FN Interview @149st

FN INTERVIEW

©2000, 2003 @149st Do not republish without permission.

Where and what year did you start (on trains)?
Sup yall. This is KING FN, GTF PREZ, I started bombin' trains in 1984.

Did you have a particular inspiration or mentor(s)?
Back in the days when I use to go visit my aunt in Moshula Parkway in the Bronx. I always use to see MITCH 77 block busters and BAN 2 OTB on the 4 line. I was like wow, these guys are always on this line when I visit my aunt. I thought "Yeah one day I'ma do that too". I use to see AC, SES, stop, net, SNIPER aka NR TNS, SOR, TESS and BONES, X MEN, etc... on the insides. This was like around '82-83. SNIPER TNS tried to take me bombin' but I was scared do death back then. Then when I came back from an Africa B-boy tour in '84 my boys were bombin' trains and I said word, I was like hell yeah I'm down, so they took me and the rest was history.

List all the other names under which you have written?
Hah hah hah hah hah hah! I had a lot of wak names, REMIS, SIMER (REMIS backwards), SLY 2, ROCK, DIZ, HIGH 5. I still write DYEM 409 (DI).

What borough are you from?
Manhattan, Lower East Side.

What lines have you hit?
I was a straight killa', the CCs, As, Rs, Ls, Ms, Js, Ds, Bs.

Where were your favorite lay-ups to paint?
Aw man, yall niggas know . . . The Bridge (Canal Street), The Chase (City Hall), Cherry Hill (Sheepshead Bay), 175th, Grant Avenue, Liberty, Van Siclan, Ralph Avenue, 155th, etc . . .

What crews have you written for?
I really didn't write for no others crews 'cause I was like a hermit. All I wanted to do was bomb. I didn't want to meet writers, hang out wit them or go to graff get togethers. It's not that I was conceited, but I took this graff sh*t like a job and sport. As a job, you get up and put your hours and go home. As a sport, you practice hard to get nice and only the strong survive!

How and when (what year?) GTF Start?
When I got back from Africa in '84, I was bombin' wit my boys and my other boys from Out Crew, I went bombin' with my boys from my block and my man RG GTF said, "Why you keep puttin' up Out Crew?". We're always bombin' together and we don"t have no crew to put up. We should make your own crew and I was like right right, yeah lets do that. Then one day I was on the 7 line or 7 station and saw a Saturday Night Fever poster and it said Catch the Fever, so I was like yeah "Got the Feeva" That's gonna' be the name of my crew "GTF . . . GOT THE FEEVA" and a dynasty was born.

Name president and all original members of GTF.
I'm the prez of GTF and the GTF Originals (GT FIVE/GTF 5) were FN, SUI aka SUICIDE (RIP), KF aka KOLD FOUR (RIP), PR and RG.

When was your strongest bombing period?
Man I came out of the box strong, '84-89 me and my crew crushed sh*t, that's it! Period!

Who was your most successful partner(s)?
I would have to say EO and OI aka OILER. We always held it down when others slacked off a little.

Who were your rivals?
I wouldn't say rivals but I'd say our competition. definately CS RY TFK, RE PZ 'KO CREW, ICE LSD, KP WR, and anybody that was bombin' the flats. We already had the Rs, Ls, Ms on lock, so we knew it was only a matter of time before we lock up the Js, eventually we did but those other guys had it on smash too! So it was all good, you know, like friendly competition.

Who were the main cops when you were writing?
Honestly I don't know. I was so caught up in a bombin' zone, I didn't realize there were cops. my mind set was there was only us and trains and no one else existed!

Do you have any good raid stories?
Na, not really. We basically got over 95 percent of the time. I remember one time in The Bridge my team told me footsteps, someoneÕs coming. So everybody bounced, but me being a hard head and a hard core graff junkie, I stood, so when they got up close I squeezed between a clearance wall and a train and I held my breath and stood silent for like about twenty minutes. Sh*t was quiet for a while, then I heard footsteps again and they were getting closer and closer and I said oh sh*t, I'ma finally get caught. I've neva' been caught for bombin' transit. My heart was beatin' fifty miles an hour. then the flash light was in my face and I was, "That's it I'm bagged". When he took the flash light out of my face it was EO or OI (OILER) he was like "Yo FN, come on, we gotta' get out of here." I was so happy, my team came back and got me. That's a crew, even in the middle of a little raid we stood as one!

Do you have any good racking stories?
Na, I neva' really had to rack 'cause I was always given paint by other writers and me and my team. We always looked out for each other, if one had paint we all had paint!

Why did you choose specialize in throw-ups?
Well it's quite simple. the letters were for throw-ups and the numbers were for burners, that's it. I didn't make the rules. It was always like that. Besides throw ups were done in seconds and you got the most ups out of one can! Three cans can do a couple of trains, times that on a daily basis and you can see why I had the floaters on lock, its simple math!

What year did you quit writing on the on subway?
I stopped bombin' trains in '89. my last bomb was the 2's and 5's on kingston, a little bit b4 that me and VFR went to check 'em out and CHINO BYI and TRIM and SLICK 501(RIP) was there. Me TRIM, VFR went back to CHINO's house to chill and I told myself I'm gonna' come back and do some 2s and 5s before graff ends. So I went with my boy DQ GTF. He got the illest throw ups, for real. any way we went, but we stood in too late and the conductor opened the doors and we jetted. Kingston is a long fu*kin' lay-up, for real.

Any final words or shout outs?
I jus' wanna' say thanks to 149 st for recognizin my contribution to the graff game and any old skool heads that bombed in the '84-89 "my era", get at me! I'm also doin' a little web page of throw ups and train throw ups. "FN GTF KINGZ 4EVA" THE GTF CREW IS FN , SUI (RIP), KF (RIP), PR, RG, EO, OI, JI, ZD, NZ (RIP), LADY BUG aka BG, IG, FI, GS, DQ, AQ, GS, AZE, NS, EA, CIE, KT, VFR and many other heads and Brooklyn Heads too! In my honest opinion, I was the floater king of the '84-89 era. I had more floaters than any one, it's just my opinion. Anyone is welcome to dispute my opinion. We definately can have an open and honest conversation. Old skool niggas live 4eva, and nu skool niggas keep keepin this graff sh*t alive, for real! Pees to all the crews GTF, TFK, TAX, TFV, TCN, TNS, WKS, WR, BYI, 333, NWC, SC there was many throw up killas in the '84-89 era. If you feel you was one let me know, there was too many and I can't remember everyone, I'm human yo! That's about it yall. I ain't got much more to say.

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