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STARTED : 1978

ALIAS : KN , NIK, SENIORS 79

WRITING GROUP'S : TSS ( THE SUPER SQUAD ), BYB, RTW, TKC, TCK,TBB, TMB, TF

LINES HIT : Double R's, M's, J's, AA's, CC's, LL's, B's, D's, E's, F's, GG's, N's, 7's,

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KRAZY NIK also very well know as KN, Started writing in Astoria Queens 1978 and became a quick over night sensation on the B.M.T Double R Subway line. KN was a member of one of the most dominant writing groups in B.M.T history " THE SUPER SQUAD ". The leader of the crew was KB ( aka KRAZY BOY ) and they controlled the Double R lay up's in astoria from 1978 till 1984. Other members of the group included SN 108 ( SICK NICK ), CONO and JACE TSS.

KN would later venture off to other Subway lines such as the I.N.D's and I.R.T's with IZ THE WIZ and BILROCK 161 the original president of the RTW crew ( ROLLING THUNDER WRITERS ). KRAZY NIK retired of from active Subway bombing in 1984, but the presence he left on the Subways will forever live in history. TSS -THE SUPER SQUAD!

Interview conducted by KR 1- TSS- MAFIA .... © Subway outlaws.com, N.Y.C Subway History

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1.) What year did you start writing?

My first exposure to getting up was in 1978. One Sunday afternoon I was hanging out in Astoria with ZAP 3 ( aka KZ / KRAZY ZAP ) and his friend " SAVAGE " aka KB, president of TSS. They were doing a couple of spray tags on the base of the Hell gate Bridge down Astoria Park and next thing I know, we were on our way to Sheep's head Bay Brooklyn to "bomb" some R27 flats on the M line. Up until this point, I never was a Graffiti writer let alone artist. I tagged my name on local handball walls when ever there was paint around but had no interest in getting up. So I go along & do my first throw up learning on the spot putting up KN for KRAZY NIK. From there it just took off. I would say that next week I went with KB & ZAP to the RR elevated lay ups along 31 street Astoria. The next morning I was riding the train to my High School when I saw my first insides and that was it, I needed more and started bombing insides with KB & the TSS crew. We mainly concentrated on insides but whenever we had paint we would bomb outsides with throw ups. The only trains running in Astoria at that time were Ruffles & R32 Air Conditioned trains.

2.) What lines did you hit and with who?

My first partners were SAVAGE ( KB ) and ZAP 3 ( KZ aka KRAZY ZAP ). Me & ZAP both went to Long Island City HS and he pointed out this Philipino dude who he said was SMOKE ( YE ) president of TKC. Me & SMOKE ( YE ) had biology first period & our class looked out on the elevated tracks by Queens boro Plaza....when I saw him piece watching in class I knew he was who ZAP said he was & I introduced myself. That week me & SMOKE started bombing together also. He was quiet but he could really get down. It was winter which could be bad on the elevated lay ups with the cold & wind but with the snow, the MTA did us a favor and layed up the trains on the express tracks in tunnels all over the City. Me & SMOKE ( YE ) had a great time bombing the N & D trains that layed up down by Prince street. We also ran across QB flats R 27's by 34th street station. We Kill those trains with , YE's and KN throw up's.

3.) What were the first tags and pieces that you first noticed when you began?

Savage ( KB ) was like a Graffiti historian. He took me all over Lower Manhattan, and Brooklyn piece watching and riding the trains. We would go down to 14 street and hop on the LL line which was running the older model trains with great GrafF all over the place. We would go out to Broadway Junction & hop on the J&M, A's whatever & he taught me about IN, JESTER ( DY 167 ) , MICKEY- TOP ( TO 729 ), HURST -TOP ( IO ) and of course IZ THE WIZ -TMB who needless to say, I already had seen up on trains for years &

years all City. I remember long before getting into Graffiti myself, I knew of MICKEY, HURST, IZ, DEAN all the old school who used to bomb the BMT's with window down pieces. I also could read most of the writing on the 7 line and remember the CAINE 1 "FREEDOM TRAIN" & his "WELCOME TO HELL" whole cars. PRO & SON ruled the 7 line with tight big colorful pieces & throw ups that one could not help but notice. DEAN and DON were both pretty local and both pretty big time. I grew up across the street from a playground where I played paddle ball every day. One morning I come out to the courts and GEAR and DEAN had been there the night before. From then on I began noticing & looking for their pieces on the RR's.

4.) What writers did you admire and look to as influences?

