Self-Care

In December 2020, I entered a crossroad where I could’ve put music on the backburner, or bet on myself and share my work with the world. During the pandemic, I went through a period where music wouldn’t be made for months at a time, thus losing that passion and drive to even see myself creating anything worthwhile ever again. I started putting more time into getting a new type of career, which never happened.

I’ve been making beats since middle school (2008ish), throughout college (2011 - 2015), and then seriously began pursuing it in 2017. It didn’t seem like anything I was doing really moved the needle to eat off of this. The natural response at the time was to take the easy route; focus on job development, and maybe even start a design agency (which in hindsight, doesn’t sound that bad - it just didn't align with where I wanted to be). I thought “Maybe I’ll do music a little on the side here and there. I’m not pressed on if it ever takes off.”

But then, on December 3, I see my homie, Sir Eddie C, tweeting about a record that we made together and did a video for called "Lil Black Boy", was about to air on BET that week; literally in the same moments when I was battling through doubt and fear. I cried that night because I never thought that I would ever see the day that something I created would air on the network that I watched growing up early in the morning before going to school and late-night when the parents go to bed. It’s a moment that I’m thankful to God for because I was on the brink of giving up.

This was my confirmation; I had to get out of my head and start sharing my music. I spent the rest of that month and all of 2021 simply creating and sharing these videos of music that I was working on or had been sitting on, which even led to the release of my beat tape, "A Work In Progress".

Today, people from around the world listen to my work. They’ve shared with me messages about how the music has lifted them out of depression and helped them cope with anxieties. They’ve played my music for their students in classrooms. They’ve shared my work with their friends and families. It’s helped set the tone for how people start and end their days…I can only imagine the impact had my music not reached those who needed it and had I given up.

I hope these pieces bring you joy and empowerment. My prayer is that you never give up on where you believe you’re being led to. You never know who needs to hear or see your story.