooled up here in Seattle by OG's in my family (and later, my friends) out of Long Beach, Carson, the O, and SF. I like the toy shit because it's going to be the new generation of heads and who cares what it looks like. It's not your stuff that's putting out there and unless they're going over you keep your opinion to yourself cuz it's just bringing down somebody who's trying to make themself feel better for some reason. Graffiti is an adrenaline rush and it's an addiction as well. Is one thing if you want to show us some new jack styles and help him become a true king but it's another thing if you just want to be rape people and put them down because you're not confident. I got him styles and throws I can piece too if I work on a black book at home but at the end of the day I don't care what my tag looks like. If somebody got something to say to me I'll run a fade chronic pain or not I'm not playing. People don't know about my pain I'm buff as hell and most of it is mitigated now on my older age since I got out of the line of work That was causing me to have to deal with daily joint exertion. That's how I got put in my crews, I was really with the shit 😂 never went to jail never had to steal always kept a job never had to rob always hustled always kept my bustle always worked on muscle always stayed above the struggle despite the sacrifices. A lot of my crew has died rest in peace LERK1 DOUBT BTM I'm not even going to get into a roll call there's way too many
Yeah, made my first piece couple of days ago in a deserted building spot and graffiti feels like a game when you don't rules. Like what hieararchy, who is who, over what I can paint and where I shouldn't - just lots of stuff unrelated to painting and having fun. My perspective to it - be humble, practice your craft, respect other's peoples art and creative process.
If I never fell off this would be my 30th year writing. Man the game has changed since 94 thats for sure.
You're not lying about that, the scene is 10000× different. I started in 99 and if it's different for me then it's sure changed for you
@@Theartistblock So much easier to get started you can just order what you need and its brought to your door. I had to find writers and hope they would be cool enough to let me in on the way it all goes. Once I figured out what kind of caps they were using I had to find a place to get them, everything was a mission. We were using Tester caps and what are called Rusto fats these days thats the only caps I had until I ordered them from 12oz prophet in the late 90s. Nothing was easily obtainable like it is now.
Crowns💀
Last week I saw 5 ICH. hitters on railcars shoutout to the railcar God Ichabod.
I tend to suspect there are a lot more people that have longevity than you might suspect. Sometimes they take on a new name. Sometimes they go dormant for years on end, only to crop up again. I've witnessed it myself. It always gives me a buzz to see a name I thought was long gone crop up again in the form of a new piece or even a throw up.
For some people graffiti beef is all they have going on in their life, and in some cases that’s the only way for some people to gain “street cred”. It really is ridiculous.
I started in like 08. Beef was one of 2 things usually.. tag bangers,. So you got real beef. Like someone could get seriously hurt. And then you had beef that was mostly about capping ppl. At most you fight someone.
Around 2010 niggas started bringing personal shit into beef. Crews were beefing bc someone broke up with someone. Lmao
It got weird
@@westerngroovetv yeah I know a few guys beefing and capping over a girl and another over people using names too similar to his or his friends 🤦🏿♂️😂😂 we are indeed living in strange times.
I need to show my toy homie this, I’m trying to stop him but he keeps putting a crown on his work 🙄
Toys make excuses to themselves why shit like that is "dope".
The way I explain it that seems to work the best is I tell them it's a "toy tell". How if someone always smiles when they have a good hand in poker.. that smile is their tell.
Doing shit like crowns is a tell. Ppl look at it and go oh a toy.
That usually gets em to see what I mean and that I'm not just tryna tell em what to do
Is he from Philly? And there's nothing wrong with throwing a crown on top of it's done well. That's OG style.
@@westerngroovetv That's not true at all. And who cares what people look at and think. People look at it and think it's illegal and that should be penalized as well. Are you doing this for yourself or you doing this to please other people?
@@Pugetwitch nah he’s not and also, its mad disrespectful to the people who actually deserve a crown if some toy rocks it on there hand style. That would mean everyone at his level would be considered a graff king which is nothing at all lol.
Just talk to him. Don’t poison him with this perspective. For real, doing this for more than 20 years, nobody acts like these youtube clowns in real life
Nr.1 making videos like this...
What sucks about social media is how fast a rumor can spread about you, even if its not graff related, and somehow it manages to slip into you're graff carrear. The problem is people arent checking the facts and once one person has beef with you, all of a sudden, everyone does....
Its funny tho cuz once they meet you, they calm down 😂....
That and the AI is tracking everyone 🤔🧐
Brooo facts other artist literally went into my DM talking trash bout ima toy.
