Interview by Azim M.
Bombing Science: What do you write?
KR.ONE: My main tag is KR.ONE. I say my main because since the end of the 70s I’ve dabbled with other names just to use different letters. Like TAG3, KROME 1, 2MINT, DIE 127, KASHMIRE 172, PAR 149, and KAY ARTIST.
BS: What crews are you down with?
KR.ONE: I was down with a lot of crews, but I mostly repped, TSS (The Super Squad) TKC (The Killer Crew) BYB (Bad Yard Boys) TNT (The Nations Top) RTW (Rolling Thunder Writers) and a crew SN (Sick Nick) and I had.. BTB (Big Time Boys). In the past few years I’ve added TPA (The Public Animals) and DON 1’s crew (MAFIA) Masters Administration For Incredible Artists).
BS: How long have you been writing?
KR.ONE: I started doing tags (TAG3, WIMF1, KROME) in 1977, my neighborhood walls, school yards and buses. First hit trains in 78’79.
BS: How did you use to get your paint? Any preference?
KR.ONE: The way many other writers did…..rackabrack! I used to rack up alot of paint with ROB 78, Sick Nick, FOME and I’d also go alone. imet FUZZ1 through MACE and he showed me how to rack paint in my socks. We did alot of racking in local hardware stores, but when FOME got a car is when we’d go all over and find old Mom and Pop stores that had the vintage Krylons and Rustos.
BS: In the 1980s, what was KR Ones’ favorite things to bomb?
KR.ONE: Trains, handball courts, trucks, piecebooks..
BS: How would you describe your style? What does it bring to the current graffiti world?
KR.ONE: I’m kind of considered a writer from the 80’s, but I started in the late 70’s so I was really affected by the softer, funky lettering and cartoons from the mid 70’s and I guess it shows in my letter styles. I guess it would bring a more vintage NYC style to the game, I also try to do different KR’s all the time. Even though essentially there is an infinate amount of ways to bend up the alphabet , it is why I dabbled with some other letters in the past. I got a little bored with the same two letters all the time.
BS: Was it competitive in your day? How did you handle it? Any stories?
KR.ONE: I’d say there was alot of competition just as there is today, I handled it just by trying to keep up with all the masters who we learned from. And there were alot of them. Just piece watching (benching) was a great way to absorb what was going on style wise as opposed to being able to basically study the styles in magazines and books. They were fleeting moments and sometimes you’d only see a certain piece once and then it was gone to the buff.
I’ve always thought that I grew up in a perfect neighborhood (Astoria, Queens) where I was able to basically see alot of different train lines in a relatively short distance:
– The BMT RR line to Queensborough Plaza to see the 7’s.
– RR to 59st Lex Ave to see the 4,5,6,.
– RR to Timesquare and dig the 1,2,3….
– N train to QueensPlaza dig the E,F and G.
– Trips to Rockaway Beach to see the CC, and the A’s……..pretty much covered it all and had a a true learning experience watching this great history go by.
BS: Since the 1980s, how has graffiti changed in New York City? Has it had a positive or negative affect?
KR.ONE: Obviously bigger and more elaborate pieceing and productions along with more highway, street, and rooftop bombing. Not as much bus hitting though. Positive or negative? I know the penaties for getting busted are way more serious.
BS: How has graffiti influenced your career?
KR.ONE: When I draw and paint for my self and it comes from my heart, I find myself doing graffiti styles and motifs, Although I’m into abstration and computer generated art I just love doing the graff. So far the galleries have all been graff related and I’ve been really happy with the vibe , reactions and results. The DON 1 MAFIA book has been quite an endevour. No release date as of yet, but the history and photos of the who I and many others view as one the greatest style kings of the 70’s will happen. And it will be a great addition to all the other NYC graff books that have and are coming out. The DON of Masters Administration Of Incredible Artists.
BS: What is your current graffiti career looking like at the moment?
KR.ONE: I paint walls with my friends, do piecebooks and I have a graphic thing going on along with painting and drawing for shows so….the graff moment is looking like that. Which I’m cool with.
BS: Where do you see the graffiti culture heading in to future?
KR.ONE: Who knows…. with technology the possibilities seem endless.
BS: What is your view on the current New York CIty graffiti culture? Can you compare the New York City graffiti culture to the rest of the world? Why or why not? What is the current NYC graff culture?
KR.ONE: It pretty much seems the same as it used to be in terms of getting up, getting fame, pieceing, tagging, painting, piecebooks…obviously the internet, myspace, facebook, ebay etc, made it alot easier to network and meet other writers. Although I do think that alot of the mystery of graffiti has vanished just as it has in music in that with the advent of video and the internet you can actually see graffiti being done and can see the face of the artist whereas it used to be shrouded in mystery. I still have no idea what JESTER TC looks like, or VINNY, or SON and PRO just to name a few…and all of these guys bombed!
Thanks for the interview.
Shout outs go to:
Bombing Science, Azim, WHISPER1, TEAM, WOLF1, KAVES, SAMP, DON1 SICK NICK, RCA, MACE, KS3, KB TSS, FOME1, 2MINT,TIGER1, NOVA, MORPH,CEAR, MERES.
Peace and Paint Forever,
KR.ONE / KAY ARTIST
NYC Original 1977-2009
