We recently connected with John Romero and have shared our conversation below.

John, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

When I first started rapping I was really just inspired by my peers. One of my closest friends had inspired me to rap and he really showed me the ropes. He showed me how to record on audacity from there I went on to use Fl Studio. Before that, I was always fascinated by the way a hook/chorus could get stuck in your head and have you thinking about it all day, so when I started making music that was my main priority. Making something that got stuck in a persons head. I don’t think there was anything I could do to speed up the process however. Personally, I believe the best pieces of art and the best skills are developed through time and hard work. There’s no need to speed up anything. Everything has its time under the sun. The main obstacle was mastering and engineering, thankfully though my brother from another mother Ja Ramic was always gifted at it. He allowed me to develop as an artist by taking care of the mixing and mastering. Every song, every time. Shoutout to him he’s super talented.

John, 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?

I’m Young Semi-Auto, my birth name is John Romero and I’m from Miami, Fl. I was born to two cuban immigrant parents and for as long as I can remember music has always been in my life. I’ve been singing since I was very little and really decided it was going to be what I did in 7th grade when I was in band. I was there with my bro singing a song we both liked and my band teacher came running to ask who the person singing was. It’s a core memory for sure since I had never had somebody who wasn’t my age be impressed by me singing. That same year my friend had been making songs and posting them on SoundCloud and since I was really interested in releasing music I asked him how to record, from that point on the rest is history.

I’m most proud of the fact that I have really put my life into this, there were times I wanted to quit and felt as if the world was against me. As well as there being times where I felt I was on top of the world. The point is, we all have ups and downs but I never let them get to me, I’m staying focused and going to continue to make music and release it and perform and enjoy it because this is my life I’m the dictator no matter what. I’m most proud of staying focused and never letting my emotions or the outside world get to me.

I want potential fans to know that I’m thankful that they would give me the time of day and that what I speak about I feel. I make music for myself and I feel like maybe only like-minded individuals would really connect with it.
I make music for,
The kids who always felt put down.
The kids who always got made fun of for being different.
The kids who felt like outcasts at times, maybe even still do.
The kids who want to ensure they have a better life while they better their family’s lives as well.
We’re all in this together no matter what part of the journey we’re on. We got each other forever.

I’m not sure what sets me apart but I know this. I’m me and what you hear is the person who made it. I’m just a kid with big dreams not entirely sure how he’s gonna get there but you betcha he’s getting there. And a kid who wants to make sure his family good forever.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

They’re ridiculous LOL, I get wanting to find new ways to invest but I had a feeling they weren’t gonna last. Real art has sustenance whereas, pixels lose a lot of the beauty that real art has. It’s like printing money with no gold behind it. It’s meaningless and fake.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Honestly, the mental strain that being a creative has on your mental health and trying to regulate emotions. Physical jobs take a toll on your body. Office jobs take a toll on your health since you’re always sitting down. Every job has their downside of course but I don’t think a non-creative can understand what it’s like to not have a guideline to follow. It’s the beauty in music but it’s also it’s biggest curse, there’s no guideline there’s no “do this and you’ll be successful” it’s a shot in the dark. Some people spend their whole lives giving their all into music and never even make it to where they want. This industry is one of the most cut throat and most difficult to be somebody in. No matter how successful, I know even the biggest artist feels the same. We’re all lost trying to find our way in an industry of fake trying not to drown in this endless plastic ocean.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/youngsemii?igshid=NzZlODBkYWE4Ng%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCGH4GKwDJK4opJTmPGwfzJA
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5S5tiQfXqfpaTxvAr3vPC0