Graffiti Nostalgia 📷 CCBY4.0 Creative Commons

Walking through my town at night, so much has changed— and so much has not. Growing up when Hip Hop was just a newborn, I remember when society thought it was a fad and the rebellion of entitled teenagers. Maybe it was. But nevertheless, it persisted.

Murals like these would most certainly get painted over. If the artist were caught making them, they'd be promptly arrested and charged with destruction of property. Now, I'm for the concept of property and possession, and I've given the philosophy a lot of deep deeeeeeeep thought. Where exactly I hang my hat is still an internal debate. Still, sometimes one person's depreciation is another person's appreciation.

This artform, graffiti, it wasn't as amazing in its earlier years. The tools just didn't exist for such elaborate works to be made. And the subjects of many of these works just didn't exist yet either. Murals of famous rappers and revolutionaries were few and far between because many were still in diapers.

Evolution is complicated.

Notorious BIG would have been about 5 years older than me today. Rest in Paradise. He was a game changer. What I loved most about him was he didn't try to change the face of Hip Hop, he was a face of Hip Hop. And while I won't entertain debates over whom was better, Big or Pac, Big or Pun, etc... now when you see a mural like this, it feels like the culture is solid. Hip Hop wasn't a fad. Our parents were wrong.

Do you ever notice how often your parents have been wrong? Granted, my parents have been right about a lot of things too. So much so, I've apologized to both of them on a number of occasions in my adulthood— for just being a dumb-shit. I'm still a dumb-shit somewhat. And I think about how dumb-shit (yet brilliant) my parents were also. Well, they were wrong about Hip Hop, wrong about it as much and a culture.

Frankly, I think we're all so fragile— yet invincible, wonderful— yet terrifying.

To digress, graffiti is a special art form I feel because it began as— and still is, a crime— usually. In the case of these photos, in the town/city I live in, this is somewhat legal. Rather, it's ignored. I live in a special place with a very forward-thinking community. The general sentiment is that these sort of things are culturally relevant and add character and personality to our space. I agree.

All of these photos come from a single corridor, in a back alleyway, in one of our squares. There are many of these murals all over the city, and many of these corridors. Each one is unique and constantly changing. Artists come and repaint them every month. In the Summer, I can add more photos of the same place and you wouldn't recognize it. (If you've read my previous posts, remember my mother does this to her living room. as well.) This is one of the spirits of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

More later :)

Note: While the photos are mine to license under CCBY40, the artwork within them ARE NOT mine. Please take appropriate steps to seek the artwork's author and get permission before using my photos in a such a way that could infringe their rights.

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Category	colourfulphotography
Camera	Samsung Galaxy S8 Dual Pixel 12MP PRO
Aperture	F1.7
Pixel size	1.4µm
Sensor size	1/2.55"
FOV	77
Bit depth	24 bit
Resolution	300 dpi
File type	Jpeg
Dimensions	1197 x 849
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

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^{Graffiti Collection 1 by Omi Taylor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Original work here. Additional terms here.}

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!steemitworldmap 42.364724 lat -71.102497 long d3scr

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More posts by Omi your Homie.

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_{Hi. I'm Omi. You can learn more about me here, here, and here. I verified my account here and my music here. I'm new to Steemit! I joined to support my friends and family in their adventures in crypto— and I'm learning along the way as well!}

_{I'm a Moderator at @steemers > Discord and a member of SteemPunks and Steemit Mastermind Group. Facetious but real. Follow me now before I become a Whale. ;o)}

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