The person you choose as your partner has a direct impact on your life and future. Your partner can either be an anchor or a rudder (ship analogy). An anchor will hold you back, keep you from moving forward. A rudder will dictate your direction and keep you on course. Choose wisely.
No Comfort In Greatness
Many of my peers and people I've come across like comfort and prefer staying in their familiar bubbles. This is especially true once they’ve climbed the social or talent ladder to a certain level. At some point they start feeling like a top player and their ego keeps them there. Many people will get to a status or position where they aren't at the bottom anymore but then they stop climbing and reaching for more.
Personally, I can’t stay stagnant and don’t want a life without growth. I’m okay being uncomfortable and I don’t mind stepping into new circles or environments where I’m again a novice who has to earn my way up to the next level. Unfortunately greatness isn’t a destination you arrive at and then get to stay at. That seat has to be earned every single day. Not saying my way of thinking is how everyone should think, as my goals and ambitions are not the same as others, but if you want to be great, complacency is something you cannot accept.
I'm a big dreamer with massive goals. I often wish this path was easier, but to get to where I want to go, I accept that I cannot indulge in comfort. I want to be great in every aspect of my life so I must continue to take on new challenges, be willing to keep failing and learning, and cannot let achievements blind me from the fact that I must remain a humble student.
Dirt Poor - No Excuses
I was dirt poor when I started pursuing my dreams. Life flipped upside down and I had nothing, oftentimes I had to survive off a few value menu fast food items for the day. I didn't have money, resources, or connections. But I've never been one for excuses. I didn't let my circumstances stop me from trying to find a way to learn, develop skills, and push myself to get my art out there. Because of that, I had to learn damn near every role and task I needed a team of ppl to do. I hope I'm not sounding braggadocious when I say this but, I have leveled up a decent amount of crafts so that I can try to rise above what my situations would allow. I never wanted to just be decent, I've always wanted to be great. And so I always pushed myself to output at the highest quality possible to reach the level of the greats I looked up to. A goal was to not only be taken serious, but to become so good and well packaged that they thought I belonged at their level. I've said this before... Because I had a lot of doubters, I always told myself to work harder than anyone thought was possible so that I could become undeniable. To this day I do the following in all of my art/work/productions:
Make beats, write lyrics, perform as a vocalist, mix and master music/audio, film videos/cinematography, direct, edit, color grade, film lighting, photography, design, build studios, program tech systems, AI productions, website building/management, and damn near anything else that's needed to make sure I can bring my art and visions to life. And now I'm learning to DJ. I share this not to pat myself on the back, but to share that his path is difficult to excel in, but possible for those who don't make excuses. I will continue to be a student and work to continuously level up. I wish the same for you all. Let's create greatness!
Sharing My Wins
I like to publicly share my growth, milestones, and accomplishments for 3 reasons.
1: I'm proud of my hard work getting some positive results. The reality is, my hard work oftentimes doesn't lead to wins or great results, so when something pushes through, I like to celebrate it. I firmly believe we should all celebrate our wins.
2: I want others to see what's possible and hopefully it inspires or motivates others to also get after their dreams and aspirations. I hope I can help others think and feel that they too are capable of achieving. Personally, I mostly follow and watch others who are much further ahead than me, because their achievements motivate me. I hope my little achievements can help others.
3: I know there are people who genuinely support me and get hyped on seeing my progress. For many years I didn't have many who believed in me, and as I've pushed through, more have started to believe in me. I'm grateful and I like to share and show my elevation in hopes to make those people proud. Thank you
Going Worldwide
I always envisioned my music being worldwide, but for many years my music didn't spread around the world as much as I had hoped. I love writing articulate and creative lyrics, so the majority of my songs obviously had English vocals (my native language). Now that I've been releasing mostly music with no lyrics, it's been spreading so much further. Obviously there are various factors to the growth (including my new focus on genres/styles), it's not just a lack of English vocals, but with me being a music producer and a vocal artist, I've definitely leaned more into less to no vocals, on most tracks and I'm seeing a more rapid amount of reach. My top 10 cities of my music listeners are in other countries, not in the USA. This is interesting, mind blowing, and exciting. Being streamed in over 140 countries is a dream come true. I'm gonna continue to work my ass off to deliver bangers for the entire planet and earn myself the ability to do some world tours in the near future. It's on and poppin!
