Beats & Bars Barbecue • Graffiti
The story of the wallThe Wall Has a New Story
Bukue One and Lerch turned “Beats” and “Bars” into two distinct pieces connected by color, community, and the living culture of Hip Hop.
Graffiti should never feel like decoration at Beats & Bars Barbecue.
It is not scenery placed behind the music. It is not a colorful backdrop added after everything else has been planned. Graffiti is one of the elements—and in 2026, Bukue One and Lerch (@AtlBench) gave it room to speak for itself.
The wall began as two open panels. The artists divided the name of the event between them: Bukue One would write “Beats,” while Lerch would take “Bars.”
From there, two individual styles began moving toward one shared composition.
Putting the Funk in “Beats”
“We decided to break the wall down into ‘Beats’ and ‘Bars,’ the name of the event, and I chose ‘Beats,’” Bukue One explained. “I like those letters—the way they bounce. B-E-A-T-S gives me a lot of room to put some funk into it.”
But he was not only responding to the letters.
He was responding to everything happening around him.
“On my side, I wanted to get loose, soak up the vibe of the Beats & Bars barbecue—the B-boys, the food, the conversations, the energy—and transmute all of that onto the wall. Just let it flow without overthinking it.”
The result carries that movement. Bright pinks, turquoise, orange, purple, black, and green stretch across the surface as shapes become letters and loose marks gain structure.
The wall captures more than a name. It captures the environment in which it was created.
Use the Pause button on the hyperlapse at any time. With reduced motion turned on, the finished wall shows instead.
Beats & Bars Barbecue • Graffiti
Different Styles, Shared Colors
Bukue One and Lerch did not attempt to make their work identical. Their styles remain distinct, but they established a visual relationship between the two pieces before they began.
“We started by talking through the colors,” Bukue One said. “I showed Lerch what I was planning to use, and he matched his palette to that for the most part.”
That shared palette and background allowed both artists to retain their identities while bringing the complete wall together.
“Me and Lerch have different styles, so the colors tied everything together while giving us room to do our own thing.”
That balance is part of what makes a collaborative wall work: separate voices occupying the same space without requiring either artist to disappear.
Edutainment, Live and Direct
Most people encounter graffiti after the work is finished.
They see the final photograph. They recognize the name. They admire the colors, lettering, and scale. What they do not always see is the process—the sketch, the proportions, the decisions, the adjustments, and the physical work required to bring a piece forward.
At Beats & Bars, that process happened in front of the community.
“When I paint live, you can feel the joy, the admiration, the love, and the respect,” Bukue One said. “You can also feel people picking up on the lessons you’re dropping as you paint.”
The audience could watch him work through his sketch, establish the proportions, build the letters, and develop the finished piece layer by layer.
“It’s edutainment, live and direct.”
Even while facing the wall, Bukue One remained connected to the people behind him.
“I can hear it. I can feel it,” he said. “And being at the event means I can kick it with people, have conversations, and share what I’m doing.”
That exchange can also create an opening for the next generation.
“If a little kid wants to try spraying, I can invite them in to do a little bit. So even when I’m the one doing most of the painting, it’s a really interactive experience.”
At the Wall
- Bukue One “Beats” · @bukueone
- Lerch “Bars” · @AtlBench
All the Elements in Community
Beats & Bars Barbecue exists to bring the elements of Hip Hop together as a living culture.
The MC commands the microphone. The DJ and producer shape the sound. B-Boys and B-Girls bring movement to the floor. The writer leaves a physical record that remains after the music stops and the crowd goes home.
For Bukue One, giving graffiti a real place within the event carries meaning.
“To me, it means Beats & Bars is truly representing the full culture of hip-hop,” he said. “Usually, hip-hop events focus on the rappers and DJs, and the breakers and graffiti writers end up being an afterthought.”
That was not the experience here.
“At this event, all the elements are together in community, with mutual adoration, respect, and a share of the limelight. That’s a very rare and very beautiful thing.”
What the Wall Carries Forward
An event passes quickly.
People arrive. Music plays. Food is served. Conversations happen. Then everyone carries pieces of the experience home with them.
A wall holds onto something different.
Bukue One hopes people see more than paint when they encounter the finished piece.
“I hope they feel hip-hop culture, community, joy, enthusiasm, gratitude, funk, flavor, and vibrance.”
He also hopes they recognize the knowledge carried through generations.
“I hope they feel that legacy of skill—the teachings our forefathers passed down to me, that I’ve passed down to Lerch, and that we’re continuing to pass along to people who are inspired by watching us paint.”
That continuation is the real final layer.
“Maybe someone who hasn’t written in years will feel inspired to pick up their black book and a can again,” Bukue One said. “Maybe someone from the next generation saw us, caught the bug, and decided they want to get into writing and graffiti art.”
“That’s what I hope the wall carries forward.”
The wall remembers the hands that created it, the community that watched it take shape, and the culture that made space for it.
The wall has a new story—and now we can watch that story being written.
- Artists
- Bukue One (@bukueone) and Lerch (@AtlBench)
- Created live at
- Beats & Bars Barbecue 2026
- Footage
- Soulful Playground. Used with permission.