Of course KB TSS showed me the ropes & took me all over. SMOKE TKC had great style & had bombed with DEAN & GEAR who both I came to know & hang out with. I used to hang out in a school yard in L.I.C. that had some vintage DON 1 MAFIA pieces and tags in it. They all had great style & opened me up to improving my technique from tags, to throw ups & eventually "burners." Early

in 79 the MTA opened up CONEY ISLAND YARDS to visitors celebrating the 75th anniversary of the subway . ZAP 3, KB & I were all over it and there I met BILROCK RTW. We hit it off & started hanging out at his house where he had a great photo collection and I was really introduced to what was possible. MIDG influenced me always trying to improve our style & planning together our next version of the EL-BEE KAY-EN window down whole car. We did 3 versions and had plans for many more. Along with IZ the WIZ, MIDG just got me totally submerged in the Graffiti world in the early 80's and we had many great nights hanging out & bombing.

5. What crew were you down with?

First and foremost was TSS and TKC. DEAN put me down with BYB, GEAR put me in TCK and the list goes on & on. Hanging with BILROCK of course I always rolled with RTW. Back in my early days, when you met the president of a crew, if you were up and known, they would put you down. TSS, BYB, TKC, TCK, TBB, RTW, were the main crews I would put up. By 1981 I met IZ THE WIZ, president of TMB and we started to hang alot along with MIDG. So around that time I started to bomb TMB and we went all over appropriating supplies and bombing. When I "retired" TMB was who I was bombing with but I always gave all my other boys play.

KR 1; This wall was done in June 1979. In Long Island City High School , school yard. This high school was right by Queens borough Plaza. I went there also, along with many other TSS, BTB, TKC, BYB members.

6.) Fill us in with the stories of TSS and TKC as you know them.

The Super Squad was Savage 1 aka KB's crew. JACE 1 was vice president. I knew JACE well from my neighbor hood but he was pretty much done when I came along. I would guess KB got his start in 75 or 76. ZAP 3 aka KZ was a life long friend of mine who introduced me to the world of Graffiti through KB. We pretty much bombed every few nights the RR lay ups in Astoria. At the other end of the RR's in Brooklyn, AS 2 and his brother T59 ( TROUBLE 59 ) ruled. So all you saw was a lot of TBB & TSS boys rocking and rolling the RR's back in 78 & 79.

Of course TKC was still getting it done as I re-inspired SMOKE aka YE president of TKC to start bombing in winter of 78 & 79. SMOKE was an old school writer who bombed with DEAN BYB for years before I came along. I believe DEAN had something to do with SMOKE starting up TKC. Winter of 79 I started hanging out with SIR ONE who was down with SMOKE & TKC. We used to just trash the RR Lay ups with SAVAGE, SMOKE, ZAP 3, EKO, SIR 1, KN and a few other just bombing every available inch of space.

After graduating high school in 79, SMOKE went into the Marines so he was officially retired though I did keep bombing YE throw ups in his honor from 81-83. ZAP 3 retired from writing about that time also but me & KB kept up a bit through 1980 but not too much. 1981 I was re-inspired along with KB and we started to bomb TSS in a big way on the M line out in Brooklyn doing throw ups like mad. The trains would always make their way to Astoria so I would see our stuff on every R27 Flats that came through. We ran like that from 1981 - 1983 and started to spread TSS all city along with other writers who were down with us spreading the TSS-SQUAD including IZ THE WIZ & MIDG.

7.) COULD YOU TELL US ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE TSS CRU?

I will start off with some of the original members as well as others that got down later on. It will be hard to name everyone one, but I will do the best I can. You had ... KB ( SAVAGE - President ) , JACE 1 ( Vice President ), ZAP 3 ( KZ ), CONO ( KC ), SN ( SICK NICK ) RCA , ROB 78 ( RI ), MACE ( MC ), YE ( SMOKE ), KR 1 & FOME, HOOD 1, TIGER, MAKO, NICK 23, JET 3 ( KB's younger Brother ),

KF ( KRAZY FRANCISCO ), KS 3, RKS, BAM, FLAME 2 ( FE ) , KON 1, COB, SHOP 1, JIMMY ( JY ) , FAME ( FM ), ... Then other that got down were... BILROCK 161 , TRADE 1, HUGHIE, SIR ONE, EKO, IZ THE WIZ, MIDG ( LIL BANDIT ), EBIZM, MINONE ( NE ), etc..

8. ) What elevated lay ups, tunnels and yards have you been to?

