INTERVIEW BY HECKSTAR

HECK: WHAT DO YOU WRITE AND HOW DID YOU GET YOUR NAME/TAG?

KR.ONE: MY TAG IS KR ONE...I USED TO WRITE TAG3 AND KROME 1, BUT I CHANGED OUT OF RESPECT FOR AN OG KROME 100. KR STOOD FOR KRAZY RITER. (R INSTEAD OF W)

HECK: WHEN DID YOU START/STOP WRITING?

KR.ONE: I STARTED IN 1977 IN SCHOOL AND ON THE STREETS AND BUSES...LATER ON TRAINS. I STOPPED ON TRAINS IN 82'.

HECK: WHO WOULD YOU SAY INFLUENCED YOU TO START WRITING?

KR.ONE: A CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF MINE WROTE MACE. HE BASICALLY GAVE ME AN INSIDERS VIEW OF THE UNDERGROUND. HE PUT ME DOWN IN HIS AND RCA's CREW IRT (INVADING RAPID TRANSIT),

HECK: WHAT CREWS DO YOU PUSH?

KR.ONE: I PUSHED TSS (THE SUPER SQUAD) TKC (THE KILLER CREW) BYB (BAD YARD BOYS) MAFIA (MASTERS ADMINISTRATION FOR INCREDIBLE ARTISTS) NWA (NEW WAVE ART) I HAD A CREW WITH SN AKA SICK NICK 108...BTB (BIG TIME BOYS) I WAS IN A BUNCH MORE, BUT I MOSTLY TAGGED UP THESE CREWS.

HECK: WHO WERE THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF MAFIA?

KR.ONE: DON ONE, INCA, CHINO MALO, DIME 139, BOMB 1,DEAN, JOT76, GEAR AND NOC167.

HECK: WHAT NEIGHBORHOOD DID YOU START WRITING IN?

KR.ONE: I'M FROM ASTORIA, QUEENS. OLD RR LINE...NOW THE N LINE.

HECK: WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST ABOUT THE TRAIN ERA?

KR.ONE: WOW, SO MANY THINGS. PROBABLY JUST SEEING PIECES FLY BY..INSIDE TAGS. FLOATERS, BURNERS, TOP TO BOTTOMS. BASICALLY THE ENERGY OF IT ALL.

HECK: CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT IT WAS LIKE IN THE LAYUPS AND WHAT OTHER WRITERS DID YOU MEET THERE?

KR.ONE: I NEVER RAN INTO WRITERS IN THE ELEVATED LAYUPS. I USED TO RUN INTO WRITERS IN YARDS THOUGH. IT WAS REALLY SNEAKY. JUST A BUNCH OF KIDS BASICALLY WITH KEYS TO THE TRAINS, MARKERS, INK AND PAINT HIDDEN IN OUR JACKETS. IT WAS A CRAZY THING TO DO. DANGEROUS, AND EXCITING. YOU'D LEAVE THE TUNNELS, YARDS AND ELEVATED LAYUPS LIKE YOU JUST ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING IN A WILD WAY. IT MADE YOU FEEL GOOD TO SEE YOUR NAME ON THE INSIDES AND/OR THE OUTSIDES AND KNOW THAT ONLY A SELECT AMOUNT OF PEOPLE IN NYC WOULD REALLY KNOW WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT..LIKE A SECRET SOCIETY OF WRITERS. WHICH IS REALLY WHAT IT WAS LIKE AT THE TIME.

HECK: WHO WOULD YOU CONSIDER AS ONE OF THE MOST UNDERATED WRITERS?

KR.ONE: THERE ARE A LOT OF UNDERATED WRITERS. DON1, SON1, PRO, DIME139, ROTO1, HATE 168, SIKO AKA BAD TEK, OE aka OLD ENGLISH, P13 AKA PHANTOM 13 TO NAME A FEW.

HECK: CAN YOU NAME SOME OF THE WRITERS YOU BOMBED WITH?

KR.ONE: BACK IN THE DAY...SN AKA SICK NICK 108, ROB 78, KB TSS, KN, ERNI AKA PAZE NWA, FOME AKA FOMESTER, BIL161 RTW. AS OF LATE I'VE PAINTED WITH TEAM, WOLF, WHISPER, CEAR, PN1, A BUNCH OF TIMES.

HECK: WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE WAY GRAFFITI MADE A TRANSITION FROM THE STREETS TO THE GALLERIES?

