Graffiti’s New Vanguard: From Harlem’s Streets to a BAPE Collaboration
Under the rumble of the NYC subway and the glow of streetlights, a young graffiti writer from East Harlem honed his tag on concrete walls. Fast forward to today, and that same artist’s signature scrawl now splashes across limited-edition streetwear, linking underground art with global fashion. This is the journey of Shaun Crawford – a Harlem-born graffiti artist whose raw talent and hustle propelled him from tagging local walls to collaborating with one of Japan’s most iconic streetwear brands. It’s a story of grit, creativity, and cultural crossover that feels as authentic and edgy as the graffiti culture it sprang from.
Early Days in Harlem’s Graffiti Scene
Shaun Crawford’s story starts on 119th Street and Lexington Avenue in Spanish Harlem – “119 is the block I grew up on… that area made me who I am,” he says, reflecting on his roots. Growing up in the 1980s and ’90s, he was immersed in New York City’s hip-hop and graffiti tradition from a young age. By his early teens, Crawford was cracking open spray cans and sketching bubble letters, inspired by the bombed highways and handstyles he saw on the streets around him. He began tagging as a kid, even learning to mix his own inks and dyes from scratch – a DIY dedication that would later fuel his distinctive visual language.
Those rough-and-tumble Harlem days were his art school. He ran with legendary graffiti crews (like RFC – “Running From Cops” – known for their Lo-Life street fashion swagger) and absorbed the codes of the street. Crawford’s style evolved as a fusion of gritty graffiti energy and playful pop culture. He’d repurpose Saturday morning cartoon characters – think Smurfs or Mickey Mouse – into vibrantly layered graffiti pieces with a subversive twist. It was bold, it was chaotic, and it carried the pulse of the city. In a scene and era dominated by machismo and competition, the Harlem kid earned respect the classic way: by getting up (tagging everywhere) and cultivating a style that was unmistakably his own.
Breaking Out: From Throw-Ups to Galleries
By the 2010s, Crawford’s hustling had started to pay off in more ways than one. What began in back-alleys and handball courts was turning into gallery shows and brand deals – all without him losing that underground edge. Crawford became a rare bridge between the street and the studio, blending street aesthetics with commercial design. He’s a multidisciplinary artist now, as likely to be found painting a canvas or stitching a soft sculpture as spraying a mural. But the graffiti DNA remains front and center: his work still bursts with the bombastic colors, dripping tags, and expressive lines of his 1990s street bombing days.
Opportunities started rolling in as his reputation grew. Over the past few years, Crawford has collaborated with big-name brands from all corners of culture – mixing high fashion, sportswear, and pure streetwear. We’re talking luxury houses and cutting-edge labels tapping this East Harlem talent: Supreme, Nike, Arc’teryx, Givenchy – even classic American outfitters like Timberland – have all sought out Crawford’s graphic touch. He’s had solo exhibits at contemporary galleries (like Chicago’s Anthony Gallery) and even featured in a 2025 museum exhibition in Italy, validating that his graffiti credentials can hold their own in the fine art world. Not bad for a guy who started out just trying to leave his name on a wall.
What makes Shaun Crawford stand out is how he’s leveraged his vandal roots into a broader creative voice without selling out the culture. He still keeps it community-oriented – running graffiti workshops for youth and fellow artists, for instance – even as he inks deals with fashion brands. That balance of “high-art legitimacy” and real street credibility is rare, and it’s turning Crawford into something of a folk hero for the new generation of graffiti artists. He’s living proof that you can stay true to the streets and still go global.
When BAPE Met Shaun: The Collaboration
One of Crawford’s breakout moments on the style stage came in 2020, when Japanese streetwear legend A Bathing Ape (BAPE) came calling. As part of BAPE’s New York store 15th anniversary celebration, the brand wanted to pay homage to NYC’s graffiti culture. Who better to enlist than a homegrown writer with the city in his veins? BAPE tapped Shaun Crawford to design a special limited-run T-shirt, released exclusively through its SoHo, NYC location. For a graffiti artist who grew up idolizing hip-hop and streetwear, this was a full-circle dream: Harlem’s street energy meeting Harajuku’s streetwear elite.