Learning to DJ
When I decided to shift my focus to electronic music production during my rebranding process, I knew that if I wanted to perform this music, I’d have to learn to DJ. As a hip-hop artist, I’ve performed for many years, touring across the country and rocking a wide variety of shows. Those who’ve attended any of those shows have seen the care and passion I put into not only entertaining but also creating moments of sincere connection. Performing is one of the greatest feelings in the world, and I have been looking forward to getting back on stage. But now, with electronic music, I gotta replace my microphone with a DJ controller, which is a new avenue for me. DJing is nothing like music production; it’s like learning a new language and a new sport. The tools, timing, techniques, everything is new to me. I’m really learning from scratch. It’s a bit unnerving and a little frustrating, but also very exciting. I never intended to become a DJ, but this is what I must do to perform my electronic songs. I’m taking this very seriously and will do my best not only to learn and develop the necessary skills, but also to honor DJ culture and treat it with respect as I enter as a humble student. I’ll be on stage soon. It’s on and poppin’!
I also want to mention Nilou for being very encouraging and motivating in my process of learning to DJ. We both recognize this as an important aspect of my music career moving forward that will lead to bigger things. She has truly been the one pushing me not only to practice consistently but to “get good” quickly. LOL. I really appreciate and embrace being pushed. You do not achieve greatness without becoming uncomfortable, tired, and working hard. I felt it was important to mention Nilou here because, in the near future when people, or even I, look back at the beginning of this chapter after much growth and success have been achieved, she deserves much of the credit. Thank you Nilou!
Authentic and Real
Every bit of my growth, accomplishments, achievements, and support I've gotten is from me being 100% authentic to myself, my audience, and to my art. I don't pretend to be anything I'm not, I don't front and BS ppl to make it seem like I'm bigger or more important than I really am. I will not accept nor participate in any of the cap, BS deceptions, that many others in the entertainment industry engage in. All of my streams, views, and followers are legit, and I will continue to operate in the most authentic way possible. I will eventually have a much larger following and audience, and I don't mind it taking longer to grow, so long as it's rooted in merit. I'm honest, hard working, sincere, passionate, and I only want to gain and celebrate what I've earned.
I Had No Skill or Potential
All the things people will currently say I'm good at and have talents in, I used to be terrible at. I made garbage videos, wack music, was trash at talking on camera, made lame designs, and had no natural talent or noticeable potential. On top of all that, I had so many people doubt me and think I was dumb for even trying to pursue dreams that I had no skills in. It was relentless, persistent, and extreme hard work that led me to get better and better over time (and without any guidance [I'm self taught]). It took me even longer than I had hoped to get just decent, but slow motion is better than no motion. Passion, tenacity, and an obsession to improve are essential, but it doesn't make your journey any easier. However, it does take you further than others will ever imagine. I told myself, "I don't care how long it takes, and what hardships I must endure (and it's been A LOT to this point), I will work so hard that I eventually become undeniable." I'm still on that journey, but it is gratifying that little by little, more and more people are starting to notice. But I can't get too comfortable... "Jobs not finished."
Team Expanding
Last night was the first night I slept more than 6 hours in the last almost 2 weeks. No exaggeration, in the last at least 11 days, I've only slept between 2.5 to 5 hours per night. I've been going ham because some new opportunities have presented themselves and I've not wanted to let them slip or pass me by. I've been working harder than I ever have before (and those who know me, know that I work pretty damn hard as it is). I will say, though I don't recommend sleeping that little consistently, that and other sacrifices I've made recently have been a factor to the growth that's currently visible, but also for the growth that is about to come. One of the most exciting opportunities is the expansion of my team. I feel very blessed and fortunate to not only have a new person who believes in me, but is also willing to grind this journey with me and put in some major hard work and is dedicated to help take things to another level. It's a dream come true.
Blank Canvas
I've released over 130 songs through the years... Part of this rebrand/new direction I'm doing is to focus on the music style/genres that I started to release more as of last year (electronic/cinematic), which has really started to spread and is now being streamed throughout over 140 countries. So I will be getting more hyper-focused for a while on this new vibe, and getting a bit more niche, so I can really tap into what's working for me the most right now. I've decided to delete/privatize a large amount of my music catalog, videos, and content. This is not permanent. Eventually I will bring back all my classic hip hop, content outside of music, and go back to releasing a wide variety of genres of songs/beats... BUT... for now, this new version of The Hyphenate's image and sound has me super hyped. I feel inspired, extremely creative, and as if I've been given a huge empty canvas with more paint and brushes than I knew existed. For those who continue to listen and stay on this journey with me, THANK YOU! And to those who aren't so much a fan of this new direction, I still thank you and would like you to know that once I build more hype and intrigue around the world and can get myself to the level that I'm reaching towards, i'll bring back so much of what I used to make and will create even more of it. Even with this new musical direction, just know that I will not change who I am (unless it's for the better of course). I am still me. My values, principles, energy, heart and soul will not be compromised or sacrificed. Thank you to all who have and will continue to support me. Let's get to that next level baby! IT'S ON AND POPPIN!
