1.  Did the different environments you were in affect your art? 

     The environment definitely has an effect on how your work will turn out, whenever there is risk involved there is the tendency to feel a bit stressed and uneasy.

2. Did you feel a difference in your creativity in Germany compared to New York?

    No matter whether you are in New York or Germany the mere fact that you are engaging yourself into something that’s illegal exposes you to the same risks, and those are being arrested, electrocuted or even run over by a train. The main difference between Germany and New York is that proof is not needed in most European countries, in Germany just someone pointing you out is all that is needed. As American citizens we have many rights that protect us from practices such as this one, hard evidence is definitely required to convict you, someone’s word is just not enough.

3.  How did you become a graffiti artist? 

    Believe it or not my brother El-Rock started way before I did; I definitely liked what I saw on sides of the subway cars and was quite intrigued by it as a kid. It was through my brother that I met Bones 1, who was primarily a bomber at the time, he lived directly above me which I didn’t know, and I remember running down the stairwells in my building and seeing his flooded marker tags all the way from the 9th floor down to the 1st.  He gave me my first marker as well as my first tag which was Blazer, but someone in the neighborhood was writing under Blaze and crossed me out for writing Blazer, which was understandable - so I dropped it and started to write Skull 1.  I really did not like this name too much and went through two to three others before I came across Poem. I really liked the way it sounded, no one had it which was important and my then developing style seemed to fit the name well. 

4. Was early 80's New York City an influence on your art when you started?

What was happing in the early eighties had a great influence on many writers including myself, the styles that you saw, the colors that the artist used to make their name stand out, along with the characters and scenery, to me there was so much good stuff that was being done.

5.  Who motivates you in art?

I’d have to say I motivate myself; only because I have this thing about wanting to be the best in everything I do. I also make it a habit of surrounding myself with positive people.

6. Who are your mentor's?

I can honestly say that I pretty much taught myself, I basically took what I saw and did my own thing with it. There was my boy VAN2 who showed me these really incredible sketches that he would do, which made me want to do something, and before you knew it we where competing against each other, of course I was no where near as good as he was at the time but I did learn a few things from him.

7.  What drives/pushes your creativity?  What makes you want to get out there and paint?

In the past it was to be the best, as well as too be recognized as an artist and as a person that others would look up to, I definitely feel I’ve accomplished both. Today I mainly do it for the fun of it; and to get together with old friends to paint and reminisce about the old days when we were doing our thing.  

8. What do you like most about Graffiti?

Growing up as a kid it gave me a way to both express myself and to be creative at the same time. I also like the fact that people look up to me as being one of the elite innovators and supporters of this art form. When you’ve reached the top to where I am today you’re considered the equitant of a rock star but without the money and chicks. You sign autographs, people want to be photographed with you, it sounds crazy, but it’s true.

9. Being that you had the opportunity to paint both trains and walls what is your opinion on both?

    Well, of course I’d definitely prefer to paint a train over any wall, I like the adrenaline rush you get when you do it, I like the fact that every mission is never the same old routine, and the best part of all is when you’ve finally finished and have taken your photos…. You just can’t wait to develop them to show to your boys and to add to your collection.  When it comes to painting walls, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it, I do them and have a lot of fun in the process. It gives me the chance to get together with old friends to reminisce about the old days as well as to find out what’s happing now. Trying to paint trains today is really tough to do; you have to be one really crazy person to attempt it. The risks involved are greater now than ever before. Today If you’re arrested you face jail time and a huge fine. The city is not playing around these days, besides now with the terrorist situation I believe it will get even harder to do.

10. Now that you’re a father, what type of sacrifices have you had to make as far as graffiti goes?

    It definitely slowed me down, I don’t get to do it as much as I’d like to these days, but I do try my best to get out there and do something. My traveling has also slowed down as well. Parenthood is not easy, you find yourself making all kinds of sacrifices for the family, the main thing being putting yourself last. You want them to have all the things you didn’t when you where a kid, you also want to make sure they grow up right. 

11. What do your kids think of your art preference?

    They are ok with it, whenever I do something new I always put their names next to mine, which is my way of showing them that I thought of them, it gets them a bit excited when they see it. My son Justin tries to do outline’s once in a while; he’s even helped me paint a few pieces.

12. What’s up with FX these days, there’s talk going around that there is a bit of turmoil amongst the crew?

    Within every crew sooner or later you’ll have personalities that will collide. This is the time when you must make a decision to either try to work things out or to just move on. A few members are pursuing professional careers which sometimes mean going in different directions, just because we don’t paint together doesn’t necessarily mean we are not boys and that they are no longer down; it just means that they have decided to venture out into the world to pursue bigger and better things. Right now we are in the process of restructuring, which means eventually you’ll start to see new productions that will be bigger and better than before.