Here is the trailer for the highly anticipated “WAR 4″ graffiti DVD. This film promises to live up to its expectations and raise the bar on all graffiti films. The all rap soundtrack paves way to a violent paint racking, bus bombing, window ecthing, weed smoking, billboard climbing, ass slapping, grill smashing, coke sniffing, toy slashing, pornstar fucking, border crossing, beer guzzling 107 minutes of what you’ve been waiting for. Featuring some of the most prolific graffiti artists this reckless ride crashes through Los Angeles, The Bay Area, Central Cali, Las Vegas, Denver, The Mid-West, Scribble Jam 08, Pittsburgh, NYC, Mexicali MX and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

WARFOUR.COM IS OUT OF STOCK
YOU CAN GET YOUR COPY FROM ONE OF THESE FINE SHOPS
ARTPRIMO.COM
BOMBINGSCIENCE.COM
OINKARTLTD.COM

Featuring live bombing from(in alphabetical order) 47er, Admire, Axion, Baer, Bela, Bgn79, Bobs, Bobkat, Boke, Buket, Cake TKO HR, Cirus, Civ, Coi, Cope2 KD, Cue, Cupcake Cartel, Daks, Dsek, Eler, Ewok 5MH, Fate, Foz, Funk , Fusha, Guns, Hise/Hize, Ikso, Jee G.O.D., Jel, Jick, Juse, Kady, Kamoe, Ke42, Kefer, Korps, Koze, Meek, MQue, Muerte, Musket, Orke, Paso, Phever, Poke, Prae, Reos, Resa, Revok, Shoe, Sever, Skid DMS, Skuz, Slow, Spot YKK, Sworne, Tazrok, Tloks, Toomer, Tribe, Trigz, Wiks, Veena, Venom, Yad, Ynot, Zaps, Zerk and many more…

So we got some dope shit coming up, stay tuned!

Meanwhile check out the homie Can U from Tacoma, Wa
http://www.myspace.com/can_u

And Bord2 YKK from NYC, NY
http://www.myspace.com/youngkingkrue

http://issuu.com/gin.407/docs/writing?mode=embed&layout

I.C.R
Inner City Rebels

So how did ICR Start, I heard it was 2 crews that merged back in the day? What’s it stand for? And what’s it mean to be down?
Else ICR: ICR comes from 2 crews, IC and CR. IC, IM COOL was formed by PURE in 1990 when he left UFK, and POOPS started CR, CIVILIZED REVOLUTION in 1990 when he and several other heads left STP. I started UFK in 1988 with PURE and KAZE (GANAS UFK) with a few other members joining us soon after like JERO and KENE and others, but we had our differences when we were young and the crew split. We were too wild, we were all gangbanging and getting shot or shooting, it was wild times. When PURE started IC I didn’t like the name, I wasn’t feeling the OG name of IC, and I was friends with the CR’s from the bus chasing days, a period in LA graffiti when we killed our bus lines. I got down with CR before it came together as ICR, INNER CITY REBELS in 1992. To be down with ICR these days’ means to be apart of a crew with a long history in graffiti, and be apart of a family that is tight and still evolving and growing after all these years. I see a lot of crews who put heads down just so they can expand, just so they can have numbers and see their crew up, that doesn’t work for me. I try and choose heads that are going to grow with the crew and are loyal and are going to treat being from ICR like it’s being in a close knit family. ICR is still growing, were going world wide, with members in Australia, and New Zealand, plus all over the US. For the crew, and me were more worried about quality than quantity, but I still want to see plenty of that ICR up. I see a lot of crews put heads down that don’t live up to the standard of the original members, or that use the crew as a stepping stone, I’m glad to say ICR is not like that. I want our crew to keep working and growing all the way to the top.

The Basics, What do you write? What crews? Where do you rep? What’s your favorite medium to paint?
Jero ICR: Jero…. ICR ufk Network (Nation Wide) & AK out of NY… Love to paint metal… Freights are like the concept of the New York Subway… And bringing it to the whole country…. Too SEE….
Else ICR: My favorite medium is large walls, I like to rock big productions, the sizes most writers get shook by and can’t handle. I feel like when you pull that off, you put yourself in another class.
4Sakn ICR: 4Sakn ICR
Phers ICR: I write PHERS, I rep ICR and FBSK, I’m from St. Louis but I wrote out of Detroit for a few years. I prefer to piece walls, I love trains but don’t get the chance to paint them as often.
Yeloe ICR: I am YELOE I rep ICR I like walls but have recently got into the freights
Veal ICR: Veal , Vealos , Vealer the panty stealer.. I rep ICR ( I Conquer Regardless ) and my first crew IPC ( In Power Crue ) that crew kinda fell off but i will always rep it. As for where i Rep the San Fernando vally ( Los Angeles ), Cali.. I have always perfered to paint walls. Although i am doing freights here and there with the homie Jero ICR, UFK

