We were lucky to catch up with Adam Yokum recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Adam thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with 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?

Overall, I am very happy with my life as an artist. You are telling me i get to do what i love, work with my friends, and also travel around the world to present what i love to other people? Yeah that is the best job in the world. With that being said, there is a lot of rigamaroo that comes with the job as well. Whereas most regular jobs have a set time of work (9-5), this job has no boundaries of time spent working. You could work for 4 hours a day, or 14 hours a day. One of the things i struggled with & am still working on, is learning when to shut it off. It’s easy to get burned out when there’s no limit to how much time you can spend in a day working. Also this is one of the only jobs in the world in which personal success depends on the opinion of others. NBA player and people don’t like you? Doesn’t matter, just be great at your job and you’ll get paid. Engineer and people don’t like you? Doesn’t matter, just be great at your job and you’ll get paid. Music artist and people don’t like you? You are out of a career. I don’t have any problem with this, but it does create this weird atmosphere in the industry where everyone is kinda fake and handshaking just hoping everyone likes them. So yeah, I am extremely happy as an artist and I would never want to be anything else, but it does come with headaches.

The last time I was considering having a regular job was in 2019. And this was a very pivotal moment in my life. I was a sophomore in college, and I was majoring in Geology. I was passing all my classes fine, and was planning to go on to be a geologist. But of course I didn’t love it. My heart wasn’t there, I was just doing it because I am book smart and I could make good money. So I had to really look myself in the mirror and ask what it was that I truly desired. The idea of going on through life and never knowing how all this would turn out if I didn’t pursue it, just didn’t sit right with me. So I dropped all of that and totally geared my life toward music. I let go of all other options. I did consider dropping out, but I went on to graduate with a degree in Music Industry, which i’m grateful for because in turn, my mind is more business oriented toward music than it used to be. I have a metaphor that helps me think about this story. I feel like my whole life I was “riding in the plane” of music. I was there, looking out the windows, admiring the view. But it wasn’t until I decided to gear my entire life toward music that I took the “leap of faith” out of the plane. And I still feel like i’m in the free fall stage. Feeling the air, being in the action of it all. The next step is when the parachute deploys, symbolizing “making it.” That moment where you can look back and say “Damn, what a wild ride. Im so happy I jumped.” So I guess my message to anyone that knows this is what they want to do but they’re battling fully accepting it, or fully immersing themselves in it.. Just jump. Take the leap of faith. And enjoy the ride until your parachute deploys.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Im from West Virginia. I grew up basically in the middle of nowhere. There’s nothing but mountain chains of wilderness around my house for miles on end. I got into music at a very young age. I have pictures of myself in diapers with a guitar and a mic in my hand. My dad and his friends would get together and play bluegrass every weekend, and I learned a lot from that. My older brother is also a classically trained guitar player, and he has always been a huge inspiration. As I grew up and my own music taste changed, I naturally became more interested in making Hip-Hop and Pop music. In my early high school years, my friends and I would always freestyle on the bus rides home. It was exciting because everyone would spend all day in school writing raps and lyrics to put them on display on the bus ride. It was a friendly competition of sorts. Back then I had a spark where I realized “damn I might actually be able to do this.” I worked as a lifeguard at the local YMCA, saved up enough money to buy my first couple pieces of studio equipment, and the rest is history.

I always had a DIY mindset when it came to recording. Nobody else can hear my ideas in my head, so nobody will ever be better than me at bringing my ideas to life. I knew i had to own the means of my operation. So I went on to spend years learning how to improve upon my home studio. I was always aware when I was making low quality music as far as the production goes. My curiosity lead me to finding better studio equipment, learning how to mix my own songs, and slowly getting better at the production side of music.
In turn, recording and engineering is one of the services I offer as a sort of side hustle. Artists in my area come to my home studio to record, and artists from other areas send me their stems to get mixed and mastered. Running my home studio is how I was able to have money through college without getting a day job. As I grow and become more successful as an artist, I would say i’ll close up shop at the home studio.

Recently, I founded my own independent label, First Man Records. In its current state, it is a small collective of friends and creatives that are still trying to make ends meet, and that are willing to hustle to create a better situation for themselves. We have plans to grow the business, bringing in and supporting more artists when the time is right. Overall our message is clear; Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and thinkers. But most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don’t see it in yourself.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. This is by far one of the most important books I have ever read. It changed my life. When I was in 7th grade, our teacher took us for a walk up to the school library. For some reason, in a room full of thousands of books, that is the book I immediately grabbed off the shelf. Since then I have read it over and over again. The book is essentially about the power of manifestation, and your ability to will things into reality. I was supposed to return the book 2 weeks after I checked it out. I never gave it back. I have the same book sitting beside me right now as I write this response.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Getting my family out of debt and leading them to financial freedom. Honestly. My mom has 5 kids, and somehow managed to keep us all fed and raise us. She never really had a career or some crazy paying job. She was a mother. Somehow she always figured it out though. She is the real hustler. Same with my father. They both gave their lives to make ours worth living. My sister also has kids, and i want to make sure they can go to college if they desire to. So yeah, thats what drives me. Changing my family’s lives in a real way.

Contact Info:

• Website: adamyokum.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamyokum/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdamYokumOfficial
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamyokum
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvJmR1vPIMJUeu3bARKpq1w

Image Credits
Mike Whalen Ryusa Komatsu Tanna Hiser