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

Baby, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I have always loved music. I started learning piano while I was young, around the age of 8 years old. I had a strict teacher and learned scales and music theory, and eventually took on more challenging pieces that I would perform at recitals. Once I knew the basics of scales, I quickly began to make my own melodies on the piano. Many times, while I was supposed to be practicing specific songs given to me by a teacher, I would instead use my time on the piano to create my own songs. For me, that was the fun part. Creating something out of thin air. When I got a guitar for christmas one year, I decided to quit piano and try guitar lessons instead. I was probably around 11 when this happened. I learned the basics of the guitar, but did not stick with lessons for more than a couple years and instead taught myself how to play the dark emo songs that I enjoyed listening to in my free time. I kept up with both the guitar and piano throughout my teenage life, but did not take it that seriously. Fast forward to senior year of high school. I was driving around looking for trouble with my best friend Camilo, who I am still friends with today. He asked me directly what I wanted to do with my life, and, without thinking much, I told him I wanted to produce music. He inspired me to chase that goal like a demon, and that’s exactly what I did. That night, when I got home I illegally downloaded logic pro (I have since bought the official version). I instantly fell in love with producing music, and eventually I would start writing and recording my own songs on beats that I produced. I have not stopped creating since.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

The music I make is a combination of everything I have ever listened to, everything that has inspired me, and everything that I have been through in my life. I guess thats also the very thing that sets my music apart. That combination of things is personal to me and only me, and I think that’s what makes creating art so beautiful. It’s almost like a celebration of your experiences and inspirations. No one will ever go through the exact same things as you, or have the same perspective on those things, so when you sit down to write a song, something specific to you will come out. Almost like every experience you’ve had leading up to that moment is in view for whatever you’re about to create. Finding my sound as an artist has been quite the journey. I think as you get better at the musical aspects of making music, it just becomes easier and easier for you to express yourself. I’m very proud of my development, but the beautiful thing is, that I will never be done evolving as a person and an artist. I make all kinds of music which makes it hard to describe the genre of it. People ask me all the time what kind of music it is, and I always struggle answering it. If you do choose to listen to it expect something honest and melodic. I don’t hide the ugly parts about myself or the things I’ve been through.
When my cousin Scott moved to Columbus (his artist name is “Scxttline”) a few years ago, that’s when I started making the most music I ever have in my life. Scott is a talented guitarist, vocalist, and producer. We make multiple projects a week and It’s incredibly fun and easy to work with them. I think working with him has helped grow me as an artist just based on how much we make. When you make songs everyday, it’s a lot easier for your brain to find it’s way back. We recently formed a duo together called “Cemetery Party”, and we’re beyond excited to share our music with the world. We both make music independently, too.
Growing up I listened to Green Day, Three Days Grace, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, and many other bands in that genre of music. But to be honest, I like and have always like a wide variety of music, and it would be impossible to list everybody. The main thing I love about music is melodies, so if a song has an addicting melody in it, I’m going to most likely enjoy it and play it until I get sick of it. I’m always looking for new music to listen to. A few years ago I discovered Elliot Smiths music and I completely fell in love with it. He was such an amazing person with a great story and it pains me that he left this world so soon. I think he was the best song writer of all time and I definitely get a lot of inspiration from him, specifically when I’m writing.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of creating is listening back to what you just made with your fellow musicians. Kind of like, wow, we just did that. I always say that if you like what you’ve made, that’s more than enough. It sounds corny but it’s true, and it’s a good way to keep going when you haven’t reached mainstream success. Beyond that, when someone reaches out to me and says they like a song, it makes me incredibly happy. It’s a big deal. I put my heart and soul into my music and I really appreciate people taking time out of their day to give it a shot.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I don’t really think so. I kind of think of everybody as a creative. Whether they are aware of it or not. Most people think of a creative as someone who paints or makes music or something, but I think everyone is creating all the time. Many times when someone says something to me like “oh I’m not creative so I cant really do x” it comes from someone I already viewed is quite creative. Theres all sorts of ways to create, the words you choose, the jokes you make, the work you do. I guess the difference in the arts is you sit down to specifically be creative, but I don’t think I’m especially different from anyone because I make music with my time. I will say, though, I have had quite the journey as an artist, and something specifically that I think would be hard for someone not in the arts to understand, is how hard it is to judge your own work. When I finish a song it’s pretty hard to tell how it might sound to someone else and how they might interpret the lyrics. I also think that people don’t understand that I am not my music. I could be making a song from a number of perspectives, but when i release something to the world it seems that the expectation is for everything to be personal to me. A lot of it is, but not all of it. I wish people would give more leeway to artists in that regard.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/babyillinois/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/babyillinois

Image Credits
Cara Hughes, Kerem Gençer, Scott Sparling