You ever painted in other countries? Or collaborated with writers from other countries? And what is the most interesting place you’ve painted?
Jero ICR: NO… Only been to Mexico and never painted… Collabed with 14 bolt & Flying Fortrees (Germany)… Was Cool…
Most interesting place… On A Girls %$##@#$%^… LOL Jersey Path Trains…
Else ICR: I have painted with writers from other countries, I get a lot of love from Australia, plus I have hosted for writers from Europe when they’re in LA. I like interacting with writers from different places, seeing their approach, it makes you better at what you do.
The most interesting place I have painted was at the bottom of a man made lake outside of San Diego. I did a quick piece with a friend, but the walls go up ten or more stories, but after the 2nd story the roof curves away from you in a giant arch that’s supporting the underside of the lake. Plus it’s on a low cliff, so when you look at the wall its all good, but when you look around its cliff on your side and what looks like the underside of a giant UFO above you. Fun though.
4Sakn ICR: I haven’t painted in other countries but all over the US, the most interesting place I have painted was the Deaded freight line in NJ, it was a freight line built in 1903 and in the winter turns into an ice cave with stalimaites and stalactites everywhere, pieces look fresh there.
Phers ICR: I’m pretty boring, I stick to the Midwest of the U.S. and have never really collaborated with anyone from any countries although I would really like to. The most interesting place I have ever painted has to be Detroit, There are countless abandoned buildings/factories, burned structures, and a ton of freight spots due to the auto industry. There was never an issue of finding new places to paint. I really liked it there.
Yeloe ICR: no I have not left the country to paint I want to………I painted with DEMOS NWK from Canada a few years back its was a good time
Veal ICR: : I have never painted with cats from other countries. I would never rule it out though i am alwaysa looking for new people to paint with as long as they are laid back like myself.
As for most interesting place i every painted i would say an old slaughter house. The main building was gone so it was just mostly foundation but you could see where they would drain the blood from the slaugther animals. It was a super chill spot..

What do you think about the “urban crusaders” out there buffing legal and illegal graffiti?
Jero ICR: Let People do what they want…. Don’t care…. Just don’t let me catch them dissing my shit….
Else ICR: The heroes taking their free time to buff us? I think its part of the game, it comes with the territory. Its the same as a toy jocking your spot or going over you, it happens. In LA we will do legals on liquor stores or businesses and the city will come by and buff them and tell the owners they didn’t know it was legal, or sometimes buff our legals and ticket the owners for no permit for public display. That’s just part of the game these days.
4Sakn ICR: It’s wackness, but graff is a constant fight to stay up and active, some can let it hold them down I feel like they buffed me a new spot.
Phers ICR: I am a firm believer in people minding their own business and wish they would do so a lot more often.
Yeloe ICR: RETARTED!!!!!!
Veal ICR: It’s part of the game like it or not. Some people are getting mad rich off of the buff. Without saying to much the company i work did some work for a guy who owns a buffing company. Let’s just say this the guy has mad amounts of loot.. The only part of the buff that sucks is when you see your work getting buffed. You know it’s gonna happen but you just don’t know when. I remember rolling to get pictures of something i did the night before and going the next morning to get pictures. On the way me and my boy Dole IPC (Where are you ) see the buff doing there thing on our perfect spot. we were like what the fuck!! The spot was off of the 101 freeway on the old Brail institution center. Our whole thought was there not gonna see it so it should run awhile. In the end shit was gone less then 8 hours later.

