XRATED'S MOMENT

Good old Lime Lite Liquor, just South of Hollywood Blvd. on La Brea, right next tp Rafallo’s Pizza where Cameron from Ferris Buehlers Day Off recently ran his Tesla Truck thing right into the side of Rafallo’s dining room narrowly missing two people on the sidewalk. Apparently his foot slipped and he rapidly accelerated into the wall. After they boarded it up someone wrote “Save Ferris” on the plywood covering the massive whole the Tesla Moblie left in it.

“HAVE A NICE DAY :)" is what XRATED wanted us to take from this quick piece from XRATED back in 2022. I like the signs broken, La Brea clearly visible, the girl walking and talking into her phone, the palm trees, the Hollywood La Brea Inn sign in the background where in it’s driveway someone was executed, shot in the head a couple years back.

I hoofed it to the store in my Adidas slides taking the alley shortcut. On a mission to get Lottery tickets and a six pack. I did another collage that same day as I hung around the back of the store having a beer as I typically do on these runs. I encountered an interesting character high on Fentanyl, I took those collage photos of his bike in the same spot.

This wall is an ever rotating concrete canvas constantly buffed by CalTrans with new letters shortly after.

I used to see XRATED up all over… been a minute since I’ve seen any new stuff up in the neighborhood.

Jake Williams brings punk poetry to life in “XRATED’s Moment.” This multi-frame composition is rooted in the nocturnal honesty of Hollywood’s alleyways. The wet asphalt and stark signage create a tension that’s only broken by the graffiti’s electric pulse. XRATED’s piece doesn’t just decorate,  it dominates. By grounding himself in the bottom frame, Williams inserts the viewer into the scene, both observer and participant. There’s no romanticism here, only presence and power.

— X.R.T.