We recently connected with Andre Rashford and have shared our conversation below.

Andre, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I always had an idea that I might be a full-time creative because the standard pathways being taught in school never fully appealed to me. I tried to be a computer engineer, I was fully committed too. But, it didn’t pan out because my heart wasn’t there once I started taking classes that were relative to it. Everything about being a creative just resonated with me more naturally even when I tried to escape it. That’s when I realized that I was going to dedicate the rest of my life to being a creative, when I stopped trying to escape my own destiny.

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?

I’m a man of many hats that will continue to grow so people may know me for a number of reasons. Growing up, I played instruments like flute, trumpet, piano, and drums. I’ve more recently picked up guitar as well, but trumpet and piano are my most proficient instruments. I got into the industry by literally being myself. Like.. this life chose me. I was going place to place, program to program, job to job in an effort to fulfill myself not realizing that I was running from it all along. I’m an artist, and I love seeing others like me who live this same truth prevail. Which is why I created the brand named “We Gotta Make It.”

I originally came up with this brand as a way to put together events for myself since no one was really booking me as an independent artist yet so I decided to book myself not realizing just how many people felt the same way as me. So while I continued developing my craft as a musician, I also built my brand. I never started to completely get it until I took a business class under one of the founders of Apple at Georgia Tech. It was an entrepreneurship program that I never realized would go hand in hand with what I was doing much less change my life. That was when I realized that I am a creative entrepreneur. Someone who makes something out of nothing and monetizes it for people to enjoy.

Now, I am in a position where I have grown so much as an artist, creator, and business person that I am comfortable enough to show and share both my craft and my brand to the world.

My biggest struggle has always been trying to find a medium between creating value and monetizing my brand because I want to be able to share these experiences with the world but at the end of the day I have a family to feed and I wish to help others who were as lost as I was. The only way I can do that is with the support of the people.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The reason why I created my brand was because it was hard for me as a creative to find a thriving creative ecosystem that would allow me to be free. If we as a society put more value in the importance of the arts then I believe the ecosystem would thrive more. Being a creative is often looked down upon because it is not a stem (science, technology, engineering, math) pathway. If we as a society created more STABLE jobs (NOT INTERNSHIPS) for people who want a creative path then it would be more of a flourishing ecosystem. Not everyone was born to be a lawyer or a doctor and that’s okay. Some people were meant to be superstars.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I knew how important relationships in the industry were and will always be. There are so many people I’ve lost as a friend due to the way the industry is structured and my ignorance of how it affects the many relationships you encounter on this journey. If I had someone to guide me through all of this, I wouldn’t have had to fail so many times and I wouldn’t have lost the trust in so many people who I deemed important in my life. The RIGHT people can serve to be the most important resource in this industry and if you can discern well enough to know when you need them around and when you don’t without burning bridges you’ll find success a lot faster.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Instagram.com/rashfordatl
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eludedprophecy?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Twitter: twitter.com/rashfordatl
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/RASHFORDworld
• Other: https://on.soundcloud.com/LggCMNeQV7VzQDiW7 My soundcloud

Image Credits
unannounced bashircotterell