Los Angeles, despite its gorgeous weather and culturally rich background, has an awful reputation. No thanks to the movie industry and reality t.v. (UGH, SPEIDI), L.A. has spawned several misconstrued perceptions; the glitz, the glamour, the FAKERY. Sure, the more affluent areas are enticing: The Beverly Center, The Sunset Strip, Robertson Blvd., KATSUYA. Anymore it seems people now visit L.A. vicariously through the pages of U.S. weekly. What a shame. Enter L.A. based graff god and tattoo artist, Nerv One. If you’re TRULY an Angeleno, you more than likely have seen his work several times at some point. I first met Nerv in September of 2003 during a vacation in Puerto Rico. After many cigarettes and rum punches, we became instant friends. Underneath the to-the-point, sometimes gruff demeanor lies a TRUE artist who has never sacrificed his integrity for the bullshit demands of Tinseltown. In addition to his craft, Nerv has consistently raised awareness in his community by serving meals to the residents of L.A.’s notorious Skid Row (without the aid of an organization, meaning he arrived with food HE bought and served by himself). Embracing the underbelly of his city, he simply RUNS Los Angeles from Hollywood to Highland Park, WITHOUT all the fake flash. I recently spoke with the artist about my birthplace; the wondrous “City Of Angels”. Here’s his take on bargain shopping, food, love, and life in the fast lane.

Who are you?
Hello my name is Nerv One aka “Tha Outcome” (that’s my douche bag Jersey Shore name) or you can call me Johnny.
Where are you from?
I’m from all over sick side East Los; spent most of my years in Bell Gardens. But eventually I’ll be a Downtown rat! WAIT did you just hit me up like a gangsta ?? Where am I from??!! I dont bang, I rock the good rhymes! (LOL)
What inspires you as an artist?
Hot chicks and friends! Depends what mood I’m in. If it’s not sexy, it’s dark imagery. But I’m gonna combine them now that I have creative freedom… being FREE from a ball and chain and all! Ooh it’s about to be an EPIC situation! Gonna do a series of women. This (project) is gonna be hella fun and dangerous and that’s gonna show in the art
Top 3 places to shop:
The Alley yeah I said it! What??? 2 a.m. Wal-Mart shopping spree’s! Chris Capri Jewelers on 6th and Hill in the jewelery district in Downtown L.A.! Get yo shine on! I LIKE SEARCHING FOR BARGAINS, IT FILLS MY DAYS!

Top 3 Places To Eat:
Bottega Louie, Korean Kitchen Hibachi Barbeque (in Little Tokyo), and King Taco! And MY kitchen!! I like to make dishes up. A lot of meat and rice! AND WE ALL LOVE THOSE BORDER DOGS OUTSIDE THE CLUB DON’T FRONT!
Top 3 Places To Dump Your Significant Other:
At a carshow cause it just SOUNDS hood. Haha. Via text cause you dont gotta see their guilty face in person, whoa! AND at a beauty pageant cause HELLO! look around hahaha. (L.A. itself IS a huge beauty pageant, duh!)

Where can we see your work?
myspace.com/fastlifebrand, http://nervfastlife.blogspot.com, http://twitter.com/nervfastlife, on my friends’ bodies, your local street corner, bathroom stalls, your chick’s phonebook! Toma!

Tell us about the Los Angeles YOU know. What advice can you give someone visiting or moving to L.A.?

Be careful. There are sharks out here and you lil naive outta towners are just here for us to play with!! L.A. has a lot of hidden gems like The Varnish inside Coles, the oldest watering hole in L.A. It’s a private bar inside of another bar with stainless steel straws and glass pop for mixers! We’ve got the most perfect weather that when people visit, they instantly wanna move here. If you’re new to my city, you better hope you’re my friend Be aware of slick talkers and hustlers..

Dating in L.A. … what is some GOOD advice to give to our L.A. based readers?
For starters, it’s a small world, so pick your partners wisely. Everyone is someone else’s ex, family member, blah blah blah. I tried an out of state girl but that’s another story and interview Remember that they’re usually like the people they hang around with. Beware of naive groupies. They’re dumb as shit and thirsty, heartless people! They only care about themselves and L.A. has that effect on WEAK people! Real talk!

What do you dislike about your city?
Haters and insecure women! Out-of-towners that think they can just move here and run shit! Then reality hits them. I hate that someone once told me Taco Mexico is better than King Taco! Get the fuck outta here! SMH! How wack people get big props! How nowadays all these lames are getting tatted down cause it’s “cool” now! Where the fuck were you 10 years ago u lil pussies??! “Oooh my moms gonna get mad”…”What will my family think?” Really? Like NOW you’re hard???(no bruno)! I don’t get these online, fake wanna-be celebs. When is this ugly trend gonna go away?

Any last words?
Shout out to the real OG FASTLIFE CREW & STAY HIGH CREW, UTRECHT, CAPRI JEWELERS, STREETSMART PRINTING, S.K.A.M. ARTIST, phowl one, DJ ERIC CUBICHE, FLAME DIDDY, STARKIZZLE, INFAMOUS INK, S.A. STUDIOS, psycho realm, THA G CODE, NIKKI B, E ONE, PIRATE DJ IVAN, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, MISS SUMMER FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE. IT’S BEEN A CRAZY JOURNEY SINCE WE 1ST MET IN PUERTO RICO AND EVERYONE ELSE I FOLLOW ON TWITTER, MYSPACE, FACEBOOK ETC,… R.I.P. WENDY MARCH 1988-JAN.10, 2010