Crawford didn’t disappoint. He splashed the tee with a bold black-and-white tag: the word “BAPE” ballooned in classic graffiti bubble letters across the chest, underscored by “BAPE STORE – SOHO” in his own handstyle (complete with his crew tag and a star flourish). It was as if a downtown NYC handball-court mural had been transplanted onto a designer tee – raw, unapologetic, and authentic. On the back, BAPE’s famous Ape Head logo wore a Statue of Liberty crown, cementing the collab as a tribute to the brand’s New York roots and Crawford’s city. The shirt dropped on April 11, 2020, and promptly became a coveted item, retailing at $99 but flipping for more among in-the-know collectors. For BAPE, which has a long history of working with graffiti icons (from NYC legends like Stash and Futura to pop art pioneers like KAWS), bringing in Shaun Crawford injected fresh blood into that legacy. And for Crawford, the collab signaled that he had truly arrived on the international stage – his tag now flying off shelves alongside BAPE’s ape camouflage and shark hoodies.
The nature of the collaboration was more than just slapping a graphic on a shirt – it was a cultural exchange. Nigo’s BAPE built its name blending Tokyo fashion with New York hip-hop sensibilities, and here was a New York writer adding a new chapter to that storyhypebeast.com. “It’s a big deal to me,” Crawford told friends at the launch, reflecting on seeing his graffiti go commercial in the best way. “Coming from where I started, to have Bape in my lettering – it means the culture is reaching across the globe.” The collab captured that ethos perfectly: a Harlem throw-up meeting Japanese streetwear royalty. It bridged two street cultures that had long admired each other, and did it in style.
Legacy and Looking Forward
Today, Shaun Crawford sits at the vanguard of a movement that’s seeing graffiti artists break boundaries worldwide. He’s in his forties now – an age when many graffiti writers might hang up their caps – but Crawford is busier and more relevant than ever. One week he’s customizing a one-of-one Barbour jacket in England with splashes of spray and embroidery; the next he’s back in New York, mentoring kids on how to mix their own ink or helping a major fashion house keep its street credit. Through it all, he carries the same Harlem swagger and DIY ethos that got him here. “I was always into drawing… I was naturally drawn to it. It was just always there,” he says about graffiti – a reminder that for him, this isn’t a trend, it’s a life.
Crawford’s rise from the projects to global platforms shows how far graffiti has come – and where it’s headed. What used to be seen as vandalism is now recognized as valuable art and cultural capital, with brands and galleries alike seeking that authentic flavor. Yet, as Shaun’s journey proves, the heart of graffiti remains the story behind the artist – the unique blend of place, personality, and passion that goes into every tag and piece. It’s these stories that resonate with audiences far beyond the five boroughs.
And that’s exactly the point: graffiti is global now, and its community is growing tighter and more interlinked by the day. It’s a vision that we at Kommerce believe in deeply. We want to bring together writers like Shaun from all corners of the world – the unsung talents and the rising stars – and give them a platform. Kommerce’s mission is to build a global community of international graffiti artists and spread their stories far and wide. In shining a light on journeys like Shaun Crawford’s, we’re celebrating the raw, unfiltered creativity that unites street cultures from New York to Tokyo and beyond. It’s about respect for the craft, love for the culture, and amplifying those voices that deserve to be heard. Shaun’s story is just one of many, and as the graffiti world keeps evolving, you can bet Kommerce will be there – tagging along for the ride, and making sure these stories hit every wall around the world.
Sources:
Shaun Crawford profile, Living Prooflivingproofnewyork.comlivingproofnewyork.com;
BAPE x Crawford collaboration news, Hypebeasthypebeast.com;
Vulcan Post interview with Kenji Chai (for additional context on graffiti collaborations)vulcanpost.com.
