The GraffLife: A Documentary On Urban Hieroglyphics | Devol Productions | www.thegrafflife.com

Hip Hop may have jumped off somewhere near Sedgwick and Cedar some 35 years ago, but rest assured the culture therein spread across the country in light speed. Some 3,000 miles away, as the Big Apple basked in the goodness of its newfound form of art, b boys in the Golden State learned the tricks of the trade with equal enthusiasm.

So goes the award winning documentary The GraffLife, which delves into the heart and mind of the Southern California based graffiti artist. With unlimited access to their daily trek, the film follows a popular crew (Metro Train Assassins AKA MTA or City’s Most Hated AKA CMH) into the wee hours of the night/morning. Very much the sport and a lifestyle, a variety of “bombers” and “taggers,” provide accommodating insight into what makes them tick as masters of the oldest free-form expression of art, otherwise known as modern day hieroglyphics.

While the obvious goal is to express their freedom artistically, crews do have order. Successful ones live by the motto of democracy and like it or not, are often bound by the rules of society. (continue reading…)