Tats Cru

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American graffiti artists

title: "Tats Cru" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-graffiti-artists", "artists-from-the-bronx", "graffiti-crews"] description: "American graffiti artists" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tats_Cru" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American graffiti artists ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox organization"]

FieldValue
nameTats Cru
full_nameTop Artistic Talent
imageTatscru brighton 1987.jpg
captionMembers of Tats Cru (left to right, Nicer, Goldie, Brim, Bio, T Kid and Vulcan), Brighton 1987
established
founders{{Plainlist
founding_locationNew York
typeGraffiti crew
headquartersHunts Point
location_cityNew York
location_countryUnited States
key_people{{Plainlist
website
::

| name = Tats Cru | full_name = Top Artistic Talent | image = Tatscru brighton 1987.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Members of Tats Cru (left to right, Nicer, Goldie, Brim, Bio, T Kid and Vulcan), Brighton 1987 | predecessor = | established = | founders = {{Plainlist|

Tats Cru, also known as The Mural Kings, is a collective of Bronx-based graffiti artists.

The group was originally formed in 1980 by Wilfredo “BIO” Feliciano along with BRIM (Brim Fuentes) and MACK. Later they were joined by BG183 (Sotero Ortiz), and Nicer (Hector Nazario). Initially the crew would paint at block parties and on subway cars together under the name T.A.T Cru changing the styling to TATS CRU in the early 90's.

The membership over the years has evolved to include a number of other artists at different times. In particular it came to include Basque born artists HOW and NOSM (Raoul and Davide Perré). Today the core membership of the TATS Cru is BIO, Nicer and BG183.

Work

The collective is known for creating New York City–style memorial murals. Notably creating a graffiti mural of the late Puerto Rican hip hip artist Big Pun in 2000. It's a mural that the crew have subsequently refreshed multiple times. Overall since the 1990's the group is estimated to have created around 120 RIP Murals.

Tats Cru's work work has also included tributes to artists and performers such as Jennifer Lopez, Nas, Missy Elliott, Rick Ross, DJ Kool Herc, Nicki Minaj, and Metallica. They have also produced murals and advertising campaigns for a wide range of clients, from local businesses to multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola and Sony.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Mural_of_Tats_Cru,_Łódź_102_Piotrkowska_Street_yard.jpg" caption="Mural by Tats Cru on [[Piotrkowska Street]], [[Łódź"] ::

Core Members

Bio

Wilfredo “BIO” Feliciano is a Puerto Rican–American graffiti artist based in New York City.{{cite web |title=Meet Wilfredo “Bio” Feliciano |url=https://boldjourney.com/meet-wilfredo-bio-feliciano/ |website=Bold Journey |access-date=5 October 2025}} He began his artistic career painting on New York City subway cars with the TAT Cru in the early 1980s. Alongside his fellow crew members Nicer and BG183, he went on to co-found Tats Cru as a business, producing murals across the city. Before pursuing art full-time, Feliciano worked for a nonprofit organization while taking on small art jobs. He decided to commit to an artistic career after losing his job and learning he was going to be a father, describing the decision as a leap of faith.

For more than three decades, Feliciano has worked as a professional muralist and painter. He has created murals for corporations, small businesses, schools, films, and music videos, while also producing canvas works and exhibiting internationally. His practice has included collaborations with companies on products featuring his artwork, and he continues to develop new prints and mural projects. He has also articulated his professional values, emphasising reliability, respect, and maintaining high quality in all projects.

Nicer

Hector “Nicer” Nazario is an American graffiti artist and muralist from the Bronx, New York, and a founding member of the Bronx graffiti collective Tats Cru.{{cite web |title=Tats Cru: The Mural Kings of the Bronx |url=https://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/tats-cru-mural-kings-bronx/story?id=18941394 |website=ABC News |date=18 April 2013 |access-date=5 October 2025 He began tagging subway cars and walls in the early 1980s, working with classmates Wilfredo “Bio” Feliciano and Sotero “BG183” Ortiz, whom he met at James Monroe High School in the South Bronx.

Over more than three decades, Nazario has contributed to Tats Cru’s transition from clandestine subway graffiti to widely commissioned murals and institutional projects. In a 2013 gathering at the Bronx Documentary Center, he described how early graffiti functioned as a form of communication across boroughs, with trains painted in the Bronx traveling into Manhattan and Brooklyn.{{cite web |title=UP6: Exploring the History of Hip-Hop & The Bronx with Tats Cru |url=https://upmag.com/up6-tats-cru/ |website=UP Magazine |access-date=5 October 2025}} He has worked collaboratively on murals for hip hop artists, local businesses, and public art projects, helping to reposition graffiti from illicit expression to recognized cultural and artistic practice.

BG183

BG183 (born Sotero Ortiz) is an American graffiti artist and a core member of the Bronx-based collective Tats Cru. He was born and raised in the South Bronx.

Ortiz began drawing at an early age and started painting graffiti on New York City trains as a teenager. Over a career spanning more than four decades, he has become known for his intricate lettering, dynamic characters, and complex backgrounds. His work has been exhibited in institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Bronx Museum of the Arts, as well as international galleries. Ortiz has collaborated with major brands and created murals commemorating figures from hip hop and local culture.

Notable Other Members

HOW and NOSM

Raoul “How” Perré and Davide “Nosm” Perré are twin graffiti artists from New York City.{{cite news |last=Rosenbaum |first=Andrew |title=Graffiti With a German (and Bronx) Accent |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01E7D61F3AF935A35754C0A9659C8B63 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=6 July 2003 |access-date=8 December 2008}} Born in San Sebastián, Spain, they grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, and began doing graffiti in 1988. As teenagers, they traveled internationally, painting walls and trains. While visiting New York City in 1997, they were invited to join TATS Cru and permanently relocated to the city in 1999.{{cite web |title=Art Crimes Interview |url=http://www.graffiti.org/ral/ |last=Webb |first=Brett |date=November 2001 |access-date=8 December 2008}}

Over their careers, the Perré twins have created murals worldwide, blending their European upbringing with New York graffiti traditions. Their artistic style is characterized by a limited color palette of red, black, and white, meticulous linework, and intricate symbolic imagery. Their work often combines graffiti roots with fine art elements, including dynamic patterns and collage techniques, resulting in complex, large-scale murals that are simultaneously graphic and expressive.{{cite web |title=About How and Nosm |url=https://www.streetartbio.com/artists/about-how-and-nosm-biography/?utm_source=chatgpt.com |website=Street Art Bio |access-date=5 October 2025}}{{cite web |title=How & Nosm |url=https://thinkspaceprojects.com/artists/how-and-nosm/ |website=Thinkspace Projects |access-date=5 October 2025 They have traveled to over 60 countries to create murals, maintaining a strong street art presence while also exhibiting in galleries.

References

References

  1. (28 September 2005). "Artists describe their 'Journey From Subways'". [[MIT News]].
  2. "Tats Cru".
  3. [https://beyondthestreets.com/pages/tats-cru Tats Cru profile], Beyond the Streets. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  4. "Tats Cru – Thrive Collective".
  5. Debra Scherer. (January 18, 2022). "How and Nosm".
  6. "How & Nosm".
  7. Christine DeFazio. (October 5, 2025). "Exploring the History of Hip-Hop & The Bronx with Tats Cru".
  8. "Big Pun Mural".
  9. "TATS CRU".
  10. "TATS CRU – Wide Open Walls".
  11. Lois Stavsky. (November 2, 2015). "Speaking with BG 183 Tats Cru at His Solo Exhibit in Hunts Point".

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american-graffiti-artistsartists-from-the-bronxgraffiti-crews