The old tag crew we used to put the letters of out crew and the k would end with kings 😂😂😂
i think the overstyling thing is the thing that shows that youre toy the most, i always keep telling people that simple is better.
Simple is not better than technical. Some people do use a lot of detail/tech as a crutch, but you can see when there form and letter balance/structure is garbage. I paint technical sh!t, but I taught myself to paint pieces as quickly as some people do throwups. I can appreciate simplicity, because to really pull it off is about as impressive as something technical. Technical is simple and natural for some folks. If it sucks, it sucks, technical or simple
I don’t do any of those things, maybe I am not a Toy but only a beginner 😅😮
Nothing wrong with that we all started at the bottom.
You are toy.
Ppl who write that are online only and never interact with real writers think toy is purely a bad word.
Toy just means beginner. It's slang for beginner. So you can't be a beginner and not a toy.
The thing is that toy is used as an insult to more experienced ppl. It's like calling a veteran in a professional sport a rookie. So toys see that and think THAT is the meaning.
No, a rookie is still a rookie Even if ppl call veterans rookies as an insult.
Nothing wrong with being toy when you're actually a toy. It's only something wrong when you shouldn't be toy anymore and you're doing toy shit.
@@westerngroovetv There’s still a level between a toy in graffiti and a legend as there is a level between a rookie and a veteran in sports.
There’s more to graffiti than just toys and legends, there’s people in between like me. I have done graffiti for years now, I wouldn’t consider myself a toy. I am definitely more skilled than a toy, but no where near the skill of a legend. I never behaved like a toy and never did any of the things mentioned in the video.
But if I look at other people’s skills I am still closer to a beginner level than I am to legendary level.
My comment above was just meant as a joke. Not every beginner is a toy, if you are beginner and stay in the books till you are skilled enough you will never have been a toy in my opinion.
Toy doesn’t ONLY mean beginner, you can write for years an be toy if you behave like a toy
@@Rlflfofofoekekekrk I wouldn't call you a beginner. Bc essentially I'm calling you a toy.
It's not either toy/beginner or crazy good. Most writers who aren't toy can't piece. Graffiti isn't an art form it's vandalism. If you can do decent vandalism you aren't toy, but you also aren't a beginner. You're just average, or intermediate.
I bet if I seen your stuff it's not bad at all, even pretty good. But the stuff you're comparing yourself to is rather complex. Most writers never get to that point.
If your stuff doesn't compare to average skilled graffiti then you are toy.
If you just start and stay in the books you're still toy. Bc your Graff isn't good and you don't know the unwritten rules to the game yet.
Again, that feels like making the word something it's not.
We are ALL toy at one point. There's no avoiding it unless the day you start you have the fundamentals of letters down and know the rules to the culture you're involved in.
It has nothing to do with anything but those 2 things.
That's why like you said, you can be skilled with letters but if you don't know the rules you can still be considered toy.
But there are ppl who are skilled.. know the rules.. and just don't follow the rules and they get called toy. But they aren't toy. They are purposely disregarding the norms and are being called toy as an insult.
Did you see ENVE blast an entire Kardashian Billboard with STDR‽
I feel like there’s a movement to battle big pieces churning up
Might be a stupid question but imma ask it anyways. When I look at graffiti in my city I usaully see people putting halos on top their name, does that have the same relevance as crowns or is it just a detail?
WAAAAAAAAY back in the day halos were used with meaning but that didn't last long at all and now it's just a detail
No. Halos are just a fairly common embellishment, not anywhere close to being as embarrassing and ridiculous as a crown
Just do it, get better, and don't go over anyone's dope shit unless you hate them and are willing to deal with potential consequences.
That’s the only thing my toy ass never did was crowns😂😂😂
That's da way it worx ❤
Do people actually take this stuff seriously? Is graffiti culture this uptight and hierarchical? Yeah, do art and rebel, but you better obey all of these laws while you do it.
Lol it seems a bit oxymoronic no doubt about that but if we're being honst, the whole rebel thing tends to be a BS excuse people spout out. Most people arent really working with that level of conviction to rebel against anything so with that its not nearly as hypocritical as it seems seeing as its less of a rebellious act and more of their own self interest. but yea, people do take it pretty serious. To be clear, they do to varying degrees, with some being over the top
Yes. Just like people take any subculture/tradition/artform/religion/philosophy seriously. You don't just stomp into them and have a reckless, egotistical outlook where you ignore and violate fundamental elements of etiquette/respect. This stuff is so utterly basic, it's so telling of this godforsaken era that people are finding these extremely basic and formerly common-sensical rules to be so restrictive and oppressive. It hurts to see such a lack of basic respect and dilution of any authenticity polluting every aspect and field in the world today. Everything is not for everybody. Think of all of the institutions, beliefs, manmade laws, protocols etc. you aren't questioning and happily abide by or participate in and don't consider oppressive, limiting or too structured
This dude is a Toy. Like a super toy. The king toy of all the toys in toyland.
