March 2nd, 2026 by Brody Campbell
It’s Monday, I had written a version of this article last week when the recent attack on public art was brought to my attention.
And from what I could see, a crew I was unfamiliar with “MM” was taking out a vendetta against “Bribe” another writer & muralist in the city.
On surface level the “Mad Mob” or “MM” or “Made Men” doesn’t respect public art & murals as real graffiti. So what they do is illegally tag it. From a general public perspective the tags are crude. Clearly not leaving a better visual on the walls than what previously existed. Because their goal is wrecking the mural.
They’re wrecking the murals.
Angelo Mosca’s mural, a beloved former Hamilton Ti-cat alumni, an Italian Heritage mural which exists as a portal into Racalmuto, Hamilton’s sister city in Italy, and a large Parrot that was one of the first murals that led the wave of public art in Hamilton these and more were all marked by a littering of “MM”s.
I’m no expert, but from what I’ve heard that when crews are wrecking someone else’s stuff they do it with little to no effort to emphasize the disrespect.
Both sides have made heavy allegations to me about why the other is terrible and far from a decent human.
But i’m not going to get into too many details I don’t know to be fact so here is Scott “Bribe” MacDonald’s version of what has led to this
“They are demanding an apology and wanted to fight, for defacing a production/mural that was done by cfa, with that shitty Afro throw up, because they put a “CFA” in pink marker over top of the shitty throw up that was on their wall and because I stood up for them they are now attacking me. Keep in mind I’m not even on that wall. But Because my artwork isn’t “real graffiti” and theirs apparently is.
Problem is real graffiti is illegal, and in hamilton it’s just a bylaw infraction. Where small businesses get punished by the city and are forced to remove vandalism or pay a fine. and there is no punishment or enforcement against actual graffiti writers, unless they are blatantly caught in the act. So they are not doing real graff either, they’re just bullying small businesses. Which isn’t Graf, it’s pathetic”
A throw up (or "throwie") in graffiti is a fast, simple, and stylized painted tag, usually consisting of bubble letters or block letters with a quick fill-in and outline.
Scott has followed the recent outburst by the “MM” crew by outlining one of their throw up’s in red and labeling them as “Marked Men”
A writer from MM has told me all he’s willing to say on the topic right now is “We won’t let him run away from what he’s done, we are not afraid.”
All of this is disappointing for Hamiltonian’s, it’s disappointing for the business owners who are affected and fined by what’s going on, it’s disappointing for fans and family of Angelo Mosca, it’s disappointing for the Italian community, it’s disappointing for other artists who want to become a part of the community, it’s disappointing in a time when to me Hamilton feels like is beginning a new era for the art scene, it’s disappointing that these walls will greet people when they arrive.