We were lucky to catch up with Dez Nado recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Dez thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?
Absolutely, well I don’t know if this is the very first dollar I made off of my work, but I know it’s one of the first for sure: around middle school, I remember downloading music for free was what everybody with internet and a computer was doing, which around that time was not everyone (like it is now). Later on, my dad would give me a few dollars every day to buy lunch, the lunch lady was cool so she started letting me slide and not pay for my lunch, so that few dollars everyday I ended up keeping for myself and paying for things like CDs, new CD players, hot wings and pizza if I ever wanted more food before I got home from school, even some new outfits if I saved up enough. Back then, we burned CDs with new music when it came out, there was no listening to mp3s on cell phones or mp3 players. So, me just being a go-getter, I found a way to make a little extra change by making custom mix CDs and what I’d do to promote my own music was slide one of my own songs in the middle of the playlist. Feedback was generally positive, I could tell they liked the mixes because they kept coming back even when there were others at school who could make the mix CDs, I found ways to make my product unique by including personal shout outs on the mix CDs and other similar things. I used that as an intro to myself as an artist and built up a little buzz for my own solo project, which was just me rapping over some of my own beats I made on my Casio keyboard. The beats weren’t great at all, but I think the relationships I built and the fact other students wanted to keep me as a plug for their mix CDs helped me make a pretty good amount of money. How to keep customers and deliver consistent product, along with the importance of working your market even when there’s competition. Honestly, that’s one of the best things I learned while in school, and it wasn’t taught in any of my classes.
Dez, 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?
For sure, I’m a creative at heart. That’s the simplest way to answer who I am. What I do? That’s a longer answer. I’m currently working on my fifth indie studio album “LPYH: Twerk Tape”, the sixth season of my TV series “My Life & Grind”, the third edition of my network’s annual event “Duval Trap Gala: Sagittarius Bash 2022” to be held Saturday December 10th in Jacksonville, FL, and I’ve been writing a book behind the scenes to be released in the next couple of years. By definition, I’m an artist, songwriter, producer of music and video content, and a businessman, but I learned the business of being an artist, I was simply a creative who loved nothing more than creating–it wasn’t until elementary school that I learned art wasn’t just drawing and coloring. I learned the power of a new instrument: words. I was hooked!
One thing led to another and I got into poetry and music, specifically rap, which blended music and words in a way that no other genre did or could. Influenced by my brother and neighbors whom I called my cousins, I learned the art of lyricism. Later, I learned the difference between hip hop and commercial rap, and the power and impact of both. I dreamed one day I’d be able to move crowds and influence people with my art and I’m living that reality every day, and I’m super grateful for that.
I learned the business of music more out of preferential necessity–I could’ve easily locked in with a manager or found someone to handle business for me while I focus on making the music, but I’m very hands-on with my art and my brand, and I honestly haven’t found anyone to this day who I feel could better serve my business interests than myself for myself, so until the day I find that person, I will gladly remain “self-managed”. So, as with most of my crafts, I learned by jumping right in and doing it myself. I learned why it’s important to sign contracts whenever you have an agreement especially involving money, why deposits are crucial and how requesting deposit before performances and appearances typically separates those who are serious about booking you and those who are not, to never make business decisions based on feelings because feelings are usually temporary while decisions can have life-long effects, and that people in the industry treat you exactly how they feel about you as an artist. These, and more things, are lessons best learned via experience, not in textbooks or podcasts. And today, I’m most proud of the collective platform that I’ve built– the fact that I’ve maintained business relevance at least regionally for over a decade, the fact I’ve been blessed to be able to provide a platform on which several other creatives could launch and refine their crafts and careers, and the fact that what me and my team have been able to achieve still exists and is still serving as a source of inspiration for many whom I’ll never meet I think means to most.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Growing up, I was always told to be “realistic” about my ambitions and goals. I don’t think that was bad advice, it was meant to be protective. You don’t want to fill someone’s head up like they can do this and that and have them fall short, then get down about themselves. But, for me, it was something that I think held me back a little. Being a creative, you have to have a big imagination. You have to be able to dream big in order to do big things, and being realistic meant that I should dim my imagination–but what if I was dimming something that could change the world? I’m a firm believer of “if you don’t try to do something, you’ll never know if it was possible”, so I had to unlearn that in order to think outside of the box and be able to create platforms and content that never existed prior to what we did. Now, I don’t think that advice is completely useless–when it comes to business, yes, it’s absolutely reasonable to be realistic about expectations and your process. But, when it comes to art, creative content, and even ideas related to social issues or technology or giving back to the community, sometimes the best work comes from being completely unrealistic. At one point thinking every single Black person will have the right to vote was unrealistic, or thinking that nearly everybody would have the internet and answers to almost any question at their fingertips was unrealistic, or thinking that one person would run the 100m dash in less than 9.75 seconds and win gold medals in 3 straight Olympic Games in a span of 12 years was, or that an AI non-human rapper would get signed to a record deal was unrealistic. It’s all unrealistic until it happens.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Just seeing people have sincere reactions to something you created. I’ve been told things like one of my songs helped someone get through their day at work, and that something I said in my TV series really hit home with someone who was inspired. Those moments definitely move you, it means a lot to know that what you’re doing has value to someone other than yourself. It’s validation of purpose, to me. To think, they may have never had that reaction, felt that feeling, had that moment, if I had not created what I created.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.VIPSquadNation.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/deznado
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/dezndo www.facebook.com/newjaxcitylive www.facebook.com/lifegrindduval
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/deznado
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/deznado www.youtube.com/lifegrindduval https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC45nxzzJT9dsKPzATawYWQQ
- Other: Recent article about my latest single “Flawda Ish” (video link inside) being supported by VH1’s (Love & Hip Hop: Miami) Trina https://allhiphop.com/music/the-baddest-chick-trina-is-the-latest-to-add-dez-nados-summertime-anthem-flawda-ish-to-rotation/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/7IeTReW9HcBtdo4FJYjjHl https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dez-nado/218427801
Image Credits
Caption Photography Sloan Photography Marque Le Foto Candice Alvita Diamond Eyez Photography