Who r you?😂
@@Lost-ov2bp ask your mom
@@thefuzzymonsta unknown mf😂 toy ahh
@@Lost-ov2bpmmmm hmmmm!
please god tell me this man is joking 😂
as somebody whose pretty new to the graffti scene, this shits a godsend man, really helpful on what not to do lol
(still deciding on a name tho lol, Im thinkin' "Sinist☆r" but idk, shit seems too edgy yk?)
It's way too long. Why not cnstr? That would be more clever, sensible and read the same, and you could add one or more of the vowels once you learn to actually paint letters at all. I guess cnstr could read as "scenester", but that's pretty funny anyway. You should probably start with at most a 4 letter word, but before that you need to learn the fundamentals of lettering in the first place. Practice fonts/letters from signs/magazines and calligraphy. That will give you a good base foundation for understanding the flow and balance of lettering, and I don't know if you understand 3Ding, but you need to get that down as well. A lot of painted signs and magazines will have 3D'd lettering as well, so you can learn both from the same sources. You will probably discover letters that you like and prefer to draw/paint and how well you like them fitting together. Sinistar is a rap pseudonym, not a word for graf
Toys watch this video 😂
when ever i see crowns i think of limp bizkit
Nice
crowns no, but i rock halos ALWAYS
REAL
If you got no letter structure, but got hella embellishments don't get mad when we diss it.💯✍🏻
Ive used the upside-down crown
That's very gang related and disrespectful depending on where you are. Careful with the crown stuff
So I’m an old head so this might be a dumb question, but when did “toy” become a thing. This is the first time I’ve heard this term.
Not sure if it’s a big deal now or not, but be careful of writing over “gang graffiti”
I am pretty sure my age qualifies me as an old head, and the term "toy" was around way before my time. It's pretty much essential graffiti slang. And yes, painting over gang graffiti is still not a great idea. Painting over the wrong writer has the same potential backfire
here in my country toys always paint at heaven spots n spots that they can get caught red handed with a sloppy throw up🤣🤣
Earth is a country now
@@christophercarnes5225 i dont know if graffiti become a trend too in other countries in 2022 but here in my country they all signed up lol with block buster slaps witha word weed or dope😭😭
cant wait to not be toy anymore lmao.....
I wish I was still brand new to Graffiti back in my toy years. Legit the best time in graffiti even for most graffiti artists, thats when its still new and shiny. enjoy it while you can and don't rush getting out of it.
Its the best time to be a writer when everything is new and fresh. Ive been out of the game since about 2009 but I started in 94. It was way harder to learn the ropes back then.
@@Theartistblock thanks for your response dude! i was mostly joking with this but to hear a serious response is actually very encouraging :)
If I could go back to how everything was when I was toy I would.
Even graffiti Internet culture was better.. at least in my opinion.
Instead of ig we used flikr.
Instead of learning graffiti from TH-cam and reddit you learned from IRL ppl and joining a graffiti focused forum.
TH-cam had all kinds of tutorials and buff tests and hella vids of regular ass writers getting up.
You still had to get up. Can't just do chill spots and post on IG and get clout from that.
My style has plateaued completely.
@@westerngroovetv I feel where you're coming from with this. I mean, I obviously don't have a lot of experience with graffiti, but even with regular art, where getting up isn't a concern, I feel like spending too much time on the computer takes away from the fun for me. I'm really enjoying the process of trying to figure things out on my own, but it's hard to stay away from youtube videos. Not to say that I think videos like this are bad, and what I think makes this content specifically great is that there's no telling you what to do. Not a tutorial, but more like a collection of hints that makes the trial and error a lot more satisfying. Anyway, sorry for ranting lol. Happy writing.
Dope vid!
a toy is not a beginner a toy to me is when u been painting for years & your shit still looks exactly da same! a throwie goes over a tag a burner goes over a throwie & a piece goes over a burner!!
