AKA: Stay High 149

Oct 20, 1950 - June 11, 2012

He was born in Virginia and moved to LA at 6 years old. Stay High was a graf artist inspired by Taki 183,Phase 2 and others in the early 70s. He loved the show The Saint and added the small figure of Smoker to his signature from the tv show. 

Submitted by: Jeffrey Boyd

AKA: Phase 2

Aug 2, 1955 – Dec 12, 2019

Considered one of the greatest graf artists in history is credited with originating the bubble letter style in the early 1970s in New York. He was a jack of all trades.. an emcee, a bboy and a deejay but Phase 2's legacy will forever be known in the aerosol culture of Hip Hop. 

Submitted by: Jeffrey Boyd

AKA: Dondi 

April 7, 1961 - Oct 2, 1998

Born in East New York,he started out simply tagging in the mid 70s. By 1978 Dondi formed the CIA with other prominent graf artists. For the next 20 years he pioneered styles that continue to be used by artists today. 

Submitted by: Jeffrey Boyd

AKA: Case 2 

Dec 12, 1958 - Aug 14, 2011
He was prominently featured in the documentary Style Wars. Despite only having a left arm, Case 2 is considered a tremendous influence to graffiti artists around the world.

Submitted by: Jeffrey Boyd

AKA: Stan 153 

1958 - Aug 19, 2019

Stan 153 started painting in the early 70s. He perfected his craft in the 3 yard near 153rd and 8th Ave with his crew called the yard boys. He influenced a lot of writers and his work was featured in lots of galleries. Stan 153 also spent a lot of time in the train yard at 149th street and Grand Concourse. It was called the writers bench where all the graffiti artists would meet up. 

Submitted by: Jeffrey Boyd

AKA: Basquiat

Dec 22,1960 - Aug 8,1988

He was part of SAMO, a duo who wrote mysterious puns and quips in the late 70s. By 1980 his paintings were being exhibited in museums and galleries around the world. His art focused on social commentary pitting poverty versus wealth, integration versus segregation and other topics. Basquiat also referenced power structure and politics. One of his paintings at Sotheby’s sold for 110 million in 2017.

Submitted by: Jeffrey Boyd