We were lucky to catch up with R3AL recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi R3AL, thanks for joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

Yes, I’m happy as a creative and I work a regular job to fund my creativity. I believe if I didn’t have a regular job I would still be a creative, however, it would be difficult to do what I need to do without a regular job. Now would I want to stay at a regular job for this rest of my life? No! Because that’s not the life I see for myself. I use to think that if I worked a regular job my dreams would die, but that’s not the case. A regular job motivates me to go harder at what I’m pursuing as a creative. I also had to reverse my thoughts of when it came to a regular job. I let them use me for my time, so how about I use them for their time and money? Ha! Sounds smart to me.

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

I’m a Trap Conscious artist that loves all types of music, lyricism, song writing, storytelling, etc. I got started in music by doing spoken word. I joined my high school poetry team called “Prometheus Bound”, and we performed almost everywhere in North Carolina. Ever since then I’ve been on my my music journey finding myself as an artist. When I released my first mixtape “Live To Tell” I got such of a great response from it I began to write more songs to find my voice. While on this journey I’ve created in other ways outside of music being the creator/ founder of my street fashion brand, “Two Weeks Notice”. I released an EP with this same title which birthed the clothing brand in 2019. I’m proud of how far I’ve come as an independent artist because I have full creative control. I do my best to give my fans many ways of how they want to consume the products/ music I create. However, while doing this I don’t lose who I am during the process because of trying to follow a trend. Everything that people hear and see me do is a lifestyle because trends die.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I believe NFT’s can be very lucrative for music artists and fans. I feel like it’s a better formula to the “Proud 2 Pay” method that Nipsey Hussle was doing. It creates an asset that increases in value and makes the fan/ supporter feel involved. I’m still trying to understand the not tangible side when it’s just a picture that you only access on a website. However, I’m not knocking it.

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

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist and a creative is that I get to bring my ideas to reality, and not being boxed in. Also, seeing people that I don’t even know wearing the t-shirts that I designed. That tells me to keep going because you’re reaching somebody with your message. That fuels my drive so much, and makes me feel like I’m closer to impacting the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/SMN_R3AL
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smn_r3al/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SMN_R3AL

Image Credits
Dani B