Okay Okay, more basics, When did you start writing? Who/What/Where Inspired you? Did you start with tags, throws, etc?
Jero ICR: I started Tagging in 1980… My Mother Inspired to do art…. Seeing all the graff In Queens where I lived as A Kid….
Else ICR: I started way back in the early 1980s when I lived in New York, when I moved to LA I took graff more seriously and in 1986 started writing ELSEI always drew pieces but I really started as a tagger. By 1988 I was piecing part time, but mostly bombing until 1990. I was locked up in 1991 for a long time, years and years and gangbanging took back a hold of my life. I did another prison term in the late 90’s and really thought graffiti was done for me. I had close ties and homeboys that still did graff or whose lives were all about graff but I just thought it was done for me. ICR was hitting trains and walls in the 1990s strong, I was just locked up or not painting for that faze of the crew.
In 2002 PURE passed away, and almost all the ICR crew was retired. I saw us slipping away and it panicked me, I didn’t want ICR and what PURE and POOPS had made to fade away. I started painting again in 2002 after being retired for 11 years and a couple of years later JERO and KOOLS started painting again also, since then myself and JERO have put the crew back together and always keeping in touch with the retired heads, we have moved forward and expanded.
4Sakn ICR: I started in 99, was inspired by my homie Bishop from Florida, then linked up with my homie SYCO md, he schooled me on some real graff shit, real wildstyles, giant burners, then moved LA and seen how homies were doing it out here linked with Elser and the rest is history.
Phers ICR: I started late 1997 early 1998, my serious interest in graffiti began the first time I saw the st louis flood wall in early ‘97, I had seen Graff around town/in the yards and was interested, but it was nothing like this. If you have never been there, just imagine what seems like miles of wall space covered from end to end with the artwork of some of the dopest writers around. Unfortunately over the past few years it has gone down hill and most of the wall has been dissed out, but back then it was a really inspiring spot. I started tagging here and there, painting Freights, and got into bombing and piecing shortly after.
Yeloe ICR: 1992ish it was gangster shit that got me started I liked the hand style and then I seen bombs and pieces and it was over
Veal ICR: I stated writing in 90-91 which was kinda late for me. Seeing i was in high school at the time… I remember being a little kid and going down the 101 and 134 freeways and seeing all the old school pieces thinking wow that is fresh. I never had anyone to show me the ropes though until i got to high school.. I would always see UTI,STP and UFK up in my area i guess those would be the crews that inspired me from the get go…I started like any other kid back then as a back alley tagger doing stupid shit. Once i started though i always had a can with me…

What’s behind the name? Anything?
Jero ICR: ME… Jero… JERONIMO Balls OUT…
Else ICR: When I came up with the name ELSE it was a different kind of name for its time. I felt like it was an in-between word like “and” or “the” plus it worked well with LA nonstop handstyles of the time.
4Sakn ICR: It’s original, I have never seen or heard of anybody with it, also graff and a lotta stuff I do is frowned upon by society, hense 4sAkn It’s like a fuck you to the system!!!!
Phers ICR: Not much besides my original name was first (first-one). I eventually dropped the “T” and after a few variations (firs, fers then pherz) I ended up with the name Phers.
Yeloe ICR: a big ass Native American
Veal ICR: Ahh my name.. I actually started writing Doer. All my boys would be Doer’s doing it.. I ran with that name for 21 or 3 years. I ended up changing cause a friends house got raided and well i was the one they were looking for. Back then i was just some little tagger doing my thing. But some how i ended up on LAPD’s list.. Once that happen i went through 3 or 4 names till i decided on Veal.. I liked on the letters flowed when i was tagging back then. I have stuck with the name every since..

What’s your favorite Paint/Cap combo, and what’s up with all the new rap letter paint?
Jero ICR: Rusto’s Fat Cap…. Old School Krylons….
Else ICR: I love all the paint out their, makes it easy and fun, but I feel like you have to be able to rock with anything, anywhere, that’s what makes real graffiti heads.
4Sakn ICR: It depends what you doing for me bombing Rusto Fat with black rusto, for burners, MTN with a Banana.
Phers ICR: I’ll take krylon and a grey dot over anything for outlines and a rusto fat on any can it will fit for fills. As for the “ rap letter paint” I’m not sure.
Yeloe ICR: maybe Montana with a grey dot but I guess it depends on what I am painting what the fuck is rap letter paint I guess I need to google it huh
Veal ICR: My favorite paint cap/combo would have to be early 90’s Krlyon with a softball tip or NY fat..Back then it was all about the flare tag.. As for new paint it’s cool i like it so much to choose from now. You can get any color you want now. No more mixing colors to get a color that was discontunied.

