A CONVERSATION WITH SELF
The world of arts and entertainment often hides the life and reality of independent artists who struggle to break into the mainstream. Self is one of them: a multi talented young man who has been crafting his music, athletic and modeling skills since he was a child. His voice, hiding behind an intelligent and compassionate character, deserves to be heard. Here's Self in his own words:
Being a kid I was always active. I have been playing multiple sports, and been doing music since the age of 6. I don't remember specifically how the approach to art happened but sports, dance, martial arts, and music started at home and in the streets. Then once my school had a music program it was a wrap!
What are the artists or public figures that mostly influenced your style and helped you shape the person you have become today?
That’s a tough one. Growing up in any “hood” has its heroes as well as challenges. The people I looked up to and shaped me were artists from Smokey, to Michael Jackson, to Tupac, Jodeci, as well as public figures like Martin Luther King, and Malcom X. I believe I have so much diversity because of the many influences from my household, to the environment, to media influences like music and movies etc.
Just being involved with music from a very young age. Funny thing when I was about 8 years old because of Smokey Robinson, the Jackson Five and the Temptations, me and my brothers who were 10, literally sat down to write an r&b love song (because 8-10 year olds know how to write about love lol). Being exposed to playing music so early also led us to other genres of music, creating an alter-ego in rock with our band name “Bloody Axes” (influence from Metallica, Guns n Roses, Alice in Chains, Slipknot, System of a Down, etc). We were exposed to a lot of different things that most people in our community don't open up to, and it helped us be very creative at such a young age.
Good question. I express myself from my heart. One of the good things about being so diverse and going through so many different experiences in life is that it helped me write about anything. Being a star player I know what it's like to be popular, growing up shy I know what it’s like feeling like an outsider when it comes to talking to girls, having “hood” experiences of being jumped by teeneagers when your way younger and the fear of looking over your shoulder for people and cops, the pain and sadness of seeing my people struggle, and somehow still finding the joy with your friends throughout all the chaos of life. Growing up was like living in two different worlds and I know a lot of people from the inner city can relate. So, when I write, though I put the real life pain issues and struggles we go through in my music, I am aware that as a songwriter, as an artist who wants to influence and touch people through music, I try to write about the things that can uplift people in their time of darkness as well. The pain we all share is also the same way we all can heal, and that is in the power of music and art.
Growing up was like living in two different worlds and I know a lot of people from the inner city can relate. It’s two completely different behaviors and environments. Similar to society today and in the work field, in school I was Derek, quite a shy kid who was smart but costed by, was really good at sports, and very shy with girls. Back at home I was DJ, loud, energetic, danced, sports, wasn’t shy with certain females, just the complete opposite of how I was in school and people who live in a similar situation as me had to do this, some even to this day. I say that to say society and people like me has not seen eye to eye throughout history, and I think it’s sad because as a kid you should be yourself and not hide who you have to be for most of your life because the world looks at you different, then as an adult you have to adjust to these things in life. As far as the music industry, it’s hard to relate because image takes more precedence over the actual quality of music. Also just like the music industry and in life we have to keep pushing and find a way to make it by societal boundaries.
I honestly don’t see too much difference in the mainstream today and the 90’s. Just bigger promotions, more artists are seen, and the Internet is the main difference, where you don’t even need the industry like you used to. Same with the underground scene, the internet has made more artists known, land more shows and even get signed, so there are some pros and cons.
What is the work of art you're most proud of?
I am proud to have accomplished playing a sport on a professional level that I have dedicated my life to, because most people who play sports even since they were young don’t get the opportunity to say they did their sport as a job/career. I am also proud of my accomplishments in being featured in a magazine as a model, and starring in two plays as an actor all while doing this simultaneously. I have learned whatever you put your mind and heart into you can achieve things you didn’t think you would be able to. Lastly, though it was not released but I hope in the future it can, my collaboration music project with my wife, which I love creating music with and would be such a joy to release and perform our music together on stage like we used to.
My personal experience as an independent artist and what I have seen to me as a problem is that too many people want to be the main person to make it, instead of building a team so as a collective everyone grows and it makes the process easier. Not saying to take the easy route but you need a team of people to be successful, with the very very rare exceptions who make it on their own but even those individuals will tell you it’s good to have a team of people so even if one falls off, the team can still be strong instead of everyone depending on one artist’s success or failure. The obstacles independent artists face today that are the same as a decade or two ago is the influx of people who want to do music. There will always be a significant number of artists trying to break out from the rest. The benefit for independent artists today again is the Internet. You have the ability to find your target audience and try to cater to them which can lead you to bigger opportunities.
The modeling and acting kind of goes hand and hand. I was first freelance modeling getting my pictures up with the help of photographers like my brother, a close friend of mine and my person today who I call my wife. Modeling is very similar to acting, even though there are no words you still have to portray the image and capture the emotion of the theme of the shoot or the character you are portraying in the shoot. Also dabbling in some auditions for modeling and acting you get to network (which is one of the MOST important things in the entertainment industry). In networking you meet people who may need a model for a gig or need a fill in actor. Then, when you show up and do your thing, you get opportunities to be in a magazine or star in your very first play because people believed in you when you showed them you had no fear of messing up and all the confidence to be the best.
Sports have played a huge role for me, it got me to see things outside my neighborhood, it helped me travel out of New York, it raised my expectations when I had the possibility of playing in Japan, or the UK. I got a taste of the professional world of sports. It may not have been the NBA, but still many people cannot say they played there as a professional. It has instilled such a strong belief that anything I strive for, if I apply the same concentration, determination and heart, in any aspect of life can be achieved. Today it is sad because it seems the who you know mentality has trickled down to these younger kids because this generation is far more into technology than playing outside like we used to (let alone playing sports). Kids today are a lot less active which isn’t always the best thing for their physicality or their social life. More parents should pay attention and be more active with their children. These small things can have an impact on how they react to society when they become adults and how they contribute to it as well.
As I have gotten older, of course my views of the world will change. Today I must say my biggest aspiration is being successful with my wife, so we can live a happy life together and then, once we are good, we can take on the world spreading love and positivity in any way we can. Love and healing people as much as we can on this Earth is more of a life goal than my own monetary luxury.
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