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

VZN, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I think my biggest risk taken so far was fully investing into myself and my business/artistic career. After going and getting my Bachelor of Science in Media Entertainment in 2021, I assumed that I’d have no other choice but to go get a regular 9-5 like most do right after graduation. In an effort to make a name for myself and not conform to these expectations of society, I started my own record label. Now, owning 3 businesses in total, i work for myself full -time and I get to control whether or not I have to go into work everyday. The only thing that was uncertain along the way, was where revenue would come from. Sure there were downtimes (like any other new business) but it’s the consistency that keeps you afloat. Money is something that I believe will always come back to you as long as you’re consistently working towards it in some way. While a lot of people wouldn’t risk the consistent sense of security with that guaranteed check every 2 weeks; understandably, as there were many days that I wish I hadn’t risked it myself. Being able to see the potential in breaking away from that is and putting it into motion is what separates the people the life was meant for from those that work better within the 9-5 system.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Jonathan Prather, but I go by the name VZN. It is my artist handle, brand, and the driving force behind my label – NVZN SOUND. I started getting into the music industry and teaching myself how to produce back in 2016. Since then, I’ve made many connections within the Atlanta music scene; being guided by some of the best young minds in the game. After producing for a few years I got more into the writing/recording side of things, specializing in vocal production and songwriting. I had been releasing music previously (2019-2021) under the name ‘Cephei’ before a much-needed rebrand, and back in May 2022 I released my first single under the name VZN titled “Press Play”. Since then, I’ve been transitioning between my corporate hats daily, running two record labels (Darkstar Music LLC and NVZN SOUND LLC) and a financial consulting firm (JP Consulting Corp) and doing my best to still have time to create music. At the end of the day, it’s the most important thing to me.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Society does a good job of making sure, that the people that look up to some of these legendary artists/creatives, NEVER want to follow in their footsteps. While that might come off kind of harsh, I think the larger majority of people don’t realize the only reason they (artists) create these music videos, timeless albums, even TikTok or reels, is to entertain them! The way society will rip a ‘famous’ person apart for just solely having different beliefs on a topic (for example) is psychotic; because those same people ripping them apart will be one of the first people claiming to have always been supportive once they are no longer able to share that gift with us. It’s always a backhanded job being creative, and I think society could help support these up-and-coming artists by giving them the same attention you give any other big-name, chart-topping artists. The way you engage, share, like/post Drake content on Instagram, has to be the same energy you have for your friend that just dropped his first single ever on Soundcloud. Support is, generally speaking, free for the most part. It takes maybe 60 seconds to repost your friend if you really believe in them like you say every time they show you a new song they made. You know?

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

I think the most rewarding aspect has to be the final product. For me, I used to be terrified a couple of weeks prior to a release. I was so worried about people’s opinions and what they’d think about the content, that I couldn’t enjoy the entire project that I just put together from literally thin air. You have to think about it: while there are a bunch of people that say they make music or are creative in general, there are A LOT of people that also don’t do any of that. It’s a gift to be able to say “I made this myself and I’m sharing it because I’m proud of this superpower I have.” And it’s even CRAZIER to have other people like it, share it, go viral, etc. All because you had an idea while like, sitting on the toilet or something one day. It is literally that simple. Some people can do it and others can’t and being in that whatever percentage of the world is fulfilling on its own. Why not take advantage of the upper hand you have on the world and figure out how to make some money out of it?

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vzn.music/
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/NVZN__

Image Credits
NVZN SOUND LLC ®