What do you think about Graffiti in Galleries?
Jero ICR: Great If You cans Sell It Make Your Money….
Else ICR: I think graffiti in galleries is a double-edged sword, I don’t like when it gets too fruity, but I don’t mind it. People have to pay their bills and if they can survive on graffiti, good for them. There are too many fake heads who never put time on the streets in who jump to galleries though, fuck those fakes.
I have been chased sooooo many times and got away. I have jumped off rooftops, ran across the 405 and 101 freeway to get away, I have been shot at by heros, cops and gangmembers, all that shit. I’m glad to be free and alive.
Ill never ever stop again, I wish I never had. I always wonder how good I would be now if I never stopped. I’m going to paint graffiti till the day I die.
4Sakn ICR: It’s corny graff should be on walls, but some homies get that shit off and if you make some dough, I can’t hate.
Phers ICR: I personally have never had any of my work featured or sold in a gallery but, I don’t knock the people who have paid their dues, out there making money. My problem lies with kids that have never painted a day in their life, out there trying to make a profit off of something that took myself and many others years to get down.
Yeloe ICR: I just went to a show in my city it was good ran into a lot of friends that came from out of town to be in the show never really cared for shows around here because its a lot of little kids jocking fags and fools walking around with big heads
Veal ICR: Not really my thing. To many new jacks do street stuff for 2 seconds then jump in galleries thinking they are the shit. Now if you do your time on the street ( more then 2 years ) and put in work cool try to get a gallery thing going you put in your work. In the end we all got to make money..

You got any good chase/bust/catch stories? If not, what’s the best you can make up?
Jero ICR: Got chased, Got Caught, And Got let go by some gang Graffiti Lady That Said she knew me… But I Didn’t know her….
4Sakn ICR: With my homie Yoder in Indianapolis, we just started laying out pieces on a trackside for a cross country trip and the rail cops were fuckin on us from the gate, he was tapin it all on camera, it’s hilarious, there ’s a point where his shoe got caught in mud, and hiding in the bushes, fuckin hilarious.
Phers ICR: I’ve been chased a few times but none of my stories are that interesting. One close call does stick out in my mind though. We were painting freights near a friend of a friends apartment, behind his buildings fence and the cops showed up. Instead of trying to get a little closer this guy decides it would be good idea to yell “STOP!!” from what seemed like 100 yards away, when I realize how much of a head start we have on him we all jump in-between the cars we are painting to the other side of the tracks. Just as we jump to the other side we see a second cop about the same distance away so we jump back the way we came. By this time the first cop was headed down the tracks and was a lot closer than before, so we ran further down until we could find a good place to jump the 8ft fence back into the apartment parking lot. We ended up at the door step of the friend of a friends apartment building where two kids were outside playing, We got to his door and he let us in telling us we had to take our shoes off because by this time they were covered in mud. We all huddled up in this guys kitchen while my friend was in the other room trying to explain what the deal was. Within about ten seconds of us being there the police were knocking at the door. I had never met this guy and in the short time we had been there I had over heard him saying something to my friend about not wanting to violate his probation. Needless to say I was scared shitless that the guy was going to give us up. After a few knocks he answers the door and basically tells the cop that he had not heard or seen anything and they went on to the next apartment door. I still can’t believe they did not notice the 4 pairs of muddy shoes stacked up by the front door. Anyway we ended up staying there for an hour or two until we finally got the balls to leave. That shit sucked!
Yeloe ICR: chase stories well you paint and its a risk some times fools run up on you and u get busted or u run your ass off trying to get away and when you do get away one of your what you thought was a friend gets caught and straight tells the cops everything about you and he don’t tell you he got caught because he went the other way and I got picked up in front of my house on mothers day fucking fake ass friend he was I would say his name but none of you would know him fuck him
Veal ICR: Like i said up top my boys house getting raided.. Although back in 93 or so me and my boy Dole got chased by some hero. Dole jumps in the bushes as i take off running. He sat there watching this guy chase me in his car. basically i was just running in circles around the block. I was cutting in between buildings back and forth. forth and back. I final lose the guy after what seemed like hours. It was mabye 5 minutes. I jump into the bushes and end up right next to Dole and he is laughing his ass off. I ask what is so funny. He said the look on my face. He said i looked like a lost 2 year old running around looking for mommy and daddy. I laugh about it to this day.

