We were lucky to catch up with Grimstyles recently and have shared our conversation below.
Grimstyles, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
I love being a rapper creating music is all that I ever think about; however, I wish I had started my career a little sooner. I recorded my first song in the Spring of 2010, but I wasn’t comfortable with putting it out for people to hear until two years later in 2012. In hindsight I feel that delaying my first song’s release hindered my development of a social media presence. By the time 2012 came around, the Myspace music era was over and we were transitioning into the YouTube and Soundcloud music era. A lot of rappers who released music during the Myspace era, like G-Eazy or Travis Mills, went on to have long, successful careers in music. I believe releasing music on Myspace played a big role in their successes because they were able to connect with fans and build bonds during the infancy period of social media.
Grimstyles, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Sure thing! My name is Grimstyles I am a rapper, singer and songwriter from Bakersfield, California. I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at birth and I use Rap music as an outlet to deal with life. I was introduced to Rap music by one of the neighborhood kids I grew up with in Bakersfield. My first introduction to Rap and Hip Hop was old school Eminem and Insane Clown Posse. I would sing along to early Eminem songs like My Name Is and The Real Slim Shady and I thought it was so cool how Eminem was able to rhyme words and syllables together. I have been a Hip Hop fan ever since
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I am very blessed to have the platforms on social media that I do, but they did not come easily. The first few tweets I ever sent went unnoticed. The first few photos I ever posted on Instagram all got less than 100 likes, but I kept going. I kept going because I saw how mainstream Rappers were using social media to promote things. They would use social media to promote an upcoming concert or an upcoming album they were releasing. Social media is a amazing tool if used properly. Unfortunately, building a presence on social media takes time – for some people it may take six months, for others it may take six years. My best advice is to enjoy the process: Find a niche your passionate about and post about it – your niche could be cooking or video games, even sewing, doesn’t matter – just post about it. Also, it doesn’t matter when you post on social media all that matters is post something. If you can only post on Mondays, do it. If you can only post on Tuesdays at 3 PM, do it. If you see other people posting in your niche, don’t be afraid to reach out to them: Throw them a Like, or a Retweet or even a Comment, small gestures like that mean more than you think.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is sharing my songs with the world. In sharing my songs with the world, I have built relationships with some wonderful people. I can’t tell you how many times people have come up to me on the street and told me that I inspired them. People have told me the music that I create has inspired them to work harder, better their lives – things like that. It’s an amazing feeling knowing that my music has impacted people in such a way!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.grimstylesmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grimstyles661
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grimstyles661
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/grimstyles661
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/MrGrimstyles
Image Credits
first photo credit goes to Charles Jenkins Visuals The other 3 do not have photo credit