Collection: Cornbread

CORNBREAD

PHILADELPHIA / UNITED STATES

Darryl McCray (American, b.1953), better known by his tagging name "Cornbread", is a graffiti writer from Philadelphia. He is widely considered the world’s first modern graffiti artist, starting with a distinct, non-gang related, tagging style in 1965. 

After a stint in a juvenile corrections center, where he garnered the name Cornbread from the chef who, despite Daryl’s repeated requests, refused to make the stuff, the legend was born. His first big ‘campaign’ was ‘Cornbread Loves Cynthia’. This was a bold declaration of love for a girl in his class at Strawberry Mansion Junior High School. He wrote it everywhere along their walking route home. This later became the inspiration for ESPO’s world famous mural series of ‘Love Letters’ along Philadelphia’s famous Market-Frankford train line. 

In August 2013, McCray was honored at the Graffiti Hall of Fame in East Harlem for his contribution to hip-hop culture.  Among his greatest graffiti feats he is known for tagging a touring jet belonging to the Jackson 5 and sneaking into the Philadelphia Zoo to tag an elephant, an act later ‘borrowed’ by world famous Street and Conceptual Artist, Banksy. 

More than half a century after the legend was born, Cornbread uses his platform and fame to advocate for young, local Philadelphia artists who share his passion for art. He works closely with Philadelphia’s highly influential and successful city program, Mural Arts.