Maybe you’ve sometimes exited the Kingsbridge Road subway station on Jerome Avenue and looked across the street in awe at a mural that highlights the best of The Bronx? Or perhaps you’ve passed by Walton Avenue and East Burnside Avenue in the Mt. Hope section of the borough, and taken a moment to read the messages on the comic, book-esque mural that deals with gentrification? Walking around The Bronx, chances are you’ve seen one of the murals by Alfredo Bennett, aka, Royal Kingbee.

 

The muralist completed his latest work, Invasion of the Colorful Honeycombs, in March. It’s on a commercial building on East 133rd Street and Cypress Avenue on the Mott Haven border. He decided his latest mural would be more of a personal piece, representing himself. To that end, he spray-painted giant honeycombs on the walls outside the building in different colors.

 

Kingbee has been a player in the graffiti game for a while now, having completed around 500 murals to date. His works have appeared on walls in all of New York City’s five boroughs, as well as in states like Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida.

 

The artist grew up near Burnside Avenue in the Mt. Hope section of The Bronx and has been drawing since he was in kindergarten. “You know when you’re a kid and they make the whole class draw and the best one, they put on the door? Mine was always the best one,” he told the Norwood News.

 

In 1988, he first started putting together murals. “I would do my name big or in fifteen different colors in spray paint,” Kingbee said. He recalls that at the time his creative influences were the murals he saw along the number 1 subway line. He particularly admired the artwork that was being created at that time by graffiti artist groups, 156 Crew and Tats Cru.

 

The origin story behind Kingbee’s name is that he was looking for something that was shorter and would read cleaner than Alfredo Bennett. He discovered that “bee” fitted perfectly because the letters “b” and “e” were in his last name. After settling on “bee,” the next step was adding something that would make him stand out. “There’s only a queen bee,” Kingbee said. “I’ll be the only king bee.”

 

At first, he would only write “Kbee” on the walls. However, after completing several pieces using this format, the real bee was born. “I tried to leave a mark that people can recognize, because most of the time you can’t read graffiti,” Kingbee said. “I came up with the iconic bee.” Once he had settled on his symbol, he added it to his murals.

 

Typically, Kingbee says he spends two weeks working on a mural. However, sometimes it will take longer. “I don’t push myself to do things too fast,” he said. “I take my time.” Lately, the graffiti artist has been working with colleague, Rob Velez, on murals in his home borough. Velez considers himself to be Kingbee’s apprentice and has worked with him for over a year on 20 different projects.

 

“It’s been a privilege working with maestro,” Velez said. On their latest project, Velez said he helped Kingbee with the measurements for the honeycombs. “One thing that maestro loves about me is my numbers game,” Velez said. “The hexagon design is something I like. I’m good at that.”

 

To create his murals, Kingbee mostly uses cans of spray paint, which he orders online. He explains that the spray cans he uses contain European paint. Occasionally, he might also need to use a scaffold. Later, Velez tells Norwood News that Kingbee prefers to use the European spray paint brand, Montana Black, because he likes its texture and display.

 

“In America, they make the paint for the common man; it’s watered down,” Kingbee said. Referring to the Montana Black brand, he added, “The color palette is large. It’s good for pictures because the flash doesn’t bounce back; the pressure is good.”

 

Kingbee said the owner of the commercial building on East 133^rd Street and Cyprus Avenue found him on Instagram and emailed him because he was having problems with vandalism on his walls. To solve the problem, Kingbee proposed covering it over with honeycombs. “When I told him about honeycombs with different colors, he went along with it,” the muralist said. “It was a good idea. I showed him a sketch.”

 

The owner liked what he saw and Kingbee was hired to paint the mural on the outside walls of the building. Using his sketch as a reference point, he spent a week designing and spray-painting the honeycombs. The graffiti artist recognizes the impact murals like this one can have on the larger community. “It puts a smile on people’s faces, the colors,” Kingbee said. “When you drive through here, you say, ‘Oh, I was in The Bronx’.” His apprentice has a similar feeling. “Art is a very big thing, a very big expression,” Velez said. “A little simple design in a school entrance with bright colors can bring adrenaline to kids.”

 

Fellow Bronx muralist, Kathleen Howie, aka Lady K Fever, said she believes murals can impact the community in other ways too. She recalled one time she was painting on the side of the Bruckner Bar and Grill in 2010. “This tourist from France was there,” Fever said. “She was like, ‘Oh, it’s so nice to see artwork because it makes me feel safe. With the murals, it just gives a sense of peacefulness.”

 

Fever has known Kingbee for over 20 years. They met at the Graffiti Hall of Fame in Harlem. According to the website, atlasobscura.com, it is a place where up and coming graffiti artists could hone their craft in a safe space. Harlem community leader, Ray “Sting Ray” Rodriguez, dubbed the concrete walls of the Jackie Robinson Educational Complex’s schoolyard, located at 106th Street and Park Avenue, “The Graffiti Hall of Fame.” The site has been attracting some of the best street artists in the world for more than 30 years.

 

Fever considers Kingbee to be one of her graffiti brothers. Over the years, she has closely observed his work. “What separates Kingbee is his style,” she said. “It’s very clean and graphic. His concept with the bees is brilliant. A lot of it now is ‘Save the Bees’ because bees are [becoming] extinct.”

 

Coincidentally, a new peace memorial mural, with a section dedicated to the life of graffiti artist, Alfredo Ricardo Oyague, was unveiled on Monday, April 4, in the Soundview section of The Bronx. More than a dozen graffiti artists from as far away as London and Germany had gathered on the day after Ricardo Oyague, 56, aka “Per One” of FX Crew, called on fellow artists to join together to create the peace memorial mural on Close Avenue. Sadly, Ricardo Oyague, who had lived with diabetes, died on Wednesday, March 30. The peace memorial and gathering ultimately transformed into a post-humous tribute to the artist.

 

Meanwhile, reflecting on how he wants his work to be remembered, Kingbee pauses before sharing his dream. “I want my murals to last forever,” Kingbee said. “I have murals that have been in Burnside for 20 years. When I’m gone, I want them walls to last forever.”

 

More of Kingbee’s work can be viewed on his Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/kingbeeuw/?hl=en.

 

*Sile Moloney and David Greene contributed to this story.