It was all a dream.

I never thought in a million years that I’d be sitting in a beautiful office with wonderful local artwork on the wall and a massive mural of my idol and my muse, the Notorious B.I.G. Let’s rewind a little bit.

I’ve been following Sue Works’ art ever since I came across his mural on Grand St. When I heard who he was and learned more about him, I became a big fan of his work. Sue Works is an OG street artist. He’s been around for three decades, before street art was even considered part of the mainstream art world. I’ve always wanted to meet him and interview him, and I knew it was a matter of time before we’d cross paths. Social media’s a funny thing. It has the ability to connect people that otherwise wouldn’t necessarily connect. When we moved to the new office and I got the green light from my landlords to get a mural painted in the office, I posted on my Instagram that I was looking for an artist to paint a mural of the late and great Notorious B.I.G. I have about four pieces of Biggie and wanted an upgrade for my new office. His daughter DM’d me on Instagram and told me to reach out to her father, who’d be more than happy to do it. The rest is history.

Sue came by with his friend and they painted the mural in under four hours. The whole time he painted the mural, we listened to Biggie. When I first laid eyes on the finished product, I had tears in my eyes. I looked at Sue and told him, Something is missing.” I told him to add the quote, “It was all a dream,” on the mural. That’s where the series It Was All A Dream was born. This series will explore people who are doing it, who are living their dream, who took what they’re good at and ran with it. I hope you enjoy it.

Meet Sue Works.

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What’s your name?

Sue aka Sue Works.

What do you do?

I am a graf artist, illustrator, and graphic designer.

How long have you been doing this?

I’ve been doing graf for the past 30 years and graphic design for the past 20 years.

Let’s rewind 30 years. You’re like an OG. 

I’m an OG in the game, yes.

How did you start?

I started like everybody else, watching the trains go by on 169th St, where I used to live. Going to school, seeing all the old school legends on the train, I thought, “Yeah, I could do that.” I started doing my own little tags. I came out in 1985, starting bombing, and from there, it was history.

That’s when hip-hop really got started! You’re part of the beginning of hip hop culture, basically. 

Yeah, I was there when all the parties and DJs used to come out. Graf artists started writing, and I saw the development of the whole four elements come up.

So you started tagging trains.

I started tagging when I was about 9 years old on telephone poles and windows. From there, I started writing on the walls with spray paint. Then I caught up with my friends and we went to the train yards, did a couple of trains. Then once I really went out to the streets, that’s when graffiti was dying on the train yards and started merging into the streets. It was like an epidemic, it just grew out of proportion. Thank god I was one of those people in that time period who made a change in graffiti and how you bombed, how you created caps and flare styles, throwups, and just the whole street game.

How do you feel street art has evolved since then? I mean, you’ve seen it in 30 years, so I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of changes.

Now, it’s more accessible. It’s like art now. It has come a long way and it’s making a lot of money. Urban brands started picking it up and everyone sees it as an art form. It’s not something seen as “bad” for the community. It’s ringing up equity on properties and stuff like that, so graffiti has come a long way since I started.

How many pieces do you have all over the world?

Probably over a thousand.

Wow! Can you tell me about your traveling?

I’ve traveled to Israel, I was in Sderot, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem. I’ve traveled to Spain, I was in Madrid and Andalucía. Then I went to Norway, to Oslo and Kristiansand. I was in Iceland, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I went to Lyon, France and Paris. I’ve been to Mexico, Colombia…I’ve just been traveling ever since.

How do you get to those places?

Different organizations hit me up, saying they want me to be a part of this movement that’s going on. It’s teaching the kids, having workshops with the art, making it a learning process for the kids that are underprivileged and want to see the art as a profession they can implement into graphic design or make a whole business out of it. I help them develop their skills, give them some kind of inspiration so they can pursue what they want.

How does it feel, being able to travel the world doing what you love?

I never thought that doing graffiti would take me to those places. It’s amazing and I feel blessed that I’m fortunate enough to do that.

How were you able to take it to that next level? A lot of people are very talented, but how do you take that talent and make it into something that’s a business, in a way?

I always say to be yourself. Take it as a business. Once you get in it, it is a business. There’s more pressure because everything’s a job. You have to have the mindset already that you want to take it to the next level and not be scared to show your face. You have to do a lot of networking with people, so you really have to be out there, doing shows, putting yourself out there so people know who you are.