Have you ever quit or plan on quitting the scene?
Jero ICR: NEVER… Took A Break to Raise my KID… Soul Custody Of My Little Girl…. Could Risk That….
4Sakn ICR: Never, I can quit when I’m dead.
Phers ICR: I don’t think it’s possible! I have so many years invested in Graff, I have a feeling it will be a part of my life forever. I may slack off here and there, but it seems like I always find my way back to it.
Yeloe ICR: I slowed down for a bit but never quit I live in Tacoma Washington so it rains a little bit here and its hard to paint in the rain I never think about quitting why quit I have been doing it for years…. hold up…in interviews people always ask about quitting I think that is dumb that’s like me asking if you are gonna quit fucking chicks and be gay I have seen a lot of interviews and no one has ever said they were gonna quit maybe for future interviews you should leave this question out just a thought
Veal ICR: I quit once for about 5 months and said fuck this never again.Graffiti is just in my blood i will be doing it till the casket drops.

A typical one, what effects do you see on the Internet and the graffiti scene? Changes? Benefits?
Jero ICR: Kids Get There Styles from The Internet without even Picking Up A Can….Get Out And Make Your OWN shit…
Else ICR: the Internet blew graffiti up, brought it to every town everywhere. It has helped and hurt us. I feel like its made it ok to be a biter. In my day that was beef, now every kid bites and jocks styles. I would like to see more original work out there.
4Sakn ICR: It’s a double edged sword, It’s gets whack homies fame, who haven’t put in half the work they should of, but a great to link with homies who you wouldn’t be able to because, it’s seems like everyone stays in there own city.
Yeloe ICR: well a lot myspace helped the connection of people but it also started the biggest toy circus 3 to 5 friend requests a day on average besides myspace other graffiti sites (you pick it) kids look at a piece and bite that shit pass it off as their own at least half the toys bite THE SEVENTH LETTER like the whole graffiti world never heard of them and the other half really try I guess…but bite all you want it just makes us work harder
Veal ICR: The net did good and bad. Let’s start off with the bad. Basically any kid with a camera and a internet connection can put his shit up on the web and now kid thinks he is famous. Also alot of chill spots get burnt alot faster since kids aren’t that careful of what they post.. Good would be making it able to meet other writers and arrange trips to other cities. I myself have beneifitted from that right there. I have met alot of folks that i would have not met otherwise.

Do you prefer legal work or illegal work?
Jero ICR: Illegal…. Unless they will let me paint TRAINS legally…. LOL
Else ICR: I rock legals these days, sad but true. I love illegals though, there’s nothing like freeway spots or rooftops that shine. And I love fresh handstyles on doors and dumpsters.
4Sakn ICR: Both, I think you need a good mix of both in order to touch all bases.
Phers ICR: I would have to say illegal’s but not for the reason you might think. It seems like when I do permission walls I dick around too much (I.e. stop and talk, over analyze my piece, drink/eat, etc.) and it ends up being dark by the time I finish up and I‘m left wondering where the day went. When I’m painting an illegal spot it seems like I get done within a reasonable time frame and my pieces seem to flow/come off better in general.
Yeloe ICR: well legal walls and illegal trains
Veal ICR: When i was younger it was all about illegal. I was like fuck a legal spot. But as i got older and little more wise i learned to have love for them both. There are days i just want to go out and paint and not be hassled. With legals that is possible. But let’s keep it true it was always be about the illegal spots.. Last time i checked graffiti was illegal

Do you try to keep a superman persona and keep your identity hidden? Or does it not matter?
Jero ICR: Both…. NOT REALLY…. Not Hard To FIND….
Else ICR: I feel like everyone knows my face these days because of MYSPACE. I was the first, or one of the first writers to put his name and face on my myspace account. I wanted the up and comers to be able to know the older generation. Everyone was hiding before that.
4Sakn ICR: I try to keep it as undercover as possible, no reason to burn the face, I want to be in this shit for the long run.
Phers ICR: Being a family oriented guy (I’m married and have two daughters). I lean towards more of a Superman persona. Although it’s hard at times, I do my best to keep my home and graffiti life separate.
Yeloe ICR: don’t really matter I never walk around and tell people that I am Yeloe ICR but I like going to places where people paint and see what they are up to see what they have to say see how they act and if they seem cool I would introduce myself but if they are being gay and seem like assholes I don’t want to meet them
Veal ICR: I try and maintain a low profile due to many snitches out there now a days. Everyone is only out to save there own asses. Sad thing is most people get away with snitching with very little retribution. To me that is a sign of the times. Graffiti lost alot of the orignal vibe it had when i got into the game. It use to be you snitch you get fucked up and are black balled.

