Today, we had the pleasure of interviewing Retna of the world renowned 7th Letter Crew at his studio in Los Angeles. Retna is one of earth’s last true artists still traversing the globe, not to discredit other artists, but Retna still puts his well being on the line to express himself.

Bear: Whats up Retna. So the first question I have been dying to ask you is..How the heck did you create such crazy hand styles/ scripts?

Retna: The root of it is old English, old gangster writing. When I was a kid, I was very influenced by that, I got into graffiti in the 3rd grade. Where I used to live off Normandie and Venice, I used to look at the writing on the walls. A lot of it was gangwriting, I would sit there and try to copy it. My mom would see it and rip it up. I just liked it; I didn’t know the full details of gang life at the time. In her attempt to get me away from that type of stuff, she would send me away to a private school called St Anne’s, but ironically it was there where I learned about traditional graffiti. This kid in the 3rd grade always talked about to what we would refer to as “the Book”. He never told me the exact title, which I found out to be “Spraycan Art”.

Bear: Damn, that’s dope. Who were your first influences in graffiti and how were they part of this experience?

Retna: I met this kid named NATI who was known as “Little Chubby” from Santa Monica 13 st. at the time, and today I believe he is now known as “Big Chubby”. When I met this cat, I was intrigued by gang life and I would ask him all these questions about it. He would do my name in blocks; that style of writing that he had, even till this day I can remember, its still relevant. I am still influenced by some of those letter forms even today. I’m not sure if he drew his style from Chaz Bojorquez who was another big influence in my work. I am fascinated with Asian calligraphy and their style of brushwork. Also, my mom collected a lot Asian pottery containing the calligraphy. Bear: One of my favorite pieces you have ever done was the “Matador Piece”. Can you shed some light on what it’s all about?

Retna: The matador is also referred as the old guard; it’s based on one of my old paintings. At the time, I was painting family relationships. I had painted him (el Matador) with his wife and she had come out looking super crazy. Since she came out that way, I couldn’t have him look soft so he came out sort of skullish. I’m very happy with this piece.

Images Credit: Special Thanks to Marquis Lewis.

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