We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maya Azucena a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maya, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

My name is Maya Azucena. I’m an award-winning singer, songwriter, recording artist and humanitarian born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. I’m also a Cultural Envoy, performing internationally at the invitation of American Embassies everywhere, spreading positivity through my songs, public speaking and workshops. My songs and collaborations stretch across the genres from Electronic and Afrobeat, to Rock, Hip-Hop and Jazz. I treat my voice as a multi-faceted musical instrument and believe deeply in the importance of the message in the lyrics. I’ve seen the power of Art to bring me into wildly diverse spaces from Royalty in The Kingdom of Lesotho, to Prisoners on Rikers Island, from Diplomats in Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania and Russia, to former gang members in El Salvador. On and on, I’ve seen the way Music creates a means of bringing people together, illuminating community voices, and sparking inner power.

As a fulltime independent artist, for the last 20 years, the “unexpected” is a way of life. I’ve chosen to approach my career, being a fulltime singer/songwriter and touring artist, as a small business. From the first moment I made the choice to stop waiting for someone to come along and “discover” me, I activated my power to make my own dream come true. I became my own manager, booking agent, CEO, President. I started with a dream, self-motivation and belief in my talent. I did NOT know exactly how to do it, and I did not have a mentor. But, I figured a few things as I took my decision to be self-made, and found these ideas to remain true:
(1) The business of people is more simple than we imagine. Building relationships with people is about reaching them, connecting with them, and maintaining the connection after that first point. It is also about gratitude and respect. Simple human-relations is a most powerful tool that’s worked on my behalf, ultimately being invited to sing on professional stages in 40+ countries as an unsigned, independent artist.
(2) DO the thing. I mean, are you a singer? Then, SING. Are you a writer? Then, WRITE. Act on the thing you aim to do. Treat it like a fulltime job, not a hobby. A hobby gets hobby results. Acting consistently on something you hope to build, will get that thing built. It definitely starts with exercising the actual skill, consistently. You want to start your own business? Well, is that thing actually on your schedule in a consistent way? We easily agree when a boss asks us to stay late or come early to work. But, often we find excuses and lots of reasons not to show up for our own endeavors. I asked myself, why would I be so willing to show up for someone else’s dream, yet be so lazy about my own? I decided to show up for ME with the same vigor, and more.
(3) Confidence. Identity. Professional presentation. If you hope this will be your business, then respect that it is business. If we expect to enter a business environment, we must remember that others are in that same marketplace, hoping to make money too. This means, competition. We must hold ourselves to a standard of professionalism that can represent itself well in a competitive market. Even as artists, we may create art in a vacuum but, at the point of sale, we should keep in mind that there are others pitching to the same client. Your presentation must meet some standards of professionalism. Don’t know the standards? Well, look at those who came before you and make a note of things they did to get where you hope to go. Become a student of life, always learning and then applying what you’ve learned in your pursuits. It’s exactly what I did (and do!). I study the information all around me and try my hand at doing the things I learn.
(4) Produce things. There should be proof of this thing you hope to achieve. There should be output. Is it “songs”? Is it “video content”? Is it “live concerts”? As we attempt to materialize a vision, part of that should be an accumulation of things you’ve manufactured. It shows the world that you are the place people need to come, to get the thing you’re offering.

