We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Omari Johnson . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Omari below.

Omari , appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I first knew that I wanted to pursue the creative lifestyle once I recognized how much it helps me as a person, while also influencing and having an impact on others who are familiar with my artistic outlets. In the beginning I started off painting; self taught, nothing but a canvas, paint, brushes and a cardboard box uses as my pallet. This helped me to express my suppressed emotions through visuals and also became something that others can interpret and relate to in their own way. Now there are times where I would have nothing to paint or there would be a block on my method of expressing myself through visuals, so later on I picked up writing poetry and lyrics. This form of art is more interactive in my opinion because when I started performing, I realized the art that people are paying attention to now isn’t a canvas, it’s me. I was able to express myself through words and physical motions that people can feel when they tune into my story.

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

A less simplified version of who I am, what I do and why has to start with where I come from. I come from struggles that many others go through on a generational basis and I’m the one who’s willing to do what it takes to break the stagnation. I come from years of suppressed emotions as a man needing to be released. I come from dreams but the type that you think about all day while you’re awake and that’s where my art comes into play. I am an Artist. I have to capitalize the “A” because that’s a title that all Artists needs to hold as a badge of hard work, dedication and a sense of self worth that can easily be tainted with discouragement, comfortability and the opinions of others. All of my artistic outlets consist of painting, writing poetry and lyrics and playing the bass guitar. All of these outlets are ways for me to express those suppressed emotions that I mentioned earlier through visuals, vocals, and sound. Everything self taught. I believe the thing that sets me apart is the versatility. Most of my close friends know all that I do and witness it first hand. They would constantly tell me that I’m either crazy or gifted or both but currently, I’m working on the confidence to show everything that I have been working on to those outside of my circle. The thing that I’m most proud of is my growth. Not only as an Artist but as a human in general. The dedication it took to just scratch the surface deserves to be rewarded especially, when it’s becoming easier for me to express myself and also impact others who are or have been through similar feelings and situations. With all of this being said, I would want those who are tuned into my art to know that everything I produce whether if it’s music, poetry or paintings, are all introspective and personal to me. It connects to who I am and what I come from in some way or form that may be interpreted by others in whatever way relates to them.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

There are two main goals that drive me through my creative journey. The first is rooted behind making myself proud as if I am trying to prove something to my younger self. I pretty much take everything that I endured growing up until this point, as fuel that keeps me going. The second is aimed towards the ability to tell these stories to others and reach an audience that can relate to me. I have the idea of not being the only one who has a story to tell and I’m also aware that there are also people who suppress things like I do so being able to connect and speak to those people through my art keeps me going as well.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

From my experiences with some non-creatives, I think the thing that they struggle to understand is the ability to make things happen out of uniform. What I mean by this is stepping out of the normal everyday routine or what most people are conditioned to believe is the only realistic way to make a living. At times these conversations can cause an Artist to overthink their decisions or cause them to step back into uniform which drifts them away from their creative purposes. Not saying the traditional way of making a living is a bad thing, but some have to understand that others aren’t made to take that path. I tend to ask myself if I spend the same 40 hours a week working for somebody else on working for myself and my craft, how far would I be?

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_omariii_/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/4rticulate_/