We recently connected with FAT and have shared our conversation below.
Hi FAT, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
As with learning how to do anything, practice is the key. Over years I’ve honed my crafts (rap music & digital art) through countless hours of trial and error which has been the backbone of my learning experience. I’ve done two stage shows where I was literally booed off stage for example, but rather than feeling like I wasn’t good enough for my own creativity, I took the criticism in stride and used it to make adjustments and improvements until I could. This also helped me develop one of my strongest mantras “Keep doing you, somebody’s gonna feel it”. Sometimes you just have to keep plugging away until you get it right.
Knowing what I know now, accepting the fact that nothing will be perfect and the best way to gain experience is by the metaphorical “trial by fire” would have been one of the best ways to expedite the learning process early on. I spent a lot of time doubting whether songs were “finished” rather than putting them out and letting fans decide what stays and what goes, or worrying whether my artwork would stand up next to the artwork of, what I considered, better or more established artists. Instead I could have been putting the time and energy into getting better. Self doubt serves no one.
The absolute most essential skill that I feel I developed was thick skin. In this age of social media everyone with a smart device has a voice and many of those voices won’t be kind. I had to learn to take criticism (constructive or otherwise) in stride. Everyone won’t enjoy what you have to offer, no matter what it is, and that’s okay. I learned that the “no’s” ultimately make room for the yeses, and it only takes one, well placed yes to make the no’s worth it.
I’m of the firm belief that the only obstacle that stands in my way is myself. Especially in the case of learning which is literally uncapped potential. There are a plethora of books, classes, seminars, blogs, advice columns, and more which virtually anyone has access to and they’re often right in the palm of our hands. If I missed an opportunity to learn something new in order to expand it was only me to blame for it. Ultimately tho, I’ve learned to also cut myself a little slack where applicable because “you don’t know, what you don’t know”.
FAT, 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?
FAT is an award winning rapper and black illustrator born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina. An oddly charming panic mix of a cup of Rick Ross, with a tablespoon on E-40 and a dash of Weird Al. FAT started writing lyrics at the early age of ten years old as a way to express himself outwardly. “For a long time music was my journal”. FAT makes music for those in touch with the human experience.
At age fifteen, with encouragement from numerous friends and peers, FAT embarked on his first studio session and on stage performance where he got his first taste of applause. FAT was hooked and his debut album “The Fatboy” would release on streaming sites a few years later.
Since then FAT has evolved as a rapper winning “Best Male Hip Hop” at the inaugural Bull City Music Awards, being nominated for “Male Hip Hop Artist of the Year” & “Male Artist of the Year” by the Featured Highlights Awards, and being nominated for “Best Music Video” at the Carolina Music Video Awards. One of his favorite achievements is launching “Jam Online Concert”, a quarterly concert series giving other performing artists a platform to showcase their talents.
When FAT isnt building his brand he’s a dedicated father of one who prides himself on being a craftsman, showman, and, most importantly, human.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Early in my musical journey, at about age 19, the group I was working with and I were invited to perform at the city fair they have a couple of times a year. At the time it was the biggest show I’d done. Unfortunately in our youth, the group decided (for some unknown reason) to scrap our already recorded material in lieu of performing songs we literally wrote the night before the show. Needless to say the crowd didn’t take well to us basically “winging it” through our set and one by one folks in the front row started to boo. And then it grew louder amid the crowd of one hundred or so people in attendance.
It was the first time I’d ever been booed on or off stage as I’d only been rapping for a few, fledgeling years up until then, and as an artist I was definitely hurt. However, rather than close up shop and quit my musical aspirations, I took accountability for our lack of professionalism and preparedness and, in typical fashion, used the experience to make improvements and forge ahead.
To this day, as bad as it was, this experience was more of a formative moment in my early days than a set back or hurdle to my overall goal of being heard and appreciated by a wider audience
: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My goal has almost always been to show others like me who may not always be the best looking, most popular or most fashionable for example that they’re not alone and that it’s okay to be exactly who they are. We weren’t created to be someone else or follow a beaten path. I believe each and every person is wonderfully unique and that “weird” and “normal” are relative terms subject to the person who is using them. I’ve always said that I don’t make music and art for the cool kids, but experiences for the lonely fat kid eating lunch alone in the cafeteria. The kid that I once was.
Contact Info:
- Website: Http://Imthefatboy.com
- Instagram: Http://instagram.com/imthefatboy
- Facebook: Http://Facebook.com/imthefatboytoo
- Linkedin: Http://LinkedIn.com/imthefatboy
- Twitter: Http://Twitter.com/imthefatboy
- Youtube: Http://YouTube.com/imthefatboytoo
Image Credits
1. FatCam 2. Gemini Stax 3. FAT 4. Foreign Sounds Studios 5. FatCam 6. Ed E. Ruger 7. FAT 8. FAT