In addition to his songs and his singing, Tyren "GRFX" Allen is a poet and uses this ability to enhance his music. Born in Yonkers, NY, and later residing in Brooklyn, Tyren found much inspiration within the context of his family to write. Both his father and mother were poets and being a poet himself only seemed logical to Tyren. At the tender age of 17, he performed at Fordham University and later was published in the school's 1991 poetry anthology. Later, he applied his gift for poetry toward soul music, a style of soul that relates to contemporary urban culture yet concurrently references forgone eras. Rather than embrace a corporate ideology and enter the major-label music industry, Tyren chose to align himself with the underground scene. He signed with Underground Artworks, which released his debut album with Saturn Return, The Beautiful Daye, in spring 2001. ~ Jason Birchmeier