The 25 Greatest LA Graffiti Writers

Being asked to put together a comprehensive list of "The 25 Greatest Los Angeles Writers" is a slippery undertaking. While i am excited at the opportunity to celebrate the city's scene that made me, and one I hold in such high regard, I am sure to overlook some important persons and will undoubtedly make loads of new enemies and rekindle the flames with past ones... However here I go.

These are people that I feel are some of the most important, I am sure everybody has their idea of who's who and who did what but i was asked and this is my list, and of course i am going to play favorites... it's my list! However, I did try to be as unbiased as possible and represent different writers from all the different scenes, crews, and areas of the city... West side, East side, S-C to the valley...

In ALPHABETICAL order...

The 25 Greatest LA Graffiti Writers.

- REVOK.

TS Crew. 1980-1998 Rest In Paradise.

AYER changed the game. Best bomber in LA history and one of the most influential LA writers EVER.

LOD Crew.

Everybody has their opinions, but CHAKA was an all city bomber and one of the most famous writers ever... BEFORE the internet. His tag was emulated on Dave Grohl's drum head in Nirvana's "Smells like teen spirit" video for Christ's sake! I even remember a skit on "In Living Color" where his tag appeared on David Allen Greer's ass.

DTK Crew.

LA's style master and somebody I regarded as the perfect writer; great style and a well rounded proficiency in all aspects of the game.

SMD Crew. 1964 - 2011 Rest In Paradise.

Another legendary style-master and literally one of the first graffiti writers in Los Angeles.

AWR / MSK Crews founding father.

EKLIPS did a lot of great graffiti, but more importantly I view him as one of the top writers for creating a movement and inspiring/schooling/motivating generation after generation. In many ways, this dude has had a tremendous impact and influence on the movement as a whole.

MSK / AWR Crews.

GKAE was one of the most dedicated, prominent and persistent LA graffiti writers ever. A skinny lil' kid from the valley that went all city 5 x's over and became notorious in the process... Landing him a $1,000,000 warrant, and extradition from Seattle, and multiple prison bids...

ICR Crew.

JERO did some of the best graffiti in the early mid 90's and literally some of the best graffiti on freights ever. He also earned a rep as the last person you'd ever want to have a beef with and somebody to look out for when painting in the yards.

AM7 Crew.

KRENZ was the first writer to go up on billboards (Corporates as he called them) and paint full on burners, often incorporating the existing imagery into his piece or vice-versus.

AWR / KSN Crews.

KRUSH is a style warlock and took "Wild-style" graffiti into the digital netherworld... we are all still chasing after him.

CBS Crew.

MEAR is an incredible artist, his technique with a can of spray paint is unparalleled. He was one of the first writers i can recall who took graffiti to new heights and painted actual "murals" as opposed to just a piece slapped on a wall.

WCA Crew.

MINER is a West-side legend, he was proficient in all aspects of the game and respected by all.

LOD / IFK Crew.

There were "all-city" bombers before OILER but NONE like him. He took graffiti to daring new heights by climbing places nobody ever considered to get up and stay up. His approach was simple in concept yet very effective: "The more difficult the spot to reach, the more difficult to buff," his theory proved worthwhile since you can find landmarks of his dated as old as 91' - literally unheard of in LA.

K2S Crew.

PRIME was the East side's style master and prominent force behind the legendary K2S Crew, his pieces from the early 80's still shit on most stuff done today.

LTS / MSK / AWR Crews.

RETNA was another "Game-changer" leading the LTS crew along with SINER and AYER in the mid-90's. He sparked a revolution in style and technique that changed what LA graffiti would be. Using unorthodox methods for graffiti painting such as rollers, brushes, etc. and fusing Gang styled writing with calligraphy and traditional graffiti his "wild-style" explorations inspired and influenced a whole generation to follow.

KSN Crew.

REV was another style master and driving force behind the West sides legendary KSN Crew along with guys like RIVAL, RISE, DREAD, GREM, PHYN, DOOM, etc.

MSK / AWR Crews.

What can I say about myself... I guess it is pretty lame I included myself, but I think I made a decent contribution.

WCA / MSK Crews

RISK is one of the best and most legendary LA writers ever. the driving force behind the original West side crew WCA. He always had the slickest style and did it all better than everybody else. Not to mention he was the first "Graffiti rock star" and one of the pioneers of "Street-wear".

AWR / MSK Crews.

SABER is totally crazy and can't do anything half-assed. Everything he has ever done has been 100 times bigger and more crazy than everyone else... That's why he is one of the most widely recognized and respected graffiti artists in the world to this day.

LTS Crew.

SINER isn't very well known outside of LA and that is a crime. SINER has been around since the early days of LA's scene and has always been the most innovative and original... He is literally one of my favorite writers ever and his style is the ULTIMATE.

CBS Crew. 1969 - 1993 Rest In Paradise.

Tales of SKATE's exploits are legendary. He is one of the founders and major forces behind one of LA's most important crews CBS. I think his influence still is strong within those guys and probably holds the title "most dedications ever".

UTI Crew.

SKILL is another "Style-master" and a very influential one at that... Arguably one of the most in LA. SKILL was the mastermind behind another very important LA crew UTI. Kids today should fear a comeback from this guy, as he'd rip everyone apart and send them home with their head low and their hands in their pockets.

K2S Crew.

SLICK came onto the scene from Hawaii and blew everybody's minds with his revolutionary approach to painting characters. He did a lot for graffiti during that era and had a tremendous impact. His awesome collaborations with RISK and the legendary battles with HEX are graffiti milestones.

AWR / NASA Crews.

TYKE was light years ahead of the rest. Not only with style, but more specifically with technique. He employed a traditional painting theory to creating a piece using "dark to light" methods of painting outlining his pieces first and filling in large areas of black or dark color then sculpting the shapes of the letters out of it working background to foreground (traditional graffiti painting was opposite) ... something then not considered. The first time I painted with him I learned more in 4 hours than all of my accumulative years spent painting up until that point.

MSK / AWR / LTS Crews.

What can I say about ZES? I'll say that he is the most original, most dedicated, no bullshit, daredevil graffiti bad-ass-motherfucker there is. He doesn't care about "the scene." Doesn't look at other people's work, doesn't even take photos of his own. His style is pure genuine sincerity, and his approach is very straightforward... "I'm going to pull of the most insane shit in the most ridiculous situation possible." Game over, ZES wins.