First was the 31st Street Elevated layups in Astoria. Also along the RR (N) line was the midtown tunnels 28 - 34 street, Prince Street and of course City Hall. City Hall was a writers dream having trains layed up in a station with platforms. You could get there by walking south from the Canal Street Station. Or there was actually a gate on the CITY HALL stop that you could sneak down if you

were slick. Great pieces were done here top to bottom by many over the years but MIN ONE RTW really took over the spot in the early 80's along with KEL, RICH & others & just rocked the house with top to bottom whole cars weekend after weekend. Sheep shead Bay on the M line became a second home to me. In the early 1980's me & MIDG along with IZ would be the 3 times or more a week just bombing throw ups, window down burners what ever having a great time & never once running into any trouble. We had it timed so well we knew exactly when the clean up man came to do his thing & we would just hang out & let him go by & then continue with the bombing. IZ the WIZ introduced me to GRANT lay up that he just ran. Heck, He had a key to get in a locked gate & also had ladders locked up to use to bomb. I got up all over the A's & CC Flats going there. We always wound up there back in 82 & 83. I was at the M yards a bunch of times with SIKO, KIK, IZ, MIDG, KARL, and probably KB. Heck back in the day you could walk there from MIDG's house. I have also been up in the Bronx at Esplanade a few times on the 5 lines and tried my hands at doing window down burners & a few top to bottoms. I been to the GHOST YARD in

upper Manhattan and got up on a few lines there. I have been up on the A lines at 180 street there was a few lay up tracks but that was a bit hairy to get into having twice to use the emergency hatch for a quick exit. Also during a snow storm I got up on the 6's in the Lexington Ave tunnels but never saw my pices, there was snow melting & water dripping down the sides of the train.... I've been in the 7 yards and was ready to start bombing but unfortunately there was a lot of activity in the yard and me & KB had to split. I never made it back.

9.) Who showed you these locations and where were you favorite spots to bomb and where did you rack up paint?

KB showed me Astoria lay ups as well as Sheeps head bay & my first times down City Hall. IZ THE WIZ took me to Grant Lay up & Esplanade. I took IZ to Sheeps head bay but he had been there years before of course! SIKO took me to the M yards. I think I was wit

with BOOZER & KB when we first went to 180 street & also the GHOST YARD. By far Sheeps head Bay was my favorite spot. We spent many a night just having a great time there. Early on I was not much good at racking paint. IZ THE WIZ changed that. MIDG, IZ & I would drive all over Long Island & New Jersey & just load my car up with so much paint that MIDG had no room to sit anymore

in the back seat as my trunk & back seat were totally filled with paint. After these trips we always went out & bombed that night.

10.What writers do you think should be mentioned more often?

This is hard for me to say as I am not really into what is going on these days & do not know who is being overlooked. Early writers and Kings included JESTER ( DY 167 ), IN, DON 1- MAFIA, DEAN, IZ THE WIZ etc...on the BMT's. LEE Fab 5 is famous as well as he should be, Tracy 168 was huge and I feel that TKID's pieces where innovative from style to the way he blended his paint. MIN ONE

was so damn prolific in the early 1980's he was up all CITY with so many Top To Bottoms you couldn't help but notice him. QUIK did some great stuff on many lines. BLADE & COMET were some of the all time best. DONDI's whole cars & windows down are some of my favorites. KASE was totally innovative as his style evolved. NOC 167 had great style and did nice on the Bronx lines , KEL ONE

was talented and influenced all who bombed with him. I have to give huge props to IZ THE WIZ as he hung in there for years & years and was never shy about trying new styles & improving on what he did in the past.

11.) .What year and why did stop writing?

Jan 1984 was the last time I pieced doing a top to bottom whole car down at City Hall with IZ. I ran into some "difficulties" that night and got busted. After a couple of court appearances I had to do some community service and the matter was done with. Though I thought I would come back after that, I just chilled and gave it up at that point. I still hung out with writers & artists & took pictures of Graff, but it all just started dying down after that for me.

12.What do you think about Graffiti today?

Graffiti truly died when it it disappeared on the NYC subway trains. This is where it belonged & to me, it is only truly Graff if it is running. I dig all the canvases and walls being done & am impressed with many of the newer artists styles but to see a piece go by at speed flashing through s station at high speed and then traveling all city is what it is about. To me what is going on is "Graffiti Style" and cool but it totally lacks what went on in NYC during the 1970's and 1980's.

12. Any writers you like to shout out?

IZ THE WIZ, MIDG, SAVAGE ONE KB TSS, MIN, BIL ROCK and KR ONE who gave me this opportunity to tell a little of my story.

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We would like to thank KN ( Krazy Nik ) for sharing a little of his history with us. Subway Outlaws would like to thank KR ONE for making this Interview possible. Photo credits go to BH-TB, KRAZY NIK, DON ONE, IZ THE WIZ, KR ONE, TRACY 168 , BLADE 1 and FLINT... FOR THOSE WHO DARE , plus the team at Subway Outlaws.com. " CHECK IT OUT! " Just off the presses. Click here. Should any one have photos of KN's ( Krazy Nik ) work, please contact us at MESSAGE@SUBWAYOUTLAWS.COM

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