This is my 75th blog entry so I thought I’d take the time to appreciate where I’m at and speak about what it means to be a successful artist and how people seem to actually perceive the term.. in my experience anyway.
Big love to everyone reading my blogs and supporting my journey. I wrote my 1st blog at the end of March 2020. It’s a positive feeling to look back and know that I have kept up a regular consistency releasing these. If you want a blog feature, just hit me up!
Anyway, let’s talk about the perception of a being a successful artist and what that term means to an underground rapper like me.
So what does a successful artist look like to me?
A successful artist would have a fanbase, be selling records, selling merch, selling tickets to their shows/events, basically I think it would boil down to being able to support oneself monetarily through their craft. That is my definition of success.
I was speaking to a client recently about the journey and how I had quit my corporate job that I hated to pursue the music. Turns out she was in a corporate job she hated too. After giving her a handful of Prim stickers I said:
If the rap career never takes off, I can take up gardening fulltime and make some good coin haha.
She goes:
Why not do both? You’re the only person I know that is pursuing your dream fulltime. That’s awesome. You love what you’re doing and you’re successful.
That floored me a bit as I have never considered myself a successful artist. I guess it’s challenging for me to actually pause and look at where I am at. Maybe the success is in the pursuit right?
It seems there are many definitions of success and what that means to people. Perhaps success is subjective? I’m not so sure. Maybe it’s easier to see what’s unsuccessful?
I know I am always inspired by people who take risks and pursue their passions. The power is in the story for me, not necessarily the outcome. By my very own definition of being a successful artist, I am on my way.
It’s hard for me to tell if I have true fans you know. I wonder if they are really into my music or if they are just supporting me because they like me. I mean, I am a good guy after all. Joking not joking.
I can get bogged down with the kind of negative self-talk that helps no one. The views – or lacks of views – monthly listeners in comparison to others.. all these numbers that I use to measure my success. I wonder, if I had a million followers, would I feel successful?
So many questions. Like my boy Gordon says, it’s all about the song. It all comes back to the song. The rest is white noise.
I can easily overthink this shit. I know I am at my best when I am writing, performing and pushing myself to try new things. That is always where the growth is for me.. and maybe that’s what success feels like.
As always, thanks for rocking with ya boi Prim!