We recently connected with Joe L Barnes and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Joe L, thanks for joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
I am content, happy and satisfied to be a creative. I do not at any point wonder what it would be like to have a regular job. I really love being a creative and an artist and am one of those people who are not built to work a “normal” job.
Joe L, 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?
My name is Joe L and I am a skinny black kid from Kentucky. I fell in love with music at a young age and have been obsessed with it ever since. I was introduced to Jesus very early in life and fell in love with him later on. I got involved in the music industry by sneaking in. I ended up in a room I was not supposed to be in, recorded a song called “Promises,” and then from there had to learn to be an artist.
I am most proud of the family I am surrounded by and the place that I call home. I know that at the end of the day I have a group of people around me who choose to love me for who I am and not what I do.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me the most rewarding part of being an artist is watching the music come to life. It is creating something that no one knows about in the beginning and then watch as they scream it at the top of their lungs.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn overthinking and how to trust myself. I never knew how to trust myself in the beginning. As creatives, a lot of times we second guess ourselves because of comparison. Comparison is the enemy to creativity. In looking up to other artists, I recognized that my favorite things about the people I looked up to most was that they knew how to be themselves. From that point on I realized that authenticity always had an audience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://foreverydreamer.com/
- Instagram: iamjoe_l