We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julius Rowe. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julius below.

Julius, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

So I became a rapper at the late age of 17 due to being kicked out of Marching band for inappropriate behavior (1 time at band camp…) I fell in love with catchy bass lines and witty metaphors and after being a rapper for a year I realized one cold hard fact…..artists are the LAST ones to to get paid and the FIRST to pay for everything. It was problematic. After spending $500 on a recording session that felt like something I could do myself, I decided to do it myself and picked up the art of mixing and mastering music, also called “engineering” . That allowed me to save money, and after engineering other rappers, I began to make money. 5 years later I become more comfortable with the rap scene and begin entering music showcases like “Coast to Coast Hiphop” only to find another sad truth…..most showcases were rigged. Either, they had someone they knew plugged into the showcase to win or they lied a out the resources or opportunities they could provide but usually it was both. So i began to host a showcase free of biases and giving away hundreds per showcase into order to build local music scenes that could thrive all across the country. So far we have held shows in Ky, OH, NC, and Michigan and have been able to give away thousands of dollars as well as connect local artists with major labels.

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?

My name is Julius Rowe aka Ekaman the HipHop hero and I am a singer, rapper and producer as well as owner of Free Minds Productions. I began learning percussion at the age of 10 and finally picked up rapping at 17. I was taken advantage of by the same scams that take advantage of other musicians and decided to build a business that could help independent artists thrive on their music. I have over 20 millions stremas and 50k+ followers and my business helps other independent artist generate revenue with their talents as well as expand their reach and strategies. By all means reach out to me at @Ekaman1beyond and lets build, i love working with all aritists who are serious about their craft

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The lesson I had to unlearn was “do whats trending” or “do whats popular” Especially now, it seems like those are the things that catch wind and go viral buy its not always. Every time one of my videos or songs went viral it was something I made for me. “swag like spongebob” “blick blick” and even my tiktok talking about anime battles, I never expected those to reach the attention they did but they did and each ine if them was made out of pure joy for the craft. Be your self and be unique

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Being an entrepreneur is tough sometimes. At one point in 2019 i had lost my apartment and was sleeping in my car with a broken transmission, I kept a positive outlook and didnt look for hand outs. Instead I put all my efforts into hosting a showcase for December and the results were great. I made enough money to afford a new apartment while still being able to host a great show and give away $250 You need to always believe in yourself and what your vision can do

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/ekaman1beyond?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@JuliusRoweEka?si=AyNy8ubXA96oBfwg