Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to D Shawn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi D , thanks for joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
So I actually built my business and LLC with Urban Music Academy when the pandemic hit in 2020. I didn’t really know what I was gonna use it for at that present moment because I was really out focusing on my career and elevating musically the best way that I could. So for years, I was really focused on performing, Studio collaborations, and I’m still focused on those things now; but my brand is elevated where I have about 40+ clients that need music lessons and all instruments. It started out with just me teaching clients Vocals and piano lessons, and the more clients that I received the more that I realize that I would not be able to teach them all by myself. So I contacted multiple music instructors that I knew and had a personal relationship with to see if they wanted to be a part of my company. They all agreed and we just continue to elevate from there!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
So I’ve been singing since I was four years old. I went to college to study music and obtained a degree in Vocal performance with a minor and Jazz studies from North Carolina Central university in 2016. Upon graduating, I signed my first deal with Sony music. I stayed in that deal with them for about two years, and I evolved into getting back into the independent route when I collaborated and found my manager. Upon building with him, I was blessed to be able to go on the road and send background Vocals for the legend, Mr. Anthony Hamilton, as well as getting 10 of my songs placed on movies and TV shows that are on BET lifetime and A&E. I have also been blessed to open up and collaborate with artist such as Tank, Musiq Soulchild, Ginuwine , Keri Hilson , Tweet, Ty Dolla Sign, Yo Gotti and more. I also have my own company called Urban Music Academy, with a ton of clients and instructors. We teach everything music: piano, vocals, drums, guitar sound engineering, production, songwriting, music, industry, and more.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
My business partner, Avery Gunn and I have been friends since middle school. We practically grew up together and blood wouldn’t make us any closer. A lot of of the things that I’ve learned musically in my career I learned from collaborating in building with him. It started with him being my producer and me just singing, not knowing anything about the production wave, to me learning from experience of the work that he put in with me and being able to produce on my own. We both went to college for Musiq and we both have been able to do a lot of things in the music industry so it just made sense for us to build together some type of way with giving back. We decided that building a company like UMA would be the best way for us to be a resource to everyone that wanted to learn about music and grow and develop their craft.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Consistency is always the key; I tried my best to be consistent with my posting methods as as well as as content. Realizing that it wasn’t how I started, but it was always about how I finish, I started out with just building simple content for myself. That evolved into me being able to collaborate and work with World. We’re now producers, engineers, and content creators. The best advice that I would give someone that’s just starting off with social media is to just start take the first step. You won’t have everything that you need at the beginning you won’t know everything that you need to know at the beginning, but through your journey through your experience through your determination and your hard work, you’ll be able to build a brand that you are proud of. Continue to be a student throughout the process don’t be afraid to ask questions from people that actually have the answers that you may need. And don’t depend or rely on family and friends to be your biggest Advocator majority of the time your biggest fans and supporters will come from people. They don’t even know you so continue to go around a journey, even if that means you’re walking on that journey alone because your goal is to continue to elevate.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://urbanmusicacademync.square.site/
- Instagram: @idshawnmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/17iEVraWQh/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darius-middleton-001b501b8
- Twitter: https://x.com/idshawnmusic?s=21&t=J7SS59HKxXE8ewjHLAR2FA
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@dshawnmusic?si=JychW52kDrB5KYjJ
- Other: https://Www.dshawnmusic.net
