We were lucky to catch up with MyBrothaVan recently and have shared our conversation below.
MyBrothaVan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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?
Taking a risk; a leap of faith, is what it all comes down to in the end. You can have the money, the knowlege, the connections, but at the end of the day we all must take big risks at some point to earn big rewards.
I took a big risk moving to Austin last December. I had only one person I knew living here and didn’t have much money as I was purchasing a house as well. After packing up everything I had, I moved out here believing that I would be able to scale this music career with the talent and hard work I had cultivated in the small beach town I grew up in. Learning who to trust and where to spend my money while living in a small studio apartment in the west campus area was nerve wrecking. But slowly my hustle started paying off. After a open mic at Flamingo Cantina I met some awesome future partners and gained new fans which helped spread my brand in the underground scene.
I came to Austin with a goal. To perform in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas. I did that in 5 months. I had a goal to meet new collaborators in all these cities. I did that. I wanted to make new fans. I did that. I’ve performed in about 15 to 20 shows/sets. And it all started with taking a risk.
MyBrothaVan, 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?
It all started the end of 2016. I honestly just started pursueing music to replace my passion for sports. I graduated college and felt i needed some sort of hobby for myself. I always wanted to try music and because of Kanye West and some other artist, I wanted to be hands on with everything. So i invested into a small home studio and started making my beats, recording, myself and engineering my music. I worked at a carwash at the time and my coworkers listened to my first full song and thought it was amazing. So i made a music video. People dug it. Pretty soon i was partnering with this group called Starcult and doing live shows, music, and touring all on our own. Idk if I ever wouldve pursued it as a career if the people didn’t value it though. I begain this indie career in 2017 officially. Due to money issues I broke away from them in 2020 and went full time solo. And in 2022 I moved to Austin to scale my brand.
I just wanted to provide kids like me and who looked up to me or admire this talent of mine that music can be dope and not have all the volience and disrespect in my raw, authentic way. Most proud moments are getting played on 93 blx, opening for Riff Raff, touring, and having credible people and everyday people of all ages and colors appreciate my movement. Not bad for a small town kid who just went for it.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Yes there is. It was to add variety and honesty to music and to the black experience. We see and support so much of one side and the others get left behind. We not all from poverty or the street life.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I am on that pivot right now. I think my art is moving more to media in general. And owning more means of production. Hiring a team. Its becoming more of a business due to the amount of money I need to make the impact I want.
Contact Info:
- Website: mybrothavan.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mybrothavan/
- Facebook: @mybrothavan
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mybrothavan
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIfvNpoCR3Ksd-0vij9NrhQ
Image Credits
https://www.instagram.com/dezmonvansickle/ https://www.instagram.com/justinthemix_/