From old building walls to hella high billboards, from states side to the pearl of the orient, my man UDON gets the job done. Seeing his tags around Manila to Cubao, the first thing that popped up in my mind was I gotta have an interview with him and ask him about his drive to keep the movement moving. A legend for me and for others. Here's UDON's Threedown Spotted interview! Enjoy!
How long have you been doing Graffiti? How did you get into it?
Very early on I was introduced to graffiti thru the veins of Hip Hop and bay area culture.
I was a tagger back in the 3rd grade. I wrote DVX or some shit.. Then I wrote Theme then
I switched up to Dizzy. I still have Theme tags running some where in my old home town.
Then my older brother who was a B-Boy back in the 80's gave me some lessons
and took me to yards to look at pieces. As I got older, my other kuya and I would look at
tags and throw ups all over different cities and then one day I realized Mike "Dream" worked
near my house and he would let us come thru and look at his photo albums and kick some game to us.
Nice ass dude and hella OG with it. I took a long break from America and "Hip Hop" and was strictly into
skating but I always listened to real hip hop. Then when I came back to America, I started my DJ path
which would reconnect me to painting. In 2000, I started writing the name I write now. After numerous
arrests, run-ins with the law, shady shit that the streets gives you, travels around the world and many other great and bad times... Im still at it and dont plan on stopping.
Who were your main influences in graffiti?
Not only cause he is Pinoy.. Not only cause he is from the bay... but Mike Dream TDK cause the man spoke about more than hip hop.. more than graffiti... more than being cool and fresh..
He spoke on the responsibility one has to himself.. his community and the craft itself.
He taught me that if you are going to use this craft then you gotta be true to it,
He also taught me to remain humble and show love to "toys", cause really
we are all toys at some point in time.
Plus he did that Best of Both Worlds production and that short paragraph he wrote on a wall about
suckas who are "fakin the funk"
I gotta shout out weed and trees cause i stay on my smoke shit and that influences the entire
course of my existence... Plus when tree is used properly and not as something to just get "fucked up"
on then tree can be a reason to connect and build with someone you might not have been able to speak to
if you didnt have something rolled up to put in the air.
Another influence is that fool REVS from NY. I read an article on him in THE VAPORS mag and
his words kept me on the path I have been walkin the past 6-7 years.. DOMINATION...
He said.. you know how you pay back your enemies.. you dont gotta battle them..
you get up HUGE in their face and let the work speak for itself.
So HUGE rollers and quantity over quality have been a big part of my motivation.
Plus I like how he mostly worked alone and was the embodiment of "FUCK IT".
After learning and practicing this method... I learned a lot about myself.
Gotta give a cutty shout out to My Dad for gaming me up on hella knowledge.
Especially him telling me to find something i love doing so work isnt really "work"
and for telling me that "I will be happier when I learn to accept that life aint fair."
course of my existence... Plus when tree is used properly and not as something to just get "fucked up"
on then tree can be a reason to connect and build with someone you might not have been able to speak to
if you didnt have something rolled up to put in the air.
Another influence is that fool REVS from NY. I read an article on him in THE VAPORS mag and
his words kept me on the path I have been walkin the past 6-7 years.. DOMINATION...
He said.. you know how you pay back your enemies.. you dont gotta battle them..
you get up HUGE in their face and let the work speak for itself.
So HUGE rollers and quantity over quality have been a big part of my motivation.
Plus I like how he mostly worked alone and was the embodiment of "FUCK IT".
After learning and practicing this method... I learned a lot about myself.
Gotta give a cutty shout out to My Dad for gaming me up on hella knowledge.
Especially him telling me to find something i love doing so work isnt really "work"
and for telling me that "I will be happier when I learn to accept that life aint fair."
Whats the best thing about Grafitti? and whats the worst thing about it? and why do you still do it?
Best thing for me has to be that it motivates me daily to make moves around the globe.
It shows me the city/world in a different perspective and I get to know a place better than
people who have lived in that city their whole life.
Worst thing is getting arrested and always having to be secretive and snapping on your friends who dont know the code
and they shout out your illegal name hella loud in public. Also the violence that the streets has to offer.. I dont love
running from crazy heroes or some shady block boys who wanna rob you.
I still do it cause if one doesnt follow their dreams and listen to the heart then those dreams become a curse.
Plus its hella fun.. and I got places i still need to see and people i need to meet.
It shows me the city/world in a different perspective and I get to know a place better than
people who have lived in that city their whole life.
Worst thing is getting arrested and always having to be secretive and snapping on your friends who dont know the code
and they shout out your illegal name hella loud in public. Also the violence that the streets has to offer.. I dont love
running from crazy heroes or some shady block boys who wanna rob you.
I still do it cause if one doesnt follow their dreams and listen to the heart then those dreams become a curse.
Plus its hella fun.. and I got places i still need to see and people i need to meet.
Do you rack paint? Hahaha!
Never. That's against the law.
Any advice for the young ones?
Just some words of advice that I was given when I was just starting off....
- Practice makes Perfect.
- You SUCK until further notice.
- DONT snitch.
- Paint with someone U trust or dont paint at all. (that includes trusting yourself/ your own gut)
As far as things I personally feel...
- Balance. Graffiti has fucked with my health and I actively work to stay healthy and normal.
Take time to be with family and friends, laugh at dumb shit, and have other interests.
- If you don't have at least 1000 tags under your belt then your slippin. And if you think tagging is stupid
then your suppper slippin...
- Don't ALWAYS be one of those fools asking to use some paint or someone's marker.
- Read The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho
- Practice makes Perfect.
- You SUCK until further notice.
- DONT snitch.
- Paint with someone U trust or dont paint at all. (that includes trusting yourself/ your own gut)
As far as things I personally feel...
- Balance. Graffiti has fucked with my health and I actively work to stay healthy and normal.
Take time to be with family and friends, laugh at dumb shit, and have other interests.
- If you don't have at least 1000 tags under your belt then your slippin. And if you think tagging is stupid
then your suppper slippin...
- Don't ALWAYS be one of those fools asking to use some paint or someone's marker.
- Read The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho
Shout-outs?
First.. Mom Dad allday!
YE'OL -SILENCER -OPTIMIST- SAPH -NOE -SAYME -HOWA -SKEET -CHEK -NUNO -GRAVER -DARKO -EKIS
T.H.E FAM- KUYA-YUS-BAST-GASOL-JS ONE-LEWSE-MINE-PANDASEX-MAZE-
THE DH FAM - DE FAM - KST FAM- BLAST FAM- MIKE JONES -TONY STARKS- RON HO- STAN GETZ
OAKLAND BAY AREA MANILA DAVAO TAIPEI BANGKOK HONG KONG TOKYO
Peace to anyone who flicks graffiti and cares enough to upload it to the web so I can steal my photos.
IRON.
things are gonna get easier...
YE'OL -SILENCER -OPTIMIST- SAPH -NOE -SAYME -HOWA -SKEET -CHEK -NUNO -GRAVER -DARKO -EKIS
T.H.E FAM- KUYA-YUS-BAST-GASOL-JS ONE-LEWSE-MINE-PANDASEX-MAZE-
THE DH FAM - DE FAM - KST FAM- BLAST FAM- MIKE JONES -TONY STARKS- RON HO- STAN GETZ
OAKLAND BAY AREA MANILA DAVAO TAIPEI BANGKOK HONG KONG TOKYO
Peace to anyone who flicks graffiti and cares enough to upload it to the web so I can steal my photos.
IRON.
things are gonna get easier...
Red words by Ken Yamaguchi
White words by UDON
We dont own these pictures. Big ups to those who took this shots!
