RIP Wayne Roberts aka Stay High 149

Stay High 149 for Scion Installation 2004/5

The sad news of old skool writer, Stay High 149, passing away hit the Interweb this week.

I met him once and still remember his energy. Now, the New York City metro map he tagged with a smoking Saintly figure will be a poignant reminder of his Los Angeles visit in 2005.

As Patti Astor said "A leader in the game. I'm glad he got a chance to get his book out, no one will forget Stay High." You can check his book out on Ginko Press here.

Excerpt from Puma's Clyde 01 tribute book 2005

This video is an amazing lesson in graffiti history...this is why we're mourning Stay High 149!

Frank151 x DOOM

Frank 151 x DOOM

Watch out for the next quarterly edition of Frank151. It's dedicated to ex-KMD rapper, Doom, aka MF Doom. He gets to curate the whole edition cover to cover, including illustrations of his lyrics and articles and pics from collaborators, like graff artist, Keo, from TC5 (The Cool 5.)

I first discovered Frank 151 during my first years in LA (even though it's New York-based.) The Maharishi takeover issue still holds its place on my bookshelf. Then, at a Scion event in 2005, I had the chance meeting with Frank 151 founders, brothers Malbon. Since then I watched Frank151 grow into a multi-urban city marketing organization with a barber shop! ;) But its love of hip hop is still there.

Blake "Keo" Lethem (credit: Frank 151)

Saber interviewed by Frank 151

This video interview is part of the Frank 151 "Chapter 41" issue released this summer dedicated to the infamous The Seventh Letter graffiti crew (which can be downloaded here.)

"The Seventh Letter was founded in 2000 by the rumored leader of the infamous West Coast graffiti crews AWR MSK to act as a platform for crew members to showcase their work in the form of fine-art exhibitions, apparel, and other special projects.

The Seventh Letter is an army of artistic individuals with roots not just in graffiti, but also in fine art, tattoo, graphic design, sculpture, photography, and music. Based in Los Angeles, The Seventh Letter’s tentacles have spread around the world to cities including San Francisco, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Jersey City, London, Paris, Milan, Naples, Budapest, Tokyo, Cologne, Seoul, and Bangkok.

If you live in a major metropolitan area, you’ve probably seen The Seventh Letter’s work—boldly rolled in white paint across a New York City wall, carefully worked onto a movie billboard in Australia, touring France on the side of a commuter train, or featured in a Los Angeles Gallery. Frank Book Chapter 41: The Seventh Letter features the world’s most notorious art collective, showcasing not only the crew’s art, but also the individual members’ interests and personal archives." Frank 151

The Seventh Letter in Frank 151; party @ SURU, Los Angeles

Risk, Pose, Retna, Saber, RIME and many, many other artists are world-class in their own right, but are also part of the "The Seventh Letter" collective. Tonight is a party at Joe Hahn's (Linkin Park) Suru store to celebrate the latest edition of Frank 151 magazine which features "The Seventh Letter" artists from cover to cover!

Since moving to LA, I've seen graffiti murals taking over billboards high above the street. Even the Murakami hoarding wasn't safe and was eventually shipped to Japan to add to Murakami's art collection! Each piece of work is usually tagged AWR MSK and "co-authored" "The Seventh Letter."

What is it? Simply put, "The Seventh Letter" is "a platform for crew members to showcase their work in the form of fine-art exhibitions, apparel, and other special projects."

What I didn't know was that "The Seventh Letter" includes artists of all genres including fine art, tattooing, graphic design, sculpture, photography and music. And that its members aren't just based in LA or the US, but even my old stomping ground, London, and as far as Tokyo, Seoul, and Bangkok!

No wonder a whole book was needed to cover "The Seventh Letter" crew. Download the 83-page PDF magazine here to learn more about the collective and see amazing photos of the art.



Frank 151 More about Mike and Stephen Malbon's Frank 151 media and expanding empire here. I first met them at the Scion Gallery "Installation" event back in 2005 when they brought in some heavyhitters of the New York old school graffiti scene: Revolt, Stay High 149...

May be LA is the Hip Hop art capital?

I went to the Scion Installation pre-launch party in Culver City thanks to Evan's invite and Naama's ride over. The space was new to me and pretty big with enough space for two smokin' customised Scion cars on the floor, and an annex for the bar.

The highlight had to be meeting Futura (again). He has an amazing memory - he remembered the Levi's event in London back in the day - "Contents Under Pressure...." he said! I met Stay High 149 after an intro from the dudes from Frank 151 magazine - they're cool. Stay High 149 told me about a Hall of Fame in Manhattan. Also got the chance chat to Dr. Revolt. Who? The man who did the Wild Style piece with Zephyr for the film of the same name. Amazing! I got an open invite to hang out with the Frank 151 crew next time I'm in town. Cool. Watch out for me!



All in all, a trip down graffiti memory lane. I went back tonight to get photos (my camera battery died last night?!), the postcard set signed and catch some lickle video action. Some of it is posted here for you to enjoy too! Word.