We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful CasinoATX . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with CasinoATX below.

Hi CasinoATX , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I took a break from the music / entertainment industry in 2015, after being in the business straight since at least 1997. For years everything I had I poured into music. So to take such an extended break, from it was foreign to me, to say the least. I initially started my break to get my money back up, and deal with some family and kid issues. While on this break one of my children passed away, and it took all the wind out of my sails. What started as a small break turned into a long term hiatus. One could even say, I had quit the industry. I had fallen into a good job, and worked my way into management, and was making close to 80K a year in a relatively easy job. By 2019 though, I started to feel the itch of creativity coming back to me. It started off simple enough. Going to the studio. Writing with my friends. Before I knew it, we had enough material for an EP and I was faced with the decision to really dive back into music, or just have these songs. Here’s where the risk comes in. Having pursued music as hard as I did for so many years, I knew I wouldn’t be able to half ass it. So if I did it, it was gonna be at full throttle or not at all. I had to reeducate myself on how music was released, promoted, and consumed. The pandemic happening didn’t make this easier, but I stuck to educating myself by taking classes and seminars, and dedicating myself to getting better at my craft, I was able to hop back in the game, and carve out a lane for my myself where I’m making close to 80K a year from music, or music related projects and jobs. It took some years, and a lot of hustling, but it feels good to live life on your own terms.

CasinoATX , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got started in the music business at an early age. 15-16 easily. I’ve done everything from being an On-Air radio personality, to rocking stages in front of 10’s of thousands of people. Along the way I’ve tried my hand at lots of different business ventures while doing music. I am currently co-owner of a recording studio called The Stash Spot, which is the home of RawWitDaDaw production. I am also the co-owner of GassBags distribution, as well as the Regional Manager for Texas Smoke Connection, an emerging chain of smoke shops in the central Texas area. I’ve been able to merge my music personas with my business personas, to create one large lane for myself. I can help provide anything in music from, production, recording, mixing and mastering, song writing, marketing concepts, and brand partnerships. I’m very focused on helping the Austin TX Hip-Hop scene continue to grow, and gain more relevance in the national and world wide scene.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Coming back into the game after a five year break, AND re-emerging during the pandemic made me completely reevaluate how I used social media. In the 5 years being on the sidelines, social media has expanded to a level in music, that was scary at first. While I’m a creative, I’m not the most public person in the world. I always wanted my music to speak for it’s self, and preferred people learn about me from my music. In 2020 this was not something you could still easily do. So I increased my video production, and started making more reels and stories, highlighting aspects of my personality that made me different from other rappers. From there it’s just being consistent. Trying to post everyday. It’s not easy. I’m also not successful everyday, but I’m online at least 5-6 days a week, and engaging my crowd with genuine thoughts, opinions, and funny things.

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

Being able to make a living off of your ideas, and things you create, is the greatest high in the world, next to performing, I’ve ever actually felt. To create a song, video, movie, whatever, and have people enjoy it, to the point you are able to make a living off of it, is the ultimate accreditation to your gift or talent. Most entertainers, rappers in particular, like to say they just do it for themselves, when that’s far from the truth. All creatives want their works to be heard and appreciated, and most of all want to make a living from it. That to me is success, making money from what YOU have created from your mind.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rawwitdadaw.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/casinoatx
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/casinoatx
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/partyvillemayor
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/casinoatx

Image Credits
Lifesaver Photography