I linked up with my dude Gamble a couple weeks back. Gamble was in town for the 2x/2x Hip Hop festival. Gamble and I are both in IOK. Gamble is one of the more high profile graffiti writers who painted the 2x/2x Fest. The Cincy writer has painted streets, festivals, museums, galleries and television programs.

At the fest, Hery/Gamble/Cents rocked a technical, but finessed, gray scale that boasted the depth of artistic nuance without sacrificing the energy of graffiti. The rest of the wall had a formidable mixture of RA/Droids/PBJ/ESE who represented various parts of Ohio. This presented a collage of the past 20 years of Ohio graffiti. 

It was kind of funny that Ender snuck in before the event, rocked a burner then went back to wherever. Ender is a Columbus native but is constantly laying down work while traveling.

There was another mural on 11th Ave. To view this mural one walked past a portrait of LeBron James. This provided perfect anchoring seeing that LeBron just made everyone in Ohio proud by keeping his promise to give Ohio the title.

When you turned the corner you stumbled upon a museum of 90s graffiti painted by members of WHAT/ASF/TM7/CST.

Flip from WHAT CREW had pioneered Columbus graffiti in the beginning of the 90s. He was mentored by Bluster who was down with a New York graffiti collective called FC. So, Columbus graffiti happened to inherit the essence of New York lettering.

For his part, Flip borrowed from a reggae album cover of a man giving the black power fist, and he wrote several message that also included “Power to the People.”

Flip didn’t rock his usual style, but instead chose to put his name in the album logo.

Flip said they thought about painting Tamir Rice and John Crawford but felt that might be too much for the event.

Flip’s peer, Delso was busy finishing up the Weinland Park signage that brazenly helped tie their walls together. Delso is the guy who always had strong Columbus pride. So for him giving a shout-out to the neighborhood they were painting was important.

Delso is the neighborhood folklore guy you talked to on the tracks. So he helped Columbusize FC in the 90s among other things.

The rest of their wall contained Task, Tace – who are members of WHAT’s Cleveland branch CST – Nems, Esk, Dayton’s Vesh, a Chicago guy Smerz who painted in Columbus during the 90s and an Obese peace by Coz.

Coz was legendary in the late 80s/ beginning of the 90s because he had colorful sketches of stylized straight letter pieces and pornographic illustrations of overweight women. I’m guessing that’s why he painted the word Obese.

He felt it would be rude to paint naked fat women without knowing the building’s owner better.

His automobile used to have “P*ssy Eater for Life” airbrushed on it.

I guess Coz should be doing Lane Bryant work. Them BSA/IOK/PBJ guys: Victoria Secret. Tee-Hee.

Columbus graffiti meme before meme’s existed. 

Coz recently has been doing art shows in Harlem.

I was taking one last look at the wall when a young, upwardly mobile mother stopped me while pulling her child is a wagon-stoller thingy.

She asked me to explain the wall to her. I told her it was ascetically pleasing lettering with internal meanings and commentary similar to watching many bands during music festivals.

I asked her how she felt about it.

The woman replied that she felt the wall was intriguing and that’s why she wanted to talk to me.