A Conversation with Enzolio
For Enzolio, graffiti started long before he fully understood the culture behind it. As a kid, he noticed graffiti on neighborhood walls while walking to school. Hip-hop was also part of his everyday life, from music playing in passing cars to the songs he heard with family.
Years later, his love for graffiti remains, especially the different lettering styles, the history, and the culture behind it.
We talked about his childhood, the differences between graffiti styles in different cities, and what keeps him interested in the art today.
How did you first become interested in graffiti and hip-hop culture?
Karina: Take me back to the beginning. How did you first get into graffiti and hip-hop?
Enzolio: I think I was always interested in it. I just didn’t know what it was at the time.
When I was in second, third, and fourth grade, I would walk to school and look at all the tags around the neighborhood. I didn’t really understand them, but something about them caught my attention.
I would look at certain letters and think, “They should have done this differently.” I was already looking closely at how people were writing their letters.
Hip-hop was always around, too. You’d hear music coming from people’s cars. My uncle always had music playing, and my cousins and I listened to hip-hop growing up.
Did anyone influence you when you were younger?
Karina: What was the graffiti scene like when you were growing up? Did you have anyone who inspired you?
Enzolio: Not really, at least not in the beginning.
I didn’t have anyone showing me how to be part of the graffiti scene. I thought you had to be a tough guy or come from a certain environment to do it.
But I remember my sister writing in cursive and trying different lettering styles. I also remember someone showing me the difference between neighborhood gang writing and graffiti tags, even down to the markers they used.
Those were some of my earliest experiences learning about different styles.
What’s something people misunderstand about graffiti culture?
Karina: What’s something about underground graffiti that you think most people don’t understand?
Enzolio: I think people sometimes assume that graffiti writers are gang members.
Sometimes there’s a connection in certain neighborhoods, but graffiti is its own thing. It isn’t necessarily tied to one neighborhood or one group.
Even within graffiti culture, people have their own boundaries. Just because one person does something doesn’t mean everybody agrees with it.
People looking from the outside don’t always understand those differences.
What makes Los Angeles graffiti different?
Karina: You’ve followed graffiti from different places. What stands out to you about the different styles, especially in Los Angeles?
Enzolio: I really like the Los Angeles style.
New York has its own history and traditions, but Los Angeles has something different. There’s a connection to cholo lettering and Mexican-American culture that becomes part of the graffiti style.
I think LA graffiti can be really technical. The letters can get complicated, and there’s a lot going on with the colors and how everything comes together.
To me, LA has its own style. It has its own history, and that’s something I really like about it.
How does an artist develop their own style?
Karina: For you, what makes an artist’s style unique?
Enzolio: Repetition.
You just keep writing. Keep drawing, keep practicing your letters, and eventually something starts to happen.
Someone told me that if you want to be original, you have to keep writing until it becomes your own.
It’s almost like signing your name. You do it so many times that eventually it becomes second nature.
After all these years, what still excites you about graffiti?
Karina: What’s next for you? Are there any projects or ideas you’re excited about?
Enzolio: I think I want to get back to just writing and trying different letters.
I’ve been doing graffiti for so long that sometimes I miss what it felt like when I was first learning. You can’t really go back to that exact experience.
But I still want to connect with other graffiti writers and keep working on my lettering.
If I could get rolls of paper, some really good markers, listen to hip-hop or jazz, drink chocolate milk, and just draw all day, that would be cool.
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