Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mark Byrd. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mark, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

It took me quite a while to realize that I wanted to be a creative professionally. I went through my life doing a bunch of things that I felt were for me, but in turn none of them were truly my path. From being active in street life to working jobs and being in the corporate space. I’ve always had a love for music, but I never saw it as a reality until I received my first major credit as a producer on a mainstream artist in 2009. From then on I thought maybe this is something I should take serious.

Mark, 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 was always around music since I was younger, as my uncle was a music producer. I myself took to it, but it was not for me until I got older. My friends and I would love to rap and freestyle and one day I decided to try my hand at producing a record because I got tired of us trying to rap to the last 30 seconds of a song as it as fading out. We soon realized how gifted I was when we would ride around listening to the beats I had made and people would inquire about me making them a beat. After that, I began to dive a little deeper in music equipment and teaching myself the techniques of a lot of my favorite producers. Even then I still did not take it as serious as I could’ve. Eventually as I would find myself getting away from the things that I thought were for me, I got more disciplined in my creations. Spending time learning the gear and the theory on how to make music.

The more I created, the higher my level of creations got and the more sought out I was. All while I was honing my craft I was still growing as an individual so life took me through some twists and turns that prolonged me going full force but I still made a way to make things happen.

I think the thing that sets me apart is my love for the art. Not only do I love music, but it has saved my life a few times so there’s a dedication to it that most don’t have. I create with integrity, love and emotion and you can hear it.

I’m most proud of my music touching people in the way it does. To be able to bring someone to tears with something you have created is the highest honor ever in my eyes!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Yes, I can say there are quite a few things that drive my creative journey.

1. I still aspire to be great in my field. So that alone is something to strive for everyday. I work hard at improving myself and my skill set. The fact that I’m not complacent pushes me.

2. There are so many people that are inspired by my story and my journey. The belief of those people keep me going. If there was only 1 or 1 million, the fact that someone believes in what I”m doing and uses me as a form of inspiration gives me enough to continuously push myself.

3. I do want to transcend from just producing music to scoring film, so there’s a goal that always pushes me forward.

4. MOST IMPORTANTLY, my children. Me being able to live my life on my own terms teaches them that they can do too. It’s important for them to know that they can do anything in the world that they want to do, and they have me as an example for that.

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

There are sooooooo many stories from my journey that can illustrate my resilience. But to roll the stories up into something that the readers can take from and understand, I’ll touch on my battles and bouts with depression and anxiety. After surviving 3 suicide attempts as well as countless fights with my anxiety getting the best of me, I am still here and pushing through. Finding so much purpose in life, myself and even in the process of things shows my resilience. To overcome something that can have a life ending or life long hold on someone and to be here, full of life, fervor and love is huge. To excel to where that dark space is somewhere I have not had to visit again as well as being able to use my story to serve as a means of helping others is everything to me. That is resilience!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.iammarkbyrd.com
• Instagram: www.instagra,.com/iammarkbyrd
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/iammarkbyrd
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/iammarkbyrd
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@markbyrd1775