We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dyondre Thomas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dyondre thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

The first dollar that I earned as a creative came from a summer internship that I did when I was 15 years old. I got into it through an after-school program in high school called Southern Word. The program primarily focused on poetry and literary skills in schools. They eventually incorporated an audio production segment into their programming and that’s what I latched on to. During the internship, I worked with other music producers and artists creating music. We all got paid and it was a cool experience, especially during the early days of me doing music.

Dyondre, 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?

My name is Dyondre Thomas also known as Cool The Neptune. I am a music producer, creative director, and DJ from Nashville Tennessee. I am currently attending Middle Tennessee State University for Audio Production and minoring in video production. I produce, record, and mix songs for artists as well as do photography, graphic design, and videography. I work primarily with RNB and Hip Hop artists. I have experience using Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Adobe Premiere, Affect Effects, Illustrator, and Photoshop. Artists that inspire me are Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams, and Kanye West. One of the things that I am most proud of is the work I have done with my organization The Music Industry Collective at MTSU. It is a music and arts networking organization that helps students connect with each other. We have hosted multiple networking events and songwriting workshops that cultivated many friendships. The connection between music and memory has always fascinated me and motivated me to create lasting memories for people through my music.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson that I had to unlearn was putting a mask on when it came to my creativity. For a long time, I isolated myself when it came to collaborating. I often was opposed to songwriting and specifically focused on my music production. I was acting out of fear. The fear of being told that my ideas or experience were good or interesting enough weighed heavy on me. It mainly stemmed from when I was younger during one of the summer internships I did, I recorded a song for the first time, and I decided to share it with another person that I was working with. I was told that it sucked. It hit me hard when I heard it but I did not fully understand how that affected me then on. I thought that since my story was not interesting enough or I didn’t have the talent to tell it. Since then I always second-guessed what I talked about or made no attempt at trying. I am slowly trying to unravel that to this day. Day by day trying to take that mask off that I have been hiding behind for so long.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect I believe is finding out how many people share a similar experience to you. The conversations that happen after are so enjoyable. You feel that you are more close to your community and you make new connections. It is an element of being creative that I have heavily missed out on because I have been so sheltered when it comes to expressing my art. I have seen it happen to my other artist friends. It is something that I really enjoy.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cooltheneptune/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dyondre-thomas-20a2a9194/