The Term “Toy” Demeans
Real Graff Culture
Story by a West Coast Graff Artist

What is a toy? Toy is a term that was coined by some graffiti artists back in the day over in the east coast. It's a degrading term used towards people that aren't so good at making graffiti. I've heard it used all throughout my career as a graff head especially when I was beginning. That's what I was called.

Obviously, that's who the term is usually thrown to, the guys that are just startin' out. I think that's bullshit to tell you the truth, and contributes nothing to the growth of our community. I think its essential to foster and care for upcoming writers because some of them will stick with it and maybe even surpass the more established dope graff heads. This kind of disrespect only teaches to the new guys that things in graff are all about who's on top, who's the king, elite if you will. Well, maybe that's the way some think it should be, but to tell you the truth that tough love competition topper attitude cannot elevate the scene with the same strength and power that unity can.

Shit, that's why I ain't in the army, sports, or gangs, because I'm trying to get away from that mentality all together. Fuck being tough, and the idea that this means, “keeping it real,” these notions are all hella fake. The things that have always attracted me to get up was not even about the act of getting up itself, but more so the people I've been able to meet and kick it with.

One thing that's a crack up too is when non-profit hip hoppers name graffiti one of the elements of hip hop culture, which to them is a positive form of expression for urban low-income dwellers (especially sounding nicer in a grant proposal). However, graffiti culture stands alone, not as a component of a larger culture, but as a culture itself.

Anyone who seriously writes graffiti and has traveled knows that some of the best fools out there could give a good damn about hip hop music or culture. So what I'm meaning to get at is that just as the Chicano denies the stereotypes that we are all gangsters who get crazy and fight, as an experienced graffiti artist who's earned the right through time and experience, I say fuck terms like “toy,” I didn't create it, I don't own it, and I don't want it. Gestures like these don't have to be accepted by us just because we “tag.” I do graffiti, and just like I've been encouraged to invent my own “style,” I will invent my own outlook and definition as well.