KR.ONE: WELL, ITS A TRUE ART FORM THAT STARTED OUT ON THE STREETS AND TRAINS. I THINK IT WAS INEVITABLE THAT GALLERY TYPES REALIZED WHAT WAS GOING ON AND BROUGHT IT ABOVE GROUND AND SHOWCASED IT. I WENT TO ALOT OF THOSE FIRST SHOWS AND I REALLY LIKED THEM. I'M INVOLVED WITH THEM NOW AND I DONT THINK ITS A BAD THING. SOME PEOPLE DO, I DONT.

HECK: HOW DO WE HELP KEEP THIS 5TH ELEMENT OF HIP HOP WHICH IS ALMOST FORGOTTEN ALIVE?

KR.ONE: BY DOING IT.

HECK: HOW DID YOU LEARN TO WRITE/PAINT?

KR.ONE: MY EARLIEST CREATIVE MEMORIES ARE OF DRAWING ON PAPER WITH CRAYONS, THEN MARKERS, ETC. FOR ME, IT WAS A LOGICAL STEP TO BE ATTRACTED TO GRAFF. AT FIRST GLANCE, EVERYTHING LOOKED LIKE CARTOONS TO ME AND I LIKED IT AS SOON AS I SAW IT. LIKE ANYTHING ELSE, I LEARNED FROM OBSERVING AND LISTENING.

HECK: HOW DO YOU GET YOUR PAINT?

KR.ONE: I USED TO RACK UP PAINT...COOL. NOW I BUY IT...LAME...LOL

HECK: ANY STORIES YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE?

KR.ONE: IN 81' I REMEMBER BEING IN MY HIGH SCHOOL HOMEROOM CLASS IN LONG ISLAND CITY H.S., AND SEEING MY "K-AR /SOPHIA" WINDOW DOWN WHOLECAR GO FROM QUEENSBORO PLAZA ELEVATED STATION (RR's) TO 39TH AVE. IT MAKES A REALLY WIDE AND LONG TURN AND HAS TO TRAVEL REALLY SLOW TO DO THAT. THERE WERE A SELECT FEW IN MY CLASS THAT KNEW ABOUT BE BEING A WRITER AND SAW IT WITH ME. IT WAS A REALLY GREAT FEELING TO SEE IT GO BY SINCE WE JUST DID THE PIECE THAT WEEK AND I'D BEEN TELLING MY FRIENDS ABOUT IT. WHEN THE TRAIN CAME BY AGAIN I SAW THE OTHER SIDE WHICH MY BOY FOME1 DID A TOP TO BOTTOM WHOLE CAR ON. THAT WAS WHAT WAS SO GREAT ABOUT IT ALL. WHEN FOME AND I DID THAT PIECE IN THE M YARD. WE WERE BOTH WORKING ON THE SAME EXACT CAR. HE ON ONE SIDE AND ME ON ANOTHER. A NICE MEMORY FOR ME. WISH I HAD THAT ONE ON FILM!

HECK: BEEF: WHAT WERE SOME OF THE WARS YOU WERE INVOLVED IN OR SEEN FIRST HAND?

KR.ONE: NOT INVOLVED BRO.

HECK: HOW DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER YOU BY?

KR.ONE: DON'T REALLY KNOW. I'M STILL HERE...LOL.

HECK: WHAT ARE YOU UP TO THESE DAYS?

KR.ONE: FAMILY, ART AND MUSIC. ENOUGH TO KEEP MYSELF BUSY AND NOT BORED. I HAVE A FEW OPENINGS COMING UP THIS SPRING AND SUMMER IN UPSTATE NY, BEACON AND WOODSTOCK. ADS FOR IT WILL BE POSTED SOON. PUTTING TOGETHER A BOOK ON DON 1 MAFIA.

HECK: SHOUT OUTS?

KR.ONE: SHOUT OUTS TO WWW.SUBWAYOUTLAWS.COM AND WWW.AT149ST.COM FOR DOCUMENTING THE TRAIN ERA HISTORY OF NYC GRAFFITI. ALSO, TO WWW.GRAFFSTARS.COM FOR DOING THE SAME. SHOUTS TO WHISPER AKA WH1, TEAM, WOLF, KAVES, BIL161, DON1, AS2, T59, JOEY TPA, CEAR, GRAFFITI PETE AKA PN1, 2MINT, NOVA1, TIGER, MORPH, PRO1, BOMB1, SN, KB, RCA, MC, FOME, MIDG THANKS 2 HECK AND GRAFFSTARS! PEACE AND PAINT FOREVER. "KR.ONE"

HECK: FINAL THOUGHTS?

KR.ONE: STAY CREATIVE AND CONTINUE TO EXPRESS YOURSELF ON A POSITIVE TIP.

Thanks for taking time to check out the site. Here you will find pics of names you know and names you don't. I just want to thank all those who have sent in pictures, and played a key role in contributing to the site. Hope you enjoy it!