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

Anthony, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I started learning via YouTube and books, which in Nigeria, are the closest things to formal education I could get. Practicing and learning from other artists really helped as well. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t have skipped so much of the basics, I’d have been more patient with the process. Fundamentals are the most essential, everything is built off of them and on them, without them, the house can’t stand. Obstacles were really myself and how far I was willing to go to push myself and learn new things.

Anthony, 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?

I started from doing music covers way back. It was trendy and popular at the time and also fun being able to work with talented musicians, some who I’d looked up to for a while. After a while, though, I realised that industry wasn’t for me. I didn’t have much to say. creatively and so I left. I’m proud of that decision to follow my own path and be more original in terms of how I distributed and marketed my work. It was crazy, really. I made more money and found more meaning and growth in working on things that I actually liked than doing things that were popular. It was crazy, and also freeing.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

NFTs are the closest we’ve gotten to having proper digital distribution and an ecosystem for digital art. I think they’ve really broken the boundary of what can be done for artists who don’t live in the traditional centres of society.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Larry Smith has this Ted Talk on Why You Will Fail to have a Great Career and I watch that every few months to remind me of my perspective. Good work, good jobs, good opportunities, are okay but great work, great jobs and great opportunities have always been what I’ve been after. Taking risks, taking chances, most especially on myself has been the centrepiece of my work for the past almost decade. It’s something that I keep in mind to push me for when I settle on mediocre and even good work. The goal is great. Nothing less.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.anthonyazekwoh.com
• Instagram: @anthonyazekwoh
• Facebook: @anthonyazekwoh
• Twitter: @anthonyazekwoh
• Youtube: @anthonyazekwoh