We recently connected with Mikel Watkins and have shared our conversation below.

Mikel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I went to college for Audio Engineering in Arizona , I wish I would have left sooner I took a gap year. What stood in the way was moving to the city it was change of pace. Everything was fast and I was used to slow I grew up very poor and most of my classmates were ahead of the game with gear knowledge and being bread to pretty much to make music. I spent more time in the studio learning consoles than in did writing.i wanted to be the best I was hungry I lost some of that hunger through discouragement that was what stood in the way the most.

Mikel, 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?

I create a pop-punk influenced hip-hop based of life experience addiction, home life, self hatred bi polar disorder and the auto immune disease I have. The main components of my brand are that I’m human and im flawed I embrace how much of a human I actually am I am always unappoligectially myself 100% of the time. I came from the absolute most people with similar upbringings throw in the towel at a young age and give up before they even start. Anything that I’ve ever done has been 100%.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Being able to share my story to like minded individuals, to give others with similar upbringings hope. Helping people know there dreams can become reality if they just chase them.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Feeling bad for myself, there no one that can change your situation besides you because at the end of the day all you have is you. My dad told me that while he was doing a stent in the county and all his “friends” at the time were nowhere to be found

Contact Info:

• Instagram: mikeljameswatkins
• Other: my tik Tok @mikelwatkinss

Image Credits
Photos by Kali May and Maria Palmer.