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

Isaac, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

The moment I knew I wanted to pursue a creative and artistic path professionally was Junior year of high school. Growing up, I had a lot of musical influence surrounding me and I was in lessons for piano and violin, but I never had a passion for practicing or creating songs. I was really into video games at the time and the idea of creating my own worlds and stories was super appealing. Juniors and Seniors at our high school could sign up to go to a half-day tech program called Summit Tech Academy, so I signed up for a computer programming class there with the intent to learn how to code video games. I went to tour the campus and the principal gave me a personal tour of the programming lab. After seeing the lab I was ready to enroll, but the principal told me she wanted to show me around the whole academy. We went around to all the classrooms and one of the last ones she showed me was the audio and video production classroom. I instantly fell in love with space, full of computers with midi keyboards, a studio booth for recording music, a green screen room for videos, and other cool AV tech. I couldn’t exactly explain it but I knew at that moment that I had to do that class; it just felt right. I signed up for it rather than computer programming and greatly enjoyed my time learning AV production skills. Since then I have dedicated my life to audio production (with some video production every once in a while). I currently run my own freelance audio business where I primarily create my own music and help others do the same through production, writing, and engineering.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Isaac Barkley, aka uknowitsIKE. I’m 25 years old and was born and raised in Kansas City, MO. I am involved with all sides of music creativity. I help artists produce, write, engineer, mix, master, distribute, etc their music, and I also create my own. I started my freelance company just over two years ago when I moved to Atlanta, GA and a lot of great opportunities have come from it. I turned my bedroom into a recording studio and I also travel to various studios to work with clients. Places I have worked include Quality Control, Patchwerk, and Reach Records. What sets me apart from others is that I can adapt to work with any type of artist at any point of their creation process. Being an artist myself and knowing how to create music from start to finish has helped my ability to collaborate with others and build good relationships with them. I aim to not only make quality sounding music, but music that spreads positive messages and encouragement.

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

The most rewarding aspect for me is being able to express myself through my own music. I’m pretty introverted and sometimes I struggle with outwardly showing my emotions, but music is an outlet for me to express how I feel or what I’m going through. Being able to turn an idea from nothing into something and sharing it with others is nerve wracking but very fulfilling.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Kanye West’s documentary on Netflix has significantly impacted how I approach my business and networking style. Despite his recent controversies, Kanye’s work ethic is admirable and it has been since he started making his mark in the music industry. He initially was known as a hip hop producer and fought hard to stand out and show his skills as a rapper. The documentary highlights the struggles and efforts he went through to break out of the social boxes others had put around him. Since watching the documentary, I’ve been inspired to not only work hard on my craft, but to also make it clear to others who I am. Yes I can engineer, but I’m not an engineer. Yes I can songwrite, but I’m not a songwriter. Yes I can produce, but I’m not a producer. I’m a music creative. I can tap into any side of the creation process and I love it and I make money doing so. That’s who I am.

Also, the Bible inspires me through everything I do in life. It’s the ultimate guide for how I walk day to day.

Contact Info:

• Website: uknowitsike.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/uknowitsike
• Facebook: facebook.com/uknowitsike
• Twitter: twitter.com/uknowitsike
• Youtube: youtube.com/@uknowitsIKE