Fat Joe's "Joey Crack" Lil Wayne Tagging Sparking Awareness, Says Graffiti Expert

In light of Fat Joe showing off his graffiti-tagging skills on Lil Wayne's crib earlier this month, SOHH reached out to graffiti expert Alan Ket for his take on hip-hop once again invading the mainstream.

While Ket co-signed Joe's publicized tagging skills, he said hip-hop heads should take the extra step by realizing bigger things taking place in the world of graffiti.

"I think the graffiti is at the height of popularity that it hasn't been in a long time. I'm happy to see it because there are hundreds if not thousands of people around the world that live and breathe this art form every day," Ket told SOHH. "So seeing it become recognized once again is important to myself and those artists so they can sell their work, so they can create books, so they can expand their audience. These are living, working artists so it's important for people to connect and see who these people are making those visuals in their communities, or around the world. To me, it's a big deal and I'm very happy to see it. I think Fat Joe coming to Lil Wayne's home and doing graffiti is okay, I think it's great for the graffiti world to have that visibility but there's much larger things happening around the world that prove it's really happening." (SOHH)

A few weeks ago, Joe opened up about getting Weezy's approval to tag his Miami crib.

"I live down the block, across the street from him and yesterday, the n*gga called me up and said, 'Please, Joe, it would be an honor if you do a TS Joey Crack piece in my house,'" Joe said in an interview. "Never in my life [have I done graffiti in someone's house]. I tried to talk him out of it like, 'Wayne, for real, you have a gazillion dollar mansion -- please don't do this.' He was like, 'Nah, Crack, I got a spot right there for you.' I was like, 'Wayne...why?' He said, 'Crack, we need it.' ... He got ramps on his ceiling and all that sh*t. Yeah, he's doing that to the highest level. I was there and he was building a f*cking skateboard. He was like, 'Yo Crack, you got to put this here.' He found a new love, something he loves to do and that's dope. He's living and drinking and eating the skateboarding sh*t." (XXL Mag)

A day prior, Joey Crack unveiled photos of his graffiti-spraying skills.

One of Fat Joe's nicknames is Joe Crack. Not because of any plumber like clothing malfunctions or any coke that was allegedly sold, but because "Crack" is what he used to tag up throughout the Bronx back in the day. Rap fame is what caused Joe to put the Krylon can down, but he recently took his graf writing talent's to the wall of Lil Wayne's Miami home. Joe showed off his work on Twitter and Instagram. "Back at it again!!! Wait for the finish pic," he tweeted. The strategically placed Vans logo means they may have something to do with this. (Hip Hop Wired)

Ket's signature tags have graced subway trains both in New York and overseas.

When graffiti was rampant in New York City during the 1980s, a Brooklyn teenager known as Alan Ket was at the top of his game. In broad strokes of aerosol spray, he slashed brash images on subway cars, branched out to vandalize trains in Europe, and became such a fixture in the flourishing graffiti culture that he was asked to speak at several universities. (New York Times)