Any artists inspire you right now?
Jero ICR: The Youngsters In MY Crews…. The OLD Guys that are still Burning.
Else ICR: Swoon, that chick is years ahead, but I’m trying to catch up.
4Sakn ICR: Just my crew members, phers and elser putting in fuckin burners, the AZ homies killing freights, or Jero painting for 30 years, that some real graff shit son.
Phers ICR: I’m inspired by my crewmates and pretty much anyone that’s out there doing something different.
Yeloe ICR: I would say I am not really inspired by artists that much maybe motivated I see what my crew has going on that pumps me up make me want to work harder on my next piece
Veal ICR: My crew. I look at what they are doing and use that as inspiration. We got cats who have been in the game for years and newer cats and they all come correct. Jero, Else, Phers , Betor, Pubek, Fyce , 4sakn ah hell like i said the whole crew we all bring something different to the table.

Anything else you want to say? Shout outs?
Jero ICR: Nic1, Pubeks, Bugs, Vealos, 4Sakn, Elser, Cole (SB), Pre, Flyman, Mid, Kools, Dios, All THE ICR, ufk, NetWork & AK Members Keeping it CIVILIZED… And To TRIGZ, BLITZ & VYBE… KEEP YOU HEADS HIGH… YOU’ll BE HOME SOON…
Else ICR: Shout outs to ICR and MSK crews, shout out to PHERS, KOOLS, JERO, 4SAKN, SUBWAY SUDS, PEEP, PUBEK, BUG, EVOL, SREK, GNES, YNER, SAGE, SUCH, POOPS, VEAL, BLITZ, YELOE, BETOR, RANK, MID,BUS, KRUSH, ALOY, NIC ONE, and all the heads I forgot.
FOREVER PURE…
4Sakn ICR: I just wanna say Fuck Haters, I started doing graffiti cause I love doing it, There’s nothing like doing a giant burner or a giant blockbuster, there’s always gonna be people who talk shit but the only thing people remember is what is on the wall. Shouts to my crew Big ICR Crew and my jersey homies Syco, Weka, Lean, Medow, the Aids crew and all the heads holding it down, fuck the Half Steppers.
Phers ICR: Shouts: My wife and kids, both ICR and FBSK, Jer, Pubek, Else, Loaf, Srek, Yeloe, Dems, Kink, Betor, Vatoe, Stun, Phem, Years, Quisp, Verse, Kosek, Irate, Pask, Almost, Shek, Kes, Hoax, Obces, Horse/Ater, Suds, News, Gnes, Reft, Dues, Otis, Amoe, Bug, Veal, Bus, Such
Yeloe ICR: Thanks for picking me to interview when there is a lot of people out there to pick from……….shot outs…. my hot and understanding wife April my daughters MONA and AMALA my crew ICR. The homie PUBS GN, my car club SOUTHEND RYDERZ my little brother CABLE TSA the EASTSIDE OF TACOMA the homie YUK SLUTS shot out to my homie BALLER and shout out to any one who thought I would never make it look at me now you are reading what I have to say down to the last word hahahahahahahahahah YELOE_ICR is finished sorry if I forgot you
Veal ICR: If your in this game just stay true to your homies and crew.. Shout outs to my son and wife… Jero,Poops,Kools,Else,Reckn,Mune,Drop (when them decks dropping), Serge,Mace,Mid,4sakn,Pubes,Bugs,Rank,Gnes,Srek,Fyc e,Betor,Yews,Yeloe,
Phers and the rest of the family sorry if i missed ya. And last but not least Dole IPC..

And most inportant to the homies locked up Blitz,Vide and Trigz we all got your backs see you all soon.

http://www.myspace.com/petelewisbuddy

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/28/BAGL16O8RT.DTL&hw=graffiti&sn=002&sc=941

Below, he goes on speculating as to what kind of measures need to be taken up to put a total halt on writers operating in the city. Mandatory jail time anyone? Predictable.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/19/BA9316IUMQ.DTL&hw=graffiti&sn=002&sc=906

Share your opinion with him if you have time: cwnevius@sfchronicle.com

Don’t forget to scroll all the way down to the bottom and check out the reader comments.
Read how all the wannabe William Porters out there feel. Whackos.

tko roller done by guer and kenr 42 cinco de mayo 2001 los angeles cali 91/110 interchange

“If I knew the cops were coming to bust me, I could probably finish this whole thing in an hour,” the street artist joked.

Cartoon is standing atop a ladder in front of a 14-by-48 canvas in his cavernous warehouse studio in an industrial cul-de-sac just past L.A.’s skid row. His work in progress would hardly qualify as vandalism. The billboard was commissioned by Universal Studios to publicize the latest entry in its street-racing movie franchise, “Fast & Furious.”

