COCO 144

COCO 144 grew up on 144th Street in Upper West Harlem and started writing in junior high school in 1968. Known around New York City by the early 70s for his straight letter tag adorned by a crown, he is arguably the first graffiti writer to use stencils in getting his name up. He was among the first generation of writers to transition from writing on walls to hitting the New York City subways. Coco was considered “all city” between 1970-1972 and helped found United Graffiti Artists (UGA) in 1973 as the group’s first president.