Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Aaron Taylor. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Aaron thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
I feel very fortunate to have had parents who never placed barriers in front of my creative pursuits. From a young age, I was drawn to theatre and music. Many parents view those interests as impractical, and I’ve seen friends feel guilty for wanting to pursue similar paths. My mom supported me wholeheartedly; she never dismissed my passions as silly or unimportant. This encouragement allowed me to explore my creativity without fear of judgment.
Her support gave me the freedom to become a better storyteller and songwriter. She often paid for me to see plays, covered my costumes for shows, or financed my music ventures, from buying instruments to funding recording time. Instead of feeling pressured to choose a more traditional path, I was able to dive into my interests and thrive.
This support was especially meaningful after my dad passed away when I was younger. My mom has always been in my corner, cheering me on, and she still is today. Knowing she was genuinely impressed with my work boosted my confidence to create songs and videos that eventually gained traction, allowing me to move to California and connect with others in the creative space. Even now, as I release new songs and videos, she remains one of my biggest supporters.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Aaron Taylor, and I go by Aptsongs. I’m a musician who loves creating songs that inspires people to think and move. I’ve been creating music professionally since 2008. I was always a lover of music, specifically hip hop and started writing songs in college in the early 2000s. I even turned my voice messaging system into a platform for catchy greetings, set to the tunes of popular songs. My voice messages became so popular on campus that people called just to hear them, which inspired me to create my first album, “Check the Resume,” a collection of original songs.
In 2006, the Southern rap scene in Atlanta was taking off so I moved down there with dreams of becoming a beat producer . However, after two years without major progress, I realized I needed to showcase my music. From May 2008 to 2009, I released a music video every week. One of my standout tracks was a reimagining of Lil Wayne’s “Milli,” which I titled “Obama Milli,” inspired by Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. The song became a sensation, garnering over 20 million hits on YouTube and receiving airplay in clubs around the world—from Kuwait to Germany to the United States.
The success of that track, along with my other videos, opened doors and led me to California, where I could truly pursue my dreams in the entertainment and music industries. Since then, I’ve had several songs and videos go viral and have collaborated with artists, musicians, and comedians to help them write songs.
With no personal connections to start, I leveraged YouTube to share my music, and it paid off. Currently, I produce a lot of videos for my channel and recently released an album, “Let Me Reintroduce Myself,” featuring previously unreleased tracks alongside new songs that have also gained popularity.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I believe a key challenge for non-creatives to understand about my journey is that even without a guarantee of financial return, there is immense satisfaction in the creative process itself. Non-creatives often focus on logical outcomes, prioritizing financial gain as a measure of success. However, a creative individual engages in their work not just for the money; the desire to create persists regardless of potential earnings.
I’ve often wanted to record an album, film a video, or write a song, fully aware that it might not sell or yield the results I hoped for. Now, sometimes as a creative person, I have found that you create for the pure joy of It and you’re not thinking at all of any kind of profitable venture. But then. lo and behold, it ends up getting you profits, or somebody saw it and wants to buy it from you. Or you put a video out thinking, “This is only going to be a fun little video for my friends and family to see,” and the next thing you know, it’s got like 20 million views and you have all this money coming in as a result.
For example, years ago, I made a video titled “Vote Obama Style” for the 2012 election. I anticipated it might garner a few thousand views, but it ended up reaching millions, providing me with enough revenue to afford a new apartment, a car, and a vacation. Even if that video hadn’t taken off, I would have still found happiness in creating it.
This concept can be difficult for non-creatives to grasp. Just because something doesn’t generate income doesn’t diminish the desire to create or the fulfillment it brings. I think it’s important for non-creatives to realize that sometimes the act of creation itself is a reward. Embracing this idea can lead to greater happiness.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
It’s very hard to stay out here in California. People come out here and they think they’re going to make it. After two years, if they haven’t made it or things aren’t going their way, they say, “Screw this, I’m going home”, or they go somewhere affordable and where they can get a regular job. My thought was always, “I’m staying in California, no matter what happens. I like this state and this is where I have the best chance of being able to make it and connect to people, so I am staying here.”
Between 2016 and 2017, the apartment I was living in got infested with ants and my landlord wasn’t able to fix the problem. So, I said I’m just going to move. Between my rideshare driving and my creative endeavors, I should be able to find another place. But back then, landlords did not view rideshare earnings as sufficient income to qualify for an apartment. And every place I went to said I didn’t qualify because the money you’re making is not real money. So, for that time period I did not have an apartment. I had the money to stay in Airbnbs and occasionally stay with friends here and there, but I couldn’t qualify for an apartment for like ten months.
During this time, I had the idea of putting together a music album called the “Black Lives Matter Mixtape” which is currently on iTunes. I wanted to talk about the experience of the black man in America, various social justice causes, and the things we go through as a people, the resilience as well as the struggles. I also wanted to talk about the issues from a non-black perspective. I had an idea to make like 15 or 16 songs, but I had no place of residence. The money I was spending on Airbnb’s didn’t allow me to have any extra funds to go to a studio and pay people to mix and master the music. So, I’m like, “How am I going to put this album together?”
For months, I just kind of sat on it and realized, I need to figure this out. I happened to have an aunt that lived in Oceanside and I was able to stay with her for a few days, once or twice a month. Essentially, each time I went to my aunt’s house, I would write songs and do recordings with the music equipment I had. I literally finished the album in three months by mapping out how I was going to record it and completing songs while she was at work. And I did all of this without having an actual residence and having to do everything on the fly. But the album came out amazingly well. I even learned how to mix and master on my own. It was a really good experience to go through because it showed me how determined I was to make music in spite of my current circumstances.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @philbetrippin
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aaronptaylor
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@aptsongs
Image Credits
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