We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Julian Brown a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Julian, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I’ve been making music since 2008. Used to tell my mom I was gonna be a big producer, I didn’t need college. I used to produce for a few local rappers in Seattle, where I was born and raised. My name was goin up. Then I started working n traveling and got distracted with life. Bam pandemic hits I’m back inside all day making beats again. I was posting on Instagram and submitting to ProducerJams regularly. I got a DM one day from a small R&B label in Atlanta that ended up leasing 3 beats and paid me surprisingly well. I was making great money managing a bar in Seattle but it wasn’t fueling my soul. I packed up September 2021 and moved to LA n now I’m broker, happier, and closer than I’ve ever been to that high school dream.
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’ve been playing guitar since I was 8, but never took lessons. A friend gave me a demo version of Reason freshman year of high school and now I’m sponsored by them. I went from 0 restaurant experience to managing the bar quickly. I’m a creative at heart, but when I find a passion in something I fully immerse myself in it. I’m selective with my projects and people I surround myself with. I look for things that inspire and teach me daily. I moved here to be a music producer, but since have become versed in content marketing, project management, video editing, and audio mixing. Yet my greatest strength isn’t what I personally can provide, but with my team. I work with a group of like-minded creatives with diverse backgrounds and skill sets. If I can’t get a creative project done at a high level, someone in our close network can.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Social media. I’m a 90’s kid so I remember a time before the internet. I can’t remember what year it was when MySpace became a thing but I was in middle school and it was poppin. Then people started getting Facebook n I was like no way, MySpace. Boom wrong. Then Instagram, then TikTok. Lesson is don’t resist new things. Every tool gives you an edge, every platform has a benefit.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I think a lot of creatives will agree when you’re in the zone making whatever it is that you make, at some point its not exactly you making the art anymore. You tap into something, my mom called it the hand of god. I’m not religious, but I understood what she meant. You connect with something. It makes me feel genuine joy, energizes me, and helps me process emotions.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/92hurts/