On December 3, 2016 Maintain Skate Shop which is located at 2645 North Figueroa Street, Los Angeles Califas hosted the “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop” Benefit Art Show and Pop Up Shop for legendary Tempt One, K2S, 213, STN Crews.
OG Tempt, no needed introduction on who he is and his contributions to the Los Angeles Graffiti History Movement. His legacy of fresh styles and unique ability of elaborated pieces with crisp colors and sharp lines were way ahead of its time. While many were inspired by East Coast styles and letters, crews such as K2S were paving the way for the West Coast style in Graffiti and OG Tempt marked his legacy from that point on. This is Los Angeles baby! Understanding the amazing creative individual Tempt One is makes this event special because aside to the years and roller-coaster of unfortunate circumstances, there are many of us out here who hold a fond respect and love for Tempt. Tempt, if you are reading this, know that what we do for you is genuine. Maintain Shop was the perfect location to execute the true essence of who Tempt is, showing our support for him not only as a friend, or an artist but also as a Skater, Team Creeps Ese!
Big ups to Los Angeles based Graffiti Art Chingona, muralist and community builder Petal LOD for organizing such a dope event in our city of Angels. Do not hesitate to show her the ultimate respect when you see her because I got to witness the development process, just to give you an insight on how this idea turn into a reality; it is not an easy task. The hard work and dedication Petal, Duce and all of the participating artists invested for their friend Tempt; is inspiring. Much respects to you all!
On this lovely sunny afternoon, Maintain transformed itself into a Tempt, One Stop Shop, limited edition caps, pins, t-shirts, hoodies and most importantly, Art Skate decks by some heavy hitters such as Angst, Key, Defer, Style, Slick, BIG Sleeps, Heaven, Vox, Gas, Petal, Plek, Wizrock, Cache and Cre8.
Before coming thru the venue, got to kick it with my Mala Influencia SIZE OTR and brother from another mother, BESK LODUCA, Tony and Nikky. Never a dull moment with these vatos; cheers homeys! Got to the venue early with my skater kid Frido Dorito and Jayden to help my sister Petal with any last details needed. As I got there, she was already en chinga status making sure everything was on point before the public arrived. Gaso and Search were the first ones there, so of course we put them to work, well Search was smart and took off to do his thing and left Gaso to do all the man labor, thanks brother for hanging decks, climbing ladders and doing anything you were told to do. Ha-ha. As the event progressed, a lot of Tempt’s friends came by to show their support and purchase merchandise. What a treat to hear many childhood stories as well as Graff relived moments. All I can say is, Tempt, you are one crazy vato!. The venue got packed indoors and outdoors, quickly turned into a black book session and slaps trades. Our kidos turned the front of Maintain into a skate drop as the locals kids, Frida and Jayden showed off their skills throughout the event. And you know the night coul not have been completed without the presence of dear friend and photographer Steve Grody, thank you for contributing photos of OG Tempt. DJ Luman had us bumping our heads to his sick sets which Tempt got to see on Facebook Live Stream; thank you for donating your time to make this event more memorable, what up Doll Uno! Los Angeles came out tonight and I was all SMILES to see so many familiar faces happy to be there for the same cause. What up Pesky, Gordo, Allegra, Sonji, Nuke, Anger, Search, Este, and everybody that came out! Do not worry if you could not make this event, many more on the way!
If you missed out on this event, you can still make your contribution by purchasing some of Tempt One’s merchandise. Just click on the link below:
Much Love & Respect,
Monica Smiles Tobon
“As a human being; Tempt has set an example of what I strive to be as a friend and he definitely has made me want to be a better person.” –Style 213
“Tempt is one of the most inspiring and motivating people I’ve ever had the pleasure of being friends with through Facebook. As an artist his work speaks for itself from his styles to his social commentary when he was working on bigtime magazine. As far as his contributions to the graffiti scene in my eyes is his versatility of the letter form how he can go from a simple style piece to a complex wild style. That and how he’s continued to influence generations with his work and his drive.” -WizRok
mstobon.com 
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