Joy Keys chats with Alexes Johnson about Junkie Witness

Alexes Johnson is an experienced painter working and living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born in New York to a mother battling a heroin addiction, he grew up fast on the artsy but tough streets of the East Village.  Shortly before his ninth birthday, his mother would lose her battle to addiction leaving Alexes in the care of the State.

Adopted by a family living in Philadelphia, his passion for music and love of the Arts would be cultivated in The City of Brotherly Love. As part of the city’s underground artistic community, Alexes honed his poetry writing skills and was was in demand to share his extensive knowledge of music as a DJ.

For years, Alexes battled depression and multitudes of disfunction from memories of an abusive childhood he wanted to forget. Finally coming to terms with his life while acknowledging and facing his past, Alexes was free to  come out of the darkness and into light.

Alexes has just completed his first novel, “Junkie Witness”, a poetic memoir of his chaotic early childhood. He continues to reside in Philadelphia where he owns and operates Renaissance Painting.