We recently connected with Kristofer Murray and have shared our conversation below.
Kristofer , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with 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?
One of the biggest risks I’ve taken is moving from my hometown of Philadelphia to Atlanta. I had always wanted to live in either Atlanta or Los Angeles. When I got divorced, I felt it was the perfect time to go out on a limb and make the change. I moved at the height of the pandemic and did not see my apartment in person until the day I was ready to move in. Thankfully, it worked out! I only knew a few family members down here and my main motivation behind moving was for my music career. I networked and met some good people since I’ve been here. Since moving, I’ve made some valuable connections and I have a much better quality of life now.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a professional songwriter with 16 years of experience. I have worked with artists and producers like Ty Dolla $ign, Chrisette Michele, TGT (Tank, Ginuwine and Tyrese), Bryan-Michael Cox and Rodney Jerkins. My biggest accomplishment was writing on two Grammy nominated albums in 2013. I got into this business as an artist first. I was a rapper but got tired of people trying to pigeonhole me to just one thing so I got into songwriting. I think the biggest thing that sets me apart is my ability to take real life situations and thoughts and translate it into lyrics that touch the soul and can be remembered with catchy melodies. Nowadays I take pride in giving back and I am a Grammy U mentor and an instructor for Thinkspace Education at the University of Chichester in England. I offer songwriting services and consulting.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
What helped me build my reputation in the market is hard work and consistency. Although I’m a creative, I am very disciplined. I treated songwriting like a job or a sport and practiced relentlessly at it. That’s how I good. Another hallmark of my success has been my professionalism. I know how to make people feel comfortable and I’m rarely ever late to a meeting or a studio session.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A lesson I had to unlearn is that it is ok to be number two and a team player. For many years I felt like I was overlooked by my former songwriting/business partner. They had been doing it longer than me, people knew them first and they had more connections than me early on. It was a very humbling experience and a blow to my ego. I had to learn that it’s ok to take the backseat sometimes and everyone gets their turn eventually when the time is right.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @dopaminedreamz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristofer.murray.14
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristofermurray