Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Taylor Marie Contarino. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Taylor Marie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I genuinely feel so blessed that I am a music industry creative and also a music industry professional with experience on the business side. I love that I can make art, while still learning and understanding the business side of the music business. I am so fortunate to be in the position that I am: a student of the game, a creative, a learner, and someone who is also committed to learning more about the business side of music, too, so that I can better understand it for myself and also for the artists that I love and want to advocate for.

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

The reason that I decided to pursue music when I was 17-18 was largely because of the pandemic, and how lost and astray I felt without in-person schooling. I was feeling depressed, lonely, and overwhelmed by the idea of the future, and especially, the uncertainty of the future. With my newfound free time, I decided to begin doing historical research into the careers and trajectory paths of some of my favorite artists: Tupac and Biggie. Around this time, I also started to dive deeper into my passion for social justice and public policy, all the while waiting for college acceptance/rejection letters to come in the mail.

Fast forward, upon getting to college (Syracuse, NY), the pandemic still afforded many of us a level of solitude and even loneliness, which ended up pushing me to start a small music blog, “Heartfelt Hip Hop,” as a means of searching for community, and like-minded people to converse with about all things music. I remember it exactly: I was feeling particularly depressed one day, so I got a flight from Syracuse to Philadelphia, and while waiting in the airport, I started an Instagram Profile- “Heartfelt Hip Hop,” and I finally felt some solace and peace – finally, I had something to look forward to, something to invest my energy and passion into.

My blog ended up triggering my passion for music even further, and helped me discover something I hadn’t known about music – music had it’s own industry – a whole business. My young self hadn’t realized there was a system behind the music – Naively, I had thought the music would just magically appear on it’s own.

After starting my blog, my world opened up even further. People began finding my blog, seeing my passion, and would invite me to the studio, to music-related events, seminars, workshops, and more. my life had changed. Fast forward to now, I am a musician myself, as well as an A&R Scout, a Marketing Professional, Brand Partnerships Coordinator, Curator, Event Coordinator, Social Media Manager, and so much more than I ever could have thought possible for me. I am so grateful.

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

I think that society could help artists by believing in them, supporting them, and investing in their visions. There are so many beautiful, fantastic, wonderful ideas in the world. What artists need, though, more than ever, is long-term investment and belief in them to see them through so that they can execute their visions and bring them to life. Creativity needs support, exposure, and investment.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Many don’t know this about me but USC Annenberg, where I am pursuing my B.A. and M.A. degrees, actually rejected me twice before I got in. I questioned myself and my identity so many times during the process of continually applying, and I never thought I would get accepted. The day I finally got accepted, I screamed and cried happy tears, so loud everyone outside could hear me.

I don’t know what it was – I loved where I grew up right outside of Philly in South Jersey, but I had always had this underlying ambition that I belonged in LA, and that USC was where I was meant to be. I truly believed God would help me get where I was meant to go.

Fast forward several years, and now, at 22, I am here and am quite literally building the life and career of my dreams.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sites.google.com/usc.edu/lyricsbytay/my-music
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taylorcontarino/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-marie-contarino-bab5a41b4/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/taylorcontarino?lang=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZjZlN4scpyxxYkQawmwXVQ
• Other: https://sites.google.com/view/taylorcontarinolyrics/taylor-contarino-lyrics

Image Credits
Soley Liati, Karly Ramnani