We recently connected with Quelle The Prophet and have shared our conversation below.
Quelle, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?
My first dollar earned as a verbal martial artist came while I was providing support for a local Charleston, SC hip-hop artist. I had done several shows in the city, and my name had garnered a buzz in the area. After some time, the head of a non-profit organization (Slim S.O.U.L of Soul Power Productions) who hosted hip-hop nights at The Pour House pointed me in the direction of Clayton James.
After contacting Clayton James and giving him my EPK, I was invited to come and open up for him. Although it was a free event, I earned $100 that night. I felt so relieved, I felt relieved because this was physical representation that not only was I chasing my dream, but I was seemingly efficient enough to consider charging for my services.
That was a gamechanger. After that event, I started researching riders, performance contracts, the core of the showbusiness side of the industry.
Quelle, 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?
Ever since I was about eleven or twelve, I knew I was going to make music and be an artist. What I didn’t know, however, was how I would become this artist I had visualized in my head, nor did I know how to get there. After about a decade and a artist name change, I began to finally see where I wanted to go.
Quelle the Prophet is a self-proclaimed name that came from my ability to forecast the sonic trends throughout my experience with music. Being able to know what will standout and what will catch the heart of a listener is what I take pride in as an artist. Furthermore, I provide refreshing perspective on an art that some would call “dead”.
My most recent series, Through My Eyes, has been my avenue to bring issues/topics/lessons I want to talk about and address them in an artistic fashion.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative, for me, would be the validation you receive from the world after you have created something. This goes especially if you have had doubts or concerns about a particular record or project.
Because you think about the entire creative process: From the time you get that spark of an idea, to the time that you get on stage to perform it for the first time…there is no real guarantee that it will be received in the way that you had envisioned it. I think as artists we all have this belief that anything we create from start to finish will be good. However, we also have had our expectations dashed.
So when you have that one idea, and then you put that idea through the entire creative process… just for people to receive it positively? No better feeling in the creative world for me.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
If I had know about BMI Live when I was younger, I think that I would have been more motivated to put myself out there creatively. When you’re first starting out, doing something pro-bono seems like a waste of time. And in truth, it really isn’t. BUT! With BMI Live, you get paid to perform your own material even when you’re doing it free.
Having your music registered with both your performance rights organization as well Soundxchange is one of those things that can only help you and never hurt you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.withtheliftoff.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quellepharrell/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QuellePharrell
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/quellepharrell
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq21ydOADEW_HLOzjKZb0LQ
- Other: LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/quellepharrell
Image Credits
PollakPhotography or Pollak Photography