Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Justin Nealy. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Justin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I started making music with some friends a long time ago. All of us were really good. We had an old beat up laptop that we were making our music. Even with the terrible quality, the songs were still pretty good. But I knew we were all different and unique in style, but in a good way. I knew it would become big. But I was the one in the group who decided to pursue the music professionally and believe it could be something bigger than a hobby. But I’ve never had any doubt that it would be huge.
Justin, 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?
I am a rapper, comedian and entertainer. My stage name is Nealy. I have my own entertainment brand and business. called “Justin Nealy Entertainment”. I am from Raleigh/Durham, NC. The music is my biggest asset when it comes to all my entertainment. It has been a little bit difficult. Just because I’m a different type of person. I’m a very goofy person. So a lot of people will read things wrong about me. They will judge but don’t actually listen to the music, or read the quotes of mine or even take time to actually form a logical opinion. Which I understand that’s how people are, but I never changed myself. I have taken a lot of hate for being myself. My style of music isn’t what people are used to. Most people just hate on things they don’t understand. Especially when they see potential in it. So they want to knock it down before it even gets a chance to start rolling. There were times because I don’t dress or act like the typical rapper today. I’ve been on shows that the Dj didn’t let me perform because he didn’t believe I was actually a rapper. I tried multiple times even showing them like “I’m Nealy”. But he didn’t believe me, because he didn’t want to believe me. Even tho that happened and I knew why it happened. I still never changed anything. People told me to dress and act different and it will pop off. But I never cared about their opinions. It makes me happy to inspire people to be themselves in a world full of haters. Don’t ever let a haters comments become relevant to your life. The first rule of starting something great, is that everyone else wants it to fail.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I enjoy making people happy. When people contact me and tell me that I’ve inspired them to do better in their own lives. When kids say they want to be like me when they grow up is really cool. I enjoy being someone people can look up to. It makes me feel like I’m not just making music or entertainment to only benefit myself. But also positively benefit the lives of others by helping them realize how great they truly are.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
In my opinion the story from my journey that I would say shows my resilience, would be the entire journey itself. The years and dedication. The resilience of pushing out all the hate and people trying to get me to stop pursuing my dreams. Some will try to convince you to quit because they are scared of your potential. They feel if they can get you to quit then that means you failed and to them that makes them feel better that they are doing better than you. Always remember that even if someone is praying for you to fail…. They are still praying for you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://radiopushers.tv/nealy
- Instagram: @_nealy_21
- Facebook: @nealy21
- Twitter: @nealy_21
- Youtube: @_nealy_21
- Other: Spotify
Image Credits
None