” I believe if you are into creating music for the money then it’s not for you. I do this because I love it, and I reach for fame only because the real dream would be doing what you love and to make a living out of it and be stable financially. So I invest into myself and skills to make my involvement in music somewhat profitable so I can spend more time in the industry.” – @ShawnLyricz
Listen to the Interview
Episode #328 : A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax : http://www.blogtalkradio.com/avaliveradio/2016/06/01/episode-328-ava-live-radio-behind-the-music-with-jacqueline-jax
GETTING TO KNOW SHAWN LYRICZ
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio
The Music business…
for most is not the most stable business to be in to say the least, but being educated in business and experiencing much of it first-hand it doesn’t scare me. I believe if you are into creating music for the money then it’s not for you. I do this because I love it, and I reach for fame only because the real dream would be doing what you love and to make a living out of it and be stable financially. So I invest into myself and skills to make my involvement in music somewhat profitable so I can spend more time in the industry.
Social media…
The main thing I like about social media is the networking possibilities, but there are so many different social media outlets it becomes a task to keep up with all of them.
Singles vs an album…
I feel like albums are necessary for any artist to have a complete project that they put their all into, and the listener to be able to truly dive into their life style to see what your about. Obviously putting out singles can be important to when you want to highlight exceptional tracks.
I would only say there is too much emphasis on trends…
because some artists almost solely depend on following trends to stay relevant, or to become relevant in the first place. But, in my opinion we should be free to express ourselves in any way we feel. That is how the world evolves; by seeing something you like and building upon it with your own ideas to make it better.
My personal definition of success is..
simply being able to live how you want and where you want because your career of doing what you love is fruitful enough.
My over all goal for my life & career is…
I’d never set an overall life goal so early in my life. My only goals are to set more once I’ve reached them. The journey to improvement and excellence is never over.
3 Ways that I challenge myself…
1) I say yes to every realistic opportunity that is presented so I don’t miss out.
2) I reach out and work with every talented individual I see potential in.
3) I try to expand my listening, therefore my influences, therefore my versatility in music.
Hip-hop and R&B has always been a part of my life…
for as long as I can remember, and all the way up until middle school when a group of older kids showed me some music they recorded themselves, I used to think creating music was only for rich and famous people. Once I learned I could it was possible to do it myself, my free time was instantly filled with writing rhymes to industry beats I would find online like there was nothing else in the world to do once school ended. I wrote music for a whole year before I was ever presented an opportunity to record anything, and after hitting the booth for the first time at 16, I knew it was a feeling I would never let go of.
Right Now…
At this point in time, right before I wrote the song “Right Now”, I had just released my first ever complete album “All About The Lyricz” which was years in the making just because of my perfectionist nature in finding that professional level of mixing, as well as my own sound. I was then contacted by one of the talent producers from American Idol, Peter Cohen, calling me from LA. The phone call was so surreal and I was surprised to say the least that he was interested in having me on the show and automatically advancing me to the final audition round. He said he loved my Rap/Sing sound from my album and the new season would embrace this new style. In the middle of all the excitement of just releasing my first album and getting contacted by American Idol I just felt the need to continually create more of this style music. I found the beat to what would become “Right Now” and sat in my room, in front of my speakers on full blast and sang/wrote the song into existence within the hour. Like most of my songs they are based off my real life experiences, specifically a girl I really liked but was not officially dating because she would sometimes get mad at my single, partying lifestyle. As shown in this quote from the song, “I’m so turned up right now, I ain’t tryna answer my phone, cause she’s so mad right now, you can deal with all that on your own.”
Support the artist, buy the song: http://piff.me/9d8ec2d
What you will immediately notice about my music is it’s mass radio appeal…
I specifically design my music to be clean, positive, motivating and/or catchy enough to dance to. I want to talk about all aspects of life being versatile with lyrics, and no matter what the topic is you will feel better after listening. I aim for all audiences, all genres and all ages by being universally appealing in these ways. To me personally, my music is a way to express all that I go through and feel in life so that my audience may better understand who I am and why I do this.
I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota…
home of the late, great, Prince. I mention him because he is the reason we have any music presence at all in Minnesota, and will forever live on in the influence of all our young artists’ music. We have an abundance of Hip Hop and R&B talent in my state that many times go unnoticed. Which is why the most enjoyable activity I love to engage in is reaching out to my states talent and helping produce others to help begin their musical journey. When I’m not working on my own music I help other artists with more than making music; I am an audio engineer at my own studio, I do photography and video work, graphic design for logos, flyers, business cards etc. as well as help song write and manage younger artists to give them direction. I try to use all my resources to help those around me advance so the only excuse they would have for not pursuing their dream is their own lack of commitment.
I would love to have 5 minutes alone with….
In light of all that has happened I would have to say Prince, just because of the fact that he lived such a private life, yet devoted so much to music and philanthropy. Most of which went unnoticed because he felt he didn’t need the extra fame. I would just like to know what he would have liked to see accomplished had he lived a full life.
I am most afraid of…
The only thing I’m afraid of is not being able to spend the time I want to on music because of lack of resources. It’s the worst feeling to me when I couldn’t create because I didn’t have the money, or didn’t have the time because I worked other jobs too much.
Social media & Website:
Website: www.ShawnLyricz.com
Instagram: @ShawnLyricz
Twitter: @ShawnLyricz
Facebook: facebook.com/ShawnLyriczMusic
Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/shawnlyricz
Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/shawn-lyricz/right-now