T KID 170 

“Wildstyle Brother, That’s All It is” - A Journey Through Graffiti

 

Born and raised in the South Bronx, T KID 170 — also known as Terrible T KID, T KID TNB — is a writer who came up in the rawest era of New York City Graffiti, when the streets were unforgiving and the subway system was the world’s biggest moving gallery. Coming up in the 1970s, he grew up surrounded by pressure, danger, and intensity, but also creativity, competition, and style. From an early age, writing became a way to move, to breathe, and to exist inside a city that never slowed down. Before the name the world would come to know, he was already active, already testing himself, already chasing respect. Those early years forged a mindset that would never leave him — fearless, driven, and deeply loyal to the culture.

 

After a life-changing moment in his teens, everything shifted. What could have ended his story instead became the moment that defined it. During recovery, sketchbooks replaced the streets, ideas sharpened, and a new identity was born: T KID 170. A name rooted in place, attitude, and experience. From that point on, Graffiti wasn’t a side path, it was the mission. As soon as he was back on his feet, he went straight to the yards, applying everything he had learned and pushing it further. Letters exploded with depth, arrows bent in impossible ways, connections tightened, and colour choices became fearless. This was Wild Style with intention — layered, powerful, and unmistakably his.

 

What truly set T KID 170 apart was colour. Bright greens, electric turquoises, sharp yellows, deep blues — colours that didn’t just sit on the steel, but moved with it. His trains felt alive. The 3D effects jumped off the cars, characters danced alongside the letters, and whole cars burned through the system with authority. Style wasn’t borrowed or copied — it was built, refined, and owned. As president of TNB ( The Nasty Boyz )  and a key figure within TVS, his name carried weight across lines, yards, and boroughs. By the 1980s, T KID 170’s work was impossible to ignore. Writers studied it, chased it, and measured themselves against it.

 

As Graffiti began to shift, so did he — without ever losing the core. When the culture started stepping into studios and galleries, T KID 170 was already there, bringing real train energy onto canvas. Painting alongside other pioneers, he helped define what graffiti art could be without watering it down. Programs focused on guiding youth away from the streets, international walls, festivals, and collaborations followed. France became a second home, with deep connections to Paris and beyond, including crews and writers who shared the same respect for Wild Style and movement. From subways to murals, from blackbooks to canvases, the hand style and spirit remained untouched.

 

Decades later, the legacy stands solid. Documented in landmark books, films, and archives, T KID 170’s journey is not just about longevity, but about staying true. Still active, still painting, still pushing colour and form, he represents survival, evolution, and respect for where it all came from. A King not because of hype, but because of history, consistency, and contribution. This is Graffiti in its purest sense — passion first, fame second, culture always.

 

Back at the end of April 2025, I was headed with my wife, as we do every year, to Carreau du Temple in Paris. For the last five years or so, it’s been one of our favourite dates in the calendar — the Urban Art Fair. For me, it’s one of the best shows Paris has to offer when it comes to graffiti and street culture. Hundreds of writers and artists under one roof, showing fresh work, energy buzzing everywhere. But 2025 felt different. This year, the Museum of Graffiti had a special booth, and I was beyond excited. On top of that, I knew Martha Cooper was going to be there — the Queen of Graffiti. I knew this year was going to be special.

 

We took our time moving through the fair, soaking everything in. I had a great chat with Danny Cortez, who had his own booth this year, stacked with miniature models and a proper New York–inspired setup. Seeing that level of detail and respect for the culture always hits different. Then I made my way over to the Museum Of Graffiti booth. I recognised everyone straight away — familiar faces, familiar energy. And there he was. T KID 170. No hesitation. I went straight over, said what’s up, and we started talking. I mentioned a few European writers he’d been working with, explained what UP IN THE SPOT was about, and what I was building. The conversations flowed naturally — Alan, Allison, GIZ, Kay One — real people, real culture.

 

Before leaving, I told him straight that it was important for me to get him into the UP IN THE SPOT collection at some point. After lunch with my wife at a beautiful Moroccan restaurant around the corner, we came back. We picked up where we left off, and he told me time was tight — constant travel, only a few days left in Paris. Then he smiled and said, “Let’s do it.” Right now? We agreed to link the next day at his studio. He passed me his number, and I went home buzzing, already digging through my models.

 

I knew I didn’t have a New York subway train — that would’ve been perfect — but then I remembered a piece I picked up in Tokyo. A Northern Pacific North Coast Sleeper train. HO scale, clean lines, panels dipping low — something different, but with potential. I sent him a photo. “We’ll work with it,” he said. That was it. That night, I couldn’t sleep. I wrote questions, planned everything, hoping he’d be down for a short recorded interview.

 

The next morning, he hit me up asking if I could grab some colours on the way — specific colours for a specific vision. No question. I jumped on my bike, South West to South East Paris, sun out, headphones on, heart racing. An hour ride, bike paths the whole way, just thinking about what the day might bring.

 

When I arrived, he came down to meet me, larger than life, full of energy. “What a beautiful day,” he said. He showed me around the studio — pieces going to collectors, collaborations, exclusives. Colour everywhere. Wild Style left, right, centre. It felt like the Bronx in Paris. We sat down, had coffee, talked about the project, about preserving the culture. He appreciated what UP IN THE SPOT stands for. He said it would’ve been even doper with the exact trains he painted back in the day — but that real ones understand you work with what you’ve got. Whatever he touched, he’d give it 100 percent, true to the craft.

 

When I asked if I could record an interview while he worked, he didn’t hesitate. “Fire away, brother.” Just like that, the nerves disappeared. The sun was shining, the paint was flowing, and I was sitting in T KID 170’s studio, documenting history for UP IN THE SPOT. Moments like that remind you why this culture matters. Why Graffiti isn’t just paint — it’s life. And that interview, that model, that day in Paris — that’s exactly what this is all about.

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Words - I.McColl ( UP IN THE SPOT )