VOLTA SEVEN INTERVIEWS

Vetoe One

1. Standard "graffiti writer" question but I have to ask it, how old were you when you started doing graffiti and about how long have you been in the game?
I got into graffiti at a young age, its funny cause I came up in a small city full of nothing, and hated and didnt understand tagging and tag banging. One of my best friends cousin used to be from a crew called BN, and we all looked up to him. i think we were all more into the idea of gang bangin. around 12-13 I started catchin bullshit tags.It wasnt till I was 14 and went to high school that I really got schooled a little on real graffiti, due to this cat my boy Wayne who was really into the eas coast/europian shit.... like fx, tats, cope2, bio, bg, snow, per, ces, loomit, daim, and seak to name a few..... I started hitting books and it consumed me. I started bombing, which I thnk every writter who is real should or does do, I wanna say around the age of 15 to 16 yrs. old.... so I've been in this game for about 8 to 10 years. To this day you can still see traces of that west coast southsider gang traits in my tags and letters.

2.True gang banging/ tag banging has influenced alot of the west coast styles from the begining and still does. How does graffiti differ from the politics and attitudes of the early years to what it is toady, with the hip-hop/skater kid scene kinda dying and a new surge of graffiti writers with gang backgrounds now?
-To be honest this is a hard topic for me to give an answer for, I'm gonna call alot of people out.
I feel that now the game is all fucked up. You got kids who want to dis and talk shit, or go over who ever they want with out concern of what happens later. the respect left, and you got a handfull of people like uti, de, law, ska, bla, just to name a few trying to keep the old rules in tact. but it will never be the same. you got all these " pop art poster art school writers" who dont know the rules and do it because its fun and destructive and in the last few years its hip hop and cool to be about it, coming in the game and fuckin it up. I hate it, it makes me hate graff. I hate how corporate america uses graff to advertise to the youth, and they are mocking us while they do it. it got to big , all of it, graffiti got to big for itself thats really how i feel.... the older writters stop schooling the youth, and in return there were no rules..... what happened to when you lose a battle you honor the rules of the battle, what happened to if you lose a fight you shake hands and walk off. now you win a fight you better buy a gun, cause they will come back. kids have to much ego, including myself, I bombed from san diego, yards, freeways, trains, legals, to san francisco... I made a name for myself in the city of los angeles, coming from a small town in riverside, and because of that I thought I was a king... I'm not, that doesnt mean shit, tork has done it so many times, celer de has done it, japan has done it, a lot of people have... so why do i have an ego like im the only one.
I think beefs now a days, are more like gang fights, like the tko mta beef, it spun way out of control to fast, because everyone brought gangsters in it, or people who thought they were gangster.... I lost my boy cluer tko do to some kid who didnt want to fight like a man, he was from a gang, shot my good friend eyons who I almost lost. I had to sit and watch him fight in the hospital for his life, I lost one of my best friends to life charge, fluer top, over bullshit, same to hize si one of my good friends to a life charge... the gang activity should never have been in graff. guns should never be the answer... but some cities and some beefs now you have to have one. My man pryer is highly respected but hes got it just incase.....
graff got to big for itself, egos got to big for humanity, Fame and status and pride got to big for morals. There is too many personalities and reasons why people paint to just label someone or something and say its the problem.

sorry if i just went off track here and there, I needed to vent on that one...
fluer I love you homie and I miss you, eyons you know whats up, hize we all miss you, keep your head up, and cluer.. you were one of the downest cats I ever knew, a REAL stand up dude, rest in peace to you, we miss you...........
and rip to ohjae who lost his life to all this shit, and bullshit beefs, some writters just got lost in these beefs, and did things they never should have, including myself...

3.You were right about all that except one thing, you are KING!!!! You deffinently earned it, and if you dont think so, fuck it I think so! So give us your crews past and present? How did they get started, and how did you get down? any fun stories?
I honestly painted and busted my ass putting in work to be the best and be a king or at times thats how I felt or thought I wanted to be, but it got me no where but 2 felonies and and lifetime supply of beef, graff is WAY TO FUCKIN POLITICAL! its to much responsibility to be a king, but thank you....
First crew I was ever from was korock crew, the riverside version of the original pico crew... thats when it was all fun and new.. we all broke up the crew, over some beef with the head who was from bashers crew. I stayed solo for a long time, painting with a lot of crews like ou, nct, tko, bashers, nr, dfc, ocp, pfk, de, dbi, tsl, fgs, ub, lgf, ioh, 3d, top, si, ska, uti, just to name a few mixed with ie and la and sd crews... then one day pryer decided to put me in ska.. I was so proud. he was my boy, and I wanted to rep his legacy... I painted, put in work, and got busted... I was mad at the world, I couldnt do what I loved. later i was introduced to ucon omen and cluer from tko and soa, they were good people. but it got me mixed in a world of problems with different crews. i took on the beef because i am loyal to my homies. not wanting to bring ska problems, i joined tko through ucon, thinkin if i get seen with these guys im gonna get it regaurdless so fuck it, plus if someone trips on them then i got their backs for sure, those were my homies. and from then i ended up having problems with a few cats from ska over it and stepped out, and later stepped out of tko. i was put down with d2r, but im not sure where i stand with that do to the fact that i never paint hahahaha.... i still look at ska as family, pryer, phib, eyons, need, thanks, loyer, dox, roten, ulye, my homegirl fuss are all still my fam, and i got love for them... p.s. I wanna give a shout out to phib, you fuckin pervert hahahaha
I found it best to not be from a crew, when you are from a crew you are responsible for other's actions, instead of your own. Now people use a crew as a steping stone, or a way to get from a bigger crew, or a scare tactic if they cant handle their beef, they bring their whole crew in it, its a pussy coward move... YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!
funny stories... hahaha there was the onetime me gelts and galor were bombin in riverside and we caught a chase an hid in the sex shop hahahah, I got it.....
me and fluer are painting trains, and train security rolls up, I hide behind a wheel and fluer hides on the top of it.. im playin cat and mouse with the security, final a police chopper starts coming, and we can hear it, so I try to get securities attention by yelling, so they would chase me, and he does, the same time fluer hears the chopper, panics, and jumps down, when he did this he landed in front of the train security and just about gave the old guy a heart attack, he had no idea that fluer was up there, we ran till we puked, hahahaha goodtimes..
onetime hize and fluer got me so faded I passed out at a train yard and to wake me up they started yellin COPS!! hahahaha I know I know, toy move hahahaha

