We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful CJ Strahan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with CJ below.
CJ, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
I have to say that all my projects are very meaningful to me. They all represent a thought, experience or a moment in time that I felt deserved being captured and shared with the world. They’re pieces of myself and I hold them very dearly. If I had to pick one it would probably be my most recent project “Knocked Me Out”. It’s dedicated to my grandfather Major Gene Willie Strahan’s passing in the summer of 2020. I felt like people would be able to relate to how knocked out I felt by the global pandemic and the situation I found myself in. So it was a special honor and privilege for me to be able to share my grandfathers story with the world. He was a very honorable man who faced incredible challenges and left a legacy worth being remembered. I tried to put everything I felt into the song and music video. The song was produced and co-written by Rico Belafonte and his team, who are based out of Vienna Austria. So after coming up with the idea for the visuals in collaboration with my creative director Mat Schaudig the vision for the project was clear. We would record the song in Vienna and shoot the video in my hometown (Mannheim, Germany). We pulled the trigger and planned the trip to Vienna. That’s where Knocked Me Out was recorded. After spending a week in Vienna we travelled to Mannheim and shot my scenes for the music video in the only available night we had. I still can’t believe we managed to pull everything off considering some of the things we had to deal with. Not only was Mat’s entire $13,000 camera equipment stolen in Vienna, we shot the music video without any help – just the two of us. A rainy night in the woods, on a muddy hill in the middle of November in Germany. I will never forget carrying all of the borrowed equipment and lights up there with him. All of these little memories make the video shoots and the creation process of my songs so meaningful to me. There’s only one thing that intensifies that feeling of meaningfulness. And that is the feedback of the fans! Hearing about how your song has helped someone through a rough time or helped another get their life together is a truly magical and beautiful experience. Knowing my stories continue to touch people and make them feel, anything at all, means the world to me.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is CJ Strahan and I was born to a Puerto Rican/German mother and a Black American father in Mannheim, Germany. I grew up overseas and found my passion for music after performing on stage for the first time at the age of 9. I realized in that moment that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. The following year I was chosen to be part of a program for young talented singers supported by the famous Pop Academy Mannheim. Part of this program was to perform at different events all over the city and state. This confirmed my love for music, performing and expressing myself on stage. At the age of 12, I started writing and recording my own music, which led to my radio debut, just a year later. These experiences really shaped the way I think and fueled my self belief. In my teenage years, I was able to collect a good amount of experience performing throughout different parts of the country. At 16 I released my first music video and started working on my first project. This was when I started understanding how much more goes into music than just singing and writing. The whole business component was a little overwhelming for me and I grew frustrated not being able to finance my projects or being able to connect with people I felt could help me pursue music on a quality level. I still enjoyed performing and working on my music but it seemed like with the resources available to me in Mannheim at the time, it would be really challenging for me to take my music to the next level. So at the age of 19, I started my own business and put music aside, so I could focus on making money and building a network that would allow me to see my dreams through.
In the following years, I was fortunate enough to travel the world and make a career in direct sales. I attended dozens of conventions and was able to become a public speaker, sharing my story with thousands of people.
I loved being able to inspire men and women from all different walks of life to follow their dreams and pursue their passions.
During this time I only performed occasionally and didn’t work on my music much, until I found myself to be ready in late 2018. I had the time and money to finance my projects, a good international network and most importantly the drive to pick back up where I had left off. I connected with many people over the course of the last few years and was able to assemble a great team that believed in me just as much as I believed in them.
In January 2019 I released my first official single and music video ‘ Light It Up’ and have followed up with 10 more releases since, accumulating over 660k streams across platforms. We shot 8 music videos in 4 different countries collecting over 120k views. I learned quickly how passionate I am about cinematography and enhancing the message of the song with the perfect visuals.
In January 2020 I made the decision to move from my hometown Mannheim to LA with my creative director Mat Schaudig. Just 3 months into us being here the pandemic happened and got in the way of our plans. He had to leave the country and go back to Germany.
I had to figure out how to keep it moving because the show must go on.
In June 2020 I started my first LLC, working remotely as a mindset coach for a company involved in direct sales from Austria, to adjust to the financial challenges of not only the pandemic but the cost of living in LA.
I have since been able to network and meet many of the people I’ve been dreaming about working with. Living in the city of dreams has truly been a beautiful experience for me and I’ve been enjoying every step of the way. I’ve made great friends and built long lasting relationships. I had the chance to work with some really dope people who I’ve learned much from. I took the time to write a lot and really try to figure out my sound and where I want to take it musically. I signed my first Artist Management Contract with Christina Havis, formerly ‘Next Level Entertainment Global’. all these experiences shaped me.
Performing in LA has been amazing. I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the stage with artists like Kurupt, or CJ (Whoopty) at Kushstock Festival. I’ve performed at different venues all over the city and opened up for Lyfe Jennings at the Academy LA recently. I’m very excited about what the future holds and invite everyone to be a part of this journey. After not releasing any new music in almost 1.5 years I’m ready to drop again and show the world what I’ve been working on.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For me there are two things that are equally important. Freedom and People. Having the freedom to create and basically bringing to life whatever I can imagine is indescribably rewarding. Same goes for people. Performing on stage and receiving the love and energy. Knowing that people are getting the message. Feeling how you’re in control of the crowd and knowing you are taking them to another place, even if it’s just for a second – it hits different
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My why. What keeps me pushing when I feel like I can’t go no more. The reason I get up in the morning even though I’m still tired. The reason I do what I do. I believe none of us live forever, but we’re here to leave something that will…
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cjstrahan.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cjstrahan/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cjstrahan68
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5QW4s9ntqrQ2SVK4va6gSA
- Other: linktr.ee/cjstrahan
Image Credits
Mat Schaudig Kevin Wilson