The burly Cartoon, with a shaved head and gang-inspired tattoos creeping down his forearms and up his neck, has become one of corporate America’s hottest image makers. He’s in demand to imbue products — even celebrities — with “street cred” and counterculture cool.

Cartoon (born Mark Machado, but call him that at your risk), 39, readily admits he perfected his craft practicing public defacement as an outlaw tagger. He’s a big shot in lowrider circles — the artist has 11 prize-worthy customized show cars. His ability to create visuals encompassing Chicano gang and lowrider culture, ’70s New York graffiti and Japanimation has made Cartoon a sought-after tattoo artist, car customizer, illustrator and fashion designer.

“It’s definitely a rush seeing your art on a billboard,” Cartoon said. “Working with design agencies, designing concept cars — it’s a long way from my dad telling me to get a real job.”

Cartoon’s graphic designs, illustrations and artwork have also been used to add visual punch to a crazy quilt of pop cultural offerings:

He rendered the gang scrawl seen throughout the bestselling video game “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.” He designed clothing for companies including Levi Strauss, Stussy, Vans and Supreme. He designed a customized T-Mobile Sidekick. He did detail work for a concept car for Scion. In 2005, Nike hired Cartoon to create limited editions of its Air Force 1 and Cortez shoes.

“The mainstream is coming around to his aesthetic, not the other way around,” said movie producer Brian Grazer, who is planning a film based on Cartoon’s life. “He doesn’t change. He’s still hard-core. He’s a gatekeeper to that world.”

Aaron Rose, an authority on underground art and co-director of the street art documentary “Beautiful Losers,” has showcased Cartoon’s creations in three exhibitions. He said the artist’s identification with the corporate establishment has helped distinguish him from the scrum of street artists trying to go legit.

“The corporate apparel brands embracing him and promoting his work was a big step in rising out of the underground,” Rose said. “Nike is a big stage. Suddenly he’s got 5 million more fans. It gave Cartoon cult celebrity status.”

Mister Cartoon grew up in San Pedro, the son of working-class parents who operated a printing shop. As a youngster, he fell in with a crowd he describes as “knuckleheads and sickos,” but he stops just short of admitting gang membership.

“I have been affected by gang culture up close and personally from a young age,” Cartoon said. “My parents would go to work and I’d run the streets. I could have been locked up or killed.”

When he was a teen, his style was heavily influenced by the abstract, brightly colored graffiti — usually letters — found on New York subways. When he was 17, authorities charged him with $30,000 worth of vandalism. The artist — who augmented his tagger alias Cartoon with “Mister” in a bid to be seen as grown up — was prosecuted as a minor. He avoided going to juvenile hall by pleading guilty.

He says he was put on probation and fined $3,000 — in that era, juvenile graffiti vandals were responsible for repaying one-tenth of the damages they caused. Cartoon said he paid the sum almost immediately by accepting one of his earliest commissions: a mural for a boxing gym.

“I used graffiti to pay my graffiti debt,” Cartoon said, chuckling.

But within months, the tagging lifestyle had lost its allure for the artist.

Through a fluke, a photographer for Car and Driver magazine asked him to make a gang-graffiti backdrop for a photo shoot, resulting in Cartoon’s first portfolio-worthy tear sheet.

“Some guy pulled up to San Pedro High School and said, ‘Hey, who’s the best graffiti artist in school? I’ve got a job for him doing a magazine cover,’ ” Cartoon recalled.

Obsessed with car culture, he began airbrushing T-shirts at custom car shows and gradually picked up pointers on painting murals on car doors and hoods. At age 20, he landed a job as an illustrator at Hustler magazine and soon parlayed his work doing ribald cartoons there into a sideline designing album covers for Southland hip-hop artists.

At a record release party in 1992, he met Estevan Oriol, manager of the stoner rap trio Cypress Hill. They became friends around the time Cartoon was getting a lot of tattoos. Oriol convinced Cartoon that tattoo art would be a natural progression from the kind of art he already was doing. The manager hired Cartoon to create an album cover for Cypress Hill and brought him on tour with the hard-partying group.

