I always felt I had to leave my mark on things ... A lot of people may know you best as Reeps One the beatboxer but you’re also a brilliant artist. Can you tell us which came first? The art. I remember seeing the walls covered in my dad’s paintings growing up and I always felt I had to leave my mark on things. If I wasn’t making stuff, I didn’t feel like I was real [laughs]. My dad said he would give me a pen, turn around and I would have drawn over half of the wall! I realised then you can leave your mark on things. He said there was always something in me w anting to leave marks and impact the space around me. I’ve had a really encouraging environment to be myself and find my own way.
How did this skill develop and when did you realise it was something you really wanted to pursue?
It was always cathartic; if I was stressed, angry or happy, I’d want to get it on paper. I was always listening to myself quite obsessively trying to progress, so I could be
doing anything form a really simple, abstract line drawing to covering bigger spaces. In my school I was quite notorious for having the biggest final piece. It grew from it being like a personal catharsis, to really being my identity. I’d be inspired or learn from other people but it was always in me from the beginning that what I do has to be mine. I have to feel like I own it, otherwise I wouldn’t want to do it. Growing up in East London, would you say the graffiti scene influenced your journey as an artist? I like to try and avoid certain obvious categories like “graff” just because I get put in a box enough already.