Right! I noticed you’re really good on social media. 

I try to! My kids told me that I have to post more pictures and videos. They keep me in the groove since I’m an OG and I’ve been staying relevant through all these years. I’m still painting like the new guys.

How do you keep yourself relevant?

I stay true to my name. My name is Sue, and it’s an acronym for “Styles Under Evolution.” That keeps me going. I always have to evolve. If you see all my pieces, I’ve never done a piece the same. It’s always different, always a different style, always a 3D style. Implementing graphic design was a big plus because I get to see my colors, my CMYK colors, blending colors, blending two colors that you never thought would go together, and just evolve my style.

Right. So can we talk about the Biggie portrait? Tell me a little bit more about it.

You invited me, you said you wanted a Biggie piece, and I’ve been dying to do one so I thought, “You know what, let me go bless her studio.” I came down and I had a great time meeting you, being inspired by you and what you do, and I’m honored to leave a part of myself here in your new office.

And you also inspired the name of our new video series! 

Cool, that’s what’s up.

Everything happens for a reason. 

Exactly!

Where do you live now?

I reside in West New York.

What’s your connection to Jersey City?

I used to have family who lived here, and it was before this whole developing thing was going on. This is when it was hood hood. I hang out, I have a lot of friends in Jersey City so I’m always in Jersey City. A lot of friends are artists, they cut hair, they’re graphic designers, photographers. The landscape in Jersey City is great because you have new and old, so it’s just a whole background for the urban societies growing up now.

Do you have any pieces in Jersey City?

Yes, I have a piece by Grand St. and it was commissioned by the Mayor of Jersey City.

Shout out the Fulop! He’s the man. Should we go check it out?

Let’s go!

So when did you paint this mural?

3 years ago, and it was commissioned by the mayor of Jersey City. It’s a piece called “Then and Now,” and it reflects on the past and the new. That was the whole concept of the mural.

How long did it take you?

One day, 6 hours.

Tell me a little bit more about your other work. I know you mentioned you have a lot of pieces in Newark. 

Yeah, I work with an organization called The Future Project. I have a lot of murals running with them and with the mayor of Newark, too. It’s almost the same concept – you define the neighborhood, bringing it more to the people, creating a mural for the city, and trying to bring the property value up for the city.

So you were showing us some videos in the office. You had some corporate clients. Do you want to talk about that?

I’ve done a lot of work for the NFL, ESPN, Sony Camera, Nike, Puma. That’s all my commercial work. They’re trying to go into that urban area, so now I’m accessible for that. I’m really trying to bring my art and show them that graffiti’s not so bad. It’s not a bad thing, it’s something very positive.

Do you have any future plans in Jersey City?

Definitely. I’m hoping I can get some murals with Jersey City and with Chicpea. I just have a lot of clients, a lot of work coming up with a jewelry designer and fashion lines. A lot of brands are hitting me up to design pieces for them. I’m heading out to Africa in April, and we’re doing a workshop with the kids out there. My schedule’s getting busy, so that’s good.

That’s awesome! Do you have a favorite Jersey City hangout spot?

It used to be behind Newport, the Jersey City graffiti hall of fame. It’s not there anymore, but that was the place to go. I used to hang out there and do pieces. That was like the first hall of fame Jersey City had, and I’m glad I was a part of that.

How do you feel about the changes in Jersey City?

It’s good, it’s positive, but it also affects the poor people. You want to always put together a group that combines both the rich and the poor, not just accessible for the rich and push everybody away. A change is needed, so you have to progress and go with the times, I guess. Change is great, but we also just want to preserve the real Jersey City.

Would you say that you’re living your dream?

Definitely living my dream. It’s been a long road, but to get paid for what I do is beautiful. I can support my family with it, and that’s even better. I always keep to my style. I thank God that he gave me that gift, and I can go on and keep putting murals up so when I die, I have a little piece of me left in the world.

I love that. Can you give any advice to people who are trying to live their dreams?

Always go with your gut. Always do what people tell you you can’t do. Just do it, pursue it, live it, dream it, breathe and eat your art. No matter what you do, whether it’s film, photography, sports… anything that inspires you to do better in life and live happy. It all starts with a dream.

It was all a dream.

You can follow Sue Works on Instagram and Twitter.