Superstop is an illustrator working in a web agency as an artistic director. Sharing is time between his job, personal works and painting walls. Two years ago he has self published a book with some of his draws and now hopes to continue publishing other books, "trying to become a better artist and a better person each day"

Hi Superstop, today MoW selected 5 of your artworks inspired by music. Can you tell MoW what was the music behind the artworks ? What inspired you to create them ?

The music I listen while I work is from all horizons but mostly Hip Hop, and specially french hip hop, there is a lot of inspiring imagery in the vocabulary, in this kind of music.

"School of Hip Hop" (Nice radio show): It is a visual made for the radio show of Dj Nice, an Hip Hop activist from Toulouse, also a friend and an inspiring person, the idea behind the drawing is to tell that the radio show play real Hip Hop, the music from the street, so a magnetic cartridge taking the song from the ground.

"No MC Without A DJ" (Dj Nice): It is for the center of the vinyl "My Contribution" from Dj Nice, I drawn what would be an Mc without a Dj, an empty shell....

"My Contribution Part 2" (DJ Nice-RobSwift) : It is for the vinyl center of the same name (My contribution Part 2, not released yet, letters by Reso), showcasing a digger finding his gold.

Why is music important to you and your art?

I think music and visual arts work together, music feeds my imagination, I always feel some music in images. It is a major source of inspiration.

If you had to choose between the artworks presented today, which of your artwork would be your favorite ? And why ?

I will choose "Can I Live" or "Levitation", because there conception were more instinctive, I did not draw for anything else than the pleasure of drawing them spontaneously.

"Can I live" (Jay-Z) : in this song Jay-Z speaks about the struggles he is getting through to succeed in his life, well my life is quite different from his but it inspired me this image of arms trying to get out of the ground and preventing the others of getting higher.

"Levitation" (Air - how does it makes you feel that's not Hip Hop) : It is more about the state of mind I am in, while I am listenning to music and drawing, forgetting about everything.

Can you tell MoW more about the techniques you used. How old is your technique? How did it start? How long does it take you to make an artwork?

Well my technique is about spontaneity and finding the good pencil strokes, I've started drawing twenty years ago by making comics penciling and then inking with rotring, it was like redrawing and perfecting the original draw, the result where clean works. Today when I draw it's really basic I just keep the pencil, I spend less time and I find that the fault serves the drawing and his dynamic. It is also how the drawing fits my lifestyle, I'm working as an art director, and I have to please clients, I think that explains a lot about how I draw, I need it to be fast and good, I want it rough and pure, I don't want to hide my skills/default with trendy photoshops effects or else, I don't want something perfect to brag off about my technical skills, I find hyper clean and realistic works boring, it needs to please myself while I'm doing it.

Even when I'm painting on walls I try to keep that same guideline, I do not try to have clean line, I search for a result that looks instinctive and structurate. I try to spend less than a day for my works in order to do the artwork with the same state of mind

Do you have plans on creating new artworks insipired by music ?

I plan to make more work for my friend Dj Nice who really gives me lot of energy, it is an example of person trully implicated in his passion only for the love of his art , that someone really connected to the music world who inspires me and gives me lot of strengh to dedicate myself to my arts projects.

Do you listen to music when you’re working ? If so, what kind of music ?

Always when I work at home, and when I'm painting outside I have to listen to the music of my spraycan...

What is the song you liked the most lately? The album ? What was the last gig you went to ?

The last song : 50cent - "Hold On"