Biography
Sometimes operating under the nom de plume "Cole Only", Antar K. Fierce was born and raised in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn New York in 1971. When Hip Hop was coming into its own in the late 1970s, Fierce was there to experience and witness it as it swept in from uptown. In 1985 Fierce took an interest in the elaborate highly stylized writings on the New York City subway and began documenting, collecting, and archiving it. He relocated to Atlanta Georgia in 1989 to attend Clark Atlanta University. Upon arriving in Atlanta, he quickly noticed this same brand of writing already arrived there. Not just on public walls, painted by local artists, but it was also starting to appear on the freight trains that passed by the Clark Atlanta University campus and traveled all over the North American continent. He immediately took out his camera and began documenting. After graduating with a B.A. in History, Fierce entered the workforce. He spent the next 20 years in the corporate sector as a Training Instructor and Customer engagement manager. In 2015 He joined 4 friends and co-founded the Right Track Program which is an educational organization that uses the traditional Hip Hop disciplines to inspire creativity for learners of all ages. With his work at The Right Track Program Fierce realized it was his calling to combine his passion for training with his experience in graffiti art. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Creative and Innovative Education at Georgia State University. His goal is to advance the idea that creativity, art and technology can work together to include authentic learning and equity and ensure the educational experience is made so that all people can thrive. Simultaneously, Fierce is working to incorporate the history of graffiti and Hip Hop as a course of study at the college and university level. Antar currently lives in the City of South Fulton, Georgia with his wife and children.