archives
papo-dtf
I'm just the guy behind the lens trying to do what many have done before me in documenting graffiti as a part of our culture and a piece of the city's history. Although most would rather forget and denounce graff , you really can't hide from it due to it's allure and grittiness that's molded into our history .
Ok real talk time while I was excited putting this site together , I had been away from the graff scene for a minute . I had to re-familiarize myself with the who's who in the game and I just hit an interview with one of those cats . None other than the dude PAPO . Now you know you see that
P A P O rocking whether it's in a fillin or that banner that reads PAPO, ERA, EVER .
With some small talk I let him know what it was I was doing and the angle ofthe site . After taking a peek at my instagram and recognizing it he was down to do an interview . We exchanged contact numbers and bam here we are .
Take a peek !!!
1276: What year did the graff bug bite you?
PAPO: I started writing around 89-90 that's when it all started.
1276: What do you think drives cats to Graff?
PAPO: Welli can't speak for everybody , but for me it was nice seeing my name up everywhere . The more i would see my name the more i wanted to write , and lets be honest everybody wants fame .
1276: What are the major differences you see between the writers that where doing when you started and the cats coming up now?
PAPO: When I started the train era was just about at it's end there was tons of styles out there. Also everyone in the 90's had plenty of style which was dope! The writers now have absolutely NO style ..... don't get me wrong there's a few that have some style , but most of this new graff is trash.... these new writers need to work more on their craft instead of trying to get up... you can have tons of ups, but if you have no style and your a toy it doesn't mean anything . Again this is my opinion.
1276: To you is graff about the love of getting up or the fame?
PAPO: I love graff man ! I love getting ..... I love the rush , the getting chased by the cops , bombing in the worst neighborhoods where anything can happen ... I love that shit ... the fame comes with getting up , i dont let the fame get to my head even after having a big year in 2015. The fame is cool but the whole point is getting up.
1276: what are your thoughts or better yet where can you see graff headed in the next couple of years?
PAPO: I dont know man . I mean i hope style comes back... love seeing new writers with dope style . I hope more writers have balls to do more street bombing . Graff is definitly not going anywhere thats for sure.
1276: So i guess you dont see the graff machine being stopped?
PAPO: NEVER ! Graff is a form of exprssion and everyone loves to express themselves. Everyone loves art . They can try and clean it , come up with different laws , but you have the younger generation looking up to the graff game waiting to kill it.
1276: I've seen a lot of canvases out there in the last 3 years is this something your into and is graff canvas world something you can see yourself jumping into fully?
PAPO: I love canvas... I work on lots of canvases from my home studio when i have the time. Can iI see myself jumping into it fully I don't know , maybe after i leave the streets alone and hang it up i'll consider it. I mean I cant run wild on the streets forever... or can I? lol .. but all jokes aside yes I can see it in my future . If I make money off my art work to feed my family, I'm all for it.
1276: what in your opinion keeps cats continuing to paint in the streets?
PAPO: I mean this shit is a sport. Everybody is competing to be number one. Everybody feeds off of themselves and the competitor. Again everyone wants to be famous and be the number one.
1276: Paint of choice?
PAPO: When I started back in 89 my paint choice was KRYLON and RUSTOLEM, but more KRYLON . My favorit color was ultra flat black with a New York fat cap. The smell was awesome ...lol. Now you have a lot of different brands which i think is cool. New paints now like MONTANA and FRESH PAINT just make it easier for those hard to hit hot boy spots. I like FRESH PAINT to street bomb the stock cap it comes with is pretty dope , but i'll use whatever man . Whatever I can get my hands on.
1276: The big question street artist and graffiti artist are they one and the same or should they be classified into different leagues like baseball and softball?
PAPO: Two different Categories. For me a street artist is an artist who just so happen to get a spot to do his fancy art on a wall, where a graff artist to me is someone who put work in on the streets bombing to fuck shit up and now wants to show more of his talents on a wall , Again just my opinion.
1276: Any last words
PAPO: I will end this by saying this INSTAGRAM killed graffiti for me ! I see a whole bunch of shit up on Instagram , but i dont see shit on the streets... theres too many instagram bombers. Dudes be catching like 10 tags in their Garage . They put up 10 pictures on istagram in all different angles and they're talking about they're killing shit. That shit kills me. Also all these fake graffiti photographers going to the bowery or the Lower East Side and taking pictures of the same shit giving these graff dudes props like they're really killing shit. Come on man ! The dudes that kill those neighborhoods I don't see them killing the Bronx ? I don't see them killing Crown Heights ? Or Brownsville? Theres other places to shoot besides the Bowery and the Lower East Side . No offense to my niggas from l . E . S I got love for ya, but you photografphers need to expand your horizons and show who is really killing these streets!
Peace and One Love!
PaPoDTF