Yo wassup man love ur work ur contents everything man can u give me a name
How about ENUI. 'Ennui' means boredom, and those are good letters. But you have to practice understanding lettering. Look at/study/practice fonts/calligraphy and lettering from sign painting, ads and magazines, and you will get a good foundation. Practice and understand the balance/proportion of lettering, and learn how to 3D your letters/word (not for a just a tag/handstyle, obviously). Sometimes studying and practicing your lettering will make you more fond of certain letters, and how much you like them next to others
ATL 1:36 🫡 I have that flick
Making TH-cam tutorials about graffiti is Toy asf
Word
Sadly it's kind of needed, because this generation of toys is huge, and most have no vetting or basic principles of respect, and it's not good when they run into somebody like me
@@jslaughterofthesoul4939 I'm from a country where graffiti culture is still on but they're secret as heck. I like graffitis, sure I do want to learn and do some. But I'm not even from the capital city so it's real hard for me to get hold of irl graffiti doers, that's where yt comes for help. Also literally every thing is toy so I dont really feel welcomed into the community so I just keep observing the international and national graffitis but not participating in it. Also I'm a woman from a misogynistic country so I dont know how brutally bad I'll be treated as a beginner and woman so I just dont care abt learning it further. I still watch his videos cause it's fun to observe yk.
@@daisycrowniethat’s really sad, I’m sure if you move the graff community will appreciate you 👍
💯
Toy
3:15 my tag is TaMZ (the Z goes through M) and i add "" or a arrow at the bottom thats it
" " and an arrow are both extremely toy. An arrow can be done "tastefully", but it will take some experience to understand how. Work on the structure and balance of lettering before adding embellishments, especially to a tag/handstyle. Consult fonts/calligraphy to get a better understanding of letter structure and balance. If this was a troll post, it's funny as hell. If not, I am not trying to be a d!ck, just trying to help
Don't listen to this dude...use your common sense and just have fun
Alot of people don't understand how this culture works.... it's not just about you having fun, you gotta take it serious cuz you can get hurt
@Iso-ky9nm what rules bro...lol...who is making all these rules...it's just graff at the end of the day.. having fun is all that matters
@EL_OWER89 yeah try not abiding rules in a city like LA....
before you get to show of your tropes you need to learn them tropes first
What's Beef?
@@theofficialsaharon a problem. If you have beef then you have an issue with that person.
i always put crowns lol. they looks nice.
i know crowns looks nice but as a graffiti artist we dont put them in our tags or pieces as they belong to the legends and kings of graffiti to the graffiti kings who passed on watch Style Wars one of the best graffiti movies of all time
If you're somewhere with an actual scene ppl will beat your ass for using crowns after telling you not to.
I mean, if you're actually getting up. Using crowns is like when you go to meet your gf parents for the first time and you think you're so great enough to go sit in ya gf dad's chair.
Pure disrespect
😂
Maybe not do a step by step vid on TH-cam.
I am confused. I thought we are anarchist vandals expressing our dissatisfaction w the lack of parenting and desperate need for attention but need to shit on society under the cover of darkness and anonymity. You telling me there is a constitution n bylaws? Dunno what you think you are but I am a CRIMINAL n sure as shit not worried about anyone but the law and owner of the stuff I piss my sadness on
600e like!
🌤
i feel like one of the biggest things toys do...is call other writers toys for shit they do like its graff, the slash hack and cover "rules" i can understand but if your throwing a bunch of rules into the art of graff its not graff no more its a 6th grade class room little girls chirping
It's graf, but modern toys especially have no vetting, basic understanding of respect, or understanding that being a reckless idiot who doesn't learn and understand the core principles of etiquette will get their a$$ beat. Possibly by me. It's not just the new generation of toys/writers. People as a whole have greatly devolved in their understanding and practice of basic social etiquette and morality and unfortunately, unspoken rules actually need to be spoken now. Art in general has become much weaker. I look at what people are calling "rap" for instance, and it isn't even rap, barely any rhyming, no wordplay, no delivery, no punchlines, no vocabulary... When underground artists are basically just mainstream "artists" that "aren't signed yet", it completely decimates, disrespects and pollutes an artform culture. You don't just wander into a subculture and artform without bothering to understand the basics and most fundamental etiquette. That's like scumbag developers tearing down historically, aesthetically and culturally significant buildings/small businesses/stores/houses/apartments to put up pointless, soulless, giant empty condos that look like they were designed by AI. Sadly that is a national trend right now as well. End-stage capitalism and social media have completely torn to shreds what was left of the fabric of society, and created the most toxic and stupid, unmindful social landscape. In am sure a lot of toys are not even fully toilet trained or able to read an analog clock. Protecting fundamental traditions and etiquette of respect in other cultures is not "gatekeeping", it's just necessary. Most folks just stomp or dive headfirst into things and have some feeling of entitlement these days, and feel like any parameters are some affront, haterism, or being stuck in old ways. It's the same with language, there are rules to language, and words have definitions, sentences have structure, because otherwise communication is not possible, which has/is become/becoming the case as well. We should be able to see how well that isn't working. Same thing here
@@jslaughterofthesoul4939 i can agree with alot of that for sure, idk if my comment came off as implying something differently then what i meant, but to sum it up thats kinda how i feel people are fan boi as fuck and will follow blindly calling some one a toy and yet doesnt even understand light source directional shading or even letter structure but watch this video and throw lingo around like they are the big homie puttting littles on the basics of the game when really they just went to one youtube video and bang. they made it
You have some good points but they’re overshadowed by your horrible bias of what you believe graffiti is.
