We were lucky to catch up with Nick Gibbs recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nick, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

To become an artist in general takes a significant amount of risk. Being a hip hop artist in particular is an exceptionally tough market to succeed in due to the over saturation in that specific profession. As an artist you have to invest time, money, and creativity to progress with hopes of creating a profit. You have a tendency to put in those investments consistently and get a little to no return at first. Myself in particular I’ve invested thousands of hours and money into my craft because of the vision that only I can see. The risks that all artists take just to express themselves is definitely overlooked by most in society. Your peers question the risks you take in many different ways and you have to persevere over outside opinions. You risk relationships in general when you are an artist, but ultimately when you focus on what your purpose is in life that’s when you truly live. TO ALL MY ARTISTS OUT THERE please keep going and never quit. At times where I felt my lowest is where I saw my biggest success. Every risk you take in life has to be scary for it to be actual progression. As an artist you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Learn to love yourself and others because love is free and freeing. Finally, hard work beats talent everyday so continue to focus on the craft. You’re an inspiration to others so make sure you are putting positivity out into this negative world, and use your platform to uplift others.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Nick Gibbs and I am the first Grrrd award winning Emcee from Wichita Kansas. I started making music ten years ago as a heavy metal vocalist in a band. Throughout my life ever since I can remember I grew a connection with hip hop and loved the culture along with the intricacies of hip hop’s wordplay. The love later grew to freestyling off the top with friends an later proceeded to freestyling on karaoke nights at a local bar called “The Place.” At that moment in my life I grew the urge to perform music in a more significant level. Now I perform with a three piece suit along with an old school style microphone to stand out and show with not only with my appearance, but also my wordplay that I am about my business. My profession can help my fans (old and new) escape from the stress of life one song at a time. Music is a powerful outlet for people and I take that responsibility seriously. I make sure to provide an experience everytime I step into the studio or on stage. I love my fans like I love my family, because without them I am not living my purpose. My proudest moments as a hip hop artist is when fans all over the country message me about how not only I inspire them, but also help them in hard times with my music. The fact that I can help others with my talent has always meant the world to me and feeds my soul knowing that I am helping not hurting society. My goal is to leave this world better than how I found it, so any opportunity that I have to step towards that goal is a blessing. I am truly thankful.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I feel like society is lacking the ability to create unity. This lack of unity creates aggressive division especially within the Hip Hop community that can potentially be lethal. We have seen in the past the ramifications of this division and sometimes leads to a loss of a legend who was destined to positively impact society in a whole. If we as a whole decide to put differences aside and focus on creating music instead of unnecessary “beefs” we can see a significant growth in all aspects. Unity is a key solution for almost any sort of situation.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist is the ability to help others escape from their problems with my craft. I have had many fans contact me letting me know that my music has helped them through tough times and I am an inspiration. That in my opinion is the most rewarding part of being an artist. There’s a significant amount of responsibility as an artist to be the voice for the voiceless and use your platform to positively influence others. My goal in life is to leave it better than how I found it and with that goal I want to uplift anyone I can. The harsh reality is that life is tough and my goal is to help remedy those tough times the best way I can with my music.

Contact Info:

• Website: nickgibbs316.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickagibbs93/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/NickGibbs316/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickgibbs316
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkBZPQUq4E6Icrd8IYBvXrA
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2X0JPNszQljxHDZ6DXcMgA?si=-Knf9n-ETZ6HREe0a1JR5Q Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/nick-gibbs/1486904926

Image Credits
Ashton Davis Third Eye Productions Jacob Clark Julian Montes