REVOK thinks Fab 5 Freddy is “a lame,” “a poser,” “a thief,” “a fraud,” a wanna-be” and “a perpetrator.” Anything else? Yes:

Now I bet your wondering why I am going so hard at poor Fab-5 and knocking the guy’s hustle… Under any other circumstances I’d have a chuckle and go about my business… But I absolutely can not leave this one alone because that shit Fab-5 tried to present in a gallery as “original art” isn’t original. Fab’s “art” is composed entirely of stolen bits and pieces from my friend SEVER’s art… And its reproduced tragically might i add. Here is a guy who was NEVER a graffiti writer… Posing as a “king of graffiti” -All the while stealing from a REAL graffiti writer. SEVER is a world renown & globally recognized & respected graffiti artist… I bet “King FAB 5″ doesn’t even know who SEVER is and stumbled across SEVER’s work doing a google search… FUCKING PATHETIC.

REVOK takes offense with Fab 5 Freddy showing in the “3 Kings” exhibit at Subliminal Projects in Los Angeles with FUTURA 2000 and LEE QUINONES — “undeniably kings in every respect, and I have the highest respect for both artists and in no way aim to disrespect them” — but, that “Freddie character is a lame and NEVER WAS A GRAFFITI WRITER/ARTIST… He painted some really shitty piece on a movie set, a music video, started a piece once on one train and didn’t finish…” Don’t forget the bedazzled pictures of strippers.

Fab 5 Freddy Vs. SEVER:

Fab 5 Freddy Vs. SEVER:

With scattered residents and the media getting all upset about MOCA’s street artsy show in April, the LAPD needed itself a high profile bust and so REVOK was the perfect target. Even though his case had nothing with the exhibit, it gave editors just the right amount of fodder to tangentially link the two. Anyway, he’s out now and put up an entertaining excruciating summary of his predicament over the past month and a half, which include a new charge for painting graffiti legally:

After 44 days and 24,000$ of debt I am finally out of jail… Thank you soo very much to all of you people who showed your support with drawings, paintings, etc. It means a great deal to me that there are people out there that actually give a shit.

I fucked up and didn’t pay a fine or complete my court ordered community service in time… So i was arrested by the lowest of lifeforms within the L.A. Sheriffs dept.(The graffiti task force) while waiting to board a flight to Dublin at LAX. The sheriffs ended up charging me with 2 additional charges for painting 2 separate murals with the property owners consent… Apparently if you paint a mural in Los Angeles with the consent/support of the property owner it is still a crime if the said mural is not done in conjunction with the Dept. of building & safety(Never mind that the Dept. of B.S. has NEVER issued a permit for a mural) -It seems i am facing severe criminal prosecution and a major civil lawsuit if i ever paint a mural in Los Angeles again… Regardless if i am commissioned or endorsed by the building owner since i will never be issued a permit by The Dept. of BS.

(Photo: Keegan Gibbs/OBEY)

There’s no doubt that LAPD brass are a sordid bunch of assholes who have no qualms about politicizing certain arrests and are hellbent on casting graffiti artists as ruthless thugs, but this is by far, the flimsiest attempt at explaining why REVOK was busted and is about as responsible as Fox News.

There’s no need to engage in conspiracy theories and grandstanding when it’s pretty obvious what the “real reason” was: He didn’t pay the restitution that was outlined in the terms of his probation. That’s it.* Some may argue that the original case was bullshit and he should have never been arrested in the first place, but that’s another story.

Having said that, no graffiti writer should ever be sent to jail and his 180 day sentence is excessive, so anything that helps raise money for his legal defense is a noble endeavor, like this limited edition print by ASKEW that can be purchased here. Or there’s always this t-shirt option the proceeds of which will also be donated to cover his legal bills, although, this would have been a lot more helpful before he went to jail … a good lawyer can do a world of wonders.

*The Los Angeles Times reported that the police may try to tack on additional acts of vandalism due to so-called evidence they discovered when they apprehended him, but that hasn’t happened and had nothing to do with his sentencing.

(Photo: constructivexdestruction/flickr)

A Los Angeles gallery owner is sorry for telling lies in a failed bid to distance himself from an arrest at the opening of his graffiti exhibition. After graffiti writer REVOK was busted during a paid appearance at 33Third gallery and graffiti supply store, owner Matthew Stibbe told ABC News, “I did not pay him $1000. I did not pay any of the artists to show up here.” But none of that was true. Reading off a piece of paper, Stibbe admits he was dishonest and that all the artists were paid, before apologizing for adding to oversharing graffiti writer REVOK’s list of troubles.

According to Sheriff’s deputies, REVOK was booked for “possession of vandalism tools and a counterfeit LAPD badge and receiving stolen property” following a search of his home that turned up hundreds of paint cans, a fire extinguisher, a fake badge and a stolen “detour” sign. Not surprisingly, police also found photos of REVOK’s graffiti on his phone, which they must have confiscated since he hasn’t posted any boastful tweets since getting out of jail this morning on $20k bail. |LAT|

Image via REVOK

A Greek jetliner has been reportedly tagged by graffiti writers. In photos posted by oversharing graffiti writer REVOK, the words “Stay High” are seen painted along the aircraft’s wing where markings for Olympic Airlines have were covered up since the carrier shut down. Scarce on details, this news is all the more intriguing being reported by REVOK, one of the vandals who was shortchanged for his work on Marc Ecko’s Air Force One tag hoax.

Photos via REVOK

Now safely back in the United States, the 32-year-old graffiti artist has resumed his Twitter transmissions, boastfully thanking Melbourne police for the traffic boost to his website and offering little hope of ever receiving his $15k fine, tweeting, “don’t hold your breath.. #checksinthemail.”

Earlier today, the 32-year-old graffiti writer plead guilty to nine counts of criminal damage and was sentenced to $15k in fines and nine months in prison, a term that will be suspended for two years. |WAtoday|

Photos via Known Gallery

What’s the best way to catch someone who’s splashing paint on your legal graffiti murals? You could always hire some stealthy papparazi to stake out your walls or you could pull a police manual tactic and post a reward for information. REVOK of MSK is offering “100 cans for real info as to the identity of the cowardly bitches dissing our walls anonymously around LA.” |Known Gallery|