We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dylan Walker. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dylan below.

Hi Dylan, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I am incredibly happy as an artist/creative. I’ve worked countless retail/food jobs and it’s quite frankly always been a miserable experience. Every minute I’d work these jobs, in my head I’d be thinking about what I really wanted to do, and what I knew I’d achieve no matter what. As an example, I’d whisper freestyle raps to myself as a dishwasher, and co-workers looked at me like I was crazy. At one point, I’ve had days where I worked 2 jobs just to come home and do music and barely be getting any rest. I’ve sacrificed a lot because there’s no greater feeling to me than being on stage and performing, or expressing myself as a rapper and musician.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Dylan Walker, and I was born in Los Angeles and raised in LA County, California (the SFV). I’m from a Jewish family and my mother was always into fashion and interior design and my father is a writer. Their two energies sort of combined into me becoming a musical force.

I’ve gotten this far into the industry from a number of factors: from getting out of my comfort zone and doing a whole lot of networking with other creatives loosely related to my field, or through word-of-mouth on Tiktok. Thanks to my daily livestreams on that app where I freestyle viewers’ comments, I’ve massed over 80,000 followers who then check out and listen to my music. As a brand,

I do a lot of freelance work where I feature/record a song for a client, or do side production or engineer work for another artist. I’m really a one-man army with this music thing: I’m always open to collaboration but I can and have done a ton of work all by myself.

What I’m most proud of is the fanbase and community that I’ve built through Tiktok: Dylan Gang. It’s a movement dedicated to acceptance and love for each other, while also tied to the fun of my music as the soundtrack. I have a mascot (a green/purple dog named Walker) who I show throughout my branding, and it’s another element that my fanbase can recognize and latch on to.

I think what sets me apart is my appearance, as well as my musical style. I come across as racially ambiguous to most people who look at me, so it’s really tough to box me in subconsciously. I also don’t have a ton of tattooed jewelry: I’m often seen with some sort of anime-inspired streetwear. In terms of music: I often have a lot of fun with playing with my voice and using more childish, nasally tones and then contrasting it with deep rasp in other parts of the verse. I love being dynamic and dancing all over the beat! If it sets me apart and sounds different, then that’s what excites me the most.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My story of inspiration is how I started out. I don’t come from a musical family in the least. I never connected to music until I was 14, hearing Hip-Hop for the first time. I was just a nerdy, socially awkward teenager with no passion until I discovered Hip-Hop for the first time and immediately knew that I’d found my passion (rapping). However, I had negative rap skills… I couldn’t nod my head on time to a beat, I didn’t understand how to have an exciting delivery when I rapped; nothing. It took years and years of practice before I was even tolerable to listen to, and I’d heard that I was “simply “not meant for this” over a thousand times before people started encouraging me for real. Shout out to my rap mentors like my old boxing coach Dion Day, rapper/producer and life mentor Brett Bouldin, and rap teacher Jamal Coleman, because they’re a handful of people who looked at me and saw potential, and gave me pointers instead of shrugging me off or laughing at my attempt. Now people consistently talk to me about how good I am, but every single step of the way felt like climbing up a huge mountain until recently.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Interact with us! Tell us about how our art makes you feel. Share what we create: either as a story post or show a friend of yours. Art is meant to be shared and experienced by as many people as possible: how each individual reacts will vary, but the experience itself eaches both sides more about themselves and their tastes. A thriving ecosystem among artists, to me, looks like a world where a consumer and artist feed off of each others’ energies in a healthy way. But we need you to give us a chance, first!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/dylanwalkermusic
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dylanwalkermsc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealdylanwalker
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/therealdylanwalker
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/dylanwalkermsc
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk-zViOBG6xagEuw1ylWbhQ

Image Credits
Eric Brown (ChillinVisions) Matthew Brown Lawrence Johnson (Black Galaxy Productions) Jalen Parker