Nigeria’s Dhoro Styles on Graffiti as a Medium of Communication – The Hip Hop African

Peter King Ubiebor also known as Dhoro Styles is a Nigerian street and graffiti artist. He holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental biology from the University of Benin in Edo state, Nigeria. Dhoro Styles has a strong focus on drawing, painting, graffiti writing, and creating murals with spray paints and paintbrush techniques.

In our conversation with him, Dhoro Styles told us that his interest for drawing started at the age of 4, and continued throughout secondary school. He added that it was in secondary school that he did his first graffiti writing with spray paint. Dhoro Styles states that he draws inspiration from contemporary urban cultures, street arts, Chicago murals, and graffiti from the 1980’s and 1990’s. As well as from Uprising, the well-known graffiti artist from Nigeria, and Eminem, the American-based rapper.

Graffiti, according to Dhoro Styles, is a medium of communication. He adds that apart from graffiti addressing social issues, “when we express ourselves on the walls we are living.” This means that graffiti is a culture and a style of a people. Dhoro Styles indicated that he does his graffiti writing and painting on bridges in Lagos, the home of graffiti in Nigeria.