“I let him sketch on me,” Oriol said. “I showed the guys from Cypress Hill and made them get tattoos. When we’d go on tour with Goodie Mob or OutKast, I’d say, ‘Get tattooed by my boy.’ ”

Photos: Mister Cartoon
The tattoo that finally earned him a reputation, though, was created for Eminem. In 1999, less than five years after his maiden efforts with a homemade tattoo gun, Cartoon rendered a city scene on the rap superstar’s upper left arm. Thanks to Eminem’s towering cultural presence at that time, Cartoon’s business achieved a critical mass. He hit the mainstream.

Cartoon has since etched his stark black designs (working in the style of prison tattoo artists, he never uses colored ink) onto a Who’s Who of pop stars and pro basketball players, including Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer. His minimum fee is $1,000 per session. (”If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it,” Cartoon likes to say.) Although he refuses to be pinned down on the dollar amount, a large-scale tattoo like the “50″ that he inked over most of rapper 50 Cent’s back and shoulders reportedly costs about $20,000.

It was in 2002 while shooting the movie “8 Mile,” recalled Grazer, Imagine Entertainment co-chief, that he heard about Cartoon from Eminem. He traveled to the artist’s studio and, on the basis of a strong first impression, Grazer signed a deal to produce the artist’s biopic, tentatively titled “Ink.” He also hired Cartoon to executive-produce another Imagine feature, “Lowrider.”

“He had this giant underground following,” Grazer said. “I like his tattoo stuff, the car stuff, his detailing. He’s original and smart. His story is interesting.”

Nike, however, balked when Cartoon proposed designing collections for the company in 2004. “It took a year to convince Nike. Proposals. Meeting after meeting. ‘Cartoon? He’s a tattoo guy. What does he know about fashion?’ ” he recalled hearing from Nike representatives. “I didn’t take it as an insult. I was just working. Multitasking. I thought: ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.’ ”

The artist persisted, and now his limited-edition sneakers — a model he designed in collaboration with Lance Armstrong is due out in July — regularly sell for hundreds of dollars above suggested retail.

Nike says it now counts Cartoon’s limited-edition redesigns of its Air Force 1 sneakers (such as the model he emblazoned with a skeleton, spider webs and “L.A.”) among “the most coveted releases in our history.”

In keeping with his image as a hero to the lowrider set, Cartoon drove his heavily customized ‘64 Chevy Impala from skid row to the Sunset Strip for the unveiling of the “Fast & Furious” billboard late last month.

Once there, the artist hit switches to make the car’s front end bounce up and down on hydraulic springs before photographers, reporters and cameramen assembled for the event.

Michael Moses, executive vice president of Universal Pictures’ marketing and publicity, said the studio hired Cartoon — whom he described as “the foremost graffiti artist of our city” — to create the billboard in an effort to reconnect the “Fast & Furious” franchise with its street culture origins.

The studio gave Cartoon an unusual degree of independence to depict key scenes and vehicles from the movie, personalized with his signature visuals: There were mucho macho muscle cars, an idealized femme fatale, a Mexican Dia de Los Muertos skeleton and the movie’s name emblazoned in gothic gangster font.

Neither the artist nor the studio would comment on the price tag for the mural. Local graffiti artists Revok and Toomer assisted Cartoon in painting it.

The billboard is Cartoon’s second movie assignment. He established his film publicity bona fides last year with a poster featuring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in the crime drama “Righteous Kill” — an image reminiscent of faded newsprint, a wanted poster and a graffiti stencil.

“He’s real. His whole group is,” said Peter Adee, president of marketing and distribution for Overture Films, who picked Cartoon to design the “Righteous Kill” poster and Oriol to photograph it. “They’re into trying to get to an idea that’s as commercial as possible without selling out. They do mass production of images, but at the same time it’s not homogenization. They stay true to their art and roots.”

Mister Cartoon, a married father of four, traces most of his personal and professional success to the awakening he experienced in 1997 when he made the decision to give up drinking and other “mind-altering substances” he favored after years of touring with Cypress Hill. A friend from the tattoo world, Baby Ray, helped Cartoon improve his tattooing technique but also provided a dose of tough love and spiritual guidance.

“I don’t expect a trophy or a cookie or a pat on the back,” Cartoon said. “I made a decision to change my life and help my family.”

That decision resulted in the clarity to pursue his ambitions. But to hear the artist tell it, making good on those plans is also a matter of following the rules.

“Am I gifted or especially talented?” Cartoon said. “No. I got all this through hard work. Through respecting my old man. From taking direction from people. From painting when everyone else was asleep. I just found something I really love and practiced at it my whole life.”

chris.lee@latimes.com