Exclusive interview for @hello_its_rello

What 3 things does anyone starting in your industry need to know?
First off, this is an unregulated industry, so basically anything goes. You can see all of the innovations in tech and consumer goods being exploited in this industry. There is no accountability except for other artists and labels, which is probably the cause for so much violence. One would say contracts and lawyers hold accountability in court—and I would reply only in some cases. Secondly, you need to know why you’re doing what you’re doing because you’re entering into a lion’s den with little to no protection. Third and most important, you need to know where your help is. Because you’re going to need it when everything goes bad—and don’t think that it won’t—just plan for it.

What would you do differently if you were starting in your industry now?
I can’t say honestly that I would do anything differently because I have my original goals in front of me and I haven’t compromised any of them. I still have the lives of my friends and family, not only that but they have had kids. Do I think back sometimes and wonder what if I signed with this one how would it have been? Of course, especially when the chips are down. Certain things money can’t buy, and for those reasons I wouldn’t change a thing about how I started.

Which people or books have had the most influence on your growth and why?
My mom has had the most influence on me, obviously because it was her who gave me the dreams and ambition to aspire to be the best. I’m a bookworm, so I can’t say it’s any one book that influenced me—but a series of books by the great minds. Rudolf Steiner, Wolfgang Von Goethe, and Edgar Allen Poe are three that stand out immediately. Goethe and Steiner because of their unwavering strength of mind and study, and Mr. Poe because of his mastery of imagination.

What has been your biggest success story? Why do you think it was a success?
My biggest success story is still being written. But so far in my life, I consider my biggest success to be getting Mo Lowda to play with me on my first project. I had to do a lot to get the opportunity to impress those guys. It was so long in the making for me to choose to leave Florida again after returning from Japan and all that happened during my enlistment in the Marine Corps. To be at the same place and time as Mo Lowda and being respected enough by them to collaborate with me on my project is mind-blowing. Those guys: Jordan, Knate, and Shane are the most talented musicians I’ve had the fortune to run across. I must say that all success isn’t monetary, and most meaningful stories don’t include money. Nowadays, the music is watered down and almost insignificant because of the focus on material monetary gain and the consumer culture rat race.

What keeps you going when things get tough in the music industry?
I’m motivated to keep going when things get tough by my discipline and my family. The only thing that keeps me going is my passion and dedication to my aspirations, and what I want to achieve. My vision is what keeps me going when things are tough. When the chips are down, the only thing you have is yourself and the reasons that keep you alive. Music, to me, is the purest art form. Living life truly is art to me. It’s the real art form that allows everything to flow from it. I didn’t want to do anything easy; it wouldn’t fulfill me.

What made you pursue being an artist full-time?
Being an artist full-time is still sort of a ways away, but I would love to do it full-time because it’s my lifestyle. I’m always thinking—I have a song that says a million thoughts, or you could say a million rhymes are always running through my brain, envisioning ways to maintain. So full-time would mean that I’m maximizing all possibilities in my lifetime and I’m creating opportunities full-time. I’m speaking life full-time, so I look forward to that day still.

Would you sign to a label?
I would sign with a label that has my best interest. In the past, I’ve declined several offers, and I won’t mention from whom. It has led me to this independent place where it’s definitely slower, but I can do what I want and collaborate with whom I will; it led me to doing music with my Marine with no questions, no encumbrances, nothing tying me down, no extra considerations. I formed my own label, quote unquote, called Manifest Music, but it’s really tough being the artist, the general manager, the A&R, the marketer, the promoter, the tour manager, and everything that entails being successful as a music label. Yes, I would sign with Universal. I would sign with Paramount. I would sign with Disney. That’s about it. The deals would be partnerships with distribution, in that type of frame.

What projects are you working on for the rest of 2024?
For the rest of 2024, I’m working on a project called The Insurrection. It’s putting the events of the election cycle and American history into an action plan to empower the citizen. Power has been stripped from the citizen more and more and been used to expand the government. I want the citizen more empowered. I want to exercise the freedoms, rights, and privileges that we were born with in this country to answer the problems of the prior centuries, the color line being the biggest one, and also economic inequality. I want to understand, and I want the world to see what it truly means to have freedom.

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