4.When are you gonna come out to Oklahoma and kill it? Haha put you on blast in this interview doggy, cruise on out here!
As soon as I can leave the state hahaha as long as their is tattoo work for me waiting I'm their hahaha I would love to travel.

5. It seams now days that mostly all real hardcore out for fame writers are catching more felonies. You for example you cant afford one more felony. With that said what else is there for us to do to stay in the game, ie: clothing companies, videos, art shows and tattoo's. I know your doing tattoos now, how did you get into that? How long you been doing it? How can someone get ahold of you to get one?
I know your tellin me, there are a lot of dudes who dont give a fuck about a felony, or a case for that matter, and I have the highest respect for them as writers... in my situation, my beefs were spiraling out of control, and so were my court cases. I always wanted to tattoo, since the age of 3-4 lookin at my grandfathers panther i was in love. I met my homie ruger through graff, he put me on game about tattoos, how to do them, how to get good supplies, how to put myself out there to get buisness. if it were not for him and his knowledge I wouldnt know shit, and that also goes for galor, he taught me alot too. and just studying the art of tattooing the same way i studied graff. I think if your gonna choose to be apart of something you need to go all out, put your heart in it. I did the clothing thing, it was cool, props to my boy maxx at famous, doing big things right now with alot of dope companies, he taught me alot also about art in general. art shows are cool, but its not my thing, I do them here and there but it is what it is. I really try not to make graff legit, I think that graff in its nature is an illegal act, it belongs in the streets, unless you cant anymore, then paint legals. I have respect for a seventh letter crew, they keep it where it should be and I feel thats why they are respected, with a few others. what up ulye, eyons, and else. hahahahahaha always promoting my boys hahahaha. I like to die for because even though graff writers were involved in it, they went a different direction with the artwork.
as far as contacting me about tattoo work, I have a myspace, buisness cards, and word of mouth as promotion. check out www. myspace. com/vetoetattoos....... I am not worried about cops cause I dont paint illegally anymore hahaha Im honestly dont consider myself a writer anymore, to me if you do it then carry the title, i dont want to be one of these has beens saying I write when I havent painted in ages, or feel that people should know me cause of what i have done, I want to be known for what im doing. If I decide to paint in the future, then I will do so, but as for now, I'm on vacation we will say hahahahaha.

6.Yes, true man I never call myself a writer anymore either, you kinda have to be writing to be considered a writer. So last question, you got any adivse to all these new booties running a muck out there? Suggetions? Tips?

All I have to say is stay true to yourself, know what your getting into, this shit at times isnt for the weak minded... know that what you are doing is illegal and cops are just doing their job.... do it out of love not trend... STAY LOYAL TO YOUR PEOPLE, NEVER RAT.... respect your elders... stay humble, always be willing to learn.... stay out of the lime light, there is nothing their but court cases..... seperate gang bangin and graff they do not coinside with each other.... I love you Heather, my family for putting up with me, takin me to court, anyone who gets tatted by me thank you, fluer hize cluer I love you guys... kozem your my dog, ruger thank you, omen, phib, pryer, eyons, chato, georges, ska, uti, law, bla, tss, rtick my homie, nts, ff, cyfe loca hahaha, sonic, mes2, fizik, ape, skey, skey, big ron, dbi, tsl, d2d, ocp, de crew, celr, japan, maxx242, fuct, argon, arize, meih, ween, mersy, selcy, dowt, kesoe, wishm, free duck btc, ugoe, reck gsf, gelt ou, galor tha whore, tenshn my brother, werk nr, stp crew, dahmer, megs, crise, foam, dex, all the sf crew, ontario orc's, kalm stigma, fye, giz one da crew, panic, dash, fear, kel one, kae dubz, moezart, 2sr5, mad one, celeb, kapow, plek, wai crew, my dog ruger once again, rap one hahahaha you know who you are, demser bdr, phatal, sensae, brava, dox, roten, atlas, and anyone else that I learned from looked up to or kick it with, even if its been a long time I love you and thank you...............
I remember every kind word, every beer, every good deed.

Vetoe one

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