RYAN K SEVERE

In many cases, talent runs in the family. You’ve got the Baldwins, the Wahlbergs and even the Cyrus crew. Ryan K. Severe and his brother Caskey have both attained success in the art world—as a tattooer and rapper respectively.

They’ve built their brands off of each other, with Severe decorating his brother’s skull with one of the most striking tattoos hip-hop has ever seen. We caught up with Severe to learn more about his family dynamic, to understand what attracted him to sacred geometry and to hear his philosophy on job stoppers.

Take us through your upbringing and how you got into art. I was the kid who got into trouble in class for drawing when I was supposed to be doing classwork. I had an amazing art teacher in school, Mrs. Gilbert, who supported me all the way through. I think she knew my potential better than I did. Music was also a huge influencer for me. I remember watching MTV music videos at 6 a.m. while I was getting ready for school and almost every artist I liked had some kind of art on them. Art and creating was always kind of my thing, it just seems to come naturally to me.