king

v. among graffiti artists, to (pervasively) paint one’s name or symbol (throughout an area); to own an area through tagging or bombing. Subjects: English, United States, Arts & Literature, Slang

Etymological Note: The verb probably derives from the noun king ‘chief or principal person; the best or top person.’ This is supported by some of the cites included below.

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Citations: 1996 [kev138@aol.com (KEV138)] Usenet: alt.graffiti (Jan. 27) “Re: ORFN (S.F.)”: As far as tightest bay area taggers go i’ve gotta say Kose and Ceav are the best…most up anyhow…definatley kose…he’s the king of the bay, has been since like 93, and before that he was kinging shit with his old name…RDS. [1996 [kev138@aol.com (KEV138)] Usenet: alt.graffiti (July 24) “Re: supreme cold crusherz”: Dont read subway art, it missinforms you, and corrupts your language with words like “toy” and “king.”] 1997 [hope41@proaxis.com] Usenet: alt.graffiti (July 18) “Re: Tyke+Kaws= Kawn”: Ive met hiphop heads in graff, ive met dirtty hippies heads in graff, that could probabbly king all of us, graff isnt a culture by itself, its a big melting pot full of every culture. 1997 [Mike (mike@graffiti.org)] Usenet: alt.graffiti (Aug. 11) “Re: Honet Rules!!!”: Xplicit grafx gives you a wrong insight of paris train scene cause its run by ***-crew and so it makes you belive this xxx-crew is kinging paris trains. [1999 [Konstantin Danilov] Usenet: fido7.mo.graffiti (Jan. 10) “dict”: Crew names are usually three letters, many times ending with “K,” which stands for “kings” or “kills” in most cases. Some crew names are just two letters, some are four, it all depends.…For example, “He’s the king of insides” would mean he’s really up on the insides.…King. The best with the most. Some people refer to different writers as kings of different areas. King of throwups, king of style, king of a certain line, etc.] [1999 [MYoungWISC] Usenet: alt.graffiti (Feb. 28) “Re: World Famous Wake Up Show”: There is ALOT of crap also…and people who think that just tagging constitutes being king.] 2001 Nancy McDonald The Graffiti Subculture (July 22) p. 77: Writers may start “getting up” locally, but to really taste rewards, their target area should be expanded and their name should be seen in many different regions of the city or underground/subway system. Writers who manage this are labelled “up” or “all city."…His/her aim lies in securing the title of “king.” This is a prestigious award given to the writer that is considered to be “all city.” 2002 [ghghhg55@aol.com (Georgiana Singer)] Usenet: alt.gossip.celebrities (Feb. 3) “Re: WEHT That So-called Celebrity Quality-Of-Life Offender?”: Not to mention that you got busted by the cops in every single solitary town that you attempted to king. [2004 Jane Ganahl San Francisco Chronicle (California) (Nov. 9) “In a low-budget, spontaneous movie about the Mission, its walls, and its artists, speak about life on the streets”: It was designed loosely on Picasso’s “Burial of Casagemas” painting, but I put a crown on the body, since in graffiti parlance, a “king” is an artist.]

Posted 10 Nov 04 | Permalink | Tell a Friend