We recently connected with Izzy Gazelle and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Izzy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I think I always knew that I wanted to pursue a creative path as a profession. From the time I was young through high school, I was involved with music and the visual arts. Going to art school prepared me initially for the path to a fashion design career after I graduated. It wasn’t until I realized that music was what my heart deeply connected with during my early years working in the fashion industry. I started entertaining the idea of getting into music as I grew bored with my day-to-day work. As much as I love fashion, working in corporate wasn’t quite the way I envisioned my future as a creative.

It became clear that music was what I truly wanted to pursue and a bit more unconventional. I started taking voice lessons on weekends and connected with other musicians. I felt more alive and more inspired to be involved. Also, the initial support I had from my family was really encouraging and it gave me a great deal of confidence to move forward with it. I remember telling my mom that I wanted to pursue music, and she said: “It’s about time!” Her support was a huge blessing! Then I got laid off from my job, and it became a divine sign and an opportunity to start a new path in music. I am thankful for the experience I gained in the fashion industry because I’m able to apply a lot of the skills I learned in running my music career.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an artist who makes rock & roll music. I was born in Ghana and grew up in Lowell, Massachusetts. Music has been a huge part of my life growing up. I listened to a lot of different types of music including classic rock, highlife, blues, classical, punk, bossanova, alternative, reggae, r&b, hip-hop, and just about everything! I’ve always been an artist at heart visually and musically. I was always involved with musical activities in school. I went to art school at Massachusetts College of Art & Design and majored in Fashion Design. I worked in the fashion industry for a few years for clothing brands before I switched my focus to a career in music.

I make music that feels raw to me and uninhibited. I express feelings that I don’t usually show and it feels liberating without boundaries as I tend to be more introverted. I wouldn’t say I’m shy. I’m just very reserved, and observant and I tend to hold a lot inside. I embrace my vulnerable side that I also don’t typically show around people so I guess my music allows for me to bare the many sides of me, open up and lose myself. I love brutal honesty and that reflects in my tone of message. My approach to making music is doing what feels true to myself, being instinctive, not holding back on what I want to say, how I really want to say it, and not following the norm so I guess that makes me stand out. My music is deeply inspired by the blues. I love the old tradition of expressing your soul whether it be pain, joys, or sorrows down to the grit. I also don’t look like a typical rock artist as I’m black, African, and female but I guess it’s one combination of things that perhaps makes people more curious about me as someone in a white male-dominated genre. I just focus on making music that reflects the many dimensions of who I am and that’s what I am most proud of.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Carving a path in music is not easy at all. As an independent artist, I was navigating a world full of unknowns and uncertainties on my own,  wearing many hats, and dealing with fear, rejection, and doubts. It was tough on my emotional and mental health but I learned how to manage and cope in a healthy way to maintain my balance. It’s been a long journey full of ups and downs, trials and errors but I gained so much growth and strength. It took me some time to find my true voice, hone my skills and build on my artistry. I had to learn to be patient, disciplined, focused, and maintain my commitment to keep a steady momentum. There were times when I wanted to give up but I’ve pushed on. I continue to evolve personally and discover new things about myself creatively. Allowing myself to take on challenges helped me to expand my capacities in so many ways I didn’t think was possible and it has empowered me significantly.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s really humbling to see someone connect with a song I’ve created. It makes it even more worthwhile. It’s also gratifying to be able to create something meaningful to put out in the universe and share. Crafting and shaping so many ideas and thoughts is a process where I get really emotionally and mentally invested. Having it all come together after some blood, sweat, and tears is refreshing. And then I’m ready to do it all over again. Overall just being able to have an outlet to fully express myself and be a part of a community of people who enjoy music is very rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://izzygazelle.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/izzygazelle/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/izzygazelle
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/izzy-gazelle
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@izzygazelle6523

Image Credits
All images are courtesy of the artist.