We recently connected with Kiwan Young and have shared our conversation below.
Kiwan, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
Music has been something that has always been apart of me. Ever since I have been a kid I could remember creating melodies in my own head to some of my favorite songs. Prior to me actually producing I’ve always had the ear for it. Within my first year attending Georgia State University, I took a music theory class. That was basically my introduction to the intricate world of music, So as I learned its history with classic music I fell in love with it. If I were to describe it it would be a, “Love at first sight” type of situation. For starters I taught myself how to play piano using a program (PlayGround Sessions) and that showed me how to read sheet music, which gives a whole new prospective of creating. I took 2 whole years to learn and within that time I worked on small things with upcoming artist and friends within my area. With this being my 3rd year I finally feel like I’m ready to take things to the next level. And the thing about it I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface yet, I am still learning and will always continue to do so.
Kiwan, 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?
Growing up I’ve always been a geek when it comes to music, I’ve always paid attention to music news, history, and the art itself. Ive always been fascinated by the power of music and how it can literally evoke emotion out of people. There’s literally a sound to describe every emotion, So when my art is heard I want people to be able to feel and understand me just by what they hear, that’s a different level of creation. I started music freshly coming out of high school where I made a couple songs I wanted to test my creativenes without any previous knowledge of recording music. That’s where I met a couple friends who shared the same interest as me we grew closer and began to travel and create. They are definitely the reason I am in the position I am in today. Over the time I’ve really been learning patience and perseverance. When creating I try to focus in on versatility and staying in range. I want the artist to producer relationship to be as authentic as possible, the artist that work with me know that they are getting the most natural organic sound. One things I am most proud of is the work I do with an upcoming artist, what we create has the potential to be some of the greatest.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I started my college career as a biology student, I attended Morehouse College. At that time my whole focus was school and becoming a doctor. As a kid when someone tells you things will only get harder you brush it off that’s what we all do. The transition from high school to college was a crazy leap for me that I didn’t brace myself well enough for. I went from being a top 10% student to feeling like I didnt know anything at all. As a person who felt like they had it together I was in for a rude awakening, my grades fell dramatically. That was the first time I’ve ever failed a class and after that the domino effect began to happen my GPA dropped to 1.8, mentally I was in distraught. Because being a medical student its literally sink or swim no room for errors or mistakes and I didn’t take that lightly all my dreams of being a medical professional died right before my eyes. With that going on all my student fees were catching up to me and I could no longer afford to go the school. I took a whole year off of college to try to find myself because I knew in the back of my mind that medical dream was burnt and during that time that when I found my love for music I began traveling and creating. After that year break I went back to school to try to finish out at Georgia State University, but I just couldn’t get back into the swing of things after all I’ve experienced I didn’t feel like college was my purpose anymore. So I decided to take the risk and drop out of school to pursue my career in music. Its always plan b this plan b that, but I feel like in this life the only thing worth chasing is a dream. That is my Kanye “College Dropout” story.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding thing about this journey to me is the fact that I am everyday going through all the motions and emotions. I have thick skin, and perseverance is the most important thing to me right now It is my life-word in a sense. You gotta be able to know that there is something better at the end and that what fuels me to keep going. Ive always thought to myself if you put your all in to it doors begin to open in your favor. It is for the love of the experience and the need to tell my story and write it the way I want to, there’s no greater feeling than that and that’s facts.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/geniebeats_?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=c0a5a8e2-3d70-4941-8872-7bc44e9c35c6
- Instagram: @Geniebeats_
- Facebook: Kiwan Young
- Twitter: @0nly1weezy
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@TheCoachingStaff?si=21oY636Gf3kGkqmK