? Care to explain what I believe graffiti is, then also explain what you believe graffiti is?
Let me guess, gen Z toy? I don't think you understand what graffiti is. When you are a guest in a new place/culture, you need to understand social etiquette/tradition/respect. From what I've seen of this guy's videos, he might not be the best one to teach it, but he was completely correct here
Saint ghost ja and a couple others kinged New York that’s it
JA sucks. I don't get how somebody becomes a king anywhere based on two letter bubble throwups, you set the bar very low.
are halos toy
If you don't have a fundamental understanding of letter form/balance/structure/proportion yet, yes
This is so fkn cringe Haha omg. Real writers dnt need a toutorial
Obviously, but that's the problem with modern society. We've reached an apex of stupidity, disrespect and entitlement. This generation needs a tutorial on a ton of unspoken rules and tenets. Most are probably not even fully toilet trained
Sorry man, but I've seen a TOY throw up shit better then a experience writer in one shot
So still a TOY thats actually better puts you to shame 😂
Edit: btw buying spray paint, pens buff rollers is toy, so watch who you calling a toy even tho your a experience writer with good styles
If you ain't jack shit I don't know how you talking
this video is toy asf
So graffiti over someone's tag is disrespect but graffiti over someone's 5m commercial property isn't? Makes total sense
I mean both things can be true. Graffiti is looked down on for that very reason after all and breaking the law isn't a respectful thing. But graffiti normally has a respect and camaraderie within its own community and that's what this video is regarding.
Nobody should have some pointless and soulless 5 million dollar propertiy polluting and destroying the culture, tradition, function, aesthetic of a city. Graffiti has always been a factor and sign if life in the city. Nobody with any sense is painting over peoples' homes and windows anyway. You prefer things bland, unnatural, streamlined, mass-produced, partisan politics based, generic, AI-friendly and robber baron/oligopoly/oligarch owned and controlled; your worldview is very fragile and as confined and spoonfed as you're comfortable with. And that's great, there are a handful of people, industrial complexes and institutions, who proclaim to be very important, relying on you
EXCUSE ME-- I do enjoy your channel. I do. Do you know those idiots, that claim that they know how to grow your channel? I do. I AM NOT ONE OF THEM. If I could show you, how to triple your audience within five minutes, by doing one simple thing, would you be interested, or would you think I am full of shit. Let me tell you something. I can go round round round with you all day but no thanks, I can tell you ONE thing that is making me not want to watch your videos. I know what it is. So do others, not to insult you. The sad part is that I had the same issue as do others, but, I do not want to offend you. The sad part is not that I know what it is and have that analytical mindset from the shit that was shoveled down my effing throat for the better part of 35 years which led me to decide on a side hustle-- the sad part is that YOU DO NOT.
Graff is a art lifestyle without borders. Yes respect others work is common sense but putting rules and limitations doesn’t make u an artist but a follower bound by others opinions. Fame is a must, respect is earned, and every graffer starts as a toy in some way or another… just thinking out loud 🤔 🎨🖌️💪🏽🔥😎👍🏽🫶🏽
I know y r tryin 2 sound deep or sum shii..but you just come off cringe af
Tradition and basic parameters and etiquette are not gatekeeping or restrictive. You are pathologically entitled, and think you can just barge into any artform/subculture and bend it to your whim. Everybody making this comment blows my mind, because anybody that knows anything about graffiti already knows these parameters, and they are the most minimal and simplistic standards, completely natural and should be obvious. This generation is an absolute diluted cesspool. You can play country music and call it death metal, but it's not. You can fingerpaint stick figures on construction paper, but it's not tattooing. You don't go to a Judo class to make up your own moves and routine. You should not be flying a plane that you're a passenger on. I'm guessing you're a huge fan of that Australian "breakdancer", RayGun from the Olympics? If you are so intent on skirting the most basic and fundamental, sacred, meaningful concepts of the graf (that's what we call graffiti) world/culture, then you clearly aren't and will never be a part of it. There's enough senseless, catastrophic gentrification in the world, we don't need fools like you pushing to gentrify and desecrate an artform/culture
Sweet vid!