All of this said, my whole journey has been one of discovery and “the unexpected.” One very important thing I can say is, if you work for yourself, “Get comfortable being uncomfortable.” Do not believe that things will always go perfectly. This is a completely unreasonable approach. It is an important thing for your cool head to prevail in uncomfortable moments, as it is a given that you’ll be required to solve problems, under duress, in order to succeed. To be an independent artist is to be self-employed or, as I like to think of it, YOU are the Employer of you. You cannot make your dreams come true by waiting for someone else to save you, or solve your problems. You cannot make your dreams come true if you give up or melt down whenever there is a bump in the road. It all comes down to you showing up for you, more than anyone else. You have to envision it, believe it and practice it before anyone else comes on board. When it comes to possible breakdowns in my plan, I like to envision the ideal and happy outcome of every endeavor, and also analyze the many ways it could go wrong – in advance. In other words, plan for the best and worst case scenario. This is just a matter of crossing your “T”s and dotting your “I”s. When you go on tour to another country, for example, save a copy of your passport in a safe place, in case it is ever lost or misplaced. Call all your credit card companies in advance and alert them you’ll be using the cards in a different country, to avoid your money being blocked when you need it. Even then, have some available cash in case your card gets inconveniently blocked while on the street in India. Think ahead. Even then, the unexpected will likely take hold of you at some point and you simply can’t have planned for it all. It’s in moments like these that we are challenged to give up, or keep going. In moments like these, I’m happy that I do what I love as my job. Love has a way of powering us through the storm.

Here’s a story – one of many: I was on stage, at an award ceremony. Yes, I was nominated for a Best New Singer award and as I started to sing, the speakers blew out in the middle of my performance. I’m there, in my red gown, presenting my original song to a crowd of my peers, at an award show. Imagine how terrible of a moment. It occurred to me, as I watched the audience from the stage, that the most powerful message I could send was to not stop singing at all, and not flinch in the face of this technical breakdown. I would have been well within my rights, to crumple up my nose, to express my shock, to storm off stage, or melt to my knees in embarrassment… Instead, I figured, “why give up now?” I kept singing it out, with my a capella voice, until the audience started clapping and singing along, supporting me in the moment. When the sound system came back on, the crowd cheered. I felt sure that this moment was a metaphor of life. I felt powerful instead of weakened by the experience. I realize that my message to my audience is more than how wonderful I can sing, my message is based around the idea of not giving up, finding inner strength and hope in the hardest moments. My message is that perfection is a lie, and that the goal ought not to be perfection at every moment but, rather, endurance. Not only that, the moment afforded the audience to come together as a community and that also provided a positive experience rather than a failure.

You won’t believe it, but this has happened to me at least 3 other times in my career and each time I allowed the audience to see the way our human spirit can rise above unexpected events, transforming the moment into a “win”. Most recently, there was an epic sound failure at my concert in Lagos Nigeria late last year. I co-produced the American Embassy-sponsored concert with multiple performers, VIP guests, National TV cameras, and myself headlining. When my moment came to perform, the sound started to cut off in the middle of my songs. The first time it happened, the band looked in shock and my background singers looked like they wanted to run from the stage. I called my singers forward to the front of the stage and I even walked down into the crowd, continuing singing, without missing a beat. Everyone on stage followed along, and the audience exploded with joy, clapping, and singing along. I was told by multiple people afterwards that they’d never seen anything like that. But, I feel we’ve all seen a moment like that, with utter breakdowns and surprising failures, but do not always seen how it’s still possible to push through the moment and get on to the next. As an artist, I feel I must have the integrity of that business owner, who doesn’t have the luxury of shutting the doors when there’s a bad day of business. Ultimately, the largest television network in Nigeria created a beautiful feature story about my concert, including remarks on the beauty of this moment.

My message to you is, when the unexpected happens, try to dance with it rather than wrestle with it. It will be so much more graceful for you, and those watching. It will also hurt less in the long run, as the moment will surely pass and you’ll be left with the proud memory of your resilience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.MayaAzucena.com
• Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/MayaAzucena
• Linkedin: https://www.LinkedIn.com/MayaAzucena
• Youtube: https://www.YouTube.com/MayaAzucena
• Other: https://zez.am/mayaazucena

Image Credits

Photographer, Safa Gulsoy – gold outfit & Guitar Thrills cover
Photographer, Rob Adam Meyer – “I Am Enough” and India news feature
Photo: Maya with students in Haiti, Maya at workshop for girls in Surinam, Maya interviewed in Hollywood’s Grammy Museum for BETx event, Maya on arena stage in Croatia