Tracked and mixed by 1Known

Tracked, edited, and mixed by 1Known | Keys by Rob Bradley | Photography by OrangeIsMedia

Tracked, edited, and mixed by 1Known | Keys by Rob Bradley | Photography by OrangeIsMedia

Once again, thank you to @visionlingo! I had fun with this interview. Photography by Creative DAI’Z.

Open Mic Wednesdays With 1Known

Age? 28. Name? 1Known. What is it that you do? I’m a Hip Hop Artist/Audio Engineer/Producer. I also run and host a podcast along with my girl (Lyrical Relief), called “Creative Misfits”. How long have you been doing it? To break down everything… I started writing my own lyrics and rapping, when I was 9 years old. I started as an actual Recording Artist, in 2004. Fun fact for the readers out there… I actually recorded my 1st song that could be burned to a CD and streamed online, with none other than Vision Lingo! I started audio engineering and producing professionally roughly 4 years ago. And my girl and I premiered “Creative Misfits” roughly 6 months ago. What or who has inspired you towards this path? Music, and the way it connects people is what started this whole creative journey, for me. It’s my 1 passion that never died down. As a kid I was heavily into basketball and music, had multiple things that I wanted to be when I grew up… But music is the main thing that has stayed at the forefront. It’s very powerful in the way that it allows people to tell their stories via a recorded medium. This allows others to obtain, relate to and connect to it, plus play it back at will. It doesn’t hurt that the actual music and audio engineering behind it all can really supplement the message. Music is that wave! Haha. Who were your musical influences? Too many to name, for sure… But in general, I would say that I’ve always preferred Artists who strongly convey emotion. Tupac, Eminem, T.I., Joe Budden, and Staind/Aaron Lewis are a handful of my favs in that regard. I’m still influenced by and/or inspired by Artists today, though. Kendrick, Big K.R.I.T., Rittz, Freddie Gibbs, Jhene Aiko, and J. Cole are some of the more recent talents that I follow. These are names that music heads would probably know to a decent extent… But I also draw energy/inspiration from Artists that maybe haven’t yet reached that wide of an audience. Dope music inspires me, overall! How do you separate yourself from other artists? For me, I think it’s really just about telling MY story, and staying true to ME. We all have a story. We all have a unique story. I am very in tune with my story, and I know how to present it in a relatable yet entertaining way. I put my perspective in my songs. I put my personality in my songs. I put my experiences in my songs. I put my melting pot of inspiration in my songs. Being very in tune with the message you want to deliver really helps you develop as an Artist, in my opinion. You want to be instantly recognizable within a song. When you hear Snoop, you know it’s Snoop. When you hear The Weeknd, you know it’s The Weeknd. Mastering your voice and message is how you create your lane. What are your thoughts on the current state of the game? I think music and media is in a pretty good space, overall. As long as you know what you’re doing, you can create and distribute great content without breaking the bank. You don’t necessarily need a cosign or a deal… Though those things can still help. I feel as though there’s much more creative freedom, these days. You can do a lot more independently. 10-20 years ago I think there were a lot more barriers to entry, within media. And I think more people signed deals that didn’t work in their favor, because the thought was that you NEED a machine behind you. It seemed like the only option at the time. We have a plethora of options now. When you are not making music or producing as an artist, what else are you into? I’m doing what I enjoy, so I really do spend a lot of time creating. But when I do make free time… I watch the handful of shows that I keep up with (TWD, Orange Is The New Black, New Girl). I spend time with my girl and the lil’ 1 (arts and crafts, the pool, the beach, Disney, etc.). I spend time with family when possible. I also try to work out on a decent basis. And I watch UFC when I’m able. What in your opinion is the biggest barrier an artist like yourself has to face and overcome, to gain any commercial success? To me, the biggest barrier to attaining commercial success as an Artist in 2016 is finding your core, ride-or-die audience. It’s not an easy task to connect to a large group of people to the extent where they will support/purchase damn near everything you release… But if you have that, you don’t have to chase opportunities. People will come looking to work with YOU. Other than that, I think a key is knowing your definition of success, and finding your unique formula to achieving that. There’s no “1 size fits all” solution. You have to find YOUR way. Versatility seems to be working, for me. My music may not be for you, but perhaps you’ll like my podcast. A potential client may not need production work done, but they may need an engineer to record their next song or episode. I bring value to the table across different lanes, so that puts more possibilities on my table. Plus, I truly enjoy all lanes that I’m active in. To me that’s a win. I’m simply tweaking the formula and consistently working to win more, to win bigger. In closing, tell us something about any projects and ideas you have in store or are already working on? I’m constantly working on multiple projects. Constantly refining. The best way to really stay updated on what I have going on is to follow me on social media. More dope content coming, on all fronts! You can check out my music on SoundCloud, iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, plus many other online outlets. You can check out Creative Misfits on SoundCloud, and on social media. Creative Misfits also airs on HHE Radio every other Wednesday at 7pm EST. Follow us on social media to receive more info on that! I also want to thank Vision Lingo, for this dope opportunity! We’ve known each other for quite some time, so it’s nice to still be able to link and make cool stuff happen. And thank you to anybody who checks out this interview. I truly appreciate it. Links and @ names Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thereal1known/ @thereal1known Twitter - https://twitter.com/thereal1known @TheReal1Known Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheReal1Known Support the Artist - https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/never-look-back-retail/id1080396111 or search “1Known Never Look Back” on Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, etc. SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/thereal1known Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/misfitscreate/ @misfitscreate Twitter - https://twitter.com/misfitscreate @MisfitsCreate Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/misfitscreate/ SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/creativemisfits

Tracked, edited, and mixed by 1Known | Photography by Creative DAI’Z | Cover art by The OG Ninja

Tracked and Mixed by 1Known | Photography by 1Known and Lyrical Relief

Hosted by 1Known and Lyrical Relief.

Tracked and Mixed by 1Known

Big thank you to Tamiera for coming through to talk about @oaths-and-anchors and more, on the show! It was a pleasure having you!

1st Interview on my writing. 🙂

Just want to say if any of you have fears of doing something but deep down you really want to. Go and conquer your fear and don’t worry about the outcome (unless it’s killing someone then disregard) most likely you’ll come out of it happy and it will come out awesome as hell.

First interview completed by these two @thereallyricalrelief and @thereal1known on their podcast CreativeMisfits you can find it on iTunes . They support the creative community. Thank you both I was quite afraid of doing it.

___________________________________________________ Here’s the link if you ever want to listen:

https://soundcloud.com/creativemisfits/cm007-tamiera-latiese-redding-poet

also we are on Instagram Me- @intricate_tam them- @misfitscreate

✌🏿️-T.L.R

Tracked and Mixed by 1Known | Photography by 1Known and Lyrical Relief

Produced by 1Known

Produced by 1Known

Tracked and Mixed by 1Known | Photography by 1Known and Lyrical Relief

Hosted by 1Known and Lyrical Relief.

Tracked and Mixed by 1Known | Photography by Creative DAI’Z

Hosted by 1Known and Lyrical Relief.

Hosted by 1Known and Lyrical Relief