Ayem, Melo, and the homie from Vegas

I received a text the other day from a friend telling me that Ayem and Melo were down in the Grand River Creative Corridor with their homie from Vegas. I was in the area and decided to stop by and see what was poppin'. They had all just begun work on their pieces when I got there. It was good to see Ayem and Melo again after not seeing them for about a year and a half. I filmed with them in Eastern Market some time ago for a public access television show and it's always a good time to kick it with these guys.

Ayem and Melo recently made the front page of The Detroit Free Press with their "Bankruptcy" piece that they did on Van Dyke Avenue. The piece is done in 3-D and it is said to represent the multiple layers and nuances in the Detroit bankruptcy. We talked about that for a while among other topics. It was a nice day out on Grand River. The weather was agreeable and the vibe was cool.

Derek Weaver stopped by to see the progress being made and it was an honor to meet the guy. At 26, he has become a real factor in Detroit graffiti. His work with the city and artists has fostered a world class graffiti scene. A couple of years ago, the Detroit graffiti scene was stale, if not completely dead. There was about a handful of local graffiti artists that would get up. Seemingly, almost out of nowhere, this huge flourishing graffiti scene popped up and now artists from all over the world come here to add some color to the endless blight of the city.

After about an hour of just shooting the shit, I had to go. My work keeps me constantly moving within the city. We all made mention of doing another video shoot in the future and it sounds like a real possibility. So stay tuned, another Ayem and Melo video is more than likely in the cards.